Liam's First Christmas

We had a busy but fantastic Christmas this year.  The family and gift giving all began on Christmas eve.  We headed over to Brent's aunt and uncle's house, and were surrounded by by cousins, cousins, and more cousins :)  We all watched as he opened his first gift.

We spent Christmas morning at home with just the three of us.

Liam needed help opening all his gifts.  He would occasionally be distracted by all the paper, but for the most part he was interested in his toys.

One of Liam's favorite gifts was a car/walker from Grandma and Grandpa Bergum.

Later on in the morning, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Howell's house for brunch and Christmas dinner.  Liam got some great toys including a couple with lots of balls.  He LOVES balls :)

That afternoon we relaxed.  I enjoyed cuddling with Liam after his nap.

The day after Christmas we headed to Salem to spend time with my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

I'm wearing Liam's raccoon hat and posing with my cousin Josie.  Thanks to the Hires for Liam's adorable hat :) 

The next day, my brother and sister in-law came into town.  I was so happy he was able to get leave from the Air force and come visit the family, even if it was only for a couple days.

Liam loved the gifts Uncle Jamin and Aunt Tabitha brought him.  Grandpa helped Liam read his book.

Now the Christmas activities are all over, but the memories will last and last.  Thankfully we got a camcorder for Christmas.  I took a lot of videos and will be putting them all together over the next few days.  Keep your eyes open for a future blog with the final product.

Merry Christmas!  Now on to the New Year :)

-Anna

Slow Cooker Beer and Cheese Potato Chowder

I made this dish last week, but with Christmas activities I'm a bit behind on my blogging.  But have no fear.  Today I'm doing some catch up.

Last week I was craving a creamy soup, so I headed to my favorite websites and books to find the ideal candidate.  I was thinking something along the lines of clam chowder or beer cheese soup.  After some digging, I found a Slow Cooker Beer and Cheese Potato Chowder on Betty Crocker's website.

(Unfortunately, all pictures in this blog post were lost)

Liam played while I cooked.

(Believe it or not, this is a clean floor.  The marks you see are all gouges that were there when when we moved in.  It looks like someone stabbed the floor... repeatedly.)

I kept celery out of the recipe because I didn't think it would add any value.  However, I did double the garlic.  We can't get enough garlic in our house.

(I'm so tired of my ugly kitchen and it's counter tops.) 

Brent seemed to enjoy it, but it wasn't my favorite.  I think my biggest issue was all of the onions :p

-Anna

Pre-Christmas Cheer

Christmas is my favorite time of year.  I don't think the Christmas frenzy should start after Halloween, but I do enjoy the month long celebration starting after Thanksgiving.  There's Christmas parties to attend, goodies to bake, gifts to buy, a home to decorate, and the reminder of my favorite gift of all... Jesus.

This year is the first time we've kicked Christmas cards into high gear.  In years past we've sent out a card or two, but decided it was time for the photo card this year.  Who doesn't want to see our adorable son?  Well... I like to think so ;)

(One of two versions.)

We've also received many Christmas cards this year.  In years past I've put some of them on the fridge, but never really had a good way to display them.  This Christmas season, I stole an idea from Brent's aunt.  She places her cards on the inside of the front door in the shape of a Christmas tree.  I thought this was a cute idea and implemented it in our home.

(Unfortunately, the picture below was lost)

Thank you for all the beautiful cards.  It's nice to know people are thinking of us this Christmas.

Another fun part of pre-Christmas, is the arrival of packages.  Packages with gifts I ordered for Christmas, and boxes from Montana full of gifts from Brent's family.  Liam doesn't know what the contents are all about, but he does enjoy playing with the packaging materials :)

Tomorrow is Christmas, and I look forward to Liam's very first Christmas.  There will be lots gifts, family, food, pictures, videos, and fun.  Hopefully I can fit it all on one blog post :)

-Anna

Tortilla Soup and Caramels

This week Brent requested chicken tortilla soup, so I broke out my Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook.  I really like this book, because it has hundreds of slow cooker recipes, which make my cooking tasks easier :)

(Unfortunately, all pictures for this blog post were lost)

The recipe is below, but I did things a little differently.  Instead of cooking chicken beforehand, I put frozen chicken tenders directly into the crock pot.  I find there is no need to cook the chicken.  I just shred it in the pot when all is said and done.

