For Karen :)

We had lots of fun 'sprinkling' Karen and Baby Boy Merritt this morning and enjoying lots of yummy food! As evidenced in this picture, Evelyn is ready to be a big sister! :)

1st Haircut

Proof that not all of the tissues in our house are being used on stuffy noses! :)

This is the "Before" shot. It was hard to part with his lovely curls, but he had kind of a mini-mullet in the back.

He is enjoying the experience! We went to a place called 'Snip-Its' . . . not sure we can afford this all the time, but they were so great with him! Extremely quick and kid-friendly. She even put his little curls in a bag for me to put in his baby book.

The "After" shot. We realized it looks kind of like Jeff Daniels in 'Dumb and Dumber' if we don't style it a little bit. :)

Cold Remedies for Baby?

Caleb came home with a runny nose yesterday . . . I am recovering from a cold, so I guess it was only a matter of time.
Poor little guy looks so pathetic with his watery eyes and runny nose, but he seems to be playing fine and eating normally (he is snoring a little!).
Today I read online that it helps to rub Vick's Vapor Rub on a baby's feet before putting on footie pajamas and to put a little salt in the water of your cool mist humidifier.
Does anyone else have any suggestions of things I should be trying? :)

Our Little Pumpkin

We had fun at the Merritt's house tonight handing out candy to their neighbors and eating hot dogs off the grill. Here are a few pictures of Caleb's first Halloween (he didn't have any candy, but he ate part of a hot dog bun and he had no idea why he was wearing this crazy costume):
Too much Halloween fun . . . all tuckered out. :)

Fall Fun!

October has most definitely been my favorite month this year so far, here are some reasons why:
-we have had the most perfect weather every weekend (fall-like weather! yay!)
-Caleb has been in such a great mood (no teething!) and is really starting to show us his personality
-trying out lots of new recipes (mmm . . . comfort food!)
-lots of fun activities (pumpkin patch, date night at Grimaldi's Pizza, Mediterranean Festival)
Here are a few pictures:

Finding new uses for the exer-saucer!

Bobby, Caleb, and the Cokenours

Eating straw . . . yummy.

Bobby's 1st Birthday Party! Morgan made these adorable hats for all the party-goers!

Possible family resemblence

My mom sent me these two pictures in the mail . . . I had no idea Caleb and I looked so much alike! crazy!

Return to Blogland!

Haven't felt like I've had much to say lately and my days at home definitely get filled up with school work = no blog posts. But, with my most favorite season of the year sort-of gracing us with it's presence here is Southeast TX (or maybe it is just teasing us), I wanted to post a couple of recipes that I have tried recently. I definitely associate fall with comfort food, so these are probably not all that healthy for you (but they sure taste yummy!).

Pumpkin Cupcakes (I love anything with pumpkin in it, but not necessarily pumpkin pie - weird!)
Source: Real Simple
1 box yellow cake mix (I like the butter recipe kind)
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 15-oz. can of pumpkin puree
Follow the directions on your cake mix box (adding all ingredients needed in the cake mix) and mix in the pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Line 2 cupcake pans with liners and bake for 18 - 22 minutes.
Cream Cheese Frosting (I used store-bought frosting, but this looks like a very simple recipe)
2 8-oz. bars of cream cheese
2 cups confectioners' sugar
Beat cream cheese and confectioners' sugar until creamy and frost cupcakes when cool. Top each cupcake with a couple of candy corns.

Pork with Blackberry Sauce
Source: Better Homes and Gardens (modified for crockpot by me)
1 - 2 lbs. pork tenderloin (I used a pork roast, as the tenderloin was kind of expensive)
1/4 - 1/2 cup of blackberry preserves (depending on how sweet you would like it)
1 cup apple juice
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard (I didn't have any Dijon, so I opted for dry mustard - 1 tsp.)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp. finely shredded orange peel
1/2 tsp. snipped fresh rosemary (I didn't have any of this, but think how good that would be!)
Let this cook for 6-8 hrs. on low in your crockpot. You could leave your roast whole and slice to serve or shred it to put on sandwiches (or corn tortillas - that was how I served the leftovers!)
This will make your whole house smell like fall! :)