Cupcake Recipe, Thanksgiving & Christmas Portraits

I got off work a Noon on Wednesday which was great since I had shopping and cooking on my to-do list. My first stop was Flying Saucer Pie Company which is our favorite local pie shop. The day before Thanksgiving, crazy people like us stand in line for hours to buy their delicious pies. Matt, Sam and me have been carrying on the tradition for the past six years, but this year we decided not to wait in line. So, I thought I would swing by and if the line was short I would score some pies. Unfortunately, the line was still 100 yards or more, so I passed.

Afterwards, I went to the Galleria to find Reese a pair of shoes for her Christmas dress and found a pair of red patent leather pedipeds. I was looking for black, but the red stole my heart (and I couldn't find black; apparently if you do not have your Christmas outfit purchased by Halloween you may be out of luck because it's all on sale and picked over before Thanksgiving...another new mom lesson learned).

By the time I got home around 2:00, it was time to start baking. Grandma and I took turns in the kitchen as she was preparing the dressing and giblet gravy while I was making red velvet cupcakes (I was also supposed to make a pumpkin pie, but it didn't happen).

Here are some pictures of Reese and me baking cupcakes.

The cupcakes were a hit and Aunt Sharon has already asked for the recipe, so I thought I would share it with you all too!

McCormick Red Velvet Cupcakes with Vanilla Cream Frosting:

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1 bottle (1 oz.) McCormick Red Food Color

2 tsp. McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract

Vanilla Cream Frosting

Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Mix sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla and add to butter mixture. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed just until blended. Spoon batter into paper-lined muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 20 to 25 minutes. Cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove from pans; cool completely. Spread with frosting. Makes 30.

McCormick Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat 1 package (8 oz.) softened cream cheese, 4 tbsp. softened butter, 2 tbsp. sour cream, and 2 tsp. vanilla in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in 1 box (16 oz.) confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at Aunt Sharon's house in Conroe with Mom, Sam, Grandma Ruth, Pat, Joe, Chris, Christina, Scott, Lauren, Andy, Nita, Harvey, Mary and Aunt Sharon.

Reese playing with Lauren and Scott.

Reese sat in her booster chair for the first time and did great! We gave her mashed potatoes for the first time too. She seemed to like the first two bites, but spit out the third. The next day we fed her more, but mixed them with her other food and she gobbled them up.

On Friday, we spent the morning decorating the Christmas tree. We dressed Reese up in her first Christmas outfit which I found online (thanks to Wendy) at www.littlebopeepbowtique.etsy.com.

We played Christmas music and decorated the morning away.

Reese was very patient with us as she had to sit in her jumper most of the time so she would not get into the ornaments. Here she is trying to decide whether or not she like my placement of ornaments. Mom, over to the left a little!



The finished product! And surprisingly enough, Reese has not tried to get to it yet. We have the trunk blocking it, so I hope she will remain uninterested.

Later that afternoon, Nolan, Wendy and Karsyn stopped by for a visit and to bring Reese a gift.

Karsyn and Reese had a blast playing together. Reese really took to Karsyn and enjoyed the playmate.

Aren't they the cutest girls?!

Oooh, Wendy's purse!

Let's see what you've got in here Reese!

Afterwards, we went to Mom and Sam's for more Turkey and Dressing. Reese fell asleep on the way over and cuddled with Matt when we arrived.

It didn't take her long to perk up and notice all of the Christmas decorations at Mom's house. I love the way Mom and Sam decorate; it's so fun and festive and really gets me in the spirit!

Reese found a new (old) toy in her saucer.

Later that night, I snapped this shot of Reese playing in front of the mirror in Grandma's room.



On Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early to get ready for our 10:00 appointment at Sears Portrait Studio. I was afraid it may be an all day affair (again) and indeed it was. Reese did not want to get dressed in her frilly tights, dress and new red shoes. By the time we got out of the door, she was tired and fussy and the day had just begun. To digress a bit . . . She is teething, so these past few days have been hard on her. I've also noticed that the inside of her upper and lower lips are peeling like she is biting on them. Ironically, this is one of my bad habits and it's weird to see Reese having the same symptoms. I haven't seen her bite/chew her lips, but I can see the proof.

