5 months

How did another month already pass us by? I must admit though, that I'm looking forward to November. Already this month has filled me with a sense of gratitude for all the blessings in my life. I'm looking forward to spending time with you, Mason, and enjoying every little bit of you. You are growing up too fast:)

We love to watch you play on the floor. You are pretty content most days with a blanket and a toy or two.We still love your sweet expressions.You started eating rice cereal just a few days ago. You seem to like it.

You still drool like crazy...waiting for those teeth:)

You have been helping with dinner a lot lately. A little tired maybe? Please ignore my work clothes. I'm taking a break from working on the addition to make chipotle turkey burgers. Yum!

At 5 months, you

~smile and flirt with anyone that will look at you

~love to touch my face and pull daddy's beard

~are starting to show interest in your books and toys

~are so close to rolling from your back to your tummy, but are pretty content to just lay on your side once you get there

~can sit up with support

~smile every time I kiss your cheek

~laugh all the time

~are very interested in glasses of any drink, you love to reach out and hold them while we are drinking

~take 2 naps a day, one long and one short

~love to watch your doggies and smile when they lick you

~entertain yourself with this high-pitched squeal noise all.day.long (oh, and out in public too!) you sure know how to get people to look at you:)

You are such a sweet, happy baby. We love you so much!
xoxo,

mommy

whole wheat pumpkin muffins

Ever since Ryan and I bought our wheat mill and started grinding our own wheat, we have been putting it in everything! I've always been a fan of wheat flour and enjoy using it in baking, but we have a new love for it:) And really, you can never have too much pumpkin this time of year. Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

(Adapted from Addictive Pumpkin Muffins on Allrecipes.com)

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
1/3 c. chopped walnuts

handful of chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, pumpkin, and applesauce, until smooth. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir. Add the walnuts and mix. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, (I made 18). Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

I love these muffins, they have a good pumpkin-y spice (and they're fairly healthy...no oil/butter, lots of wheat flour). And, it makes enough to share with a friend:)

wordless wednesday

sweet pea

We had a really fun Halloween. Mason spent most of the day in his ghost shirt from my sweet cousin, Marylin.

He did a good job of entertaining himself while we worked on the house.
Then we headed over to Hillary's house for some yummy food, some trick-or-treaters, and lots of laughs! Mason was a little sweet pea.



The cousins stopped by:)

And he was very sweet, all the way until 7:45 when he promptly fell fast asleep. If he's anything like his mom, he won't be much of a night owl.

sorta tired

Being the mom of an almost-5-month old goes hand in hand with just being tired. But, these last two weeks, I've been a little more tired than usual.

Maybe it's because I went back to work last week. I have an awesome class, but getting up early and devoting time and energy to my classroom is taking a bit of a toll.

Maybe it's because my sister and I drove to South Dakota last weekend for a whirlwind trip to visit my dad. He's in the hospital and it seems to be one thing after another.

Maybe it's because I've spent many hours thinking about and praying for my dad. Maybe it's because crying makes your eyes tired.

But, even in the middle of all the tired-ness I feel a peace and comfort that only God can provide. I am so thankful that Mason got to go meet his Papaw. In that short time, lots of memories were made. I'm thankful for a job that I love. And I'm thankful for a sweet sister. God is good.

And, on a lighter note...at least one of us is sleeping:)

His new favorite thing is to sleep with his arms up by his head. I love it:)

wordless wednesday

confessions of a knitter

Well, maybe 'knitter' isn't quite the right word. It's more like 'girl-learning-to-knit.' The only experience I have is making a few dishcloths. And I am definitely not qualified to teach someone else how to knit as demonstrated by the many hours spent with my friend, Hillary, this week just explaining (and re-learning) how to cast on. Who knew I was doing it wrong all this time? I'm not sure how many times we practiced knitting 10 stitches, unraveled everything, did 10 more, etc. Not to mention that she purled about 92 stitches before I casually mentioned to her that she should be bringing the yarn in front (I think). I take all the blame for the knotted mess. I'm surprised she's still speaking to me:)

But, I have big dreams of being a knitter. For now I'll just have to settle for the girl who likes looking for fun patterns, the girl who loves picking out different kinds of yarn, the girl who likes talking about knitting, and the girl who just keeps starting different projects but doesn't really know how to finish any of them. Yet.

It's time to start wrapping up some of these loose ends.

giggles....

Lots of laughs from the little guy (with one dorky mama in the background:) I was hanging up clothes in the closet, and Mason was helping by keeping me entertained! There's nothing like his little laugh.

4 months

Already? It's hard to believe. Sometimes it seems like you've been a part of our lives forever...and it's hard to remember what life was like without you. Other times I notice just how small you are and that you've only been here with us for a short time, with so much yet to learn.

You still continue to amaze us with your array of cute faces! And you've become a constant "talker." For most of the day now you can be heard from any room. We love it!

You've had your fair share of volleyball games (watching your cousins) and football games this month. For the most part you are a pretty good sport. Giving lots of smiles to those around you. And you put up with being passed around from family member to family member and friends.



But every once in awhile, you've just had enough:)
We are so blessed that you are such a good sleeper. You've slept through the night many times. You will often talk yourself to sleep after we lay you in your crib. It's fun to listen to you during that time in the evenings. Ryan and I get a little time to ourselves... with your cheerful chatting in the background and a few minutes later when we check on you there's your soft breathing. Of course we've had those days where you won't take a nap at all, and you can be one big fuss! But they are few and far between.

At four months, you:

~will hold and play with some of your toys

~are drooling like crazy (you can drench a onesie in no time!)

