Flashback Friday: Fun Times & First Shoes
Sweet girls – Brina and Karlie
Today’s Flashback Friday goes back to when the girls were 7 months old. They are growing and changing so quickly. It doesn’t take much to make them smile. They love hanging out with family and friends. A new experience was trying on and attempting to stand in shoes this month. They were not too sure about what to think about having shoes on their feet, but decided since Mommy and Daddy thought it was fun and exciting that it must be a good thing. Their little giggles make our days so much sweeter.
Being goofy – Brina and Karlie
Brina and Karlie hanging out together
Brina and Karlie talking with each other. Love hearing them gibber jabber and giggle.
Brina LOVES the “Johnny Jump Up”! She will literally jump and spin around until she crashes. It is hard keeping toys on the tray for her because she is always moving. She is all smiles when she is playing in it.
Brina hanging out with Uncle Mike
Brina laughing at her silly Daddy
Jake clipping Karlie’s toenails. Clipping nails made me so nervous so Jake was delegated to do that task for the kids the first few times. Karlie thought it was hilarious having her toenails trimmed.
Two sleepy babies in a pile. Brina sucking on her middle fingers and Karlie sucking on her thumb.
Karlie having fun playing
Brina pulling on her ear….hopefully she is just playing not another ear infection. You never knew when she had an ear infection because she typically did not run a fever with an ear infection. She still looking happy so that’s a good thing!
Karlie looks cute in this little “puppy” shirt. She didn’t mind having the hood up.
Brina trying out her new shoes and all smiles
Look Brina’s standing on her own. Way to go Brina Bee
Daddy and Brina talking
Karlie a little unsure about these things on her feet….not quite certain that she likes them yet.
Karlie – “Hey look what I can do Mom with these new shoes!”
Oh no, Karlie’s getting a little off balance. Hurry Dad and catch her before she hits the ground!
Karlie relaxing and content with life
Brina originally started covering her eyes with her opposite arm to block out the sunlight or light in the room when she wanted to go to sleep while sucking on her middle fingers of her other hand. This habit continued for longer than we preferred, but we did finally break her of the finger sucking and eyes covering habit.
Karlie hanging out with Daddy
One…two…three…tackle Brina (who was hysterically laughing at this new game).
Brina loves having fun with Daddy! She always giggled when he held her up in the air.
Karlie loves playing with toys and making them sing
Love walking into their bedroom first thing in the morning and seeing these to smiling faces looking back at me. Glad that they are happy babies that are always excited to see us.
Flashback Friday: First Summer
Brina completely folded in half and sleeping
This flashback Friday bounces us back to June 2005. The girls first summer! They were continuing to grow. It was amazing to see them start to learn more and change. They still could go to sleep in the most unusual (and what looked like uncomfortable) positions. Their smiles and little giggles made our days so much brighter. They put up with our silliness as parents and we had a lot of fun learning together.
We were home for the majority of the month of June. At their regular Doctors appointment they were growing and looking healthy, however, on Brina’s apnea monitor her heart rate was showing unusually high numbers so we had to go into a specialists office to get her hooked up to an EKG. We also had to bring her home on a portable EKG for a couple days to see if there were any complications. Thankfully she was fine, she just has a faster heartbeat than other kids at her age.
Karlie was our thumb sucker. She is enjoying her thumb as she falls asleep.
Snuggle bugs
Looks like mischief!
Karlie giggling as she attacks Tigger!
Karlie fast asleep with a decorative gift bow on her forehead…..she has no idea!
Love seeing those pudgy cheeks!
Brina having the EKG test done. She is not very happy with us right now.
Back home with all the EKG wires attached to her. She was more content once we were back home and didn’t seem to mind the extra wires until we pulled them off 2 days later and she had a bunch of red spots all over her belly.
Hanging out!
Silly ducks….Brina – “What are you guys looking at?” while Karlie snoozes away completely unaware of the duck on her head.
