Friday Things
1. Joseph’s new favorite activity is “reading” to himself. He’ll get his books and instead of bringing them over for me to read to him, he sits on the floor and pages through him, running his fingers over the words, and he’ll say the things in the pictures he knows or says letters, and then fills in with some gibberish. It’s basically the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.
He’s also been totally enamored with being in the crib with Dominic. It’s so incredibly sweet and earlier this week they were laying on their bellies next to each other, both smiling and giggling.
2. Dominic got his first hair cut this week! His hair was getting way long and crazy, so he got a little trim. Gah, that sweet face!
He also got to ride in the cart for the first time at the grocery store! There was so much for him to look at, and he was smiling at everyone who looked his way. (That hair has wanted to stick straight up since the day he was born!)
3. Earlier this week, I came across this video about a “normal” day through the eyes of a toddler, and… it made me cry. Happy tears. I hope Joseph sees life exactly like this.
4. If you live in Minnesota, I am officially jealous of your state fair bucket of chocolate chip cookies.
5. This guy hugs stray dogs. Love, love, love.
6. I never pick a good watermelon, so I’m loving these tips on picking a superstar watermelon (as well as a video on how to cut one up!).
7. I’ve mentioned a couple of times how much I LOVE the Chrissy Tiegan cookbook, and I just made another FANTASTIC recipe this week. The drunken noodles were TO DIE FOR; my husband and I both devoured them. I’ve yet to make a bad recipe from that book, love it!
8. When I was a kid, I feel like those half gallons of neapolitan ice cream with chocolate, vanilla and strawberry was super popular. The problem? I HATED strawberry! Like, couldn’t stand it if even a smidge of strawberry ice cream got on my vanilla or chocolate. And now? I absolutely adore good strawberry ice cream. Of course, ha!
9. It’s officially soft serve season and I’m craving a big chocolate and vanilla twist with sprinkles!
10. TGIF! Goodness, these two just melt my heart… “Hello, excuse me?”
Thank you for giving props to strawberry ice cream!! It’s hard to find though. Which brand is your favorite?
Hi CJ, I love Graeters! And they currently have a limited edition strawberry-chocolate chip that’s fabulous! (My local grocery store sells their ice cream, but you can also order it online.)
The boys in the crib, precious! Dominic’s hair just adds to his cuteness! Love seeing the pics of Dominic with Duke. Have a great week!
Joseph & Dominic make me so happy! Great pictures. As a kid I tolerated Neapolitan ice cream…as an adult….I hate it…lol…I am hoping to try out some new ice cream flavors…..I prefer frozen custard to soft serve
Oh my goodness, I just love seeing weekly pictures of Joseph and Dominic! The boys are just the sweetest ever and they melt my heart because they are so unbelievably precious! I cannot tell you how much this grandma would love to reach through this screen to give them a big hug!! Michelle, thank you for sharing your little guys with us!! :)
I am not a mom, but the video “normal day through the eyes of a toddler” even melted my heart and brought tears to my eyes. So awesome!
Oh my gosh, as a former, long time kindergarten teacher, the picture of Joseph “reading” gave me great joy. It is very clear you and your husband have been reading to him from very early on. My guess is that some of his favorite books have been read over and over but that is exactly what parents need to do. Children learn about books by being read to from Day One. That photo showed me he already has absorbed so many basic literacy skills around how books work. ..”book knowledge ” necessary to be a successful reader later on.He is holding the book correctly, moving across the page from left to right, and making a one to one match with his finger, as he “reads” what he is pointing to. He understands those squiggles on the page …the words…correspond to what comes out of his mouth. Many of the kids who entered my classroom had very few if any of those basic skills that Joesph has mastered at 2 years of age.
Keep up the good work!!
Hi Nancy, Thank you so much for the super sweet comment, it means so much! Joseph loves books and we do A LOT of reading here, as you might imagine from all of the books on the floor, ha! He definitely has his favorites, but we easily read dozens of books each day.