I didn't saute the butter and garlic.  I just threw everything in together.  Also, I didn't put cubed cheese in the bottom of the bowls.  We just sprinkled whatever cheese we had on top and added some avacado.

This recipe was easy and delicious :)

Tortilla Soup

Makes 6 Servings

4 chicken breast halves

1 garlic clove, minced

2 Tbsp. margarine

2 14 1/2-oz. cans chicken broth

2 14 1/2-oz. cans chopped stewed tomatoes

1 cup salsa (mild, medium, or hot, whichever you prefer)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1 Tbsp., or more ground cumin

8-oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cubed

sour cream

tortilla chips

1. Cook, debone, and shred chicken.
2. Add minced garlic to margarine in slow cooker.  Saute
3. Combine all ingredients except cheese, sour cream, and chips.
4. Cover.  Cook on Low 8-10 hours.
5. Divide cubed cheese among 6 individual soup bowls.  Ladle soup over cheese.  Sprinkle with chips and top each bowl with a dollop of sour cream.

Caramels

Now here's the part some have been waiting for.  My amazing, delicious caramels.  Initially I wasn't going to share the recipe, but I'm giving in.

It's a simple recipe consisting of sugar, cream, butter, and light corn syrup.  I got the recipe from my Betty Crocker cookbook.  This link has the recipe.

The hardest part of the recipe is stirring the pot for about 40 minutes, and you definitely need a candy thermometer to make sure the mixture gets up to temp.

I've learned from experience that the best type of pan to use is a well buttered silicon pan.  It pops right out.

Only a small area stuck.

After cutting them up, I wrap them in wax paper.

Liam hung out while his cousins and I made Christmas goodies.

-Anna

Swimming with Daddy

Yesterday was Liam's last swim lesson.  He has come so far since October.  Liam now loves to splash and kick.  He'll even go under water with Daddy's help.

On the last day, I got to take pictures and video of Liam.

Liam and Daddy

Liam showed off his splashing skills for Mommy.

Daddy and Liam showed me how he can go underwater.

On the last day, they even opened the slide.  Daddy took Liam down his first water slide.

At the end of class, I wrapped Liam up in his Monkey towel and we went into the locker room to get cleaned up and ready for the trip home.

I love this pool because it's warm and they have family locker rooms.  It's much easier to manage little ones when you can have the help of another parent.

I see many more swim lessons in Liam's future.  He loves the water.  Who knows, maybe he'll be the next Michael Phelps.

-Anna

Newspaper Fun

Liam decided to help me find coupons in the paper yesterday.  He honestly wasn't much help, but it sure made for some cute pictures :)

-Anna

Liam's First Tree

Growing up, my family had tall Christmas trees.  Every year, since the house remodel with the vaulted ceiling, we'd go out to a U-cut farm and pick a tall Noble Fir tree.  By the time Dad got it cut down and in the house it was usually about 12 to 13 feet tall.

Here's a picture of my parent's tree this year.  My mom couldn't even fit the whole tree in the picture :)

But this blog isn't about my childhood trees, it's about Liam's first.

I like Noble Fir trees, and Brent and I generally do a U-cut, but this year we simplified.  We went to FredMeyer and picked out an inexpensive 6ft Douglas Fir.  Poor Liam was too sick to do a big excursion, and Brent and I were already worn down from dealing with a sick child and recent sleepless nights.

I had hoped we'd decorate the tree the same night we purchased it, but we both felt rest was more important.

Come the next night I lit candles, turned on some jazzy Christmas music, Brent made some hot chocolate, and we were ready to bring on the Christmas cheer and decorate.

Liam wasn't much help, but he seemed to have fun.  He liked pulling on the Christmas lights and playing with the ornaments :)

I got some cute pictures and a video of my boys.

I even took a picture of the stockings I made.  Brent's mom made stockings for him and his brother when they were younger, and my mom made them for us, so I thought I should carry on the tradition.

Finally the tree was complete.

Liam's first Christmas tree, complete with a couple of his first ornaments.

I'm so excited for Liam's first Christmas, and eager to start traditions that he will remember fondly.

-Anna

Swimming and Eating Chili

Liam is currently in his second round of swim classes.  The material is the same as the first, but this time I scheduled them in the evening so Brent could join too.

