17 Weeks and counting.....

Normally I do not allow pictures of me to be posted, but I wanted to share how big I am getting!!!  I am 17 weeks this week, our next ultrasound is the first week in January and we will find out if it is a boy or girl!! we are hoping for a boy for Noah (he really needs a brother to play with) I am finally feeling  better!!! That was a rough couple of months!  So look for update on the baby in January!

More Recipes to try!!!!

Yesterday we made Christmas cookies!!! YUM! Most of my family already knows this recipe but there are a few friends that read this blog that may want to try to make some for themselves. This recipe is actually my sisters', Dannettes and it is the best Christmas cookie recipe!

1 cup Margarine
1 1/2 cup Powdered Sugar
1 egg
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Cream of Tartar

Mix ingredients together and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.  Bake at 350 degrees until lightly browned.

Frosting

1/2 stick margarine melted
dash of milk
dash of almond extract
add powdered sugar to desired consistency

then add food coloring of your choice. Then the fun part you decorate them, luckily I had three willing helpers!!!

For the next recipe I was trying to find something similar to what I used to have in Germany during the winter, Roasted Almonds! I am not exactly sure what they had in them, but they were sold all over in the wintertime at little kiosks outside at Christmas Markets. So this is closest I could find to the real thing, they are really good but not exactly like in Germany, and soooo easy to make, a great snack too.

• 
  Cinnamon Roasted Almonds
  1 egg while
• 1 tsp cold water
• 4 cups whole almonds
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C). Lightly grease a 10x15 inch jellyroll pan.
2. Lightly beat the egg white; add water, and beat until frothy but not stiff. Add the nuts, and stir until well coated. Mix the sugar, salt, and cinnamon, and sprinkle over the nuts. Toss to coat, and spread evenly on the prepared pan.
3. Bake for 1 hour in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until golden. Allow to cool, then store nuts in airtight containers.

Happy Cooking!!

-Darcy

Noah's Birthday!

Here are some pictures of Noah's Birthday celebration, it was just us since we don't know very many people yet and really we don't know anyone with kids Noah's age, but we still had a great time!

Present from Greg, Kelly and Brianna

Present from the Ellis' it was a hit, he loves slippers and his are too small so he loved his new ones.

 A Woody towel which is now uses everynight for bath!

 Money from Lito and Lita, which he really did not care for!

 Sweatshirt from Lito and Lita.

 Snowsuit from Lita and Lito, I wonder if they realize we live in Miami, FL, I guess we

will just have to bring it to Iowa for Christmas.

 From Emma and Abby, the real hit of the night!

 Another puzzle, of course he had to put it together right away.

Noah said he had a great birthday!  We had lots of fun too!

Noah is 3!!!!!

Our little man turned 3 yesterday!! I can't believe how time has flown, he is definelty not my little baby anymore, he barely even lets me kiss him anymore.  Hre are some things about Noah as he turns 3.

*he loves chocolate milk
*he loves his sisters to death
*everywhere he goes he either skips or runs, he never walks normal
*he has to hang on to his tag on his blanket when he goes to bed
* his blankets have to be facing a certain way when you cover him up
*he is not too good at hitting the toilet when he pees
*first thing he tells me in the morning is that he wants breakfast and wont stop until I get up and get it for him
*LOVES LOVES LOVES to do puzzles and is very good at it
*loves to color and is also good at it
*he says cold, "told" he says pickle, "pitle" he says cucumber "cutumber"
*he is very stubborn just like his Dad and if he wants something he won't give up
*thinks a lot of things are funny when they aren't to his mom
*loves vanilla ice cream
*everynight before he goes to bed he has to give his sisters a hug and kiss...and gets upset if they forget
*loves Christmas and all the lights
*can count to 13...after that he starts over
*hates showers and has to take a bath every night
*recently just knocked his sisters two front teeth out!



There are about a 100 more things I can say about Noah!  He has a lot of qualities that the girls don't have. One thing is for sure when he looks at you with those big brown eyes you just can't help to love him!  Happy Birthday Noah!!