Back in Business!

Woo-hoo and thanks Mark, my in-laws, and parents for the new camera! Mark picked out a Ca*non Rebel XSi (I think) for my birthday and I am loving it so far. I have a lot of re-learnin' to do, though. I took photography in high school but have forgotten so many of the basics after using 'point-and-shoots' for the last ten years....TEN YEARS?! A decade?! I turned 28 last week. No, it doesn't really feel any different.

Back to the photos...these were all taken with the automatic settings and I think it does a great job...I'm excited to do a little more research and take some more artsy pictures, too!

It's been two weeks since I posted last. We've been to two weddings (congrats Jenny and Drew, Warren and Casie), Mark painted the basement, I started using cloth diapers (that deserves its own post, really), made some fun treats I've been dying to try for a year (cupcake pops), and found out I'm going to have a niece!! My brother Joel and his wife Elizabeth are due in February! I'll include more details and photos later...

Out with the old...

A few weeks ago Mark replaced our groovy 70s green olive kitchen sink with a new stainless steel one! Woo-hoo!! The kitchen feels much more up-to-date. James was totally fascinated with the whole process and tried his best to help Daddy.

I'd post a picture of the new sink, but as I mentioned in a previous post, the camera is not working now. I did get a new cell phone with a camera, but haven't figured out how to use it yet. (I know, how contemporary of me! A camera on my phone!?)

First Birthday

These pictures are long overdue! We celebrated James' birthday last weekend at Mark's parents' home.

The balloons were a special request on my part. Every time James sees balloons at the grocery store, he goes nuts! He yells out, 'Ball! Ball!' He was just as excited about his birthday balloons!

the cake

Can't believe he's a year! He was actually pretty worn out before the party started. He didn't sleep very well the night before...

We had to blow the candle out for him...I'm guessing that's fairly typical. He was desperately grabbing for the flame, though!

James celebrated his b-day with six of his cousins, all his grandparents and many aunts and uncles. His cousins 'helped' him open his gifts!

He LOVED his cupcake! He kept turning it over to get to the frosting side...

Later in the afternoon we headed to a lake for a hay rack ride and bonfire! Mark drove the tractor. James was completely mesmerized by it all.

Ready to go!

Exploring in the straw.

roasting hot dogs on willow branch/sticks...a first for me, too!

James gobbled up his cowboy beans, hot dog, hashbrown casserole and watermelon! No, this meal didn't go down as his healthiest, but boy was he happy!

So far "one" seems pretty similar to "almost one". James does have a third tooth now! It's an upper left tooth...not too noticeable unless he's being tickled! Mark and I think he's developing such a sense of humor. He loves to make us laugh and get our attention by shouting and laughing out of the blue. He has also surprised us by loving some pretty spicy foods this week--fajita marinated chicken and chili!!

Birthday Barnyard Cake

Over the weekend our camera conked out, so I wasn't able to get a single picture of James during his first birthday party! Don't worry, though, my mom and dad took many pictures that I'll share once I get them on my computer! Until then...you'll just get the cake pics. I'd call this a cake ensemble; sheet cake and cupcakes together to make a scene! You just should have seen the mess this created, but it sure was fun. I estimate that I invested about six hours in this and was up til 12:30 the night before working on it. The sheet cake was a chocolate cake (super moist) and the cupcakes were an easy banana cake recipe that I modified slightly (3 bananas and added cinnamon). I stole every single idea from the internet, recipes, decorating and all! If you have specific questions about anything, let me know!

Special Delivery!

Yesterday James and I were walking on the sidewalk in front of our
house (okay, I was chasing him up and down the sidewalk) when the big brown Fed*Ex truck pulled up with a box for James from his Uncle Joel and Aunt Elizabeth! I really wasn't expecting a package, but it was fun that we happened to be standing there! James played with the box all afternoon and then we opened it up last night before bedtime, while Joel and Liz watched via the internet. The gift was a big piggy bank with James' name on it. We're still practicing putting coins in, which takes a lot of careful guidance, since James is still more interested in putting things in his mouth. We'll have to continue to work on it over this next year!If you look over on the right, on the computer screen, you'll see Elizabeth and Joel!

