Sloane Counting

Many of you have seen this video because Jake posted it to his Facebook page. If you haven't, it's really cute. Sloane is 20 months right now and loving Sesame Street, which is who we credit for her counting ability. She is learning so much, and amazing Jake and me with the things she recalls. Sloane also knows many animals and their sounds and is starting to quote her ABC's. We love Sesame Street!

Pumpkins

So this fall, I have been craftier than normal. Really it is due to my crafty friend. If she gets an idea, I get motivated; most activities are more fun with a buddy. Here we made pumpkin decorations using scraps of wood cut into various rectangles. We painted them orange, distressed the edges with sand paper, then painted the edges with some dark wood stain. Afterward we used scrapbook paper, buttons, rafia, sticker letters, and Modge Podge to decorate them. One side has a Halloween theme, while the other is simply decorated for Fall. Get directions here.

We made pumpkin pancakes recently

too! My Food Network magazine for

October gave a month's worth of uses

for pumpkins. It's really cool because

every day in October there is a

different idea. For Saturday, the 1st

it said, "Make pumpkin pancakes for

brunch: Stir 1/3 cup each pumpkin

puree and chopped walnuts into 2

cups batter". Because I always like

to add my personal touch to recipes

I try, I add a couple of sprinkles of

pumpkin pie spice to the mix. The

pancakes turned out yummy!

And finally I made some really easy and yummy pumpkin butter to give out as gifts. I love this recipe because I got to use my little dip Crock Pot. I let it cook for a few hours, then cool for a couple. Afterward, I spooned it into pint jars sealed with a square of burlap over the lid and a ribbon around the top. The recipe can be found here. Enjoy!

Deep-Dish Taco Squares

2 cups all-purpose baking mix

1/2 cup water

1 pound ground chuck

1 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 (8-ounce) jar picante sauce

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 (8-ounce) container sour cream

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Paprika

Picante sauce (optional)

*Combine baking mix and 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl, stirring with a fork until blended.

*Press mixture in a lightly greased 11x17-inch baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 9 minutes.

*While crust bakes, cook beef and bell pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat,

stirring until meat crumbles and is no longer pink; drain.

Stir in jar of picante sauce; spoon over crust.

*Stir together mayonnaise, sour cream, and cheese; spoon over meat mixture, spreading to within 1/2 inch of edges. Sprinkle with paprika.

*Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 5 minutes; cut into squares.

Serve taco squares with additional picante sauce, if desired.

Recipe found in Southern Living Ultimate Quick & Easy Cookbook.

From my experience: This recipe was super easy, and versatile. I have made it again doing some different things. Because the crust was kind of bland, I used a cornbread mix the next time. I think it would work on the bottom, but I put it on top. If I use the original crust recipe, I would add some more salt or other seasoning to help it stand out a little more. Also, as you can see from the picture, I added some corn to the meat mixture. You could add all sorts of things to this layer to make it your own recipe. But I would have to say, the best part was the top cheesy layer-don't mess with that because it was awesome on it's own. Enjoy!

Her Best Friend's Birthday Party

Sloane's best friend, Crew celebrated his birthday with a nautical themed party. Well we just so happened to get a hand-me-down sailor style dress from my cousin Susan that Sloane had never worn-isn't that perfect?

We have this same car at home but she loves it so much, she occupied it most of the time we were all outside.

The kids fished in this boat and caught some play-doh. Here is Sloane and Crew.

The kids also decorated these hats that Crew is wearing.

Giving Crew a ride

Now Sloane's buddy, Ben gets a ride

Ben and his family moved back to California. This was also one of Sloane's first friends.

We ate cupcakes then gobbled vanilla ice cream... Sloane loved her's!

Present time!

The party was a lot of fun.

Sloane Feeding Lily

Sloane has taken the initiative to start feeding Lily, our dog. She gets her bowl and walks to the garage door to go get it. We help her by scooping, but she carries it back and places it in Lily's bowl.

She knows this contains Lily's food, but she can't quite unclip the lid, so we have to help with that step.

She gives us the scooper and we gather up the food and put it in Lily's bowl.

