Thanksgiving Practice

Jon & I have been lucky so far--he's always had enough vacation for us to go home for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Which means I've never had to cook a turkey. Hooray! Before we left Iowa, Spencer & Adrian had us over for a delicious turkey dinner. It was, hands down, the best turkey I have ever had. Plus, it was a lot of fun to eat a big meal with our friends. Well, we decided we'd give it a try this year. We begged Spencer and Adrian for turkey cooking instructions (which were FABULOUS), bought a turkey, and invited some friends to come glut themselves with us.

I was nervous about how the whole thing would go down, especially with Seth there to add some excitement (like starting to cry right in the middle of my turkey rub-down when both arms are coated in raw turkey juice). Things worked out really well, though. The turkey was done a little early, I had time to make gravy from the drippings (how domestic am I?), Jon did a very professional carving job, and the only thing that didn't turn out well was the corn, but that wasn't my fault. It was just a bad batch of corn.

Let me just say this: You are jealous of our dinner. Everything was delicious (and there were TONS of leftovers). Special fabulousness awards go to: us--for the turkey, Carlos and Marley--for the stuffing and homemade pecan pie, Krystal, Shawn & Tori--for the homemade key lime pie. We were all quite fat and happy by the end. Seth and Tori, despite missing out on all the delicious food, were both very good. We ended the night with a game of Acquire which Marley dominated even though she'd never played before. It was a fabulous evening and a fun tradition we will hopefully be able to continue.

Aunt Lori comes to visit

Check out the jowls on this kid

Aunt Lori is a smart woman. When she realized that she'd have to fight off grandparents, great-grandparents, and three adoring aunts in order to hold Seth during Thanksgiving, she decided to come visit us in advance. She flew all the way across the country so she could have a week of Seth all to herself. Of course, she got to see me and Jon, too, but we're not nearly as fun as Seth.

I have to admit--we were pretty boring hosts. Our one adventure was to take Lori to Kilgore Falls to enjoy the changing colors. She was the marvelous photographer who took the family picture at the top of our blog. That was pretty much the extent of our touristing--we spent the rest of her time here just hanging out. Or, rather, she hung out with Jon and Seth while I went to lots and lots of meetings for Young Women (which, thankfully, have slowed down).

It was so fun to have someone around to help with Seth during the day. He doesn't get held as much as he'd like to when I'm around--after all, 17 pounds is a lot of baby. Plus, there was someone to watch him so I could shower--hallelujah!! Lori was so good with him--she taught him how to bring his feet together for easier grabbing, and how to do day trading with her stocks. She had a really hard time leaving him to go to NYC, but at least we got to see her again during Thanksgiving!

Double Tag

I was tagged by Ashlee and Rachelle (who happen to be my two best friends from growing up in Logan--one day I will post pictures that will embarrass us all).

First, for Ashlee:

Eight TV shows I like to watch:
1. LOST
2. The Office
3. X Files
That's about it. Not having TV really puts a damper on your TV watching...

Eight things that happened yesterday:
1. Seth did NOT sleep until 5 am
2. I prepared my lesson for YW and then didn't have to give it
3. Managed to play for the choir performance despite not practicing all week
4. Ate Thanksgiving leftovers (post to come once I can steal the picture off Krystal's blog)
5. Took a nap--THANK YOU, Jon
6. Made tuna pie for dinner. It's good--trust me.
7. Realized that Jon only has 17 more days of work this year
8. Was up every hour or so with a sick baby last night

Eight favorite places to eat (not in order of preference):
1. Olive Garden (braised beef tortelloni...yum....)
2. Nico's Tacos
3. the place that sells lobster bisque at Chelsea Market in NYC
4. Red Lobster during all-you-can-eat shrimp
5. Spencer & Adrian's house
6. Macayo's
7. Ruby Tuesday (solely for the avocado ranch dressing)
8. Panda in SLC

Eight things I am looking forward to:
1. Going home on Wednesday for Thanksgiving!
2. Going to WV for Christmas
3. Seth sleeping through the night (soon, I hope)
4. First snow of the year
5. Buying a KitchenAid
6. Jon coming home from work
7. Quantum of Solace. Hooray!
8. Getting a new computer

Eight things that I wish for
1. Kitchen cabinets that aren't pink
2. To be independently wealthy
3. Seth to sleep through the night (yes, I can put this in both categories)
4. A house with a big yard
5. Sleep
6. A chance to visit Europe and Israel
7. To live closer to family one day
8. Dinners that cook themselves

And, for Rachelle:

The fourth picture from the fourth folder in my albums:This is Marah & Jon touching the Mississippi River by Nauvoo in July of 2007. Marah came to visit for a week or so while we lived in Davenport, Iowa. Nauvoo was two hours away, so we went and did baptisms and some tours with her.

Ta da! Now off to do some important things (like emptying the dishwasher).

New Couches!

Yeah, we've had these for a few weeks now, but I'm just getting around to putting pictures up.

We think they look pretty, pretty nice.

It runs in the family...

Apparently Seth has a competitive streak already. This is what happened when he didn't like what his dad was doing during a game of Acquire:

4 months...really quickly...

So I have about ten billion things to be doing that don't involve blogging, but here I am anyway! I have a whole bunch of pictures to post from Aunt Lori's visit so far, but that will have to wait until Young Women STOPS TAKING OVER MY LIFE. Seriously.

Seth officially turned 4 months old yesterday and had his doctor's appointment. He weighed in at 17 pounds and is now 25 inches long. Apparently he's slowing down on the weight gain and picking up some height (he grew almost two inches last month). Getting his shots was horrible--it bothered me even more this time because he's old enough to KNOW that someone is hurting him. After we got home, he started screaming when I laid him on his changing table because he thought he was getting more shots. Poor Chubster.

In other news, Seth has officially gone from 9 to 5am without eating for THREE days in a row now. Granted, one of those nights was a drug-induced sleep and one night he was up three times before 5am wanting his pacifier, but STILL! I take what I can get, dang it.

Seth's accomplishments for 4 months include:

*grabbing things, especially Mom's hands, mouth, and eyeballs

*FINALLY lifting his head during tummy time

*having enough head control to ride in a hiking backpack

*being able to play in his jump-a-roo (except he's too short, so we have to put books under his feet. And he doesn't actually jump--he just stands. But, hey, he's happy).

*officially growing out of his 3-6 month clothes

*gnawing on his fist (and getting really mad when he can't do that and suck his pacifier at the same time).

His pediatrician was very impressed with his head control and standing abilities. He's one strong little guy. We're also starting to let him cry at night now, which breaks my heart. I was all for it at 3 months, but now I'm wimping out. It's only for 20 minutes, but still... Sometimes being a mom is terrible.

Experimenting, again...

Momomom!!!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful, wonderful Mom. I wish we could be there to celebrate with you (give us two weeks!). I could spend all day sitting here listing the reasons why she's the best mom in the world. Seriously. And I AM getting you a present, no matter what you say. We'll just say it's from Seth--and he doesn't compromise. Trust me.

I love you, Mom.