Maisy is 18 months and other fun things

My sweet Maisy Lou is actually 19 months tomorrow, but we just made it in this week for her 18 month check- up.

She was weighed, measured, and given a vaccine. Then we had blood test and a brief "anemia scare" that took us to Quest for a 3 vile blood draw. Thankfully, all turned out well--- she is growing, learning, and keeping us laughing!

Height: 32 inches (52nd percentile)
Weight: 23 lbs 7 oz (32 percentile)
Head: 48 cm (84th percentile) :)

 Maisy has become such a little talker. She can name all her body parts, tell you 'no',  'yes' and just about everything in between. My favorite thing about her right is her ability to dance, sing "Elmo's World" and give smooches :)

Afton was given her "Pre-K" graduation present a bit early. Since Santa brought her 'stick-on-earrings' for Christmas, she has been faithfully sticking a pair on each morning. And after much consideration, she/we decided she was ready for a real pair. So we headed to Sweet and Sassy.

Maisy and Jeff watched on as Afton braced herself for the piercing.

And it's done! We will be cleaning them for the next 6 weeks. So far so good- she loves them and I do too :)

Finally, our beloved Aunt Jessie is getting married in June. This past weekend was her bridal shower out on the harbor in Rockwall. We made cupcakes for the party and enjoyed celebrating her engagement.

Aunt Jessie and Afton

Chocolate Chip Cookie Cupcakes-yummy! Recipe here

The bride and her friends

Aunt Jenn and Afton

Mimi and Afton

Of course Afton was asked to be a flower girl.

Jessie in one word... "shoes"

My pretty girl enjoying the cupcakes.

And a fabulous photo of my SILs and my MIL- I love these ladies!

Thanksgiving 2010

We will never forget this Thanksgiving- the night before our big turkey day Miss Maisy decided she was going to start walking! At about 7pm I took her and Afton upstairs to play. I set her down and walked away- much to my surprise- she followed me! Since then she has been on the go.

We spent Thanksgiving at Mimi and GranDanny's house. Lots of family and friends gathered.

Jeff's grandparents even flew into town. I love that my girls know their great-grandparents.

Afton and I made these little pilgrim hat cookies to share. Cute huh? They are those striped Keebler cookies, topped with reeses cups, and yellow m&ms. Everything is held together with a bit of cream cheese frosting. The best part of this recipe- a 4 year old can do the entire thing!

Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving too!

All is Well

It is a beautiful fall Sunday and all is well in our home. Maisy's surgery/procedure was quick and easy. She was so good and now we are just following up with ear drops for a few days. 

I made a delicious Apple Cake- I found the recipe on Bakerella's blog (you know the cake ball lady!) It is the perfect fall treat. Of course it is yummy warm, but I liked it even better this morning at 10:30 am straight from the fridge. It is a very dense cake. Reminds me of the pumpkin bread 'Manda' loves so much. Give this recipe a try!

Bakerella.com

Easy Apple Cake
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped dates rolled in flour
1 cup chopped walnuts
Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/4 cup milk

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and cinnamon with a wire whisk and set aside.
• Combine sugar and oil using a mixer until blended.
• Add eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined.
• Add flour mixture and mix well.
• Stir in nuts, dates and apples. The batter will be very thick.
• Pour into a greased and floured 9 X 13 pan and bake for 40-45 minutes or until done.
• Cool cake and using a skewer, poke holes in cake.
• Cook topping ingredients on stove until mixture bubbles.
• Pour topping over cake letting it seep into the cake.

Bakerella.com

Finally we are busy getting ready for Maisy's "Vintage Cowgirl" birthday party. I am so excited to celebrate our baby's first year. Lots of crafting going on in this house- if you haven't seen my new craft room- check it out on my other blog Crafty Texas Girls

Happy Sunday!

Fudge Pie and Father's Day

We celebrated Father's Day with a backyard BBQ and some swimming. My dad and Tricia, Amanda, Becka, Jenn, Jade and Analeigh came over on Sunday.

Afton and I made a delicious fudge pie to serve for dessert. The recipe is super easy, I actually had all the ingredients in my pantry. It is the perfect dish to whip up with a 'preschool age' helper. Go here for the recipe, much thanks to Jordin and Jennifer for the yummy tip. Oh and it is best served with "Bunny Tracks" ice cream, trust me.

This was Jade's first Father's Day. He has been such a great uncle to Afton for the past 4 years, we just knew he would make an excellent dad.

See how happy Analeigh is? That's due to her fabulous mom and dad!

Jeff's fathering skills never cease to amaze me. He has is adored by his daughters and his wife. He has provided us with such a wonderful life. And he is always willing to do whatever takes to keep us happy- whether it is playing the "Daddy Prince" when Afton is Cinderella or rocking Maisy on the back porch. Jeff does it all! 

And what can I say about my own Dad? He's my Dad! He is there for me when I call, he is a loving Grandpa to my girls, and he always has loads of advice to hand out. 

 Most importantly, he has given me some really good lines to use on my girls as they grow up! 

-Any physical ailment/pain/sickness was always treated with the question "Do you need to go to the bathroom?" 

-Leaving the door open, we would hear "Were you raised in a barn?"

- And my favorite, because it is true "If a job is worth doing, it is worth doing right!"

Dad with his girls, Father's Day 2010. 

"A man never stands as tall as when he kneels to help a child." 

Peaches and Cream Cobbler

This is such a yummy recipe. I made it for my family and Jeff's family over the holidays. Of course when you make something with cream cheese, a pound of sugar and a stick of butter... you are going to make people happy!

5 cups sliced peaches (I used a big can of peaches, plus a regular sized one)
1 box yellow cake mix
1 pound of powdered sugar
1 stick of butter (cold)
8 ounces cream cheese (softened)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan. Cream the powdered sugar and cream cheese.

Place peaches on bottom, spread cream cheese/sugar mixture on top (it will be thick). Pour dry cake mix in next. Then grate the stick of butter over the top. (This is kinda fun and ensures you don't get any dry cake mix spots.) Finally sprinkle on cinnamon. I didn't measure it out. I just sprinkled until the top was completely covered in cinnamon!

Bake for 30-40 minutes. (I broiled at the end to get the top nice and crusty. But be careful!)
Serve with ice cream and enjoy the best peach cobbler I have ever had.

Cake Balls!

So you know I don't cook. But I do love to bake! I made red velvet cake balls for my neighbors/friends this year. I found the recipe on  Bakerella's blog and have been wanting to make them for some time. Warning- they are amazingly delicious. I actually ate 3 of them for lunch today. Somehow chocolate seemed like an appropriate lunch for a nursing mom :)

(All photos from Bakerella's blog- her photography is just as good as her baking!)

I would recommend microwaving the chocolate, the double-boiler just didn't get it as smooth. If you nuke the chocolate for too long, a tablespoon of crisco smooths is right out without affecting the flavor. Other things I learned, use a fork with a spoon to dip the balls and remove any excess chocolate. Oh and if you make a mistake and the chocolate doesn't smoothly cover the balls, just let them dry and re-dip. It makes the hard chocolate outside even thicker, which is of course, better. Finally, I think chocolate tastes best cold, so I keep mine in the fridge.

After the chocolate coating dried, I drizzled white chocolate over them. Made them look prettier, afterall you do eat with your eyes first!

I have also made her oreo truffles for Valentine's gifts. I made all of mine into the little heart shapes, dipped them in dark chocolate and then drizzled pink icing over the tops. They are right up there with the cake balls!

Anyone else obsessed with these this year?