October Festivities

October has come and left quickly! We have been very busy at our house and though we didn't get a chance to carve our pumpkins, we did have lots of other fall and Halloween fun!

As soon as October came we were ready for pumpkins! We headed to a "pumpkin patch" here in town to pick out a few nice ones. Creighton wasn't sure what a pumpkin patch was, but he was excited to go! We let him pick out a pumpkin for everyone in the family, including baby sister!

Creighton loves to be "making" in the kitchen and was excited for making Halloween cookies!

 He takes his job as sugar cookie "roller" very seriously! He loved to create the shapes, but thought we ought to use the opposite side of the cookie cutter.

This year Creighton really enjoyed talking about Halloween. Must have been the Halloween books and Halloween-themed Disney cartoons. He said the word "spooky" A LOT! He also liked talking about monsters and ghosts. He tried to convince me how scared he was several times. He is a good little actor... Because I know this little guy has no fears when he is dressed up as Buzz Lightyear!

Unfortunately on Halloween Creighton was sick. So he did a lot of napping and relaxing. He wasn't up for trick-or-treating with mommy and daddy so we passed out candy to those that came to our house. But when daddy went to class Creighton and I headed to grandma and grandpa's. They spoiled him with his favorite treat of all- chips! And then grandpa took him around to a few houses in their neighborhood. He loved it! But Creighton would rather say "Happy Halloween!" than "trick-or-treat!"

Yummm... sure do love those Reeses Peanut Butter Cups!

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Yes there is! Dr. Creighton Eli Chambers, DDS.

Creighton HATES to have his teeth brushed. Of course he does. No surprise. It is to be expected with having a mother as a hygienist. And of course, he is STILL sucking that thumb! He will scream and cry and flail around, clamp his mouth shut and try to hit me to avoid the 20 second toothbrushing. Not even a Buzz Lightyear or a Mater toothbrush can make it seem like a good time. 

After Creighton's teeth are brushed sometimes he gets to brush mommy or daddy's teeth. He thinks that is super fun. His daddy thinks it is equally as fun.

Creighton is always polite and says, "Open please." or "Please can I look?" He's not afraid to get his hands dirty- no gloves here! He likes to point to teeth and touch them and also the tongue. Daddy gets grossed out. Mommy loves it! All of Creighton's patients get a clean bill of health. He says, "Looks good!"

One day maybe Creighton WILL want to be a dentist. And then of course he will attend Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. I can imagine it now... He will write a brilliant college entry essay about his wonderful mother who from an early age, taught him he could do anything. His mom was loving and nurturing, supportive and encouraging, and a great example of hard work (or insert a plethora of other positive adjectives) and even named him after a dental school! (That's not REALLY where his name came from... but it makes for a great addition to his essay.) He will of course receive a full-ride scholarship because he brings the admissions committee to tears.

Poor daddy, maybe we should give him a little credit too for being such a good patient!

Sometimes You Just Need a Nap

It is always apparent when Creighton needs a nap. He becomes emotional, disagreeable, mischievous and irrational. He is like his mommy. 

My little boy loves his sleep. In fact he will frequently put himself down for a nap, letting me know it is that time of day. He rarely resists sleep. Or, he will just go lay down and rest for a little while and then say, "Mommy, I feel better now."

I should learn from his example and do that more often. I would probably be more pleasant to deal with.

 This Saturday morning started a bit rough. Perhaps because I tried to give my son oatmeal for breakfast instead of the desired macaroni and cheese or chicken nuggets. Oh, what a bad mommy I am! So after just 2 hours of being awake he headed for his room for a nap.

There is just something about a sleeping child that makes you feel like you love them 10x greater!

5:30 am Devil's Food Cake

I have been having this problem lately. 

I have been waking up anywhere between 4:00am and 5:00am to go pee. Then I can't go back to sleep. I feel so much better after my potty visit because my bladder doesn't feel like it will burst. I feel tired like I should be able to sleep again. But I can't. I toss and turn. "I'm warm..." Off go the covers. "I'm cold..." Covers back on. "I'm feeling hungry..." Trying to convince myself not to eat anything. "I should see what is new on Pinterest..." Trying to convince myself not to get on Pinterest. And glaring at my husband, "How can he possibly be sleeping right now? I can't at all!"

Well, this morning I only let myself toss and turn for a few minutes before giving in to eating and Pinterest because this beautiful and decadent dessert was sitting in my kitchen.

Devil's Food Cake. And my cake looks extremely similar to this one, minus the chocolate curls and pretty pedestal. The special occasion for this special dessert was my 25th birthday on Friday!

Two weeks ago my mother-in-law gave me two books for my birthday, "culinary mysteries". This one, "Devil's Food Cake" and another one, "Lemon Tart". The series are murder mysteries and the main character, Sadie, attempts to solve the murder before the police/detectives. Recipes and baking tips are incorporated throughout the book. (Of course, because it makes for a good story, she DOES solve the mystery before the professionals!) At times the books can seem a bit cheesy (the main character is quite a "character"), but they make me giggle and I really couldn't put them down! When I opened the gift, Robin said she thought I would love them since I love to read and cook. She was right! Both of them were read within a week of receiving them.

