Kathryn's first dentist appointment

Yes I waited until she was 4 for her first trip to the dentist.  The dentist told me that it was a perfect age because they finally sit still and listen very well.  She did wonderful!  No problems and the dentist could tell that she brushed very well.  Afterwards she got to pick something out of the treasure chest.  She chose a butterfly, you are surprised, right? They even let Andrew pick something out since he was so good at patiently waiting.  He picked out a blue fish.  Kathryn promptly named it Dory.

 

 

She's so stylish!

October Fun

Our October was pretty busy as well.  It always includes a trip to the Pumpkin Patch with our MOPS group.  I'm really going to miss that trip next year.

 

Playing video games together.  Here they are ski jumping.  (And yes, Andrew does wear pants once in a while.)

 

 

Pumpkin Patch Trip

 

Corn Maze

 

The big slide was new this year.  The kids (and grown-ups) rode down the slide on burlap bags. 

 

Hayride

 

Bouncing to impress her Jonathan :)

 

Each kid gets to pick out their own pumpkin to take home.

 

One of them wasn't feeling well (don't remember which one).  But I love that both bears and Lady were snuggling with them.

September Beach Trip

One last beach trip for the summer...

 

 

There she goes wave jumping again...

Andrew wouldn't get in the water but he would get in his own "pool"

 

This is my favorite picture. Just him and the sand & water.

Summer Fun

Here's a few pictures from the rest of the summer.

 

 

Tag team video game playing...

 

I think Lady is squished...

 

Out back pool fun...

 

We took a trip to Baltimore to visit Aunt Elisha, Uncle Jonathan, Caleb, Esther & Anna.

 

Andrew got a big boy bed.

We went to the Museum of Natural History with some friends.

 

I'm sure our summer was filled with other stuff, but this is all I had pictures for.

August Beach Trip

The beginning of August we took a trip to the beach at Fort Fischer.  The kids love the beach and this spot you can usually find a parking space.  I like this spot because of the real bathrooms.  Plus it is close to the aquarium.

 

 

Kathryn's inventing new Olympic sports.  Wave jumping...

 

...and pail flipping.

 

If you visit the aquarium, you have to stick your hand in the alligator.

 

They added this wonderful playground area next to the snack shop.  The kids had fun playing and Eric & I had fun not having to really keep an eye on them!

 

This is why I don't like the ocean.  or lakes.  or anywhere I can't see what is swimming near me.  Jellyfish sting.  The lifeguard was spraying another lady's sting when I got to her.  I guess that was a busy time of year for them.

 

Family pic where we are all looking at the camera and all attempting to smile.

Strawberry-Banana Mini-Muffins

I don't cook.  I bake.  I do not claim to be related to Betty Crocker or Martha White.  Most of what I bake started off as a box mix that was revamped.  Or a combination of already prepared things.  Once in a while though I come across a from-scratch recipe that is a winner.  One that I can do every time with a very high ratio of smiles.  This is my go-to.  The kids love them (so does the dog if you aren't careful).  One of the first times I made them, Andrew ate half the batch by himself. 

This was almost 2 years ago.  He was 15 months and sneaky muffins from the counter already.

I have another misplaced picture of him sitting under the piano with the muffin box eating with this huge grin on his face.  They are good.  And from scratch.  Why wouldn't I fix them any time I have a banana that is past its prime?  I keep pre-chopped, frozen little bags of strawberries for just such a baking occasion. (I freeze about a cup's worth of chopped strawberries.  When they defrost you get this yummy juice and very mushy strawberries that work very well in these muffins.)

I thought I would share my recipe with you.  You are welcome.

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup canola oil
1/2 Cup milk
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 Cup white sugar
1/4 Cup brown sugar
1-3/4 Cup all-purpose flour (I have used bread flour before)
1 Cup chopped strawberries
1 or 2 riped bananas (at least 1/2-1 Cup mashed)
Cinnamon/Sugar mix

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 375 and spray a mini-muffin pan or use liners.
2.  In a small bowl (I used my 2-cup measuring cup), combine oil, milk, egg & vanilla.  Beat lightly.  In a large bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, sugar & brown sugar.  Toss in strawberries to coat with flour.  Pour in liquid mixture.  Mash bananas in the first bowl and add to muffin mix.  Stir together.
3.  Fill muffin cups.  Sprinkle with cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Bake at 375 for 12 minutes.  Cool for a couple of minutes or as long as your kids will let them & remove from pan.

I always forget to add the cinnamon/sugar on the second batch.  Oh, this makes 1.5 batches-ish.  All depends on how full you fill the cups.  The original recipe I modified said it made 8 muffins.  Who has an 8-cup muffin pan?? Oh, and my kids have already gotten into this batch.

4th of July

We celebrated the 4th of July watching a SwampDogs baseball game with the Hazens.  (Just to tell you how mixed up I am right now, I typed Blue Rocks.  That was the team in DE.  Yes, I've had my coffee for the day.)  Then we went to the 4th of July celebration at church.

 

Noah & Kathryn didn't care much for baseball.  They were hanging out waiting for the fireworks.

 

The church had fun little games set up for the kids to play. Andrew kept going back to the water.

 

 

Someone insisted on her face being painted.

 

She's flying like a butterfly...