Baby Anders Turns Two

Anders turned the big ol' 2 last weekend and thus marks the official attempt to stop calling him by his unofficial name, "Baby Anders." It's a hard habit to break and until we find a new, catchy replacement nickname. Our attempt at "Little Anders" isn't quite sticking and it just doesn't have a certain je ne sais quoi we are looking for. Suggestions welcome.

Anders has come out of his shy little velcro-baby shell over the last several months and it's been such a joy to watch him grow. And this kid can talk, talk, talk and then talk some more. You would think that could be annoying but he has such a sweet voice and it's been super helpful that he communicates so well. I wasn't feeling well earlier in the week and he came up to me on the couch and said softly "Mommy okay?" and leaned in to give me a soft sweet kiss on the head. I mean come on, people, if that doesn't make you want to just tuck him in your pocket forever, well then I don't know tugs on your lead heart strings.

We do want to make a video montage but that will be a while so I thought I'd toss a few photos out there in the meantime from his little party. We were once again blessed with a beautiful sunny and 75 degree day - the sweet spot of the pacific northwest summer.

Happy birthday, Baby Anders! We love you!

It had to be a Cars theme party for our little man who would watch the movie every morning and every afternoon if mommy let him.

Landon enjoying time with neighborhood friends.

Anders in his birthday shirt before he attacked the water table with gusto and required a new outfit.

Chatting about something.

Cupcake crew! With a side of plastic broccoli.

Happy Birthday!

I give my kids credit: they are actually only a couple of a select toddler crowd that will actually eat the cake part instead of just licking the icing. [*Sniff* You boys make this carb-lovin' momma so proud. *Sniff*]

Shenanigans.

Erik's recent present to the boys. Mom's new lawn mowing challenge.

Presents!

Anders is too distracted by a new garbage truck toy; Chase and Landon take the lead on the rest of the gifts.

The party was so much fun that we had another party after nap time and broke out the pool!

Friends having fun while they celebrate with us.

Time will tell if we actually pull a video together! Anders, let this be my declaration of good intentions!

Itsa Pizza Itsa Pizza Itsa Pizza Pizza Pie

For Father's Day this year, Erik spent some time in "his workshop" - which is really just the garage with the kids' bikes and wagons and such shoved to the side. He decided to craft a pizza peel given our last few attempts at getting our homemade pizza pies on and off our pizza stone caused some messes. So! The peel was finely crafted and the bread machine went to work kneading a ball of dough for the night.

Erik and I love this time lapse photo video montage of the boys making their own pizzas, but I suppose it could come across as boring to others. We see the details like the boys playing cars in the background and then coming in closer to roll their own dough and steal some grated cheese. But! It makes us happy and we wanted to share. If you set your daily life to a soundtrack, you can see the beauty in the details. 

Daddy's Home... Again

I'm a little late in posting some pics on the blog of Erik's return from his recent detachment, but obviously we've been a bit busy around the house lately since daddy is home and had several days off before returning to work today. It has been pretty awesome! The boys have been just plain ecstatic. That sounds like a superlative, but seriously - they are thrilled with him around.

Anders and I greeted Erik for a midday fly in (Landon was still at school) of about five jets. It was very cute as Anders was a little shy for about 10 seconds before full on running into daddy's arms. 

Over the last five days, we've been on a couple hikes, went to a carnival, had a home made pizza party (with a new pizza peel Erik made on Thursday), laid down edging pavers around the garden beds, Mom had a couple hours at the spa, Erik built a large car ramp for the boys, we all went on an ice cream date, yada yada yada. Basically the Halvorson family unit is up and running full speed.

Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

After sharing my standard whole wheat muffin go-to recipe, I thought I'd toss another frequently consumed baked good out there. Like its predecessor, it does not require any oil or butter and its ingredients are on the "somewhat decent" list. I suspect they freeze fine, as well, but somehow these things disappear pretty quickly so I can't say for sure. Kids' snacktime? Throw them a couple of these. Lazy morning? Eat some for breakfast with your tea. Post workout snack? Consider this a protein puck for your muscles to munch on.