Karlie tolerated our silliness. As long as she was fed, changed, and got to play she was a happy baby.
Look at that cute milk belly! Such a huge change since her surgery the month before when she couldn’t keep anything down. Thankful for the doctors and a healthy baby.
Brina is excited about picking out gifts in the Cheaper Than Dirt Catalog…..makes Daddy so proud!
Brina showing off her fancy “pant” hat. She is not very impressed.
Karlie is not overly excited by her hat either. She is ready for her nap!
Happy Brina Bee!
Dear Mom…
Dear Mom,
I love you Mom! Can you read to us? Skipper loved her bone. As I write this letter Skipper is looking at me. Can you play with me Mommy? I love to play. It is cold outside. I had a fun day. Love, Brina
I found this letter and picture one morning from my sweet Brina. These little gestures from my family makes my heart want to burst. Not every day is perfect or easy as a parent so seeing these sweet letters totally make my day brighter! In case your wondering, yes we read, played, and had fun together that day. Love my family!
Kind Words Are Like…
A Sweet Surprise!
The other day I was inside cleaning the house while the girls were outside playing when the door bell rang. I went to the front door and there was Karlie standing on the front porch with a huge bouquet of wildflowers and a cute smile. She had went around the yard gathering all the blooming weeds in the yard and picked them for me. Thankful for my girls, their generosity, and thoughtfulness.
Large vase full of wildflowers picked with love from Karlie
Beautiful wildflowers picked with love from my sweet girl
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!
Celebrate love and cherish the memories on this special day!
Wishing you a sweet day full of fun with the ones you love!
Happy Valentine’s Day!!!!
Photo by Ellie
Recipe: Sour Spiral Cookies
Here was a fun recipe we made during our Christmas Baking Day on Saturday. It was a good one to do in between recipes because several steps required some time in the refrigerator. Although it does not take up a huge amount of room you’ll need space in your fridge and freezer to complete this recipe. I doubled the batch so the cookies came out pretty big but they were a huge hit with everyone. This was my favorite recipe that we made from Favorite Brand Name: Cooking for Kids, Kids’ Party Food on our Saturday baking day because it was unique and tasty. I made my cookies with red and green spirals for the Christmas Holidays but you can do any two flavors of gelatin. These are colorful, fun, and have a mix of sweet and sour all mixed into one delicious cookie.Sour Spiral Cookies
- 1 package (18 ounces) refrigerated Sugar Cookie Dough (Here is our recipe for Sugar Cookie Dough if you need one)
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons Lime flavored Gelatin (original recipe called for Blue Raspberry, I did Lime for the Christmas Holiday, however you can do any flavor)
- 1/4 teaspoon Gel Green Food Coloring (match the color your gelatin mixture)
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons Strawberry flavored Gelatin
- 1/4 teaspoon Gel Red Food Coloring
- All Purpose Flour
1. Remove dough from wrapper; divide in half. Reserve 1 dough half. Place remaining dough half in large bowl. Let dough stand about 10 minutes. Add lime flavored gelatin and green food coloring to dough in bowl; beat at medium speed until well blended and evenly colored. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Combine reserved dough half, strawberry flavored gelatin and red food coloring in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until well blended and evenly colored. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; refrigerate 1 hour.
3. Roll green dough to a 10×6 rectangle on lightly floured waxed paper using lightly floured rolling pin. Repeat with red dough. Refrigerate both dough rectangles 1o minutes.
4. Place green dough rectangle over red dough. Remove waxed paper from green dough. Starting at 10 inch side, roll up jelly-roll fashion into tight log. Wrap in plastic; freeze 30 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease cookie sheets. Cut log into 1/4 inch slices. Place on prepared cookie sheets. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until cookies are firm. (Do not let cookies brown.) Cool on cookie sheets 2 to 3 minutes. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.
Makes about 2 1/2 dozen cookies. I doubled my batch of cookies since we were sharing them with family, friends, and neighbors. It is a great cookie to make while you are doing other baking since it has time in the fridge and freezer. The girls helped me make this one a little bit but with all the steps they will need to be older before doing this one on their own. These cookies were a hit with my kids.
