Gobble, Gobble!

We hope everyone had a very Happy Thanksgiving! It was great being home this year! I even got to host my very first Thanksgiving on Friday with the Doc's family and am very proud to say it went off without a hitch!

On Thursday the Doc had to work so the boys and I headed to NH to spend the day with my family. The food was great and I, as always, stuffed my face with food! David had a blast playing with Savanah and Cohen and of course Shaun enjoyed all the attention from everyone!

Uncle John, Savanah, Shaun & Scottie:


Me & the Boys:


Shaun trying some carrots for the first time!


On Friday the Doc had to work (his normal day at the VA Hospital) and so we planned for his family to come to our new place since we didn't know when he would be done for the day. Thankfully they were not busy and he was able to come home early morning. Since he took call the night before he was really tired and they knew he was going to be on call all weekend as well.

I came up with a pretty simple menu which included a very delicious stuffing made with Ciabatta Stuffing with Chestnuts and Pancetta. I did not stuff the bird (yes I know Alton Brown would be so proud) nor did I brine it (yes I know Alton Brown would be so disappointed). With some tips from Brian I used aromatics to stuff the bird in lieu of the stuffing. I used an onion, lemon, apple, garlic, cinnamon sticks, fresh rosemary and fresh thyme. I am a big fan of a butter basted turkey so that is what I did. I used a stick of butter all over the top and covered it in foil. During the last hour of cooking the foil comes off and the baster comes out!

My Turkey:


Shaun enjoying his Thanksgiving feast:


David cutting up his food before eating:


It was another great holiday spent with our families and there is nothing better than that in my book! Now onto Christmas!

Bring on the Milestones!

Shaun has hit the milestone motherload this past week! He can balance himself enough to sit on his own, he's eating baby food (already tried peas and carrots), he found his feet, he is grabbing for toys that are in front of him, and he sucessfully grabs his binky and put it in his mouth!

He is just growing up so fast!!

Sitting up by himself!


Trying to feed himself (more just to chew on the spoon!)


Trying real baby food! Mmmm peas!!

Photography by David!

OK so David is obsessed with my camera. Since he accidentally broke my last camera I don't like him playing with it. Unfortunately I have a bad habit of leaving it out and he goes around taking pictures.

As I was uploading the pictures from the camera this afternoon I noticed that there were 127 pictures to upload. Half of those were from the parade and Shaun's latest milestones - the other half were pictures taken by David.

I was impressed to find that some of them actually came out pretty good!

Taking a picture of Shaun


His Thomas the Train


Stuffed Nemo


His attempt to get his stuffed Mickey


Sully on the TV

David & Shaun's Portraits

Last Saturday we took the boys to get their portraits done at Target. I am so happy with how they came out. The whole experience wasn't even that bad. David had some issues with sharing the spotlight with his brother but on a whole they were both very well behaved and she got some great shots.

Because David didn't want to share the spotlight with his brother we were only able to get them together with a Christmas background. While it makes for a great Christmas card picture - it's not exactly best for displaying long term. Oh well - not the end of the world!

Mmm...Highchair!

I don't know why but I find it funny that the boys gnaw on the highchair like it's a chew toy.

Here is David back in the day:


Here is Shaun this morning:

Silly Shaun!

Shaun is constantly cracking me up! He recently started doing this new thing where he screams at the top of his lungs to show his excitement! It's hilarious and so I tried to capture it on video. The video doesn't show him at his best but he still cracks me up!


He also has been enjoying yummy rice cereal for a little over a week, and on Saturday we added Oatmeal to his diet!






Shaun's other latest milestones are quasi-sitting unassisted, and tonight he found his feet! He is overall still very mellow unless he is hungry; then he transforms into the spawn of the Devil. He has never once cried in the tub or shower (unlike his brother), and is an attention whore who loves to flirt with the ladies!


Shaun thinking..."Yeah I am stud!"

Meeting Thomas!

Today we headed to the Hospital to meet Baby Thomas. He is so teeny. It's funny how much you forget and I only had Shaun FIVE months ago! Like the newborn cry - it's so different and man does he have a set of lungs! The new Mommy is absolutely glowing and tomorrow the head home to start their new life as Mommy, Daddy and Baby!

The Happy Family:


So precious!


Thankfully my baby still doesn't sleep through the night or I'd be having some serious baby fever right about now!

Welcome Thomas Alexander!

I am so happy to announce the arrival of Thomas Alexander (aka Baby TAD). He was born this morning November 11, 2008 at 7:27am. He was 7lbs 14oz and 19 inches long. I cannot wait to meet him tomorrow!!! There has to be something said for "mother's instinct" as the new Mommy won her own baby pool! Congrats to the new parents from all of us!

Rice Cereal: Better than a 30 Minute Meal!

Shaun is going to be 5 months on Monday which is not hard to believe since he's already wearing 6-9 month clothing, is as big as an 8 month old and by next month will be too big for the infant car seat carrier. *sigh*

And since Shaun is such a big boy I probably could have started him on cereal a month ago but I wanted to use the same feeding schedule I used with David (5 months - cereal, 6 months - veggies, 7 months - fruit). He has already been using the highchair a lot since he outgrew his bouncy seat and I needed somewhere to put him during dinner.

Here is Shaun sitting in his high chair for the first time:


So tonight we started rice cereal! David was not a huge fan his first time but Shaun couldn't get enough of the stuff. I couldn't feed it to him fast enough. Tonight he earned his nickname Ziggy Piggy!

YUMMO!


"Gimme more WOMAN!"

David's Civic Duty

Well David may not be old enough to cast his own vote but he and Shaun helped Mommy cast hers!

Forget Joe the Plumber...

Here is David the Musician with a message of his own.