Tuckered Out Sock Monkey

This little sock monkey experienced a fun Halloween today. Above, Benjamin is ready to go out. I took him trick-or-treating at my work. He wanted to explore and say "hi" to everyone more than get candy. By the time we were done making the rounds, he was exhausted. When we got home, he had a late afternoon nap. After dinner, we went out again to trick-or-treat at the neighbors' homes. This social little guy tried more than once to go into their homes. He saw groups of kids going from home to home and was so excited he wanted to follow. He would yell..."go, go, go, go, go"...and then would try to walk faster. I'm so glad he had a good experience!

Fall Fun

Fall fun for Benjamin while Mike and I worked to clean up the yard. Benjamin would laugh as the berries fell off the tree. He would shake the branches and then throw the berries that fell on the sidewalk back under the tree. 

Benjamin figured out on his own that piles of leaves are for jumping on. The leaves got every where--in his socks, shoes, pants, shirt and even in his diaper. Fun times!

Benjamin was happy to be outside doing whatever as long as he was outside with his mom and dad. We are happy to have him with us too!

Nutella!

Back in July, Benjamin's Uncle Andy gave him his first taste of Nutella. Today, Benjamin requires his own spoon!

18 Month Celebration At Cornbelly's

We can't believe that Benjamin is already 18 months old. We decided to go out to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. Benjamin was amazed at the different pumkins. I bought a small one for him as we were leaving and he decided it must be a ball because he kept throwing it--it never bounced back though. We also showed him the carved pumkins, which are pretty amazing.

We took a bumpy hay ride. I think that Benjamin enjoyed it. He was curious and looked around the whole time. Then we headed for the corn maze. I think that was his favorite part because we allowed him to run free. We took turns chasing each other down the rows. It was fun to hear Benjamin laugh when he found me hiding in the corn stalks. Mike got some great pictures below.

Oatmeal Date Cookie Bars

I love cooking with oats and here's a recipe I found on allrecipes.com for some cookie bars. There are a couple of changes/additions I made. I like to think they're healthy since I'm using whole grain oats.

Oatmeal Date Cookie Bars

Filling:

2 1/2 c chopped dates

2 T lemon juice 

3/4 c white sugar 

2/3 c water 

corn starch, as needed

Pastry:

1 1/2 c sifted all-purpose flour 

1 c packed brown sugar 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 1/2 c quick cooking oats 

3/4 c shortening 

chocolate chips, optional

Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13 inch pan. To make Filling: In a saucepan over low heat, combine dates, water, white sugar, and lemon juice. Heat for about 8 minutes, or until thick. You may want to add a little corn starch to make sure it thickens up. Set aside to let cool. To make Pastry: In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, oats and salt. Mix until well blended. Add in shortening with pastry cutter until mixture forms into coarse crumbs. Press half of pastry mix into pan. Cover with date mixture and spread remaining pastry mix over the top. If desired, sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown. Let cool on wire rack before cutting.

As you can see below, I put chocolate chips over half of the cookie bars. I like the bars both ways, with and without the chocolate chips. It depends on your preference. I would like to try making this with apricots or even raspberries next time. Enjoy!