Things I Love Thursday – Snack Catchers

Munchkin’s Snack Catchers are amazing!!  Unfortunately, I didn’t discover them until after we travelled 2 weekends in a row, because they would have been amazing in the car.  However, they’re amazing for everyday use as well!!

Here’s the description from their website:
No more spilled snacks on the floor or car seat. Our clever Snack Catcher® cup keeps bite-sized snacks inside the container until little fingers pull them out. Even if it tips over! The soft flaps make it easy to access and the little finger cleaning bumps are a special plus for keeping nearby surfaces cleaner. This is one snack holder that will catch your attention…and keeps messes to a minimum!

That pretty much says it all.  We’ve used it every morning since we purchased them, so Chloe can eat some Cheerios to tide her over until breakfast.  She loves that she gets the whole container now and not just a few at a time from mom or dad.  We also used it on a long drive across Ames (well, it’s long if you’re 1 and it’s dinner time…) and I rarely heard a peep out of my little girl – except a couple happy giggles.

I’ll say it again, they’re fantastic!!  If you have a young child, especially one who thinks that flinging containers of food all over is funny, and you have an extra $5, head straight to Target and buy a 2-pack!!

For more Things I Love Thursday, head over to The Diaper Diaries.

Wordless Wednesday – Intense Concentration

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Oh, the things she does!!

Chloe Mae is turning into such an amazing, funny little girl.  She makes us laugh every day now, sometimes for things we shouldn’t be laughing at – like when we tell her “No” and she looks at us, giggles, and goes right back to what she was doing that she shouldn’t.  We know we shouldn’t laugh, but it’s hard not to when she’s so darn cute!!  Here are some of the Chloe Mae highlights, as of late:

• Anytime I try to eat, Chloe sounds like one of the seagulls from “Finding Nemo” only she says “Moh, moh!!” (More, more!!) instead of “Mine, mine!!”  Whatever mom eats, Chloe needs.  Now, this might sound fairly normal for a child of her age, but notice that I said whatever mom eats, Chloe needs.  Not dad, not Nanna, not cousins, not anybody but mom.  Aaron and I were both eating a slice of PB Toast for breakfast and Chloe was following me around asking for more.  I made a comment about how I wasn’t going to have any left for me, so Aaron offered Chloe a piece of his.  She refused.  So I tried to give her the same piece from Aaron’s piece of toast and she shot me a look like, “How dumb do you think I am?!?” and refused it again.  This happens daily, and although slightly annoying, I also think it’s amusing.
• She has claimed a down blanket the was on our couch in the family room.  She regularly pulls it down onto the floor and loves to plop down on it (like full-on-she’s-going-to-get-hurt-if-she-misses-the-blanket-plopping!)  Then she looks at us with a smirk on her face until we come over and tickle her.  Then Chloe rolls around on the blanket laughing, until she realizes we’ve stopped tickling, gives us another little smirk and waits for the tickling to commence…
• Chloe Mae loves shoes (who can blame her?!?), socks, hats and personal hygeine.  Anytime she sees the bin where we keep her shoes, the cubby that her hats are in or a pair of socks in our hands, she points, says “Dah!” and does her little made up sign language until she gets it.  And when I’m in the bathroom getting ready, she always needs either her toothbrush or hairbrush – and she knows just what they’re for!!
• Chloe has caught on to Aaron’s morning routine and knows when he’s about ready to leave the house.  She toddles over to the door and pounds on it until I come over and put shoes on her so we can go outside and wave good-bye as Daddy drives away.  I’m sure it’s quite a sight in the morning, because she’s usually outside in her PJ top, diaper and jelly shoes.  It’s a look I’m sure only she can pull off!!

I could go on and on with all the ways that our growing little girl continues to amaze me every day, but instead I better load the dishwasher or work on some laundry so our amazing little girl has dishes to eat (my) food from and clean clothes to wear when she’s getting tickled 🙂

Homemade Vanilla Wafers

Ingredients

• 7 ounces all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon aluminum free baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
• 3 1/2 ounces sugar
• 1 large egg
• 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon whole milk

Directions

Position 1 oven rack in the top third of the oven and another in the bottom third. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Cream the butter and vanilla sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl after 1 minute. Add the egg and incorporate on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the mixer bowl. Add the vanilla extract and milk and blend on low speed for 15 seconds. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed just to incorporate. Chill the batter in the refrigerator for at least 10 minutes before scooping.

Scoop the batter in teaspoon-sized balls and arrange them on 2 parchment paper-lined half sheet pans, approximately 35 cookies per pan. Use the heel of your hand to slightly flatten each ball. Bake, 2 pans at a time, rotating the pans halfway through the baking, until golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the pans to a cooling rack to cool completely before removing the cookies from the pan.

Chloe liked these enough to even 'say' please to get another one.

A “quiet” day at home

Two weekends ago we spent the weekend in the Amana’s with my family at our annual reunion.  We stopped in Iowa City on our way over on Friday to visit some friends of mine.  The rest of our weekend was spent playing with cousins, eating, and playing some more.  We were exhausted when we got home.

There are pictures of me over the years on this same horse in the Amanas. Unfortunately, Chloe did not enjoy her first "ride."

After a week at work, we packed up and drove almost 6 hours to Springfield, IL to visit Aaron’s sister and her family for the 4th of July weekend.  We spent another weekend playing and eating, and added a trip to the zoo and swimming.  Again, when we got home, we were exhausted!!

At the Springfield Zoo, checking out the ducks with her fantastic cousin, Emma.

This weekend was our chance to sit back and relax.  So what have we done??  We’ve made apple-pear-sauce, granola bars, vanilla wafers, zucchini bread, breakfast casserole for tomorrow and got started on homemade ravioli (stay tuned this week for some recipes).  When we weren’t cooking or doing dishes, we also played with the most adorable little girl ever and took a trip to the wading pool at Brookeside park.

What we did on our "quiet" weekend at home.

Maybe we’ll find some time tomorrow to relax.  After we finish up the ravioli, vacuum the whole house, clean the bathrooms and do a few loads of laundry – of course!!

“Seriously Dudad, what are you doing?!?”

After returning from a weekend in the Amanas with family, Aaron and I wanted to head to Coldstone for some birthday ice cream (I didn’t want to risk my coupon expiring!!)  However, I can admit, I’m selfish and I didn’t want to share my ice cream with Chloe Mae.  She knows her stuff – she would not just let us eat our ice cream in peace without getting her share!!  So what did we do??  We dropped her off at Nanna and Dudad’s, just in case they hadn’t gotten enough of her over the weekend 🙂

We took her down to their house in her beloved wagon.  (She has discovered that we store the wagon in the garage and will beat on the garage door until we open it and give her a ride.)  So when Chloe Mae started getting cranky, because it was close to bedtime and she’d skipped her afternoon nap, Nanna and Dudad took her on a ride.  Well, Nanna took her on a ride and Dudad documented the experience.

I think this picture is hilarious, because she looks so confused, wondering, “Seriously Dudad, what are you doing?!?”