Hank turns over!!

What better way to get to his favorite "love" Miller?  Why rolling over of course!   And lucky for me I had my camera ready!!!

yum yum yum!

This past weekend we hosted a game night! Guilty pleasure foods was chosen as the theme and boy did everyone come through! I tossed the idea around for  few days before I decided on my guilty pleasure.  I love coffee, and I love cupcakes.  So I used this recipe as a stepping stone for my cupcakes.  I didn't make major changes.  But I decided that we were not going to use alcohol.  All in all they turned out so super yummy!  Usually I have a few left over that we snack on for a few days.  But not this time.  They were gone!

 I used chocolate covered coffee beans as garnish! 

  They were such a hit, they have already been requested by Matt's office! 

Cooking lessons resume

Its CUPCAKE TIME!!!

 Each time we cook together I let him do a little more on his own.  This time I felt he was ready to fill the cups himself.... I was wrong.  He just basically painted the paper cups but never really got the batter in.  So I had to help him out.

 But boy was he ready to lick to bowl!  I think everyone remembers licking the spoon or bowl.  And then i realized, he has to have a first sometime... why not now! Needless to say he loved it! 

 My first attempt at making buttercream was a bust as you can see on the counter.  I just love his face though.  He looks as though he is about to get caught doing something naughty.

 He didn't  complain one bit about the icing.

I just love his eyelashes!

I love this picture!  Not only is he covered in batter and icing, he is standing under my "kiss the cook" sign.  I love that boy! 

March in Review

Uncle Lee came to visit this March on his way home! We had so much fun playing at the beach and around the house!

 Henry was scared of him the first couple of times Lee held him, but as you can see,  he quickly got over that!

 I personally like the drool spot on his shoulder!

 Looking just like his brother....

 He is on the move!  One night Hank and I were hanging out after Christopher went to bed and daddy was at work, and he managed to scoot from where I am pointing to where he is now.  I have a feeling he is going to keep me busy.

 Daddy getting home from work just in time for Henry's morning snuggle time.

 He loves his elephant "Miller".  If ever there is a time he is fussy and we can't figure out what is wrong, Miller is usually the answer!

 We learned about the letter "R" this week and ended with a rainbow.  

 And what better way to wake up from nap on "rainbow day" than with a huge double rainbow!  Perfect timing!

 Henry loves his jumper! 

 I love how you can see Henry smiling just from his fat cheeks! 

 Christopher was showing him all of the fun stuff you can do on that thing!

 sweet kisses

 We still watch Wheel of Fortune almost every night before bed!  Hank has even started participating.

 my boys

 I gave Christopher a beading and pattern lesson with straws and yarn.  He loved it! 

 Then I decided we would do some fine gross motor skills and  learn to spread.

 Marshmallow fluff on a graham cracker works and tastes great.

 Add a few chocolate and peanut butter morsels and...

 we have a snack!

 and a yummy one at that!

 Every day, every single day.  He destroys his room during nap and then konks out right before nap time is over.

 Henry has started joining us at the dinner table in his high chair.  Sometimes he will sleep or play, or maybe talk. 

 But mostly he sits there watching and listening.   I just can't get over how dark his eyes are.  I didn't think that both boys would inherit them from me, but I sure am glad they did!

 They were looking for helicopters

 Sitting out there talking about their days! 

I love them!

We are a craftly little family!!!

Last month I made my own colored pasta as an experiment, and I  have to say it turned out AMAZING!  I knew I wanted to have a stockpile of craft "stuff" for rainy days and times when I just couldn't get out of the house.  Well  that time came when our kitchen floor had to be replaced.  I plugged Christopher into his chair and gave him a lesson on patterns, sorting, counting and necklace making! All in all... a success!

I also had to make a dessert for my bunco group!  This was the first one I had been to in a while when I wasn't HUGE pregnant!  So I decided it was time to put some effort into it!  The theme was St. Patrick's Day so I  made rainbow cupcakes!  They turned out so awesome!  Everyone at the party thought they were regular cupcakes until they peeled them open!  For all of you asking me to show you how I did it... here you go!  Complete with help from my little monster!

Here is what you will need.  I use icing food coloring because it is VERY bright and doesn't water down the batter!

 Cupcake Monster!

 I used plastic cups to keep from dirtying so many dishes.

 Follow the recipe as per the directions and then separate evenly between the six cups.

 Start adding your coloring to the desired brightness.

For some reason I didn't take a picture of the next step, but basically I spooned a little bit of each color into each muffin cup.  REMEMBER to start with purple and work backwards or you will end up with backwards rainbows like this one.

 

 I iced them and topped each one with a golden chocolate coin.

 And VIOLA! Rainbow cupcakes!  And the were a huge hit!

Nana sent Christopher and I a set of 101 cookie cutters.  YES you read correctly.  101!!!!  We were so excited we just had to make salt dough crafts to break em in!  Christopher is really getting into helping me in the kitchen, which I LOVE!  So here you go!  I mixed the dough and rolled out the first set and then after that, I let him go to town! 

He had such a fun time!  And the good thing is, we still havent decorated them yet!  I know that sounds awful, but they were cool by the time Christopher went down for a nap so I tucked them away for a future rainy day craft! GENIUS I know!