Strawberries and Cream Cake

1 box white cake mix

(I used strawberry with added pudding...)

1 c whole milk

8 Tbsp butter, melted

3 large eggs

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 Tbsp milk

2 c heavy (whipping) cream 

(DO NOT SUBSTITUTE ANYTHING for the cream!)

2/3 sifted powdered sugar

strawberries, sliced

(fresh or thawed & drained frozen)

1.Preheat oven to 350F. Grease two 9" round cake pans with shortening, then dust with flour.  Shake out excess flour.

2. Place cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs and vanilla in a large bowl.  Blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 minute.  Stop mixer and scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula.  Turn mixer to medium and mix 2 minutes, scraping sides down again if needed.  Divide the batter evenly into the pans and smooth out the batter.

3. Bake cakes side by side for 27-29 minutes until light brown and when lightly touched with your finger, they spring back.  Place them on wire racks to cool 10 minutes.  Run a knife around the edges of the cakes and invert onto another wire rack.  Invert them again onto a wire rack so they are right side up.  Cool completely; about 30 minutes.

4. Beat cream cheese and milk in a chilled bowl on low speed until smooth; beat in whipping cream and sugar.  Turn mixer on high, scraping bowl occasionally, until stiff peaks form. ( I made the frosting while the cakes were cooking...had to put it in the refrigerator until I was ready to use it so it wouldn't turn to mush.)

5. Cut cakes in half and layer cake, frosting and strawberries until top layer.  Use remaining frosting to frost top and sides of cake.  Decorate with strawberries if desired.  Store in refrigerator until gone!!

Kendall Leigh's 22 week Sonogram Photos!

What an amazing experience for Sean and I today...I will never forget this day as long as I live! Today is my 32nd birthday and I couldn't ask for a better gift.

Little Mini Who is Little Miss Kendall Leigh!!

Almost everyone thought Mini Who would be a boy...wrong!! :) You have no idea how excited I am to start my baby registry...Target and Toys'r'us, here I come!!

My day with Sean was awesome...we were gone for 11 hours together...had the sono, went to breakfast, Supercuts for my haircut, visited my dad, went to Carousel, had lunch, then Cold Stone Creamery ice cream (raspberry sorbet mixed with cheesecake ice cream topped w/ white chocolate chips!!!!!), then a little browsing/shopping(new maternity outfit!), then to see the new Star Trek movie...which was AWESOME by the way!! THEN we went to dinner at Pier 57 in Liverpool...had gift certificates from our anniversary last October...best restaurant experience ever. The waitresses were awesome and our waitress' birthday was today too!!!! Made her day...and I showed her the sono photos...just so great! Then we went to Lowe's to pick up mulch for my garden, then home...our kids were so happy to see us. Caitlin knew about Kendall, but she didn't spill the beans to Cara and Brendan! I ended up picking up a pink paint swatch and showing that to them to tell them...their faces both lit up. I think Brendan was a little disappointed at first that it's a girl, but he got over it very quickly!!!! He's very excited that he'll have 3 sisters!! :) I'm sure that's all he'll be talking about tomorrow in school!!

This is my favorite pic of Kendall....I think she was trying to suck on her thumb. She was active the entire time...the technician we had was great and she kept laughing at Kendall. For those who know Caitlin...can you see that same little button nose??

Kendall doesn't have a lot of fat on her yet, so try to imagine her face filled out a little. The tech said she weighs about a pound already!! I sure hope she's not another 9-pounder like Caitlin!!

A great 2-D side pic...I LOVE that little nose!

There's one of her hands...waving at us!

And of course, here's my belly...taken this morning at 22 weeks. The top of my belly button is starting to stick out...just so cute!

My ever-growing pregnant belly at 19 weeks!  Mini Who is quite the kicker now...very active!  I believe he/she can hear now and I've noticed movement when there's a loud noise.

My 19 week appointment went very well.  Mini Who's heartbeart is strong and everything looks good.  I lost 2 more pounds, but now that my morning sickness is completely gone, I'll be leveling off and starting to gain a little.  

My 2nd trimester sonogram is scheduled for May 19th at 8:30 AM...and it should be a 3-D!!!  The 19th is my birthday...you have NO idea how excited I am about this!!  Sean is also taking vacation that week, which makes it even better.  :)  Pam will be taking Caitlin for the day for us so we can celebrate my birthday together.  We'll be using our Pier 57 gift certificates finally and probably going to see a movie...it's been SO long since we've been on a date of any kind.  

I would love to surprise the kids with the sex of the baby in a special way...any ideas???  Maybe get a bunch of balloons in either pink or blue so they see them outside when they get off the bus?? 

Once we know if Mini Who is a boy or girl, I'll be starting to put together my baby registries at Target and Toys'R'US.  Pam will be throwing a baby shower for me in July...since I have nothing left from Caitlin!  We've been given a swing, a boppy pillow, a wipes warmer and a changing table so far.  We still need a crib and I would LOVE a glider rocker with stool.  I've always wanted one for the other kids, but could never afford one. 

Progress on the room has come to a halt for the time being.  Drywall is all up and mudding done...just a little more sanding to do.   The window will be replaced soon.  While Sean is on vacation, I believe he wants to get the room primered and possibly start painting!!