friday fun!

emma and i have really been enjoying our days home together. i'm trying to find lots of fun, creative things for us to do, so we don't get burnt out on the "mundane-ness" of being at home all day.

on friday, we had a super fun day! we tried two different recipes: one for play-doh and one for banana bread. (i will post both recipes!) we also colored, ate lunch with daddy (jason), and played with duncan.

friday evening, we went over to have dinner with some sweet friends of ours: jerica & erik olson. their baby boy, jack, is a year younger than emma, but they have so much fun playing together. emma calls him, "jock!" :-) so cute.

here are some pictures of our day together (i'll post the recipes at the end):

emma is trying to figure out this stuff called "play-doh"

emma kept calling playing with play-doh "cooking"

helping mommy bake banana bread. she cleaned out the bowl!

yummy batter!

"peeze!" (what emma says for pictures)
banana bread batter is all over her face! :-)

ah! love that sweet face...

mommy & emma trying to take some pictures together...

take 2... obviously mommy hasn't showered yet, today! :-)

banana muffins before being baked...

banana muffins right out of the oven

this is the best, most moist banana bread i have ever tasted! i highly recommend this recipe.

emma walking duncan around the house... she says, "c'mon, dunkie!" and "whistles." (basically, she squeaks "wee! wee!" to sound like mommy & daddy whistling for duncan. it's SO cute.)

emma was watching sesame street this week, and zoe & abby-cadabby were wearing tu-tu's and dancing ballet. emma looked at me and said, "mommy! want toot-toot!" this is the tu-tu melody made for emma to wear on her 1st birthday, and it's been hanging on her wall ever since. but now wearing her "toot-toot" over her clothes is one of her favorite things to do!

coloring in her "toot-toot"... look at those little crossed feet!

pretty picture

yes, my daughter eats crayons... but she only ever eats the blue & purple ones! haha!

RECIPES:

cooked play-doh from cooks.com

1 c. flour

1/2 c. salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 c. water

2 tbsp. oil - solid (i used vegetable oil)

1 tsp. food coloring (any color)

(instead of food coloring, i used a small packet of kool-aid powdered mix. it added color and a great smell!)

Combine all ingredients, except water and oil, in a saucepan. Gradually stir in 1 cup water mixed with oil, add food coloring. Cook over medium to high heat, stirring constantly until a ball forms. Remove from heat, place dough on table and knead until smooth.

banana banana bread (or muffins) from allrecipes.com

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas
• (you can add some vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and/or all spice to taste)
• 
  
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
• 
  
• In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
• 
  
• Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.
• 
  
• For muffins, I baked in a 12-muffin pan at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, and they were perfect!