Raspberry White Chocolate Bread Pudding

This weekend I had some strawberries that needed to be used.  After throwing around some ideas, I suggested bread pudding as I also had a stale loaf of ciabatta.  Ben was immediately on board. He loves himself some bread pudding. Then I realized our strawberries were bad and I had raspberries in the freezer.  A recipe was born.

Apparently, I knocked this one out of the park because Ben couldn't get over how good it was.  I also sent a jar over to my friend Sarah.  I later received a text instructing me to"

1.  Give her the recipe.
2.  Make a pan for a get together at church tonight.
3.  Give the pan to her instead.

Yeah, this is pretty good stuff.

So without further ado, here is the recipe.

Printable version.

Two of the cutest people I know . . .

When Sam was about 6 months old we had darling family photos taken by Utah photographer Jessica Kettle.  She did a lovely job.  So lovely that I have a GIANT copy of this photo hanging in my living room.

I knew that if I ever had another child, they would also need a shot taken at the same age.

Originally I had planned to take Dannelly and do a full-blow shoot with her.  However, today we were playing during Sam's rest time and she presented me with this sweet little face.  

Giant eyes? Check.  Cute little lips?  Check.  Perfect baby? Check!

I think I have my shot.  :)

Oh, and we have teeth. 

Princess Sam

Sam's teacher texted this photo to me on Friday.  Apparently Princess Sam got busted for swiping toys from his friends.  Ms. Laura assured me that a princess dress is a developmentally appropriate choice a 4 yr old boy.  

He looks so sad.  

And so pretty.

Sam's Dog.

Sam and I had the following conversation on Wednesday.

Sam, "I have a doggie."

Mom, "You do?!  What color is your dog?"

Sam, "White."

Mom, "Where does your dog sleep?"

Sam, "In my bed."

Mom, "What's your dog's name?"

Sam, "Great Wolf Hanson."

Mom, "Like Great Wolf Lodge?"

Sam, "Yup.  Great Wolf Hanson."

Hysterical.

Nerd Love

Sam loves to wear glasses.  Ben found some cute nerd glasses in the Dollar Spot at Target on Monday.  Sam thought they were "super cool" and everyone took turns wearing them and having their picture taken.  We love nerds at our house.  

Yesterday I was on the phone with Buddy and when I got off I looked over and saw this little scene.  This kid cracks me up.  

Dannelly 5 months

This little munchkin is 5 months old. 

This baby is rolling like a mad woman.  She can basically get anywhere she wants to go. Ben predicts she'll be crawling by October.

Our little princess is LOUD.  When she jabbers, she opens her mouth wide open to achieve maximum volume. Obviously, she's my child.

She's working on some teeth. We've got one that is getting super close and we are all ready for it to break through.

Dannelly is at her absolute cutest at 9:00 pm.  Ben says its the soft lighting.  I say she's just trying to get her crib curfew pushed back.

Missy also flirts with anyone who comes within 15 ft.  Her big smile and bright blue eyes earn her a lot of attention.

I'm sure you can see why people like her.

First Day of School

Sam returned to school and to the loving arms of Ms. Laura last week.  He was so happy to see Ms. Jill and meet his new teached Ms. Ann and his new classmates.  There are three boys in his class until they get some new friends.  He was a little sad that his friends (and Ms. Cory)  from last year had moved on to Kindergarten.  On Friday he saw them walking in the hall and said, "Hey friends!  Come play with us on the blue playground!"

Sam is so excited for another year of school.  Mom and Elly are excited for four hours of peace in the morning. 

Paperwork

Sometimes you just have to sit down and take care of same paperwork. 

In your underwear. 

4 Years Old!

Last Sunday was Sam's official birthday.  After church, we came home and opened presents.  For the last month he has been telling us that he wanted a "marble game" for his birthday.  Here's a little video of him opening it.

As you can see it was a pretty awesome birthday.  

 Baby Sister enjoyed watching Sam open his gifts.

Sam doesn't like cake so we bought him an ice cream cake for his special day.  He was more interested in blowing out the candles than he was in eating the cake.  Oh well, mom and dad took one to the team and finished it off.  Dannelly may have helped.  

Happy Birthday Sam!  We love you!

Sam's Birthday - Great Wolf Lodge

For our birthday/end of summer trip, we took Sam to the Great Wolf Lodge in Dallas.  We were a little concerned that he wouldn't enjoy it enough to merit the price tage but decided to give it a shot anyway.

Sam started off the morning by helping us pack.

Since Sam never wears clothing anyway, it would make sense that the only thing he packed was underwear and socks.  As in, all of his underwear and socks. All of our family on Instagram pointed out that this was logical for Captain Underpants. (Thank you Aunt Karen for that nickname.)

After packing he took a short break to hang out with Baby Sister.

They're buddies.

Ready to go!

Sam had a FABULOUS time.  

The indoor waterpark was great and just perfect for my fair skinned family.  Sam was disappointed that he couldn't go on the big waterslides but he had a great time on the slides he could do as well as the wave pool.  Here's a little video of Sam and Dad "crashing" into the waves.  I think we might need to plan a trip to the beach.  

Party Time!

Sam is having a pretty fabulous birthday week.  On Tuesday, his friends joined us for a super fun pool party. We had swimming, pizza, Nutter Butters (Sam's favorite) and Angry Bird Cupcakes.  

