So remember how I promised a massive post was coming soon? Well that was two weeks ago...yeah, I fail. I seriously under-estimated how busy the holidays were going to be...or seriously over-estimated how productive I'd be. Take your pick! Nonetheless, I completely missed Ethan's 4 month post and the holiday posts I'd planned to write. Bummer. Never fear, though- I am going to do a quick catch up and get right back on the wagon. :-)
Thanksgiving 2010 was absolutely lovely! We hosted it at our house and both sides of our family came up (having the first and only grandbaby provides a bit of leverage, heh heh). I cooked the entire meal from scratch and loved it! I really liked being able to put my own spin on the Thanksgiving classics, and I'm pleased to say that everything turned out great. My one regret is that I didn't get one. single. picture. Of anything! Not the food, not the people, not even of Ethan in his precious little Thanksgiving onesie! I set a beautiful table with rented linens and fresh flowers and fall leaves...not one picture to show off! So here's the menu I used: I decided that since I'm the only person in our family who eats dark meat (they're all crazies!), a whole turkey would go to waste. So I bought a breast and made a turkey roulade, a la Ina Garten (you basically roll up the turkey breast around the stuffing, like a jelly roll). I'm telling you, if loving that woman is wrong, I don't wanna be right! The stuffing had sausage, pine nuts, mushrooms...oh, it was so so good! I also made mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce using the recipes of another woman I love, The Pioneer Woman, Gran's yeast rolls (which I was the most intimidated about because she doesn't use recipes), roasted brussels sprouts, roasted carrots and parsnips, and gravy. And for dessert THREE (count that, THREE) pies: apple, for my beloved; pecan, for my dad; and pumpkin, because the Bible says you've gotta have something pumpkin on Thanksgiving. OK, so I lied about that. But it is a pretty set in stone rule in my family. I loved spending the day in the kitchen, and having my whole family around one table, laughing and talking. But do you know what I loved even more? My mom and mother-in-law were like little kitchen elves who spirited away every. single. dirty. dish. These dainty little hands of mine touched nary a sud of dish soap. It was magical. I wish I had that kind of service all the time! :-)
Christmas was also great, but yet again, I did not take a single picture. Ironically, I made extra sure to bring our camera AND the camera battery charger, because I just knew we were going to be taking SO many pictures it'd need to be recharged...oh, well. You know what they say about the best laid plans! I just got so caught up in the moment, I didn't stop to think about a camera until it was too late. Hey, it happens to John Mayer too. In all seriousness though, I hate that I don't have pictures of Ethan's first Christmas! Luckily, I've got lots of memories, but it still bums me out. NEXT TIME I will get the camera out before everything starts. Or better yet, I will delegate camera duties to someone who isn't a primary caregiver! Anyhow, the trip to Tampa was Ethan's first time away from home, and he traveled like a champ. We left as soon as it got dark (around 6), in the hopes that since he sleeps through the night at home, he'd sleep the whole way down...and he did, there and back! It made for a very quick trip- we've never made such good time (Clay and I usually stop, but didn't this time for fear of waking the babe). I wish I could say he slept as well while we were actually there- let's just say a Pack-n-Play is no substitute for a real crib. And I forgot the noise machine, which I think helps him sleep better too. But even though he was waking up more than normal, we all still got plenty of sleep. He had a couple of nasty teething days toward the end of the trip- I felt so bad for him! Although he'd been teething for at least a month (the drool all over everything I possess is proof), he hadn't really had any gum pain until then. Thank goodness for Oragel! But the crazy thing is that he hasn't had any since...? I don't know what's up with that, but I'm certainly not complaining.
So, since the 2010 holidays were photographically an epic fail for me, this will be a picture-free post. But my next post will be Ethan's 4/5 month update, so it'll be FULL of photos, since I take lots of pictures when it isn't that important! ;-) Stay tuned!!
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