~are a pro at rolling over from your stomach to your back

~sleep through the night (most of the time)

~laughed for the first time (at daddy:)

~still fall asleep in the car

~get scared when someone sneezes (especially if they're holding you)

~had your first major cold/sickness

~make new noises all day long

~love to stare at and play with your hands

~will fight naptime if we have family visiting (you don't want to miss a thing)

~will tolerate your swing, but prefer to be held

~are liking your baths

~are interacting so much with those around you

~smile at me when I say your name

I know I say this every month, but you are such a blessing. I never want to take you for granted. Every day with you is full of moments to cherish.

xoxo,

mommy

walnut pear coffee cake

This is a delicious coffee cake with some fun layers in the middle. It makes a great start to any day, preferably paired with a cup of coffee:)

Ingredients
2 medium ripe pears, peeled and chopped
1/2 c. sugar

1/2 c. applesauce
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. flour

3/4 c. wheat flour

3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. sour cream

Topping

1 1/2 c. chopped walnuts, divided

1/3 c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c. flour

1/4 c. butter


In a bowl, combine the sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and mix in sour cream.

In another bowl combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add 1 cup chopped walnuts.

In a greased 9 inch round cake pan, pour 2/3 of the batter. Chop pears (toss with a little lemon juice if you chop them before you need them) and sprinkle over the batter. Put half of the crumb topping on the pears. Pour the remaining 1/3 of the batter over top. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb topping and the 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes (I baked mine in a convection oven, it will probably take a while longer in a regular oven). Enjoy!

wordless wednesday

to a T

This weekend got off to a great start with Triple-berry pancakes on Friday...and then just kept right on Tempting the Tastebuds with Toffee and Tortillas! While Ryan and his dad were moving TONS of dirt outside to get the water drainage/snow meltage figured out, I was busy in the kitchen with his mom and brother. The Stover's always make english toffee at Christmas time to give to family and friends. I've had the recipe for awhile now, but had never made it. Until now. OK, I didn't really make it...I just stirred, stirred, stirred, and poured. Teri and Lee did the rest. But I'm pretty sure I can handle it on my own now after watching the professionals:) It sure is delicious! I've been helping myself to a little peice for dessert after dinner (ok, after lunch and breakfast too!).

While the toffee was cooling, Teri got out a recipe for homemade tortillas that we've been talking about trying for some time. I thought making your own tortillas would be difficult and time-consuming, but it was so simple. My favorite part is WHACKing them down (I'm pretty sure that's the technical term) while they're bubbling up in the skillet! We all had to take a turn.

Ok, I didn't get a picture of these golden beauties because we gobbled them up at lunch. But, don't worry, I will be making these again. They are so much tastier than store-bought ones. Go ahead, give them a try...

Tortillas

3 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. salt

about 1 cup warm water

Sift dry ingredients and mix together; gradually add water until crumbly dough forms. Knead until smooth. Divide into 12 rounds. Cover with plastic wrap for 15 minutes. Flatten each ball and roll into a 9 inch round. As you shape each tortilla, place on a pre-heated (med-high), dry skillet. Blisters should appear. Turn tortilla immediately and press blisters down with spatula. Turn again and press until blisters turn golden brown. Stack tortillas as cooked inside a folded cloth towel within a plastic bag; close bag and let tortillas steam and soften until all are cooked.

recipe from sunset mexican

counter space...

...or lack thereof:) You see, I've been sort of busy these days. I haven't been able to do much in the kitchen because every flat surface is covered with either fruit, canning supplies, veggies, cutting boards, dehydrator trays, or dishes drying waiting to start all over again. Even the kitchen table was looking a little overwhelming, which is a bit of an inconvience since the kitchen table also serves as my craft table (since my old one was replaced with a changing table and is waiting patiently in the garage while we finish the addition), our paying bills station, laundry folding/sorting station, oh, and every once in a while I actually shove everything to the side clean off the table so we can sit and eat.

Thanks to my mother-in-law for helping me get started and snapping a few pictures of the process!

It all started when I got 100 lbs of pears and 15 pounds of cheeries. What was I thinking? Oh, right, I was thinking I was ordering 25 lb boxes, not 50 lb boxes.

Then it continued with the first frost (and a week of snow!) in the forecast. That meant we had to pull a bunch of stuff out of the garden.



All this led to:

~quarts and quarts of canned pears

~canned cheeries

~canned pearsauce (think applesauce with pears instead:)

~cinnamon pear jam

~cranberry pear jam

~dehydrated pear chips

~dehydrated veggie chips

~lots of new recipes with fresh pears (I'll share later)

Mason was a big help!

And my counters now? Well, Ryan built me an awesome shelf out of scrap wood to hold all those jars. The kitcken is starting to get back to normal...just in time to get that box of apples:)

wordless wednesday

The Dog That Plants Potatoes

Once upon a time there was a dog named Java.

She loved to dig. A few months ago, Java kept bringing potato chunks to her owners doorstep and leaving them there. At first her owners thought they were the potatoes they just recently planted. But, they weren't purple, they were red. Soon, her owners realized that she was getting them from the compost pile and so they let her be. Java, being the smart dog that she is, decided to help plant the potatoes. So she selected a good chunk of potato and put it right by the downspout of the gutters. She figured since her owners wouldn't know it was there, at least it would get water. A few weeks ago, her owners noticed a potato plant that was very far away from all the potatoes they had planted. And the potato plant was thriving! After pondering the situation, the only conclusion they could form was that Java planted it there. A few days ago they harvested those potatoes. They were pretty small, perfect for a stew. Of course they shared the stew with Java, who actually did all the work. The End.

PS...now the owners are trying to get Java to pull the weeds in the garden.