nathan ashley

my sweet little nephew was born on sunday morning and is just as perfect as can be. he is teeny tiny and looks a lot like his big sister, kailey. welcome to the world little guy!

nathan ashley
april 5, 2009
8:20am
6 pounds 8 ounces
19.5 inches



and a few more pics from the day.

big sister, kk.



walking down to the nursery.



the paparazzi.



just got weighed.



self-explanatory.



nana's attempt to coral the rowdy kids in the waiting area.



we love medical city. this is the sixth baby born there from our family in the last 4 years. we're kind of famous there. :)



sissy chilling with pawpaw.



the diaper cake laurin and i made for amy.

sissy has a friend

he doesn't really have a choice in the matter. he was kind of born into the role of "best friend". but, he seems to be falling into this role quite well. he let sissy hold his hand...even after we caught her looking up at us with guilty eyes and his poor little fingers in her mouth. what a good sport.



he posed for a few pictures. to document this budding new friendship, of course.



i love it when sissy sits like this. she looks like such a little big girl.



uh-oh. wonder where she learned this?



and look how happy she is. she loves her avery already.

intervention needed

I will pay someone to come wrestle this chocolate chip cookie and pepsi from my dead, lifeless kung-fu grip, tell me how big my butt is, and then drag me to Cooper. Takers? Anyone?

I need help.

how to frost a cupcake (for colleen)

okay, so about the frosting.  i made my own buttercream icing using this recipe.

buttercream dream icing

ingredients:
1 stick salted butter - room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter - room temperature
1 cup shortening
1 tablespoon Clear Vanilla extract
2 pounds confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar, 10x)
4-6 tablespoons very cold milk

directions:
cream the butter and shortening in the bowl of an electric or stand mixer. add the clear vanilla extract and combine well. begin adding in the sugar and mixing thoroughly after each addition. after all of the sugar has been added and mixed thoroughly, begin adding the very cold milk... one tablespoon at a time, combining very well after each addition (mixer on medium-high to high speed) until you reach the desired consistency.

this recipe is from the repressed pastry chef.  visit the site here.

once i had the icing made, i filled a disposable pastry bag with the icing, squished it down to get out most of the air, and then clipped off the end of the bag.  i found that it works just fine without using a tip since what i wanted was a big swirl of icing. 

then, using cooled cupcakes, i made a swirl of icing on top starting on the outside edge and working my way in.  i found that you need to keep the pastry bag totally upright to get the best results.  it's okay if it's not perfect since you will be adding the colored sugar on top.

next, using some pink colored sugar i found in the dollar bin at target, i turned the frosted cupcake upside down and dipped it down into the sugar until it was evenly covered.  the sugar from target is awesome because it's cheap and it comes in a little container that is the perfect size for dipping the cupcakes.

and there you have it.  cupcakes 101.

next up, fondant.  i really want to learn fondant.  i'll post some pics once i have it figured out.

another obsession

sissy.



oh, how we love all her squishy goodness.

olivia is almost 9 months old now and still the happiest baby around. she's generally just "happy to be here" and goes where ever lukey and i must go. the only time you will hear her fuss is if big brother snatches a toy from her sticky kung-fu grip. and by fuss, i do mean total hysterics. luke is learning, slowly.

some of her favorite things are cheerios, pizza crust, and empty ice cream cones. and she is still obsessed with her paci and the boob, sometimes both...at the same time. another post for another day.

she is not a fan of the swing, jumperoo, or excersaucer. oh, or crawling. the girl just likes to be where ever we are, doing what ever we are doing. which, generally means that she spends about 8 hours a day on my hip. and i was wondering why my right oblique is so much weaker during pilates class tonight.

so that's sissy. will do a proper 9 month update after we see the doctor.