Cookie Baking - Valentine's Edition

It's no secret that we love our sweets in this house.  One of Melissa's favorite things to to is bake, and she is wasting no time passing on her affinity for goodies to Emma. :)  Valentine's Day provided a great opportunity for sugary arts and crafts time.  It was a 3 day affair:

Day 1:  The making of the sugar cookie dough.  The cookies were good - so don't get me wrong when I tell you they tasted a little funny and had a bit of an odd texture.  I know you're going to find that hard to believe since, as you can see below, the recipe was followed to a T with precision in measurements. ;)

"Oh no!"  Emma pointing out the mess.  

Day 2:  Rolling, cutting, baking, and eating of the dough.

The first of many "tastes"

Quite possibly the 20th of many "tastes".

Day 3: With the cookies cut and baked with care, the last thing to do is decorate (and, if you're Emma, "sample" frosting).

"Mommy, stop moving the spoon so I can get my fingers in there"

"Thank you!  Yummy"

Melissa gave a demonstration then handed over the knife and sprinkles.

Some of the sprinkles made it on the cookies.

As you can see by the frosting caked lips she was having a great time until the end when there were no more cookies to frost or frosting bowls to eat out of.

The goods!!!

Frosted and sampled - can you tell which cookie is Emma's? :)

The cookies were delicious and I was happy to be the benefactor of sugary arts and craft  / Mommy - Daughter time.  I anticipate many more floury, sugary, giggly, happy messes in our future and I couldn't be happier. :)  

Happy Valentine's Day with love from Minneapolis,

Jason, Melissa, and Emma!

February Mish Mash

Aloha! (means hello)

No better way to reflect on a cold, snowy February with lots of indoor projects than on an 8th floor balcony in Honolulu.  The picture above is my view as I write this post.  Not bad, huh?  The sand you see at the bottom of the picture is the world famous Waikiki Beach.  I'm realizing this post may take longer to write as my eyes continue to diverge from the screen  Oh, well - I guess I'll just have to take my time. :)

Despite being a fairly cold and snowy February (I think it snowed on each of the first 8 days of the month and maybe 9 of the first 10) we managed to keep ourselves busy.  With the help of Phil Pappano (a lot of help!) I made and installed a storage cube / play area / toy box for Emma in the basement.  From start to finish, the project took about a month. But it turned out to be beautiful and well worth the work.  Here are some pics I took along the way:

The sketch up / blue print.

First tower completed in Phil's garage.

First mock up in Phil's garage.

In place in the basement.  Still needs some sanding, primer, paint, and a backing . . . but it fits!!

Finished and installed!  The middle part is a toy chest and the top doubles as a bench.  You can see the black paint on the front - that is chalk board paint!  Yet another genius idea by Phil.

Emma putting it to the test :)

One of Emma's favorite places is to be is outside.  We try to get out as much as we can but it gets tough in the winter time.  A special thanks to our alley neighbors for giving us their old back pack kid carrier. After a little snow fell at the beginning of February we loaded Emma up and went for a hike to Lake Nokomis.

Rosie cheeks following the walk.

Sharing a post snow-shoeing snack. (say that 10 times fast!)

We also got out and made an Emma sized snow man. :)  This picture was taken just before she knocked its head off.

Emma had one of her best friends, John Karlgaard, over for a morning play date.  They had a blast running around, getting out every toy in the basement, and riding double on the rocking horse.

Sassy anyone?

We haven't gotten around to putting a humidifier in the basement yet and I can't tell you how many times I've been shocked turning lights on and off and touching anything that's metal from static build-up on the carpet.  With a few of the larger tiny lightening bolts, Emma has actually said "hot" and "light."  Here she is modeling her static hair.

Here are just a few random pictures to leave you with.

Emma's favorite sleeping position. :)

Aloha (means goodbye!)

With love from Hawaii!
Jason, Melissa and Emma

p.s. More to come on our vacation soon!