A few more

A few more of the pup (Jay) and of Paige at just over 3 and a half months!! She is such a big girl weighing in at the 90th percentile!! XOXO my chubby little cherub =)

Jay!

Christmas morning I received a envelope from Dan...expecting it to be a gift card or something I opened it up. I was surprised to find it was a card "from the dog." I was a little confused until I opened it up and found several snapshots of doggies that needed homes that Dan had found on various rescue sites. The very next day I set out on my search for the perfect pet. I emailed several rescue organizations and foster families regarding dogs I had seen online that I thought looked cute and met our criteria. Saturday morning I got a call from one of the foster families and she was anxious to set up a meeting with us and her foster dog JJ. I agreed thinking we would do it sometime in the next week or so assuming she was probably somewhere in the Inland Empire or LA or somewhere else inconvenient and out of the way. To my surprise she said she lived in Mission Viejo..."Perfect!" I thought; since we were on our way up to my mom's that day anyhow. The kids were really anxious to meet JJ and I was skeptical. There was no way we were going to find our perfect dog immediately...or so I thought. The second she opened the door
and we saw his adorable face and big brown eyes we were sold! He is already house trained, knows his commands; sit, lay, roll over etc. He LOVES the kids and is the perfect size with the required non-shedding coat. We played for a bit then agreed to come get him the following day on our way back down to Vista. Well, we got him and he is pretty darn perfect thus far!! He adores the yard and the kids and of course Dan. Although he is supposed to be "my" dog he has really taken to Dan and for the most part can be found cuddling downstairs on the couch with him watching TV or playing video games. He loves me also but having a new baby isn't real conducive to forming a good bond with a dog that requires a lot of cuddling and attention. In addition I don't think he really appreciated my bathing and brushing him yesterday. We'll get there eventually ;).
To the left are some pictures from Monday in the back yard, he was super hyper, running around jumping and generally having a great time with his new family!! Although not our first choice, we have opted (for the sake of some continuity) to keep his original name, JJ. However we are trying to shorten it a bit to just Jay! He is by far the best Christmas present I have received in a very long time! We are all very excited to have our very first family dog!

Vanilla Peppermint Cupcakes

I LOVE Sprinkles cupcakes so much (even if they are fattening and ridiculously over-priced)! Luckily you can enjoy these for a little cheaper! Mmmm...

Vanilla-Peppermint Cupcakes
Recipe created by Candace Nelson, owner of Sprinkles Cupcakes

Sprinkles Cupcake's Vanilla-Peppermint cupcakes are perfect for the holidays!

Ingredients:Makes 1 dozen cupcakesVanilla-Peppermint Cupcake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour , sifted
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. coarse salt
1/2 cup whole milk , room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter , room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 large egg , room temperature
2 large egg whites , room temperature Vanilla-Peppermint Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter , firm but not cold
1/8 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar , sifted
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. peppermint extract
1/2 tsp. milk

To make cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.In a small bowl, mix together milk and extracts; set aside.In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

To make frosting: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat the butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners' sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the extracts and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Do not overmix or the frosting will incorporate too much air; it should be creamy and dense, like ice cream. Add additional milk, 1 teaspoon at a time, if frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.To frost: Scoop a generous amount of frosting on top of a cooled cupcake. Hold the cupcake in one hand and with the other hand use a small offset spatula to smooth the frosting over the entire top of the cupcake. To achieve the Sprinkles look, use the length of the spatula to create large swirls around the circumference of the cupcake. Or for a more homespun and rustic quality, use the tip of the spatula to create small ridges and waves in the frosting.Be careful to handle the cupcake with care and not grip it too tightly, which can crush the delicate cake. In general, the less the cupcake is handled, the better. An experienced Sprinkles froster can frost a cupcake with only a few turns of the spatula!Top with crushed candy canes!

