Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Cupcakes

Josh requested these as the small group dessert the week of his birthday. They are to die for -- seriously, the frosting is amazing.


CUPCAKE: (Modified from Once Upon My Life)
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with paper liners; set aside.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt; mix on low speed until combined. Add butter, mixing until just coated with flour.
3. Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla.
4. With mixer on medium speed, add wet ingredients in 3 parts, scraping down sides of bowl before each addition; beat until ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat.
5. Place three tablespoons of batter in each prepared baking cup.
6. Bake 20-25 minutes.
7. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


FROSTING: (borrowed from Mele Cotte)
5 cups powdered sugar
1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
~ ¼ cup cream or milk

1. Whisk together powdered sugar and cinnamon; set aside.
2. Mix butter until fluffy and pale. Add vanilla and mix until combined. Reduce speed on low and gradually add cinnamon sugar one cup at a time alternating with a tablespoon of milk. (The amount of milk needed may vary.) Beat until smooth.

Girls -- 4 months

At Evie's 4 month appointment she was 15 lbs 10 ounces (77%) and 25.5 inches (88%). 

At 4 months Ella was 14 lbs and 13 ounces (62%) and 26 inches. 

Here's a pic of the two of them around 4 months -- I think Evie is 4 days older. 

(Evie on left): 

Friday, March 20, 2015

F is for Fingers, Feet, and Flamingos

On Thursday we went to an event at church so our "F" focus was light. We talked about fingers and worked on counting them. 

Ella picked out this light pink nail polish: 


Today we talked about flamingos. 





Our flamingo craft with feathers:




Hide and seek with our flamingos:



Then Ella wanted to hide them and she continued to out them in the same three spots repeatedly. :) 

Putting the flamingos on the Fs: 


Doughnuts

I never know what to buy Josh for his birthday, so this year I stuck with some age-old advice "the way to a mans heart is through his stomach". 

If you know Josh - one thing is very clear; the man loves doughnuts. 


Sadly, they are too simple to make. Something this sinfully good should definitely take work. 

I just used my 2.5 quart pan, added 1-2 inches of canola oil (you can use any oil you want) and then placed the doughnuts in once the oil was hot, rotating throughout until it was the desired color (a caramel color -- but that's just a preference, you could do it longer). 

For the doughnuts, I used Pillsbury Buttermilk Rolls from a can. You just don't want the flaky kind - because the oil will flake them in your pan. I made them two different ways: with a hole and then some without. I preferred with a hole. 

To make the hole just punch your thumb through the center and stretch back the dough. 

I used chop sticks to rotate the doughnuts in the oil. I flipped each doughnut to cover both sides and then took them out one at a time and coated in the cinnamon sugar mix, then took another doughnut out and coated. If you take all of the doughnuts out and then coat all at once. The oil will dry up too much and not much coating will stick. 




They were a hit with my man! :) 

Evelyn - 4 Months

Evie has her four month appointment on Monday and I'm anxious to see how much she weighs. She now officially has moved onto all 6 month clothes -- even the items that were new to her. 

Still no thumb sucking but very slobbery -  we are on tooth watch. 

She has rolled from belly to back but hasn't gone from back to belly; can't figure out moving her left arm out of the way to roll over it. 

She is grabbing things and loves her bumbo, tummy time, and the exercauser. 




Here are some 4 month pics from today. 






Thursday, March 19, 2015

Learning - Letter E


Finger paints and looking for E on her "Frozen" worksheet. She has no idea who Elsa is but it was the only E worksheet I could find. 


Sorting big E and little e. 


Egg hunt -- filled w foam letters inside she had to identify. Easter will be much more fun.  Haha.


Coloring: 


Dot-to-dot sheet. If Pennies and Playdough balls. 




Playdough with letter cookie cutters. 


Letter search. (Thanks Jonathan for sharing) 

Covering up the E's with ... Well ...E's

Wednesday, March 18, 2015

F is for Fish

On Monday we did F is for Flower. Tuesday was St. Patty's day and today is F is for fish. 

As a precursor we took Ella over the weekend to a pet store to buy her a fish. 



Unfortunately, she saw a cat in the lobby and just kept asking for a cat...so we left empty handed. 

Fish puzzle from friends. We did this puzzle no less than 20 times today. 


We ate goldfish for snack. Less sorting and more eating today. 

Sorting big F and little f. She did really well with this activity! 



Another game borrowed from friends. She counted the fish, sorted by color and the numbers in the back. 




Playing with "red fish" 


Swedish fish for a treat -- daddy's fav!