Cousins

While Jared was at work

We shot bad guys



and did a little remodeling

Oops

Owen Is So Silly

Friday Finds

My Mom Joined Facebook
A Great Book
This Blog may become a book
Chicken Enchiladas

SPLASH

Crazy for Cupcakes

I found these recipes and love them! Cupcakes will definitely be part of Father's Day.


Dark Chocolate frosting from Sprinkles Bakery
INGREDIENTS
10 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 lb. unsalted butter, at room temp
1 lb. 8 oz. powdered sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Melt and cool chocolate (until just slightly warm). Beat butter until light and fluffy. With mixer on low speed, gradually add powdered sugar. Add salt, vanilla and sour cream and mix until very smooth. Add chocolate and mix until just incorporated.

*Don't over-whip and add too much air into the frosting. The consistency should be rich and dense, like ice cream!

From Ina Garten

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes (My Favorite)


12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 tablespoons brewed coffee
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup good cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows
Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.


Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream
Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.


THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA'S COCONUT CUPCAKES (Jared's Favorite)


3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

2 cups sugar

5 extra-large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

Cream Cheese Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer running on low, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In three parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each cup to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely. Frost with cream cheese icing and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

Makes 18 to 20 large cupcakes.

-- "The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook"

by Ina Garten


CREAM CHEESE ICING


1 pound cream cheese at room temperature

3/4 pound unsalted butter at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract

1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, blend together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Makes the icing for 18 to 20 large cupcakes.

Magnolia Cupcakes

Everyone is always asking us which is the most popular cupcake at the bakery. Most people are surprised that it is what we call the vanilla vanilla - the vanilla cupcake with the vanilla icing (and the most popular color for the icing is pink).

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes (depending on the size of your cupcake papers and muffin tins)

CUPCAKES:

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

ICING:

Vanilla Buttercream (recipe follows) or Chocolate Buttercream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers.

In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing. At the bakery we ice the cupcakes with either Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream.

Note: If you would like to make a layer cake instead of cupcakes, divide the batter between two 9-inch round cake pans and bake the layers for 30-40 minutes.

Kindergarten Here We Come-Please excuse the quality of the video but its hard to tape and hold a toddler

Heartbeats

Happy Monday

Summer Days

My Friday Finds

Mango Tree
Summer Reads
Take Better Pictures

Summer Things

Otter Pops
Water Balloons
Watermelon
Jack Johnson
Smores
Bob Marley
Sunscreen
Beaches
Swimming
Long Naps
Popsicles
Backyard Barbeques
Baseball Games

I love summer!

I Love Alex

The Twinkies move to Utah

One of my main responsibilities in this family has become suggesting good restaurants and places to shop. The twins are off to Utah, so I found this great website devoted to great finds in SLC. We will miss the Twins dearly, but are so happy for their new adventures and know that they will love being near Adi :) I can't wait to visit!

A Critter in the Fireplace

I woke up and there was this rattling sound in the fireplace. I freaked out and called Jared. I begged him to come home and save us from the animal that was trapped in the fireplace, but he has 300 depos this month, so he declined. I called animal control and they said they would not help out until I could actually see the animal. I do not want to see the animal, so I taped up the doors until Jar comes home.

Jaden suggested 911 and a prayer.

Memorial Day Weekend

Hair Cuts



Playing



Cleaning




Cookies



Krispy Kreme

THE DRESS

I bought the dress and I am so happy because I can just wear it! I do not have to find a cardigan, undershirt, or blazer to go with it. I heart Shabby Apple.

Mother's Day Song

-To the tune of BoM Stories

Mommy loves me all the time
And makes me yummy food
Mommy tells me waht to do
In order to be good
Even when I'm naughty, she still takes care of me
Thank you Mom for all you do for our family,

Mommy takes me palces
Like baseball and the zoo
She helps me learn things everyday
That I never know
I hope she has a happy day cause she's a real great Mom
That's the end of my first Mother's Day song.

