I’ve been holding out on sharing this here, as I wanted to make sure that everyone on our mailing list received them in the mail prior to seeing them on here. We sent them out on Monday, though, so I think it’s safe.
Consider this a virtual mailing to all of you! :)
We did a Christmas card photo shoot several weeks back and these pics (among many others, of course!) were the result. Our little cutie was quite the model!
Happy Holidays!
I’ll preface this by saying that until December 21, it is still technically fall. So, you know… pumpkin treats are still totally appropriate. And if I’m being totally honest, I wouldn’t think twice about making pumpkin treats at any time of year. Because, c’mon! It’s pumpkin!
I’ve been wanting to make some kind of oatmeal cookies for a while, so when I saw this recipe for pumpkin oatmeal cookies on Annie’s Eats, it was just the thing to push me over the edge.
There are a bunch of ingredients, but most are just spices, so this dough comes together easily. I threw these together on Saturday afternoon and the only hard part about it was trying to keep them from making their way into my mouth as they came out of the oven.
I skipped the dried cranberries, and almost skipped the white chocolate chips, too (when it comes to pumpkin stuff, I’m kind of a purist), but oh my gosh, I’m so glad I didn’t skip the white chocolate chips. They are the perfect mix-in for this cookie.
The finished cookies are chewy and spicy. Good for dessert, or, you know, for breakfast (not that I would know anything about that). After we enjoyed our share of these over the weekend, I brought the remainder of the batch into work this morning, at which point they were devoured by my coworkers in no time.
Hurry up and make these before fall is officially over! :)
Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies
(Source: Annie’s Eats)
Ingredients:
– 2 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 tsp. baking soda
– 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
– 3/4 tsp. ground ginger
– 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
– 1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
– Dash of allspice
– 1/2 tsp. salt
– 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
– 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
– 1 cup granulated sugar
– 1 large egg
– 1 tsp. vanilla extract
– 1 cup pumpkin puree
– 1 & 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
– 1 cup white chocolate chips (optional)
– 1 cup dried cranberries (optional) – I omitted
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, spices and salt. Whisk to blend.
3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Blend in the egg and vanilla. Beat in the pumpkin puree until well incorporated.
4. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Beat in the oats until combined.
5. With a rubber spatula, fold in the white chocolate chips and dried cranberries until evenly mixed.
6. Drop in small scoops (about 2 tablespoons) onto prepared baking sheets, spaced 2-3 inches apart. Bake 12-14 minutes, or until the cookies are lightly browned, rotating the sheets halfway through baking.
7. Allow to cool on the sheets about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container.
Makes about 36 cookies
Thank you to all who participated in the Abby’s Lane Giveaway.
We had 61 comments that were in before the deadline, so I entered 1-61 in the random.org random number generator. And the winner of the $10 Abby’s Lane gift certificate is…
#47!
And #47 is…
LISA!
And Nora says…
HOORAY!
Congratulations, Lisa! Now you can get $10 off your Little Beetle Learners! I’ve sent you an e-mail–please respond and I’ll tell you how to claim your prize.
And thanks to all who participated. Hopefully I’ll be hosting more giveaways in the future. :)
Dear Nora,
Three months old! You have officially graduated out of the “fourth trimester” and I think I can officially say that no one would consider you a “newborn” anymore. You have changed so much and it has been so amazing to witness.
You are growing like a weed. Most of the time, I don’t really realize how big you have become since I see you every day and the growth is so gradual to me. But then something will happen to put your size into perspective.
A few weeks ago, we were parked in the mother’s room at Babies ‘R’ Us so you could nurse, and another mother came in to nurse her baby, too. Her baby was only 10 days old and was around the same weight as you when you were born—I couldn’t believe how tiny she looked! Then, when I was preparing to take you to meet Santa, I thought I’d put you in the little red dress you wore for Uncle Tyler’s wedding. I thought it would probably be a bit short on you, but imagine my surprise when it was so small that I couldn’t even get your arms through it!
I’ve had to retire almost all of your newborn-sized clothes now. There are just a few pairs of pants that are still hanging around (you have short legs!), but those will be packed away soon, too. You’ve got the cutest little Buddha belly, you have a bit more chunk on your legs, and your little cheeks are getting fuller. I love watching you grow, knowing that you are happy and healthy.
