Cooper's got legs!

Someone learned a new trick!  And, he likes it!!!

That's right, Cooper got his legs and learned how to stand up without help.  He now can stand up without using any assistance.  He then laughs and claps - the movement sometimes knocks him down...  Really, just so cute! 

And, Erin & Evelyn could not be more proud!!

It won't be long before the little man is walking and we experience true terror!

Red Velvet Cake

Erin and Ev love helping cook and bake.

Erin seems to be my helper when I make Red Velvet Cake.  I'd never made it, but took the plunge for Christmas evening - and man was it tasty!!  When you cut it open it is just beautiful and the taste makes it even better.

Cake

2 1/2 cups (250 grams) sifted cake flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons (15 grams) regular or Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk

2 tablespoons liquid red food coloring

1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature

1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) tub of Mascarpone cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup (115 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted

1 1/2 (360 ml) cups heavy whipping cream (contains 36-40% butterfat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter two - 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with parchment paper. Set aside.

Red Velvet Cake: In a mixing bowl sift together the flour, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside. In bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.

In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour. In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter. Working quickly, divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 25 - 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean.

Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake pan and invert, lifting off the pan. Once the cakes have completely cooled, wrap in plastic and place the cake layers in the refrigerator for at least an hour (or overnight). (This is done to make filling and frosting the cakes easier.)

Cream Cheese Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese and mascarpone cheese until smooth. Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to spread. Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Assemble: With a serrated knife, cut each cake layer in half, horizontally. You will now have four cake layers. Place one of the cake layers, top of the cake facing down, onto your serving platter. Spread the cake layer with a layer of frosting.  Place another layer of cake on top of the frosting and continue to frost and stack the cake layers. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish sprinkles or whatever you think is pretty! 

Serves 10-12 people.

Waffles!

Snow!

This morning I woke up to Erin saying in a quiet voice "ha.............."  slow and quiet.  She looked out her window and saw a beautiful snowy back yard!

I don't even think we made it to 8:30 before the kids were outside in all their snow gear.  One of the highlights was both of the girls taking turns to pull Cooper in his little sled.  He LOVED it.  Laughed and giggled in glee.  Even when he got knocked over he was as happy as a clam.  Erin just got him back in his sled and off they went.  It was really the cutest thing ever.



We felt so blessed that winter kicked off on a Saturday morning and Dave could be part of the fun.  He was such a great sport and spent hours with the girls building a FABULOUS snowman.  We used oranges for buttons, a nice blue scarf, avocados for eyes, a pine cone nose, stick smile and it was just precious!

Gobble Gobble

Erin & Evelyn made some beautiful Thanksgiving decorations and I wanted to share them with you.

We had a hectic and eventful week of Thanksgiving.  Unfortunately at Cooper's first birthday party on Saturday he got sick and threw up.  Happened again that evening and then he was peachy fine.

On Sunday Evelyn was not feeling well - and of course caught the bug.

Monday was Erin's turn.

Tuesday they were both in bed most of the day - not sick, just resting.  Ev had lost her energy and I was quite concerned for dehydration.  At 7pm we met with our doctor and we were so close to heading to the ER.  Our pediatrician gave us some meds to keep her liquids down and get her to take in more.  Of course he is a miracle worker and she pepped up by Wednesday morning and was on the road to recovery.

We were all healthy enough to enjoy Thanksgiving with our family.  And, though nobody had been sick since Monday ... pretty much everyone we were with on Thursday evening got sick. 

This was a bug that lingered................................................

Happy to report that everyone is happy and healthy now!

Cooper's Stats

I've been holding onto a piece of paper and I want to throw it away.

At Cooper's 1 year appt, he was 23 pounds, 15 ounces and 31.75 inches long. 

Whew - there, now can I please throw it out?

Cooper is ONE!

I almost named this post Cooper is a Rock Star.  Because yesterday you would have thought he was a rock star.  From the moment he woke up, the girls were loving him and praising him even more than usual.  They were so very proud that their little brother is ONE YEAR OLD!  I can't tell you how many kisses he got - or how many times he was sung to.  But, it was very sweet and special.

