Little Miss Independence

So... Kaelin has decided that she wants to be a big girl (like her sister) and do everything on her own. When we stand her up to try walking, she thinks she doesn't need to hold our hands. She sits and rolls and pretty much crawls on her own and she's mighty proud of herself. About a week ago, Yeadon's mom was feeding her dinner and she thought she could do it all on her own. As you can see, she doesn't quite have the cleanest technique in self-feeding. However, she was having a blast and thoroughly enjoying the mess she was making!

Studying with Daddy

Yeadon got these ear phones that block out sound so when he is studying he doesn't get distracted. Well... I usually bring Kaelin into our room (where the computer is) when I put Kayden Grace down for bed at night. When I came back into our bedroom, this is what I saw! Yeadon had put the headphones on Kaelin and he had turned on music for her to listen to. He also had a program running on the computer which had shapes moving to the music he was playing. Kaelin was fascinated! She is SUCH a Daddy's girl!

What Fun!!

Nanna had one box left from moving in and she gave it to Kayden Grace to play with. Yesterday I went to the church to practice my song for Kayden's dedication this coming Sunday and while I was away... Daddy had fun with the girls and the box! I couldn't tell who was having more fun... Kayden, Kaelin, or Daddy! Even though Kaelin looks like she's not having fun, trust me, she was. She was giggling and laughing and totally enjoying herself. When it was Kayden's turn, she was belly laughing and having a blast. At one point the box broke and Kayden was devastated... But Daddy fixed it and all was well with the world once again.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Have you ever wanted that one special, perfect, amazing picture?? And you wait and you click away on your camera, hoping against hope that you'll finally get it? You've dressed your children so "cutely" and they're being so, well, you know... Well, try having an 8 month old and a 21 month sit still long enough to get a sweet picture on Valentine's day. Ain't gonna happen, and it surely didn't happen. But here's to good efforts and adorable children. I hope everyone is having a fabulous V-Day full of lots of love, laughter, and enjoyment of life!

I did not prompt Kayden Grace to kiss Kaelin. She did that all on her own... After kissing Kaelin, she decided that my knee needed a kiss as well... and the floor...and the bed...and the cabinets in the bathroom... Aren't kiddos the best??

The creative juices have been flowing!

I don't know where the energy or time has come from... but, man! I've been creative the last few days. I've had multiple projects cut out and waiting for me to put them together, but I just couldn't find the umph to go. Then, all of a sudden, I got the creative bug and off I went! There are two bags I didn't take pictures of because they were gifts for people... Silly me, I know. I should start a portfolio of all the things I make... Yeah. Like THAT'S really going to happen! Anyway... I made this purse for myself (much to the dismay of my husband who said... "Another purse?? You don't need another purse!) And the doll... Well, that is for Kayden Grace who absolutely LOVES her dolly. Here's to the creative juice continuing in my household... Oh, wait! I'm sick, Kaelin's sick, Yeadon's sick... Maybe the juice won't be flowing soon, but it'll come... it'll come...

Sink Time??

I've had to move Kaelin out of the baby bathtub she's been using to the kitchen sink. She is just too squirmy to sit still in the bathtub with Kayden Grace. And honestly... It's soooo much easier to give her a bath this way! Our kitchen sink is really deep and it fits her perfectly. I thought y'all would like to see some cutie pictures of my sweet baby girl, so here ya go! (Yeah... I don't know where the y'all and ya are coming from, but to each his own, right?)

For Nikki...

O.K. So I've been meaning to post a few things for my friend Nikki, but as always, time gets away from me. So while my youngest is sleeping, and my oldest is being a goofball, I figured I could squeeze in some time to show off some of the things I've done in the last few months. First, here are some cookies I made out of The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. They were FABULOUS, in my personal opinion. They're Molasses Spice Cookies and I highly recommend making them, if you like molasses and spice, that is!Here's the recipe:

1/2 cup plus 1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger

1/2 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 light or dark molasses

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Spread 1/2 cup of sugar in a shallow dish for coating and set aside. Whisk flour, baking soda, spices, pepper, and salt together in a larg bowl and set aside. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar together in a large bowl using an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3-6 minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl and beaters as needed. REduce the mixer speed to low and slowly mix in the flour mixture until combined, about 30 seconds (the dough will be soft). Give the dough a final stir w/ a rubber spatula to make sure it's combined. Using wet hands (it really does help!), roll 2 tablespoons of dough at a time into balls, then roll in the sugar to coat and aly on two parchment-lined baking sheets, spaced about 2 inches apart. Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and the tops are cracked but the centers are still soft and underdone (peek through the cracks to check the centers), 10-12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking (I forgot to do this, but it didn't seem to make a difference). Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then serve warm or transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely. Hope you enjoy them!!!

This is a "taggie" blanket I made for Kaelin for Christmas. It was inspired by something Nikki made her daughter, Layla. Kaelin LOVES this! I'm constantly having to wash it cuz she gets it so icky.

Last, but certainly not least, are some scrapbook pages I did for Kaelin's scrapbook. Yeadon's mom and I went to a crop night at a local scrapbook store and we scrapbooked for almost 6 hours! I got 4 pages done and these were two of them. I'm might proud of them... Just wish I had time to work on BOTH girls' albums... One of these days... I know... Life will slow done, someday...