Blackberry Cobbler

This year the blackberry bush in our garden produced more blackberries than we knew what do with! Every day we picked a huge mixing bowl full of yummy, sweet blackberries. After three little grabby hands ate as much of the fresh fruit as their tummies could handle, I whipped up this simple, delicious Blackberry Cobbler.

Recipe Difficulty: Easy

Recipe Adapted From: simplyrecipes.com

Blackberry Cobbler:

Prep Time: 35 min. Cook Time: 30 min. Yield: 9 servings

Ingredients:

berry mixture:

• 4 cups blackberries (fresh or frozen. If using frozen, defrost and drain first. Make sure to taste test to adjust sugar levels. Add more sugar if berries are too tart.)
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (more or less to taste)
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch

cobbler topping:

• 3 Tbsp. granulated sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 egg, lightly beaten

*double cobbler topping recipe if you want to cover the entire berry mixture

1.Toss berries with sugar, lemon juice, zest, cinnamon, cornstarch in baking dish: Put the blackberries, sugar, lemon zest and juice, cinnamon and cornstarch in a glass pie dish. Stir to combine everything and make sure that the berries are all evenly coated with the sugar mixture. Let sit for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat your oven to 350°F.

3. Make biscuit dough topping: Whisk together the flour, 3 tablespoons of the sugar, the baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers or a fork until the topping mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center and stir in the milk and beaten egg until the dough is just moistened.

4. Drop spoonfuls of biscuit dough on top of berries: Scoop up the dough in large spoonfuls, and drop over the berries in the baking dish like cobblestones.

5. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F, or until the berry mixture is bubbly and the topping is nicely browned.

Baby Blessing. Eliza Kate (four months)

Eliza's Blessing Day!

 March 1st our little Eliza Kate was blessed by her daddy! Cody gave the sweetest blessing. I love that Cody has the priesthood and is able to give our little babies their blessings. He did an amazing job. Eliza was blessed in the very same dress that I was christened in when I was a baby! Because I didn't become a member of the church until I was nine years old, I wasn't given a baby blessing, but I was christened, and I am sure it was just as special of a day. It meant a lot for me to see Eliza be blessed in the same dress.
All of our family and friends were there with us. I am so so grateful to be surrounded by such supportive people. Whether they are members of the church, or not, my decisions and beliefs are respected and that means so much to me. I am grateful that my children will grow up knowing that it's okay to not share the same opinions and to love everyone no matter what.

It was a beautiful day! A perfectly precious way to celebrate Eliza being four months old! She is such a huge blessing. I am so glad we had this day to celebrate her being a part of our lives!

Eliza Kate (three months)

Our little Eliza is still just as perfect as ever. She is now three months old and I cannot believe how much faster time flies with your second baby. I feel like I am missing everything. I have this fear that because I don't get to spend as much time just one on one with her as I did with Camden that she will develop slower (which would be completely ok, since Camden was always so quick to learn the next step). I sometimes feel bad that I am unable to give her every second of my time like I did with Camden, but luckily she is so content just relaxing and is completely happy not being held. She is so great. We are starting to almost get a giggle out of her. If she isn't sleeping, she is smiling, except Mimi says she's pretty grumpy at her house. She loves her binky and as long as she has that around she is happy and quiet. Which makes for a happy mama! We love our little Liza Bug and are loving watching her grow. I hope she keeps this sweet little personality that she has forever. I just love her so much! Happy three months, Miss Eliza Kate.

Eliza Kate (two months)

 The little lady is TWO months old already. I know in the big picture two months doesn't seam very significant, but I am amazed at how fast it has gone by. I think we all have grown used to having another little human in the family, and can't picture life without her. Everything now is starting to feel less chaotic and more normal. Eliza is such a perfect little baby. She is everything I prayed for. She is relaxed and content and always happy or sleeping. She only cries when she is hungry but most of the time I'm having to wake her to feed her so she can stay on my crazy lady schedule. Camden did well with the scheduled feedings and nap times, so I felt no need to switch things up with Eliza. She has started to smile and coo, which is so incredibly sweet I could squeeze her. Her smile reaches all the way to her eyes and instantly make you happy. She is always making me so happy. She loves to snuggle with mommy, but would almost rather be swaddled up sleeping in her swing. She is a binky baby (Cody says I force her to have the binky...but I do not...maybe a little when she does get fussy...). She loves it, and it is my only frustration. Any time it falls out we get a grunting wiggly baby who is trying so hard to move it back into her mouth and usually can't so I am always on the rescue. She is still as sleepy as ever. We usually are only waking one or two times a night to feed and then she is quick to fall back to sleep. No rocking necessary, which is such a nice relief when I'm in zombie mode at 3:30 am. We are loving her more and more everyday. She is such a beautiful little baby and I am so glad she is all mine. :)

Eliza Kate (one month)

 

Eliza's first month has been great! She is a sleepy head and pretty much just sleeps all day long, which has been nice while I'm busy chasing around and entertaining a toddler. So let's hope her sleepiness extends past the newborn stage. Eliza, or as I like to call her Liza Lady, is so sweet. It's so amazing how you can have one baby and give every ounce of the love you have in you to them, and then a second one along and there is miraculously even more love to give. We love her so much and I am taking advantage of her snuggles more because I know how fast they grow and soon she wont be so willing to sit with me for hours just cuddling. 

