Christmas Celebration #1

At Ron and Jan's for the Fuller Extended Family Christmas.


Ruby and Nannie (great-grandma Paulette Fuller).

Cousin Kellen.

Sawyer and his presents!




SAWYER LIVE! First video of Sawyer in action :-) Never mind our singing voices... Sawyer's got some good dance moves!

Christmas Celebration #2

Christmas Eve at Ron and Jan's.

It snowed! :-) This is the yard between Ron and Jan's house and ours.


Our family.


Ruby's First Christmas!





Sawyer always wants to play with the broom. So, Jan got him one that is more his size :-)

Christmas Celebration #3

Christmas Day at MiMa and PawPaw's.

Aunt Lindsay and Ruby.


Sawyer and his presents!



Cookies :-)

Random Ruby Rub-ster Cuteness

Red Velvet Cheesecake

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!! I made my first cheesecake ever for one of our Christmas dinners. Of course I didn't want to make an original cheesecake... Oh no, mine had to be Red Velvet!

The crust and cake itself were very easy to make and put together. The baking part was LONG... My cheesecake puffed up over the top of the pan and cracked in the middle. While it was cooling, it still sounded squishy when I wiggled the pan... I was sure I would have to throw the whole thing out and I was bummed! I let the cake chill through the night and it wasn't until the morning that I started thinking it may be OK. Seriously, it was 18 hours of agonizing that I had totally failed at my first attempt of cheesecake baking!

I got the cake out of the pan the next morning and it actually looked pretty! (even though it was cracked on top) I frosted it and decorated the outside with mini-cupcakes that Jon's sister had. It looked festive! I could have done a much better job, but I was still thinking in the back of my mind that I'd take a bite of it and want to spit it out... So Silly!

Anxiously, I tried my first bite... I LOVED IT!!! I love Red Velvet Cake and think the cheesecake tastes just like it! If it wasn't so expensive to make, I would probably bake this every couple months!!!

I wasn't able to take pictures of the crust & batter because Jon had the camera with him. I found the recipe online and you can go here for some really pretty pictures of the step by step process for making this cheesecake.

My cracked cake.


Frosting is a good idea :-)



Thankfully Jon's sister had the cupcakes to line the plate with. The cake looked a bit naked without them!


Red Velvet Cheesecake

Crust
17 regular-sized Oreo cookies, crushed finely (or 1½ cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs)
¼ cup butter, melted
1 Tbs granulated sugar

Cheesecake
Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 Tbs unsweetened cocoa
1 cup sour cream
½ cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
Two 1-ounce bottles red food coloring

Frosting
One 3-ounce package cream cheese, softened
¼ cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Extras
fresh mint sprigs, for garnish
heavy duty foil


1. Prepare crust: Stir together oreo crumbs, melted butter, and 1 Tbsp. granulated sugar; press mixture into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

2. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare water bath: Fill large roasting pan (big enough for springform pan to fit into) with about 1 inch of water. Place in oven and allow to preheat along with the oven.

3. Prepare filling: Beat cream cheese and sugar at medium-low speed with an electric mixer for 1 minute. Add eggs and remaining cheesecake ingredients, mixing on low speed just until fully combined. Pour batter into prepared crust.

4. Take out two sheets of heavy duty foil and layer them on top of one another. Place springform pan on top of the foil and wrap the foil gently around the pan and up the sides. Make sure that there are no tears or holes and that the foil comes all the way up around all sides of the cake. Carefully place the foil-protected pan into the water bath in the preheated oven.

5. Bake for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300°F. Bake for an additional 75 minutes or until the center is firm. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake stand in oven for 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven. Carefully remove cheesecake from water bath and place on wire rack. Run a thin knife around the outer edge of the cheesecake. Cool on rack for a couple of hours, until the cheesecake becomes close to room temperature. Cover and chill for at least 8 hours (or overnight). Remove sides of springform pan.

6. Prepare frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth. Spread evenly on top of cheesecake. Garnish, if desired.

