So I have a ton of baking to do but I'm taking a break to do a post.
Anyone else feel like Christmas snuck up on you this year?
Not really many pictures from our weekend because we didn't do much, so I included a bump update as well...it's a growin'!
I felt the need to go out and buy a few new things for the baby.
(eventhough it's a boy and we probably have most everything we need!)
Couldn't resist these mushrooms:
date-night-in complete with a Costco u-bake pizza and eggnog
rice pudding:
(we sure know how to party it up on a Friday night)
so he dipped them for me while I was out running errands with my mom:
(isn't he sweet?)
Chris' parents came over on Sunday for a bit to play with B
while we finished up DIY gifts, baked, and wrapped.
Bennett especially had fun knocking down towers with his papa:
And that's that for our weekend...told ya it wasn't very exciting.
. . .
Since my bump was pretty much non existent the last time you all saw it, I thought I'd show it off a bit.
This little dude is growing quickly!
(I gave up on the chalk paint pens on week 17...it's a little harder to read but takes much less effort to erase.)
(And yes, that's a mango...don't judge.)
Okay back to baking!
Happy Tuesday (almost wednesday)!
POST EDIT: Chris just pointed out that we took two different week 17 pictures...oops!
No wonder I've been so confused on what week it is...blame it on the baby brain.
So I know all of you are waiting in suspense to find out what we are having right?
Well
Craig and Lauren threw us a little shindig lastnight at a restaurant with all of our closest friends.
(sorry for the horrible lighting)
The party was complete with cupcakes that would reveal the little babe's gender!
(a la the colored center icing)
Instead of Chris and I biting into the cupcake ourselves
(like what Craig and Lauren did at their party),
we had Bennett bite into it.
He took the smallest bites ever, without even touching the cupcake (he hates to be messy).
Eventually he got to the center, revealing that this sweet thing is a...
BOY!!!!!!!!!!
We are totally surprised and so excited to have another Bennett around these parts!
Brothers are so sweet (and it doesn't hurt that we can re-use clothes and toys as well)!
Now we just need to find the perfect name!
In an effort for me to fit in a nap today, I give you a quick rundown of our weekend...
cozy fire:
B checking out the tree:
a freezing morning walk:
mowing the frozen lawn:
Chris put lights up!:
my mom took B to her company Christmas party Saturday night while we said goodbye to the crib and hello to his new full-sized bed! Sad face.
we stayed up way too late:
(I'm totally jealous of Bennett's new "tick tock" aka clock)
Finished product:
this is only part of the amazing breakfast we enjoyed at
Lovejoy Bakers Sunday morning:
after breakfast, we perused all of the super crafty booths at the
Portland Bazaar:
people stared at me weirdly while I stopped to take a picture of the pretty moss on the ground:
Chris and I sampled jelly belly's at costco:
(that white one tasted like dirt... literally. I don't even know what flavor it was supposed to be.)
one last picture before picking B up:
first nap in his new bed:
(isn't he so cute and tiny?!)
The Peterson's came over Sunday night for nachos and cookie making/decorating.
We stayed up late and watched Christmas Vacation.
We are so wild and crazy starting a movie at 10pm!
our creativity abounds:
(they were eaten up in 15 minutes at Chris' work!)
and this morning we had our big ultrasound!
Everything looks good but we won't know if it's a girl or a boy until dinner tonight...
This lady is making cupcakes and we are getting together with friends and we will all find out together!
I totally could have opened up this envelope, but I didn't.
Sometimes it's no fun being honest!
stay tuned!
I wanted to share with you guys how I made my advent calendar in case you want to make one for yourself (yes I know it's too late for you to do one for the whole month...but you could do "the 12 days of christmas!")
I wanted our advent calendar to focus on activities, not things or candy.
I also didn't want to spend very much money to make it...I'd rather put that money towards the activities.
I only spent $1 on the envelopes and the rest was just paper I had laying aroud and I used my stamp set for the numbers.
