Thankful

So this year I'm hosting Thanksgiving.  Now it's only me, my husband, my son, my brother, and my mother-in-law.  So, it's nothing too crazy.  But, I planned the menu and have started baking.  Yesterday I made a Pumpkin Cheesecake from a recipe I found on a college friend's blog.  It's now sitting in the fridge waiting to be eaten.  Today, I'm making some dinner rolls that I call Butterhorns that I found here.  Then, I'm heading to the Costco to get a brisket to put in the crockpot   My husband will smoke the brisket for a couple hours and I'll finish it in the crockpot   He'll also smoke a turkey breast.  Then, I'll make my yummy mashed potatoes, green beans with bacon, and my mother-in-law is bringing sweet potatoes.  I decided not to make stuffing or cranberries.  Oh, I even made a pumpkin french toast casserole to put in the oven in the morning.

This year has definitely been one to be thankful for.  It's hard to be believe that this time last year, we were waiting to meet Little Bear.  I'm so thankful for him and the joy that he has brought to our lives.  I'm thankful for our family's health, home, food, good jobs, extended family, friends, a good church, our marriage, and so much more.  I tend to complain about what I don't have, but yet what I do have far outweighs what I don't have.

Now that we have Little Bear, I want to start some family traditions for Thanksgiving.  I want to make a special breakfast (I hope the french toast casserole turns out), I want to have certain things for the main meal, and I want to have some special activities.  One of the main activities we do is actually the day after Thanksgiving.  We go look for our Christmas tree.  We go to an actual Christmas tree farm and walk around fields of trees searching for the perfect one.  Then Mark chops it down himself.  Last year I was 2 days shy of being 40 weeks pregnant when we looked for our tree.  This year, we get to have Little Bear with us to pick out the perfect one.  Since he loves being outdoors, I think he'll really enjoy looking for a tree.  I'm just curious how he'll do with the tree once it's in the house and decorated.

What are your family traditions?

Here are a few pics of what Little Bear has been up to lately.  Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

First time on the carousel

walking at the playground - he cries every time we leave

lunch date with mom at Chick-Fil-A

pumpkin cheesecake - I plan on hiding the cracks with whipped topping

Yummy butterhorns (dinner rolls)

Little Bear points out what he wants for his birthday or Christmas

hangin' out with the dolphin

such a big boy riding the dolphin by himself

playing with Daddy's shoes and cap

fun with Dad's cap at dinner

"walking" in Daddy's shoes

11 Months Old

It's hard to believe my Little Bear is already 11 months old.  I had to work this day, so he got to hang out with Daddy all weekend.  They had a blast.  Daddy even took him into the woods close to our house to show him where some deer hang out.  He text me a picture and it was so cute.  My Little Bear amazes me so much.  He's walking really well, climbing the stairs in lightning speed.  He can even do squats and stand back up.  He is eating well, some days better than others.  He certainly likes bread, beef, chicken, banans, yogurt, and many other things.  He says ma-ma, da-da, uh-oh, and I think he's close to saying Shadow (our black lab's name).  He's been in more of a clingy phase with me.  There are times he just wants me to hold him.  I don't object.  He plays by himself well and notices other babies when we're in the store.  He loves to sit behind the rocker in his room and play with the books on his nightstand.  It's really cute.  So, I use the opportunity to organize his closet.  I've found some great deals - thanks to CC - on clothes.  So, I think he's pretty set for the winter at a fraction of the cost.

I'm currently planning his first birthday party and should get the supplies in the mail tomorrow.  I was hoping to buy them in town, but they didn't have the stuff I wanted.  So, I found a website that had exactly what I wanted.  I can't wait to see what I got.

Not extremely happy in this picture, but can you believe how big he is?

He likes the animals on the wall

He loves to play with his shoes and the book in this picture is one of his favorites

Pumpkin Patch and Halloween Fun

Last Sunday we all went to the pumpkin patch.  It was a beautiful sunny day with a slight chill.  I of course had to dress Little Bear up in his overalls.  They're actually too short for him, but I wanted him to wear them one last time.  I of course had to put his pumpkin hat on him that his uncle made.  The pumpkin patch is 24 acres and on an actual farm.  So, Little Bear got to look at some chickens and cows.  He loved it.  We took a hay ride out to the patch.  We would find a pumpkin we liked, then walk around a little more and see another one we liked.  Little Bear helped us out in the selection process.  We loved this place.  We had never been there before, but our friend recommended it.  The bonus is, that it was free.  There are some really neat pumpkin patches in our area, but it cost $10 to get in.  Next year maybe we'll do that when Little Bear is another year older and would enjoy it more.  For now, I'm so glad we came here.  They even had apple cider and kettle corn available.  If you're in the area, check out Schaake's Pumpkin Patch.

Maybe the one in the middle

No, I like this one better

I love these boys SOOOO much!

He loved crawling around in the dirt - typical boy

I love this little pumpkin

Pumpkin Totem Pole

Tractor Hay Ride

He loved the cows - I couldn't get him to moo at them though

Frankenstein

Count Dracula

Happy playing in the hay

He wasn't quite sure what to think of the feel of the hay bales at first

Handsome boy all relaxed in the hay - notice the crossed legs?  Cracks me up

Last night we met up with CC and her kids and another couple from church and their kids.  I felt weird just taking Little Bear trick or treating by himself, so we joined our friends.  We had a blast.  We were in CC's neighborhood.  We loved "catching our little turkey".  Mark and I had to wear our camo to complete the look.

Papa Bear and the cutest turkey he ever caught

Aren't we an adorable family!!

Little Bear and his girlfriend MJ

They are sooo cute!

gorgeous sunset

The turkey has had enough.  He's ready for bed

One last happy face for the evening