Ean......5 1/2 Months....

He is still the sweetest little thing!!! Always smiling!!! Too cute and so snuggly!!! I am just saying!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Our Thanksgiving cooking has begun!!! Emily was right by my side today as well went through our list of items to prepare. We made cornbread and cut up celery and onions for the dressing. We made a fudge pie....and Emily rolled out her first ever pie crust. We made the dough for our cloverleaf rolls. We also made cupcakes and the kids made them into these cute little turkeys. They enjoyed making them so much they asked if we could make them every year.

Tomorrow our dinner menu will look like this:

Chicken and Dressing

Mashed Potatoes

Gravy

Green Beans

Carrot Souffle

Rolls

Cranberry Sauce

Pumpkin Pie

Fudge Pie

Turkey Cupcakes

Sounds yummy to me!!! We pray your day is lovely as well!!!

Homemade Applesauce.....

A little over a week ago on a beautiful Sunday afternoon....we loaded up and headed to a local apple orchard. The kids enjoyed eating apple cider slushies...and I could hardly wait to get home and make applesauce! I chose Golden Delicious apples because when I use these....I never have to add any sugar. Here's the recipe....and it can be doubled.

Homemade Applesauce

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (more if you'd like)

Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a pan. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for about 15 minutes. Stir often to make sure you are not running out of water too soon. When most of the water is gone and the apples are soft, remove from heat. Let cool a few minutes. Then process in a blender or food processor until smooth.....or mash with a potato masher if you want it chunky. Delicious!!!! It will store well in the refrigerator for a couple of days....but I doubt it will last that long!!!!

Birthday Boy.....Ethan!

Turning 4 is a lot of fun...says Ethan. He had a birthday this past Saturday. We usually purchase a few gifts for the birthday child, make their favorite meal for dinner and make their choice of yummy cake. However, this year we decided to take Ethan to his favorite toy store and let him pick out his own gifts. His favorite store has scads and scads of Thomas the Tank train stuff and wooden toys. And the highlight of the store visit is the huge interactive working train set up for the kids. Ok, it's fun for the adults too!!!

So, we visited the toy shop. Had one of his favorite dinners: bean burgers and homemade french fries and fruit.

And I made him the cake that he wanted: chocolate cake with cream cheese icing (to simulate snow) with (parts of) Lofty from Bob the Builder on top. That is plastic wrap you see underneath Lofty.....so that I didn't have to spend hours cleaning him up afterwards!

So there you go...the perfect equation for a little boy's birthday::

Toy store+dinner+cake=Perfect way to welcome in a fresh new year!!!! Ethan thinks so anyway!!!

What To Do?????

It seems that when any child is bored around here they quickly turn their attention toward finding a camera. Then they proceed to take pictures of whatever they find.

On this particular day Elisabeth actually did find the camera and proceeded to take pictures of Ean sitting in his swing. (side note: We have had this swing since before Emily was born....10 years!!!! I'd say it has been worth its money!!!)

Everyone needs a hobby...and I'd say Elisabeth did a pretty good job. In this picture Ean is 17 weeks and about 17 lbs. He is such a happy baby and a joy to be around.

A Visit From Flat Stanley......

We have had the pleasure of hosting a "Flat Stanley" for the daughter of a friend of mine. We have had so much fun taking him around our area and snapping photos!!!

He even got to ride on this gorgeous carousel....and my little ones did too. They love this carousel and beg to ride on it all the time!!! I am going to be packing him up soon with his journal, postcards from our area, and a handful of photos documenting his visit with us. We would love to host another "Flat Stanley" if anyone is interested. Just let me know......

16 Weeks Today!!!!

He looks a little green because of the reflection from his carseat.........but he sure is a cutie!!!!!