Cooking Tips: You may choose to bake the cheesecake instead with no water bath. Bake at 325 for 10 minutes; reduce heat to 300 and bake for an additional 75 minutes. Let cheesecake stand in oven 30 minutes. Remove from oven; cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. (Baking without a water bath – you run the risk of cracking the top of the cheesecake).


I found the recipe here on Recipe Girl's website.

Day's of Sawyer's Life 11/24-12/18/2009

A quick Day's update for Sobo!

We had a check up for him last week and he weighs 29.5lbs and is 34 & 3/4" tall!!! Seriously, this boy is growing like crazy! He's in the 95th percentile for weight and height.



I've been waiting for this to happen...




Too cute! He stayed asleep getting him out of the chair and into his crib. He was OUT!!!


Sawyer is still talking up a storm. I am so impressed with how well he enunciates his words. I don't think he gibber-gabbers at all; I truly believe you would be able to understand him even if you didn't spend a lot of time with him!


He continues to be a loving and sweet big brother to Ruby. He is definitely in the terrible two's and gets a spanking from time to time... But for the most part he is a really great little boy and he brings so much joy to Jon and mine's life :-)

Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

"The best cake I have ever had." said Jon. He ate 3 pieces of this yesterday!

I am making a cheesecake tomorrow and haven't used a springform pan before... So, I tried out this recipe I found in Beatrice Ojakangas' Great Holiday Baking Book (where all of my recipes have come from so far). She recommends making this in the summer time when Blueberries are fresh. I used frozen Blueberries and they tasted just fine. Also, the almond flavor is strong and I think it could be cut down to a 1/2 teaspoon...

My springform pan is 9-inches (not the 10-inches this recipe calls for), so I ended up having to bake the cake for almost 90 minutes... If you use a 9-inch pan as well, check it at the 55 minutes and use your judgment on how much more time the cake will need.

I am SO not a photographer (I say this over and over)!

Pastry layer.


Cream Cheese filling.


Blueberries.


Almond Steusel.


Finished!



Blueberry-Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

2¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups fresh blueberries, cleaned
½ cup slivered almonds

Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan and dust with flour.

In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour and ¾ cup of the sugar. With a pastry blender or fork, cut the butter until the mixture resembles course crumbs. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture.

Add the baking powder, salt, sour cream, 1 of the eggs and the almond extract to the remaining flour mixture. Mix until a stuff dough forms. Press the dough over the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan; it will be about ¼ inch thick on the sides.

In a small bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, remaining ¼ cup sugar and remaining egg until well blended. Pour the mixture over the dough in the pan and spread evenly. Arrange the blueberries over the top. Mix the almonds with the reserved crumb mixture and sprinkle over the blueberries.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust is golden brown. Cool 15 minutes, then remover the sides of the pan and finish cooling. Serve warm.

Yields: 12 to 16 servings

Recipe found in Beatrice Ojakangas' Great Holiday Baking Book, pg. 119

Day's of Ruby's Life 9/28-12/11/2009

Our Little Lady Fuller is 3 months old today! I've said this hundred's of times since I've had children; time goes by SO fast... Unbelievably FAST! I look at her today and hardly even remember the little five pound baby she was just three months ago. She was so little it was hard to even hold her because she was so fragile. Now, she's a sturdy girl with chubby rolls on her legs and a double chin!

Ruby is a great baby! Seriously, Jon and I have been very blessed with our little ones. She still mostly sleeps and eats. When she is awake, she likes to sit in her Bumpo chair and look around, or rock back and forth on the floor. She rarely fusses. Her fussiest time is at night when Jon and I are wanting to go to bed. Figures! So, she gets extra cuddling before nigh-night time :-)

We don't have insurance for the kiddo's right now... (something I am working on) So, I haven't had a doctor's appointment to weigh and measure Ruby in a couple months. I'm guessing she is about 10lbs though... I know Piper (the kitty) is about 11lbs. and Ruby's about the same. She's already filling out her 3 months clothes. I'm sure if she is anything like her brother, she will keep growing quickly.

