Lovin' the great summer weather!

We have finally had a decent stint of summer weather.  The kids (and dogs) have loved being able to go outside and ride their bikes everyday, play in the grass and the dirt, splash in the pool, and run through the sprinklers.  I've even been able to spend some time relaxing in the sun, and have gotten a ton of yard work done.  I love it (the sun, anyway, not so much the yard work)! 

Pancakes

More blueberries!  This morning for breakfast I made a blueberry compote...

I made some blueberry pancakes...

... and they disappeared!  The kids were so excited that we were having breakfast with the berries they helped pick!

If you're interested, here's the recipe for the compote (I used the recipe I had for the cobbler and made some changes.)

Blueberry Compote

2 cups fresh blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

1 Tbl + 1 tsp corn starch

1/2 cup water

1 1/2 Tbl. lemon juice

2 tsp. brown sugar

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp. vanilla

*Mix sugar, corn starch, water, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a sauce pan with a wire whisk.  Cook and stir constantly over medium heat until thick and starts to bubble.  Add vanilla and blueberries.  Return to stove, and cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, until it cooks into a thick sauce (about 10 min).



Katie Quip

While I was doing Kaitlyn's hair this morning, she kept moving her head around, so I said, "Kaitlyn Michelle, hold still!". A couple of seconds later, in a sweet little voice, she said, "I'm Sissy Achelle".

At breakfast we were discussing our names...

Me: "Kaitlyn, did you know Mommy's name is Candice Michelle? You were named Kaitlyn Michelle after me."

Talon: (Not wanting to be left out) "And what about my name?"

Me: " You were named after Uncle Shade. His name is Alfred Shade, Chantry is Chantry Shade, and you are Talon Shade. Pretty cool, huh?!"

Talon: "Yeah, and Chantry Shade is my cousin."

Kaitlyn: "And Lani Shade is MY cousin!"

Then after thinking for a second about what she had just said, she giggles....

Kaitlyn: "Oops, I mean Lani Achelle is my cousin!"

Blueberries

We picked blueberries from our orchard yesterday.  The kids had so much fun helping!  We would have had a few more, but they kinda got the munchies!

So last night, Anthony searched online for a recipe, and found a really good one for blueberry crisp. We had it with vanilla ice cream. I'm not much of a blueberry fan usually, but this was really yummy!

Here's the recipe:

Blueberry Crisp

1 quart (4 cups) fresh blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbl. corn starch

1 cup water

2 Tbl. + 1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup regular oats

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup butter, melted (no substitutes!)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. Lightly grease 11x7" baking dish, and spread the blueberries in the bottom of the dish.

3. In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, water, and lemon juice; cook and stir constantly, over medium heat, until thick and clear (it will start to bubble), then stir in the vanilla.

4. Pour over, then gently stir in the cooked mixture with the blueberries.

5. In a bowl combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

6. Add the melted butter, and mix until crumbly. (I start mixing with a spoon, then finish mixing with my hands)

7. Sprinkle evenly over the top of the blueberries. (It will seem like a lot of crumble, but it will settle and mix well when baking)

8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the blueberry mixture bubbles and the topping is brown.

9. Serve with vanilla ice cream.... Enjoy!!!

(**Posted on Food.com by Kittencalskitchen)

Just a note:  Next time I make this, I will probably add 1/2 to 1 more cup of blueberries.

Hangin' out

This is how Nolan likes to hang out in his ExerSaucer... with his legs propped up on the side. 

Such a cute face!

My green thumb

My sister asked me to help her make some cake pops for their Sunday School picnic.  So, I made a bouquet of flowers.  As much as I hate to admit it, this is about as green as my thumb gets. Oh well, looking on the bright side.... at least these are edible, right?!

Then I added some bees....

For the chocolate pops, I made 'Smores'. These were super easy, and very fun!

....and some chocolate peanut butter pops. These have to be my favorite, though a little dab'll do ya.  They are so rich!

Nolan (usually) likes to sit in his high chair and play while I work in the kitchen. 

"All by myself..."

After he had gotten up from his nap, Talon hollered at me to "come look!".  When I walked in his room, this is what I found...

He said, "I made my bed all by myself!" (And was pretty pleased with himself, just in case you couldn't tell from the picture!). I told him he did a great job, to which he added... "Yep, and I'm a pretty big boy!"

Yes, Talon, you are! (~sigh!) It makes Mommy almost sad sometimes to see how fast you are growing up!

Fair Time

On Friday night, I took Talon and Kaitlyn to the Clackamas County Fair. We met up with my sisters and Grandpa and Grandma Bauer. We walked around to some of the exhibits with Aunt Melanie and our friend Andrea, then went to the Rodeo.  We met up with some more friends there, and had a great time.  It was very hot, and we didn't think Nolan would do so well in the heat and sitting through the rodeo, so Daddy stayed home with him.

