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!