Thankful

We had a thankful Thanksgiving!
I was thankful that this week marks one year exactly until I am done with school!
We are all thankful for our first Thanksgiving with ButterBean!

I was also thankful for a little spare time to do some baking - I made a sweet potato pie and some roasted veggies for our Thanksgiving feast.

ButterBean was thankful that he got to try some!

We were lucky and were able to spend time with both sides of our family for Thanksgiving! We went for a walk in the afternoon, which is unheard of in these parts! 60 degrees at the end of November in MINNESOTA!?!?! Now THAT'S something to be thankful for! We have a lot to be thankful for in this crazy busy life

3/4th of a year

My baby is growing up!
First he started to walk along the furniture. Around the same time, he got four teeth, so he started thinking he was pretty big stuff.

There's those teeth

Top teeth

With the confidence of standing and teeth, he began to think that he's a teenager:

He low-rides his pants now

Too cool to smile for pictures

Most recently though, he thinks he is a grown man:

OBSESSED with the remote control

Mesmerized by the Cat in the Hat

Daddy and baby saints

This house likes saints. I myself am partial to St. Francis, St. Anthony, and St. Gianna. ButterBean loves his wooden saint doll that the Little Stay at Home Momma made him. You can't see in the picture, but it's St. Dominic, another of my favorites. :)

Future saint?

Today is my Gatsby's birthday. He has a slight obsession with St. John Baptist de LaSalle. A common phrase said at Lasallian schools is for one person to say "Live Jesus in our hearts" and the others to respond "Forever". So, instead of a typical birthday message, I used his favorite phrase on top of his marble birthday cake.

He appreciated my humor. The cake was a hit and pretty yummy too. I will definitely be making the fudge frosting again - it was easy and deliciously fudgy!  (See below for the recipe)
In other news, our little ButterBean is now holding on to any and every surface to pull himself up and has progressed to shuffling along the side of the couch. It will be a matter of weeks I think before he starts walking. Is there a patron saint of new walkers?
Baby proofing has begun: gates, outlet covers, moving everything out of reach. 
Or, when in doubt, put the baby in a box to contain him!

Marble Cake and Fudge Frosting(from Baking Bites)

1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsp water, hot
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream (regular or low fat)
1 cup milk (any kind - coconut milk would be fun to try...MmmMmm)

1) Preheat oven to 350F and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
2) In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup sugar, cocoa powder, hot water and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Whisk to combine and set aside.
3) In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
4) In a large bowl, cream together butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until light. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and sour cream. Working in two or three additions, alternate adding flour mixture and milk to butter mixture (beginning and ending with flour). Mix.
5) Scoop out 1 cup of cake batter and stir into cocoa mixture.
6) Spread white batter into prepared pan. Top with chocolate batter and drag a knife through to create a swirling pattern.
7) Bake for 32-36 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed.
Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Fudgy Frosting
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup milk (any kind - again, I think it would be fun to try with coconut milk)
2 tbsp light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Combine sugar and cocoa in a medium saucepan and whisk until cocoa is dissolved. 
2) Add butter, milk, corn syrup and salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil (about 10 minutes). Continue boiling; stirring occasionally, for 6 minutes. 
3) Remove from heat and cool to room temperature (approx 1 hour). 
4) Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla and pour on cake. Frosting will spread easily and will set up itself after a few minutes.

The Post-Anesthesia Post

owl hat

Knitting

I once learned how to knit, but I never got very good at it and I wouldn't remember how to even start now. I see all of these ultra cute crafts, especially for babies and kids, that I would love to do, but can't for a few reasons: 1) I don't have time 2) I don't know how 3) I'd need more supplies.

When school is over I want to learn how to knit for real...and maybe crochet too.

By the time I learn how to knit, ButterBean will be to big for me to make adorable things for him to wear. He doesn't keep hats on for more than 3 seconds anyway.

Waaay too cute

Seriously? Turtley cute

 Life is going to be sooo full of crafts when I'm done with school!

For the Love of Pumpkin

Those who know me know that I have a love of pumpkins. What's not to love? They are very versatile and oh-so-tasty in cooking, their seeds are a great snack, and I think they are cute! If I had more time right now I'd do some fun pumpkin crafts:

Rhinestone Web

Lacey Pumpkin

Glitter candle holder

So, I was a proud Mama when my own little Punkin' displayed his love of pumpkin. He has already tried pureed pumpkin and ate it like a champ. I made some pumpkin bread the other day and I while I was eating a piece ButterBean was going crazy trying to get at it. I gave him a nibble, which caused instant leg kicking and arm waving. I gave him little bites in between his "Hunhh, hunhh!" for more. This boy is definitely his mother's son!

Pumpkin-Head

Hello pumpkin!

Tonight, in the Halloween spirit I will be making Penne-Pumpkin Pasta, which I made last autumn too. I don't have any cream on hand, so it won't be quite so creamy, but still yummy! I feel no guilt with this because it's basically just whole wheat pasta, shallots, sage and pumpkin! I can't wait!

My little Pumpkin Monster

Happy Halloween!

Surprise Visit

Last weekend I was given the pleasure of a surprise visit from my best old pal, Little Stay at Home Momma. We hadn't seen each other in a ridiculous 2 and half years. Waaaay too long! It had been so long we each had a child that the other had never met! That's what happens when you live 12 hours apart, have kids and crazy lives.

It was sooooo good to see her and her cutie-patootie girls even if it was for only a couple of hours.  I miss you already!!!

I also made this discovery: Chia

 This was a fun drink I picked up at Lakewinds- it's chia seeds that have been hydrated and it turns into a drink that feels like watery jello with tiny crunchies in it. Definitely different, but definitely yummy.

 It looks like something you might see in an alien movie. Or something great for a Halloween party!

8 month favorites continued

5-8 of my favorite Butterbean-isms

5. His "persistence": My mom told me I had a "persistent personality" as a baby and I think this has been passed on to him from both Gatsby and me. If he doesn't want to sleep, he doesn't want to sleep! He'll rub and rub his eyes, thrash from side to side, and wear himself out until his body falls asleep despite what he tells it to do. A favorite move of mine is when he lies on his back with his eyes shut and shakes his head, stops, kicks both legs a few times, stops, shakes his head, stops, and on and on until he falls asleep. The version of this on his stomach is to lift his head, slam it on the bed, lift head, slam on bed, until he falls asleep.

Rubbing eyes

after much bouncing

fell asleep in the johnny-jump-up

 6. His need to grab everything and see everything going on around him: If an object is near him, he will grab it. This is typical baby stuff, but I love it. His favorite objects are remotes and cellphones. If action is going on around him, he will swivel his whole body forcefully from side to side just to make sure he doesn't miss any of it. And if you turn while holding him, he will crane his way around to see behind him. When being held in the standing position, he performs a continuous pivot/twirl to get a 360 view. He never stops.

Gimme that!

Hey, what's going on back there?

7. His cuddles: This boy loves his cuddle time. I hope it stays that way. There is nothing like lifting a baby out of the crib and having him bury his face in your neck. Mmmmm!!

looks like I need to get a recent cuddle time picture

8. His SMILE

Happy Autumn!!

Look at me! I'm 8 months old!