Family Photos

Kevin and baby Eli

Blakely loves her Aunt Karen!

 

 

Blakely 15-16 Months

Where to begin! Blakely has grown so much over the past few months! I am constantly amazed at how much she seems to have learned just in the last couple of weeks. Her vocabulary has exploded and she's talking all the time now. She says everything from "shoes" when it's time to go outside to "sauce" whenever I open the refrigerator.

She loves reading her books and will say "Sit" whenever she wants me to sit and read with her. 

She's also learning how to pick up her room, which I love. She, of course, makes a mess wherever she goes and I'm trying to teach her how to pick up after herself. When I take her back into her room and tell her to pick up, she gets right to work on putting away her toys and books.

One of her favorite places in the house is in her "Bye Bye Buggy" which is hilarious since it's in a corner and she has nothing to look at. So many times I will find her just sitting in it while drinking her bottle or her juice. 

Size wise she still pretty small, but that could be because she doesn't eat much. She weighs right at 20 pounds and wears mostly size 12 -18 month clothing. However a lot of her 18 month clothing is still too big. She is finally (very slowly) moving into a size 4 shoe (which by the way is for 6-9 month old babies)! It's really difficult to find her shoes because most size 3 shoes are soft soled since they aren't made for walkers. I have no idea how her foot got to be so tiny since Mommy wears a size 11!

Oh, there's so much more I could write about but instead I'll just leave you with these adorable pictures taken over the weekend. 

Blakely's First Haircut

I know, I know...I have been such a blogger slacker lately! Starting back to school has kicked my butt and, when I get home I have no energy.
But enough excuses, on to the good stuff!!

Blakely had her first haircut this weekend and she did so well!! No crying, no wiggling, and no pulling off the cape.

Now, I know what some of you are thinking. "First haircut?? The kid has hardly any hair." And I agree with you. However, I decided to go ahead and get it cut for two reasons.
1. It's growing funny in some places and it needed to be evened out.
2. (and most importantly) My mom visited this past weekend from South Dakota and I really try to let her experience as many of Blakely's firsts as possible. So what better time to get a haircut than when Grammie is in town.

She looks so cute now and definitely a little less wooly!

Getting Ready!

Scraggly before shot!

"This isn't so bad!"

"Man, I'm looking good!!"

Much better!

No Bake Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

 

I LOVE cheesecake! So I was super excited when I found this recipe for Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake!! Being that fall is right around the corner, I figured this would be the perfect dessert to make for a girl's night.

Here is the original recipe but I made several tweeks to try and make it a little lower calorie. I'm not sure how many calories I'm saving myself, but with the holidays coming up, saving a few calories is always pretty sweet! However, if you prefer the full fat version, just substitute the ingredients accordingly.
Here we go.

Topping

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped pecans
1 pinch kosher salt
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed

Crust

2 ½ cups reduced fat graham crackers
1/3 cup baking Splenda
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick butter – melted

Filling

1 – 8 ounce package low fat cream cheese at room temperature
1 – 15 ounce can of pure pumpkin (do not use pumpkin pie filling)
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup baking Splenda
8 ounce container of fat free whipped topping thawed

Directions

Prepare the topping. Line a baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or piece of parchment paper. Melt the 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pecans, salt and brown sugar and stir well. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Pour the coated nuts onto the prepared baking sheet in a single layer and refrigerate until cooled, about 10 minutes.

Spray a 9 inch springform with gluten-free non-stick cooking spray and line the bottom with a piece of parchment or waxed paper. Spray the paper with some more cooking spray. Combine the crust ingredients, mix well and press firmly into the prepared springform covering the bottom and going up the sides of the springform.

Beat the cream cheese with a mixer until smooth. Add the pumpkin, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, salt and sugar and beat on medium speed until combined, scraping the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl at least once.

With a spatula, fold in the whipped cream or whipped topping.

Pour into the crust.
Top the cheesecake with the pecans.
Refrigerate the cheesecake for 3 hours or up to 24 hours.

**As you will notice, it is a little runny. It was still AMAZING but you could probably freeze it if you prefer a harder texture.