Hayden is 3!

Dear my little Hayden,

You have now been in our lives for three years. Time has flown by so very quickly. Every day I wake up and I can’t wait to see your smiling, beautiful face. You have been such a blessing in our lives and I thank God for placing you in our family every day. I couldn’t imagine life with you.

I love that when you smile, your eyes smile as well. I love that you still call your brother “Bubby”. Except for when you are mad at him, which is when you call him “Colt-en”. I love that you love him and laugh with him until you start snorting. I love your energy…you have lots of it! I love how you are such a dare devil and are fearless. I love that you call yourself “daddy’s girl” and you want to always watch “hootball” with him. I love that you get worried when someone is crying. I love how you ask questions. I love that you love to cuddle when you aren’t feeling well or when you are super tired. I love that you watch I Love Lucy with me and even laugh. I love your laugh…it’s contagious. I love the way you give kisses. I love that you have nick names for people and movies. I love that you get SO excited when Daddy gets home from work. I love that you aren’t shy. I love your gentle spirit. I love that you need your blanket wherever you go. I love that you love your friends and ask for them constantly…including family members. I love the way you walk, with your toes pointed in. I love the way you love to dress yourself…in Bubby’s clothes with shoes on the wrong feet. I love how you help me bake every Thursday night. I love the way you are independent…very independent. I love how you carry on conversations with us and the way you talk with such animation. I love how you keep yourself entertained but still like to play and read with Mommy and Daddy.

You have grown up SO much over this past year. Your daddy and I just look at each other and can’t believe how much you have changed. You are no longer a toddler. You are our little girl. You are now fully potty trained (thanks to another 3-year-old).  You dress yourself. You help cook and bake. You take care of Bubby. You clean up your place after we eat. You know to stay in our yard.

As you grow, I continue to pray for you everyday. You are special, Hayden. Sometimes it hurts so much because of the amount of love I have for you. You are loved. Not only by your family and friends, but by God. You are His child. I pray that as you grow, you learn to know Him more everyday. I pray that you learn to trust Him in everything and lean on Him. I pray that you let Him use you to His glory. It is hard to say, but God loves you even more. You are HIS. I pray that you always know His faithfulness and never stray. I pray that you love Him with ALL of your heart. Know that he will NEVER leave you, no matter the circumstance. You will have people come and go in your life. You will go through hurt. But God will never leave you. He will always take care of you. I pray that you will be able to look at your father and me as Godly examples.

Hayden, we love you more than words can even express. We are so proud to call you our daughter. We will ALWAYS be here for you.  We will ALWAYS love you. Nothing can change that.

Love you,

Mommy

Hayden's "Party Day"

Today was a very special day. We celebrated Hayden's 3rd birthday with friends and family (her real birthday is this coming Friday). Can I just say how blessed we are to be surrounded by such love and encouragement? Cause we are. If you were there today, thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for being there to celebrate our baby girl. 

Over a month ago, I started looking around online for some ideas for her party. I knew right away we wanted a Minnie Mouse theme, because, after all, she is OBSESSED with the mouse. It took a LOT of time, patience, lists, and people to do this. I know it was just a birthday party that she will probably never remember, but I still wanted to make it special. (below are pictures just so I can have them documented...so you probably don't really care what the entire process looked like!)

It all started with the invitation...

(took the address off for all those creepers:)

 The lighting isn't the greatest but you get the point!

 This is the banner that Hayden helped me with...

I had the banner and some of the other little craft things done by Saturday, so I thought all I needed to do was decorate my parents' house and make the cake and cupcakes. OH MY GOODNESS...the entire process took ALL DAY!!! And man, I have to give a shout out to Sarah and her friend Bethany, Mom, grandma, Kris and Dad for working their TAILS off all day to get everything ready. 

While I attempted the cake and cupcakes...

 Oh...and I am not a fan of fondant...didn't know you were supposed to wear gloves...so my hands are still a little black and so is my armpit...don't ask. 

 My not so professional cake

It still turned out edible at least:)

Sarah and Bethany worked on these beauties...

Kristen worked on this...:)

Anddddd I just realized all of the other pictures from the pre-party are on the other camera at my parents':) Soooo...I will have to add to this later. But, here is the jist of the rest of the day...while the cake was baking and the icing being dyed, Grandma helped me make the cupcakes, but Nic wanted chocolate and the cupcake paper things were light pink with white dots...the chocolate leaked through the paper...we ran out of the stupid icing...Sarah and Bethany had to make an errand run for everything we ran out of/forgot...dad had to remake the cupcakes with yellow cake late in the night...mom worked on arranging the dessert table and food table decorations (and let me tell you...the decisions that went into every detail took one heck of a long time when every person had to agree on it!)...I worked on the fondant (I will never know how people make their cakes look so perfect with this stuff) and got black food coloring all over me (including my armpit and behind the ear)...took a little break to play a card game (which lasted maybe 20 minutes due to lack of knowledge of game)...cleared out everything that has to do with dog (gates, kennel, hair, toys, training cots)...attempted to make a Minnie head out of 3 styrofoam balls by spray painting them only to find out the spray paint ate the styrofoam and the head shrunk (but Bethany did a heck of a job on Minnie's bow!)...enterted 2 children that seem to never lack energy...and so on. But let me tell you something. This weekend was the best weekend I have had for a long time. My family and friends mean the world to me. And this weekend we were surrounded by them (I wish my bro, sis in law, and niece were here though...then it would be complete:)). 

Yes, it was a wonderful, beautiful, perfect weekend full of laughter and happy memories.

Hayden loved her "party day":)

Have a wonderful week, friends!

My Baby Boy is 18 months...and DESSERTS!

