FINAL BAKING DAYS (part 2)

The next morning, we had tons of cookies to frost! Everyone was eager to get their hands on some frosting and sprinkles and let their artistic abilities be poured out onto a cookie. We mixed up some frosting from scratch and added some food coloring until Gracie approved of each color and the shade it should be. Then we got started!Gracie pondering what color she wanted to frost her Christmas tree...Karys actually did have quite a bit of frosting end up on the cookie......and quite a bit end up in her mouth as well! Karys also started calling herself "Bob Karys the Snowman" She had a song to go with it and everything...it was HILARIOUS!Megan was actually the master of the frosting! She outlasted, outdecorated them all! Once the girls started to get tummy aches from the frosting, they headed off to play and Megan and Moder finished up the cookies! I was so grateful for them b/c I had so much packing to get done for Christmas and just didn't have the time to sit and frost. I was so excited they could do it with the girls! Thanks guys!Whenever I would turn my head, Leah would scoop another knifeful of purple frosting into her mouth and then take the knife right from her mouth down to the cookie! There are a couple cookies that definitely ended up with some of Leah's saliva and others with KJ's slobber from her fingers. At one point she said, "The sprinkles are all stuck to my fingers!!!" Well, that was b/c her fingers were covered in slobber!!! Yes, the sprinkles still got put on the cookie!The finished products! The best was when the made a cookie with everyone's name on it. My favorite had to be Sarah's. While the rest of us just got our name written on a cookie, Sarah's had her name with a profile of her down in the corner, brown sprinkles for hair and green frosting coming from her mouth to signify _____-you know what! Poor girl!
I was also caught very off guard when I caught sight of the "Roe Baby" cookie! I was almost convinced that Sarah had told Megan and Megan the night before that she was preggo! However, I soon also caught glimpse of the VL Baby cookie..."Just getting ya ready for the next one's" --Moder Funny Megan, very funny!

FINAL BAKING DAYS!!!

We had two final baking days before Christmas after Megan was back from college. I was planning on baking with my sisters and my niece. However, Sarah got the stomach flu the night before we were scheduled to do our baking and couldn't come. thankfully Megan was still able to pick up Leah and brought along our "other" sister Megan Moder (as the girlies say her last name ;)We had so much fun! Before we could get started the girls made sure that everyone had on their aprons and/or baking hats...even Meggie whose apron looked more like a bib!Leah and Karys got to be matching with the Tinkerbell aprons and baking hats that the girls got from Rachel and Ang when Addyson was born. How can a little girl not like to bake when she has her cousin to squeeze and a Tink get-up like this?!?Megan and Gracie pose in the aprons from Grandma Sally...Gracie was so excited to match Megan. Megan has won this little girls heart! How appropriate for them to wear their hearts for all to see today! (Meg thought if she knelt and I zoomed it it would look less like a bib and more like an apron.)We are ready to get started!Oh wait! Can't get going until Auntie Megan teaches all the little girls "the pose". Megan used to pose with a hand on her hip and the other on her knee for like EVERY picture she was in growing up. She is definitely trying to pass on the tradition! They are looking pretty good doing it too!The table has been overtaken by cutout cookies and they are well on their way! What a fun/great looking bunch!Gracie meticulously worked and rolled her dough out. This kept her attention for a long time as she loves to bake and just make/do things with her hands.Megan rounding up the "extra" and getting ready to roll out againLeah got pretty good at rolling the dough out too! Just like play-doh right Leah?

Megan kind of got assigned the job of helping everyone get going...she rolled out all the dough, waited while they cut it up and then transferred the cookies to the pan! WOW! What a help she was :)KJ smiling pretty for the camera....she did a few but would rather eat the dough, chat, and watch everyone elseThe first batch looks GREAT and heads into the over to golden up!ALWAYS need a good cleanup after a baking day! The ladies piled in the tub for a CALMING bath before hitting the hay...they all displayed their bath toy they were playing with-too cute!

LOVE this pic! What a GREAT day we had baking cookies and cutting them out! Felt so good to get cleaned up....better get off to bed for a good night sleep! WE have got a ton of frosting to do tomorrow!

Injury by Exersaucer!

So I love the excersaucer...it is such a great toy for Addyson and she loves to get in there and just be able to have so many options-jump, chew, play, spin around--really it is an ingenious way to keep the kiddos entertained. However, a few weeks ago I headed over to my mom's to scrapbook with my sister, mom and Aunt. It was awesome to have all weekend; however, when it came time to pack it up our relationship ended.

I couldn't get it to flatten/condense down so I just had my dad put it in the back of my van for me. No problem, right? I was just planning on having Rob get it out when I got home and prayed it wouldn't bounce and rattle too much in the back so Addyson might be able to nap on the way home. However, I totally forgot I stuck my purse in the back and needed to get some gas on the way home. So, totally forgetting it was back there, I headed to the back and flung the back gate open only to be quickly greeted by the excersaucer falling out directly onto the top of my foot!

At the time it definitely hurt...I rubbed it a couple times on the way home when I was reminded of the the incident by the throbbing I felt. Once I got home, I took my sock off to assess the damage...NO WONDER IT HURT! I had a small cut on the top of my foot and a huge goose egg. It was already changing different shades of purple and was still throbbing over an hour later! Wow!
This picture was taken a good 2-3days after it happened. My foot stayed black and blue with a nice knot on the top of my foot for a good 2 weeks. Even as I sit here and type this today, it still hurts to apply pressure to the spot of impact. My advice...watch out for excersaucers! they can be brutal!