Sissy got a flower balloon hat....

Bubby got a frog...

Talon was pretty intrigued by the pigs; while Kaitlyn wanted held, and kept telling us that something smelled stinky!

Mommy and the kids

Kaitlyn loved the flowers!

Me and my sissy

Melanie and Andrea

Crazy kids!

It's rodeo time!!

When the kids were getting a little tired of sitting at the rodeo, Grandpa and Grandma took them around the fair.  They got glow-in-the-dark swords.... which they thought were pretty neat!

10 months old

Is it possible? Can my little Nolan-bug be 10 months old already? Time is flying by way too fast. He is getting big, and is ON. THE. MOVE! He's still not quite crawling (not that he couldn't if he really wanted to). He keeps threatening to crawl, then just scoots around on his belly, or rolls from place to place. He's quite fast at it too, I might add!

As you will see in the picture below, he doesn't like it when he gets held up or thinks he's stuck somewhere.

... and he's off!

He just got his 3rd tooth. He now has 2 on bottom and one on top.... and chews on everything! Just look at those chompers!As far as his eating goes... he's doing better, but still has a ways to go. He'll eat almost an entire jar of baby food some days, but other days it's hit and miss. We've decided to hold off on the speech therapist for now and keep working with him on eating from a spoon. When he's really hungry he does the best. I am convinced that a good portion of his issue is his disdain for baby food. Whether it's the texture or the taste, I'm not completely sure. But I do know he doesn't care much for it. He does like his teething cookies, though. (And so do the dogs, I might add, since the floor is where the remnants end up. When they see him in his high-chair, they start hovering because they know, sooner or later, he's gonna throw something on the floor!)

So for now, we'll just keep working with him and see what happens. Like Anthony and I have thoroughly discussed... it's not like, if we don't figure this out in the next month, it'll set him back for life. Besides, he seems to be getting along just fine in the nutrition department! ;)

Nolan definitely sleeps like his daddy.... on his tummy with all the blankets kicked off. It cracks me up!

And this would be the little stinker after his nap.....

....notice his diaper is laying in the back of the crib, and his buns are quite bare!

It was a warm day, and Nolan usually sleeps pretty hot, so Anthony decided to put him down with just his shirt and diaper on. I guess we wont be trying that again anytime soon! This was one day I was so glad he's a tummy sleeper! Enough said.

One thing we know for sure... this kid is strong-willed! He hates the word "No", and 'yells' when he doesn't like something. He frequently throws his toys or spits out his pacifier when he gets mad. I think we may have our work cut out for us with this one! The older two are learning to stay out of his face. If you get too close, he'll just reach out and smack you , or bat at whatever you have in your hand. Folding laundry, cooking dinner, or doing anything even moderately productive is next to impossible while holding him. Not that he's trying to be naughty (well, most of the time, anyway), it's just what he does. We call him our little 'bruiser'. He is so much fun, though. He's very jovial and loves to be roughed up. It's hard to just sit and hold him on your lap because he's always on the move and wants to play. When he's sleepy, though, he's quite the little cuddle-bug. It melts my heart! Daddy says we're pathetic when we get all cuddly, but that's okay... they aren't little for very long, right?! All the kids are quite cuddly, and that is perfectly fine with me. I'm up for snuggles anytime!

Coffee time

When I make lattes, the kids like to have their own coffee in their special 3 oz mugs. It's mostly flavored milk, with just a splash of espresso, and they think it's pretty great!

Wordless Wednesday

Nolan's Dedication

This past Sunday, we had Nolan dedicated.

Such a handsome little guy, all dressed up in his new suit and ready for church.Papa Starr dedicated him. Grandma and Nolan.Poor Talon, trying his best to smile nice for the picture, and still hold on to his active little brother who has only one thought in mind.... "Must get down. Must get down..."Of course, we had to take a few family pictures!Hey, where did Aunt Lacey go?Oh, there she is!Sure love this little booger!!This picture turned out a bit blurry, but I just had to post it. He was just cracking up. I love it!

Daddy and Sissy.Uncle Roger and Aunt Jenny came.Our Little Nolan James,
In these short 9 months that you have been here, you have been such a blessing, and brought so much joy to our little family. You have a sweet and bubbly personality, and make us laugh constantly. You are growing fast and getting more curious by the day.
We do realize that God is the one that gave you to us. While we feel honored that He has entrusted us with your care and raising, we also don't take this responsibility lightly. We have held on to you these past 9 months, and now we give you back to Him. Our prayer is that we will be Godly examples for you to follow, and that you will grow to love God with all your heart, and live your life to glorify Him. We pray you will hold on to the truth that has been passed down to you, and that you will love the Message that the generations before you have stood strong to protect.
You are such a precious, sweet little boy, and we love you so very much.
Love,

Mommy and Daddy