Sleeping Beauties

Do you think we have worn them out yet?

These were taken earlier this week when I went in to get them up from their naps. Apparently they need some more sleep!! I am off to finish baking. So far today, I have made cinnamon rolls, Maddy and I made some magic reindeer food to sprinkle on the grass outside tomorrow night and I am now making sugar cookies. My sugar cookie helper is napping and she has already informed me she will be cutting out Santa's cookies herself when she wakes up! We are getting excited around here - tomorrow is Christmas Eve! YEAH!

Sisters

Saturday, we had Brooklyn's 1 year pictures taken (can't believe she will be turning 1 so soon)! Because of all of the Christmas appointments, we had to take an 8:30 am slot. It actually turned out very well and the girls were so cute. We popped Maddy in a few pictures, but Brook really didn't want to share the spotlight unless she was "conquering" her sister:

Is this not the most adorable shot ever:

 

I love my girls

Maddy has a hard time with the concept of holding Brooklyn's hands instead to allow her to walk with a little help. So it tends to end up with a bit of a yank and a drag. Here is the evidence:

And sometimes it just makes sense to tackle the sister trying to escape:

And sometimes the little one doesn't always want all of the love she receives from her big sister:

I love my girls. We are blessed with a wonderful, helper, loving 5 year old and a sweet, cuddly, spunky almost 1 year old.

December 19

Last night I made some yummy chocolate dipped pretzels and peppermint bark. I don't make the pretzels very often because I tend to eat them all (seriously no self control when they are in the house). 

We are sending a little homemade basket of treats for Maddy's preschool teacher on Monday. It turned out pretty cute.

While I was busy melting and dipping, Maddy and the hubby were playing play doh and our sweet baby Brook was sitting in the floor discovering the tupperware area below the island. She had a very fun time.

Today

Okay - so most of these photos have already been posted once. But I wanted to re-post them since adding them into my lovely free Polaroid frame (found here). I am not that "photoshop" savvy since I would much rather scrapbook with my hands instead of spending all my time on the computer. But, it is fun to use frames and some digital brushes once in a while. The brushes on these photos are from designer digitals and can be found here and here. I tried to get the "aged" look. It was pretty fun actually. Here are the results:

I played around with photoshop last night while fixing the dough for these, which we had for breakfast this morning. Seriously delicious. The really gooey good ones were the first to go. I cut the recipe in half and it made a good 2 pie plate tins full of rolls. Mmmm - leftovers. The hubby doesn't care for the icing, so we left them plain with butter on top.

Also today, we set up Maddy's tent in the living room. Brook has loved playing in it for the first time.

Fun

Using up some of my fun sassafras lass products that I received from the blinkie contest winnings (thanks again), I created this layout. Fun evening in 2007 when Maddy was able to put into practice her interest in photography. Also a sweet time when she helped her daddy move her tricycle seat (using tools of course). 

Here are some sweet, silly moments when we had my father-in-law (and my mother-in-law) over for dinner for his birthday Monday evening. They enjoy being near their papa (and nana of course).

Little moments

Our soon to be one year old discovered a new trick yesterday. A trick that despite my discouragement, she seems to be very proud of. A trick that this morning gave her a little bump on the head. She is a climber and has found she can climb on our little table in the kitchen.  

I have discovered a new recipe. It is y-u-m-m-y! They are french breakfast puffs and you can find the recipe at the Pioneer Woman's website here. My hubby thinks they taste like "snickerdoodle muffins." They get even better the next day! They are very easy and don't take much time at all.

I have printed off a few of her (pioneer woman) recipes to try,(hoping for the cookbook for Christmas). So far the only other recipe I have tried is the one for perfect pancakes - which my family also loves (although I use a little less vanilla). Maddy thinks they are even better than McDonald's pancakes - which is saying A LOT! 

Another favorite recipe right now is from Martha Stewart. It is this apple crumb pie, found here. I literally made this twice last week and it takes some serious willpower to let it sit before eating it (the recipe claims 6 hours, we never made it past 3 hours)! I left out the raisins though - personal preference. Her recipe for pie crust is my all time favorite and pairs perfectly with this pie.


I love to cook and bake and these recipes make me look good! I am seriously hungry now. Time to go munch on some puff pastries!

Family

Last night we spent a lovely evening at my grandma and grandpa's house along with our extended family. All of the "little" kids decorated their tree so it will be ready when my grandma gets to come home next week. They always serve pizza for everyone that comes and did so again last night. Maddy loved playing with all of her cousins. Brook loved exploring the house and entertaining the adults (seriously she is a crack up)! We also managed to add in a birthday celebration for an aunt. It would not be complete without a fire burning in the fireplace and the kids "discovering" all of the ornaments. We loved it.


Before we left, a lot of love for Brook.

Don't you just love the "milky" mouth?

 

It is nice to have a big sister to love on you (even when you may not want the attention).

 

Brook's first ornament we found yesterday.

Mastering the step at the great grandparent's (it is a rite of passage for each child)

Tree decorating at the Great Grandparent's