Besties

Two of my close friend had babies within months of Addyson's birth. Bailey was born 2/25, Isaiah was born 3/36, and Addy 5/28 ;) I love this! It is so fun to watch them follow each other through different seasons of change. To be able to see what Addyson will be doing just months from now each time I see them and also how every baby is so different as to when the do certain things such as crawl, clap, roll, etc. The best part of it all though is just watching them interact and "play" with each other! The Schuiteman's were over a night before Christmas and we gave the girls some time to get reacquainted with each other....Addyson was very quick to go for Bailey! She LOVES babies and other kiddos who like like her. She gets so excited and starts jumping and kicking her legs! She can't wait to get her hands on them and pull them in to her open mouth for a "kiss"! As you can tell Bailey was not too sure about this!This was such a CUTE picture!!! but Karys was eager to get in on the action too....she can also not keep her hands off the babies and is constantly up close and personal with them while trying to talk to them or pick them up! Bailey did come around and considered giving Addyson a few love taps...I can't wait to see if a friendship develops b/t these girls! I can only pray that they would be a blessing to each other and be blessed by amazing friends in the same way that their mamas have blessed me in my life!

Cocoa Crinkle Cookies (recipe included!)

Our next adventure in baking came a week later when we decided to try a new recipe! We saw the picture in a cookbook and they just looked sooooo yummy! The cookies were called Cocoa Crinkle Cookies and they were a scrumptious combination of peppermint and chocolate that just melted in your mouth! They were kind of super messy to make but all the more fun right?!?Gracie was excited to crush up some peppermints...Karys didn't smile b/c she thought she didn't have a job...little did she know there was chocolate frosting involved ;)trying to make sure we got a pic of Addyson and I, she did not want to miss out on the action!"here Mommy! I can take your picture!" Gracie actually does a really great job!Cocoa Crinkle Sandwiches

1 3/4 C Flour

1/2 C unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 C butter

1 3/4 C sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 can (16 oz) chocolate/favorite flavor frosting

1/2 C crushed candy canes or starmints

Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat; cool slightly. Add 1 1/4 C sugar; whisk until smooth. Whisk in eggs, 1 at a time, until blended. Stir in vanilla until smooth. Stir in flour mixture just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease cookie sheets (I didn't). Shape doughs into 1 inch balls. Place remaining 1/2 cup sugar in shallow bowl; roll balls in sugar. Place 1 1/2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

Bake 12 minutes or until cookies feel set to the touch. Let cookies stand on cookie sheets 5 minutes; transfer to wire racks to cool.Stir frosting until soft and smooth. Place crushed candy canes on piece of wax paper. Spread about 2 tsp frosting over flat side of one cookie. Place second cookie, flat side down, over frosting, pressing down to allow frosting to squeeze out slightly between cookies. Press exposed frosting into crushed candy canes. Repeat with remaining cookies...store in airtight container. Gracie SMASHING the peppermint candiesThe rhythm of the pounding must have put Addy right to sleep! She was out!Frosting the cookies and sneaking a little extra peppermint inside ;)Posing with the AWESOMELY, FABULOUS cookbook we found the recipe inThe finished product!!!My oven was covered like this with baking goodies for almost a week...we tried to make a little something everyday to freeze it for the holidays!The girls were GREAT and even did the dishes and clean up!!!

Well Karys sat there and looked cute at least while Gracie washed the dishes! What fun we had making these cookies! Definitely had my glimpse of Betty Crocker for the week!

The Beginning of Our Holiday Baking

We had plans to go to a friend's house a day before Christmas break and do some holiday baking(the 10th I think) but kiddos got sick and things fell through a little, and b/c my girls were healthy we decided to stay home and make some cookies of our own. This ended up being a GREAT thing b/c Karys was able to fall asleep in "her" chair and Gracie and I were able to do something together.We decided to start by making our favorite Christmas cookies, Peanut Butter Stars. Here is Gracie about half way through the process. She and I would both roll the balls, she would roll them in sugar and I would put the stars in. This BEAUTIFUL little lady loves to bake!!! She is so good at pouring things in and just really being an active participant. I love spending time with her in this way!It is always so hard not to eat this batter...especially coming from a family who LOVES peanut butter!!!We had a variety of different balls going on...just a glimpse of them before the sugar and stars

Addyson was hanging out with us too....She was busy jumping away in her bouncer. She LOVES this thing and just loves to "work it out" while she is in it.

What a GREAT afternoon baking! I pray that this is something we can do together for years to come...and especially in the coming weeks before Christmas ;)

You Carry Me

My girls are 15 months, 25 days apart from each other in age; however, the older they get the more their interests have started to reach a similar level and the more they have been able to play together. Gracie will still adamantly let you know that she is the "bigger" one and able to do the "hard" things that Karys can't yet b/c she is too little. Karys will be quick to respond with "but I am still strong" or nod her head, purse her lips and expressively agree with the fact that she is younger ;) I love watching these girls play together...I think any mom would be able to say their kiddos are either the best of friends or the best of fighters ;) However, more and more lately my girls are able, and want to be, left alone to play by themselves for hours on end. Babies/house/school/pretend is usually the activity that they both choose to engage in but it could range anywhere from playing their leapsters side by side to reading books to making their own crafts!They love to be silly together, chase each other around, have dance parties in the kitchen....and their newest thing is to carry each other. This actually means Gracie carries Karys and Karys tries to pick gracie up once and then moves on. Karys is just so good at holding on and wrapping her super long legs around Gracie. I still fear them getting hurt and am especially nervous about Gray's back but I don't want to hover too much since tey have so much fun doing this!"Am I getting too heavy?"I cannot wait to see what this will look like in 3-5 years when Addyson is old enough to join in the fun! My prayers daily included continued depth in relationships with my girls!
Maggie always feels so left out! She is constantly jumping up on them when they are doing this trying to get in on the fun....although here it does look like she is going in for a sniff! AHHH! Dogs will be dogs I guess :)