What a difference 3 weeks makes!

Lincoln's walking skills have progressed a lot since 3 weeks ago.

Bye-bye Miss Peach Pie

It's official. The peaches are all gone. We've had all sorts of peachy deliciousness around here this past week.

The previously mentioned Peach Cobbler:

Amazing.

Peaches and Cream Pie:

 Really Yummy. A little different with the custard filling, but who can pass up a pie topped with streusel?

 Peach Cupcakes:

I adapted my vanilla cake recipe by adding chopped peaches and mixing in some brown sugar and cinnamon. I did experiment with two different frostings: a peach buttercream, and a brown sugar cream cheese frosting which was the clear winner.

If I were to make these again, I would forgo the frosting and use a streusel topping.

Peach Fritters (I used an apple fritter recipe and substituted diced peaches): 

These were a definite flop. I fried up a few, dipped one in glaze, and popped it right in my mouth. And it was delicious. Warm peach pieces inside, crispy outside, delicious vanilla glaze. Yum. But after finishing the entire batch, it took no time at all for the moist peaches to ruin the texture of the fritters. They became completely soggy and gross. When it comes to fritters, stick with apples.

And today I used the last four peaches to whip up some simple peach sorbet:

 I've never made sorbet before, but mine froze up pretty solid, even after making it in the ice cream maker. The popsicle-like texture ruined it a little for me, but the flavor was delicious.

Bottom line? I LOVE my peach tree! And Chad and I agreed that out of all the peach recipes we tried, Fran's Peach Cobbler was the clear winner. What can I say? Chad's mom makes mean desserts. This recipe is a keeper.

Fran's Peach Cobbler

Filling:

• 9-10 fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (or substitute 2 large cans peaches, drained)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• cinnamon

Topping:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 heaping tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1 cube butter, melted
• cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix filling ingredients together in a 13x9 inch pan with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
3. In a bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder together. Beat egg separately and add to mixture. Blend until crumbly (mixture will be very dry).
4. Sprinkle mixture over fruit filling.
5. Drizzle melted butter over entire pan, then sprinkle with cinnamon.
6. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden-brown.

First Grade!

 Here's my big first-grader. Bree may only be six, but she has a strong sense of fashion.

 

I'm hoping that enthusiasm will translate over into her schoolwork. And I'm hoping she'll go easy on her teacher, who is overworked as it is. Four to five hours of school per day, most of which is active instruction/learning time, is quite a bit more than last year's easy kindergarten curriculum. And we've switched to K12, which is much more involved. That will mean that my kid will be learning a lot more. And I'll be much more tired at the end of the day. But I have an adorable student, so that helps.

She is quite smart. And her level of concentration can be measured by how far her tongue is sticking out.

Here's her finished project: her first written assignment to be submitted to her online teacher.

Here's to what I'm hoping will be a great school year!

Whooo arrre youuu?

Our yard is overrun with caterpillars. Chad has been clearing weeds, and keeps finding these little guys:

They are fat, squishy, and have provided many hours of entertainment for Bree and Mason. They're called white-lined sphinx larvae (Chad says he remembers calling them tomato caterpillars).

There are probably about 15 of them in the little terrarium Chad uses to temporarily house whatever cool critter he's found so the kids can look at them. Bree insisted on taking the pictures.

And who knows? Maybe in a few weeks we'll have 15 moths in our home.

A girl can dream.

Just Peachy

Thanks to Goal #4, my peach tree got plenty of water this season. As a result, this:

became this:

We have harvested a few dozen (less than half of what was on the tree, thanks to birds and bees) of the most beautiful, sweet, juicy Elberta peaches imaginable. And not just in a "Oh, it's from my garden and it's really yummy" kind of way. Like in a "the best peaches I've ever eaten in my life" kind of way.

I planted this tree just over two years ago, and I chose this type of peach because that gold and red flesh makes me swoon. And it's a freestone variety, which makes slicing them a breeze, as Chad demonstrated in preparation for our first peach-themed baking session.

It was cobbler night tonight.

(This photo is actually from a time when I made this recipe for a Cookie Day back in 2008. With store-bought peaches *gasp!*. The blue background and lighting makes me cringe, but I love the texture shown. I didn't take a good picture tonight, because well, Chad and I ate the whole pan. In one sitting.)

Up next on the menu? Peaches and Cream Pie? Peach Cupcakes? Chicken with Peaches and Basil? We'll see how long they last. We've been snacking on them plain. Lincoln loves them, and Bree, who previously didn't like peaches, at a whole one tonight for dessert. Oh, yes. Best peaches ever.

More Milestones

• Lincoln has been babbling so much more lately, and we've been hearing some new sounds, like "t", "s", "k",and a whole lot of "goo" and "gah." It's always hard to know exactly when a baby attributes actual meaning to words, but I think it's pretty safe to say that he knows I'm "mamama," and "baba" means he wants his bottle.
• This week he started drinking from a sippy cup (which we'll continue calling "baba" for a little while)
• He can climb up an entire flight of stairs (which we discovered at Mike and Jenn's place)
• He can climb onto Mason's little bed, and back down safely.
• If I ask him if he wants more food, he makes the sign for "more."
• He is using his pointer finger to point at things, especially when we're looking at a book. This is a big fine-motor milestone for him.
• He can now stand on his own for at least 15 seconds, and probably could stand for as long as he wanted to.
• About a month ago he started taking experimental steps, and look at him now!

Lincoln's Heroes 2012

It's that time again! Time for us to get ready to Walk for Down Syndrome. Here we are last year with my parents, Adam and Heather, and my friend Amy and her family.

Lincoln is such a blessing in our lives.

This walk will be a chance to celebrate him, and say thank you to the folks at Sharing Down Syndrome. They've been a part of our lives since Day One, and they organize all sorts of support and fun activities throughout the year.

We've set a goal to raise $1,000 again this year, and I know we can do it! We'd really appreciate your donation; every little amount counts. Please visit our team page, and click on the red "Donate" button.

And if you want to join our team at the walk in the Phoenix area, you're invited! This year's walk is on Saturday, September 22nd. Click on the blue "Register Now" button, and we'll see you on the big day!

Thank you for being one of Lincoln's Heroes!