Ava the Baker!

Today was an Awesome day!  I realized once again that I am so, so, so blessed to have my family and the ability to be a stay at home mom.  Some days are tough and sometimes I really want to scream, but then there are the little moments that make my heart melt and I forget about my struggles because in the end THIS is all worth it..... 

Flash back to earlier: 

I was cleaning the bathroom and of course my little helper was RIGHT there to help me.  As I was cleaning the tub, she threw her toys into the tub.  I guess she thought it was time for Momma's bath.  I held her hand while I cleaned the toilet for fear that she would want to help me scrub.  That of course didn't matter because she found the toilet brush and drug that across half the bathroom.  Then I started moving her back into the living room and I would run back to the bathroom and clean for .27 seconds before my helper was back. I did that about 6 times before I finally shut the bathroom door so I could clean in peace.  I only had the sink and counter to clean.  And as I was scrubbing my helper was banging on the door. And screaming. Banging. Screaming.  And my heart broke.  I felt guilty that I was so worried about cleaning that I kinda put Ava on the back burner.  So I opened the door.  Scooped up my sweet girl.  Wiped away her tears.  Told her I was sorry.  And that we were going to do something special.  Just the two of us.

So we decided to make Pumpkin Bars.  

Adding the sugar to the eggs.

Exploring.

Watching the Kitchen Aid work its magic.

Adding Cinnamon to the flour.

  

Being Silly.

Eating left over traces of baking soda.

Maybe the spoon was not a good idea...

Oh she's got this...

Yeah that is a hand in the dry ingredients...

Oh never mind. She can handle it.

Yeah the hand is back in the bowl.

This is where she puts her Baker's magic into the batter... With her hand of course.

Nap time while the bars are baking and cooling.

Time to make the icing!

She did not prepare anything else after rubbing her nose.

Pumpkin Bars for Snack.

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

Ava's Pumpkin Bars

Bars:

• 4 eggs
• 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

My Little Helper