Thankful

Thanksgiving was a lovely affair this year, smaller in some ways, but bigger in others.  It was a really enjoyable day (we precooked a lot the day before so Poppi and Granzie came to help) and weekend really.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday - a four day weekend, and quality time with family and friends while making tasty food.  I was happy to get to host again this year, which made it easier since we had an 9 week old baby in tow.  He has been mercifully patient so it was pretty easy to work around him and still do what we needed to, despite his lack of interest in napping (sleeping at night yes, napping during the day, not so much).  C enjoyed helping some in the kitchen, but she was having more fun entertaining Granzie by far (she's really into doing ballet shows for us, complete with a tutu and some interpretive dance moves).

I also think I finally cracked my Thanksgiving breakfast dilemma with this Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal casserole - I loved it so much I made it again last week and it's super easy to make it up the night before.  Mmm....  I can't recommend it highly enough.  Might just have to do it again for Christmas... hehe.

We also finally managed to get family photos on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend with our friend Heidi.  It's something we've been putting off and I really wanted done while Jasper is still in his little squishy baby phase (he's already in 6-12mo clothes!).  I also wanted photos to put up around the house to reflect that we're a family of four now.  Heidi was great about working with C's dramatic streak and picked a great location - the park right behind our house - so it was a fun afternoon.  We had tried the previous weekend but did not adequately prepare C for the event which resulted in a banshee-like wailing choke-sobbing meltdown (I don't want to go to this new and strange park!  I hate all the 5 dresses I normally love that you picked as options for me!) and last minute cancellation.  So this time we started much earlier - picking out clothes the day before and talking about taking photos all week long.  The Saturday after Thanksgiving was perfect so I had inspiration and we took C to the park to walk around and ask her for some ideas for where we could take photos (so the park wouldn't seem like a strange place ahead of time).  That prep work paid off, although I did almost blow my top when she ran to change the agreed upon dress (she had many options we both agreed on) as we were literally walking out the door.  She came back wearing a beach coverup our friends in St Thomas had sent her last year along with a dress up headband.  And in that moment I realized we could either have family photos and remember her diva streak humorously when we look back on these pictures or we could not have photos since it was clear she was going to lose it again if we made her change (and taking the pictures naked wasn't an option).  So we rolled with it.  It was hard to let it go, but when I realized I hadn't even remembered to put on make up I just kind of threw up my hands and hoped we'd get some family photos we like that we all looked remotely happy in since our last family photos C didn't smile at all.  (Classic example of shifting expectations as second time parents perhaps?  haha!)

We managed to take advantage of our lovely weather this past weekend to get to spend a day down on Anna Maria at Poppi and Granzie's to see their Christmas decorations, play at the beach, and swim in the pool.  It was a lovely day and the sunshine was just what we needed - it was my first time in the water since Jasper's birth and his first time in the pool and at the beach.  He took it all in stride, so hopefully that means he's going to like the water like Clementine does.  I started a new Winter photos folder that has the pictures and videos from the sunny day.  And we're still adding some photos to Jasper's baby folder but I'm starting to roll him into the seasonal folders I do instead.

I can't believe it's December already... I'm having a hard time truly motivating for Christmas and am more excited about the Winter Solstice and our annual camping trip for my birthday.  With the variety of hospital bills we're getting from Jasper's birth, it's hard to get excited about buying gifts (we're having flashbacks since my ovarian cyst/miscarriage surgery was about the same time last year and also brought gifts of hospital bills).  So, we're trying to see what we can make again this year and how to be more modest and thoughtful in how we do gifts.  Now that we're coming out of the baby bubble my favorite thing is just being able to spend quality time with friends and family and getting outside (I was starting to feel like a hermit!).