Beach House

We just got home from the beach..it was great fun...frisbee was probably the highlight, our record was 24 thanks to jaden learning how to "catch it like a pancake" from katie (whatever that means, but it worked). We missed everybody that wasnt there. Love You! we should convince dad to rent the beach house more often

Happy Mother's Day

At twenty four I cried on Mother's Day because I wanted to be a Mom so badly. Now with two boys I cherish the role I have as mother. I love living each day with my children and getting to see life through the eyes of a child. I am grateful for the service that is involved with being a mother because I feel it has taught me more about my Savior than any other experience. I love raising my sweet family and the being a mother.

The Word of Jaden

Jaden was excited to tell us all about the Word of Wisdom on Sunday. This is what he said he learned from primary, "the Word of Wisdom is a rule that you have to eat healthy things like vegetables and meat, but only a little. Obey our parents and you have to try and be careful what you say. You can't drink coffee, beard, and smoking."

What happened to Alex's Smile?

P.S. We had a the best day in San Juan Capistrano. Come Visit and we will take you there :)

Jaden's Friend

"This is Ileanna and we are just at a park. I drew this picture and I want to always remember her. Ileanna plays with me all the time, she wears pink and sometimes she wears purple, she has hair down to her ears and its brown, my favorite thing to do is play just like kids without any parents."

I want a reason to party

I love, love, love Jones sodas and would love them even more with pics of my boys plastered all over them. Now what is a good excuse to by a case of these? Father's Day? A Baby Shower? A Birthday?

Our Morning at the Museum

I heart summer dresses

Any other favorites?

The Friday Face-Kelly

Kelly may kill me for this, but I thought it would be fun to spotlight someone on Fridays and share some facts about them. Kelly was my first victim.


Favorite Food: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Favorite Book: Siddhartha
Favorite Band:Rocky Votoalto
Favorite Place: The Beach
Favorite Color: Blue
Biggest Fear: Going Deaf
Greatest Accomplishment: Playing a Debussy Piece at the Civic Arts Plaza

I love Mr. Wizard!

Do you remember Mr. Wizard? He was the guy on PBS who did all these cool science experiments. I loved watching him and googled him to see if I could get the DVDs for my curious J (yes I am trying to raise a nerd). I hope J likes them as much as I did :)

Warning Labels

Have fun with warning labels

Grandma Julie, The Nurse and Artist

Grandma Julie was so sweet for visiting and taking such good care of all of us. She was the best pal for Jaden, made me morning muffins and worked her usual organizational magic. She also watched over Alex and helped us to nurse him back to health. We appreciate her wonderfulness and hope that she knows how much we appreciate her.

We Love You Alex! Get Better Soon!

Jar-Head's Birthday-The Barnetts and Clarks were missed terribly

Happy Birthday Jared!

April 5th is my very favorite day because its the day Jared Lynn Bryan was born. Yippee!

10 Reasons why Jared is great

1. He is the best
2. He is the sweetest husband
3. He is a wonderful Daddy
4. He makes me smile
5. He never is in a bad mood
6. He is the kindest and most polite person
7. He has an amazing work ethic
8. He is patient
9. He is cuter than Brad Pitt
10. He never complains when I sing

ultrasound

here are two of the pictures they gave us from the ultrasound. i was impressed with how clear they turned out (although the scanned version is a bit fuzzier). anyway, i just thought you would enjoy seeing them.

does anyone have any suggestions for boy names?

poprocks

I love my hat and want to wear it ALL THE TIME! Picture taken at 11:03 PM

Wicked!

Wicked was wonderful! Thanks to everyone for helping out with the boys. Jaden informed me that he wants to move back to T.O, so I am sure that they were spoiled and loved to bits.

We had a wonderful time with Bart and Randi, they treated us to Orchestra seats and we actually got to watch the entire play. We ate at a darling restaurant called Off Vine that is in an old craftsman home right off Sunset and Vine.

We may be old, but we still look cute!

Good Dreams

Me: Hey J its time to wake up
J: Not now, I'm having good dreams
Me: What are you dreaming about?
J: I am the best swimmers in all the countries.

