Let the holiday baking begin!!

Here is our Thanksgiving baking...

I am proud to say that I added the ingredients, or rather measured the ingredients, handed them over to Alex & Taylor and they mixed the batter. I poured them into cups and baked them. Alex then frosted the cupcakes and inserted the candy corn. The girls wanted to bake sugar cookies for Christmas for a few weeks now. I put it off until the day after Thanksgiving. So, this morning we made the dough (which is now in the fridge). While the dough was cooling, we made a batch of banana bread and a batch of cranberry orange bread. I baked the bread in mini loaf pans and intend to give the bread to our neighbors with their Christmas cards this weekend. We do need to start cutting out the cookies soon....


Sugar cookies are not my favorite. I really don't like sugar cookies. I figure that we are making these and decorating them merely out of tradition. Not that we did it as kids, but more the experience for the girls. I tell you what, I hope I am making bakers out of them! They sure do a lot of cooking with me!!!

Gonna be a bear

I thought that this was fitting especially since I posted earlier about being a man. I bear wouldn't be so bad either. :o)

Dylan Marie is 6 months!

So, yesterday was photo day at our house.

I took the following pictures of Dylan to include in family Christmas cards. I always write up a letter with the milestones the kids are doing at 3, 6, 9 & 12 months and send pics to the aunts & uncles. I started this with Alex since we lived in KS and our families were in ND and OR. But - why should I stop just because we live closer to family? So, I still send the updates to family. I think this is my least favorite pic. Something with the shadowing....
This is my favorite shot.
You'd never know with those cheeks that she is only 14 lbs, 11 oz!!
This will be hanging on our wall in a 8x10 size!

This is a cute take, not too sure about the shiny background so close in color to her skin and her clothes colors though!

I didn't notice until I got the prints back that in this one you can see her two bottom teeth! Okay, so I thought that these were *decent* pics. Since I needed to mail them next week, I did not order them through shutterfly as I normally do. I went online to Walmart and had one hour done last night so I could pick them up today. Well, I was questioned upon picking them up if they were professional pics.
I do not feel that they are even close to professional quality, but I will take that as a compliment!

In my next life, make me a man

I decided that I want to be a man in my next life. Not that I don't appreciate all the perks of womanhood. Child birth, breast feeding - just to name a few!

But it seems that men are pre-wired differently than a woman.
* They do not wake when they hear a crying baby - much less their own crying baby.
* They are not awaken by their preschooler whining in the hallway in the dark of night to be tucked back into bed after a midnight potty trip.
* They appear inept at running a washing machine, much less separating clothes and initiating such a task.
* They do not appear to know where their children's clothes go - after they are magically washed and before they are worn.
* They do not know how to decide on dinner when it is merely breakfast time.
* They are not able to buy cards, even for their own family.
* They have lost the ability to sign a card, even if it is for his family.
* Forget about Christmas cards. Someone else will handle the pictures, the format, the letter, etc. It must magically happen like everything else.
* They lose the ability to pick up after oneself. Dirty dishes are left steps from the sink. Underwear are found in the living room - or maybe just the bathroom.

I am sold. In my next life I am putting my request in now to be a man. All I have to do it outdoor maintenance, take the cars in for oil changes and watch sports. ~ maybe even while scratching myself and drinking beer.

Do you need a new stocking hat?

Well, I have had a really hard time finding a winter hat for my almost 6 month daughter, Dylan.

My parents have an alcapa ranch and mentioned that they were going to make hats to the girls for Christmas. I think I presuaded them to make ones for Dylan sooner, since I will need it for her before then. These hats are 100% alpaca.

This is Dylan in the 6-12 month hat.

To purchase one, click here.

Here she is in the 3-6 month hat. To purchase a similar hat, click here.

They have toddler, childrens and adult sizes too. I think that this is the first baby hat I have felt that is a tight knit, tight fitting and feels warm.

They appear to have only hats for the winter on their website now. I also have coasters, a cardigan, a sweater, and slippers made out of Alpaca.
I really think at $11.99 these hats are a steal!

They also have an etsy site.

People are insane

My first WTF moment is that I was asked Monday when I was pushing Taylor in Dylan in the double jogger, if they were twins. (My apolgies to the elderly woman for my snarky "NO!" reply.) I just thought that 2.5 years difference seemed obvious. Correct me if I am wrong and these two appear to be twins.My other WTF moment came when a man 2 houses down asked me if I had a little boy.

This picture was taken seconds after that as I texted a girlfriend (with a boy) and asked her if I looked to have a boy. Sadly Dylan is in pink and a bow!
Do I look like a boy? Really?!
Embarrassing for any baby boy whose Mama dresses him like this!

How to handle delayed solids?

I am not going to site the "experts" who say that it is best to exclusively breastfeed your baby until they are at least 6 months. I am not going to spout about how solids are not necessary.

I actually would be on the other end of things, if only my kids agreed. I have tried rice cereal with Dylan ~ she is less than impressed. I have gave her butternut, buttercup and acorn squash with less than warm reviews. She merely tolerates it. We tried applesauce with lukewarm reviews. I have tried bananas now twice. Not nasty store canned baby food bananas, but real bananas pureed. She refuses to eat.

Now I know at 5.5 months, I am not "delaying" solids, not by definition anyway. However, in the eyes of a few choice family members we would be.
'because I started my kids on cereal at 2 weeks old to help them sleep because I had to. I was a working mom.' ~Yes, I have heard that before.

However, it is easier said than done. Taylor had a gag reflex until 9 months that she gagged and usually puked on everything. She puked on Chocolate, yet that did not stop a family member from giving it to her every chance she got. (Really?!)

So, Dylan is her own person and different than Taylor. She can tolerate textures. I have actually yet to buy any store bought baby food (except the rice cereal). She does appear to have lost the tongue thrust reflex recently. However... it is hard as a Mom to keep trying baby foods without any success. So, really I don't. Call me a bad Mom, but I know my baby is not starving!

I guess what I am hoping for is someone to tell me how I can handle the words I know I will get for not feeding my baby "real" food. Can I also voice that I am the only person in this side of the family to breastfeed their children. I am also weird for that - then probably seen as a Oregonian hippy for baby wearing all the time.... and now this. :o) I guess my babies just love for us to be different!