I just don't know where the year has gone.  It FLEW by at warp speed and now my little guy is a whole year old.  What will I do when he goes to Kindergarten? I'll probably freak out.

He is such a great little guy. Crawling and walking while holding onto furniture - and using anything he can find as a walker.  He loves to play with trucks, balls, books and anything else he can get his hands on.  He is a BIG eater!!  Loves grapes and strawberries, chicken and hot dogs, noodles and rice! 

One of his favorite games is dropping stuff and saying uh-oh.  Not so cute if you ask me.  But, I love him anyway!!!

Evism

My girls love to draw and color.  They have a few jumbo coloring books - Hello Kitty and My Little Pony.  The sheets are twice as big as a normal book - and the pictures have a lot of detail.  White I sit working on the computer the girls come by and show me their work - and it really does look pretty!  Ev was working on a Hello Kitty page - all in blue.  I asked if she wanted to finish the sun, flowers and clouds.  Her response was that they are allergic to crayons.  Yes - the coloring book figures are allergic to crayons.  She informed  me that in 30 minutes the allergy would end and she would finish coloring. 

So, who is talking about allergies so much?  Perhaps she has a kid at school that is allergic to everything or talks about it a lot?  I just don't know. 

Regardless - so funny!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Cooper!!

What a fast year it has been. Dave and I really can't even believe Cooper is one year old!  Don't know where the time went.  But, it has been a great year!  He is such a nice little guy - so smiley and happy!

One of the biggest blessings we've experienced in this year is how amazing our girls have embraced their little brother.  Never jealous.  Never hurtful.  So very helpful.  So very loving.  Such praise they give him.  They shower him with kisses, hugs and love.  True unconditional love.  It really is amazing.

On his birthday he got to enjoy cake - and boy did he like it!

The Zoo!

One of the girls favorite things is to head to the zoo.  They'd go every day if I had the patience (and time) to take them.  I did make it a point to take them this fall - just me and the girls.  Cooper hung with my mom so I could really spend nice quality time with Erin & Evelyn.  We packed a picnic and had a great afternoon!  They had a great time seeing all the animals, riding the carousel, walking around the beautiful grounds and playing with their good friend, Ellie. On our Drive home we did something extra special.  It was about 3:30 or maybe 4pm and we went out for ice cream ... that's right, before dinner!!  They thought it was just fabulous and so special.  Ev had mint chocolate chip.  Erin enjoyed strawberry and I had my favorite - peppermint.  We all tried each others and it was a really special outing.  I told the girls how I think peppermint ice cream tastes like Santa.  Erin told me strawberry ice cream tastes like summer.  She is right!

Separation Anxiety...

Cooper is almost 11 months and with the flip of a switch, he has major separation issues!  Even when I have not left him, he only wants me.  So funny how quickly this came about.  Literally in the past 5 days it hit.

We had lunch with a good friend -he sees her at least a few times a month.  I was holding Cooper and standing close to her.  He literally stuck out his chubby arm and pushed her away!!  Cooper, this is your godmother, you better be nice to her!!!  At lunch a few times he looked at her and started crying - it was so funny............

funny.............

Today is October 8th and it is nearly 80 degrees!!  So nice.

Ev asked if she could wear her short sleeved pants.

How cute!

Hmmmmmmmmmmm...

Ev told me that when she has kids they will never have a bedtime.

Erin told me her kids will have to take a bath EVERY day.

Gee... who does not like to go to bed and who loves baths????

Evie's Picture Day!

Cooper is 10 Months Old!

Today Cooper is 10 months old.  The weather has turned chilly - he is wearing jeans, a long sleeve shirt and even shoes!!  He almost never wears shoes.  I am not one of those moms that dresses my babies super cute - more like super comfy.  But, with the cooler weather shoes become more practical.