Congrats to Kelly! She will be going to the Y in the fall! YIPPEE!

Alex is Two!

I love the way Alex looks at Jared in this clip.

The Boys (thanks for visiting)

Is it just me or did the blog get updated? I enjoy the quick link to anthropologie.....im assuming that was coleen?

GA Pics

Unique Tracklisting of A Bryan Childhood, Or, Songs On Heavy Rotation at 1531 Suffolk and in the 240D

It's No Fun Being An Illegal Alien - Genesis
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Invisible Sun - The Police
What I Like About You - Romantics
Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd
The Chain - Fleetwood Mac
A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash
Tie Me Kangaroo Down - Rolf Harrison
Rocky Raccoon - Beatles
Aqualung - Jethro Tull
Heart of Gold - Neil Young
'39 - Queen
Fortress Around Your Heart - Sting
Baba O'Riley - The Who
Moonshadow - Cat Stevens
Major Tom (Coming Home) - Peter Schilling
Suite: Judy Blue Eyes - Crosby, Stills & Nash
Talk About The Passion - R.E.M.
Games People Play - The Alan Parsons Project

Add a few of your own...

Jaden hits a base hit...

The Grass is Always Greener with Alex

Here's some info on Apraxia for anyone that 's interested.....

DAS is a speech disorder that interferes with a child's ability to correctlypronounce sounds, syllables and words. It is the loss of ability to consistently position the articulators (face, tongue, lips, jaw) for the production of speech sounds and for sequencing those sounds into syllables or words. Generally, there is nothing wrong with the muscles themselves. The child does not have difficulty with non-speech activities performed with the muscles such as coughing, chewing or swallowing. However, the area of the brain that tells the muscles how to move and what to do to make a particular sound or series of sounds is damaged or not fully developed. This makes retrieving the "motor plan" for saying a word difficult.

As a result, even though the child knows what he wants to say, he cannot say it correctly at that particular time. Sometimes he cannot even begin. Either the wrong sound comes out, or many sounds are left out all together. At that particular time, the motor plan is not accessible. These errors are not under the child's voluntary control so he often cannot correct them, even when trying his hardest. Frequently, a child will be able to produce a sound or word at one time and not be able to say is again when he wants to. A parent may hear words when the child is playing alone or when he is angry, but when asked to say the same word, he can't. This can be very frustrating for both the child and the parents.

What Causes DAS?

DAS is a neurologically based speech disorder. It is caused by subtle brain impairment or malfunctioning. No one currently know exactly what this brain impairment is or what causes it. Theories range from supposing the impairment is a very specific small injury or difference in the speech area of the brain to saying that is a very diffuse change that is not possible to isolate.

Although some children with DAS have had specific birth or prenatal injuries or periods without oxygen, most DAS children have nothing in their birth or prenatal histories that would suggest a possible cause of the DAS. It is interesting that there are a great deal of similarities in the histories of children with DAS, however, it has not been shown that any one or any specific combination of factors is responsible for the DAS. At this time, we simply do not know what causes DAS.
What are some of the main characteristics of DAS?

For a young child with DAS, a limited speech sound repertoire is frequently the main characteristic of his speech. This simply means that the child has very few speech sounds that he can use automatically so he frequently uses a simple syllable (such as da) to stand for almost everything.

If the child has gotten to a level where he can use several different consonants and is actually talking, the main characteristic of the DAS is inconsistency. A child with DAS is likely to have inconsistent speech errors and speech capability. For instance, he may be able to say a /p/ sound at the beginning of words as long as the /p/ is followed by an /o/, yet, he may not be able to say it if followed by an /e/. Or, maybe he can only say a /p/ at the beginning of a word if the word also ends in a /p/ as in pop. Another example could be that the child can say a /p/ word just fine by itself, but if there is a /t/ word in front of it, the /p/ becomes a /t/( so two pan is said two tan).

