Happy Halloween!

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, right up there with Christmas and Thanksgiving.  The crisp weather, the costumes, the pumpkins, the candy...it's all just good fun!  This year was awesome since Emily was old enough to dress up and go trick-or-treating.  We visited her grandparents and great grandparents, then came home and did a little trick-or-treating with our neighbors before we put Emmy to bed and passed out candy.  We had lots of trick-or-treaters this year, which was a fun change.  Here are a few pics of our evening.  We forgot to bring the camera out at Mawmaw's house, our first stop. :(  I hope your Halloween was as fun as ours!

Sweet little zebra

The zebra and her Papa

Mimi, Zebra, Papa

Pure joy

Our little family

Zebra escaping from grandpa

Zebra in the flowers

Zebra with Grandma

Funny face zebra

Grandma, Zebra, Grandpa

Zebra putting candy in her pumpkin

Beautiful zebra

Zebra grazing

Sea Life Aquarium

At the end of September, Daddy took the day off and we headed to the new Sea Life Aquarium at Grapevine Mills.  Emily loves to feed the fish at Mimi and Papa's pond, so we thought she might like to see some BIG fish! 

Overall the aquarium wasn't worth the price to get in, but it did have a really neat tunnel to walk through that had fish and sharks all around.  It was very cool and Emily loved it.  I think she would've stayed forever if we had let her. 

Amazed by the fishies.

Checking out the fish under her feet

Can we get one of these at home?

Attempting a Daddy-Daughter picture

The best we could do. :)  Notice her light up Sea Urchin toy.

Sweet girl and sweet daddy

Fourteen Months

Oh, sweet Emily.  What was life even like before you?  This month has been wonderful, just like the 13 before it.  We had lots of fun this month, started some new activities, became even more mobile, and basically just loved life!  Here are a few highlights:

• Kindermusik:  We started Kindermusik classes in Grapevine on Emily's 13 month birthday.  It has been SO much fun.  It was basically inevitable that Emily would be a musical child, but I figured it would only help things to encourage that talent.  It has been really fun seeing her interact with other kids all about the same age as her, and to watch her grow to love singing and dancing right before my eyes has been an amazing treat.  Her musicality has improved so much in the past month- she is singing more, swaying and bopping more, and being easily soothed by music when she gets fussy.  I can't wait to keep watching her grow to love music even more.
• More teeth:  Bottom two molars are in, which puts us at a total of 12.  If the ridiculous amount of time spent chewing on her hands is any indication, there is at least one more coming in soon.  I'm guessing it's the canines, because those spots seem to be a bit swollen.
• Food:  Emily is such a good eater.  She pretty much loves it all except for meat.  We did get her to eat a good amount of rotisserie chicken this month as well as some brisket, so maybe there is hope for her yet. :)  She loves spaghetti and chicken spaghetti, so that's one sneaky way we're getting more meat in.  Some of the fun things she tried this month were popcorn, candy corn, and roasted chickpeas.  She loved them all!  We also gave her some fresh green beans, which she wasn't a huge fan of...canned are SO much better, you know.
• Words:  She has really seemed to start picking up more words this month.  This is the first month where she has said Mama and Dada and really seemed to be aware that she was calling for/talking to and about us.  She still loves hi and has added bye.  She also says clock- referring to the clock in my parents kitchen and clack- referring to/singing with one of her Kindermusik songs.  She has said dog a couple of times and BaBas for the Backyardigans.  She also says go, thanks to a BaBa song.  Mostly, though, she just babbles non-stop, all the time, from sunup to sundown.  We don't have a clue what she's saying, but she is certainly saying something.  It usually involves stern eyebrows and lots of pointing.
• Books:  Finally has become interested in books and reading.  She is really into her Halloween books right now, and especially loves books where she can lift flaps.
• Mobility:  Emily is walking better and better every day.  She loves to grab our hands and lead us around to wherever she wants to go.  I have started letting her walk from the car to the building when we are going to the grocery store, Jazzercise, etc and she loves it.  Such a big girl!
• Shoes:  We finally bought Emily some big girl shoes this month.  Stylish little diva that she is, she's been wearing shoes all her life, but since she's now an official walker, we decided she needed some good quality shoes.  She is now rocking a precious pair of Keds as well as some black Mary Janes from Stride Rite.  And thanks to her sweet friend Carrigan loaning out her too-small shoes, she has some other super cute kicks, as well!
• Temper tantrums:  There is no doubt we have a real toddler on our hands.  When she doesn't get her way, she often sits down on the floor and screams.  I just love when it happens in public!  She is certainly her mother's daughter.  I have been hearing the stories about my toddler temper for years now.
• Personality:  If there has ever been an independent and strong-willed child, this is the one.  Although it is difficult at times right now, I am so thankful for it.  I know she will grow up to be a strong child, teenager, and adult and that makes me happy!  We are trusting the Lord will guide all of that strong-willedness in the right direction.