Eliza has done amazing at adjusting to life outside of the belly! She eats every three hours on the dot. She won't let you forget (like every baby) but it's amazing how on the dot she is. (Maybe that's a sign that she will be very punctual.) She has been a great little nurser, and I am hoping that we can make it longer than we did with Camden (3 months) without having any issues! So far so good! 

Camden has done a great job with the adjustment as well. Having a little sister to brag about must be fun. He is always pointing to Eliza and telling everyone "That's my baby sister." Every morning he wakes up and asks where she is and likes to peek over the basinett to make sure she really is there! He loves her, and he even shares his blankies, so that's all the proof you need. Any time Eliza cries he makes sure that I know, which comes in handy when I am in the shower and can't hear her. He already is so protective over her and is always looking to help her when she is sad. I hope that never changes. 

I am loving having a little girl. All the dresses and bows and pinks and purples. She is so fun and I can barely go into a store without looking at the baby girl section for clothes. I may have a problem. I hope I can be her friend as well as her mother. I hope she always knows that I am here for her and that I love her more than anything in the world. She is forever my little princess and I am so glad she is all mine. She is beautiful. She is perfect. I just love her so incredibly much!

Can you over snuggle a baby?..because I think I just might.

A boy and his Dad.

As much as Cody loves winter, I think him and Camden are going to have a hard time being cooped up inside these next few months. (Cody does say he is going to attempt to get Cam on the mountain and teach him how to snowboard). They had so much fun this summer and fall playing outside that I think winter is going to be a bummer.

We bought Camden a Strider bike this spring. Over the year he has gotten SO good at riding it. Cody and Camden go on bike rides around our neighborhood almost daily. Any chance they get. Camden on his bike, Cody on his skateboard. Camden likes to pretend he can "wheely" and tries to copy some of Dad's tricks. These boys are crazy. Cody has told me it's one of his favorite things in the world, and I can easily say it's Camden's too.

Recently Cody has been taking Cam to the little skate park here in Farmington. Camden cruises! He loves riding and is getting so good at balancing. It's the cutest thing.
See for yourself:

Cody is the best dad! Camden and him have such a blast, always. There is never a dull moment, and Cody never seams to be too tired or too busy to make time for his little boy. Cody is Camden's hero and he is so lucky to have such a great Daddy to look up to. Their laughter together is something I hope I never forget. I love my boys more than anything. They both bring me SO much happiness, it's unreal!

Eliza Kate

Eliza Kate

born October 24, 2014 1:44am

6 lbs. 12 oz. and 20.5 inches long

Our perfect little girl has arrived and we are beyond thrilled! She decided to come a little bit earlier than we had expected, but babies do what they want, and we are just glad that she is perfectly healthy. She is just the cutest little baby ever and we are so excited to have a new little member of the family!

Camden has been such a great big brother and is very excited to share with everyone that he has a new baby sister. He's so proud to be a brother and loves to hold her and pet her head. I was nervous that the adjustment of not being an only child would be hard for him, but he has been so excited and has really adjusted well. I find him trying to snuggle her, and sharing his special "blanky ball" (his blanket) when she cries. He's so sweet, and it's really the most heart warming thing ever. Whenever anyone comes to visit Camden immediately wants to show off his sister. We are all very excited about having her around!

The Birth Story goes like this; I had planned on being induced the Monday before Eliza's due date, which was October 27th. Cody was on a work trip to CHINA the two weeks prior to the due date. He was sent to China with Grace Co. to help with the quality control for one of their sewing machine factories. We were aware that there was a huge chance that the baby could come while he was gone, because babies come when they want to, but we both agreed that the trip was a huge opportunity and something that would really help him advance in his career once he graduated. He was gone from October 13-24. We had almost made it through the whole trip with no sign of babies arrival. I had a doctors appointment Thursday the 23rd. I had been overly nervous the last month about decreased movement so I was going to the doctors once or twice a week just to see her on the ultrasound and was put on the heart rate machine each visit to watch her heart rate. I went into the appointment not really expecting anything new, just doing the same routine as usual. The doctor put me on the heart monitor and like usual I sat in the room for twenty minutes connected to the machine that measures the babies heart rate. The doctor came in checked the little paper, had a little look of concern, and sat down and showed me that the babies heart rate had been dropping below the line of normal, but not anything that was too alarming, but that he would like to start me then. He said that he was sure that the baby was fine, but he would feel most comfortable getting her out now. Since I was already 38 weeks and 3 days inducing me then was nothing to be concerned with. Even hearing that the baby was fine, I still went in a panic. Was there something he wasn't telling me? Was my baby going to be okay? Was something wrong with her? Not only did I have all of those thoughts running through my head, I didn't have Cody there with me. I told the doctor that Cody was going to China before, and I reminded him again that he wouldn't be home until the next day. I was terrified. I was going to have a baby and Cody wouldn't even be there. I knew it could happen, so we planned on my mom being my stand in baby daddy, but I was seriously upset.