We don't have many pictures so far since we're both in the pool at the same time.  Brent did get a couple before class.

It's been a lot of fun swimming with Liam.  His kicks are like little frog leaps :)

******

This week I broke out my mom's recipe and made some White Chicken Chili Soup.  I love when she makes this dish, so I figured I'd start making it at home too.

3 15oz cans great northern beans drained (or pinto or cannelloni beans).  I like to mix.

2 1/2 C chopped cooked chicken

1 C chopped onion

1-1 & 1/2 C chopped red, yellow and/or green sweet peppers

2 jalapeño chili peppers, stemmed and chopped or use 1/2 a can

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dried oregano, crushed

3 1/2 C chicken broth

shredded Monterey Jack cheese

broken tortilla chips

1. In slow cooker combine the drained beans, chicken, onion, sweet peppers, jalapeño pepper, garlic, cumin salt, and oregano.  Stir in chicken broth.
2. Cover, cook on low heat setting for 8-10 hours or high heat for 4-5 hours.
3. Ladle soup into bowls.  Top with cheese and tortilla chips.

Makes 8 servings.

I only did a couple things slightly differently.  I didn't cook and chop the chicken.  I've found that there is generally no need to when using the slow cooker.  I instead throw in either thawed or even frozen chicken tenders or breasts.  I'll then cook it on high for part of the time, and slow the rest.  This is in order to get the chicken up to temperature faster.

The chicken becomes so tender at the end, I simply use a utensil to break it up in the pot after cooking.  It falls apart easily and becomes shredded chicken.

I didn't carefully measure out the sweet peppers.  I used one yellow and one orange.  I'm not a fan of peppers in general, but I barely notice them in this dish.

The last change I made was to add two more cloves of garlic.  We LOVE garlic!

Slow cooker recipes are my favorite.  They make my life so much easier.

-Anna

Liam's First Thanksgiving

We celebrated Liam's first Thanksgiving at Grandma and Grandpa Howell's house.  My parents were there as well as my sister and Liam's great grandparents.

Liam started out the afternoon playing with Grandpa's head.  He enjoyed the slapping sound :)

While we waited for dinner.  Grandma got out the good silverware.  Liam wanted to play with silver, so Grandma let him play with the tongs.

  

We then sat down for dinner.

No baby food for Liam this meal.  He got to have the full meal deal.  Liam even ate a full piece of pumpkin pie later.

Mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and he even had some turkey.

After dinner Liam napped, then played some more.

Liam had a great Thanksgiving, and spent a lot of the day testing out his new standing skills.  I don't have any pictures of him standing without support, but it is happening more and more.  At times he can do it for nearly 10 seconds.  I think he'll be taking his first wobbly steps by Christmas :)

-Anna

30 Minute Mini Meat Loaves and Chocolate Pecan Fudge

I haven't posted any recipes for awhile because I haven't been able to keep up recently.  As the holidays approach we've gotten busier and I've stuck with some of our old staples.  However, I did try a new recipe this week, 30 Minute Mini Meat Loaves from the Betty Crocker website.  They take about 10 minutes to make up and 20 to cook.  This was perfect for the two of us, because I was able to halve the recipe to make just enough.  Last time I made a full meatloaf we had tons leftover and ended up throwing away half of it.

I used ground turkey instead of beef.  We find turkey just as flavorful and it's healthier, so we stopped buying ground beef a couple years ago.

I halved all the ingredients except for the egg.  I wasn't sure how to half it, and figured it wouldn't matter anyway since it's basically just used to hold the meat together while it cooks.

Liam snacking on a cookie while I made meat loaf :)

We loved this meal.  It's simple, and most of the ingredients we regularly have.  The only thing I had to buy special was the ground pork.

Yum!  The finished product.

*****

Thanksgiving is tomorrow, so I've been preparing.  Yesterday I made Chocolate Pecan Fudge, and tonight I'll get my sweet potatoes ready to throw into the slow cooker tomorrow morning.

For the fudge I simply used the recipe on the back of the Jet-Puffed Marshmallow Creme.  Last year my sister and I made this recipe for the first time.  We followed it exactly and used Semi-Sweet Bakers Chocolate.  This was a bit of a hassle because we had to cut the bars into small shaved chunks.  Therefore, this year I just used semi-sweet chocolate chips.  A cup and a half equals the required 12 ounces.

-Anna