Paiger

Little Paigey is already 10 and a half weeks! I can't believe she has gotten so big so fast. She is a very funny and happy baby. She makes tons of noisy grunts, squeaks and squeals. It's pretty funny to listen to but seems incredibly loud when you are trying to fall asleep at night! She started smiling a couple weeks ago and will smile and coo for awhile then she starts getting frustrated somehow and it turns to yells and squawks of anger. Even when she sleeps she is noisy, her exhales sound like sighs of relief half the time.
I shot these pictures the other night while I was getting her ready for bed so the lighting isn't wonderful because obviously, I was using a flash. She is pretty cooperative when it comes to photo sessions, which is good because it's only the beginning of mommy taking insane amounts of photos of her cute little mug. xoxo

Elf Yourself Take II

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Merry Christmas

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Without fail each day I find some mindless activity that I end up wasting way too much time doing. This one might have actually been worth it. I just love this "elf yourself" thingy. I have done it every year and it just never gets old... it always makes me laugh. Paige's head is by far the funniest, I think. Anyhow, enjoy the show, it's the simple things in life that are sometimes the most amusing=)

Family Photos

This past weekend we had family photos taken at Stagecoach Park in Carlsbad with Jay Reilly http://www.mycameraisbiggerthanyours.com/ . Jay is an editorial photographer who we met through a friend; he has done work for Nike, Sony, Hyatt, Conde Nast and many more. It was the first time we've had family photos taken (aside from the one from Sears when Trent was 3 months old). It was an awesome little park for pictures and for the kids to play; we decided our next birthday party will have to be there. There was a great playground, tons of grass and a sidewalk that circled around it all that would be great for scooters and bikes. It was one of the most relaxed photo sessions we have ever done with the kids. Jay shot some of the entire family and then pretty much followed the kids around the playground and just clicked away as they played. It was so wonderful not to have any whining about having to pose a certain way or me begging and bribing for "just one more smile please!" The kids really liked Jay and were so willing to cooperate with him when he did suggest an idea for a photo. It was such a positive experience!! I will be so sad the next time we have to do "in studio" photos at a chain photographer. I cannot wait to see how they turned out; he should be mailing us a DVD of all the files within' the next few days and I will post some of my favorites! Jay will most likely be posting some on his blog as well (I included the link above)!

Jack!

Congratulations are in order for the Whybrew family! Emilie and Tim welcomed baby Jack
Ryan Whybrew last Wednesday November 5th at Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. He
weighed in at 6lbs 11oz and 19" in length. He was about 2 weeks ahead of schedule but due
to Emilie's blood pressure being high the opted for him to join us a little early. I got to meet
him last Thursday, he is adorable (of course)!! Emilie is still in the hospital but hopefully will be going home later today! I am so excited for Paige to have a little buddy so close in age!!

Trick or Treat

This year Quincy is a fairy princess, Trenten is Batman, Paige is a Duck and Dan is once again a redneck. We "painted" fairy makeup onto Quincy with the use of some Stila creme blush, a purple Lancome lip pencil and I finally found a use for my Tony and Tina glitter. Needless to say, she was very pleased with the outcome. Trenten's costume was adorable, complete with a "muscle chest" but he wouldn't keep the mask and cape on though while trick or treating... I think he was having trouble seeing. Paige wore the Gap duck suit that Auntie Sissa bought for Trent about 7 years ago. Each one of the kids have worn it. Dan wore a mullet wig, trucker hat, A-shirt and denim overalls. It is a costume that he recycled from a couple years ago...still just as amusing.We went trick or treating with my friend from work Amber and her husband and girls. We met at one of her friends' house in a gated community in Vista. They had food and treats and the house was fully decorated so that was a lot of fun for the kids. The kids got TONS of candy, I think people are much more generous with the candy these days because there seems to be so few trick or treaters. The kids bags were already filled half way through our excursion. Don't worry, mommy and daddy are going to assist in the eating of the candy ;).

Halloween

The kids designed their pumpkins and Daddy did the carving. Quincy insisted on dragging her entire easel out of her bedroom and into the dining room so Daddy could refer back to the drawing if necessary. I set each of the kids (and daddy for Paige) up with a big cutting board and spoon to clean out their own pumpkins this year! I had them separate the seeds for roasting later (and then Quincy "helped" me by dumping them in the garbage while cleaning up) =). They did a surprisingly good job gutting and stayed reasonably tidy. And the pumpkins are adorable of course!!