I spent two hours on Monday night making the cupcakes.  Cupcakes that I knew that my son wouldn't eat.  (He's anti-cake) However, he loved looking at them and his friends devoured them.  They started off looking really cute.  (Of course I only got a photo with my iPhone.  I think there might be a tutorial coming.)

After 2 hours, our Angry Birds looked like they had been shot at one too many pigs.  

Sam had such a good time swimming with all of his cute friends. We had lots of friends from church including some of our very favorite adults.  Somehow I didn't get pictures of everyone but we had quite the crowd.

Here is the back of one of the Peterson kids. She has brothers that are just older and just younger than Sam.  When her mom told her they were going to a party she asked who it was for.  When Megan told her it was for Sam she replied, "Sam Hanson?!  Oh, we know him.  He's the loudest kid in Primary.  He likes to play the piano loudly."

Sam's reputation precedes him.

 

He even had an older woman there. We love Jordan and she loves Sam.

Here is Ben and Sam's current lady friend Renee.  She loves buckets.  

It wouldn't be a swimming party without his BFF Logan.

And our sweet friend Rebekah.  We don't get to play with her much now that Sam is in school so he was extra excited to see her.

And finally, even Dannelly got in on the swimming action.  This girls loves the water AND her brother.

(Kinda) Solid Food

Little Miss is not super interested in her bottle these days so we gave solid foods a shot today.  Pears and Oatmeal. Some of it may have actually made it into her stomach.  

Besties

Sam and Elly are best friends.  They love to be around each other.

If Sam hears Elly crying he says, "Sounds like Baby Sister!  Mom, go get her!"

If Sam is playing with Elly and leaves, she immediately starts to cry.  Even if the playing involves him laying on top of her. 

One of Sam's favorite games (that I can hear him playing the bedroom right now) is when he lays on the bed and rough houses with Ben.  If Elly is around she performs her signature (assisted) move called The Baby Slam.  It amounts to us slamming Sam in the stomach with his sister.  They both love it. 

Most of all, they both love their snuggle time.  I grabbed the picture above last week while Sam was "watching Baby Sister" while I was getting ready.  Hooray for the iPhone.  

While I was getting ready today, much to her dismay Elly got put in the bouncy.  Finally I took her out and laid her next to Sam on the bed.  She immediately stopped crying. 

Sometimes you just need some time with your big brother.  

4 months old and 3 yrs and 11 months old

Ben says this is my triumphant return to the blog.  I say it is that I'm finally caught up on photos shoots.  Nothing like taking the summer off.  :)

The kids are FANTASTIC as usual.  Dannelly is four months old today.  She seems to  have finally kicked congestion, a clogged tear duct and most of her reflux.  She has the sweetest little personality and is just happy to be here.  She constantly smiles at everyone, especially Sam.  Sam appreciates this and constantly tries to maul play with her. Most of the time she is pretty tolerant and rewards him with jabbers and grins.  

Sam will be four next month and has had a GREAT time this summer. Mostly because he is naked CONSTANTLY.  I seriously cannot keep anything but underwear on this kid.  Last Sunday Ben had to dress him three times for church.  He had a FABULOUS time in Utah and talks about his grandparents and cousins all the time.  About every other day he tells me we are going to Utah.  He loves to go have lunch with Daddy and most mornings he wakes up and says, "Where's Dad?  Let's go get him and have P. Terry's."  The kid has good taste. 

Last Day of School

Sam's last day of school was June 1st.  

We are so lucky that he was able to have such a wonderful program to attend.

(Last day of school)

(First day of school)

His progress in the last 9 months has been amazing.  

They took a little guy who talked with his mouth closed to a dude who asks every single person that we meet, "What's your name?"

He does addition.  He spells.  He reads.  He LOVES telling us what day it is and what the weather is like.

We constantly hear about his friends and teachers.  

We are so blessed to have had this opportunity and we know that our lives were made better by Ms. Laura, Ms. Cory, Ms. Jill and Ms. Dana. Love you ladies!

Swimming Lessons

Sam has been in swimming lessons for the last 2 weeks and LOVING it.  

He loved his teachers Miss Emily and Mr. Ryan.  They were so sweet with him and did a great job teaching and encouraging. 

Sam especially love Mr. Ryan who became Sam's buddy. 

 Mostly because someone needed to keep a constant eye on Sam or he would make a break for the slide.

Needless to say he was very happy on the days they went down the slide as a class.

To top it all off, one of the teachers from Sam's school, Ms. Janet was also working at the pool.  Since she knows Sam, she also understands some of his challenges. (FOCUS!) It was wonderful for have her there to assist.  

Sam did a great job learning how to blow bubbles, do alligator arms, wave to the fishies and practice his starfish float.  He happily put his face in the water and ALWAYS had a smile on his face. 

We are so excited for more swimming lessons later on in the summer!  Great job dude!

 

11 Weeks

11 weeks old and she's cooing, smiling and basically charming our pants off.

10 weeks

Happy 10 weeks little miss!  We sure love you!

Getting Dressed

Sam has decided that he whenever he is home, he should be in PJ's. Usually he changes while he is supposed to be napping. Since there are still 18 month PJ's in his drawer I find some pretty awesome outfits when he gets up.  

Cupcakes for Jordan

One of my very favorite teenagers, Jordan, turned 15 in May.  Since her mom is my Texas BFF and she is practically Elly's sister I had to get in on making her birthday cupcakes . . that were high heels.

It only took us a couple of hours to make these spectacular little treats.