This picture of her totally cracks me up. She has the best smile!


Ruby is so beautiful and I am so excited to see what her personality will be like! So many changes have already taken place and there are so many more to come!

An Assortment of Silly Sawyer Pictures

The Wait is Over...

It finally happened at about 1:45am this morning... I got up for Ruby's first feeding around 1:30am after having just gotten her to sleep at about 11:30pm last night. I had been up since 3:35am yesterday morning... (Yes, 3:35 in the AM! Ruby was up to nurse and then at the wonderful hour of 4:30 our precious son, Sawyer, awoke for the day.) I was exhausted by the time Ruby finally went to sleep last night and SO not ready for her to be up just 2 short hours later...

Luckily, Ruby didn't want to nurse much, she just wanted some cuddles. So, she went back to sleep after about 15 min. I shuffled sleepily off to the potty. I sat down and started to tinkle. Out of the corner of my eye I saw movement on the floor... Movement on the floor can NOT be good at 1:45 in the morning in the near dark... No, not good!

IT WAS HUGE. Never in my life have I seen a bigger bug, or one with longer antenna's. It was scampering towards me very fast. Quickly, I threw a towel over it. I tried to pretend I didn't see what I knew I saw and finished tinkling...

I think I woke Jon up... I don't really remember waking him up, but when I got back to bed he woke up (and this morning he told me I woke him). So, since he was up, I told him there was a HUGE bug in the hallway covered up with a towel. Off he went to potty for himself and investigate the bug.

When he came back, I asked "WHAT.WAS.THAT?". Jon said, "Welcome to Texas. That was a Texas Cockroach." I asked him "Was that a BIG one?". He said "Yeah, it was pretty big." Then, he rolled over and went back to bed.

I laid in bed for almost an hour, unable to fall back asleep. Imagining thousands of these monsters taking over my home... It literally gave me heart burn. The cockroach gave me heart burn at 1:50 in the morning. Super Awesome.

This morning, I asked Jon if it was really a big one or was he just saying it was and there were bigger ones out there... (Which, I seriously don't think could be possible. That thing was as big as a large mouse! At least, that's how I viewed it at 1:45 in the AM) Jon said that it was one of the largest he had seen and said it was about 2". (It was WAY bigger than 2"...) It took him two flushes for it to flush... Gross, gross, gross. OH.SO.VERY.GROSS!

So, I've now seen a Texas cockroach. He is gone, his family is hiding behind the walls and I am now petrified to go potty at night.

Frosty Pumpkin Crunch Squares

Well, this recipe was interesting... It wasn't awful, but it wasn't great either. Jon said it tasted like a diet dessert :-) HaHa!

The crust. It's pretty!

The filling.

Ready to freeze.

Finished product topped with whipped cream.


Crust
2 cups uncooked old-fashioned or quick rolled oats
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup hot water
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom

Filling
1 quart coffee-flavored ice cream, softened
1 cup canned or freshly cooked pureed pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For Serving
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter a 9-inch square baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, combine the oats, melted butter, brown sugar, water, cinnamon and cardamom. Stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.

Spread into the bottom of the baking dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until light brown. Cool the pan on a wire rack.

Combine the ice cream, pumpkin, cardamom and cinnamon in a large bowl. Pour over the cooled crust. Cover tightly and freeze about 6 hours, until firm.

Remove from the freezer 10 minutes before serving. Place the whipping cream into a small bowl. With an electric mixer or a whisk, beat the cream until stiff. Mix in the sugar and vanilla. Cut the dessert into squares and top with whipped cream.

Makes 9 to 12 servings.

Recipe found in Beatrice Ojakangas' Great Holiday Baking Book, pg. 186.

Sawyer Makes Dinner

The other evening Sawyer was in the kitchen playing and in a sing-song voice was saying/singing "Making dinner, making dinner, making dinner." I could hear him clinking around and playing with the microwave, so I peeked in on him to see exactly what he was doing :-)