This was so easy to make and I like that it's not horrible to look at like a lot of the ones in the stores.
The hardest part was coming up with all of the activities. I wanted to include things that our kids would look forward to doing each December. I looked around the blogosphere for ideas to put on the cards and I made some up myself. Since I had a hard time coming up with 24 ideas I thought I'd share mine with you guys, because chances are that you will too if you make one!
go christmas tree hunting
cut out snowflakes
go out to dinner
make a card for daddy and put it in his stocking
decorate the tree
wrap a toy and take to a charity tree
do a christmas craft
have a treat
read about the birth of Jesus
decorate christmas cookies
take cookies to friends
have some hot chocolate
unwrap a new book to read
drive around and look at christmas lights
watch "a charlie brown christmas"
take a silly family picture
go out for milkshakes
make a winter treat for the birds (cover a pinecone in pb and birdseed)
make a gingerbread house
turn up the christmas music and have a dance party
go to Zoolights
have a family christmas movie night
go to the library and check out christmas books
I put it on some baker's twine and hung it on our mantle. Truth be told we forget to check the envelope most days, but I still make it a point to do the activities. I'm sure next year B will be all over checking the envelopes.
Let me know if you guys make one, I'd love to see it!
Just some pictures from our awesome weekend filled with great friends, Zoolights, and Christmas tree getting and searching for snow at the base of Mt. Hood.
on the zoo train with Ryan, Kaitlynn and Truman:
Bennett's first time seeing snow:
(he wasn't too fond of it, and really didn't like walking in it, though he warmed up to it a bit towards the end)
He was totally pooped on the way home:
Truth be told, we didn't even end up finding a tree. We saw a lot of tiny trees and a lot of huge trees but nothing that would really fit well in our living room. We ended up stopping by Al's Garden Center to pick up a nice tree on our way home.
And tonight we decorate it!
Be sure to check out
Lauren's video she made about our adventure
here!
So I've been wanting to make
this recipe that I've had stashed away in my recipe binder for a few years now.
A few weeks ago I gathered all of the ingredients and started cooking.
It was super simple and reminded me so much of my favorite butternut squash ravioli at
Cafe Murrayhill.
Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go!
(trust me you won't regret it, and don't judge the pictures...it was dark!)
Pumpkin Ravioli
makes 4-5 servings, or dinner for 2 plus lunches for the next few days
Ingredients:
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (just buy the canned stuff...making your own never turns out the same anyways)
4oz. softened cream cheese (half of a brick)
1/4 cup parmesean + more to sprinkle on top
1 large egg
salt and pepper
32 wonton wrappers (I think my pack had way more than 32 and I ended up using all of them!)
6 tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup toasted walnuts (or any nut really) to sprinkle on top
balsalmic vinegar
1. In a large bowl, mash together pumpkin, softened cream cheese, parmesean, egg, and 2 pinches each of salt and pepper.
2. Roll out a bunch of wax paper on your counter and place 16 wonton wrapers on it. Spoon out pumpkin mixture into the center of each wonton wrapper and wet all of the edges (I just kept a little bowl of water nearby). Place a wonton wrapper on top and press to seal the edges really well (you'll have a mess if you don't!)
3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil.
4. While you're waiting for the water to boil, melt the butter in a large skillet. Be sure to keep the butter warm, and if it gets to be
browned butter, even better!
5. Working in batches, drop the ravioli in one and a time. You may need to turn down the heat if the water is boiling too hard because these guys are fragile! They will be done once they float to the surface (about 3 mins).
6. Use a slotted spoon to remove the ravioli from the water and add them to the butter. Turn to coat.
7. Divide the ravioli amongst yourselves. Top with parmesan, toasted nuts and a drizzle of balsalmic vinegar.
8. Enjoy!
The picture doesn't do it justice. Trust me on this one.
(when I got to the end of my wonton wrappers, I started to make triangles because I had so much filling left over)
Let me know if you try it, and I was intimidated at first...but making ravioli is actually super simple!