In "Devil's Food Cake" the recipe is given for the cake which I decided I must make for my birthday cake! Cason insisted he wanted to try and make it, but Saturday afternoon while he was mowing the lawn I decided I couldn't wait any longer and made the chocolate confection! I had been thinking about it for an entire week and dreaming about how delicious it would be! In fact, I used it in an object lesson Sunday during Young Women class. I had the girls do different motions with their hands/feet/head and then asked them to try and NOT listen as I described the yummy chocolate cake I was going to have for my birthday. Lesson Learned: Easier to control our actions than our thoughts. They couldn't help but listen to me describe the cake!

Here is the recipe so you can make yourself one too!

Devil's Food Cake

1 c. sour milk (1 cup milk + 2 tsp. white vinegar OR use 1 c. buttermilk)

2 c. flour

2 c. sugar
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 c. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 c. boiling water

1 tsp. baking soda

For sour milk, mix milk and vinegar in small bowl. Set aside for five minutes. 

In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except the water and baking soda. Mix until batter is smooth. Add the soda to the boiling water. Add soda/water mixture to batter. Mix well-batter will be thin.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 9x13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes or until middle is set.

If using round cake pans, grease pans very well and cut a round of wax paper to fit inside the bottom of the pans to prevent cake from sticking when removed. Let cake cool five minutes in pans before turning out onto a wire rack.

The book also included the recipe for the chocolate frosting which I made... but it left something to be desired. I will be on the search for an even better chocolate frosting. A cake this great deserves a frosting that is equal in deliciousness.

I will blame the 5:00 am insomnia, related to the potty visit, on the pregnancy. But chocolate cravings can not be blamed on baby sister. They are genetic. However, my back pain I am putting all on her. Thursday night my back was KILLING me. All I wanted to do was lay down with the heating pad. So my wonderful husband went to Deseret Book and bought me a third culinary mystery so I could be entertained while laying down. I haven't finished it yet-but I do have all of this Sunday afternoon available...

I had a great 25th birthday this year! It would have been wonderful even without the chocolate cake... Cason and Creighton always do a great job making me feel super special and well-loved... But I'm really glad I had the cake!

My Sweetie

Creighton has finally cancelled the strike against having his picture taken. After getting dressed he likes to say, "Ta-Da! Handsome!" A few days ago it was chilly outside so we pulled out some new fall clothes and he was more than happy to pose for a picture.

He looks so grown-up! But we did just celebrate his 2 1/2 year mark! We have had numerous "terrible-two" experiences over the last several months, but he seems to be transitioning out of that phase and I am grateful! He can be such a sweetie, but sometimes it is hard for me to remember that!

Lately, whenever Cason or I return home from work/school/errands he will run up to us and say, "Hug? I missed you!" And give us a super great big hug! He is a good hug giver and pretty good at kisses. His daddy taught him to give eskimo kisses so he has been trying those out lately too.

I love this little man so much, he brings me so much joy!

Speaking in Sentences

 "Please, I go to Grandpa's?"

Creighton asks this every single day! He loves going over to his Grandpa's house. He gets to go over there when mommy is at work, but he also wants to go every other day. Every time we get in the car he thinks we are going to Grandpa's house.

But it is totally understandable why he would want to go over there. It is so much fun! All those fun toys... things that AREN'T toys they let him play with... and they even have a trampoline! Creighton LOVES to jump on the trampoline and has learned how to beg, pull sad faces, and whimper to get others to go out and jump with him. The most common person found on the trampoline with Creighton is his Aunt Sidnie.

A couple of weeks ago when they were jumping a scab on his elbow got scraped off and it started to bleed so Aunt Sidnie made it all better. He tells me this story almost every day as well. (pointing to his elbow...) "Aunt Sidnie give me a band-aid! All better now!"

Creighton will miss that his Aunt Sidnie doesn't get to play with him as much. She is in college now!!

 Grandma and Grandpa let Creighton play with the hose and water their dirt/grass in his panties! (That is something we don't do at home.) Mostly wearing the panty part... Sometimes Grandma can get Creighton to go in the big boy potty, but not mommy!

I was just thinking the other day that it is so CrAzY that Creighton is speaking in sentences! It is so nice to be able to carry on a "conversation" with him. He is learning so much and his vocabulary continues to increase daily.
He likes numbers and loves to count everything. When he sees numbers though, most numbers to him are the number 8. He says, "LOOK! The number eight!"

A lot of his sentences start with the word please, which is nice. One day when I was helping in Nursery class his teacher commented, "It is strange that so many sentences starts with the word piece." Not piece! PLEASE! Give him some credit! "Please, I watch Cars?" Oh boy... most heard sentence in this house...

It seems so suddenly that we are speaking in sentences around here, and it's great!