We arrived on time for the appointment, but didn't start until almost 11:00 and by that time Reese was tired, so we only got a few family portraits when we had to break and come back at 3:30.

Matt was unable to come back with us, but thankfully Mom was able to help out. Here is a sneak peek of Reese's first Christmas portraits . . . I don't want to show them all to you and spoil the Christmas card.

Reese loved the Red balls!

Matt had a great idea, to get a picture of her in her pj's. We just love how she looks each morning when she wakes up, so capturing her in pajama's will always remind us of those moments.

She is waiting for Santa!

Later that night, she took a ride in the laundry basket as I pushed her around the house.

This afternoon, Chad, Jennifer and Brady came over and we went to the park. Reese swung and swung, but I forgot my camera. Here she is in her toboggan.

Later, I finally dressed Reese in her leggings. I have had these since my baby shower, but hadn't tried them until now. She is also wearing her new Hanna Andersson www.hannaandersson.com sock shoes that Wendy gave her on Saturday. Thanks Wendy! These are so cute and she wore them all day!

Here is Reese trying to change the cd.

Doing her cheerleader moves.

We had a great long weekend with Reese and she's actually become very attached to me. I can hardly put her down or leave the room without her crying. I'll miss her tomorrow when I go back to work!

Waving Bye Bye

I forgot to mention in may last post that Reese is learning how to wave bye bye. She waves more than she says "bye bye," but she is getting there. Now, we gotta work on "mama"! She has been saying "dada or dadadadada" for months now.

Oh, and she learned to stand up in the bath tub last week. Needless to say, some baths are quicker than others depending on how many times she tries to stand up and get out of the tub. Our tub is deep and I don't want her to slip and fall.

Finally, (I told you I would forget some things in the last post), we child proofed the house this weekend. Now Matt and I cannot get into the cabinets!

The Reeser

Hello bloggers! Sorry we've been offline for almost two weeks! I blame it all on Matt being out of town! ;) Well he was out of town and he did have the laptop, but I also brought my laptop home from work each night with good intentions of blogging. Turns out by the time I got Reese to bed, I was so tired that I went to bed too.

Reese has been doing lots of new things. Let's see if I can remember them all. Oh, and my new nickname for her is Reeser; of course this varies to The Reeser, Reesie, Reesie Piecee Girl and on and on. You know I just can't help but make up knew names for her. I wonder if I'll ever grow out of this and if not, will Reese think I am crazy?

Reese turned 10 months old on Friday and here is what she can do now . . .

- Pull up on anything, even semi-unstable objects like the laundry basket. She gets stronger every day. Last week she even made her way from the chair in the picture below to the couch. She also tries to stand up from a sitting position, but isn't able to when there is nothing to grab on to. You can see that she wants to and she'll almost be in the downward dog yoga pose (hands and feet on the floor and bottom in the air) in an attempt to stand up.

- Still wearing college t's. Here is Reese in her TCU t-shirt that Matt bought her on one of his trips to Fort Worth.

- Eat apples from a Gerber fruit cup.

- Still smiling so big for the camera.

- Help Mommy with the laundry or at least pull up and dig in.

- Still chewing on anything the can get her teeth/mouth onto. Last Saturday, we notice she had a 5th tooth coming in on the top gums. She had just gotten the top two and I thought she may get a break. Nope the other two are on there way!

- Read magazines . . . I have since cleared everything off of the trunk.

- Still loves water bottles and played with this case of water trying to get to a bottle.

- Discovered her hair brush; a new toy.

- Still loves to pose with Mommy.

- Discovered she doesn't need shoes when she has socks!

- Absolutely loves her purple cow which we have now started calling "The Purple People Eater" as we sing a version of the song (gotta love Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_People_Eater).

