Christmas is Coming!

I am looking forward to Christmas this year more than I normally do because Erik is so excited about it! We have been reading books to him about baby Jesus' birthday and letting him watch some veggie tales Christmas movies. Today, we started putting up Christmas lights outside. He was so excited about it he was jumping up and down. It is so cute!!

I am not exactly sure what else we will do but I did buy a countdown to Christmas bible story book. It has a small project for you to do everyday starting December 1st. He loves doing crafts so I think he will like that.

We are also going to try to go to a tree farm and cut down our own Christmas tree. I am excited about that! It is still November though so one more week before it is really sane to start thinking about Christmas.

Here is a cute photo of Erik helping Victor put the lights on the trees in the front of our house. Does anything strike you as odd?

Busy Baby

Lainey has changed so much in the past week! She is now a pro at rolling over and rolls all over the place to try and get things. She isn't very graceful and often knocks her head on the ground while rolling but it doesn't seem to bother her at all. She also started "army -crawling" yesterday -- in hot pursuit of my Diet Coke! :) She also knows how to move around in a 360 degree circle following bait -- diet coke or shiny toys.

10 days ago all she could do was roll from back to front. What a busy week!

All that hard work must have been tiring. She has been sleeping in her car seat for over 2 hours. Normally she only naps for 45 minutes at a time.

Commander Chen

Victor was promoted to Commander in June. This post is 5 months overdue but the morning of the ceremony my brain wasn't working and I forgot to charge our camera. So the battery was dead -- the woman who took pictures on her camera didn't get us the photos until this week! I am glad to finally have them.

The promotion ceremony took place in the office of Sean Stackley, assistant secretary of the Navy, who overseas research, development, and acquisition. Mr. Stackley gave a quick speech honoring Victor and thanking him for his service. Mr. Stackley and I did the pinning.

Congrats Victor! We are proud of your hard work (although I sure wish they didn't need you there so many hours a week)!

Erik attended the ceremony too and was relatively well behaved.
Elaina was born one week later -- so I am a little over 36 weeks pregnant in this photo.
I think I looked pretty good -- except for the poor choice of tights.
Oh well!

My Loves

Daddy Daycare

Victor "watched" the kids this afternoon while I went and got my hair cut and highlighted. I also ran a few errands. He was in charge for about five hours. I came home all happy and chipper. First, I greeted my precious baby girl.....

I said hi to Erik too but he didn't come over by me. Lainey was hungry so I sat down to feed her. A couple minutes later Erik came over to say hi. He was very excited to tell me, " Mommy, I stamped!"

So upon arrival home my son was naked and full of stamps. He went upstairs to get a bath. When I followed them up the steps I discovered that he also had free access to a hammer (a real one) and scissors. Thankfully, he hadn't discovered them yet. Ha!! He sure had a good time!

5 Months Old

Sweet baby girl,

I can hardly believe you are already 5 months old! Time is going by so quickly! Here is what you are doing at five months....

Sleeping:

You are a little champ. We stopped swaddling you this week and you have done great. You go to bed around 7 pm and get up for the day between 6 and 7 am. I am still feeding you once a night, usually around 3 or 4. You used to get up twice but seem to have dropped a feeding a week ago or so.

Napping is a little more challenging. Most of your naps are in the swing (it is off but you still like to be in it) or while I am carrying you in the ergo. I know you will figure out napping in the crib soon so I am trying to enjoy carrying you around even if it means the house is a mess.

Eating:

You are nursing every 2-3 hours during the day. I just feed you on demand. You are growing well. We left you with my mom and Cyndy for 3 1/2 days -- you took bottles of pumped breast milk without a problem for them. When they fed you, you were taking 30-35 ounces a day.

You seem very interested in eating. At dinner time you screech and screech at me because you want my food. It is cute! Because of this we are going to officially start you on solids soon. You have had a bite or two of rice cereal a couple of times and seem to like it. I waited until 6 months with Erik but he never seemed to care about eating. You grab at my spoon and plate and yell/screech at me throughout dinnertime -- pretty cute!

Personality:

I feel like I am getting to know you better now. You are a very calm, easy baby. You like to be talked to and played with. You love playing with your toys and are very intense about it! It is cute to watch because you seem to concentrate so hard on what you are doing. You love attention and are very chatty with us. You do not like to be cuddled at all -- if I am holding you close you try to squirm away from me. You do like to be held though but I think it is more so you can see what is going on and be a part of everything. This is different from Erik who has always been very cuddly and still really seems to need a lot of physical touch (sitting in our laps, hugs, kisses, carrying) throughout the day. I am guessing that you will be a little more social and spirited than Erik. We will see. It is fun to see your little personality emerge!

Physical development:

You can roll from your back to your front now. I still haven't seen you roll from front to back unless you are on a bed -- which is cheating! You can sit, supporting yourself with your arms, for a short time. You aren't really mobile but you do move around a lot -- getting yourself around in a circle on the play mat and in your crib.

