::scavengers::

I've got a couple of little (or big, depending on how you look at it) scavengers on my hands, don't you agree?

We made Marilyn's cookies yesterday, just for fun. (Before all the crazy destructiveness happened.)
They turned out very tasty, but I think I might have overmixed--they're a lot flatter than I was hoping for. That Mr. Kitchenaid doesn't know his own strength.
Kind of like someone else I know.
Unfortunately for Max, all his shenanigans happened before he could have a cookie or two, so many tears ensued when he went to bed deprived of the deliciousness.

The good news is though, today has already been better. He's had one and I'm sure he'll have a few more before the day is out.
Hooray for better days.
Thanks for the yummy recipes Marilyn, as usual!

::halloween tradition::

Max and I made a batch of halloween sugar cookies for the first time four years ago, in our first house in Kansas City.  It was a bit of an ordeal, making cookies with a two year old, and I just wasn't that good at cooking back then (I'm only slightly better now.)
But they turned out so delicious and cute that we had to do it again next year. Or maybe it was the fact that Sultan ate most of the cookies that year--we accidentally left him in the house and the cookies on the counter when we went to deliver some to friends. We needed to make up for that.

So we've made cookies for the last four years, and the crazy thing, in four different kitchens. You think that sounds like too much moving? Why yes, yes it is.

So we made our traditional batch this week. I added a few new cookie cutters last year taking advantage of after holiday sales. It was fun to get to use them. Max's new favorite is the ghost.

I like him because he only requires white frosting, yay.

Max is getting better at helping--at least he doesn't just spill all the cookie cutters on the floor and roll them around in the flour like he did the first year.
He's my decorator now. Last year we got M&Ms and candy corn and he made faces on all the pumpkins. I wish I would've done that this year, instead we just did the standard sprinkles and such. But it was still fun. I only had to yell at Max 10 or 12 times for dumping the whole tube of sprinkles on one cookie.

Fun to make with my Max, but even more fun to eat. Which is what Kris thought when he came home from work to a kitchen full of delicious cookies! Mmmmmm.

::cupcakes::

When we went to the grocery store at the beginning of my parents visit, my mom and Max found themselves a project. They ran across a bottle of frosting that they just couldn't pass up. It was green, and had four different decorating tips. So they had to get some other cupcake making stuff to go along with it.

They got started by putting on our lovely aprons.

Kathy made these aprons for us last christmas. My mom used mine. Max's is so cute. It has a little giraffe on it. He really likes it.


Then they set to work mixing up the cakes.

Sorry my photos are kind of grainy. Seems like it's been really dim in my house for the last while. I probably need to get used to it--I'm guessing it's just that it's winter. Oh well.

Here's mom trying to explain the concept of two-thirds to Max, since the cupcake cups are supposed to be filled to 2/3.

I'm not sure he grasped it. But he did a good job filling the cups anyway.

I don't have any pictures of him filling, but my mom does! In fact she has a bunch of good pictures of the cooking process. Like Max cracking eggs and stirring and pouring water. They're very cute. Check them out if you're feeling like it.

Then after waiting as patiently as possible for things to cool down, they frosted.





I'm not sure why Max felt like he needed two spatulas, but it makes me a little nervous.

Then on to the fun stuff--the whole point of this project really.

Squeezing out the frosting was really hard for Max, but he did a great job. He stuck out his tongue the whole time in deep concentration.

They look great, don't they?
I'm very proud of him--the two of them really. This is the kind of project that a sweet small boy might always remember. He's lucky to have such a great Gram.