Monday, March 29, 2010

Welcome to the family!

On March 21st, Julian was baptized into the family of God. Of course, he was already a part of that family, but we just thought we'd do that outward and visible sign of that inward, spiritual reality. (All the Methodist are with me on this one!)



It was a great day! Friends came from near and far. Tia Courtney came the farthest...all the way from Oregon! She got to hang with JB all week.



Jeff and Bridget (JB's godparents) and Casey and Sam came from Detroit. Jeff even did his baptism poem that he wrote on the day before Casey was baptized. (We still want a copy, J.)



Our friend Barbara made his baptismal outfit out of the skirt of my wedding dress. (I'd post a picture of the dress so you could see the transformation, but our other computer crashed, and we haven't gotten the data off it if yet!) But it was super special for us!





Julian had a good time and was completely calm for the entire baptism...that was until the ice cold water hit is naked head! No pictures of that unfortunately.



Pastor Catiana walked him around the church and showed him to everyone.



It was a great day. But he didn't take it all that seriously!



The Holy Spirit will make the hair on your hair stand straight up!



Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Raspberries

Luckily, I had the camera right on hand for Julian's first raspberries.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

We probably need to do laundry...

Bar of the Month: Fudgy Malted Milk Brownies



So, here they are and they look wonderful and taste delicious (according to Vince)! And thanks to Courtney who was visiting and helped. Never have you seen such Whopper cutting in your life!

Bars:
4 oz 70% to 72% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut up
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder (I used chocolate ovaltine.)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 yolk, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Frosting:
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped or 1 cup white baking chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut up
1/2 cup malted milk balls, halved



1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9-inch square baking pan with foil; spray bottom of foil with cooking spray.

2. Microwave bittersweet chocolate and 10 tablespoons butter in medium bowl on medium for 1 minutes and 30 seconds; stir. Continue microwaving in 15-second increments until completely melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.

3. Whisk flour, malted milk powder and salt in small bowl.

4. Beat eggs and egg yolk in medium bowl at low speed 15 seconds or until blended and slightly frothy. Beat in sugar in steady stream 15 seconds or until combined. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla 15 seconds or until just combined. Stir in flour mixture until just blended. Spread in pan.

5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from side of pan comes out clean and when inserted in center comes out with a trace of chocolate. Cool completely on wire rack.

6. Meanwhile, combine white chocolate, cream, and 1 tablespoon butter in medium heatproof bowl. Bring small saucepan of water to a simmer; remove from heat. Place bowl with chocolate mixture over water (bowl should not touch water). Let stand until ingredients are almost melted; stir until melted and smooth. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes or until spreadable consistency, stirring occasionally.

7. Spread frosting over brownies; top with malted milk balls, cut-side down. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.



*Notes: I made a double batch, so I used a 9x13 pan. Also, I find that if you are going to use foil, you have to spray the heck out of it with cooking spray. But when you do, the bars come off very easily.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Stormpooper Julian

It's that time again, folks! Can you believe it?! We hardly can't. Today Julian is four months old.



For Vince's first Father's Day, when JB was still just our little unknown Jellybean, I bought Vince a Stormpooper onesie for JB. I'm sure you all know about Vince's love of Star Wars, and he is so excited that JB can finally fit into the Stormpooper onesie!



Julian was really tired when we were taking these pictures, but you can sure tell that he's getting more interactive with his surroundings.



And of course, sometimes he just needs a good sleep.



Julian found his tongue this month too!



Needless to say, we are loving being parents! And we're one big happy family. This is probably only the first time that we will scare our kid!