You are a sweet baby girl and we are so thankful that you are part of our family!

Love,

Mommy

Girl Talk

Elaina and Abbie talking about the cute boys!
They have plenty to choose from... Liam, Sean, Cullen, James, and Erik

World's Best Cookies!

It has been raining for 2 days straight here. Yuck! Thankfully, Victor was home yesterday (Veteran's Day) so I was able to get out of the house a little bit. We were inside all day today though so Erik and I made some awesome cookies! I got the recipe off of the King Arthur flour website and adjusted it slightly based on the ingredients I had in our house. They were so good I ate four, or maybe even five (I lost count). Erik had three (he was only supposed to have two but he and Sean stole some from the cookie jar before I noticed)!

Sean Cunningham
aka Food Critic (Cookie thief)

CLASSIC CRUNCHY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1/4 cup (1/2 stick, 2 ounces) unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups King Arthur flour
1 1/2 cups of ghiradelli 60% chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. In a large bowl, beat together the butter, oil, sugars, vanilla, espresso powder, and salt till smooth. Beat in the vinegar, egg, baking soda, and baking powder. Stir in the flour, then the chocolate chips. The dough will appear oily, and because of the quantity of chocolate chips, it won't be completely cohesive; that's OK.

Drop the dough, by tablespoonfuls, onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 12-13 minutes, until the cookies are an even golden brown. Remove from the oven, and allow to cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to cool completely. Yield: 33 cookies.

Enjoy!!

You may need to suck in when trying on your jeans the next day. Oh well, they were worth it!

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff

I never used to like beef stroganoff but this recipe is really good and easy too!

Ingredients....

1 1/2 pounds cubed beef stew meat (trader joe's has 94% lean stew meat)
1 onion
2 cans of condensed GOLDEN mushroom soup
1-2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 container of chopped up mushrooms
garlic to taste
1/2 packet of onion soup mix
1/2-1 cup of water
4 ounces of low fat cream cheese
1/2 cup of low fat sour cream

Mix everything together (except for the cheeses). Cook on high in the slow cooker for 5 hours. Stir every hour or two. Add the cream cheese and sour cream for about the last 20 minutes.

Serve over egg noodles.

Erik really likes this especially if I serve it with corn on the cob (which is still available at Trader Joe's).

Enjoy!

26 months

Hi Sweet Boy --

You are 26 months old today! You have changed so much in the past couple of months. You are learning quickly. Here are a few of you new skills...

1- Colors --
You get them right all the time now. Up until a month ago you used to tell us everything was red.
2- Counting --
You can count to 11 although you usually skip the number 2 and will not count on demand.
3- Alphabet --
I have heard you singing the alphabet a number of times. You skip some letters but are getting better at it. You are interested in letters and sometimes when we are driving you will tell me, " Mommy, that truck has letters on it." You spell your name ERK when I ask but you can't write out any letters. You don't recognize all the letters yet but I am guessing you will soon.
4 - Speech --
You talk a lot. You tell me stories and "jokes" throughout the day. You like to be silly and want mommy and daddy to do silly things too. You are starting to speak with more advanced sentences. The other day at breakfast you told me, " Mommy, I like my eggs." I was impressed that you used the pronouns I and my correctly.
5- Shapes --
You know all the basic shapes and point them out when you see things of a certain shape throughout the day.

I can also tell you are getting older because you act more like a little boy than a baby. You love school and walk into the classroom with confidence now. When I pick you up you often say, " I go to more school, Mommy!"

With that increased self-confidence you have also been more vocal regarding your desires. By this I mean that temper tantrums, whining, and complaining are almost everyday occurences. Sometimes, you respond well to me calmly talking to you other times it seems to help if you get a time out. Sometimes you really seem to just need to be held so I have been carrying you in the ergo more frequently again (you have always been cuddly and seem to crave one-on-one attention and snuggles). Sometimes nothing I do seems to help you out of a tantrum.

You are still a little timid at first around people. You usually hang on my leg for 5-10 minutes before running off to play. You like other kids and ask to see your friends often. You are able to stand up for your self more now in a social setting and no longer let kids just take things from you. We will have to work on sharing soon I am sure.

You love your sister and are still excited to see her every morning. It is so sweet! You want Lainey to be able to play with you. She will soon and then we will see if you are still excited about it.

You also love, love, love your daddy right now. You want to go to work with him and miss him through out the day. You want to be just like him -- try to pee standing up, walk with your hands in your pockets, etc. It is cute. I feel bad for you that daddy is done for 12 + hours everyday and am not sure how to help you with that. When you get up in the morning Victor is gone already. You frequently ask, " When is daddy coming back?" I have to say -- "Daddy will be back to put you to bed -- I hate that! Your daddy loves you too though and tries to spend as much time with you as possible when he is home. He is working hard to provide for our family!

You are diaper-less now except for nighttime and school. You frequently go throughout the day without an accident but it requires a lot of cueing from me. You are getting better at holding it and can go 2-3 hours without using the bathroom now which is helpful if we need to go somewhere. You poop on the potty without a problem which I am thankful for!