Perhaps he can say short single words well, but as soon as he uses two or three words in a row, he drops all the ending sounds. These inconsistencies can easily lead to confusion on the part of both the child and the parent. The child learns that he cannot trust himself to communicate his ideas well, and the parent may wonder whether the child is just being careless or lazy.

The length of a phrase as an adverse effect on articulation. Generally, the longer the utterance, the worse the speech accuracy. A child may be able to say syllables and short words fairly well but be impossible to understand in phrases or sentences.

Apraxic children are usually better at imitating speech than at saying words spontaneously. If you ask a child to say a words right after you, he is likely to say it more accurately than if he said it without your model.

Anxiety may affect a child's ability to speak well. For all of us, performing is more difficult than talking. Under stress, the ability to retrieve motor plans becomes more challenging. A child may be able to say a word or phrase well in a relaxed setting but, when he is "put on display" and asked to " Tell Grandma...", the plan for saying that word or phrase is not accessible, and the child fails.

Children with DAS may also lose words. Parents frequently report that the child "used to say that, but doesn't anymore". This is another example of the motor plan for a word or phrase being unavailable to the child.

Exactly how often the child should have speech therapy will vary according to the individual needs of each child. Children with CAS who have severely unclear or little speech and are more severely affected will require more therapy than those who have milder apraxia. Typically, experienced SLP’s will suggest that a child with moderate to severe apraxia of speech have 3 – 5 times a week of individual speech therapy. Other considerations may have to do with the extent to which the child will practice at home with their parents or caregivers; how much the child can individually tolerate; how frequently the parents can bring their child to speech therapy, etc.

As a child begins to make progress in their ability to produce speech that is understood by others, the amount and frequency of therapy can be adjusted accordingly. Another consideration will be the extent to which other speech and language issues are present in addition to the apraxia of speech.

Speech therapy for a child in which motor planning and programming (CAS) is felt to be the major contributor to the speech problem will involve a number of “key” principles. This is not to suggest that there is one method that is effective. There are a number of features of speech therapy that appear to be most successful to children with apraxia of speech. These features include:

principles of “motor learning” such as a high degree of practice and repetition, correction and feedback, slowed rate, and a focus on targeted motor placement and productions
Increased sensory input for control of the movement sequences and sensory cueing such as visual, tactile, and kinesthetic cueing; touch cueing; verbal cueing.
use of rhythm and melody
focus on speech sequences versus individual sounds
Many experienced speech-language pathologists use multiple methods and approaches rather than a "one approach fits all" notion, taking many of the methods mentioned above and using them based on the individual child's needs. There is no one "program" that is right for every child with apraxia of speech. Commercial products, programs, or kits can be tools for use in therapy by a SLP who understands the nature of apraxia and how to treat it. However, such programs alone are not the solution.

Children with apraxia of speech reportedly do not progress well in their actual speech production with therapy tailored for other articulation problems or with language stimulation approaches. Additionally, in young children the motor/sensory techniques and repetitions of words and target phrases should be woven into play activities that are highly motivational to them. What experienced therapists and families report is that children with apraxia need frequent one-on-one therapy and lots of repetition of sounds, sound sequences, and movement patterns in order to incorporate them and make them automatic.

In addition, many therapists recommend the use of sign language, picture books, and other means to augment speech in the child who is not clearly understood. This approach may be called "total communication." Having the child pair a vocal word attempt with a sign enhances the chance that the listener will be able to "catch" the communication (if the spoken word isn't understood, perhaps the sign will be). Having others understand the communication can offer the child motivation and the feeling of success in using their voice to communicate.

Many children with apraxia of speech, even at young ages, have some awareness of their difficulty. Providing successful communication experiences only encourages the child. Also, for children with apraxia of speech, signs can become important visual cues to help them know how to place their mouths, etc. in order to produce the desired word. When pairing of spoken word and sign is consistent, the child may come to associate the visual image of the sign with the placement of their articulators. In a few children, sign may not be appropriate. For example, for some children signing might be too distracting or their ability to consistently form a sign may be impaired.