Snow Day

About two weeks ago, we got to see real snow! It has been 14 years since I have seen snow. When we woke up Friday morning, it was raining. Ava saw it and cried. It broke her heart! She had been wishing for snow for a long time so she was so disappointed. We sat on the couch, listening to the news and Ava said, "Daddy, we need to head north." Funny! We made a quick decision to pack up and go to the "country." It is only an hour and a half away but it had been snowing there since midnight. It was picture perfect. The snow was undisturbed and the trees were all covered. We spent hours playing, walking in the woods, building snowmen and of course a snowball fight. Nora just wanted to eat the snow and Ava was all over the place. She had a ball! It was so much fun but wow...I definitely don't want to live in it. It was cold and wet! Bring on the flip flops!

Nora bug's 1st birthday cake

I think Nora's first birthday is going to have to be divided into 3 posts because well, the laundry and mopping won't get done on its own like I wish it would.
I had so much fun making her cake. Sometimes they aren't that fun because maybe it is too complicated or it doesn't turn out like I had visualized it would. This time, it did! I was up until 1am finishing it but the Starbucks didn't wear off until about 12 am, thankfully. I ordered the party favors from Cookies by Design. They are so yummy and they never disappoint when it comes to their artwork. I was excited about the bucket that I found on clearance at Hobby Lobby that I was able to display them in. The hat was given to me by Valerie Baker for Ava's first birthday but we forgot to use it. Oops. It meant a lot to be able to use it for Nora though.

And...Nora's crying. Guess nap time is over. There's another big reason why her birthday will be in three posts. Ha!

Blueberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Oh goodness....these are sooooo good! I got in another of my baking moods last night and this is what I ended up making. The recipe is for a bundt cake but I used a mini loaf pan. It made 12 mini loaves which I freeze individually so Kevin can take them to work for breakfast. I try to keep things like this available in the freezer since he goes to work so early. They would also be good as muffins.

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (I sifted only one time)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream

FILLING:
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I added more)
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used frozen and coated them in flour/cinnamon to make sure they didn't sink)

GLAZE:
1 cup confectioners' sugar (It took more for me to get it thick like I wanted)
2 tbsp milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.

Spoon a third of the batter into a greased and floured 10 in tube pan. Combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon; sprinkle half over batter. Top with half of the berries. Repeat layers. Top with remaining batter. IF USING MUFFINS OR LOAF PAN, ONLY TAKES ONE LAYER OF BLUEBERRIES AND 2 LAYERS OF BATTER. I also sprinkled the brown sugar mix on top.

Bake at 350 for 55-65 minutes (approx. 30 for mini loaf). Cool completely before drizzling glaze over the cake.

This n That

I have two crafts that we did last week and I forgot to post. They may be something you would like to do with your kiddos. :)

I got the idea for these hearts off of a friend's blog, www.babeofmyheart.com. We used wax paper, pink & red crayon shavings and red & pink yarn that I already had. So this was a free craft and a fun way to celebrate Valentine's day. We cut out hearts in different shapes, punched holes and tied them around the top of the blinds to hang down at different lengths. They are so much fun to look at, especially when the light shines through them.


Another day, we decided to make an instrument. Again, this is a free craft because you can make an instrument out of so many things! A bottle or a toilet paper tube can become shakers or empty containers with plastic lids can become drums, etc... This time, we used a small water bottle and used paint to decorate the inside. Ava chose the colors and would put a few drops in (with some help) and loved watching it slide down the inside. Cute idea and cuter in person than in the picture...but it took FOREVER to dry. So I wonder if a different type of paint would have worked better. Ava's favorite part is listening to different sounds that items make. We try several and then let her decide what she would like for her instrument to sound like. We always try rice, beans, pasta, and pennies. This time, she opted for rice.


And this one is just for fun! The Nichols came over for an impromptu Super Bowl dinner. Because the halftime show left a lot to be desired (seriously, The Who???), we had a halftime show of our own. Introducing Owen on the keys, Ava on vocals, Nora on drums and Lane on tamborine/shakers. It got a tad loud.

Feeling Fishy?

Here is a simple and fun craft that you can do. This helped me make dinner last night without a million "Mommy, mommy, mommy's." I did cut out the fish for her (as you can see...quickly) but she was telling me how and naming them as I went. Ava made sure there were rocks just like in her fish bowl.

All you need is a paper plate, crayons and paper for the fish. Ava cut the top of the bowl because we are working on cutting on lines.


Speaking of fish...Nemo, our beta fish that Santa brought us, didn't last but a month. We have no idea what we did wrong. I thought those things were supposed to last a while. Needless to say, we will be making a trip to the pet store soon for what I am thinking will be the 2nd of many fish we have to purchase.

It's Norantine!

I realize before I even type this how strange and crazy my family will sound but it is worth sharing if it makes you smile. We have a habit of naming our birthday months after a holiday. It all started with "Lenakuh." I'm almost positive my sweet friend, Joy, is smiling right now. There is "Kevinary" and now "Norantine"! Ava + July is causing a bit of a problem. We can't seem to make something work. We spend the entire month of our birthday's celebrating. As you can tell, we love birthday's. We think they are incredibly special and worth the time and energy we put into making each other feel loved, appreciated and simply blessed to have them in our lives. Again, I realize how strange this is but it's our strange tradition and we love it.

So today marks the beginning of Norantine! All things Nora! We still can't wrap our minds around the fact that our baby girl, who is supposed to still be 6lb. 1oz. is turning ONE in 19 short days! We are planning a small family lunch to celebrate. After searching for ideas, I realized that I could make everything much cheaper than buying them. So here is my first birthday craft...invitations. I will make a banner and of course decorate her cake. I'm not going overboard like I did with Ava's. After the first child, I think us Mom's realize that all of the craziness isn't what is important.

In my defense, they look so much better in person. :)



Friday, Ava received a package from her Meme. She was so excited about the hat and scarf that she made for her. It means so much to have something hand made from such a special Meme.