I made these this morning; not yet frosted as waiting for butter to soften. The batter was fabulous. The only alteration I did was to add some lime juice in addition to the vanilla. I usually do orange juice in my sugar cookies, but branched out. I didn’t realize that almond was the go-to. Love the bar idea as an easy substitution to cut outs. Thanks!
Love the pictures of the boys and Duke this week as well!
Your boys are so sweet. Joseph is at that age where “reading” to himself is a big deal. They get so independent and want to do things for themselves. Keep reading to him too – it’s so important for their development. You’re obviously a great mom. I always wanted the strawberry ice cream in Neopolitan – couldn’t care less about the chocolate.
Thank you so much Martha, you’re too sweet! Yes, we’re definitely in the wanting to do everything for himself phase. He still loves being read to, though, we easily read dozens of books a day. He LOVES books!
Omg! The good o’ bucket of Neapolitan! Lol… I remember it well! I loved all three flavors that was a serious treat at my house you learned to not be picky about what flavors you got cause growing up in a big family you were just happy you got some! The boys are getting so big! Love the pics and the one of two of them in the crib … ugh they are so adorbs! And with Duke he’s so good with them it just warms your heart ❤️
I saw a comedian last week who told a joke: “I’m a big ice cream fan. The weirdest flavor they sell though? Neapolitan. If you aren’t familiar, Neapolitan is the Italian word for ‘two great flavors and one bad one.’ *pauses* You hear that? That’s a room divided by strawberry.”
:D
Oh my gosh, that’s is HYSTERICAL (and so true)!
Your kids are so adorable! Such happy little nuggets! Chrissy was just on Rachel Ray, I love her. I completely agree her cookbook is so fun and yumyy
Thank you Mary!
Your Neapolitan ice cream comment made me remember when we were little my grandma would always have a carton of that, and my cousins and I would only like certain flavors so she would just scoop out just the flavors we’d want. I think it was typically strawberry and vanilla which would leave a big layer of chocolate in the carton. Grandma was so sweet!
Yes, same here! No one ever got a scoop of all three flavors, lol!
“Excuse me, Duke . . . . Here I am, your biggest fan . . . .” Some day I bet you find Dominic curled up with Duke on his bed. It’s very clear that he ADORES Duke. All 3 of your boys are just the sweetest :) .
Everything about that cookie video from MN is fascinating! And to serve cups of cold milk with it?! Perfect. What a great fair stand.
I’m from Minnesota and I have to tell you…I’m not normally a cookie person but Sweet Martha’s are the BEST and you must get them when you go to the fair. They just melt in your mouth! And now they sell the dough in stores…
What stores in MN sell the cookie dough? I will be in St.Paul for 2 weeks visiting my daughter.Definitely have to check these out!????
I learned how to pick a good watermelon about three or four summers ago from a similar post. Once you know what to look for, you will always pick a good one. One of the things that lady didn’t point out is a desirable watermelon will have brown or black webbing on the outside. That is a strong indicator of a really sweet watermelon. I love watermelon and usually buy one a week in the summer when I can find good ones. Last summer though was really bad season for watermelons. I think I had 3 the entire summer, and it wasn’t for lack of searching ;-) Don’t be fooled by the grocery stores putting them out already. You probably won’t start finding good ones until late June.
Thanks for the extra tips!!
Your boys are the sweetest! Thanks for sharing pictures….not sure which I enjoy more, your receipe or their pictues.
Have a great weekend. (yes, guy hugging stray dogs I’m loving too!)
Aw, thank you Char!
I’m from MN and we go almost every year to the State Fair, sometimes 2-3 times per year. Every time we go, we stop on the way home for a bucket of the Sweet Martha cookies. The funniest thing is the kids working in the booth try to pile those cookies so high just to see how tall they can make it without toppling over! Of course we enjoy the benefit of it by getting more cookies. They are the BEST hot. By cookie #6, it’s like ok why did just eat this many???
Love your blog and seeing your kids grow up on it, of course your recipes are really good too ???? Have a great weekend!
I am also from MN!! Love our State Fair!! Sweet Martha’s cookies are the best when they are hot, but so yummy to snack on the leftovers at home!