Introducing....

Maya Lee Matthews

October 10th, 8:48am

7 pounds 1 ounce, 20 inches long

Welcome to our family, Maya!

We sure love you!

Ready!

Here is a picture of the "Mini-Muffin Tin Advent Calendar" that I have been working on all week. I made it for the display table for this year's Super Saturday! The calendar is made using a mini-muffin tin, the candy for each day goes in the muffin hole! It is great because the decorations are magnetic and you just take them off during the year and you have a muffin tin!

(These pictures aren't the greatest quality- the sign at the top says "Christmas Countdown")

I have had a lot of enrichment stuff to get done before the baby comes, but now that this last project is done, I think (I hope) that enrichment is under control for the time being! So with that out of the way, freezer meals ready, crotchsicles awaiting, a super clean house and Caden feeling better, this baby is now welcome any time :)

Thank You!!!!!

Yesterday Caden woke up sick. He had been up lots in the night and pretty much screamed all day. He is getting his two year old molars and seems to be having a really rough time with it! I want to say a HUGE thank you to Dad who brought me kids tylenol and watched Caden so that I could shower... all before 9am! You are wonderful, Daddy!!

Also, last night for Family Home Evening, Dad, Mom and Rebecca came over and cleaned my house from top to bottom!! My floors are washed and vacuumed, bathrooms scrubbed, cupboards cleaned, windows and mirrors washed- EVERYTHING is clean!! It was such a great feeling to wake up this morning to such a clean house and it will feel even better bringing a newborn home to it! This morning Caden said "Ma-ma" then pretended to scrub the floors, then said "Pa-pa" and "Ka-ka (Becca) and pretended to wash the walls! Thanks for your example of service!!

I am SO grateful for family. Thank you for serving me. I love you guys so much!

One More Week!!!!

Here is my pregnancy shot at 39 weeks-

Things I WON'T miss about being pregnant:

Random strangers rubbing my belly, heartburn, pain and discomfort, waking up in the night to pee, peeing every 20 minutes, my ever changing body, waddling, people commenting on my body, having to sleep on my side, my lack of clothing options, swollen feet, feeling incredibly unattractive, having a hard time bending over, constantly being kicked in the ribs...

Things I actually WILL miss about being pregnant:

Feeling the baby kick and move around, the heat-pack Ben warms up for me every night, one-on-one time with Caden every day... and thats about it :)

1-2-3-GO!!

This video is a few months old now, but I love watching Caden in it. He LOVES when Daddy comes home from work! Usually, he's been waiting by the door for about 10 minutes by the time Ben comes home. Caden always has something in mind for them to do (spinning around, playing the Wii, building Lego) and can't even wait for Ben to take his shoes off! Ben is such a great Dad!

Caden has been growing up SO quickly this past month. His speech has improved a lot- he is constantly trying out new words and phrases and you can tell he feels very proud of himself! My favorite speech "improvement" this past month has been that he has stopped calling me mom ("maaah") and started calling me mommy ("maah-ee"). He is such a stud!

2 years old!

I can't believe that my little baby is TWO years old!

Caden is so full of life and has such an intense personality! He is so caring and just loves being around people. He always wants to make sure that everyone around him is happy.

Caden loves to have fun. He has such a love for life. His laugh is so contagious.

He is so active and always on the run... but when he does slow down,

he gives the best cuddles in the world!

I love this kid so much!

Mmmmm....

Yesterday I made 8 dozen cookies. Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk cookies. What am I doing making 8 dozen cookies when I have sworn off sugar, you may ask?! I don't know. I think it makes me feel normal to be able to bake even though I can't eat what I've made.

So, I will continue to spend my time opening zip-loc bags full of cookies and sniffing until my nose hurts. Yes, that's what I'll do. Thankfully there are a lot of people who can use an uplift and who have a better metabolism than I do, so I have places to send these cookies when I can't take it any longer :)

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

(For pictures and a recipe for maple frosting, click here)

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup self-rising flour (I used all-purpose flour and added 2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt)
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup chopped pecans
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Directions:

Whisk together flour and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter.

Add both sugars and beat until light and fluffy.

Add vanilla.

Add eggs one at a time and beat until combined.

Add flour/spice mixture to sugar mixture in three additions. Alternate with pumpkin in two additions, ending with flour mixture.

Stir in chopped pecans and chocolate chunks.

Drop on cookie tray lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes about four dozen cookies.

Let cool.

Enjoy!