Fall Baking - Pumpkin Bread Edition...

I have been seeing recipes for Pumpkin Bread everywhere and decided it was time for us to bake some.  So the other day we attempted this "Cream Cheese Pumpkin Bread" recipe and it turned out really good.  We made a HUGE mess in the process, but I guess that's life (and that's making bread with an 18-month old!)  I attempted taking some pictures along the way...she was just so funny imitating everything I did.  She saw me sprinkle some flour in the pan and she took some and sprinkled it everywhere!  =)  She loves to help stir, and as she watched me measure out teaspoons of this or that, she would take a measuring spoon and try to stick it in the box and add stuff in.  Even though it was a bit chaotic (that might be an understatement...ha!) it was just one of those "making memories" moments between us.  I can't wait for the day she wants to help in the kitchen and is actually HELP, instead of a cute helper who makes a big mess!  

She will scoot a chair over by herself so she can stand here to help.  HA!

And here is what the kitchen looked like in the middle of everything...WHOA!
(And yes, I realize it is not very safe to leave her standing on a chair by herself...I just stood
back for 3 seconds to capture the crazy mess.)  Also notice how neat and tidy (NOT) the cabinet is
on the bottom right...

I hope she still likes to do dishes in 10 years...by then we will MAKE her help and I'm sure she
won't want to. =)

It made two pretty big loaves!  YUM...I like to put some spray butter and whipped cream on mine!  =)

Cleaning Up and TOMS

After we eat Brynn likes to "help" clean up.  (And since we usually end up with random little pieces of food all over the floor after EVERY meal, she has seen us clean up quite a bit!)  Here are a few pics of her cleaning the floor the other day...and notice the cute new shoes!  I have been wanting to get Brynn some little Tom's for awhile, but I couldn't resist after some of our friends from church went on a mission trip to Africa.  While they were there they passed out 600 pair of Toms, and then brought a pair of size 5 (Brynn's size) Toms to show our class (they passed out black Toms with rubber soles to the kids in Africa because they match their school uniforms and the rubber soles last longer because they walk so much in them).

She likes to take a wet rag and wipe the floors!  

PRECIOUS!

18 months - Miss Independent

What a big milestone!  I seriously cannot believe we have a child that is a year and a half old!  That just seems so crazy...but also very exciting because it seems like she is saying or doing something new everyday!  

I know this is a weird picture to post (and it actually goes with a different post) but I just wanted to post
one that you could see her hair/how much older she is looking!
And I think she is eating a banana during this picture, so that's why she has a weird face!  =)

Stuff to remember about 18 months...

• She doesn't go to the doctor again until she's 2, but we think she weighs around 24 pounds.
• Wears size 4 diapers and can wear clothes that are 12-18 months or 18-24...we are just starting those.
• She has been such a GREAT sleeper...usually is in bed by 8:30 or 8:45 and wakes up between 8 and 8:15.  Naps from about 1:30-3:30.  We hear her chatting in her room for about 15 minutes at night before she falls asleep, and then wakes up chirping away.  =)
• Her newest "thing" this month is that at night after we read books and go over to the chair to pray, when we say amen she runs off to her room.  She will barely even give me a goodnight hug/kiss anymore she just starts smiling and waves and runs to her door to wait for Daddy to put her in her crib.  I'm SO thankful that she goes to bed so easily on her own, but I do want a kiss!  =)
• She is still in a BIG "no" phase...we hear that word a LOT.
• She likes to do as much stuff as possible by herself...Miss Independent!
• She has gotten several new teeth lately...she got her big molars over the summer, but is just now getting the bottom ones right next to the middle ones.  
• She has started watching Elmo for like maybe 3-4 minutes at a time!  WHOA!  She watches the DVD player in the car really well, but hasn't ever really watched anything at home for an extended period of time.  
• She loves to move around to her music and knows how to turn on her CD player to turn the music on.   
• Swinging is still a big favorite of hers, and when we go to the park she is getting super quick at climbing up the stairs and going down the slides.
• Some new words this month are moon and CD.  She thinks every color is "blue."  When she will be coloring and I ask her "what color is this?" she always says blue!  =)  HA!  
• She is just a true JOY!!!  Now don't get me wrong, she can be a pistol (especially the last two days, where she has a bad cold and is cutting teeth...whew!) but she is just the most fun, special little thing in the world!  Sometimes when she is watching something and she makes a funny expression or she claps at something I look at her and think "I can't believe I'm your mom...I can't believe this is really my child!"
• I can't believe she is now closer to being 2 than to being 1!!!!!!!!!  Wow!

