Sunday Sweets

I've committed to baking a fun treat with the monkeys each Sunday between Thanksgiving and New Years. They LOVE baking activities but with me being so busy with work, we aren't able do it as often as they'd like. There's nothin' like a little lovin' from the oven to foster closeness and assuage maternal guilt, right;) This week, we did sugar cookies. I am super proud of myself because I made the dough myself! From scratch! My cousin had to bring over 90% of the ingredients because I didn't have them but never mind that. No pictures of the finished product, though. They(along with Dan and I) gobbled them up before I remembered. Next week, we'll attempt the pre-fab gingerbread house. Yes, pre-fab. I'm not turning completely domestic.

Thanksgiving

I hosted my very first Thanksgiving this year! However, it was more of a "Thanksgiving Light" because only my mom came and she roasted the turkey. Dan and I made almost all of the sides and I even baked a frozen apple pie=) Since I was the hostess, there aren't any pictures from the actual meal but here are some cute shots from the park we took them to while the turkey was cooking and Dan was watching football. This was the very first time Callie got to actually play at the park. Now that she's an expert walker and climber, she had a blast. It was incredibly exhausting, though!

One More Reason To Love Mimi's House

Wood laminate floors mean you can ride your bike inside=)

16 Months!

Holy Guacamole. I can't believe how fast this last month has gone by! I have been working a lot and it just sucks the time right up. Callie has had a pretty chill month. We've noticed some new words and gestures(nodding yes/shaking head no, waving at appropriate times while saying hello or goodbye) and my all-time favorite is when she says "Thank-you!". She says it when you hand her things AND when she hands you things. "Here you go. Thank-you" but she says it in gibberish that mainly I understand;) I'll spare you the cutesy phonetic spelling! Another completely adorable thing she does is blow on her food when you place it before her! She's basically all-around darling lately. Dan has been caring for her much more while I'm at work and you can definitely see them building a bond. He gets an almost equal amount of hugs and kisses now;) She loves to say, "Hi dada!". So much so that she often says it to ME, too. I still only get called 'Mama' when she's crying or wants my attention. We're looking forward to lots more growth in her language now that she's an expert walker, climber and dancer;)


I love this picture because she looks like a baby still=)

How can she look like such a toddler in this shot, though?

Plotting ways to make me crazy;)

Emily wanted in on this photo session, too=) Do you like her outfit? It almost matches!

Mac N Cheese

Callie looks so much like me, it's easy to wonder if she's really related to Dan at all. That's until you watch this girl take out a serving of mac n cheese. The only other person I know who adores this boxed macaroni meal as much as Dan is Callie.


She LOVES it!

Like, "Lick your plate clean" loves it.

Now that's what I call a "cheesy grin"...and a cheesy joke;)

Mama's New Glasses

I just got some new glasses and Emily and Callie have been loving being able to try them on. For the record, letting Ben and Emily try on the old pair is the very reason I needed some new ones;) Let's see how long this pair lasts!

Halloween

We spent Halloween with Ben's preschool friends for the third year in a row. We had a lovely little party before trick-or-treating and then took the kids around the neighborhood. They all made out like bandits and the candy was eaten before the week was up=) Dan and I may or may not have helped them.