Freezer Jam

Our house has been overflowing with fruit this past week.  I had the 1/2 bushel of peaches we bought  last weekend and our plum tree is ripe so I picked a huge bag of them as well.  That being said, I have been busy!  I froze 6 quart bags of sliced peaches, made 3 batches of peach baby food & 3 batches of plum baby food, and I made a batch of peach freezer jam and a batch of plum freezer jam.  I love seeing my freezer fill up with yummy food we'll be able to eat all winter!  The jam was so easy to make and it turned out really good.  Except now I can't kick a craving for homemade bread to eat it with...so I guess that's what I'll be making tomorrow :).  Here is the freezer jam recipe I used:

4 cups of fruit
2 cups of sugar
6 tablespoons of Instant Pectin
*3 tablespoons of lemon juice (for peach jam only)

1.  Peel & pit fruit.  Finely chop in food processor.  Pour into large bowl.
2.  In separate bowl mix sugar & pectin.
3.  Add Sugar/Pectin mixture (& lemon juice for peaches) to the fruit.  Stir for 3 minutes.
4  Spoon Jam into clean freezer jars (makes 6 half pints).  Cover with lids, let stand for 30 minutes.  Place & store in freezer until ready for use.  

Claire's First Plum

I put Claire in her highchair yesterday while I was trying to finish making dinner.  It was almost time for her to eat so she was getting a little impatient with her hunger.  I pulled a plum out of the fridge, and handed it to her to keep her occupied for a few minutes. I thought she'd mostly hold it and play with it and maybe bite it a little with her two teeth.  I went back to work and started chopping some veggies and heard her start squealing happily.  I turned around and saw her completely demolishing the plum.  She was loving it!  It was one of the funniest things I've seen.  She was seriously attacking it.   I quickly peeled off her clothes before she could stain them with the plum juice she was getting everywhere.  I grabbed my camera so I could document the first of what I'm sure will be many, messy high chair pictures.  

Peach Days

After Bryce got home from work on Saturday we decided to go to Peach Days in Brigham City. I had been wanting to go to one of the fruit stands in Brigham City and buy a 1/2 bushel of peaches anyway, so we thought it would be fun to go hang out at Peach Days while we there too.  We walked around the carnival rides and talked about how we couldn't wait until Claire was big enough to go on them.  We looked at all the booths, and fortunately for our wallets didn't find anything worth buying, except of course some fair food.  We stayed until about 8 and decided to call it a night when Claire started getting tired.  We stopped at a fruit stand on the way home and bought a big box of peaches (the main reason for the trip)!  I already made a big batch of baby food with some, and then froze a bunch of them so we can eat them all winter & use them in smoothies or baking recipes.  I also have plans to make some freezer jam and my pinterest boards are quickly filling up with all kinds of peach desserts.  I think I might even be brave enough to try making my first pie!  If it turns out good I'll be sure and share the recipe :).  

Claire Olivia Week by Week: 33 Weeks

Claire turned 33 weeks old today.  She is still doing great with a 4 hour schedule.  It's amazing how much more freedom we have to do things with a 4 hour schedule.  It is seriously the best :).  I gave her peaches for the first time on Saturday and she really liked them.  I gave them to her plain and mixed them with her oatmeal Sunday morning and she ate them really well both ways.  She is doing pretty good with solids, although there are definitely some foods she'll willingly eat better than others.  I read to just keep feeding them foods they don't like anyway, so that you don't enforce or enable picky eating.  Supposedly they eventually learn to like or at least tolerate the foods they didn't use to like.  I usually feed her something she likes and something she doesn't like at the same time, that way I can get her to open her mouth for the food she likes and then I'll sneak a few bites of a food in she doesn't like until she stops opening her mouth.  Then I switch back to the food she likes.  This method works pretty well and it helps me make sure she gets a wide variety of nutrients from different foods.  She has loved her new found mobility and is discovering all kinds of things around the house.  She figured out how to pull open the bottom drawer in our bathroom and loves to pull everything out and examine it while I'm in there getting ready for the day. She has gotten really attached to her baby quilt I made for her.  If we take that with us she'll fall asleep pretty much anywhere.  She even fell asleep on my lap holding her blanket during sacrament meeting today.  It was fun getting to hold her again while she slept, since I haven't been able to do that since she was a few months old! Claire has the sweetest temperament and is getting such a fun personality.  I feel like the luckiest mom.  I love spending every day with her! 

