Preschool field trip

We went to Tanaka Farms today with Meredith's preschool class. Sherri & her kids...Korie & Reagan...and Stephanie & Lucas all came with us! It was miserably hot and Nora was having a hard time for awhile, but thanks to some friends in the class and Ms. Linda & Ms. Jeanette...somehow it all worked out fine and we had a great time! Meredith was in heaven when they opened up the door and let the whole class walk right into the petting zoo! That's right...no fence and no barriers between her and the animals...free reign to love the animals as she pleased! Priceless! Here are a few pics from the day!

Pumpkin Patch

Meredith has been begging to go to the pumpkin patch and we finally took her this past Friday. The Lucas family and Grandma and Grandpa Holmes came with us...it was a lot of fun. Here are some pictures from the joyous occassion! The last few pictures are of a visitor we had waiting for us when we got home!

Silly, silly, silly!

Yes, that is a pull-up on Meredith's head. I handed her a pull-up and told her to put it on...a few minutes later, she came into my room dancing around, happy as can be...with the pull-up on her head. She is such a crack-up...love my girl!

3.5 Months

Nora is officially 3 1/2 months old! We had her 3 month check about a week ago and she is perfect! She weighed 12 lbs 5 oz and was 24 1/2 inches long! She is almost exactly the same weight and height that Meredith was at this point, about 50% for weight and 80-90% for height. I think Nora is a better eater than Meredith was, so we'll see if she chunks up a bit! :) She rolled over for the first time yesterday, by the way! Twice, actually! Once, I was laying next to her in bed...so I'm not sure it should count...but she didn't again after I got up...so, it's official...she's growing up and can already roll over!! Not only that, but my doctor wants me to start feeding her rice cereal in a few weeks! I can't believe it is that time already!

I know I say this all the time, but I seriously can't believe how quickly she is growing up! My friend, Lisa, just had a baby and I met her precious little guy for the first time today...it made me realize how much Nora has changed already! Lisa, (and all my other friends that have JUST had babies...or are having babies soon...) take in every minute while you can! They are only "newborns" for a blink of the eye and then it's gone...really! Enjoy it!!

I took some pictures the other day for fun and thought I'd post a few...especially for my mom and dad who haven't seen the little munchkin in 2 months! We can't wait for our trip to AZ in a few weeks! Woohoo!

Pumpkin Cheesecake

I've had a few people ask for the pumpkin cheesecake recipe, so here you go:

Emeril Lagasse's Pumpkin Cheesecake Recipe

SERVES 10 -12 , 1 9inch cake

1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup finely ground pecans
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted

3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, pecans, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of the cinnamon in a bowl. Pour in the melted butter and stir well to blend. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.

Combine the cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and the nutmeg in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until fluffy. Add the eggs and yolks, beating on low speed until just blended. Fold in the cream and pumpkin purée. Pour the batter into the crust-lined pan, and place on a baking sheet.

Bake until the center is nearly set, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes.

Carefully run a small, sharp knife between the cake and the sides of the pan. Release the sides of the pan and cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover the cheesecake tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator at least 4 hours, or up to 8 hours, before serving.

My only advice is to make sure you allow the cheesecake to chill for at least 4 hours(like the recipe says)...I tried to serve mine after only an hour or so...I should have waited. It was definitely MUCH better the next day! Goodluck!

We love grandpa and grandma!

This last week we got to see a lot of grandma and grandpa...Meredith was in heaven! We went over to grandma and grandpa's for Mark's birthday, Happy Birthday, Mark!

Then on Thursday, Grandma came over to our place to celebrate her birthday! We had a delicious dinner (fajitias...my fav!) and some pumpkin cheesecake! I was nervous trying a new cheesecake recipe, but it actually was pretty good...and miraculously...it didn't crack! Woohoo! Meredith had so much fun with grandma and grandpa, that we decided to let her stay up past her bedtime. She finally went to bed at 10pm, but before she went to bed, she told grandma and grandpa that they couldn't leave! When she woke up the next morning, the first thing she said was..."where are grandma and grandpa?" She was so sad that they went home...she started to cry and told me that it hurt her feelings. So sweet!

We also went to grandma and grandpa's on Sunday for conference! Here are some pics from this past week! As you can see, Meredith can't get enough of her grandparents!

Meredith "driving" Leah's car...glad I don't have to worry about her learning to drive for a few more years! I'm not quite ready for that one! :)