Copy Cat

Can you tell she is copying Matthew blowing?



Ok...I am making a fool of myself by sharing this, but it was too funny not to share. She is trying to laugh like me...and I was honestly laughing NOT faking it. She was laughing her head off before the video, but its even funnier to see her trying to cackle like me.

High Chair Manners

Addison has been making huge strides in her high chair manners! She is so neat and tidy and well behaved during meal times. If you are not familiar with high chair manners, hop on over to the Little Tummy Yummies blog and check out a great high chair manner summary! Why teach high chair manners? Because this is our first opportunity to begin teaching self control. Self control at the table will translate to self control other places.

Addison keeps her hands either placed in front of her on the tray or close to it. Sometimes she moves her hands around but rarely bangs the tray or grabs the bowl/spoon from Mommy or Daddy. This was not always the case and occasionally we have to remind her "where do our hands go?". From the beginning we tried to teach her not to spit out food or blow it everywhere, so this has never been an issue which means---CLEAN UP IS EASY. Screaming (not out of anger but just for fun) has been a huge challenge for us since she is a motor mouth, but we are making slow progress. When she spills something or blows her food it IS cute, but I try everything I can to contain my laughter; I must remember the big picture!

Things to work on.....KICKING FEET. When she is very excited she kicks her feet wildy. We also need to work on arching her back; this is a hard one to correct!

Here is a picture of Addison with a prune beard; this is about as messy as she ever gets. Most of this mess is my fault too!!! Sometimes we do not even use a bib!

Blurry...it was on my cell phone :)

Bow Holder

Allow me to introduce you to Addison's new bow holder......

It actually isn't as lime green as it looks (I took these pictures with my cell phone). This green matches the green I used to paint the letters spelling her name on the wall.




Thank you to Tonya for giving me some guidance on how to make this!

Pumpkin Pie

I made homemade pumpkin pie for the first time several weeks ago. And when I say homemade, I mean---Pumpkin filling at all. It was fairly simple except for one step: getting all the water out of the pumpkin. That step was only challenging because I did not have the proper equipment (cheese cloth). I used the pumpkin pie recipe (and pie filling) and whipped cream recipe from JoyofBaking.com.

Matthew gave it a 4.25 out of 5 stars; not too shabby!

Pumpkin Filling:
3 large eggs
2 cups fresh pumpkin puree*
1/2 cup (120 ml) heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup (110 grams) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-9 inch frozen crust

Whipped Cream:
1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon (15 grams) granulated white sugar

1) Make pumpkin puree

• Use the smaller pumpkin varieties like Sugar Pie, Baby Bear or Cheese Pumpkin (approximately 5-7 lbs., 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 kg.). I used a Sugar Pie pumpkin
• Cut the pumpkin in half lengthwise, remove all the seeds and stringy fibers
• Place cut-side down on a greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 350 degrees F approximately 45 minutes to 1 1/4 hours (depending on size) or until easily pierced with a knife.
• Scoop out the pulp and puree in a food processor until smooth.
  
• Extract all the liquid, so strain the pumpkin through a cheesecloth lined strainer and then cool the puree before using. ***I did not have a cheesecloth so I used a coffee filter for every 1/2 cup of puree I extracted liquid from**** This took about 15-20 minutes to do.
  

2) Make the pie filling

• In a large bowl lightly whisk the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
  
• Pour the mixture into the prepared pie shell (I used a frozen crust) and place on a large baking pan to catch any spills.
• Bake the pie for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust has browned (the center will still look wet; A knife inserted about 1 inch from side of pan will come out almost clean.)
• Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature with maple whipped cream. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator

3) Make Whipped Cream

• Place mixing bowl and wire whisk in freezer before making whipped cream (I used a kitchen aid mixer and it was SUPER easy)
  
• In mixing bowl place the whipping cream, vanilla extract, and sugar and beat until the mixture until stiff peaks form.

4) Serve pie at room temperature and make whipped cream just before serving


Easy, easy!!!! Try making your own pumpkin filling!!! It was fun!

Pumpkin I used

After removing seeds and fibers.This takes a while too. Pumpkin fibers are much more difficult than squash fibers, ARG!

After cooking pumpkin, pretty color huh?

Done!

Time to eat!

Baby Dedication

On October 30, 2010 Addison Joy Grant was dedicated at Calvary Road Baptist Church. If you are unfamiliar with a baby dedication, it is not a baptism. During the time of dedication, Matthew and I committed to raise Addison in a Christ centered home and the church committed encourage her in her faith as well. We pray she gives her heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ at a young age!!!!

Pastor Dave praying over the two families dedicating their babies.

Pastor Dave praying over the two families dedicating their babies.