Happy Thanksgiving

This year's Thanksgiving was really special to me for a couple of reasons.  First of all, Greg and I hosted at our house.  And second, I got to use my Granny's heirloom china for the very first time.  As I said in the last post, I had spent weeks planning each little detail and I was so excited that it all came together so nicely.  Dennis, Janet, Ryan, Cindy, and Jillian were all there with us and the ladies were an immense help in the kitchen.  Whew, I couldn't have pulled it off without them!  Unfortunately, I didn't get to spend the holiday with my side of the family (Mom in Missouri with my brother and Dad working) but I had them all in my thoughts the entire time.  The food was delicious and everyone was in a very festive mood.  Who could ask for anything more?

I realize there are a boatload of food pictures here.  I'm sorry.  I was really excited:

 This is baked Brie with molasses and balsamic vinaigrette and almonds on top.  DE.  LISH.

 And here's the recipe in case that tickled your fancy:

 The grown-up table...

 and the kid table...

After we let our food digest a little, we headed over to Mimi's house to take some pictures of Jillian for their Christmas card.  I was so honored that Cindy asked me to do it and of course, Jillian was adorable!  I'll show a couple that didn't make the final cut but were still just as cute as could be!

So, now it's on to Christmas (my absolute favorite) and Sunday afternoon was spent putting Christmas lights on the house and decorating the tree.  Nicholas was squealing...SQUEALING...as he watched me pull all the Christmas trimmings out of the storage boxes.  This was the first year that he was able to actually help me and that boy was completely thrilled about it.  He was the cutest thing in the world, pulling out the ornaments with very gentle hands and picking just the right spot on the tree for them.  Santa Claus also dispatched his elf scout to our house yesterday while Nicholas was taking his nap so hopefully there will be lots of good behavior for him to report to Santa each night. I couldn't stop smiling as I watched him looking up at that little elf sitting curiously on the mantle, shyly telling him what he wanted for Christmas.  We haven't come up with the perfect name for him yet but we'll find a goodie, I'm sure.   This week is pretty full with a trip to the mall to visit Santa and also the Christmas parade in downtown Edmond, so check back for an update soon.  Yes, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas and the fun is just getting started!!

(I have to admit that I spent most of the day yesterday in tears.  It seemed like everytime I turned around I was tearing up about something and getting all mushy over the littlest things.  I was just so happy to have been able to share the holiday with family and take a little time to relish in life's blessings.  My son is amazing and growing faster than I'd like sometimes and every day that passes brings more happiness to my life.  I think it really hit me when he was helping me decorate the house for Christmas and I realized that I was standing right in the middle of one of those moments you dream about your whole life.  The happiness I felt at that realization was palpable.  I may be a little sappy sometimes but I will never be sorry for that.  I will proudly wear my heart on my sleeve and carry a big box of kleenex at all times.)

Family Pictures

Since I'm usually the one taking the pictures, it's very rare that we have a family picture taken of all three of us together.  But, with the holidays coming around comes the excitement of planning your annual Christmas card. And this year I knew I wanted to have a new family picture to go smack dab on the front of it.  Luckily, I have a mother who is extremely talented at just about anything you ask her to do who offered to take a few pictures of us last weekend.  I am unbelievably happy with the result and it feels great to have a few pictures of me and my boys that I intend to keep close to my heart until I'm old and gray.  There aren't a whole bunch of them because I promised Greg I'd keep it short and sweet, but I love them anyway.  So, here we were.  The three of us in 2011.  (Official Christmas card picture withheld, of course.  Be watching your mail!)

 

 And of course, I had to grab the camera and take a few solo shots of Nicholas. 

I just can't resist!  He's turned out to be quite the willing model lately.

Holiday Preppin'

There just hasn't been a whole lot happening for us these last few weeks but I thought I better blog something anyway, just for memory's sake.  Lately I've become obsessed with Instagram on my iPhone, which is where I post the majority of my random phone pics these days.  A lot of friends and family also have the app and it's just a fast and easy way for all of us to keep up with each other's lives, whether near or far.  So, as a quick catch up I thought I'd blog some of those photos for you.  Another blogger I follow does a weekly collage of all her Instagram pictures, which she calls her "Friday Phone Dump", so I thought I'd borrow her idea to make it neat and tidy.  We're gearing up for the holidays so there will undoubtedly be plenty of pictures and stories to come.  Nicholas is uber excited to see Santa in a few weeks and tell him all of the awesome toys he wants for Christmas.  He's gotten very good at circling ideas in the toy catalogs that come in the mail and anytime he sees one he wants to add to his wishlist, he tells Greg or I "go get your pen".  The other day he saw a cool toy in a commercial on TV and wanted Daddy to cirle it for him on the screen.  Cracked me up!  Last night he wanted to watch any cartoons I could find about Santa or Christmas (thank heaven for Netflix instant streaming!) and he also wanted to make sure I remembered that the Elf on the Shelf should be here soon.  This is definitely the age when Christmastime gets really fun and I'm beyond excited about it.  My love of Christmas has grown even more because of him, if that's possible!  But Thanksigivng is up first and I'm ready for a giant meal of delicious foods.  Ryan, Cindy, and Jillian are coming up from Texas and we're having the dinner at my house this year.  I'm a little anxious about pulling it all together but I've got lots of help and a very detailed cooking plan of attack, so we should be good to go.  Fingers crossed!

I'm fotohawk on Instagram so follow me if you don't already!

Halloween Finale

Well, you've already seen it a few times by now but here is Nicholas in his costume once again - the "official" Halloween night pictures.  We had a fabulous time visiting grandparents and Mommy's work, and then trick or treating down our street.  Unfortunately, Greg had to work but he made it home for dinner and the first round of nieghborhood kids in search of candy.  We had such a great lead-up to Halloween that I'm a little sad to see it go.  But Nicholas isn't complaining because he's now free to wear his costume and helmet anytime he likes.  Happy Halloween 2011!

 Posing with Daddy's Jack-O-Lanterns.  He always carves great ones! 

 Maxwell looked awesome!  His mommy splurged for the higher quality Buzz costume

and it too was worth the expense.  He was the best Buzz I've ever seen!

Jillian Comes to Town

This last weekend, Jillian made a visit to Oklahoma with her mommy and daddy.  Nicholas has missed his cousin so much over the past few months and has asked to see her almost daily.  So you can imagine how thrilled he was to see her walk through the door Friday night!  Big hugs all the way around!  We had so much fun while they were here with a trip to the Orr Family Farm on Saturday and a trick-or-treating practice run on Saturday night.  Cindy amazed us all once again with Jillian's handmade costume which was a Princess Butterfly.  Absolutely precious!