Recipe: Monkey Bread
Perfect recipe to share at parties. It has an amazing sweet taste especially when it is still warm from cooking. Delicious! I have adopted this Monkey Bread recipe which given to me at my bridal shower from Charlene.
- 2 cans of Biscuits
- 1 stick of Butter
- 1 cup Brown Sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of Cinnamon
- 5 tablespoons of Water
- Optional – 1/2 cup of Coconut & 1/2 cup of Chopped Pecans
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bundt pan. Optional: sprinkle coconut and chopped pecans in the bottom of the pan. Mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut individual biscuits into quarters. Roll biscuits in the cinnamon and brown sugar mixture. Place into bundt pan. Mix butter, remaining brown sugar, and water in a pot, bring to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling remove from heat and pour over biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes then turn out onto a serving dish.
Thanksgiving Recipe: Hugs & Kisses Cheesecake
The best for last…..yes dessert! I love dessert, pretty much any type of sweet is good with me! I started making this chocolate chip cheesecake about 10 years ago. Not sure where we got the recipe from but it has been a hit at many events. If you are looking for something delicious but different for the Thanksgiving dessert try this one out.
Hugs & Kisses Cheesecake:
- 2 – (3 ounce) packages of Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 (14 ounce) can of Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 Egg
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 cup mini Chocolate Chips
- 1 teaspoon Flour
- 1 prepared Chocolate Graham Cracker Crust (8 or 9 inch) OR make your own with 2 cups of Oreo Cookies and a tablespoon of melted butter.
- Hershey’s Hugs & Kisses (optional on top as decorations)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix cream cheese until fluffy; slowly beat in the Sweetened Condensed Milk until smooth. Add egg and vanilla and mix well.
Toss chocolate chips with flour and stir into cream cheese mixture. Pour into the crust.
Bake for 35 minutes or until the center springs back when lightly touched. Cool completely.
Optional – Chocolate Glaze: Heat 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips and 1/4 cup whipping cream in a saucepan over low heat. Stir until thickened and smooth. Immediately spread over cooled cheesecake.
Optional – Decorate the edges of the cheesecake with chocolate shavings and / or Hershey’s Hugs & Kisses.
Once complete refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve chilled.
Picture courtesy of Tastebook!
Recipe: Caramel Party Mix (Gluten Free Snack)
In a conversation recently I realized that we have several acquaintances that have various food allergies. A couple years ago my friend Ashley made this recipe for a Christmas gift and it was delicious. With the Holidays and parties quickly approaching this is a great recipe for those who have a Gluten Free diet. It has only 5 ingredients and easy to make.
Caramel Party Mix
- 2 sticks of Butter
- 2 cups of Brown Sugar
- 1/2 cup of Kairo Syrup
- 1 teaspoon of Baking Soda
- 1 box of Corn (or Rice) Chex Cereal (you can use the off brands too)
Put the whole box of cereal in a microwavable bowl. Bring the butter, brown sugar, and kairo syrup to a boil. Boil for one minute. Make sure to stir constantly when boiling so it doesn’t burn. After boiling for 1 minute add the baking soda. Pour the mixture over the box of Corn (or Rice) cereal. Microwave everything 1 1/2 minutes, take it out, stir, and microwave again. Do this step 3 times. It will evenly distribute the mixture and coat the cereal. Lay the mix out on wax paper or the counter and let set.
Optional: You can add pretzels, pecans, almonds, cranberries or whatever you want to the mix. (If you want it to remain gluten free do not add pretzel as pictured above, however, you can add nuts if they do not have any nut allergies)
My husband loves this plain without any extras in it. When we have it at a party it goes quickly. If you are looking to for another delicious Party Mix recipe to give away as a gift or share at a party check out Ashley’s Recipe for Puppy Chow! It is another one our family favorites!
