11.18.2011

6 month stats and videos

6 month check up:

Length: 25.5 inches (+1 inch since her 4 month)

Weight: 12.6 lbs (+0 since her 4 month)

Since she didn't gain any weight, we're trying some new things, and we'll take her back in a month for a weight check and a second round of her flu vaccine. We've jumped to trying to feed her solid food once a day, to making her eat it 3 times a day. I know she's probably fine (my mom said that all of her kids had similar growth patterns, we were all just long and skinny), but I would feel a lot better if she'd put on a pound or two!

Here are some of the most recent videos of baby.

The first one is baby talking and making gurgly noises.


The next one is baby talking and reading a book.


And these last two are of baby telling her 2 1/2 month old friend the ways of the world. :)



11.15.2011

breakthrough!

After 3-4 weeks of trying to get baby to eat some cereal, fruit, or veggies...

She willingly opened her mouth for some oatmeal today! Hooray! Hopefully things will keep getting better, because I have a lot of baby food in the freezer for her!


11.14.2011

caramel apple cupcakes




















Yesterday we celebrated my nephew's birthday. He turned 7 at the end of October (hence the '7' candle).

I usually let people choose what kind of cupcakes they want for their birthday, but this little guy wasn't very picky. He said he didn't care what kind he had. So, I made caramel apple cupcakes.














I've been wanting to try these cupcakes for a few months now, so I was happy for an excuse to finally make them! Plus, I pretty much made them up on my own! I'm more than a little bit proud of that fact.

Would you like to make them? Because it's incredibly easy!

First, mix up a white cake mix according to the package directions. Then add in some toffee bits (I used Heath brand).

Peel and finely dice 2 or 3 green apples, toss them in some cinnamon and sugar, and add them to the cake mix as well. I used 2 regular sized apples and one small one, but I probably could have just used the 2 regular ones. It was a lot of apples!














Fill your cupcake wrappers about 1/2 way full, and bake at 350 until done (I almost never time my cupcakes).

Make some magical toffee sauce. No, it actually is magical. You have to plan ahead to make this. It takes 8 hours. I started mine on Saturday night before I went to bed.

Take a can of sweetened condensed milk, and take the wrapper off. Put it in a crock pot and cover it with water. Cook it on low for 8 hours, turn off the crock pot, and let it sit until the water and can cool to room temperature. Open the can and be amazed! It turns into a delicious dulce de leche tasting sauce (I've never had dulce de leche, but Mr. Webb said that's what it tasted like).

You can make it on the stove, and it takes only 3-4 hours, but I've heard stories about cans exploding...so I went the safe route with the slow cooker.














After they are completely cooled, top with your magical toffee sauce, drizzle with melted chocolate, sprinkle with more toffee pieces, and stick a popsicle stick in (I used mini popsicle sticks).

For birthdays, I've started making regular sized cupcakes, but then I make a jumbo one for the birthday person and put it in a cute glass goblet that I bought at the thrift store for 50 cents.














The little nephews especially enjoy that I do this!














Mr. Webb and I sampled one before we went to the party. We were just making sure they tasted good, honest!

11.10.2011

tags

Baby loves tags. I give her a stuffed animal, a crinkly elephant toy, a cloth book, and she messes with the toy until she finds the tag. Then she stuffs the tag in her mouth and makes many happy noises.

So I bought her a Taggie blanket. It's just some nice soft cloth with loops of ribbon sewn into it like tags.

Results? She has orange, pink, blue, and green tags to choose from. Her favorite? The REAL tag with the washing instructions.

*Sigh*

Silly baby!

11.05.2011

cleaning updates and recipe updates

We'll discuss recipe updates first. Remember when I started that recipe blog? And how I actually did pretty good for awhile? Yeah. That fell apart. I do want to try it again soon, though. And I've still been trying new recipes, even though I've not been posting about them.

And remember when I said I was deep cleaning my home? If you don't, that's okay. I forgot, too!

Just kidding, I didn't really forget. I was hoping to get it done by the end of October, but I started with my kitchen. That was a bad idea. After cleaning out and reorganizing all of the cupboards, I was exhausted. But I am almost done with the kitchen. I just have the oven left to clean, and the blinds also. Then the easy stuff like sweeping/mopping and wiping down the counters.

I've also finished the hallway (even though it wasn't that hard, I feel good about it)! And I've cleaned the ceiling fan and blinds in my living room. And Baby has just sat by and been so good while I do it!





















Today has been productive, too! I have taken a nap (thanks, husband, for letting that happen), I've cooked, mashed, and put in the freezer some sweet potatoes for baby. I also made a pumpkin roll for ME! Oh, I guess Mr. Webb can have some, too. :) If you've never had a pumpkin roll, you're missing out. If you've never had a frozen pumpkin roll, you're doubly missing out! They are delicious either way, but I love them frozen!

Tonight I'm hoping to clean the blinds in my kitchen and the ceiling fan in our bedroom. Who knows when I'll finally get the guts to tackle that darn oven...