little miss claire is sick with her first big virus. crazy that she made it almost two years with nothing more than a day of minor sniffles! but this week has been full of sneezing, mucous and finally learning how to cough. in some ways, i think this respiratory infection is a blessing, claire is becoming more comfortable with her gag reflex because of it and understanding that coughing isn’t such a scary thing. way to go claire! even while being under the weather, she is still her charming little self.

claire may not be able to talk or see like a typical little kid but she sure has a lot to say. i love observing her facial expressions in photos, i feel like i can tell exactly what she is thinking at that moment. she sure has a ton of cute, silly and sassy looks. (in case you are wondering, she was getting ready for naptime by the end of these photos which is why she didn’t want to open her eyes as wide. also morning was fading into a hot desert day, hence the rosy cheeks.)

(claire has recently learned to suck on her hands. she loves it.)

(she also loves to stick her tongue out. but just a little bit. she is a lady after all.)

(she is snuggling me here. or trying to tell me i am squeezing her too much. i’m not sure.)

(i love this picture. she is drooling down my arm, enjoying it and i am like “eek!” haha!)

(she thinks her dad is so funny!)

(i think right here she is telling us how hot it is getting and she wants to leave.)

i had a few over ripe bananas waiting to be used and everyone knows that i am always in the mood for baking. i usually make my mom’s delicious banana bread but this time i wanted to try something new. of course i turned to my domestic hero, martha. i used her recipe for banana cupcakes and followed it, except i added 1/4 cup pecan chips per adrian’s request. then i topped them with a dollop of her honey cinnamon frosting. they are light, flavorful and would be perfect for breakfast! who says you can’t have cupcakes for breakfast, right?! here’s the recipe:

banana cupcakes (makes 12-14 regular size cupcakes)

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 4 ripe bananas), plus 1 whole banana, for garnish (optional)
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture. In well, mix together butter, mashed bananas, eggs, and vanilla. Stir to incorporate flour mixture (do not overmix). Stir in pecan chips until just incorporated. Dividing evenly, spoon batter into muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

honey cinnamon frosting

• 1 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Using an electric mixer, beat confectioners’ sugar, unsalted butter, honey, and ground cinnamon until smooth, 4 to 5 minutes.

Top each cupcake with a dollop of frosting and enjoy!

this is claire during feeding time.

seems innocent enough right?

wrong.

she’s become a little sassy pants.

and only wants to play. not eat.

if you were here, you would hear her little laughs right now.

she’s thinks this is all a joke.

and she is so cute and silly it is hard to be mad.

i gave up. and now she is saying “what? who? me? i am an angel. i promise.”

little stinker.

if you haven’t heard yet, our good friend, mike, has uncovered one of his natural talents just in the last year. it seems like it was only yesterday he was coveting our mutual friend’s camera (on our labor day weekend trip to san diego) and now he is selling his prints to the masses and getting tons of requests for photo shoots. he is THAT crazy good! isn’t it so neat to think that as a 30-something adult you could have this genius ability that even you aren’t aware of until it is discovered? i love that. so check out mike’s work, order prints and contact him for your own photo shoot!

and here are some photos mike took spontaneously of claire recently:

i love everyday pictures like this. just capturing a moment of fun while out with friends. i’ll treasure these shots forever, mikey.

hi everyone! quick note to let you know about the new site where i am a contributor. it’s called Hey Little Birdie- check it out! my friends, jina, josie, and i have teamed up to find awesome products, people and shops to inspire you. i hope you love it as much as i do and become a regular reader! there are posts everyday and today my first feature post is up! it is all about some ideas i have for claire’s upcoming second birthday shindig. enjoy!

i first discovered this recipe on the savory sweet life blog and i wish i could give blogger alice a big hug because these little brownie bites are THAT good. i’ve made them a handful of times since and have even adapted the basic brownie batter recipe with other mix-ins like nuts and cacao nibs. i’m thinking of trying another small candy bar center the next time i make them like rollos or mini snickers…yummmm. they are the perfect little size and so tasty that it is difficult to stop yourself at just one. or two. or a handful! here is the super simple recipe. promise me that after you make these you will never use a brownie box mix again. and that you’ll save one for me.

PB Brownie Bites

Makes approx. 40 brownie bites

INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
40 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, unwrapped

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Spray mini cupcake pan with non stick spray.  In a medium bowl, mix melted butter, sugars and vanilla.  Beat in eggs one at a time. Gradually add flour, cocoa, and salt and mix until combined.  Fill each cupcake slot slightly more than halfway but not more than 2/3 full.  Place a peanut butter cup in each slot pressing it down until it is almost level with the batter.  Bake in preheated oven for 15-18 minutes or until done.  Allow the brownie bites to cool for 5-10 minutes before removing from the cupcake tin.  Enjoy!

i know i know, it’s been forever. now that my ancient laptop is working again, i have a chance to post!

the latest news on claire is that she had her kidney surgery and it went extremely well! she has a nasty incision to show for it but hopefully the removal of the bad tissues will bring her more comfort. i imagine a big sausage of a ureter in that little body would feel yuck. i won’t go into the boring details of the hospital stay but let’s just say i LOATHE hospital stays more than anything. i would rather eat a bug.

anyway, her spasms have been pretty good lately. not too many and not too severe. she is having a repeat MRI on tuesday so please pray for that. we want to get a better picture of how her brain looks now since her head has not been growing at a normal rate and we still can’t figure out if these things are really seizures or not. i am a nervous wreck when it comes to the brain stuff so i need all your calming vibes, okay?

adrian is doing great. he’s working hard and taking good care of us vender girls. we’ve been going for family walks every night which we all love, especially lily- and it is helping me in my weight loss quest as well. we’re getting excited for easter this weekend and for the first preview of our friend brian’s new church, day|twelve. i’m sure you’ll hear much more about that from me in the future!

here’s some new pictures from a family lunch to the farm at south mountain.

have you seen all the yummy chicken and turkey sausages they have at the grocery stores now? so many different varieties like chicken/apple or italian herb. on my last shopping trip, i spied a package of habanero/green chile chicken sausage and it spurred this super easy, fresh dinner entree idea.

first, slice the sausage links as well as half a red onion, half a red bell pepper and one jalepeno. then sautee them in a large skillet with a little drizzle of canola oil. while they cook, boil of pot of salted water and add a package of whole wheat penne pasta. cook the pasta as directed, drain and toss with a can of green chile enchilada sauce (available in the mexican food aisle). in a large colander, drain and rinse a can of black beans, a can of corn and a can of diced tomatoes and mix together.  i only used about half the bean/corn/tomato mix and added it to the sausage skillet and tossed everything together. then plate your dish! i put some of the green chile pasta in a bowl, spooned on some of the sausage/veggie mix and then topped it all with some chopped cilantro and a sprinkle of grated cheese. in all, it took less than 30 min to make and it was delicious!

when i slow down and take it all in, it’s the everyday things that mean the most. like afternoon coffee runs with my favorite little person. she babbles and entertains me in the backseat. and i can’t help but smile at those polka dot tights.