This is a first. The first year in a VERY long time that neither Don or I is working in a service industry job, so we're both free for the holidays... but this means that we had to really give some thought to the opinions of both of our sets of parents as to where we would spend each one. This is also Lily Ruth's first set of holidays out of the belly, so there was that to consider as well... add in my extreme people-pleasing needs, and we hauled ourselves to Houston to have a Doyle Thanksgiving. Don's mom had the menu all planned, but she asked me bring dessert, so Pumpkin Cheesecake it was! The recipe is from epicurious.com, and can be found here.
This is me waiting for 4 boxes of cream cheese to get to room temperature so that it will not burn out the motor of the hand mixer...
This is Lily Ruth's version of helping Mama bake...
and this is Keely's version of helping Mama bake (dog feet alllllll over the futon...
At one point in the process, I put Lily down for her nap and attempted to cook in peace. I even took the handy-dandy small blender outside to crunch up the cookies and pecans for the crust so as to no disturb her highness' slumber. No dice - she was on to me and refused to nap through the process. I even strapped her into the Baby K'Tan and wore her while I blended all of the ingredients. I had to put her down to pour them into the pan and put it in the oven. Nobody wants to see a picture of her face during that time :-P
Well, I baked & cooled the cheesecake before we left, then put it in a cooler with icepacks and transported it to Houston. It survived transport beautifully, and the topping that I applied Thursday morning only improved it! Seriously - that cheesecake was (is) GOOOOOOOOD. So delicious and ridiculously easy. I will definitely make it again.
Our Thanksgiving was lovely. Lily's paternal grandparents were able to interact with an alert, bright, funny and active infant - unlike their previous visits with her when she was (in turn) a newborn, a nearly newborn, and a chronically overtired 3-month-old who had been removed from her comfort zone. They were enchanted! As they should be :-)
I hate to brag (no, really I do), but Lily Ruth is now one step closer to sitting! Previously, she has been a 'pre-sitter' - sitting when held upright, but leaning into whatever supported her. Thanksgiving day, she sat up and back on her own! Check her out...
We are beyond proud. She amazes me daily! BTW, if you're in the neighborhood, stop by and watch her scoot! She gets up onto her hands and knees, rocks back and forth, then launches herself forward onto her belly. This is repeated until she reaches her goal. I can't get enough. I'm pretty sure that the Christmas tree will be all of the incentive that she needs to turn it into a real crawl. I'm excited and terrified at the same time...
This year, I am thankful for my daughter, my husband, my family and the life that I am able to lead. I am truly blessed, and I am actively working to prove that gratitude daily.
