Do You Know The Muffin Man?

While we were supposed to be out at a farm petting zoo this morning, we are stuck inside all day due to the rain.  The rain is much needed since we're in a drought, but I knew I needed to find something to keep us from going stir crazy.  So, while Charlotte was taking her morning nap, Trenton and I got to work in the kitchen making.....

Apple Streusel Muffins

Sift flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Cut in butter until crumbly, and reserve 1/2 cup for topping.

Add chopped apples....

...milk, and egg to remaining crumbs.  Stir just until moistened.

Spoon into greased muffin tins.  Combine reserved crumbs with chopped nuts (I used pecans because I had them on hand) and 2 tablespoons of sugar.  Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  These are actually better the second day, but Trenton wanted to taste as soon as they came out of the oven! 

Apple Streusel Muffins

2 c. flour

1/2 c. sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. butter

2 c. chopped apples

2/3 c. milk

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. chopped nuts

2 Tbsp. sugar

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in butter until crumbly.  Reserve 1/2 cup for topping.  Add apples, milk, and egg to remaining crumbs.  Stir until just moistened.  Spoon into greased muffin tins.  Combine reserved 1/2 cup crumbs with the chopped nuts and 2 tablespoons sugar.  Sprinkle over batter.  Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.  Yield: 12 muffins.  These are best the day after they are made.

Happy Half-Year Day

Charlotte turned six months old last week.  It's hard to believe that it's been half a year since she came into this world!  She's brought such joy to our lives.  It is so much fun watching her and Trenton interacting and playing together.  We are definitely busier than ever, but we're loving every second of it!  Okay, maybe not EVERY second, but you know what I mean.  ;)

Here's a rundown of Charlotte's sixth month.

* Weight - 16 pounds, 9 ounces (61st percentile)
* Height - 26 inches (58th percentile)
* Head Circumference - 16 inches (6th percentile)
* New Foods - Rice Cereal, Baby Oatmeal, Carrots, Sweet Potatoes, Squash.  I am making Charlotte's baby foods as I did with Trenton.  Her favorite so far is squash.
* Favorite Song - If You're Happy and You Know It
* Favorite Toy - A bead chaser from the Easter Bunny, but she is becoming very interested in Trenton's toys that talk and sing. Big brother does good sharing...most of the time.
* Charlotte can roll from back to belly and belly to back with ease but much prefers sitting up like a big girl which she can do unassisted now.
* No teeth yet, but it looks like one may be making its debut soon!
* Charlotte can still fit into a couple of 3-6 month dresses, but has moved into 6-9 month clothes for the most part.
* Charlotte likes to "talk" - LOUD - especially at 5:30 in the morning.

Here are Charlotte's six-month portraits taken by Purple Owl Photography. 

And We're Off to the Races!

The crab races that is! Yesterday after doing a little shopping at the outlets up in Williamsburg, we headed over to Berret's in Merchant's Square at Colonial Williamsburg for the 20th Annual Crab Races to benefit the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

We sponsored a crab in the family category and named him Crab Ochocinco. While waiting for the races to start, we had a nice dinner at Berret's Taphouse Grill. Charlotte gobbled down her rice cereal, Trenton had chicken tenders, I had a salad with grilled scallops and shrimp, and Jarrod had the crab trio - crab cakes, crab salad, and soft shell crab. I guess these were the orphan crabs that didn't get sponsored for the race!

The races started, and although he got off to a slow start, Ochocinco came in second in his division. They also had a contest for cutest crab and the best name. Emeril Clawgasse beat us out for Best Name. Crabby won the Cutest Crab. Even though we didn't win, this sure was a fun event!

Charlotte & Daddy getting ready for the races!

The crabs getting ready for the races!

Our division - Crab Ochocinco is in lane eight. He was a slow starter!

Isn't he a cute little fella?

Mommy and Charlotte are having fun watching the races.

Mommy missed the memo that this was supposed to be a "silly face" picture!

I was surprised that Trenton didn't try to feed the crabs that chicken tender that he has in his hand!

Trenton and Daddy are playing cornhole during intermission.

This is a video of the championship heat in the individual division. The crab that won was 81 and Glad to be Here - the crab of a lady celebrating her 81st birthday.

Virginia Symphony Concert

Hurricane Earl didn't bring much in the way of bad weather here at our house, but he did open the way for a beautiful weekend!

We decided to take advantage of the wonderful weather and went out to Victory Monument in Downtown Yorktown last night for a free outdoor concert put on by the Virginia Symphony. The music was great! They played some Russian music, songs from Evita, and Jarrod's favorite - Star Wars! We didn't stay until the end of the concert. It was past bedtime for the kids, and it was getting a little cool outside. Plus, we went straight from church to the concert, and I think Trenton was getting tired of "trying" to be quiet!