The doctor told me he would meet me at Davis Hospital after the appointment. My phone died during the appointment, so I had to use the doctors phone to call my mom and tell her that I was going to have a baby that day. I called her and broke down and she wasn't much help with her millions of panicked questions. I was scared, and all alone. I needed her to go to the house and pick up my hospital bag, get my cell phone charger so I could call Ilene to see if she could take Camden, since my original plan was to have my parents keep Camden while we were in the hospital, but because I needed my mom to be with me, we went with plan B. Luckily my mom had Ilene's phone number and was able to get a hold of her for me. Ilene was able to take Camden for me which was a relief. Her and Kim came to the hospital to meet my mom and pick up Camden. At this point I was in the delivery room and hooked up to the I.V. Kim asked if I wanted a blessing from him because Cody wasn't there to give me one. I of coarse said yes! We waited for Grandpa Howell to help with the blessing. Oddly, the same time I was going into the hospital all of Cody's side of the family was at dinner in Layton, just down the street from the hospital, so after dinner they all came to wish me luck! My dad, mom and brother came too. Once Grandpa Howell and Kim gave me the blessing I immediattly felt calm and relieved. My worries of something being wrong with the baby completely went away. I knew everything would be okay. It really was special and amazing. I felt the spirit so strongly and after that, my focus was mostly just on whether Cody was going to make it for the delivery or not.

During all of this going here at home, Cody was on his flight home from China at the very same time. So he had no idea that I was at the hospital being induced and ready to have a baby. We called and left voice mails and texted him and just hoped that he would look at his phone as soon as he got off of the plane. LUCKILY he did! When I finally got a hold of him and told him what was going on you could tell he was in a panic and really bummed. His flight from L.A. to Utah wasn't until the next day, arriving at 1:00pm. I told him to hurry and see if there were any sooner flights available. When he went to see if he could get home sooner the ticket man said there was a flight flying to Salt Lake City, but it leaves in ten minutes and the terminal is across the airport. So Cody RAN! He ran all the way from one end of the airport to the other to see if he could make it on that flight. Once he made it there, the flight had actually been delayed! (talk about a miracle!!!) He would be able to make the flight!! At first he was told that the one way ticket to Salt Lake would be $700.00!! After explaining that his wife was in labor he was able to get the ticket for $300.00!

Back at home while I waited for Cody to arrive I was put on pitocin. This time around I didn't get the epidural as fast as I did when I was in labor with Camden, so this time I was actually feeling contractions. and. they. were. PAINFUL. I don't know how in the world anyone could give birth naturally. It's awful!!! Soon after the anesthesiologist came in and asked if I wanted the epidural. Uhhh. YES! I told him I had been waiting for him, and he told me that I should have asked and he would have been there earlier... The epidural at first was only numbing my left side. I was nervous. I did NOT want to feel anything. He kept adding a bit more juice little by little, to get my un-numb side numbed and by the time it finally was (after they gave me the cathider and I was able to pee) I was probably a bit over numb. They normally aim for you to be numb, but still be able to feel some pressure so you know when to push while delivering. I could not feel a thing. And I liked it.... :) My mom and dad were the only ones with me at this point. My mom laughed at my complaints of pain, and kept telling me to breathe. (She gave birth to me and my brother naturally, and swears that breathing through your pain always helps). She was there to hold my hand as I was stuck with that big old epidural needle. I was glad I didn't have to do that alone.

Because the nurses and doctor knew that Cody was on his way, I think they prolonged the delivery a bit. They came in and checked to make sure I was ok, but never upped my pitocin or checked my dilation because they were trying to make it so Cody would be able to be here.  When they knew Cody was in the parking lot, as he was running through the hospital to get to me the nurse checked me and told me that I was ready to have this little baby! CODY MADE IT!!! I was so over-whelmed with happiness! It was really incredible and a complete miracle! He was there! I said goodbye to my mom and dad after the nurses said it was time. I pushed through one contraction. She came after the first push on my second contraction!  She was ready to make her big arrival at 1:44am! She came out crying and I couldn't be more excited to hear that little cry. I was still nervous that she would come out blue with the cord rapped around her throat, or just something else wrong with her. I had been having so many scary thoughts the last months of my pregnancy, so to have her come out perfectly perfect was such a relief. I was so happy! My little Eliza was here, and she was absolutely beautiful. I was such a happy mommy. 

We are all so happy to have Eliza here with us. I love my cute little family of four.