Our girl has actually lost weight in the last month since she started walking all the time.  We are around 21.5 lbs right now, and well over 30 inches.  I would guess about 32 or 33.  Size 3 diapers and mostly (baggy) 18 month clothing.

And now for the pictures...

First time coloring with crayons at a restaurant

Sweet girl

Saying "cheese" with Daddy

Reading!

Sweet girl in her new shoes

Early morning smiles

 

 

I LOVE spaghetti!

Skinny baby, playing with her favorite toys.

Beauty queen swinging

Picnics at the park are serious business!

Eating Kissing her puppy.  This girl is SUCH a little mommy.

So sweet.

Big girl on the ottoman

Eating lunch with her new friend Garrett

Hanging out with the firemen at our block party

Celebrating Mimi on her birthday

Emily Reads!

Up to this point, I must admit I've been a bit disappointed at Emily's lack of interest in all things literary.  I see other friends with babies her age that say their kids love to read.  Emily just likes to turn the pages to get to the end of the book as quickly as possible so that, sooner than later, she can get down and move on to the next thing.  It's a means to an end.  Being a children's librarian, it made me completely question myself as both a parent and bibliophile.  What had I done wrong?  Would my child never love books the way I do?  Would my MS in Library Science be revoked? 

A couple weeks ago she began to show a little bit of interest in dear Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  I'm quite sure she cared more about the funny little graduated-size pages and the holes through which she could stick her fingers (Bravo, Mr. Carle) than the story itself, but that's beside the point.  That beloved little Caterpillar got her at least somewhat book curious. 

On Friday, October 5th, I believe we made a real breakthrough.  The day before, I read her Dan Yaccarino's version of Five Little Pumpkins and she seemed to really enjoy it.  It has a great rhyme scheme and cute colorful pictures.  Also, Dan Yaccarino is the artist who created the Backyardigans characters, who Emily absolutely loves.  I think she may see a resemblance between pumpkin number five and Pablo. :)  So anyway, last Friday she went to her book basket, pulled out Five Little Pumpkins, carried it to her daddy, and sat down in his lap.  Finally!  She wanted to read!  Since that day, we have probably read Five Little Pumpkins 25 times.  Such a sweet and fun milestone for this book-loving mama.

THE Cake

 

A couple weeks ago I was having the discussion with my husband that I wish I had the desire or maybe just the attention span to get really good at just one thing.  If I did that- really focused on just one thing- I could be the best at that one thing and then sell the item or service, trademark my genius ideas, be revered as a guru, appear on morning talk shows, and eventually take over the world.  But alas, I have self-diagnosed adult ADD.  I want to do EVERYTHING!  A Jill-of-all-Trades, I consider myself.  Just in the last year, I have designed blogs, purchased a sewing machine AND an embroidery machine in the hopes of becoming a seamstress, made hairbows, researched starting my own party planning and supplies business, done graphic designs for a company, began leading worship at a church, and toyed with the idea of making and selling custom cakes/cupcakes/cookies/other sugary goodness (that's where this post comes in.)  And although I may never get REALLY good at just one thing, I'm having a LOT of fun dabbling in so many different creative outlets. 

Thanks to the massive time-waster, yet completely genius website Pinterest, I believe I have mastered the art of the cake.  At least the make-it-yourself-but-tastes-and-looks-like-it-came-from-a-bakery birthday/wedding/any and all occasion cake.  I put this masterpiece together using a couple of different recipes and a bit of my own genius (er...store-bought raspberry preserves) and I must say that it is GOOD!  I even hesitate to share this recipe, but I figure all you have to do is look at my Pinterest account, so I'll go ahead and just post it here.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

THE Cake
(Cake recipe from Recipe Girl)
(Frosting recipe from Glorious Treats)

Cake Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) box white cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/3 cups water
2 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 large egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix, flour, sugar and salt. Add remaining ingredients and beat with hand mixer for 2 minutes, or until well blended.
3. Pour mix into three greased 9 inch round cake pans.  Cook until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  I believe it was 25-30 minutes, but I don't honestly remember.  (If making cupcakes, use ice cream scoop to fill prepared cupcake tins- fill about 3/4 full. Bake about 18 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.)
4. Remove cake from pans and let cool on cooling rack for a few hours.  (How to remove cake onto cooling rack video tutorial here.)