You are a funny, kind, active, sweet little boy! I am so happy to have been your mommy for the past 26 months!

You're Gonna Miss This

I have been feeling frustrated with Erik's behavior recently. He is a wonderful, sweet boy but he has spent more time whining and complaining recently than he usually does. I find it easier to feel less frustrated with this behavior when I remind myself that this is all temporary and my babies will only be little for a short time so I need to enjoy it, even when they are throwing tantrums.

The songs on the play list I added reflect this sentiment. I am not necessarily a huge country fan but they do have some good song lyrics. Enjoy!

Halloween Grandma Kay and Aunt Cyndy Style

Cute 2 year old kids all dressed up for the school parade.
From L-R: Travis, Erik, Ethan, Aje, Celia, Lilly, Jolina, Jessi

A close up...

Don't they all look happy?!
Erik talks about playing with Lilly and Travis consistently
when I ask him what he did at school.
I wish I could be a little fly on the wall.

Pizza Party at the neighborhood clubhouse prior to trick-or-treating.
Erik loves pizza (we don't have it often so he gets excited about it).

Erik and Grandma Kay ready to hand out candy.
Erik is finally smiling in his cow costume.

Carving pumpkins with Grandma.
He was excited to show these to Victor and me when we got home.

Lainey high from all the candy!
Go to sleep baby. :)

A good time was had by all.

Sour Cream Pumpkin Bundt Cake

This cake is so good!! I am embarrassed to admit how much of it I ate today. Enjoy!


Ingredients

• STREUSEL
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 2 teaspoons butter or margarine
• CAKE
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 container (8 oz.) sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• GLAZE (recipe below)

conversion calculator

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 350° F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan.

FOR STREUSEL:
COMBINE brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice in small bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture is crumbly.

FOR BATTER:
COMBINE flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat granulated sugar and butter in large mixer bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla extract; mix well. Gradually beat in flour mixture.

TO ASSEMBLE:
SPOON half of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle Streusel over batter, not allowing Streusel to touch sides of pan. Top with remaining batter. Make sure batter layer touches edges of pan.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes in pan on wire rack. Invert onto wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle with Glaze.

FOR GLAZE:
COMBINE 1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar and 2 to 3 tablespoons orange juice or milk in small bowl; stir until smooth.

Hungry?

Halloween Playgroup Style

Look at this cute group of 2 year olds!
Katie, Cullen, James, Erik, and Sean (from L-R)

So good at posing/standing still for the pictures!

The two year old kids posed so the babies should be a breeze, right?
Liam (6 months), Abbie (7 months), Lainey (4 1/2 months), Hannah (7 months)


This is SO much work!


Where are you going duck?

Okay -- we will sit still but good luck getting us to look at the camera.

Liam, you are just a show off! :)

Lainey's First Haircut

All ready for her first haircut!

She did great. No tears even when he brought out the buzzer!

No more turkey hair. It still sticks up but at least now it is only 1/2 inch long and by the time it gets long and crazy the rest of the hair on her head should have caught up.

Lainey got her first haircut at 4 1/2 months. Erik got his first trim at 7 weeks.

Snip Snip

Turkey hair, faux hawk, stick up hair. No matter what you call it, it is just plain bad. You can blame your Dad for your stick up hair Lainey. Take a good look at it because this is the last time you are going to see it. Lainey is going in for her first haircut/buzz today. Hopefully, she will look like a normal baby with cute peach fuzz all over her head after today's trip to Cartoon Cuts. We will see -- I will post an new photo when we get back.

Weekend Retreat!

Victor and I were blessed to be able to get away for a few days by ourselves. My mom and aunt Cyndy came to watch the kids for us. We were gone for 4 days and 3 nights. I was nervous to leave them that long but confident that a neonatal nurse and kindergarten teacher could keep them safe for me.

Victor and I stayed at the Homestead resort in the mountains of Virginia. It was beautiful! Our weekend was spent hiking, dancing, eating, talking, at the spa, reading, sleeping, etc. We realized it had been at least 3 years since we had taken a true vacation by ourselves. Too long!

Swimming in the natural hot springs (approximately 100 degrees)

Dressed up for dinner and dancing
A trio (bass, drums, and piano) played from 7 pm to 10pm at dinner each night.
They were wonderful! We danced all night long.
It was fun because the next day people would comment to us about our dancing.
We are really not that great of dancers but we look good to people who don't know how to dance.

The kids had fun while we were gone. Erik went to school one morning, gym class, trick-or-treating, carved pumpkins, made cookies, potty trained, etc. Lainey smiled, cooed, spit bubbles, rolled over, flirted, and drank lots of milk!

Lainey with aunt Cyndy

We were happy to see the kids when we got back and thankful that they had such a great time while we were gone. I will try to post some photos of the kids adventures but I have to get them from Grandma Kay first.