All Things Fall

Fall is hands-down my favorite time of year.  The crispness in the air, the first snowfall on the hills skirting our little town, the bundled walks with my family, the anticipation of holidays to come, and of course, the food.   Apple pies and pumpkin cookies just beg to be made.  And I give in.  Happily.  

Caramel Apple Pie

I, of course, forgot to take a picture of the finished pie before we dug in, but I did remember to take a few pictures of the process.

 I was super excited to try out this recipe, because who wouldn't want to eat a caramel apple pie?  Well, why the pie smelled, and looked wonderful...it was ok.  Jason really enjoyed it, but it just wasn't caramely enough for me.  If I were to do it again, I would use real caramel squares, and I would mix it in with the apples rather than just putting them on top before the crust.  Or... I would double the toffee bits (use 2 bags) and incorporate.  A little disappointing, but I think there's definitely potential.

Pumpkin Cookies

These little guys - amazing.  They've become a staple in our house (hmmm...no wonder the baby weight is still hangin' on), and come fall I stock up on cans of pumpkin just so I can make them through the winter.  

Recipe:

Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 350

Bake 10-14 minutes (12 minutes is what I do...perfect!)

1cup butter (melted)

1cup sugar

1 egg

2tsp vanilla

1 cup canned pumpkin

mix these ingredients well and then add:

2cups flour

1tsp. baking powder

1tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. nutmeg

1/4 tsp. salt

1tsp. cinnamon

mix well, and drop dough onto lightly greased sheet

bake, let cool

spread cream cheese frosting on top (I just use store bought)

sprinkle with cinnamon

*recipe can be doubled easily!

This summer Jason made these mason jar votives for me and we hung them from the beams of our awning in our back yard.  My friend Emily asked me if I would do a tutorial on how we made them (about 2 months ago, sorry Em!), and I'm finally following through.  I should say, I'm sort-of following through.  Here's the link to the tutorial I used...lazy, I know.  In the tutorial they used a twine covered wire, while we used industrial strength wire Jason had in his shop.  He wrapped them around the neck of the jar, and used a tool to pull it taught and twist the wire making a loop on the other side and securing the wire to it for hanging.  I bought some black chain at Home Depot and we hung them at different lengths.  Insert candles, and you have a fun, and romantic candle-lit backyard!

we had a few extra and hung them above our table as well

The boys:

Like I said, I love fall, but my favorite thing about fall?  Having a baby in the house again.  There is nothing better than having a sweet little cooing, smiling, chubby, snuggly, happy baby in the house!

He is seriously melting my heart more and more each day!  Love, love, love this little boy.

Roman is changing every day.  He's grown so much in the last month or so, that I no longer have to roll his little jeans, and we've exchanged one size of shoe for the next size up.  He's also talking so much more.  It's so fun to hear his little thoughts out loud, and to hear him mimicking the things we say...I should say, it's interesting to hear what we sound like out loud.  For example, this was our daily interaction for a loooong time:  Roman - "MOM!" (from the other room)  Me: "yes?"  Roman: "MOM!!"  Me: "yea?"  Roman: "MOM!!!"  Me: "What?!"  and now this is what happens:   Me- "Roman?"  Roman: "WHAT?!!"  I should have seen that coming.

How is it that he's so big?  Where did my little baby go, and who is this little boy?

I'd be lying if I said this surprised me.

This is the cutest dog costume for Halloween, and this is all you're gonna get.  Brother was NOT into it.

He also didn't appreciate that we were laughing hysterically while he cried.  We're mean.

My boys

I love how much Jason loves his little boys!  I'll keep him.

Secret blog updating nourishment.  

My biggest little boy just woke up from his nap, which means Jason and Dylan are about to wake up from their nap on the couch too.  I hope you're enjoying this cozy fall day with the ones you love!  

5 weeks in pictures

I need to say up front that this post will have to be quick and not nearly as detailed as I would like it to be.  The last few nights have been long and my brain power is reserved for things like changing diapers, feeding my children, and taking precious - can't believe I ever took them for granted - showers.  So, with about 20 minutes before my littlest boy wakes up to eat, here are some pictures of the last five weeks or so. Ready, set, go!

final doctor's appointment!

the night before Dylan's arrival

leaving for the hospital

five minutes after they arrived at the hospital...

just kidding

getting ready for surgery

on our way!

time of birth

it's a boy!!!

mini-Roman Dylan Michael Breidenbach

Granny

Papa (or as Roman would say, "BOB!" in the loudest possible voice)

Grandma

Grandpa

Auntie Chanel

Great Grandma and Grandpa Phillips

meeting his baby brother for the first time

8lbs 2oz.  20.5inches long

no hands mom!

my two little boys

back at home resting

Around two weeks after Dylan was born, our friends Todd and Christine came and made us an awesome dinner.  The weather was great and the kids (big and small) played in the pool.

In all honesty, after looking at some of these pictures, I have absolutely no recollection of the time frame in which these were taken.  It's called sleep deprivation.  But, I love this hazy fog I live in.

this is what happens when you leave your toddler alone with the baby for 2 minutes

caught!

2 weeks...I think

helping with a diaper change

Around three weeks (again...I think) after Dylan was born, I was feeling great and up for some time away in the sun.  So, we set off for some time at the Villa with Bob and Cindy.  It was relaxing, and so much fun.  One of my favorite things to do was to watch Roman follow his dad and Papa around while they flew their helicopters.

the boys

munchkin

this is at 9am.  Notice how he goes to Papa with the licorice... total pushover

licorice induced silliness

On September 14th, my biggest little boy turned two.  2!!  How did that happen??!  I had every intention of having a big birthday party with lots of family and friends... about 3 weeks before his birthday, I looked at Jason and said, "can we just do a family party for Roman?".  He breathed a sigh of relief and we decided to let ourselves off the hook this year, and use the old 'we've got a newborn and we're flippin tired' excuse.  

good morning!

Jason made special dinosaur shaped, chocolate chip pancakes for his birthday breakfast.  We're showing him that it's 'ok' to smile in pictures.  Instead, this is what we got: 

oh my little boy...

for his birthday we took him to the Puyallup Fair

the massage chairs (which could be found about every 10 yards or so) were the main attraction for this little guy.

as well as walking the line down the middle of the path

A few random pictures...

using his brother's head as a landing strip for his airplane

The birthday party:

riding the tractor with his cousin 

And last, but not least...

for some reason this just looks like a foreshadow of their future together as brothers.

I'm loving this time with all three of my boys.  Yes, it's been difficult, but not nearly the horrible picture I had been warned of.  I'm just so thankful that everyone is healthy, and that I get to be at home raising my two sons.  Just taking it one day at a time and trying to enjoy each moment!  

Dylan just started crying, so that is my cue to wrap this up.  Goodnight and have a wonderful week!