Friday Night Lights

This past Friday was the big rivalry game between Cape and Jackson.  It was a little chilly and just felt like football weather.  When I went to Cape we didn't have our own football stadium so we played all of our games on SEMO's field, but Central just recently built a BEAUTIFUL stadium and it was PACKED!!  We got there right before the game started, and managed to get about the last seats available...and they were close to the front row!  It was so fun watching the teams and the crowds were CRAZY!  Since I taught/sub in Jackson you'd think I'd have given up for cheering for Central but when Central plays Jackson something just comes out in me (I'm sure you are shocked about that...NOT!).  I know that when we move to Jackson (we have a lot and plan to build in 2-3 years) and Brynn starts school there/plays sports that it will be different and I'll cheer for the good old Jackson Indians, but I'm just not there yet.  The game was super close the whole time, and Central ended up losing 29-26...but we still had a good time.

In my happy place!

I did put Brynn in red/black during the day, but for the game she came dressed in  her mama's
Central colors of orange and black!!

We ended up sitting right in front of the Central cheerleaders, and my old cheerleading coach
saw me and said "look over there!  It's the poster you made 10 years ago!"  She was laughing and
she said "yep, we saved it and still use it!"  Isn't that funny!
I think it says something about Heartland Football Friday...this segment on our news about
the high-school football games.

SOOOO SWEET!  Even Cape and Jackson can be friends!
We ran into cute little Birkley!  Her daddy is a coach for Jackson and she was looking ADORABLE
in her Jackson clothes.  Brynn and Birkley go to Baby Book at the library together.
Katie - I was just thinking...they will be in the same grade at Jackson, right?  I see some future
cheerleaders right here!

We watch football quite a bit around our house and when we turn it on we will say "Brynn, what are the boys playing?"  She will do this lionish growling sound and say "fah-bah!!!"  I hope she likes it just as much as her mama does!

Our Little Rabbit

Brynn pretty much likes any food, but her newest "like" is salad!  Who would have thought?  She will even eat little pieces of lettuce without dressing...weird!  I just never would have thought!  Ryan is always calling her a little rabbit. She also likes to help mix up the salad!  

Here are some pictures of her helping the other night. 

I could just eat her up!!!

SHOES!

Brynn has REALLY been into shoes lately...like literally!!  She LOVES to put on our shoes and attempt to walk around the house in them.  It's pretty cute to watch!

Trail of Tears Triathlon

Last Saturday Ryan, Jason, Alex, and John competed in the Trail of Tears Triathlon.  It started at 9, so I grabbed Brynn out of bed, got her loaded in the car, and gave her a bag of cut-up waffles to eat on the drive out there (it's about 25 minutes from our house).  We got there in time to see the start of the race, and had so much fun being outside and watching all the people compete.  It was such a fall-feeling day...it was a lot cooler than it has been, and the weather just made the day so much fun...that, and watching Ryan compete!

Watching all the people down by the lake...wondering if we would see Daddy before the race started.

YAY!  We got to see him on his way down to the water!

Some of the people getting ready to start...

Here is Uncle Jason coming out of the swim portion...he is such a fast swimmer!

Watching them come out of the swim part is so funny...they are all tired from swimming but trying to run,
while also taking off their wet-suits at the same time...HA!

 Then we watched the boys head off on the biking portion, and knew we had between 45 minutes and an hour to just kill some time while we waited for them to switch from the bike to the run.  Luckily there was a little playground nearby, so we played and enjoyed the fall weather!

One of her favorite words right now is "poop."  There was bird poop in the other swing, so I told her we
couldn't swing in that one.  So the whole time she was swinging she kept pointing to that swing and
saying "poop, poop."

Then it was time to head back over to the transition area and watch the boys come in off the bikes.  She LOVED watching the bikes.  She kept saying "more, more!"

Didn't get a picture of Jason coming in on his bike, but did snap one on his way to starting the run.  

Let me tell ya...I know you guys are all jealous of this hunk in this super-hot biking outfit...I mean,
that helmet...wow, what can I say?  HA!  NOT!  Most of you know that I DO NOT find this gear
very attractive...sorry Ryan!

Then since the finish line was in a different area of the park, we had to take a shuttle ride to the end.  We saw Ryan run across the line but I didn't get a good picture of it.  Way to go Ryan!  We are proud of you...even if you didn't beat your brother!  HA!  (Oh those boys are so competitive...actually Ryan has been a pretty good sport about it, which makes me even more proud of him.  If my sister kept beating me I don't know if I would still like her...JUST KIDDING!)

GOOD JOB RYAN!

When Charli showed up, Brynn was enamored of course!

Checking out the race results with Daddy and all the boys.

The finish area also had a park, so we had lots of fun watching people finish the race and playing!
We even had lunch at the park...yummy!

Watching Ryan get his medal.  Woohoo...can't wait for him to want to put this somewhere in the house!
I have to hide this stuff because he seriously wants to keep it out, and plastic trophies and medals
just do not go with our decor theme!  HA!

We really had such a good time watching the race!  Sarah and I give Ryan and Jason a lot of grief (all in good fun...most of the time) about how they work out too much and too early in the morning, but hanging out  and seeing Brynn enjoy watching the race made it a little bit okay that his alarm clock goes off at 5 am! HA!