1st Birthday Presents and Parade

Oh, how fun! James opened his first birthday presents from his Aunt Jody Thursday night. He was pretty excited about them! Jody gave him a darling camouflage outfit and a little music player. He loves it!

Here's Mark opening the music player. James just couldn't wait!

And today we went to a local parade. James loved seeing the marching bands, dogs, horses, and cars go by! He was pretty worn out after an hour, though. Can you believe James will turn one a week from today? Where has the time gone?

Desserts, Meals, and More!

This first one is actually something Mark was in charge of. I had a girls weekend away at the beginning of August. During one of my calls home to check on the boys, I asked Mark what he was up to, to which he responded that he was "looking at recipes online"! I was just sure he was teasing me. It turns out, he bought the ingredients and made these Buffalo Wings on his own! In fact this is the second batch he made a few nights later for me to try. They were really good! He grilled the wings, made the sauce (Frank*s hot sauce and melted butter mixed with black pepper) and then tossed them in it. I was so impressed with his recipe scouting skills! :)

There is a good chance that these sausages might not look too appetizing to you. Especially if you don't care for bell peppers. Let me tell you, they were GOOD! I was wanting to replicate an appetizer we had in Chicago and this was pretty close. Mmmm. Italian Sausage, Peppers, and Onions.

We have more basil than I know what to do with. It is literally as high as my shoulders. And we have three plants!! So several times this summer we've had pesto! I sauteed some raw shrimp (even the frozen kind is a splurge for us) in garlic and olive oil and then tossed that in pesto and served it on pasta! We also like to have pesto-grilled chicken with pasta. I use and tweak a pesto recipe Andrea's mom gave me: 2 cups basil leaves, a couple cloves garlic, 1/3 cup pecans or walnuts (because they're cheaper than pinenuts), 1/2 cup parmesean cheese, and olive oil added til the desired consistency. I think that's everything. Hey, if you're interested in 2 cups of basil, let me know! You can come and pick a bucket!

This one is here for Mark. I really only make his favorite meal about twice a year. He usually really likes everything I make, but this is home cookin' to him! Salisbury Steak. I had never heard of it before I met him. Yes, it's pretty much meatballs covered in gravy with mashed potatoes. It's yummy but not at the top of the low-fat foods list. :) I surprised him with it last week and he said, "Take a picture of THIS for your blog!" So I did.

fThis was Mark's birthday dessert. It was a good compromise. He loves light, fruit-filled desserts, and I prefer rich desserts. This is a Berry Cheese Torte. I found it in my Taste of H*ome magazine. You can find it online, but I can't link to it, because you have to have a 'subscription' to view this particular recipe. I'd be glad to email it to you, though! Crust: N*illa Wafers and gingerbread cookies. Filling: thin cheesecake layer. Topping: Strawberries and Blueberries with gelatin to told it together. It was really good and looked beautiful!! Probably a recipe to tuck away til next summer when you can get fresh blueberries cheaper! Let me know if you want this recipe!

After we went to see J*ulie and J*ulia, I felt totally inspired to rush home and bake or cook something. This chocolate banana bread was the product of that inspiration! I pulled out a cookbook I got for Christmas, Dorie Green*span's Baking, From My Ho*me to Yours. It's a great cookbook. (the author actually used to write cookbooks for/with Julia Chi*ld) This bread was more like a dessert for me, although I did eat it for breakfast. It's more of an 'eat with a fork' type bread. Almost pound-cake-like kind of density. I thought it was delicious. Slight banana flavor, dark chocolate chunks....good stuff with a glass of milk or cup of coffee. It's called Cocoa Nana Bread, and here's the recipe found someplace else online.

And finally; a layered cake! I was really excited to have friends over Tuesday night. Hosting is always a good excuse to make dessert, in my opinion. I got a fun dessert decorator contraption for Christmas that I still hadn't used. So that's why there are silly little uneven flower things on it. This cake is a coffee flavored cake, with coffee flavored butter cream icing. I found it on Pio*neer Woman's blog. It was really good. Very very moist. You'd think a non-coffee lover wouldn't care for this, but a non-coffee drinker friend of ours actually loved it! We still have half a cake left if anybody wants a slice! Oh, the title of the post I found it in was "Coffee Cake. Literally."