Thursday, July 24, 2008

Could it be?? My Baby is Two Today...

On this, the early morning of my youngest son's second birthday, I find myself feeling very sentimental and in disbelief. He couldn't be two already, could he? I really thought he'd be a baby forever....
Since he clearly insists on growing up and not remaining a baby forever, I thought, "At least I have the pictures." And here they are- my favorite photos of Owen, my baby, from the beginning:
The very last picture of me as a pregnant mother. This was less than 2-hours before Owen was born.
Seconds old.... and as fresh from God as they come.
Our very first family photo as a new family of four.

Owen Michael Behlke, 2 days old.


James & his brand-new brother


12 days old- one of my all-time favorite photos. There is just something so awesome and perfect about your new baby yawning. I can still almost smell his sweet newborn breath...

Tucking brother in

I always told Jason, "As long as they sleep with their hands about their heads or with their butts in the air, they are still babies."
They don't sleep like that anymore... boohoo!

See, Owen was a little chubby at one time! He's been skinny ever since just about this moment though... 20 days old
The first time your baby starts to smile for real is something a mom can never forget. All that cooing, singing, cuddling, and when they finally look up at you, not with the blank stare of a newborn, but with the smile of a baby, your heart just melts. Smiling and sitting up and breaking my heart because I have to go back to work. 10 - 11 weeks old. James always got a kick out of wearing matching jammies and clothes with his brother.
Another of my favorite photos of Owen as a baby. He was about 4 months old.

4 1/2 months old

After Owen got his first shots, James was fascinated by the band-aids on his legs where they'd given him the shots. I was putting laundry away in the bedroom and the boys were on my bed together when I noticed James had taken the band-aids off Owen's leg and placed them over his nipples! This kid has a sense of humor just like his mom...



Truly boys!


5 months old


Owen & Keegan hanging out on the infamour Elmo couch at Todd & Kelly's during a visit to their house in Reno- Feb. 2007


A troublemaker already, and at only 7 months old! This photo proves that Owen has been a fan of coloring on his face since the beginning. We thought it was so cute & funny at the time, but little did we know this was just the beginning for Owen...

Sitting up, pulling up & teething, Owen at 8 months old

If my kids have a phobia of Easter or bunnies someday, we will know why.

Meeting Alina, Owen's new baby cousin, for the very first time.

Smiling at mommy- 10 months old

Owen's first visit as a "big boy" to Sand Pond, one of our favorite places on earth. June 2007

Our baby is one! Owen's 1st birthday party- P.O.A. PoolStill a wobbly-walker, Owen poses with his big brother.

14 months old

On a walk with grandpa in Sierra City- Thanksgiving 2007

This was the point when we knew we were in real trouble with this child.....

Owen on crack...
Always the prankster, Owen thought it would be fun to get in the shower fully clothed, diaper and all, the second I turned my back. Sometimes I really miss the days when he was not yet mobile.... 18 months old and a total pest.
No longer the baby! Owen & baby Pagie

Cuddling on brother- 18 months old
All grown up- 22 months old
No more crib! Sleeping in the bottom bunk for the first time- May 2008
Owen was exhausted and probably had heat stroke after James' HOT 4th birthday party at Bille Park. I couldn't resist taking this picture of him after we got home! Poor guy!

Our 2-year-old... no longer a baby... but a big boy now!

My sweet Owen,

I'll love you forever,I'll like you for always,As long as I'm livingmy baby you'll be.

Where have our tiny babies gone???

Tonight I came across this series of pictures and it almost made me cry! When did our tiny babies turn into these big kids???

They aren't going to get any bigger, are they???

I just can't imagine that so much time has gone by since we all had babies under the age of one, but when I wasn't looking, it must have. *sigh*

James, Charli & Renton in one of their famous poses together. Amazingly, no one is crying... yet.

It sounded like a good idea to add baby Taylor, only 6 weeks old, into the mix for a shot...


