HB at 11 months

I realize my last monthly post of HB was only two weeks ago, but it was two weeks late, so this post seems early but it's actually on time!  I hope that wasn't confusing...

At 11 months, my sweet son is:
-Cruising around furniture with quick efficiency.
-Trying to crawl away from me anytime a door opens or we are outside or any new place for that matter.  If he hears me coming or suspects I am chasing him he puts his head down and bores full speed ahead.  It  is cute however it would probably be cuter if I weren't chasing him at 32 weeks pregnant:)
-Eating table food quite well.  He enjoyed sloppy joes and corn last night!
-Starting to say "dada" but hasn't connected the word with the person...yet.
-Waving good bye, mostly to daddy, but occasionally other people too.
-Clapping with some encouragement! 
-"Mooing" when he hears our actual cattle balling or when we read something and I mimic a cow.  He doesn't quite say "moo" but he makes a low "mmm" sound.  I love it!

Enjoy the pictures - it's been a full couple of weeks around here as we prepare for his first birthday party and attempt to cross lots of "honey do" projects off of hubby's list before baby girl arrives in late May!

HB's chair photo at 11 months.  He likes to show off his "moves" rather than sit still for a picture!

Isn't tortoise riding an event at the National Finals Rodeo?  Well, maybe not, but we sure had fun watching this tortoise take HB for a spin! 

Posing with Mama after she scooped him out of the corn "patch" in our garden.  We had just watered it and he loved the cool, moist ground.  The sprouting corn did not love him as much.

Helping daddy plant the tomatoes and water them.  HB loves tomatoes!

Cream cheese meltaways with lemon glaze

Whatcha Making Wednesday: Cream Cheese Meltaways with Lemon Glaze
Recipe from: either Southern Living or Cooking Light

I don't know about you, but lemon is one of my favorite tastes when spring rolls around.  Hubby planted a lemon tree in our front yard long before it was "ours" and I can now enjoy the fruits of his labor almost year round as we juice the lemons and freeze the concentrate for lemonade and baking.  I've been meaning to try this recipe for a few years now but it's always one of those recipes that I am missing an ingredient for.  I had everything yesterday though and so the baking commenced.  The cookies themselves were okay but the lemon glaze is what made them for me!

Cookies:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup (2 ounces) cream cheese, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine flour, cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, butter, cream cheese, and vanilla in large bowl by mixing on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add flour mixture and stir until just combined.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls.  Make sure not to handle the dough too much while forming the balls or they will become heavy and dense. 
4. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes or until bottoms of cookie are brown.  Cool completely on wire racks.
5. To prepare galze: combine remaining powdered sugar with lemon juice, whisking until smooth.  Dip tops of cookies in glaze; let cookies stand 30 minutes or until glaze is set.

Yield: approximately 36 cookies

I had extra glaze leftover so I am going to use it to glaze a lemon bread today!  Yum:)

More than I can ask...

I was recently convicted of my need to record the good things the Lord is doing in my life so I can reflect back on these answers to prayers and blessings when I'm in those "valleys" and my memory is more like that of a goldfish.

Kelly and I along with my immediate family have been planning a trip back to Montana for my grandmother's memorial service this spring.  During my first attempt to purchase a ticket using Delta Skymiles I discovered my maiden name was still on my account which would only allow me to purchase a ticket under my maiden  name.  No bueno.  Two weeks later, after submitting a copy of my marriage license and the proper letter to Delta, my name has been updated.  However the minimum number of Skymiles required per ticket jumped by 10,000 for a total increase of 20,000.  Another no bueno mostly because this was going to require purchasing the additional 20,000 Skymiles for approximately $700.  I was heartbroken and frustrated with myself for not checking into these details much earlier.  We were going to have to take the $700 out of savings to make the trip.  After talking to Kelly, discussing the option of driving from Arizona to Montana and back in the time frame of three days, we decided to check our flight options one more time before making a purchase.  And you'll never believe what I discovered this morning: the Skymiles required to travel this morning had decreased by 15,000 for each ticket. 

Wow!  Praise the Lord for he always delivers more than I can ask for or imagine.  And He cares about the details of my life, even the details that I procrastinate on. 