The biggest thing that happened to us this month is that I went back to work. It has been hard, and we’re still adjusting, but you seem to be handling it like a star. Your sitter, Mary, tells us that you are all smiles during the days with her, and that you drain your bottles without issue. She says you love to observe the older girls playing. None of this surprises us at all! I miss you like crazy, though, and it’s really sad for me to have such limited time with you during the week. I race out of the office every day to get to you, so I can soak in every minute of you before we have to put you to bed.
Overall, you’ve continued to be a great sleeper—you still sleep through the night. Sometimes it is tough to get you down for the night, but once you’re out, you’re usually out until morning. You threw us for a loop the night before I went back to work when you decided to be wide awake between 3:00 and 5:00 a.m., but it seems that it was an anomaly. Silly girl! Right now, we’re working on transitioning you from sleeping in your Rock ‘N’ Play to a pack ‘n’ play, still in our room. In a few weeks, we’ll make the big transition to your own room, to your big crib!
You have the best disposition. You smile with your whole face—your eyes squint up into little slits. The sight of each smile makes my heart flutter, as it makes me so happy to see you happy. You have started to make more and more giggle noises, which are so awesome—I think you’ll be officially laughing by the time I write your next monthly letter.
Even though you have never cared for tummy time, and therefore have not spent that much time on your belly, you have somehow figured out how to roll from tummy to back. The first time you did it, we were at Aunt Melissa’s house, but I was sure you didn’t know what you had done. But then you did it again, and now there are times when I can’t get you to stay on your belly because you’ll continually roll over, again and again and again.
You can now focus on things that are a good distance away from you. We’ll catch you following Daddy’s movements in the kitchen from across the room. Your muscles are developing at a rapid rate, as you kick your legs and move your arms ALL OF THE TIME. When you’re in a good mood and interacting with us, your arms and legs just do not stop moving!
You blow tiny bubbles in your drool. When you want your pacifier, you love it, but there are other times when you could take it or leave it. You smile nearly every time I sing you “The Wheels on the Bus,” “The Itsy Bitsy Spider,” or “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” You grip onto objects (like our fingers, my hair, or toys) so tightly that your fingertips turn white.
You love to clasp your hands together at your chest or up in front of your face. You’ve actually done this ever since you were born, but now that you have more control of your hands, you do it more and more. It looks like you’re praying, and it is absolutely adorable.
We are just a couple of weeks away from your very first Christmas, and Daddy and I are so excited to experience it with you. Even though you are too young to know what is going on, we are taking the opportunity to start holiday traditions with you. Christmas means so much more to Daddy and me now that you are here with us. And I know for a fact that the elves have already been shopping for you!
You are so much fun, and our lives with you just keep getting better and better. We love you more than we ever thought possible.
Happy 3 months, Sweetheart.
Love you forever and ever,
Mommy
We got a new computer (finally a Mac, wheee!) a few weeks ago and it’s been difficult to transfer photos from our DSLR, oddly enough. So until we score a card reader (probably this weekend), my posts have been pretty boring and photo-less. There are some of Nora from earlier this week that I would love to share!
Until we rectify that situation, I just wanted to quickly remind everyone that the Abby’s Lane $10 gift certificate giveaway ends TONIGHT at 8:00 p.m., so get your entries in now! I will be determining a winner this weekend. Good luck!
Enjoy your weekends! We don’t have much on the agenda, aside from a little Christmas shopping and LOTS of loving on our girl! :)
About
I'm Heather. I'm 33 and have been married to Michael for seven years. Together, we have two beautiful little girls we love more than anything, and a miniature dachshund who drives us crazy. I'm a full-time working mom who has very little time for my own "stuff" these days, like home improvement, cooking/baking, cake decorating, and photography. Despite the team not making the playoffs since 1999, I'm STILL a Buffalo Bills fan, which I think speaks to my loyalty AND sense of humor. I can't wait to pick up the pace with travel again some day... you know, when we're done being ruled by tiny fists. Welcome to my blog.