Sloane is wearing a different outfit in this picture, because I couldn't get one the other day since we had a little spill. I was too busy trying to take the picture, I didn't realize the bowl was tipping. But as you can see, this is something Sloane loves to do, so I was able to capture her taking the bowl to Lily's stand the next day.

She puts it in Lily's stand with enthusiasm.

She is almost done...

but not before she tells Lily to eat and claps afterward with pride.

Lasagna Primavera

This is a meatless meal, which I rarely do since my husband is a fan of meat, but we have some friends expecting a baby soon who don't eat alot of meat (the wife is vegetarian). I want to bring them dinner at some point after the baby arrives, and this recipe sounded good.

Freeze-Ahead Lasagna Primavera

*1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for foil
*1/2 cup all-purpose flour
*2 garlic cloves, minced
*6 cups whole milk
*2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach,
thawed and squeezed dry
*1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas
*1/2 pound carrots (4 to 5), halved lengthwise and thinly
sliced
*coarse salt and pepper
*1 container (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta (about 2 cups)
*1 large egg
*1 package (9 ounces) no-boil lasagna noodles (12 to 16
noodles)
*1 pound part-skim mozzarella, shredded
*1 cup grated Parmesan

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium; add flour and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, 2 to 3 minutes (do not let flour mixture darken); whisk in milk.

Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer and cook, whisking occasionally, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add spinach, peas, and carrots; season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, egg, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set sauce aside.

3. In the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking dish, spread a thin layer of vegetable sauce. Layer 1/4 noodles, half the remaining vegetable sauce, another 1/4 noodles, half the ricotta mixture, half the mozzarella, and half the Parmesan; repeat.

4. Cover dish with lightly oiled aluminum foil, and place on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake 45 minutes, uncover, and bake until bubbling and browned, about 2o minutes more. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

TO FREEZE Prepare through step 3. Cover lasagna tightly with plastic wrap, then aluminum foil; freeze up to 3 months.


TO BAKE FROM FROZEN Remove plastic wrap; cover baking dish with lightly oiled aluminum foil, and place on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for 1.5 hours. Remove foil, and bake until bubbling and browned, about 3o minutes more. Let cool 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe found in April 2008 edition of Everyday Food magazine.

From my experience: This was pretty yummy! I did not miss the meat, but who would when it's loaded with such enticing cheeses. The milk and flour mix took longer to thicken than the recipe recommends. Later, I made this again doubling it to also make one for a friend, and I really struggled to get this part thickened. Just work with it, and give it time. If you are still having difficulty getting the mixture to thicken, make a little more flour and water mixture in a separate bowl, then add it to the milk. Other than that, I had no trouble making this recipe. And as I previously mentioned, I have already made it again, so it's a keeper! Enjoy!

18 Months

These pictures are of Sloane with her tent watching Sesame Street, her favorite television show. Her favorite characters are Elmo, Abby, and Cookie Monster.

Weight: 21lbs. 9oz. (15%)
Height: 32.44 inches (70%)
Head Circ.: 46.5 cm (45%)


Sloane had her 18th month appointment a month ago-that's how long I've been working on this post. Anyway, the visit went well, and Sloane is right on track. She is quite talkative with an advanced vocabulary, which I'm not sure is good or bad for our sake. She is very good at telling us when our phones ring or instructing our dog, Lily to hush. Sloane has had three of her molar teeth come in giving her a total of 9. The fourth molar is giving her a rough time, but she usually tells me when the pain is bad, and otherwise she sticks practically her whole hand in her mouth for comfort. Her hair has grown with the rest of her body. Her locks are at her shoulders with a slight curl on the end. Her temperment fluctuates with her mood. She is very sweet most of the time, but can throw a tantrum like the switch of a light. Her favorite word is "no", even when she means "yes". Nevertheless, Jake and I are loving each moment in Sloane's life more and more each day.


Here are some things Miss Sloane can do:
*runs
*walks up stairs with one hand held
*scribbles with crayons
*plays pretend, such as talking on the phone
*recognizes familiar sounds, such as the phone ringing and animal noises
*understands commands
*has a vocabulary of over 50 words
*can put two words together: "patty-cake", "your phone", and "thank you"
*making the transition to cooperative play

As you can see, Lily likes the tent too!