Thanksgiving day started out with Nicole and Sean arriving from Humboldt. Because they both had to work Wednesday night and didn't want to drive in the icky weather, they got up early Thursday morning to head to Rohnert Park. We were all very excited for their arrival. It wasn't long before the guys began setting up their turkey deep frying area (Josh takes jobs like this very seriously...if he has a project in mind, he makes sure to do it just right). Due to the possibility of rain, a pop up tent was set up after our front yard cleared of Hannah's play structure, etc..., next a layer of plastic was laid, followed by a sheet of plywood and then topped with sand (to soak up any extra grease). The turkey was strung up through a ladder by a pulley system. The night before Josh cleaned the turkey, injected it with a recipe he got online and then put a rub on it. After all this preparation the actual deep frying process
was only 35 min. =)
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The guys hanging out while the turkey cooks...Hannah took a break
from blowing bubbles to join the picture |
Our dinner consisted of the turkey (which turned out great!!) I would totally recommend trying it...this was our second time (the first was about 5 years ago). This was the first time Josh tried an injection and it made the flavor of the turkey so good! I made the mashed potatoes (my favorite part of the meal), we had sweet potatoes, ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, homemade biscuits and fruit salad. My mother-in-law made a delicious pumpkin pie, berry pie and pumpkin pecan pie.
Nicole and I finally got some pregnancy pictures together (now that we're both starting to show). I'll be 20 weeks tomorrow (half way there) and she's 25 1/2 weeks. The time is flying by and it's crazy to think next year we'll have two little babies crawling around at Thanksgiving.
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| Love you mom! |
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| Couldn't ask for a better mother-in-law |
Pictured below are the turkey and some homemade french fries,
just before entering the deep fryer.
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| Family picture |
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| Love my sweet girl (with her mischievous looking smile) |
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| Posing for a pic with her Auntie and Uncle....another silly smile from Hannah |
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| The loves of my life |
Hannah was sooo excited to decorate her first gingerbread house with her Nonnie the day after Thanksgiving. She was very careful while spreading the frosting and meticulous with where she placed each piece of candy. Afterwards she was very proud of her house and since building it has admired it every day, yet has not wanted to eat any of it. =)
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| Hannah and her Nonnie |
Hannah got to make Monkey Bread for the first time with her Auntie. She enjoyed her job of rolling the dough in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. She was careful to make sure each piece was completely covered before placing in the pan.
Following a breakfast casserole and monkey bread, we all showered and headed out the door to the Petaulma Outlets. Once arriving we split off into groups...Josh and Sean to the Nike Outlet (of course!) Nicole & my mom to Motherhood Maternity (for some new clothes for my sis) and my dad and I to find shoes to go with Hannah's New Years Eve dress for Sarah's wedding. We were all successful! :) After multiple stores we met up for a mid-shopping break at the coffee shop and over the course of a couple hours Hannah got to play not once, but twice at the playground. After the Outlets the girls headed home to put Hannah down for a nap & the guys went off to disc golf. Our weekend also consisted of celebrating my parents anniversary by going out to dinner at the Little New Yorker (such great Italian food!); organizing Hannah's room with the help of my mom and sis and the guys heading up to Booneville for some Frisbee golf and lunch. It was hard to see my family go Sunday knowing we'll be in Rohnert Park for Christmas this year. However, I know the days will fly by until we'll up there to celebrate a late Christmas together and ring in the New Year.
Below is a pic of Hannah waiting to begin her first swim lesson on her own. I'll share more pics and stories soon!
This year I turned 32 on December 3rd. As I get older I honestly lose track of how old I am...does that make me sound old or what? :) Turning 32 didn't feel much different that turning 31, except this year we weren't able to do my annual birthday charter bus ride to various breweries over Sonoma County due to the fact that I'm pregnant (a good reason to give up drinking on my birthday). :) Next year we'll be able to resume my birthday tradition! My birthday actually started on Wednesday with my gift from Hannah and Josh. Josh had wanted to surprise me on Saturday with an IPhone 4S, however when he went down to the apple store to buy it, they wouldn't let him leave the store without activating it...well that is unless he paid full price for it. (His plan was to give it to me Saturday and then we'd go activate it together....this plan would cost $500, the original price of the phone, so he went with Plan B and activated the phone right then and to my dismay :) had to give me my phone Wednesday night. 
Hannah has been doing so well with swim lessons. She started out day 1 not wanting to get off the steps. She was perfectly content watching her instructor Hailey take all the other kids out into the water, but didn't want to have anything to do with it. She started off lesson #2 acting the same way, so Josh and I told Hailey to just take her out whether she wanted to or not. She cried until she got to the other end pool and by the time Hailey had her there she was smiling. Lessons have gone so well ever since. Since lesson 2, she's participated in everything and has done it all with a big smile on her face. Her last lesson for this session is tomorrow and we've already decided to sign her up for the next session in January. Her being a strong swimmer is so important to us. 