Kid chaos!


James & Charli enjoying the festivities- Renton's 1st birthday party...

I'm an Ice Cream Chef!!

Ok, just a little brag...

I'm totally an official ice cream chef!!! I broke out our ice cream maker today (Brooke bought it for us for our wedding & we've only used it about twice...), looked up the manual online (God only knows where ours went...), and got to it! We went to the farmer's market in Paradise last night, so my kitchen was full of fresh strawberries and blackberries that had to be used right away. With Owen's birthday party on Saturday, I thought, "Why not?"

I made three flavors and am keeping them in our freezer until Saturday. I am finding that freezing these recipes after making them is firming them up nicely, they are too runny right out of the ice cream maker- I'm going to have to plan ahead whenever we use this in the future! So far, everything has turned out BEYOND excellent! I can't wait to share this yummy ice cream with all my friends & family in a few days!


Here are the recipes for the three flavors I made:

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM:
Jason & James' favorite, I couldn't resist but make this old standard. The farmer's market strawberries made it just all that much better too.

  • 4 oz. egg substitute
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup half-and-half
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup pureed strawberries (perfectly ripe & from the farmer's market- yum!)
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  1. Combine egg substitute, sugar, and vanilla in a blender.
  2. Add cream, half-and-half, and strawberry puree.
  3. Blend well and chill thoroughly.
  4. Pour into ice cream maker and let blend / freeze (about 20-30 minutes)
  5. Place in freezer in air-tight container overnight. Makes 4 cups (I doubled the recipe)

CHOCOLATE - PEANUT BUTTER ICE CREAM

This recipe is AWESOME! When we were pregnant with James & Charli, Kristin & I were obsessed with making messy, delicious chocolate-peanut butter milkshakes. These were the best milkshakes EVER, yet this ice cream puts them to shame... It is soooooo good! Kristin is going to freak out when she tries it.

  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 cup half & half
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 oz. egg substitute
  • 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
  • 2/3 cups baking cocoa
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  1. Combine cocoa and sugar in a mixing bowl.
  2. Blend in peanut butter and eggs.
  3. Add cream, half-and-half and vanilla.
  4. Beat well (I turned it into the blender & whipped it that way) and chill thoroughly.
  5. Place in freezer in air-tight container overnight. Makes 4 cups (I doubled the recipe)

BLACKBERRY SORBET

  • 4 1/2 cups fresh blackberries (again, farmer's market berries are the best!)
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup lemonaide
  • 4 egg whites
  1. Over medium heat, in a saucepan, combine blackberries with water & sugar.
  2. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
  3. Puree, then chill thoroughly.
  4. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.
  5. Add orange juice to the blackberries.
  6. Whisk in the egg whites.
  7. Place in freezer in air-tight container overnight. Makes 6 cups

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Peanut Butter Dip- Our New Favorite Yummy Treat!

James taught me a recipe he learned in his summertime cooking class! It is this totally yummy peanut butter dip for fruit.

Here's the recipe:
1 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup whipped topping
Mix well until it fluffs up.

So easy & quick! We ate ours with sliced apples and pears, but I'm thinking the dipping frozen banana wedges in this dip would be delicious. We're trying that next!

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Our 3rd weekend in a row in the mountains- I LOVE SUMMERTIME!!

Jason had the weekend off and he hasn't had much time in the mountains this summer, so we headed up to Sierra City yet again- the 3rd weekend in a row! I love being "free" in the summertime to take off & head to the mountains any time we feel like it. The boys love it too, they have a real connection with Sierra City & Downieville, which we love!
The boys on Grandma & Grandpa's front deck.
James buried in the sand at Sand Pond.

"C'mon, Jas, SMILE!"


My blonde-haired, blue eyed boy.

Just wading...

Our beautiful view from the shore at Sand Pond.

Silly guys!



All tuckered out.... Owen just couldn't take it anymore! Too sleepy!!