Little Christmas Girl! {Fraser Valley Toddler Photography}

what a fun shoot....after it was over, we got to have a play date!





and for fun:

Well, November is speeding by... {Fraser Valley Baby Photographer}

...and boy is it ever WET. enough rain already. The boy and I are slowly turning the house into a Christmas scene...lights are on (gasp!) and some decorations are up! Gingerbread cookies are being baked and consumed at a high rate of speed and the knitting needles are clicking away...

...and so is my camera!


Another little cutie that I newborn photos of....nothing marks the passage of time like a growing baby! The photo of her and the chair in the bottom right has to be one of my favourites!

November? really?

What happened to this year?! It certainly has gone whizzing by!

My boy and I continue to grow...him in height and me in belly...the newest peanut will be arriving in just over 3 months...hard to imagine! We are excited, the boy keeps patting my belly...not that he knows what's in there and what that will mean for him and his future!
Anyway....

Remember this cutie? Well, she's almost 9 months old now! She is such a pretty baby...those lips and those eyes! A heart breaker for sure! She was a lot of fun to shoot and I had my assistant (the boy) keeping a watchful eye from the other side of the baby gate...

She always has the cutest little hats! I love these pics and am having a great time editing them!

Baby Boy Gray

oh my! This boy is SO cute!! I could've just kept him...but then I'd be more tired than I already am carting around a one year old and a 5 month pregnant belly!

Pumpkin Scones!

These are REALLY really good.

I got the recipe from here. (I used the recipe near the bottom of the page)

The changes that I made are in the icing mostly. I only made the first batch of icing, divided in half. I used the first half to glaze the scones, then added a pinch of ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon and a touch of 1/2 & 1/2 to the second half then drizzled on the scones - I had more than enough for all of them...so, I think the 2 batches of icing is WAY too much!
I've made these twice. Once like regular scones, and once in yummy bite size mini scones in a mini muffin tin (if you're using the mini muffin tin, 10 min in a 425 oven is long enough!)
Enjoy!

Pumpkin Scones

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter

Plain Glaze
1 cup plus 1 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Icing
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground cloves

INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ginger in a large bowl.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half, and eggs.
Cut butter into cubes then add it to the dry ingredients, until it is the texture of cornmeal or coarse sand.

add dry to wet ingredients, combine (don't over work)

drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet (parchment lined or greased) - 1 -inch thick

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes


While scones cool, prepare plain glaze by combining ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Mix until smooth.

When scones are cool, use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone.

As that white glaze firms up, prepare spiced icing by combining ingredients in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed.

Our littlest fish

On Tuesday, I got to have a sneak peek at the newest member of our little family. Andrew was with me, and his eyes were huge when he heard the heart beating and could see him/her wiggling around on the screen. Can't wait to meet this little bean in mid Feb ♥

Chicken Corn Chowder

This chicken corn chowder was very good. I found the recipe in the May 2004 issue of Everyday Foods. You will find the recipe below. I have only made some minor adjustments! I added legumes to mine, if you are using dried, make sure you boil and boil em first! Or else they are crunchy!

Chicken Corn Chowder
2 tblsp butter
1 small onion - diced
2 stalks of celery - thinly sliced
2 tblsp corn starch - (use flour if you don't have any cornstarch)
1/2 cup of half and half cream
3.5 cups of milk * if you don't have cream, use 4 cups of milk *
1/2 left over cooked chicken (I used a whole store bought/cooked chicken - Bella got the bits I didn't use)
2 cups of 1" cubed cooked potatoes - the kind that hold their shape when cooked, like red skinned ones. sweet potatoes or yams would be good added to this too!
1 cup cooked carrots.
1 can of corn (I would use the PC blue menu no salt added but I had 4 pc's of fresh cobs, and that was plenty!)
1/2 cup of legumes (precooked - so canned might be best)
pinch of cayenne pepper, coarse salt, ground pepper - to taste

1. melt butter in pan, add onion and celery - cook over medium heat 5-7 min.
2. add cornstarch - stir for one min.
3. add milk/cream - bring to a boil, stir occasionally.
4. add potatoes, corn, carrots and cayenne
5. season with salt and pepper
6. bring to a boil again
7. reduce heat to medium, simmer for 5 - 7 min.
8. butter up some toasted crusty bread for dipping!

Yes, it's true :)

expected in Feb 2010!

What the heck?

I am trying to learn about "automated queries" I don't actually know what they are, but when I try to view my blog, Google politely tells me my computer or network might be sending them out. I've tried their suggestions, but am still unable to view it... or any other Blogger blog. but I am able to access it through the cached feature of Google search. So, while I wanted to post some great recipes and photos, I have to try and fix this instead....
Annoying to say the least.

Edit to say: It appears that all is right with my blog world again....yay!

Sweet Chelsea

A while back I did some newborn pics of sweet Chelsea. Well, she's now 4 months (!) old and was back with her big brother for some more.
Here are a couple sneak peeks from the session!