A little Emeril

Brayden ready to help me in the kitchen

Brayden loves to help in the kitchen. I try to let him help me when possible even though it might slow things down for me. I want him to know his way around the kitchen as he grows up and I know letting him help me is the only way to achieve that. Plus, it's fun! He's actually very patient in the kitchen, so maybe I can learn a few things from him as well:) Today we made cupcakes for the MOPS carnival tomorrow. It was something fun to do together. I've been having a hard time with his energy level lately. It seems like as soon as he turned 3, he turned into crazy man:) I'm finding out that if spend a little one-on-one time with him throughout the day, he doesn't need as much attention. So, this was a great project to do while Peyton was taking her morning nap.

Yummy!

He put all of those sprinkles on one by one:)

6 Years...

Us hanging out at the concert

Travis and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary on Sunday. We started out the weekend with a fancy dinner at Marzano's. If you have never been there, you need to go! It's the best Italian food around and always yummy. That is our favorite special spot to celebrate life together. Then we drove down to Portland after church on Sunday with the kids and Travis' mom in tow. She came with us so we could go out Sunday night and she could stay with the kids at the hotel (Thanks again Linde). We went to go see the "So you think you can dance" tour! It was so fun! Some may laugh at this, but really it's one of our favorite shows and how cool to see it live. The show was fantastic and we hated for it to finish. That was a great anniversary present to each other, along with See's Candy (because the traditional gift with 6 years is sugar:). We both said we can't believe it's already been 6 years but we are so much more in love today then the day we said "I do." God knew exactly what he was doing when he brought Travis and I together. Travis, I can't wait to see what God has in store another six years. I love you babe!

All of the dancers

Chelsea and Marc holding a briefcase. For those that know this show, this one was awesome!!

Ponies and Monsters

Peyton's hair is now long enough for two ponies! How cute! She turns 8 months today and is almost crawling. She is a very content and happy baby. Her new likes are cuddling, playing with Brayden's toys, and saying "ma-ma, and da-da."

On another note, I thought I would share this Monster Cookie recipe with you. They are my favorite and every time I make them, people are asking me for the recipe. I just don't think you can go wrong with oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chips together. They are so yummy!! So, here you go. Oh, the key is to take them out under baked if you want them soft and gooey.

Monster Cookies
Ingredients:
1 stick Butter
1 cup Brown sugar
1 cup White sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
2 teaspoons Baking soda
1 ¾ cup Flour
3 Eggs
1 ½ cup Peanut butter
3 cups Quick cooking oatmeal
1/4 pound Chocolate chips
1/4 pound Plain M&M’s (sometimes I omit the M&M's and just put in peanut butter chips or Reese's pieces baking chips)

Directions:
Mix in bowl in order given. Drop by large tablespoon and flatten. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350 degrees. Do not over bake.

These ones have no chocolate chips but Reese's pieces baking chips in them!

The Baby has Teeth:)

Peyton finally got 2 teeth! They are on the bottom and are sharp. So far she hasn't bitten mommy, but she loves to get my fingers in there and chomp down. So cute!

On another note, we were invited to the coolest birthday party ever for Brayden's friend Jack. Jack's dad happens to be a pilot for the Army so the party was at the airplane hanger. Brayden got to check out the plane and even sit in the cockpit. Thanks Boren's for a fun party!

We did the Puyallup!

Drinking free chocolate milk

As always, the happy baby in the stroller (notice the ponytail:)

Sporting the double stroller

Brayden and Pedro on the train

Today the kids and I went to the fair with my sister Selina and her two kids. We thought we would take advantage of the free admission today from 10-12. We also parked at a friend's house so we really went cheap. I have been to the Puyallup fair almost every year since I was a baby. I still want to go every year, but sometimes when I get there I think, "why did I want to come again?" I've seen it all and then some, but somehow I still have a good time and look forward to the next year. We have our favorite stops: Earthquake burgers, Seattle Fudge, Famous Fair Scones, and Elephant Ears. I mean you go to the fair to eat, right? The kids had a blast looking at the animals, sampling chocolate milk, eating some of the fair food, riding on a train ride, and just looking around. I look forward to the day that Travis and I can go and just look around without having to push a stroller and worry about potty breaks all the time. For now though this is our life and we love it. This may sound silly but when I took Brayden and Pedro on the train ride around the fair, I got a little teary eyed:) The kids were so excited to go on this little train ride (that lasted like literally 1 minute), it just reminded me to see the world through my children's eyes more often. I know it will be sooner than later that the train ride will not be cool anymore and I'll be dropping the kids off at the fair with friends, but until those times, I will cherish these ones. Thanks for letting me be a sappy mommy. Have fun at the Puyallup!

Just call me Martha Stewart:)

Raspberry jam all lined up in the freezer

I've been saying I want to make home made raspberry jam for years now and I just get to busy and and forget during raspberry season. This year was finally the year! I went to Picha Farms and bought a flat of raspberries. I was able to make 11 jars of jam, and 2 yummy raspberry cobblers with all those raspberries. I was surprised how much jam I was able to make with so little berries. It's yummy and a special treat to have especially when I make home made bread. I highly recommend trying to make freezer jam. It's easy and cheap and so good!
Then I got a little bolder. I made some baby food last night. I've had friends tell me that I'm crazy to buy my baby food and that we could save so much money making our own, but I've never really listened. It sounded like too much work. But, Travis had so many extra green beans from our garden that I decided to give it a try. I made 6 small jars of baby food with a lot of green beans so in the long run I don't think that would be the cheaper way to go. I've heard that some veggies and fruits make more than others. Anyone have any good tips for making home made baby food? Which ones seem worth the money and work to make? The good part is Peyton ate the food and really liked it. The first few bites she made some yucky faces, and then she devoured it. I would love to hear from any mommies on this subject:)

Home made green beans, pretty color!

Happy baby after eating green beans:)

Brayden turns 3!

Wow, we can't believe that Brayden turned 3 this week. These years have gone so fast, but yet we couldn't imagine our family without him. He has a laid back spirit, but is still a 3 year old who loves to play. He has a lot of patience and will work on something until he figures it out (that reminds me of Travis:) He loves playing with his baby sister and of course mommy and daddy and his best friends, Cooper, Pedro, and Tanner. He still loves Elmo, but is really into trains, airplanes, cars, play dough, coloring, books, trucks and especially garbage trucks. One of his favorite things to do is play basketball. He loves watching it on TV and will watch a whole game with Travis (the only other thing he will watch is Sesame Street). So this year we decided to do a basketball birthday party. He loved it! I tried to keep it simple with pizza, games, cake, and of course presents. I really enjoy planning and doing the kids birthday parties. I think it's fun and a special day of the year to celebrate them. I hope that eventually they will look back at their birthday parties and know that mommy and daddy loved them very much. We thank God for Brayden and pray that he will love the Lord the rest of his life! We love you Brayden!

The basketball Cake

Eating pizza with his best friends

Cousin Pedro with a basketball nose:)

"Happy Birthday to you"

The Family... Notice the basketball attire

Peyton hanging out with Lita