Nine Little Tutus

Parsley's darling little friend Juliette had an adorable fairy birthday party this summer. (Yes, I'm incredibly delinquent in posting my summer photos and am hoping to resolve my photo issues soon so that I'll be more on top of current events....like Parsley's birthday:)

The Birthday Fairy

Our beloved Margaret looking so sweet!

What could be better than eating fruit snacks while having your nails painted?

Bella joins the 2 year olds today! Another of Parsley's friends.

Mia Kate in her modeling pose.

Admiring her freshly painted toes...

An egg hunt with stickers inside!

So this is how those toenails got smudged!

Group shot.

Not the happiest of moments.

Yes, Molly Blythe was the victim of attempted wing-thievery. Very traumatic.

Parsley having a moment of tranquility to enjoy her wand.

Climbing into a Bumbo while wearing a tutu is more challenging than it appears.

A perfect lunch for 2 year olds.

Matilda enjoying every last bit.

Of course there was present-opening....

...candle-blowing...

...and cupcake eating.

Why use a fork when you can dive right in with your fingers?

The birthday girl herself was not opposed to a bit of cupcake eating.

Happy Birthday, Juliette! Thank you for letting us be a part of your big day!

Beach Time

A few shots of our fun time at the beach. 

Uncle Bryce and Ezra perfecting their sand castle making skills.

It's a little less overwhelming when Daddy is holding me...

Aunt Audrey and Noah just before a torrential downpour.

She's still not sure what all the hype is about the ocean

....must take after Daddy more than Mommy on this one.

My favorite people.

I love them.

Mmmm....'Licious, Mommy!

I ran across this recipe from My Baking Addiction in the last week or two. I thought they sounded good, but at the same time it seemed like a lot of work for something that would still be pretty unhealthy. Alas, I was looking for desserts that were made with a more unrefined source of sweetness.

Then this weekend I was making a dessert for a get together with some friends. As I was looking for my old faithful whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe, I stumbled upon this blog post again. Hmm. They sounded quite appealing. The baby wanted to try them. Refined sugar and all.

They were a hit. The great thing about this cookie is its ability to bridge age differences. They are loved by young and old alike. Yesterday as Parsley ate one she said, "Mmm....'licious, Mommy!" Of course, I had just finished eating several myself.


Homemade Oreos

Servings: 25-30 sandwich cookies

INGREDIENTS:

For the Chocolate Wafers

1 1/4 cups all-purpose 
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar 
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons room-temperature, unsalted butter
1 large egg

For the Filling

1/4 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
Gel dye

Changes I made:

• I doubled the cookie recipe, but only made one recipe of the cream. I'm not a double-stuffed girl. Truthfully, at times I've been known to scrape the filling out of oreos so that I can just eat the cookie part. 
• In my double recipe I used 1 c of whole wheat flour (out of the 2 1/2 cups) which I believe is why mine turned out a bit flatter.
• Sadly, I didn't have any dark cocoa (or dutch process) on hand and just used regular cocoa. Hopefully next time I'll be able to try the dark.
• I used 1 c of sugar per recipe (or maybe a little less.)
• I used 1/2 c of butter instead of using both butter and shortening for the filling

INstructionS:

1. Mix dry ingredients in mixer on low. Add in butter (and be sure to taste a bit of that powdery-goodness). Now the egg. Mix on low until it becomes one massive glob. 

2. I used my cookie dough scooper and first divided each scoop into 2 cookies. They seemed a bit big, so I ended up dividing each scoop into 3 cookie portions.

3. Bake on parchment paper at 375° F for 7-9 min.

4. For the filling, beat the butter/shortening and then add in the powdered sugar and vanilla on low. Once they've blended, beat on high for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add food coloring/gel if you're like me and have a slight obsession with mixing colors and dying food.

5. Once the cookies have cooled, drop a bit of filling on one cookie and press another one on top to squish it out to the edges. (Or as Jaime suggests, use a ziplock bag with the corner cut out. Sounded like too much of a mess to deal with.:)

6. Enjoy your 'licious cookie (or seven)! 

Cousins, Hot Dogs, Bubbles

We absolutely loved getting to spend time with some of Parsley's aunts, uncles and cousins this summer.
Hamburgers and hotdogs at our house one evening and Marble Slab downtown the next. 

So much fun.

Yes, Uncle Clark humored Parsley by wearing "bunny eyes" and managed to fall asleep while thus disguised.

Uncle Bryce winning Parsley's affections one book at a time.

Fish lips.

Bubble time!

Cousin hugs are best when you least expect them.

Miss those blue eyes.

More fun times to come at the beach!

A Message from Parsley

Well, for some reason our little video clip isn't working (somehow I've never successfully posted one and will have to find someone more skilled than myself to figure it out.) This is just a clip of Parsley announcing that baby #2 is on the way. Thyme should be arriving around the beginning of February.

Kissing Cousins

Parsley has been absolutely loving spending time with her cousins while they visit from Colorado.
"Oh-uh," as Parsley calls him, is less than a month younger than she is and is too much fun to run around with.
One of their first nights playing together I got my camera out to catch some bubble shots. I was so grateful when I looked up just in time to catch this completely unprompted smooching action.

I love you, Oh-uh!

Sophie, Madeleine, and Priscilla

Ahh. We're back. Unfortunately I've been set back by computer/photo storage issues. My picture taking obsession and inability to discard excess items is not a good combo for my hard drive.
Alas.
Hopefully we're on the road to recovery now.

Several weeks ago we were able to spend a fun evening with some friends. Parsley keeps talking about Sophie (whom she originally referred to as "Sofa") and Madewiene now. I've even heard her groaning their names in pitiful tones as she's supposed to be going to sleep at night. On that note, she's also already pulled the potty card two times now....You want to think positively when your child is calling out to go potty, or "poppy" as in the case with Parsley, even though she's supposed to be going to sleep. However, after an 0 and 2 record, you realize that you have only fallen prey to the ploy of a one year old.

But back to Sophie and Madeleine. 

And their cat, Priscilla.

Who apparently isn't to be trusted.

Parsley seems to think that dogs are friends. Cats, however, are of a shady nature.

Madeliene helped her pet the suspicious creature.

But it's still a good idea to keep a wary on Priscilla. You never can tell when a cat will attack.

Madeliene and her gymnastics moves were very entertaining.

Five! Also known as "fibe."

 Pound it! The perfect greeting for the germ-conscious. 

Lending a friendly hand.

Thanks for playing with me, Sophie and Madeliene!