Red Velvet Cupcakes for the Fail...then the Win!!

There are some fabulous friends who create a fabulous dinner and a dessert exchange. I always feel like I need to do my best for this dessert exchange, something that I might not usually do. This year I decided to try red velvet cupcakes. I did a test run on tuesday and while they were a little denser than I liked, they tasted good and looked great. This morning I made them and the batter seemed fluffier and I baked the first batch and....they totally collapsed in on themselves and the bottoms were crooked and pretty much looked awful. They tasted delicious though! I was very concerned because if the next batch did not turn out better, I would have to figure something else out. Fortunately they turned out much better, although not as perfect as I would have liked. Thanks to Alisha for helping me frost them!

Hannah is a Runner!

So Derek and I are runners, which is a weird sentance to write because I have vivid memories of not being a runner- most of my life, not a runner, but since running is a part of our life, it follows that Hannah has figured out the idea of running. Kind of like Hannah figured out the idea of making cupcakes- in which we came into the kitchen to discover that Hannah had a corn muffin mix, a bowl, spoon and milk out on the counter and was trying to get the eggs out of the fridge. So she understands stuff- she recognizes our running clothes, has her own "running" shoes and likes to "go running" around the house. Today after my run, I set down my running jacket and Hannah picked it up and put it on and told us she was going running. The video was giving me a little trouble, so it might be sideways, but here is Hannah the runner!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Hannah was unbelievably excited to put up our christmas lights and decorate the tree! She could barely contain herself. You can see the results of her decorating. She would put on an ornament, although she kept saying "christmas instrument", and then say "oh pretty". I asked her if she wanted to put some of her ornaments in different places but she liked them, right where she put them. I guess the celebrations have begun.

RS Christmas Dinner

Once again our ward Relief Society has put on a wonderful Christmas dinner. It was fun, it was spiritual and there was delicious food! Excellent food E&A! They shall remain anonymous, so y'all aren't tempted to snag them and their many secrets. I had nothing to do with the food except to donate my rice cooker to the cause, but I did have a chance to "host" a table and provide dishes, centerpiece, etc. With the help of some lent items, I created a table for 8. It was like decorating for a party, but I didn't have to clean my house. My creative results are below, I am pretty happy with how the table turned out. Happily some friends and I filled the table and enjoyed the company and the program. A great way to kick off the month of December!

Seeing Santa

So last night, which I am well aware was Nov. 23rd, BEFORE Thanksgiving, we went and saw Santa Claus. I know, I am almost ashamed, except it turned out to be awesome! We were already planning a trip to the mall and then the fisher-price toy catalog came in the mail and Hannah perused it for about 5 minutes until she found this computer for kids that uses a USB to connect to a real computer/monitor.

"Daddy, I want this! I want this super computer for christmas! I am going to ask Santa for this super computer!"

Excuse me, what? Neither of us can remember discussing Santa bringing presents, or asking Santa for presents. So I really don't know where this came from- this being the dancing around the living room singing, "see Santa, see Santa".

"Okay", I tell her, "when we see Santa you can talk to him."

In the meantime, Derek looks up the Clackamas Town Center website and informs me that Santa is actually at the mall as we speak and did I really think it would be possible to avoid seeing Santa on our trip?

I sighed. I really did. It is not even Thanksgiving people!! I gave in. I gave in so much that I bathed Hannah and did her hair, put her in her red sparkly dress, white tights and black shoes so she could get her picture taken with Santa.

We went to Santaland and it was fabulous! There was no wait, Hannah didn't cry like last year, she ran right up to Santa saying "super computer, super computer". She sat on his lap, told him what she wanted for Christmas and posed for a very cute picture. I am going to try to scan one in. We brought our camera, but then realized the battery was at home charging. oops. So we had to buy some. I have one on my phone that is also darling. Since there was no line, Hannah got extra time and attention from Santa. Did you know his reindeer were waiting for him on the roof?

So we saw Santa. Before Thanksgiving. And I ended up loving every minute of it.

Sadly, Santa will probably not be bringing the super computer- we are trying for less screen time, not more. Hopefully the train table will make up for any disappointment.

Cheek Water

Tonight Hannah was crying because she didn't want to go to sleep, so Daddy went upstairs and Hannah had tears and she pointed at her cheek and said "I have cheek water". Of course, Daddy dried the cheek water and she seemed happy.

Cheek water...gotta love how her mind works!

Family Pics

We took advantage of the nice weather on saturday and went to Dodge Park to take family pictures. We want to update photos on our adoption sites. Hannah did a good job of humoring us while we were taking pictures. It helped that we got to throw rocks in the water, draw in the sand and play on the playground! We think we are pretty cute!