So, he is 10 months old and has 4 teeth.  His favorite past time is ... standing!  All the time.  His favorite thing to say is "mama", "dada" and even "uh oh".  His "uh oh" is not related to something dropping or anything - just a fun way to put words together.

The boy can eat.  Seriously, he eats like mad.  He'll scream at you if you don't feed him fast enough!  He LOVES blueberries and cheese.  Turkey, pizza, pasta, grapes, chicken, broccoli and cous cous are also some of his favorites.  But, nothing beats a blueberry.

Thankfully, Cooper sleeps really well.  Goes down around 7:30 and usually up around 6am.  We'd love him to sleep another hour, but not really too sure how to make that happen.  Still taking 2 naps a day - and most days does a pretty good job going down.  Funny how when he does not nap that is not a big deal to me - I just pack him up and do some errands.  Everything just seems easier with one!

The girls are still just great with him.  They are so proud that he stands - they go nuts!  They also love talking with him whether that means saying "uh oh" or even just making baby talk with him.  They make sure toys are not too small for him and are just great.

A Family Vacation......

We had a busy summer and never really had a chance to have a family vacation.  So, we spent 3 nights in Lake Geneva as a family.  Nothing to do but hang out as a family.  We never made it to town or really did anything special.  Just took rides on the trolley to the park, swam in the pools, rode the water slides, played games in the lobby, rode the lazy river, visited the game room, made homemade dinners, took walks, visited the petting zoo and enjoyed each other.  The girls were so tired by the end of the night - they melted into their pull out couch and snoozed the night away.  Cooper's pack and play fit nicely into a closet - don't worry, there was plenty of space and ventilation!  He's fine!

Grandpa Andy..............

The girls don't get to spend too much time with Grandpa Andy.  Today they got to see him - and ride the tractor!  How cool was that!!!  Both Erin and Ev love all of their grandparents.  They are lucky to have so many adults that love them so much and are so kind to them!

Evie's Summer!

Evie had a great summer!  She was thrilled to be back at summer school!  One of her "best friends" from last summer, Isiah, was in her class again.  The memory of a 4 year old is amazing.  I wonder how she can remember a kid she met over a year ago.  Both girls surprise me with the minute details they recall.  As expected, Ev loved school.  Her speech has developed very well.  It seems her recent surgery has paid off and having tubes in her ears and her adenoids removed has improved her speech, hearing and most importantly, her confidence.

She is such a cool kid.  Just so independent and strong.  She does not care what anyone thinks of her - just does what she wants and is so strong in doing so.  She is also exceptionally creative!  She will get the job done, but often in the craziest possible way.  Not a bad way - just not the way everyone else does it.  She is so tender with Cooper - loves talking to him and trying to communicate with her little friend. 

Erin's Summer

Erin turned 4 this summer and my how she has grown!  She had a super fun summer and one of the highlights was summer camp!  Our local park district had a 3 hour camp every day where she got to make friends and spend the morning on many adventures... all without Evie!  This was a good experiment - and I think will help her adapt to the upcoming school year, where she will be in a different school than her sister.

She made a best friend... okay, a few.  She even had encounters with a bully.  But, she's still here and she's just so strong.  She loves rules and the way things are supposed to be.  She thrives on order and doing things they way they are supposed to be done.  She enjoys singing and doing crafts.  She is tenderhearted and kind.  It'll be so much fun to see how she continues to grow as time passes..

Family Party!

There are a LOT of kids in our family...........  This photo is missing many of them, but a good representation of some of us.  A cute crew!

At this family party my brother or cousin brought baseballs and footballs and a helmet - which my girls loved!

 

You probably also know that we hosted an exchange student from France.  She was super nice and we had a lot of fun with her. She got to see so many fun things in the city - beaches, Great America, Shedd Aquarium, Botanical Gardens, zoo, Michigan Ave, the Planetarium, Museum of Photography, Art Institute, Millennium Park, pools and so much more!  Here's a pic of our expanded family!

And, finally, my 2 favorite girls!