Best Big Brother Ever

Dallin is such a wonderful big brother to Layton. He loves him so much and Layton loves him in return.

When Layton wakes up from his nap, Dallin loves to run into his room and get him out of the crib himself. He loves carrying him around and playing with him.

And it is obvious from the way that Layton responds to Dallin, that he enjoys every second with his big brother.

Now I have a little secret that I would like to share about Dallin…..

Lean in close…..

I am going to have to whisper…..errrr…quietly type it…..

Just a little closer…..

Check behind you….no one is listening….errrr….reading over your shoulder….right?

Here goes….

He’s going to kill me for this. I can just see his rosy cheeks getting rosier…..

Sometimes….I can’t believe I’m going to tell you this….

Sometimes…..

Sometimes Dallin loves his kid sister Mandy too…

Whew! It feels so good to get that off my chest. Remember…..

DON’T TELL ANYONE!!!!!!!!!!

Are you ready for some FOOTBALL?

It’s MONDAY MORNING FOOTBALL……

Spring football training is in full swing, and this year the rookies have got mad skills. One rookie in particular has really stood out from the pack.

Introducing….Layton “Sugar Hands” Jarvis. He is so slick and sweet – he can fake right….or he can fake left. He is so quick you never know which way he’s going next.

And once he has the ball, ain’t nobody gettin’ it away from his sticky sugar hands. He tucks it in tight up against his chest and not even the best defensive tackler in the world is going to knock that ball out.

He even gets into the psychological side the game. His game face strikes terror into all his opponents.

And between plays he knows how to kick back and relax so that he is fresh and ready for his next jaw dropping astounding run down the field.

The fall football season is really going to be something to watch with this rookie in the lineup.

Pouting

This week the I Heart Faces Photography theme is pouting. Now tell me, can you look at a face like that, with his little hands tugging at your pants leg and resist picking him up? I can’t. That little face gets me every time. The chocolate smeared across his quivering lips and plump cheeks just adds to his charm.

Walk Faster Please

Mandy has been so excited about Layton learning how to walk. However, she has begun to get a little impatient about how SLOWLY he walks. So she decided to take matters into her own hands and give Layton a little lesson on walking faster…..

I think he enjoyed the lesson. Stay tuned. Under Mandy’s tutelage he will be running before you know it.

Snack Time

Yogurt melts, oh how I love yogurt melts, let
me see how many I can stuff in my mouth:

I think I can get a couple more in there:

Mmmm, must take a moment

to savor the flavor:

Oh, NOOOOOO, the cup is empty:

Thank goodness I have an older sister that
knows how to open the bag.

She is so good to me:

AHHHHH, back to stuffing my face.

Good times.

Soccer Super Star

Dallin was so awesome in his first game of the spring season. He put so much effort into playing:

And had fun every single second:

He even scored two goals! Look at that smile. He is a winner all the way.

In just one game, he has already beat his all time record of scoring only ONE goal in all of the fall soccer season. I would say this is cause for some celebratory dancing:

He has really come a long way since beginning his soccer career. Grandpa was especially proud of him for kicking not only with his right foot, but also with his left. His defensive skills are getting pretty good too:

I don’t think he quite gets the idea of working as a team though. But then neither do any of the other 5 year olds:

He definitely gets the concept of being on a team though. Each time they lined up in the middle to kick off, he would take a minute to give a thumbs up to his teammates and a thumbs down to the other team to try to psych them out:

He is such a smooth little ladies man. Look at him standing there with that cute little girl talking strategy with her:

He loves his team. He even has fun with them on the sidelines when it is his turn to sit out a quarter:

And of course he loves playing along side his good friend Katie, who we think has a little crush on him:

We are so glad that he loves sports and being outside and playing. We are also really glad his biggest fans could come out and support him too:

Chocolate Strawberry Cream Cake

For Layton’s party I made a cake inspired by the cake we won at the Young Women’s dessert auction. I used Pioneer Women’s chocolate sheet cake recipe for the layers, strawberry cream for the filling, and a whipped chocolate frosting to top it off.

Using a 7 by 11 inch pan to create the layers, I put about 1 3/4 cup of sheet cake batter in each pan to create three layers of cake. I took the left over batter and poured it into three ceramic ramekins so that I could create a tiny cake just for Layton. Notice the parchment paper on the bottom of the pan. It is the secret to getting your layers to come out of the pan perfectly with no breakage.

Now for the filling. Start with one block of softened cream cheese.

Add 1 3/4 cup of powdered sugar. Beat together until creamy.

Whip 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream. The secret to getting your whipping cream to fluff up properly is to throw the bowl that you will be using (a glass or metal bowl is best) into the freezer for about 20 minutes before you start beating the cream. Then beat on medium high until fluffy. Be patient it takes several minutes to get to a nice stiff consistency. Fold the stiff cream into the cream cheese mixture. If you don’t want to whip your own cream you can always substitute 2 cups of cool whip for this step.

Fold in 3/4 cup of chopped/mashed strawberries.

Place a generous amount of filling between the layers of the cake.

Top each layer of cream with sliced strawberries.

Refrigerate and start working on the chocolate frosting. Yum!

This chocolate frosting is light and fluffy and yummy. Start out by melting 2 oz (2 squares) of unsweetened chocolate. Heat in the microwave at 30 second increments until it is nice and smooth. Do not over heat the chocolate. It will get all clumpy and nasty. Yuck.

Add 1 can of sweetened condensed milk. Stir until smooth.

Add 1/2 tsp vanilla and a 1/2 cup of water. Add a 3.9 oz chocolate pudding mix. Use a whisk to get it nice and smooth.

Whip 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream until stiff (or use 2 cups of cool whip). Slowly fold it into the pudding mixture.

Ice the cake with a thick (really thick, you’ll thank me for it) layer of frosting and then refrigerate until ready to eat.

And boy were we ready to eat it. Take a look at the size of the piece of cake that Nathan cut for himself.

Layton loved getting down and dirty with that luscious chocolaty goodness.

This is what his little cake looked like when he was done with it. I think he liked it!

Click HERE for a printable copy of the recipe.