Thanksgiving...dun dun DUN

Haha, don't let the title fool you. Thanksgiving was fantastic! Ryan and I had so much fun cooking the turkey together. We didn't even argue. I am so thankful for my little family of three, and that I made an edible turkey! :) 

Here is the bird, stuffed with garlic, onion, lemon and a bunch of spices. 

Here is the mixture we soaked the cheesecloth in...

Ryan stirring the mixture....

 Lylah was so excited. Can you tell? (She loves her woombie!)

Soaking the cheesecloth...

 Putting the cheesecloth over the bird...

 Putting it in the oven....

 TA-DA!!!!!

Carving the bird!

Ahhh, success. It was so yummy! My family came to eat with us and they enjoyed it. It was a great day. Happy Thanksgiving!!

My first Thanksgiving....

So tomorrow I shall make my FIRST Thanksgiving turkey. 

I know, Lylah. Crazy, right? 

I found a recipe on The Chew. It's a cooking show on CBS that I used to make fun of, because I think that's a lame name. Anyway, in passing I saw they were doing turkey recipes, so I DVRed it, and lo and behold...there was an easy recipe using cheesecloth. It seems easy enough. You make a mixture of butter, chicken broth and a bunch of spices I had never bought before and then soak cheesecloth in the mixture. Then just cover the turkey in the cheesecloth while you roast it. So we'll see. Luckily my sides are all super easy and I am just doing brownies for dessert. I was going to make a pecan pie, but then I decided I don't care that much. I think my company will prefer the brownies :) 

IT'S TOMORROW!!!

It will be interesting to time Lylah's feedings with the oven schedule and my small freak-outs. 

Should be an interesting day....

Capturing Lylah in her Natural Environment

So last week I read this article on I Heart Faces, which is one of my favorite photography websites. Great site! Anyway, if you read the article, the blogger talks about capturing a baby in a special, natural way. (I love the dog pictures! Haha!) As I read this, it totally inspired me. So last Friday I took some pictures of my baby girl (not an unusual occurrence) but I really tried to not pose her and capture details. There are so many expressions and things she does during the day that I want to capture. I want to look back at these pictures and remember how small her toes were, or how puffy her cloth diaper was, or how wide her eyes looked. I enlisted Ryan to help me, so he could play with her while I snapped pictures. 

Lylah's First Halloween

I wasn't planning on doing much for Halloween. I have never been a huge fan of the holiday, because I usually wind up eating way too much candy. Plus, we could never top this costume. But I wanted to dress Lylah up as something....I just didn't know what. Then my Mom gave us a little bear hoodie that my sisters and I wore as babies, so I thought we would use that.

Cute, right? :)

Then, I made a trip to Gymboree. I had a giftcard, and needed to buy tiny little black shoes for our Family Pictures. On my way out the door, I saw the clearance rack and decided to take a peek. What I found was this awesomeness...

I love that little lobster! And for my fellow FRIENDS obsessed friends...."She's our lobster!"
See this video for reference.... totally worth it...

We went over to the Browns house and went down the street to a few houses. Lylah was a trooper...anytime Ryan is holding her, she is happy as a clam lobster. (See what I did there?)

This was right before she conked out. It was so fun to have someone to take around at Halloween, even if she had no idea what was going on. It's only going to get more fun! Crazy to think how big she will be at the next Halloween. 

We love this lobster!

2 month Newsletter

Dear Lylah,

We've definitely had a fun month! You are getting more and more interactive, and we will do anything to see you smile. You make the absolute cutest noises. You went to the doctor last week and you just "coo"ed and "gee"ed at the Doctor. I never knew I could be so proud of someone! We also had to get your two month shots, which was absolutely NO fun. I hate hearing you cry, and especially when you cry hard. AND, I forgot your pacifier! So I was mad at the nurse for making you cry and mad at myself for forgettin the paci! Ha. But you calmed down after they were over and slept the whole way home.

We got some family pictures taken and you were an angel! You didn't fuss once. After we took the pictures we even got to eat out at Babe's (YUM!) and you just slept. You are such a good baby! I can take you anywhere. You had your first meltdown at Target, and it was amazing how much faster the service is when you are holding a fussing baby. You really weren't that bad, but everyone around you was nervous. A lady offered to push my cart, and the cashier loaded my purchases in my cart for me. It was pretty nice. Thanks for that. :)

This morning I took you to a Stroller Strides class where we exercised. Well, I did. It was my first hard workout since having you. But, I was very thankful...you would fuss right as I was getting tired and I'd give you your paci, and it was a welcome break. Once or twice I just pretended you were fussy. Don't tell the instructor.

You are a pretty good napper and a great eater. At night you have been doing pretty well. You will give us a 6 or a 7 hour stretch, which is awesome. But after that you will only give me 2.5 to 3 hours, which is okay because then it's time to get up. I think you are going to be an early riser. I like mornings and all, but not so much when I am not getting a lot of sleep. :) Daddy helps with you at night so much. He will give you a bottle if I need him to, and if I ask he'll put you back to sleep for me after I feed you. He's the best.

You were a lobster for Halloween and you were so cute!

Your favorite things to do are stare at the hanging items on your playmat, sing with us (We'll we sing, you stare and smile), skype with Gramps and Gigi in Australia, go for stroller walks, and be held (especially when Daddy holds you and pats you). We love to sing "You are my Sunshine", "The Hokey Pokey" and "Super Bass". Yup, Nicki Minaj.

This month I started teaching piano again. Daddy comes home early to be with you. I miss you, but it's not for too long. I have been taking pictures again for a month or so now, so I've had good practice. It's not fun to be away from you, but I know it is healthy. Plus you love spending time with your Daddy.

You are just an absolute joy! I hold you after feeding you and just repeat over and over again how much I love you. Cause I do. I can't get enough of you. I love spending the day with you. When you nap, I miss you. I am so blessed that God gave you to us. We love you so much.

Love,
Mom

2 Months

"Wait a minute... how often are we doing this?"

"Every month?!?"*

*Oh you KNOW she gets her picture taken way more than once a month. Te he he.

Newsletter to come....