Ogden Temple Open House

Thursday night we we were able to go to the Ogden Temple Open House with my parents.  We went kind of late so I was a little worried Claire might get tired and fussy but she did so well!  She is always kind of mesmerized whenever we go somewhere with a large crowd.  She just looked around and observed everyone. When we were touring the temple she kept tipping her head back and looking up at all of the chandeliers and lights.   She loved them. It was so cute!  The temple was absolutely gorgeous!  Every little detail was so thought out and it was just so perfectly put together.  I am excited to have a temple just a few minutes from my house.  It will be such a wonderful blessing!  You can read more about the Ogden Temple & other temples here.

Little Jail Bird

I picked up these new jammies for Claire on my Labor Day shopping trip. I thought they looked so cute on her! I had to get out the camera and take some pictures.  Bryce kept calling her a little jail bird while she was wearing them. The cutest little jail bird you've ever seen ;).This is probably the third time Claire has pulled herself up to the entertainment center. Luckily, since I had gotten the camera out earlier I was able to snap a few quick pictures. She is getting so big! She is getting into everything lately, and as a result keeping me very, very busy!

Labor Day Weekend

We had big plans to go camping with Bryce's family over Labor Day weekend, until we realized Bryce's schedule: Clinicals for athletic training Friday night until 10:30 pm, work Saturday morning from 9-1, and clinicals again Monday night from 5-9 pm.  That didn't leave us much time for a camping trip so we stayed home and made the best of it. While Bryce was at clinicals Friday night, I had a girls night that I posted about earlier, with my sister.
Saturday morning I had a photoshoot at the Bountiful Temple after a sealing.  Since Bryce was working I took Claire with me and we walked around the temple grounds until the sealing was over.  The picture above is her hanging out in the stroller trying to grab my camera.  My mom was at the sealing so she watched Claire for me while I took a few pictures.  After I got home I convinced Bryce to go for a run with me.  I've been asking for weeks and he finally gave in.  I took him on my usual daily route.  It's a little under 3 1/2 miles, so I knew it wasn't going to be a big deal for him.  It was really fun to have another running partner, besides Rory & Claire, who could actually talk to me during the run.  Bryce even said he had fun, although he was pretty sore for a few days after.  After our run we rented a few movies to watch after Claire went to bed.  

Sunday night we had dinner at my parents house and I took family pictures for my sister.  We had fun catching up and letting Lydia and Claire get a chance to play again.  Lydia was being so cute with Claire.  She would lay her head on Claire's chest and leg and give her "hugs."  It was pretty much the cutest thing ever.

On Monday morning we went to the castle park in Kaysville.  I've been wanting to go to it forever, and now that we have a baby we have a good excuse to go ;).  It is the coolest park.  I would have loved playing there when I was little.  They also have hiking trails behind the park that we walked on for a bit.  It made for a fun little family outing. Claire started getting worn out from all of our playing so we picked up some lunch headed home to put her down for a nap.  
While Claire napped I took advantage of Bryce being home with her and went shopping for a couple hours by myself.  I hit up a few stores that were having sales and got Claire a couple outfits for this fall & winter.  The picture above are two of my favorite shirts I found for her.  I found most of her clothes at Kid to Kid, my best kept secret for baby clothes :), and the blue pin striped shirt I got at the Gap outlet.  I got it for 70% off, so it was too good of deal to pass up!  I also ordered Claire a big girl car seat online when I got home since Target was having an awesome baby gear sale.  I got the car seat I have been wanting for almost $50 off.  It was a good shopping day!

After I got home from shopping, Bryce left for clinicals and I did the usual dinner, bath, bedtime routine with Claire. After I put Claire to bed I had a few quiet moments by myself before Bryce got home.  I was so glad that even with Bryce's busy schedule we were able to fit in some family time.  I thought about how these seemingly insignificant days always end up being my favorite memories.  My little family means the whole world to me and gives me so much purpose.  I am so glad I have them forever and ever!  I also thought about Labor Day last year when I was about 20 weeks pregnant and it seemed like it was going to last forever.  Now my baby girl will be turning 8 months old in a few weeks.  What a difference a year makes!  That statement never rang as true until I became a mom.