Frosting Ingredients
**I doubled the frosting recipe for this cake due to the three layers and the frosting method.
½ cup (1 stick/8 Tablespoons) butter (set at room temp about 10 minutes, but should still be cool)
8 oz. cream cheese (directly from fridge)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups powdered confectioners sugar
1 to 4 Tablespoons heavy cream, heavy whipping cream

Directions
1. Place butter in a large mixing bowl and blend slightly. Add cream cheese and blend until combined, about 30 seconds.
2. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar and blend on low speed until combined. Increase to medium speed and beat until it begins to get fluffy.
3. Slowly add the heavy cream, a little bit at a time until desired consistency is met. (Don’t add too much if you want the frosting to stay in place when piped on cake.)
4. Beat until fluffy, about 1 minute.  At this point, you can add frosting gel color (I used Wilton) or leave it white.
5. Use at once or keep refrigerated. (This frosting will keep well in the refrigerator for several days, but you may need to re-beat it for the best texture.)

Now, put it all together!

1. Cut the rounded top off of each cake to make the cakes flat. This will help you alot!
2. Put the first layer on your cake stand.  Put a very thin layer of icing, then spread on a layer of store-bought raspberry preserves.  Repeat with the next two layers.
3. Cut off five or six wooden skewers to the height of your cake, then push them down through the layers to keep the cake together.
4.  Two options for frosting the cake:  Frost cakes as usual by spreading frosting with an offset spatula or knife.  OR, if you want to be super-cool and impress all your friends with the rosette mehod, go ahead and frost your cake as usual with just a thin layer of icing.  Then, follow this method by the brilliant I am Baker blogger. 

One tip I learned when making this cake- if you are doing the rosette method, make sure your frosting is cold enough.  I would stick it back in the fridge for about 30 minutes or so before you begin doing the rosettes.  You will have to refill your frosting bag several times, so each time you are actually piping the rosettes on, stick the icing back in the fridge for those few minutes, as well.  When you are done with the cake, refrigerate it!  You don't want melted roses!  Also, her tutorial calls for a 1M tip, but I used a Wilton 2D.

Thirteen Months

Month thirteen has been much crazier than I anticipated!  It seems like the last few months rolled along pretty smoothly, but this month has rocked Emily's world...and ours, too.  We had some rough times this month, but good ones, too.  The first molar started coming in the day after her birthday and that coupled with the transition from crawler to walker has been rough.  We had one really bad week, but other than that, she's doing great.  Emily is growing and changing so much every day!  Due to an  active toddler, we're changing the monthly post format to make it easier and quicker for mom.  I hope she'll forgive me when she's grown, looking back at the blog!  Here are a few notable events from this past month:

•  SERIOUS personality:  I don't know why we would ever be surprised, but as soon as she turned a year, she decided to go full toddler on us.  She is still sweet as sugar when she wants to be, but scowls alot at people she doesn't know and gives us much more attitude than before.  It can be exasperating, but I'm so glad she's a pistol!
• More teeth- already!: This month, we got our first two top molars, which brings us to a total of ten teeth!
• Peek-a-boo improvements:  Instead of putting the blanket over her head, she now likes to cover her eyes with her hands to play "Where's Emily?"
• Milk:  Drinking cow's milk and loves it!  She especially loves it when Hershey's syrup finds its way into the cup.  We are down to only one bottle at night, but it's only four ounces.  Soon it will be gone.
• First ponytail:  She finally has enough hair for a ponytail and it is SO cute!  Very Pebbles-esque.
• Sign language:  Can sign "all done" and "more."  She loves "all done," but when I try to get her to sign "more," she typically shakes her head no and squeals.  She has signed it on her own a few times, but only when it's her idea.
• Food: Added peanut butter this month and LOVES it!  I mean, what's not to love?  She also added french toast and scrambled eggs.  Basically, she eats anything.  So far she consistently refuses refried beans, but that's about it.
• Singing and Dancing:  She loves to sing with me.  When I sing her bedtime songs, she tries to sing along by humming.  She also loves to sway and bop to the music.  Cutest thing ever.
• WALKING!!!:  Although she started taking steps last month, she was not an official walker until September 11th.  Since that day, she hasn't looked back.  She is getting really good at it and fast, too!  I know running isn't too far off.

She's around 23 pounds and still wearing twelve month clothes and a size three diaper.  She wears 18 month PJs sometimes, because they're a bit more roomy.  Our girl is tall!

Our sweet girl the day after her birthday

First official ponytail!

Watching Daddy mow the yard

Having fun with MawMaw

Attempting to feed herself

Makes a better chair than toy basket, apparently.

First Spaghetti experience.  Love at first bite.

There's that cute pony again.

First trip to the park.  The tantrum that followed was epic.

How could that face belong to a stinker?

Did I say ponytail?  I meant tailfeather.

Our least favorite Emily face.  We saw it for about seven days straight.

Playing with fun birthday toys

First time in the big girl bath!

Bubbles!  A special bathtime treat.

First thing in the morning.  She loves that car!

Music must always be playing when she rides it.  In this picture, the music had stopped.  That's why she's pushing the yellow key and scowling.  At least she knows how to turn it back on herself!

Did I mention that she loves this thing?

Our sweet little walker