November...Memory Lane

My JuJu bean turned 2 this month.  And she is a chatty, passionate, expressive little thing.  Have you ever heard of the Five Love Languages?  Julia is hands down our touch baby.  She is the one I pick up from school, and right when she sees me she yells, "MOMMY!" and comes barreling to me for the biggest of hugs.  When she loves she loves, with everything she is made of.

For her birthday, in our attempt to get back to eating right (lets just say Florida was about a hundred and two steps backwards in our grain-free, refined sugar free lifestyle) we made a Vanilla Bean Cake.    When Derek swung home from lunch the day of Julia's birthday, I had beans cooking on the stove.  A little insight into our conversation.

Me: "Did I tell you I am making Jewels birthday cake from beans?"

Derek looks skeptically into the pot cooking the white northern beans for her cake.

Derek: "Do I need to pick up a real birthday cake on the way home?"

Me: "What do you mean?  This is going to be a real birthday cake, just made of beans."

Derek is looking at me like my head is detached, and I can see him churning his wording around in his head as to what to say without offending me.

Derek:"Yes, but it's her birthday.  Don't we need her to have a real cake to put candles into?"

Me: "It is a real cake, just made of beans.  Do you want me to show you a picture?"

Derek: "yeah."

I show him the picture, and he starts laughing.

Derek: "Oh I see.  I thought you were just going to spread beans on a plate, layer it with cheese and sour cream and put candles in it."

It did look like a real cake, tasted like a real cake, and was devoured by all of us like a real cake.  The frosting was a mess, but it tasted great.

Julia even helped me make her cake.

At the end of the month, at Thanksgiving we attempted to get a cousin shot.  With seven kids ranging from 11 months to 8 years, it is near impossible.  But we gave it a go.  This is the best I got, not sure about the others :)

Cracks me up Julia is talking on a phone.  Cole's eye is a little puffy, because there was a little cousin rough housing, and Cole got an elbow, knee, or head bump to his eye.  We just called him Spot for the next couple of days.

One more month, and then we enter the New Year!  Whoop Whoop!