peek a boo nins!

bowie used her grapat set to create a peek a book game for ryder.  it was really cute.  she stacked the coins, put a nin on top and burried them with the rings until you couldn't see them anymore.  then she would place a coin on top and remove it and say "peek a boo."

poor babe!

ryder has roseola!  he had a fever last starting last thursday night and it was gone by saturday.  i thought it was due to teething since he just cut a tooth, but sunday he developed an all body rash.  went to urgent care and he has a viral infection.  good thing is that by the time the rash appears he is no longer contagious and is on the mend.  poor guy, he has not been 100% for the last few days, hopefully he will feel better soon!

at his dr. appointment he weighed in at 23 pounds 10 oz (clothed) and 30.75 inches tall!  still a moose!

painting!

bowie was excited to do some painting the other day. i used our favorite kwik stix paint pens for a minimal mess art project.  i gave her a blank canvas and let her do her thing.  she loved mixing the colors and creating her own masterpiece.  i am thinking we will turn this into a bit of process art and add to it.  maybe next time we will use puff paints, dot markers or acrylic paint?  ohhh maybe even some glitter?!?!?

mothers day weekend!

wishing my beautiful momma and all the important mamas a very special day!  i had the best weekend!  if mothers day was over at 2pm on saturday i would have already had the perfect day!

saturday we woke up and had a quick breakfast and headed out to a cool neighborhood by tiger mountain for a neighborhood garage sale!  i had so much fun looking at all the crap and found a few finds for bowie, but my favorite treasure is a curio shelf and jarad took the hook off the back making it into a beautiful wooden tray to display all our grapat toys!

then we checked out a park in issaquah and i got to work out by myself in the afternoon and run a few errands.  we had friends over for dinner and my girlfriend and i got to hang out and drink wine.  as if that day wasn't already perfect enough, i still had all of sunday!!!

on sunday we had my favorite cinnamon wheel for breakfast and i did a few things around the house and then took off for some alone time (what i really wanted for mothers day, LOL).  i went to ikea!  i have been wanting to go for a while, but this was my perfect opportunity.  i found a few things and enjoyed strolling around the store.  then i went to costco and headed home.  we had jersey mikes sub for dinner and it was a all around perfect weekend.  not to mention warm and beautiful weather to top it all off.

i feel so incredibly lucky to be the mother to two beautiful sweet souls.  i count my lucky stars for our health and my amazing husband!  i have everything that i ever wanted and more!  hope everyone had an awesome day!

cookie cake!

another winner from my fav laney from life is but a dish!  cookie cake!  i have been wanting to find the perfect reason to make this one and mothers day weekend seems like the perfect excuse!!!

we had friends over for dinner tonight and we all enjoyed this one.  i served it with cookies and cream ice cream, but we all agreed that the buttercream frosting wasn't necessary.  this cookie pie was amazing!  for me i like a soft and slightly under cooked cookie and this one had the perfect texture and consistency!

i can't wait to make it again and it will be another go-to recipe for me!

 Ingredients

• 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Buttercream Frosting

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar (I like to run through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of any lumps)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 1-3 drops food coloring of your choice (optional)
• sprinkles (your choice!)

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch cake pan. Set aside.
• Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, cream the butter, brown sugar and white sugar together for 2 minutes and then blend in the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla.
• Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until combined. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix in all but 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips. 
• Press the cookie dough into the cake pan until evenly distributed. If using your hands, wet your hands lightly so the batter doesn’t stick. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips on top and press them down slightly.
• Bake for 22-25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let the cookie cool completely and then run a knife along the edge to loosen. Transfer to a platter. Pipe on frosting along the edges and add the sprinkles. If you don’t want to pipe frosting you can simply spread on top.

Buttercream Frosting

• Beat all the frosting ingredients together until smooth, adding milk as needed. If adding food coloring, add one drop at a time, mixing well until desired color. Place into a piping bag and pipe on frosting if desired. Sprinkle on the sprinkles.

opt outside!

i am sure this is getting old to you, but more pics of our outdoor play set ups!  oobleck, mud kitchen and nature finds!

exploring!

ryder is gaining lots of confidence in his abilities to cruise, stand and pull up.  he is taking his exploration to new levels as he climbs the sofa, coffee table, train table and fire place.