BTW, The Purple People Eater was hand picked by Aunt Jamie.

- Sat in her rocking chair for the first time. She has been curious about it and kept trying to pull up on it (not a good idea), so Matt sat her in it tonight.

- Being our big girl!

- And finally, Reese went to her first Albans block party this afternoon. It was the first one for all three of us and it gave us a chance to meet more folks in the neighborhood.

We are all so excited that this week is a short week and Reese's first Thanksgiving!

Madonna - Sticky and Sweet

So . . . Mom and I went to see Madonna in concert last Sunday night at Minute Maid Park. The concert was scheduled to begin at 7:30. We were right on time, but the stadium was not even remotely full for the "sold out" concert. I guess everyone else got the message or have been there done that and know that Madonna always starts late. After grabbing a beer and making our way up to our seats we waited and waited. Another beer, pretzel and chicken strip basket later, she finally started the show at 9:30! We had a good time and sang along to all the songs we knew until 11:30.

Below is a concert review By JOEY GUERRA HOUSTON CHRONICLE

"There were references, visual and lyrical, to lip-smacking treats throughout Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour, which played to a frenzied, sold-out crowd Sunday night at Minute Maid Park.
Gumdrops and candies bounced across the stage’s huge video screens. The cracked peppermint theme of Madonna’s Hard Candy disc was all over the merchandise.

“My sugar is raw,” she purred during opening track Candy Shop.
She definitely played up the tartness. But most surprising about Madonna’s impeccably choreographed, frequently fantastic show was her willingness to show fans the flip side. She was still larger-than-life — and astonishingly fit for 50 — but Hard Candy’s toot-toot disco beats have softened her edges.

“I need you to have a good time,” she ordered. “I don’t come here very often.” Indeed, Madonna’s last Texas appearance was the 1990 kickoff of her Blond Ambition tour at the Summit.

A backing track was sometimes apparent, but Madonna’s voice was still surprisingly forceful. She raced effortlessly through intricate dance sequences that pop stars half her age couldn’t master.

The first few words of Borderline incited rapturous cheers, but Madonna wasn’t interested in a retro trip. She transformed the winsome pop classic into a revved-up arena rocker.

A twisting, tempestuous Like a Prayer kicked off a stretch that found Madonna in a silver bustier and blond bangs, soaring on risers like a superheroine. Ray of Light pulsed with a delirious urgency, and Hung Up was recast as a riot-grrrl anthem before kicking into the familiar ABBA beat.

By the time she hit the finale of Give It 2 Me, the audience was in full frenzy. Madonna stomped across the stage, dancers at her side, in a pair of black-framed glasses. The lights slowly rose as her candy shop came to a close, and Holiday played on the PA as fans filed out, still singing along and savoring the taste."

And here is a link to some pictures of Madonna through the years . . .

http://www.chron.com/entertainment/photogallery/lkx_Madonna_through_the_years.html

Guns Up!!

Matt's work schedule finally returned to normal. The Company Matt works for filed their Form 10-Q on Friday afternoon so he had all weekend to stay at home.

On Saturday morning we dressed Reese up in her new tights and dress. Look at her in her cute outfit. Grandma even managed to get Reese to wear her shoes.

After spending the day running errands and discovering Costco for the second time of the weekend (Hooray for Costco), we met up with Scott to watch the Tech game. Here are some pictures of Reese at Texadelphia watching the game:

On Sunday morning we met up with Scott, Lauren, Chris, and Matt's parents for Chris's birthday breakfast. Reese was dressed in her new outfit from Costco. She has learned to enjoy Cheerios and Puffs.

Matt took the day off on Monday and got to spend some time with Reese. He took Reese to Pappassittos to meet up with some of his former co-workers from E&Y (Courtney, Shae, and Emily). They had seen pictures of Reese, but this was there first time to meet her in person. Reese had a good time and didn't scream bloody murder (that is what she did last time we were at Pappassittos).

On Monday evening we played "keep away" with Reese. Here is a movie. I love how she screams and gets excited: