A Conversation with Broden

I saw this idea on pinterest, so I made up my own questions and plan to sit down with B and interview him each year :)

A Conversation with Broden

Age: 

My favorite food & drink is:

What do you want for dinner on your birthday:

One food that I really dislike is:

My favorite place to go out to eat is:

My favorite color is:

My favorite toy is: 

My favorite song is:

The book I’m loving right now:

My “studliest” outfit is:

My favorite animal is:

My favorite game/sport is:

My favorite holiday is:

The best show on TV is: 

My favorite movie is:

My favorite thing to learn about in school is:

The absolute best thing about playing outside is:

My best friend is: 

My favorite thing to do with my friends is:

The thing I do most awesomely is: 

Three words that describe me are: 

My favorite thing to say: 

I could do this all day: 

My favorite place to go is: 

The coolest person (my hero) on Earth is: 

If I had $1000 I would buy: 

My favorite thing that happened this year was: 

This past year, I learned how to: 

What does your mom do during the day: 

What does your dad do during the day: 

How old is mom and dad: 

What is your favorite thing to do with mom: 

What is your favorite thing to do with dad: 

What is your favorite thing to do with Graycie: 

What do you like about your mom: 

What do you like about your dad: 

Before my next birthday, I hope I’ll get to do: 

Before my next birthday, I hope I’ll get to visit: 

Before my next birthday, I hope I can:

When I grow up, I’m going to become a: 

When I grow up, I’m going to live: 

Who would you like to marry someday: 

If I could anywhere in the world, I’d go to: 

B's alphabet book

Brody LOVES to read, so I just had to make him his own alphabet book for his 1st Birthday!  It was so much fun to make - and I'm so excited to watch him learn his A-B-Cs!

Click here to view this photo book larger

Click here to create your own Shutterfly photo book.

Here is what I associated with each letter, but there are so many options!  I just looked through all my pictures and put them into letter folders - and then went back and picked out the ones I liked the best!  I could have made like 5 of these books...haha!!!

A: Apple

B: Boating

C: Camping

D: Daddy

E: Easter Bunny

F: Friends

G: Grandparents

H: Hiking

I: Ice Fishing

J: Jack O Lantern

K: Kisses

L: Lake

M: Mommy

N: Naked

O: Outdoors

P: Pool

Q: Quilt

R: Remote

S: Snowman

T: TubTub

U: Uncle Sam

V: Valentine's Day

W: Wagon

X: Xmas

Y: Yummy

Z: Zoo

Christmas Craft

Brody's 1st Christmas needed some cutie foot and handprints to remember just how cutie he was :)

Baked Brie Bites

Christmas Eve at the Sodahls - and my new app was a big hit!!  I, personally, would add more cheese or cranberry sauce and kick up the flavor a little more.....but these were good as is too!  AND they are festive :)

Ingredients:
1 box Athens Mini Fillo Shells
4oz brie cheese
1/2 cup cranberry sauce
3 Tablespoons chopped pistachios

Preheat oven to 400 - cook shells according to directions. 

Cut the brie into 1/2 teaspoon chunks and place one in each mini fillo shell.  Bake for 5 more minutes, until the brie is melted.

Remove from the oven and dollop a scant spoonful of cranberry sauce on each little brie tart.  Sprinkle with pistachios and serve warm.

Laundry Room Art!

Who says you can't have pictures in your laundry room!!  How cutie is this??  :)

Supplies
Pant hangers
Laundry photo shoot of baby (or cat)
Mod podge
8x10 canvas (get at Michaels)

I had a little photo shoot with B and his laundry - and then I edited the photos to be in black and white (cause eventually I want to paint the laundry room...orange...if I can convince Ross!) Anyways, then I just mod podged them to the canvas and hung them up with pant hangers!  Super cutie!!

Cranberry Rollups

Christmas celebration with the Ronhovdes today, so I made a festive appetizer!  These were so, so, so good!  A nice bonus is they take about 5 minutes to make - and they taste like heaven!!  A for sure go to app for the Sodahls in the future!

 

Ingredients:

1 (170g) package dried sweetened cranberries

1 (250g) container cream cheese spread

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1/4 cup chopped green onions

4 large flour tortillas (use spinach for Christmas!)

 

Combine all ingredients except tortillas, mix well.  Divide and spread mixture evenly among tortillas.  Roll up tightly, wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.  Cut in to 12 slices - and serve!

Party Hats

Supplies:
Paper
Pom Pom

Make a circle out of your paper - cut it in half  (mine was about 7 inches long).  Then put the ends together and make a cone.  Tape / staple it shut -- hot glue cute pom pom on top and cut out the year and tape that on!

Supplies:
Newspaper

Fold a single newspaper sheet in half.  Fold in each corner on top to meet in the middle.  Fold up the bottom edge twice of the side facing you, then flip hat over and repeat on other side.

Tissue Pom Pom

SUPPLIES:
8 sheets of tissue (cut square)
Scissors
wire

Line up the 8 sheets of tissue paper - and cut into square.  Then start folding all of the tissue layers over like a concertina, approximately 1″ wide, and continue until the whole length is pleated.  (As you go along be quite firm so you have good crisp fold.)

When you reach the end, make sure that you use something as a paperweight so the concertina doesn't come undone such as a pair of scissors.

Add a strip of wire around the center of the tissue.  You will need extra wire if you intend to hang it from a high ceiling or wanting it suspended to add depth.

Cut both ends of the tissue.  You can either cut a curve for a soft look or at an angle for a more spike effect.  As you will be cutting so many layers of tissue, it may be a good idea to do this in stages, by cutting in to 3-4 layers at a time

Gently start pulling the layers of tissue apart.  Take your time as it is easy to rush this part, and you will only end up with holes and tears in the tissue.  Keep going until you have pulled all of the layers out - and you are DONE!  Super cutie!

Santa Cookie Plate

Supplies

White plate

Permanent markers

Kiddo to draw fun stuff :)

I have been trying to find a cutie cookie plate for Brody's 1st xmas - and then I saw this idea.....awesome!!!  Just decorate a plain white plate with permanent marker - throw it in the oven (put it in a cool oven) - set to 350 for 30 minutes - then let it cool completely in the oven - and take out and you have an awesome plate!!!

LOVE :)

He was really excited...I couldn't get a still picture...

Annual Christmas Ornament

As you all know, I'm obsessed with Christmas/traditions (that's why we have 7 trees!); I'm obsessed with documenting Brody's life (that's why I have a blog!); and I'm obsessed with reliving memories (that's why I scrapbook)! -- SO I came up with a fun tradition to recap the year - Brody / Christmas style!

I plan to make him a yearly Christmas Ornament.  The best part is that inside - there is a little write up of what B accomplished / special memories from that year.  AND then each year - before we put it up on the tree, we can take it out and RELIVE the memories :)

Supplies:

Clear glass ornament (from michael's)
Marker pens that write on glass (from michael's)
Ribbon
Fake snow
Hot glue gun
Glitter

All I did was take the hot glue gun - put his initial on one side and how old he was on the other - then sprinkle glitter on top of it.  Then I wrote the year - tied with a ribbon - and slipped the "memories" inside!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

This was pretty good.  I was really hoping it would be better though....I love myself some casseroles!  It wasn't uber flavorful - but B liked it :)

 

Serves 6 - Recipe by Our Best Bites

Ingredients:
8 ounces medium shell pasta, cooked al dente according to package directions
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 medium stalk celery, thinly sliced or diced
¼ cup diced onion
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced or diced
olive oil, as needed
4 tablespoons flour
 14.5 ounce can chicken broth (just under 2 cups), warmed
1 cup milk, warmed
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon dill
2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, more if desired (I desire)
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
5 oz can tuna, packed in water, more if desired
1/4 cup Ritz cracker crumbs or 1/4-1/2 cup broken up potato chips (I recommend kettle style)

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet.  Add celery and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add onion and cook 2-3 minutes longer, stirring often.  Add mushrooms and cook 3-5 more minutes, until mushrooms are golden and tender. If needed for moisture, add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan after the mushrooms are added; more if needed during remaining cooking time.  Remove vegetables from pan and set aside.

Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in pan and add flour.  Stir constantly for 30 seconds.  Slowly add broth and milk, a little at a time while constantly whisking until mixture is smooth.  Bring to a low simmer.  Add salt, pepper, and dill.  Stir constantly until thickened and bubbly, 2-3 minutes.  Reduce heat to low and add lemon juice, parsley, and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.  Whisk until smooth and taste.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, and extra lemon juice if desired.  Remove from heat and add pasta, vegetables, and tuna.  Stir to combine and place in a 3 quart baking dish.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese (feel free to add more if you want)  and sprinkle cracker crumbs or chips on top.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes, until top is golden and pasta is hot and bubbly.  Let rest 10-15 minutes before serving to allow sauce to thicken.

Kalua Pork Hawaiian Pizza

Mmmmm pizza!!!  As you know, I'm not a HUGE fan of pizza -- BUT I did really like this!!  I love that it used leftover pork from a previous meal: Kalua Pork Sliders, so we got 2 meals from making 1 thing of pork!  Very easy and good for a week night!

Ingredients:

Pizza Dough
Pizza Sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
About 2 cups shredded Kalua Pork Roast
About 1 cup fresh chopped pineapple
Any other desired toppings like sliced colored bell peppers, sliced red onions, roasted garlic, pepperoncinis, crumbled bacon, etc.

Spread about 1/2 cup sauce (you’ll want an even layer, not too thin, not too thick) over the pizza crust. Top with the shredded pork, pineapple, and any other desired toppings. Top with shredded cheese and cook according to directions.