BJ's 25!!!!

Saturday, February 26, my husband turned the big 2-5! For 6 days, we are the same age! We always get really excited around this time of the year, because we get to celebrate both of our birthdays...so we have one whole week of excitement! To start out the week, we went to a bed and breakfast in Cedarburg, WI. We stayed at the Washington House Inn. You should check it out! The town was very lovely, and our room was charming! It was a nice family getaway...I say family, because Olivia joined us! She had the whole town talkin' about how cute she is! Sorry we don't have pictures. We forgot our camera :(

I wanted this birthday to be special, because he mentioned how sad it was that birthdays aren't that big of a deal anymore. Well, I wanted them to be a big deal! So I invited some of our friends over for a party to celebrat BJ and some of his favorite things!! This is BJ cake! We found the guitars at a cake store in Cedarburg! The cupcakes were strawberry (his favorite) with cream cheese icing!
Blowing out his candles!

Acting like any 25 year old would do!! Playing his tiny guitar!

Sean and Jeremy chugging their Sprecher rootbeers! When BJ was sobbing about how birthdays aren't special anymore, he mentioned that people don't throw him rootbeer parties like they did for his 21st! So, rootbeer party it is! And of course...by now, you know we love Sprecher!

Gotta get a family photo!

And...pin the tail on the donkey! We had to have some form of entertainment!

Here's Jeremy laying the winning piece!

This is too funny! Lael (not me!) went to the right of the board both times and stuck it on the refrigerator. And...

her husband went to the left both times and put it on our shelf! They were the only two that went off of the general direction. We said if they would just meet in the middle, they'd do okay!!

Here are the two winners!!! And their prizes were Spreckers and reeses eggs (also BJ's favorite!)

Nora enjoyed the party! In fact, it was her first birthday party!

The girls! With all of the balloons...

And the boys (and Nora)!

And more balloons! Someone always has to stick one in their shirt! I guess that's okay because his wife is pregnant!

We had a good time celebrating BJ's birth and his favorite things!! I forgot to mention the all time favorite thing that was at his party...Jimmy John's turkey slims! He loved it! At the end of the night, BJ compared his party to the end of a Chuck episode when they've finished the mission and are celebrating all together over dinner. You know if you watch Chuck! Success!!

Olivia's 10 months!!

It's crazy to say that Olivia's already 10 months old! Yikes! We feel like she is growing so fast...she even looks older. I think it's her teeth! She has 5 now: 3 on top, 2 on bottom, and I think she is working on cutting another one on top. She is a great eater! She is starting to prefer finger foods over baby food...I can't imagine why?!?! The tough thing is finding finger foods that are safe and healthy! Any suggestions?! This is the first month that we don't "snuggie her/swaddle" her! She sleeps in her crib like a big girl...and on her tummy like her mama! She is still such a good sleeper! She sleeps 12 hours at night, and takes a short morning nap, and a longer (2-3 hour) nap in the afternoon. The only thing she needs for her sleep is her lovey, that she can't live without! When she wakes up, she plays in her bed about 30 minutes before wanting to get up! She's so funny!
Like we said, she is getting sweeter with age! She has a few toys (babies and her Olivia the Pig doll) that when we show them to her, she freaks out and wants them so bad. Then when we give them to her, she holds them so tight! It's quite precious!

Here she is hugging daddy and her Olivia the Pig doll. Also, sporting her new bathing suit that she will wear in April to the Dells and July to Destin!

This is mommy playing dress up! But I think she likes it. We say that she might be a bellerina, because when she stands and "walks", she is on her tippee toes!
Her personality is forming more and more! I think this picture is so funny because I gave her a basket of toys and she pulled out every one, played with them, and set them down...in a circle. I think she is type-A!
She is getting into EVERYTHING. She loves cabinets, doors, and anything else that she has never discovered yet!
And...she doesn't like to be told "NO!" when she is into something she's not supposed to be in!!

But we love her anyways (like the Olivia Children's books say!)

My New Hobby!

Red Velvet Batter:

2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz. red food coloring (two bottles) or 4 oz beet juice
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1 teaspoon baking soda 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins or silicone pans with cupcake liners.
2. Sift together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder to form a thin paste without lumps and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using a hand mixer or stand mixer, beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla and the red cocoa paste, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you go. Add one third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, beat well, then beat in half of the buttermilk. Beat in another third of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk. End with the last third of the flour mixture, beat until well combined, making sure to scrape down the bowl with a spatula. 4. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda. Be careful as it will fizz so don't do it in a shallow bowl. Add vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine. Fill cupcake cups with cake batter until they are a little under 3/4 full. I ended up with 20 cupcakes. Place muffin tins in your preheated oven. Bake for approximately 20, rotating pans halfway through. The cupcakes are done when you are able to pat the tops and the cake springs back up. If it sinks down they are not yet complete. Or you can insert a toothpick into the center of a cupcake in the center of the tin and if it comes out clean they are done!

5. Cool the cupcakes in their tins on a wire rack for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool completely before frosting.
Cream Cheese Icing:

1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

6. Enjoy!

Here is another piece that I did a week ago for the super bowl! I love baking!!

Got to give credit where credit is due:
bestcucakerecipe.blogspot.com
foodnetwork.com

This is what I call Snow!

If a picture is worth 1000 words, then this blog is worth about 5000 words. Who wants to come up here and go snowboarding with me?

She's not a baby anymore...

Our friends Jack and Lael had their baby today! We are so excited for Olivia to have a new friend that she can grow up with! As I think about how cute and little Nora will be, I am starting to realize that our baby is not a baby anymore... She is big enough to have her own baby and rocks it to sleep!

She is drinking from a sippee cup
She stands on her own, and even started "cruising"!

"Olivia, show mama your new teeth!!"

(Not really wanting to open her mouth)

(Okay, really getting ticked!)..."Come on Olivia, everyone wants to see those pearly whites!"

"Not gonna do it mom!"

"Okay mom...I give in!!!"

(There they are...2 1/2 on the top, 2 on the bottom!"

"CHEESE!!!!!" (Now she is really cheezing it!)

And she is even has enough hair now to wear a bow!!!