Pumpkin Carving Time

Hi Everyone!!

It has been a little bit since I have gotten to post! Things have been so crazy around here! My son also decided to pull our laptop off the coffee table while plugged in....the cord got stuck in the computer. Needless to say- I was computerless (that definitely is not a word...just go with it) for a few days until Amazon sent us a new charger!

We have been getting in the Halloween spirit around here. I tried to do a super cute painting craft with Grafton. Yeah...it didn't go so well.

We had a little pre-painting our pumpkin photo shoot. Doesn't every prideful momma do that?

The Calm Before the Storm....

My goal was to let Grafton paint the pumpkin however he thought it should be painted. I thought this was going to be so awesome. Yeah...let me go ahead and tell you all...11 month olds don't care about painting pumpkins. All they want to do is wipe the paint off and roll the pumpkin.

 So we decided to do a little post pumpkin photo shoot! 

Thank goodness for washable paint! Everything came clean! The paint actually did not stick well to the pumpkin. Maybe if my child would have stopped wiping it off and we would have let it dry, it would have worked better. Maybe next year when he is closer to 2 (WHAT!!????) it will be better.


We also got a bigger pumpkin to carve for Grafton.

Grafton thought he was so grown sitting at the table without the table top for his high chair!

He did not touch the insides of the pumpkin at all.

Sophie wanted in on the action of pumpkin carving!

I thought Grafton would be way more into the pumpkin carving as well. However-he totally was not. I had to remind myself that he is just 11 months old. There is tons of time for him to get to enjoy all of these cool things. I did realize through both of these experiences with pumpkins that Grafton might not have been as excited and interested as I thought he would be. However it is so important to be present and offer your child experiences even when you think they don't get it or don't appreciate it. I feel like it plants little seeds of growth and gives them an experience! It is super cool to experience things through your child's eyes. I cannot wait for what is to come for this little guy and the fun he will have in the future! Stay tuned for "Halloween Fun!" Coming soon.....

Happy Reading!

The BEST Fall Cookie EVER!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Friday is the start of fall! I personally cannot wait! I love when leaves change colors, it's so cool that you can leave the back door open so Sophie can go in and out, football is on all weekend long, the crockpot comes out once a week for soup/stews, and my most favorite-PUMPKIN EVERYTHING! I typically do not cook with pumpkin any other time of the year with the exception of fall. I have hit the JACKPOT of pumpkin this year! 

I recently was reading the blog BAKER by NATURE whom I am obsessed with! She had a Chewy Cinnamon Chip Pumpkin Cookie recipe! As soon as I saw it-I knew I had to make it! I changed a couple of the rations of the ingredients just a little!

The best part about this recipe is that it is so easy to make and throw together if you need to take a special treat somewhere,give as a gift, or take to a tailgate! The ingredients are super simple also!

Trusty Assistant!

My trusty assistant also wanted in on the action of baking today. Unfortunately, he didn't need these butter and sugar filled cookies. He got his own cookie of spinach, apple, and kale! They are made by PLUM Organics! They are seriously SO good. He loves them!

Back to the baking-  The hardest part of this entire recipe was finding cinnamon chips. It took me a while to find them. I finally found them at my Target. However-when I went back to get more....they weren't there anymore! So if somebody sees them somewhere-let me know where you find them!

The BEST part about this cookie recipe besides the taste is that this cookie dough does not have to refrigerate for an hour or two. You simply make the dough and scoop it out onto a pan!

 Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
16 tbs butter, at room temperature
1 1/4 cup of light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp Vanilla
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 1/2 cups cinnamon chips

Instructions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. I used two baking sheets that I had lined with parchment paper.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a medium to large size bowl. 
3. In a kitchen aid beat the softened butter until it is smooth. Add the vanilla and sugars and beat until fluffy. You don't need this on high speed. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until it is combined. Very carefully fold in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients a little at a time. It is best to use a spatula for folding in the flour. Fold this until you can barely see the flour anymore. This took a little longer than expected for me. Don't over work the batter but know it will get there one day. Finally-fold in the cinnamon chips.
4. I used a medium cookie scoop to roll the dough into balls. Make sure to leave room in between each cookie on the cookie sheet. They will spread out quite a bit.
5. I baked my cookies for about 15 minutes or until they had darkens on the tops and edges.

 I seriously cannot wait to make these cookies again! Somebody else cannot wait either....

Happy Reading!