fire fest

A couple of weeks ago we took E to Fire Fest.  It was hot, but we had a lot of fun.

 

of course the first thing we did was dance!  

there was some loud music playing and E went to town

 then danced with Aunt C

 

we got to see them put out some fires

the brothers

it was way hotter than it should be in October

 played on fire trucks of course

hanging out and eating lunch 

 and no one better try to take a bite of my sandwich :)

In other news: he has started walking around with his hands in his pockets - it looks so funny and grown-up for some reason.  He is talking A LOT - but mostly the same words over and over. :)  Here's an example of a typical conversation with him in the car.  "zoe zoe zoe zoe zoe zoe.....  ooooh truck, whoa truck truck, dada truck, mama?, zoe zoe zoe, truck truck, fish,  mama shoes?, truck, dada dada mama dada, hi hi, hi truck.

surprise face

this is the best one we've been able to capture so far...

picture update

Hitting trees with sticks again

 Wearing dada's shoes, trying to sneak outside

 Riding his rocket while holding two trucks.  That takes talent.  He's also making his surprise face which is his new favorite.  Sometimes its for good surprises and sometimes for bad (like not getting to do what he wants).  Hard not to laugh at it all the time.

Cutest. thing. ever.  The bathrobe is definitely on the list of best purchases.  He loves it. 

oooey

 B gave Zoe a haircut last weekend, and all of a sudden E is paying much more attention to her.  He chases her and tries to play with her, and a few days ago starting saying her name.  A lot of the time it sounds like 'oooey', sometimes 'zooey'.  It's so cute.  

 

Today he even started saying a couple of phrases.  "Dada's shoes", and Dada's truck".  This is big news for us in the verbal department!  :)  He is also loving piggy-back rides and getting more adventurous every day!

what's new

September was a little crazy!  We had a lot going on and weren't very good about blogging.  Here's to a new month!  We took E on his first flight to go visit Aunt C and Uncle L.  We wanted to see their new house and Uncle L just got back from his tour of duty.  And E did great!  Of course the flight was only 45  minutes long, so the airport was actually harder than the flight. :)   And we took some family pictures - they turned out super cute - more to come!

E man is getting so smart!  He works our phones and the ipad like an expert, and is really starting to understand and actually follow instructions.  He thinks it hilarious to swat at bugs, and still loves playing in trucks/cars.  He's starting to mimic everything - especially everything Dada does.  He loves listening for planes and helicopters and pointing to them.  The weather is so nice so we're trying out lots of new parks.  Sometimes in big groups he gets really shy, and sometimes he gets very energized.  He still likes Elmo, but our new favorite is Wonder Pets.  He   likes waving at strangers, and of course still reading lots of books.

sweet tooth

here are a couple of desserts that I have made lately and gotten good feedback on.  one is semi-healthy and one is not. :)  I'm sure you can figure out which is which. 

Sopapilla Cheesecake 

 Ingredients

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon Mexican vanilla extract
• 2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey 

Directions   

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Prepare a 9x13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.  Beat the cream cheese with 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla extract in a bowl until smooth. 

Unroll the cans of crescent roll dough, and use a rolling pin to shape each piece into 9x13 inch rectangles. Press one piece into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Evenly spread the cream cheese mixture into the baking dish, then cover with the remaining piece of crescent dough. Stir together 3/4 cup of sugar, cinnamon, and butter. Dot the mixture over the top of the cheesecake. 

Bake in the preheated oven until the crescent dough has puffed and turned golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and drizzle with honey. Cool completely in the pan before cutting into 12 squares.  (from allrecipes.com) 

 

 Oatmeal Cookies

(I don't have a picture) :(

Ingredients 

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped  (I have just used dark chocolate chips)

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350°. Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, and add brown sugar; stir until smooth. Combine all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, baking soda, oats, and salt in a medium bowl. Combine butter mixture with the dry ingredients, and add egg and vanilla extract. Fold in walnuts and bittersweet chocolate. Mix well, and spoon by tablespoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheets. Bake for 12 minutes or until tops are dry to the touch.

*I add a little milk if the dough seems too dry. (my brother sent me this recipe from health.com - and they're so good!)