Buckeye Ag Day 2013

Last weekend Brandy exhibited her market whether lamb and one of our young breeding heifers at the Buckeye Ag Day livestock show which is hosted by our local FFA Alumni.  Despite the cold, rainy weather and plethora of mud everywhere we had a great time and Brandy did really well! 

Brandy poses with the lamb judge after being awarded Reserve Grand Champion Lamb.  This whether lamb was slotted as Lot 4 in our lamb sale last fall but passed out after receiving no bids.  We are very pleased with how he turned out and look forward to seeing how he does at our county fair in April.

Looking serious with "Markie" a yearling heifer calf we purchased last fall.

HB posing with a shirt tail cousin of ours - I was so blessed to have many willing hands to help with HB as Kelly worked shift this day.

Brandy's "hardware" - she won buckles for both the Champion Intermediate Sheep and Cattle Showman, the plaque and garment bag for Reserve Grand Champion Lamb and $100 for winning the Intermediate Round Robin Showmanship contest.  Not too shabby!

HB at 10 months

At 10 months old, my Lil Man is still a charmer.  He loves to smile and giggle and has become increasingly active.  Here is a list that describes his current list of "accomplishments":

• He cut six teeth in the past three weeks!  Four teeth on top and two additional ones on bottom.  Combined with a head cold, the past three weeks have been challenging as we have worked through lots of fussiness.
• He is starting to cruise around on furniture - he loves to "walk" especially if it means he walks behind something as he pushes it on our tile floor.  I keep waiting for him to fall really hard but so far he hasn't, whew.
• On this same note, his balance is getting better and better.  He stands up for increasing amounts of time without holding onto anything.  Yes, I still hold my breathe each time, counting the seconds as they tick by before he falls on his cute little bottom.
•  He is getting better all the time at grasping food and chewing it, although a lot of that food ends up on my floor as he figures out what he likes.  This month's food firsts include a dill pickle, black olive (in honor of Uncle Paul) and meatloaf.  He loved all three!
• Sleeping through the night!!!!!!  He did this fairly consistently until the arrival of a head cold last week, but up until then he hits the hay between 7:00 and 7:30pm and wakes up around 5am for a small bottle then sleeps for another hour and a half or so.  I am still working on getting him to sleep until 6am or later without the small bottle...I am hoping to achieve this soon!
• Running circles (literally) in his exersaucer.  I place HB in this lifesaver of a device one to two times a day so I can load the dishwasher or have a few minutes during dinner preparation without having my sub-three-foot boy pulling at my pant leg.  He might complain for a few seconds but once he settles in he literally runs - and giggles too!

Meatloaf & Time Saver Tips

Whatcha Making Wednesday: Meatloaf

I don't know about you but I LOVE meatloaf!  My mom developed my affinity for this gourmet delight and I still aspire to make meatloaf as well as her.  I have already posted one meatloaf recipe this year so I am only going to share that I made meatloaf last night and we had it again for lunch today.  (Side bar: HB also loves meatloaf.  He tore up lunch today - most of the meatloaf on his plate actually ended up and STAYED in his mouth as opposed to on my floor.  You gotta love helping a 10 month old learn to eat.)  I did try a different recipe out of a new cookbook that I have and it turned out fairly well.  A tad on the salty side but sometimes I go little crazy when adding salt and pepper.

As Baby Girl's due date looms on the horizon (11 1/2 weeks left...) I am starting to try to make and freeze a few meals that will make my transition from a household of 4 to 5 a tad less stressful.  I am not going out of my way to do this, but while making freezer friendly meals I try to double the recipe so we can eat one now and freeze one for later.  My gracious hubby helped me actually triple a lasagna recipe two weeks ago so we could eat one, freeze one and deliver one to a couple in Buckeye who just had their first baby.  Tripling the recipe sounded easy until I looked at the pile of dishes we had to do but in the end I was glad we did it all at once.  On this note of saving time, I ended up tripling my meatloaf recipe last night so we could do the same thing: eat one, freeze one and well, freeze a second one.  The cookbook I used suggested a variation of using the meatloaf for bell pepper stuffing and I thought that was brilliant.  So now I have two more meals frozen and ready to go post delivery of Baby Girl.

I am looking for your suggestions friends - what are some of your freezer friendly meals and time saving tips in the kitchen?