I have no clue where the recipe originated from and I have tweaked it a few times so I don't even know what to call these things. Let's call them PB² Oat Cookies. [And all y'allz need to know I looked up html tag information in order to make that number "2" appear in superscript so it has proper exponential placement. If you didn't think I was a dedicated blogger before, well then: "Bam!"]

Anyhooooodles, preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

2 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4c peanut butter (I use chunky because its a favorite, but whatever floats your boat)
1/4c white sugar
1/2c brown sugar
2 eggs
~~~~~~
1.5c whole wheat flour
1c oats
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the wet stuff with the sugars in one bowl and mix the dry stuff in another bowl. Combine. I get a couple dozen of these suckers when I use a tablespoon cookie scooper thingamajig. Bake for 15 minutes and let cool on a drying rack. They do better when stored in the fridge after a day or so.

Reasons My Son is Crying

As Anders was particularly sensitive this afternoon due to a budding cold and perhaps budding teeth, I was reminded of all the absurdities that throw toddlers into tears. I realized I failed to write about the littlest guy's appearance in the book Reasons My Son is Crying.

Basically I had been a fan of the site reasonsmysoniscrying.com for a while and I had submitted a picture of Anders for consideration. Low and behold, Greg Pembroke (the guy who started it all), indicated the picture was quite awesome asked if it could be included in a book that was to be released rather than the site itself. Sure. Why not? We got a kick out of it.

"Hey! I totally know that guy!"

When it was released in April, I went to flip through and see where Anders' fifteen minutes of fame would reside within the book. We didn't have to look far: he was the starting picture in the first chapter. Obviously they wanted to start things off with a bang. I also failed to notice that he was on the back cover, as well. So yeah: he rocked it. He rocked it good.

For shits and giggles, you may find the book at your nearby bookstore (as opposed to, say, a shoe store). Anders is amongst many absurd pint sized companions.

Killing Time on a Saturday Afternoon

It's springtime and there is plenty of sun to soak up in these parts! We spent a couple hours the other evening just enjoying some ice cream and taking a long walk along the marina down to one of Anders' favorite rock throwing spots. And it was all very pleasant and passed the time easily enough.

 
In my opinion, I believe the hardest part of detachments or deployments are the weekends; it's supposed to be the allotted time where families hang together. In the past, I can honestly say I haven't felt bitter about seeing children play with their dads at the weekend farmer's market or watching them ride bikes at the park, but it's starting to happen. And I don't want to be that crotchety military spouse, but I guess this phase of work ups and impending deployment are forcing me to toe that line.

This does bring to light, however, how thankful I am for my neighborhood and nearby friends. To have someone just invite us over for a couple hours makes a big difference. I can do plenty of stuff with the boys any given day or take them plenty of places, but there is something about just hanging around other families that helps fill in the void. It is a great support and tugs me back from the line of crotchetiness (sp?).

Simple Whole Wheat Muffins

I've been making a lot of these whole wheat muffins lately. They are just slightly sweet and are perfect for buttering up, jamming up, honeying up or just eating them plain. The boys get excited about them and considering they are fairly innocuous, they fit the bill.

The other thing I like about this recipe is that it makes eighteen muffins and they freeze nicely. I usually bake the twelve regular muffins (as per what a standard muffin pan allows) and then have some leftover batter to get a little creative and make mini muffins with little dark chocolate chunks and craisins or nuts or whatever is closest on the pantry shelf that day.

Without further ado:

1/2 c sugar
1 egg
2 cups buttermilk (or a couple TBSP of vinegar and enough milk to reach 2 c mark - let sit for a few minutes to curdle)
1 tsp baking soda
2 c whole wheat flour
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg and sugar together. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and then add in the egg/sugar mixture and the milk until combined.

Grease your muffin tins (for some reason, these just don't work well with liners) and bake about 15-20 min. If you are making mini muffins, scale it back to 10-12 min.

They're the kind of muffins that should be stored in a container or bag and even then, I would throw that in the fridge after a day or so. They stay pretty moist, but they kinda get that sticky sheen on them if they chill with their homies in a room temperature container too long. Otherwise, I store them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.

I found this recipe via the Money Saving Mom. I like a lot of her stuff - no frills, real simple!