Christmas ~ Disneyland ~ Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush

We had the opportunity to spend Christmas in California. We had a great time and loved seeing Benjamin enjoying himself. We didn't know what to expect with Benjamin's reactions to the rides and huge crowds, but he did well. He was very curious and did a lot of observing. We're thankful that my parents and sister came to meet up with us in Aneheim. Benjamin loved hanging out with Nonna, Abuelo and Aunt Ariana. They would stick around with Benjamin in the park so that Mike and I could enjoy a ride together.

Below are pictures from our trip. But first I have to tell about the missing toothbrush.

Our little Benjamin plays the part of a monkey very well. This little monkey was playing on the bed. Momma was in the bathroom washing her face and daddy was trying to get little monkey to brush his teeth. One little monkey started making a pile of pillows; jumped on top and bounced right off. Monkey's toothbrush flew out of daddy's hand as he dove after the little monkey. Momma came in the room and scooped monkey off the floor. No more monkey jumping on the bed for the rest of the trip! The little guy was comforted and checked for bumps and bruises. Only one bump on the forehead and thankfully nothing else. Once everyone was calmed down a thorough search of the hotel room was done for the toothbrush. It was never recovered. That night, the little monkey got away with getting his teeth brushed. And so, the Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush goes unsolved and will forever be a mystery.

  Benjamin's expression throughout our trip...wonder and amazement.

 Mater from Cars.

 Mickey after lighting the Christmas tree at California Adventure.

 Mike's childhood home in Thousand Oaks.

 Exhausted!

 Western town at Paradise Ranch in Malibu.

 Feet in sand at Zuma Beach.

 Waiting to go to the Tiki Room. Benjamin was fascinated and danced.

 Pirates of the Caribbean.

 Dancing to the 80z All Stars.

 Space Mountain is one of our favorites.

 Benjamin loved "it's a small world"!

 After the Disneyland Christmas Fantasy Parade...it snowed!

Tow Mater's Tractor Pull.

FHE - Reindeer

We missed going to the Timpanogoes Symphony Orchestra tonight for Family Home Evening, so we went to see the reindeer at Thanksgiving Point. Benjamin got to see the reindeer up close and laughed in delight at seeing them.

There was also an ice sculpture demonstration. We saw the sculpter working on his last piece for the evening, a flower in a small block of ice. The process is pretty fascinating.

As a bonus, we saw the Chick-fil-a Cow. It was a fun evening and we are happy to be creating some fun memories for Benjamin.

Sunday Best

I love seeing Benjamin in his Sunday best. He looks so adorable and sweet. However, looks can be deceiving sometimes.

Batik Puzzle

I saw a picture of this puzzle design online a few years ago, but never found a pattern. So I scribbled a design on paper and decided I would try it out some day. I used the same batik fabrics as the "Voice of the Children" quilt from June of this year. The machine quilt design is called circle and square peg. I really like how it turned out and want to make another one. I made this quilt for my sister-in-law, Lan, for our family gift exchange. Details are below.

Benjamin Proof Christmas Tree

The Christmas tree is Benjamin proof this year...at least I'm hoping! I kept everything simple. I focused on putting ornamants that Benjamin can play with on the bottom third of the tree. So far, he has plucked several of them off, snapped one of the snowflakes, broke off one of the teddy bears from an ornament and stepped on a tricycle ornament getting an ouchy.  I even caught him crawling under the tree. I'm sure there's lots more fun to come!

Santa's Arrival

Yesterday we had a great Thanksgiving day meal with a wonderful family, the Andersens. We love this time of year and have a lot to be grateful for: family, health, home and friends (and so much more).

For Black Friday, we kept things simple and went to see Santa's arrival at the University Mall in Orem. Above you might be able to make out Santa's hand waiving out of the window of the helicopter. We were a bit surprised at the force of the wind that stirred up. Benjamin was a little scared, but handled it all well.

Here are Santa and Mrs. Clause being assisted out of the helicopter and below, we got another wave.

While we waited for Santa to come round to our area, Benjamin saw the Build-a-Bear and went right up to him for a bear-hug. He was so adorable, not wanting to let go of the bear, but cuddled happily in his arms. So sweet!

When Santa arrived at our group, he picked Benjamin out of the kids around for an individual shot. Lucky Benjamin! We were happy that he didn't freak out or cry, but was curious.

We even saw Mrs. Clause. She was trailing behind Santa a bit and we heard him call out "come along Mrs. Clause". It made us chuckle. We had an overall good experience and think Benjamin enjoyed the festivities.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

 

I bought some fresh cranberries and thought I'd try something new with my pie pumpkin. This combination of pumpkin and cranberries is tastey.

