The past few weeks have been pretty hard on our family. Some of you know, but Bob Aronson, Mark's uncle on his dad's (also the amazing singer and only extended family of Mark's to come to our wedding) passed this past weekend. He was a wonderful man who fought a year long battle with lymphoma, the same cancer that took my grandmother. Though we all miss him deeply here, we feel fortunate that he spent his last two weeks in Minnesota, staying at his boyhood home (Mark's parent's house) and surrounded by family and friends.
In the wake of this, Dean and I had planned and were able to head to NC for Spring Break! It was definitely harder this time. Not only were our thoughts with family in Minnesota, but He's just old enough that he doesn't want to sleep or stay still on plane, but too young for easy distractions like IPADs or Movies :/ But we survived the trip there and the trip back and had a great time!
We started by staying at Paul and Susan's for one night in Raleigh before we headed to Greensboro for my cousin Katie's wedding shower. It was really fun to see Henry and Dean interact... Dean definitely liked it more than Henry, Henry felt like Dean was taking over his things! He may have pushed, bit, and stolen things from Dean but Dean loved him anyways. It was also really nice seeing Paul and Susan! We have missed them not being in Minneapolis this year, and I often drive by their neighborhood or go to a park we used to hang out together and reminisce on good times we had.
During the trip I also got the opportunity to spend a lot of time with my parents, my cousins and their kids, my grandmother and a couple suities and the newest suitie baby. Highlights of our trip included walks in springtime NC, Dean feeding himself with a spoon, better sleep than our last trip, and still not walking (even though Grame guessed he would be!)
While we were gone, we were lucky enough to miss out on our latest Adventure (Thanks OULA affirmations!) construction in our home back in Minnesota. We finally got around to getting hardwood installed in the dining room (so Dean wasn't throwing food onto carpet every day!) We are very happy with the way it turned out and had a great contractor, if you live in the area and need someone "The Tile Guy" is his name. I can give you more information if you'd like it! (PS I'm officially a certified OULA instructor! YAY!)
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| Dean is adventurous too! |
When we got back to MN we got to spend a lot more time with the Aronson's, and enjoyed Easter all together. The kids got a good Easter Egg hunt and of course dean got dressed up in his fanciest, inherited vest. He also enjoyed a few little gifts from the Easter Bunny. I made bunny shaped strawberry cupcakes (recipe below) and they are one of the first desserts Mark has actually raved about! Everyone had a lovely day and even Max didn't leave saying "I'm NEVER going to see you guys again!" (What he says when he's sad.)
Speak of Max, Mark and I took a little date with Max t Mall of America. ( The first time Mark and I have been there together, even though we live less than 10 minutes away!) We took him out, and the Staums watched Dean with Marcella. We rode a ride and took him out to eat and ended the day with cupcakes. Max's favorite part was going out to eat, because we found chicken nuggets. I liked when we were trying to find parking (a big reason why we DONT go there especially on weekends) and Mark and I got a little stressed because Max kept asking why we weren't parked yet. Then Max proceeded to tell us to 'stop fighting, that mommy and daddy NEVER fight" lol Somehow we don't believe that.
Otherwise we are just really enjoying our little guy. This week he has slept through the night 3 nights in a row (better not get ahead of myself!) No waking up has been so nice! he's getting super fast at ccrawling, pulls himself up quite a bit more. Isn't saying any real words yet, just dada (doesn't know what it means) and he said mama once yesterday (don't think he knows what it means either). It's crazy to me to think that he is soon going to be one! But we are definitely enjoying him at this age. His active, inquisitive, loving, snuggly personality is really coming out. 10 1/2 months, and in the 10th percentile! Little guy :)
Vanilla Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream
for the cupcakes:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold, cut into small cubes
4 eggs
1 1/2 cup milk (I used skim, and it worked fine)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
for the frosting:
2 sticks butter, softened
pinch of salt
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup strawberries, pureed to make about 3 tablespoons puree
Preheat oven to 350. Line two muffin tins with paper liners. In a large bowl or a the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter and mix until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine the milk and vanilla in a measuring cup, and add about half of the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Beat until well blended and smooth. Add the other half of the milk mixture, and beat until smooth. Fill paper liners 2/3 full and bake 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for a few minutes and then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. To make the frosting, beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add the salt and powdered sugar, until combined. Add the vanilla and strawberry puree and beat until light and fluffy.
Cupcakes from
this recipe and frosting adapted from
Mikey's in My Kitchen
