fall photo shoot

A friend from work took some pics of Tripp the other day. Enjoy his fall photo shoot!

birthdays

i will be the first to admit- i like presents. a lot. i am pretty sure my love language is gifts. i guess that could be materialistic, and maybe it is, but to me a gift means someone thought about what i would want, went and got it, and then gave it to me (or anyone else for that matter). so you can only imagine my excitement when i get gifts during my birthday month from random stores. So far i have done well (and it is only halfway through October so i am definitely expecting more). I have gotten a $5 gift card from Ace Hardware (yes, i appreciate something like that- we already used it for a new thermostat), free ice cream at Coldstone, and last night I got three free lip glosses from Sephora! Pretty sweet! i am excited to see what the rest of the month brings! and since it is not fun to post without a picture- here are two of some of the best gifts of all-

don't knock it till you've tried it

Now I know many people do not like Sandra Lee from the Food Network. I agree she is a little over the top with her matching tablescapes, kitchen and outfits. However, the idea of semi-homemade appeals greatly to me because it means I can cook something but I do not have to spend hours in the kitchen making something from scratch. I know there are some things that are just better made from scratch, but for a lot of things, semi-homemade is the way to go. James and Steph, you can disown me as a sister/sister-in-law for my support of Sandra Lee, but before you do, can you still get me a Snuggie for my birthday? And for those of you who thought those homemade oreo cookies looked awesome, here is the recipe (and yes, it is semi-homemade). don't knock it till you try it!!

2 packages of Devil's food cake mix
1 cup shortening
4 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients with a pastry blender. Roll into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 mins. Allow cookies to cool for 5 mins on the sheet before removing to a cooling rack. Allow to completely cool.

Cream filling

6 tablespoons of cream cheese
1/3 cup of softened butter
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp cream
1 tbsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients thoroughly and spread between two cookies (bottom sides together).

Enjoy (and thank Sandra Lee with each delicious bite)!

one tired boy

Sundays are hard for Tripp because church is right in the middle of his morning nap. We have to wake him up about half way through it to get him fed and ready to go in time. He is usually awake for the whole service but getting him home without him falling asleep is a challenge (I don't love it when he falls asleep in his car seat because he doesn't usually stay asleep during the transfer and if we leave him in there, he will only sleep for 20 mins or so max). So today on the drive home, I was doing all I could to keep him awake. I was singing to him, talking to him, giving him toys to play with. But this boy was so tired that none of that worked. In fact, he fell asleep while holding onto the ball. He didn't even have enough energy to let it go. Thankfully he went right back to sleep when we put him in his crib and he slept for a good two hours. I just thought it was pretty cute that he was still holding so intensely onto the ball while sleeping so soundly.

a pretty much awesome day

well Nelson took the day off of work today so it was just an awesome day. I think I might have woken up on the wrong side of the bed as a result of a random nose bleed in the night, but after a great morning nap while Tripp napped and Nelson went to get his oil change, I was feeling better. We enjoyed some tasty doughnuts and coffee for breakfast, then went to Target and Ace Hardware with Tripp in between naps. Then during his afternoon nap, we watch the Gilmore Girls and then after he woke up, we head out to the wonderful Shop N Save where it was "no coupon necessary-get $10 off your grocery bill" Thursday. So we stocked up on some much needed groceries. When we got back I did some baking and made some home made Oreos. They are soo tasty. Then we had a delicious black and blue steak salad for dinner and are about to go watch some awesome shows on TV (our Thursday nights are packed- Survivor, the Office, 30 Rock, Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice- thank goodness for DVR). What a great day!


Tripp enjoying his new fleece car seat keeper warmer (yes that is the technical name)


smiley boy


tonight's dessert

all smiles

this little boy is pretty much all smiles all day long. here are just a few from the past few days:

rice cereal- the gateway food

they (you know, the ambiguous "they" people) say that one of the signs that your child is ready for solids is their interest in food. today tripp actually held on to my soda can every time i put it to my mouth. yesterday i was in the grocery store getting cookies out of the bulk cookie section and he practically lept out of my arms as he tried to grab onto them and pretty much every time we are eating, he will watch eat bite go from the plate to our mouths, his eyes glued on the fork, mouth drooling, just waiting for the time when it will be his turn to partake in the adventure. so tonight was finally his chance- we gave him some rice cereal. he seemed to really like it so we will keep it up for a little while before moving on to "harder" foods (a.k.a veggies).


getting ready


first bite


doing well


getting it off the spoon


finishing the bite