Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake...Need I say more?

I found this recipe on bakerella.com a few weeks ago and then on Tuesday Marsha just happened to bring me a flat of strawberries. I was so excited. Here is the recipe:

Strawberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake = YUM!

3.5 cups all purpose flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup butter, room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
6 eggs, room temperature
1 cup milk, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl and set aside. Using a mixer, cream butter, cream cheese and sugar for about 6 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and milk until combined. Add flour mixture until completely combined. Pour into two greased and floured 9 X 5 loaf pans. Stir in 2-cups hulled and diced strawberries for each loaf if desired. Bake for about 60 minutes or until done.

Cream Cheese Icing
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
2 Tbsp butter, room temperature
2 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp milk

Cream butter and cream cheese. Add sugar and milk until thoroughly combined.
Spread on top of cake. Store in the refrigerator.

I actually made these into cupcakes, filling the tins 3/4 of the way full and baking them for 30 minutes. This makes a lot of batter, it made almost 50 cupcakes. I wish I would have used my Kitchen Aid because the bowl I used was almost over flowing by the time I had all of the ingredients in it.

Progress Report

We got Addi's mid-year progress report. We were surprised how accurate it was. She is quite the character, a little mischievous and, sometimes naughty. Her teacher says it so nicely, though. Here is what she had to say:

Student's Strengths: Addison has a high curiosity for the world around her. She is charismatic and draws to those who enjoy the same zest for life. Addison is very energetic and thrives on activities that allow her to have plenty of physical movement and interaction with others.

Student's areas of interest: While outdoors, although Addison utilizes all playground equipment, she is often engaged in "rough and tumble" play. When given the option, Addison likes forms of play that allow her to express her imagination, rather than playing roles that have already been defined by others. She prefers child-directed activities that allow her to choose the outcome.

Student's social summary: Although Addison connects easily with those she is engaged with in play, she has a tendency to physically withdraw herself from everyone when her sense of order has been disrupted. Like many of her classmates, Addison is learning to use kind words rather than physical aggression to get her point across, which will help her obtain skills necessary for cooperative play.

Areas for Improvement: Addison often expresses that activities that require her to produce a specific result (i.e. letter writing exercises or cutting out shapes with scissors) are too "hard." Practicing at home will help strengthen her fine-motor development.

Additional Comments and Suggestions: Addison is fun loving, enthusiastic, and kind in nature. She is truly a blessing to have in class!

Do we have our hands full, or what? She is a work in progress and we are so glad she has this chance in pre-school to learn and grow. She loves going to school and her friends there. Luckily, she has another whole year before going to kindergarden to learn how to behave herself a little better!

Swim

Addi has been doing so well at swim lately, I wanted to document it. She is now doing the backstroke and working on her side breathing.
She no longer has a fear of swimming without goggles. You have no idea what a struggle it was to get her to swim without goggles. She cried for 3 entire lessons. Now she doesn't even want them and is opening her eyes under water.
She is able to get herself out of the pool without any help.
And she dives for rings!
We love her instructor Scott. He has been with her for almost a year and a half now. Before Christmas break, Von was doing his lessons with no tears, but it seems like now we are back to square one and he has been sick, so he has missed his last couple of lessons. But we will carry on...

Pretend City

My cousin Chelsey came into town last weekend and we met up with her and her husband and little girl at Pretend City. It was our first time there and were so impressed. It was such a great place for the kids.
Bubba and his two teeth.
Addi picking apples in the "orchard."
The fire department.
Von making some music in the grass.
He is such a little boy these days, I wish I could keep him at this stage.

13 months

Von turned 13 months last week. He is STILL not walking completely. He will take a few steps here and there with coaxing. We are just waiting for the day when he takes off. He is still so sweet and a joy to have around.

Addi Boo

Ian's sister, Brooke, got married on the 2nd. Addi was the flower girl, so primping was most necessary.
Typical Addi. Surprisingly, she loved having the curlers in. She thought she was so cool. And we did her nails, always a favorite of hers.
Getting her to sit still at all is a challenge, especially when there is nail polish involved. Look for the pictures of the wedding to come, I have to wait for the photographer's. I brought my camera, but never took it out of the bag. Oops.

Pajamarama

Happy New Year! We celebrated with a pajama party at Laura and Josh Meier's house. It was a good time without the kiddos and with good friends.
All of the King kids and their spouses.
Lori Hexburg. The lone representative from the Davis family.
The Clawson girls. I always refer to myself as the "other sister," since I am the only sister-in-law and now the only blonde. Oh, and I am super pale compared to them!
Ian and I. He didn't last too long in his jammies. The feet were too small, so he opted for his regular clothes after a bit.