Dear Sweet Little Boy,
Today you are 18 months old. I cannot believe how much you have changed since the last letter I wrote to you 6 months ago. You have grown in every way. You are absolutely perfect. You are now 22 pounds and 31 inches tall. Although you are in the lower percentile for everything, you continue to eat like a mad man! You eat anything we put in front of you. 

You are a happy boy. I could listen to your precious giggle FOREVER. Your sister is the best at getting you to laugh your heart out. You love her...which makes my heart smile. I pray every day that you two will grow up loving each other and being each other's best friend. You follow her everywhere and you want to do everything that she does. 

You are quite the social butterfly. Wherever we go, you have to cheese it up and wave to every. single. person. while saying "hi". You know no stranger and absolutely love to show off by running in circles, smiling from ear to ear, and yelling in some language. Your favorite people are women...you are quite the flirt. People comment on your dark chocolate eyes and beautiful smile.  
You are a bright little boy. You know what your daddy and I say to you (whether you listen to it or not is the question!, and you talk back to us in understanding. You talk ALL the time. You can say a lot of words including: Ira (Iris), side (outside, I tuck (stuck), Papa, Rara (Sarah), Kissy (Kristen), daddy, water, milk, ju-ju, eat, hi and bye, nana (banana), pease (please), no, to (me too)...and many more. You are constantly pointing to different things and ask "whaz that?"
You, just like Sissy, are quite the dare devil. You don't stop...ever:)You run, you jump, you fall, you get up and do it all again. We average about one bloody nose, head, lip, tongue, a day. I am so afraid people are going to ask if we beat you because you constantly have a fat lip or a bump or a bruise somewhere noticeable. You never seemed phased by it though! You are still OBSESSED with any kind of ball and will throw one (or 13) around the house all day long.

You still sleep all the way through the night (7:30-8:30 or 9). You are a great sleeper, which I am very thankful for. You do have to your blankie wherever you go...and by wherever...I mean WHEREVER! I love how you snuggle with it and carry it over your shoulder while drinking your milk (with your stomach sticking out).  
You bring so much joy to our lives, sweet boy...your laugh, your smile, your personality. I can't imagine our lives without you and I thank God for you EVERY day. I thank Him for your precious, funny, sweet personality. I thank Him that He allowed us to be your parents. I thank Him for your every breath. I thank Him that He has made you unique with a special purpose.

I have written this in every letter, but I never want you to forget how loved you are. I love you with every ounce of my being.I will never, ever, ever stop loving you. 
You are my baby boy. I cannot thank God enough for that. I can't wait to see you keep growing. 
Love you Colton,
Mommy 




For over a month now, Hayden and I have had this tradition every Thursday night of baking when Bubby goes to bed. I have mentioned this before but I thought I would share some of our favorites that we have found through doing this in case you were interested! Warning: Nothing about these are healthy...but they are oh-so-good!
(This first one ranks at the top of our list!)

Peanut Butter Swirl Bars Recipe:

• 1/2 cup Peanut Butter (crunchy or plain)
• 1/3 cup Butter (I used Butter Flavor Crisco)
• 3/4 cup Brown Sugar
• 3/4 cup White Sugar
• 2 Eggs
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla
• 1 cup Flour
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 6 oz (about 1 cup or so) Chocolate Chips (I use Milk Chocolate)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 13×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.

Cream together butter, both sugars and peanut butter. Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well. Add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Spread in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with chocolate chips on top.

Place in oven for 5 minutes, remove and swirl chips into peanut butter mixture with a knife. Return to oven and bake for 25-30 minutes longer.

Cool and cut into bars.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

         3 cups white sugar

         1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

         1 cup vegetable oil

         2/3 cup water

         4 eggs

         3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

         1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

         1 tablespoon ground nutmeg

         2 teaspoons baking soda

         1 1/2 teaspoons salt

         1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

         1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 1 pound size coffee cans, or three 9x5 inch loaf pans.

2.   In a large bowl, combine sugar, pumpkin, oil, water, and eggs. Beat until smooth. Blend in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Fill cans 1/2 to 3/4 full.

3.   Bake for 1 hour, or until an inserted knife comes out clean. Cool on wire racks before removing from cans or pans.

Snickerdoodles

For the topping:

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 cup butter

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

In a small bowl, stir together the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.

To make the cookie dough, stir together the dry ingredients.

In a bowl with a paddle attachment, cream the butter. Add the sugar and continue to mix, then add the eggs, corn syrup, and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Add the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Chill dough 1 hour if it's sticky or difficult to handle.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Roll balls of dough about the size of a walnut then roll them in the cinnamon sugar to coat. Place on an un-greased sheet pan 2 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until puffed up and the surface is slightly cracked. Let cool on the sheet pan a few minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool.

S'more Cookie Bars

2 1/2 C flour

• 1 t baking soda
• 1/2 t sea salt
• 1 t cinnamon
• 11 T unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 C sugar
• 1 C brown sugar, packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/3 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 C mini marshmallows
• 2 packages graham crackers, broken into squares
• 3 regular sized Hershey’s chocolate bars (1.55 oz. each)

(Preheat oven to 375 degrees)

1. Wisk together the flour, baking soda, sea salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

2. In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter, white sugar, brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until blended.
4. Slowly add flour mixture.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. 
6. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least an hour.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lay graham cracker squares side-by-side. 
8. Put a scoop (a little more than 1 T) of dough in the middle of each graham cracker and press down lightly with your finger. 
9. Pop them in the oven at 375 degrees and bake 5 minutes.
10. Remove from oven and place Hershey’s chocolate pieces on top of each cookie. 

11. Put the cookies back in the oven for another 5-7 minutes.

This is all for now...I will post more later!