Baby Doll {7 months}

Seriously, where is the time going? Claire Bear is already 7 months! She is such a little doll and I love how her personality is just blossoming now! She just started crawling (last week) and she waves hi too :-) It is really so cute.  On Monday we saw her standing up in her crib! I couldn't believe it. We immediately went in and grabbed her, and then Sean went to work to lower her crib. No babies falling overboard in this house! 

little morning buddies

She has been teething now for 3 months and still those little toofers haven't cut through. She is having trouble sleeping...so subsequently, all of the household is sleep-deprived. Jack comes walking into our room in the middle of the night with his hands covering his ears when she is crying. But when her gums aren't hurting...she is the happiest little thing in the world. She loves Jack and literally lights up when he appears on the scene. He loves her too and is always entertaining her. Her laugh might be one of my most favorite sounds in the world. It is so pure, so cute, and so contagious! Jack calls her, "my sweet little heart" and "precious little one" because he hears Daddy call her his "little sweetheart." Both my boys are so tender and so loving. I love watching both of them with her. 

She is still Mama's girl, and literally I'm the only one she wants most of the time....which I love. 

She is my sweet little heart too.

Oh Hume. [part 2]

One of my favorite things about Hume is that you can walk all the way around the lake and it is so beautiful! One morning the four of us headed out early to walk the lake and it was just magical. There is something so serene and peaceful about the lake in the morning.

About half way around the lake, we ran into Michael and Jonathan fishing, so Sean and Jack got to fish for a little bit too!  It was such fun to see these special father/son moments. These are the memories that will last a lifetime.

We had so much fun...can you tell?

i love him.

My brother Christian is one of my most favorite people in the world.  He is so sweet and so much fun.  All the kids absolutely adore him. I love my big brother. and plus...he can fly.

My Amazing Mom. She is incredible. She is such an inspiration to me.  

Jack is so cute. He loved the ducks and for some reason thought the ducklings were called "peeps." 

feeding the ducks and the "peeps"

I am so thankful to the Lord for my sweet family and for the fun memories we get to create together when we are at Hume. I hope its a tradition we can continue every year. forever. :-)

Oh Hume. [part 1]

There are few places in the world that I love more than Hume Lake.  My family has gone up there for a week just about every summer for the last 6 years.  I went up as a high school camper, and then as a counselor.  There is no cell service, no internet (well technically there is, but I didn't bring my computer), no large grocery store or Target.  It is quiet. It is inspiring. It is beautiful.  God's presence is palpable.  You can see Him, feel Him, hear His voice.  There is just nothing like being amongst His beautiful, majestic creation. Being apart of it, and knowing the One who created all of it, created me. Loves me. Knows me.  

It is overwhelming, and I never get tired of it.

It is a sanctuary away from the busy, hurried existence that seems to encompass each day. It is also where we have made precious memories with my family. We stay in a large cabin/house all together. We wake up and have coffee together, we eat pancakes and bacon together, we laugh together, we play at the lake together, and we just enjoy being together.  This year was especially fun since Jack really loved every minute of it.

Morning cuddles! So cute!

After breakfast we all get ready and head down to the lake to set up "camp."

This was Claire's first time traveling and being away from home, and with little ones, you can never be sure how they are going to do, but she was perfect.  She did great on the ride up [9 hours], slept great in the pack-n-play and just hung out the rest of the time. She really is such a good baby. It's crazy to think a year ago when we were up at Hume, I was just barely pregnant with her.  Now she is this little person who we know and love so deeply!

She, of course, spent a lot of time relaxing :-)

And so did we.

(Left) My sis and me and our napping babies.    

During the day there were lots of fun lake activities that we did as a family. We took our boat out, which Jack loved...but he literally fell asleep out in the boat everytime! So we started just taking him out around nap time and them we'd bring him back in and he'd nap on a towel on the shore. It was so cute and just reminded me that he is still such a little boy.

At night in the cabin the kids organized events for us. We had a major ping-pong tournament, complete with trophies and awards. My nephew Jonathan and my niece Olivia spent a long time making the trophies out of water bottles :-) It was really cute, and we all had a blast doing the tournament. [I got second place...it was intense. Jonathan took 1st place!]

 Another night we had a song writing contest- which was awesome! My favorites were Mum's "At Hume Lake" to the tune of 3 Blind Mice, and Michael's rap/song "Hume Lake, Hume Lake, Hume Lake is so much fun..." or as Jack says it..."so much, so much fun!" He still goes around singing both of them! 

Mmm D'Licious: Snickerdoodle Blondie Bars

Brownies are good [as long as they are accompanied by a large scoop of vanilla ice cream to cut the chocolate] but BLONDIES?!?!
and Snickerdoodle...Yes. Please.

If you are like me and are not in love with all things chocolate...these are for you.
If you do love all things chocolate...these are for you...because they are just that good.

Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 ounces (2 sticks / 1 cup) unsalted butter, softened to cool room temp
1 cup granulated white sugar
1 cup (lightly packed) brown sugar
2 large eggs, at room temp
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping
2 tablespoons granulate white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Line with parchment paper and then butter the paper. {I used olive oil spray....worked perfectly}

Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix until smooth.

Add the flour mixture and mix until the flour is just incorporated. The batter will be thick like cookie dough.

Scrape batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly.

Make the topping by combining the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar topping evenly over the top of the batter.

Bake 20-25 minutes.

I served it with vanilla ice cream, but they are delish by themselves too!

Super easy, super yummy...go forth and bake. 

Enjoy!

Fireman Jack

Last month my friend Tawny threw a Fireman party for Trevor's 3rd birthday! It was so much fun, totally age appropriate, and adorable!

My little "Fireman Jacky."  He loved his hat!

Jack & Nicky jumping and Jack & Taylor...he loves her!

Happy Birthday Trevor!!

Pinata time!

This was the cutest game ever and the boys all loved it! They got to throw water balloons to put out the "fire."

*While I was putting this post together, looking at all these sweet little boys with firemen hats on, I couldn't help but think of the 343 brave firefighters {and thousands of others} that lost their lives 10 years ago on 9/11. 

I pray that the Lord will continue to work through that horrible situation to bring life, peace and restoration to everyone who has suffered as a result of that tragedy.

  We Will Remember.*

linking up with Casey here

First Fruits

make that first foods...rice cereal to be specific.

And she loved it. She was so proud of herself. 

Oh how I love her expressive little face.

Every little milestone is a reminder of how quickly time passes.

How quickly they turn from tiny to toddler. 

{tear}

As parents we have precious little time to pour into these ones. 

It is vitally important to give them healthy food to nourish their little growing bodies, but what we feed their spirits is of even greater importance. 

I pray the Lord will give us the wisdom, strength, and grace to raise these babies to know Him,

to know how precious and dearly loved they are [by Him & us],

and to honor and obey Him.

In the midst of a society that will want to feed them lies and convince them that worldly gain and pleasure is all that matters; 

We must show them the light, the freedom, the joy, 

the peace, 

and the life

that comes from walking in obedience to God.  

It is a lofty responsibility we parents have.  These are lives being molded, minds being shaped, and ultimately, futures being determined, one lesson after another.

Be mindful of what you are feeding your little ones.

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