Pumpkin Cranberry Bread

2 1/4 c flour
1 Tbs pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp baking power
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 c sugar
1 pie pumpkin, baked and pureed
1/2 c canola oil
1 overflowing cup fresh cranberries, chopped
1 c walnuts, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Grease and flour 2-9x5 loaf pans. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking power and salt in large bowl, set aside. In small bowl combine eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until well mixed. Add to flour mixture using wooden spoon. Gently fold in cranberries and nuts. Spoon into loaf pans and bake 50-60 minutes until done. Cool before slicing.



Make sure to chop up the cranberries. I learned that if you microwave the cranberries first, then they will be easier to chop. I microwaved mine for two 30-second intervals. If you leave the cranberries whole, they will expand and pop when baking, leaving holes. Also, I added a bit of flour to the cranberries so they wouldn't stick together. It is important to gently fold them into the batter as they may turn the batter red/pink.

Walking In Daddy's Shoes

Here's Benjamin trying to walk in Daddy's shoes. He didn't get very far, but he had fun trying.

Fun Art Project

I finally got around to putting some art in Benjamin's room. I had fun making his name with all those monkeys hanging around.

Tuckered Out Sock Monkey

This little sock monkey experienced a fun Halloween today. Above, Benjamin is ready to go out. I took him trick-or-treating at my work. He wanted to explore and say "hi" to everyone more than get candy. By the time we were done making the rounds, he was exhausted. When we got home, he had a late afternoon nap. After dinner, we went out again to trick-or-treat at the neighbors' homes. This social little guy tried more than once to go into their homes. He saw groups of kids going from home to home and was so excited he wanted to follow. He would yell..."go, go, go, go, go"...and then would try to walk faster. I'm so glad he had a good experience!

Fall Fun

Fall fun for Benjamin while Mike and I worked to clean up the yard. Benjamin would laugh as the berries fell off the tree. He would shake the branches and then throw the berries that fell on the sidewalk back under the tree. 

Benjamin figured out on his own that piles of leaves are for jumping on. The leaves got every where--in his socks, shoes, pants, shirt and even in his diaper. Fun times!

Benjamin was happy to be outside doing whatever as long as he was outside with his mom and dad. We are happy to have him with us too!

Nutella!

Back in July, Benjamin's Uncle Andy gave him his first taste of Nutella. Today, Benjamin requires his own spoon!

18 Month Celebration At Cornbelly's

We can't believe that Benjamin is already 18 months old. We decided to go out to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. Benjamin was amazed at the different pumkins. I bought a small one for him as we were leaving and he decided it must be a ball because he kept throwing it--it never bounced back though. We also showed him the carved pumkins, which are pretty amazing.

We took a bumpy hay ride. I think that Benjamin enjoyed it. He was curious and looked around the whole time. Then we headed for the corn maze. I think that was his favorite part because we allowed him to run free. We took turns chasing each other down the rows. It was fun to hear Benjamin laugh when he found me hiding in the corn stalks. Mike got some great pictures below.

Oatmeal Date Cookie Bars

I love cooking with oats and here's a recipe I found on allrecipes.com for some cookie bars. There are a couple of changes/additions I made. I like to think they're healthy since I'm using whole grain oats.

Oatmeal Date Cookie Bars

Filling:

2 1/2 c chopped dates

2 T lemon juice 

3/4 c white sugar 

2/3 c water 

corn starch, as needed

Pastry:

1 1/2 c sifted all-purpose flour 

1 c packed brown sugar 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 1/2 c quick cooking oats 

3/4 c shortening 

chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13 inch pan. To make Filling: In a saucepan over low heat, combine dates, water, white sugar, and lemon juice. Heat for about 8 minutes, or until thick. You may want to add a little corn starch to make sure it thickens up. Set aside to let cool. To make Pastry: In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, oats and salt. Mix until well blended. Add in shortening with pastry cutter until mixture forms into coarse crumbs. Press half of pastry mix into pan. Cover with date mixture and spread remaining pastry mix over the top. If desired, sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack before cutting.

As you can see below, I put chocolate chips over half of the cookie bars. I like the bars both ways, with and without the chocolate chips. It depends on your preference. I would like to try making this with apricots or even raspberries next time. Enjoy!

Update on the Snowflake Quilt

I completed all the indivitual triangles about mid-July. I'm amazed I got to that point. Now, the snowflakes are coming together. Below is detail of the paper piece. Fabric was sewn onto all the lines which end up like the finished snowflakes above. I still have a long way to go, but am so happy to not be sewing tiny pieces of fabric together!

Fuego Pizza Boy

This past weekend we went to Park City. Mike had a photo gig up there, so we decided to stay the night over. We visited the outlet stores and, of course, bought some fun stuff for Benjamin. Then while Mike was doing his thing, I took Benjamin swimming at the hotel. Finally, we went out to eat at Fuego Bistro & Pizzaria. We were very happy with our BBQ pizza and Benjamin got a little cheese pizza for himself. Unfortunately, I left my camara at home for the trip, but the pictures here are of him enjoying his leftover pizza at home. I normally cut up his pizza into little pieces, but decided to let him enjoy a full slice. He took it very serious and gobbled it all up.