Thanksgiving 2011

I have so much to be thankful for this year!  Of course, Thanksgiving isn't the only day we should be thankful, and in my heart and mind I am thankful to God every single day...but because it's Thanksgiving I like to make it a point to let others know that I'm thankful for them.  It's bittersweet because this is the first Thanksgiving with my dad gone, and also Abigail's first Thanksgiving.  But again, I'm just really thankful for every one in my life and every thing I have, and I'm thankful for my past and all my experiences that have made me the person that I am.  I'm also definitely thankful for everything that I'm not--  I'm not poor, I'm not homeless, I'm not sick, I'm not sad, and I'm not lonely.  It's so easy to take all of that for granted.  I know I am so blessed.

In terms of plans for Thanksgiving, this year is different from past years because I really needed to step up and take charge with cooking and making sure everything comes together for my family.  The morning started with Michael dropping me & Abbie off at my mom's at 9 so that my sister and I could get straight to work.  The plan was to cook a 23 pound turkey, a 10 pound ham, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, a modified green bean casserole, and a pumpkin pie.  With only 1 oven and tons of things to cook, I was really nervous...especially since I've never made a Thanksgiving dinner before.  I was so novice, in fact, that up until it was time to head over to my mom's house, I was watched YouTube videos on how to cook Thanksgiving dinner.  haha

My sister made the stuffing and I prepped the turkey.  Since it needed to cook so long, you'd think we'd have lots of latent time to just hang out.  Quite the opposite.  We were running around trying to figure out how to get everything cooked, especially since everything needed to be done in the oven and my mom's oven is small.  Still not quite sure what I did, but I must have done something right, because dinner was SOOOOOOO AMAZING!  Everything was cooked and done on time.  :)

Massaging the turkey with all sorts of spices

Turkey came out sooo moist and juicy, and the cornbread stuffing was TO DIE FOR!  :)

Ham with my mom's brown sugar glaze recipe

Modified green bean casserole (we added carrots & mushrooms too)

Abbie hanging out while everyone ate dinner

Eating her first Thanksgiving dinner - Turkey and Sweet Potato baby food

SO thankful for my family

Hanging out with family

Our Little Stinker :)

Today we went to a portrait studio to get some pictures of Abbie in her Halloween costume-- a skunk. :)  We probably won't be going trick or treating, but still wanted to commemorate her first Halloween by getting some pictures done.  It was an annoying experience today because the studio was over booked with lots of families also trying to get Halloween pictures done.  Our appointment was supposed to be at 12:10, and we were prepared to have Abbie "ready" at 12:10....but because of the studio's unwise decision to book appointments too close to each other, with not enough time to work with each customer, they were reaaaallllyyy backed up.  Our appointment was delayed almost 40 minutes!  Anyone with a baby knows that that is NOT good.  :(  Abigail was a real trooper.  Can't blame her for getting tired and falling asleep....or for getting cranky when we woke her up because the photographer was finally ready for us.  But even though it was a crappy experience at the studio, we still got a few super cute pictures of our little stinker :)

Abigail's first 4th of July

Yesterday was Abigail's first holiday-- Independence Day!  We spent the day BBQing at my mom's house.  It was a nice day spent with family and good food while basking in the air conditioning.  We rarely turn on the air conditioner in our apartment since it's so expensive, so it was nice.  :)

Just a couple pictures from our day with our happy girl...

...of couse, "Charlie" was there too :)

The only thing that was missing from yesterday was fireworks.  I love fireworks, but Abbie hates them because they really scare her.  Where we live, there have been people firing off the illegal fireworks in the days leading up to July 4th and whenever she heard them, she would get scared.  That's why it was also kind of ideal that we were at my mom's house because it's illegal to use fireworks there, and the nearest firework show was at least several miles away.

Michael's first Father's Day

Yesterday, to celebrate Michael's first Father's Day, we went with my family to Orange Hill for their Champagne Brunch.  It's a really nice fine dining restaurant on top of a hill that overlooks most of Orange County.  That was actually also the restaurant where Michael proposed to me five years ago.  Their food is really good, and brunch yesterday was no exception!  Their brunch is a buffet, and they had so many things, I don't even think we got to try half of what they had.  My family and I had been there before for their brunch for my brother's 21st birthday, but yesterday was Michael's first time going for brunch.  I'm so glad he loved it.  Also...Abigail was sooo good the whole time we were eating.  She slept for most of it, and when she woke up, she just sat there very quietly looking around and staring at her toys that hang off of her carrier.  Such a good girl!  :)

Afterwards, we all went to Forest Lawn in Cypress to visit my dad and brought some fresh flowers to put on his grave.  While we were there, we also visited my Uncle Gerry's grave.  He had passed away just last May, a victim of cancer.  Then my family and my Uncle Gerry's family came over to my mom's house, where we all just hung out for a while.

Michael originally was scheduled to work because his request to be off was denied...so he called out.  It was  a good day, and I'm so glad that we got to spend it together.  

Daddy and Abbie <3