Pinsky Style Thanksgiving {2012}

Last year, a new tradition was started in the Pinsky family. Although our little trio joined Kevin's parents for a quaint Thanksgiving dinner, we chose to have our larger get together with Kevin's brothers and their families the next day. Instead of turkey and traditional sides, Kevin's mom {otherwise known as Momma to her grandsons} had an ingenious idea to create our own personal pizzas. I can see the kiddos loving this even more as they get older. 

This year, the little ones had a blast playing together...although from the looks of Ethan's serious face, you can't tell. In fact, our little guy was so worn out, he went right to sleep at 7:30pm and didn't wake up until 8:30 the next morning! We were very thankful for that.

13 Months

I decided that I'd change the format for Ethan's monthly posts...since he's such a big boy!

Happy 13 Months, little man! It's still hard to believe that we are the parents of a one-year old. Our little explorer enjoys learning about the world around him, so he's keeping himself {and us} very busy. 

What Ethan's Doing...

• WALKING! A little wobbly, but definitely walking. This means he's officially a toddler {sniff, sniff}.
• Organizing - Ethan is very interested in dumping things out, and then putting them back in. He's so my kid.
• Making us laugh - Ethan makes silly faces. Our favorite, called the "Squeeze Face" always cracks us up, and he knows it. 
• Playing with "Little People". These are Ethan's new it toy. He especially likes the farm animals and pushing the buttons on the vehicles over and over.
• Talking...sort of. He's obsessed with the syllable "Da". Everything is "Dada"...Tobi, Kevin, me, toys, everything.
• Picky eating. Things that he used to like, he won't touch. Like cheese. And sweet potato fries. He has an affinity for baked beans, grilled cheese, and anything in a pouch, which is lucky for us, since it's really the only way he's been getting his veggies!
• Drinking milk like a champ! We've successfully transitioned to whole milk. We have to heat it up, and he still gets it in a bottle, but we're thrilled he's actually drinking cow's milk! We'll work on the other stuff soon.
• Wearing 12-18 month clothing. He can still fit into some 9-12 month stuff, but not much. He's so tall and lanky that he has to wear 12-18 month clothing for length, but they tend to look  and feel a little baggy on him, since he's not quite there with his weight. It's a good problem to have, I suppose.

Turkey Trotting

Just in time for his 13-Month Birthday...

The Little Things

I was going to go to school today to catch up on some work.

I did not make it.

Instead, I took a personal day.

Personal days used to mean laying around the house, napping at will, manicures and pedicures. Nowadays, they mean something totally different.

They mean enjoying a quiet drive through town.

They mean making multiple stops without having to remove a baby from his carseat...or have to put him back in.

They mean taking my time, browsing in stores, without the ticking time bomb Ethan counting down to meltdown status.

They mean not pushing a stroller through the mall...while holding numerous shopping bags, and a baby who refuses to stay in his stroller.

They mean savoring my lunch, rather than scarf it down.

They mean spending two hours reading a book {for pleasure} at Panera.

Yep. That's how I spent my day. It's the little things, I guess.

Sharon Family Thanksgiving {2012}

Thanksgiving. 

One of my favorite holidays of the entire year. I think I love it for a variety of reasons. It kicks off the holiday season. It gives us time to reflect on where we were last year at this time, and how we got to where we are now. It gives me an opportunity to count my blessings. It is an excuse to eat...and eat...and eat. It causes you to stop, and focus on the thing that is most important ~ family. 

Another reason I love Thanksgiving is because it gives me an opportunity to be "Susie Homemaker". I enjoy trying new holiday recipes, and building my repertoire of old favorites. I feel like I add a few more "keepers" each year. In my family, a lot of memories center around holiday meals and particular foods, and I hope to create the same kinds of memories for my children. I cooked and baked up a storm this year, but it was worth it. The end result was that each and every recipe turned out perfectly, which never happens to me. Kevin joked that it was because he didn't help me this year! 

I'm including our 2012 Thanksgiving Menu, complete with links to make the stuff that I contributed, in case you want to try them out, too.

Thanksgiving Meal {2012}

Pomegranate Persimmon Salad 

with Warm Goat Cheese

Oven Roasted Turkey

Herb Stuffing

Mom's Cranberry "Salsa"

Corn Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole

Orange-Ginger Glazed Carrots

Oven Roasted Asparagus

Apple-Cranberry Crumble

Pumpkin Pecan Dessert

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy 1-Year Birthday, Ethan!

You know what they say, Better late than never. It's the official one-year birthday post. I can't believe I'm actually the mother of a one-year-old. Sometimes I tell myself that I'm the mother of a 12-month old, just to make him seem smaller...but the facts are the facts. My baby is ONE. 
Stats: At the doctor, Ethan weighed 20 pounds, 12 ounces. They say that kids are supposed to triple their birth weight by their first birthday, and we've definitely done that. His weight puts him in the 25th percentile for weight. His height, well, that's another story. He is 32 inches long (or tall? at what point do you convert from calling it length to height?). He is in the 95th percentile for that! Ethan got three shots this time, since we opted to get the flu shot. He handled it as well as any baby who gets stabbed with three different needles. He cried. But, he did calm down quickly, and had no reaction to any of the shots. Yay! Ethan now has four top teeth and two bottom teeth. We think he may be cutting some more teeth, since all the signs are there, but we're still waiting for it to make an appearance.

Likes: Ethan loves playing with his shoes and socks. We put him in the car with both shoes and socks on, and usually by the time we arrive at our destination, he has taken at least one shoe, if not both shoes and socks, off his feet. This, I must say, is slightly annoying, as he fusses and cries when he has trouble removing them. Ethan loves anything with buttons, or things he can push around. His favorite toys are the ones he can make "work". His new favorite meal is quesadillas with cheese and sweet potatoes. He'll even eat that in leftover form! 

Dislikes: Ethan hates being told "no". He wants to get into things and make them "work", so it bugs him when we say "no", or our new favorite, "hands off". We oftentimes have to remove his hand from things he shouldn't touch (like the dog's water bowl), and he gets pretty annoyed at that.

Tricks: This list continues to grow and grow. Ethan is quite the little comedian. He likes to flirt and make silly faces so that we will laugh at him. He cracks himself up when he sees that he's gotten a reaction out of us. Ethan also bounces up and down and shakes his booty when you sing, "Dance, dance, dance". Very cute to watch. We've noticed that Ethan is standing on his own. I can tell that he is toying with the idea of taking a step or two, but he just isn't quite there yet. We think he'll be walking by the time I write his 13-month post! Finally, Ethan likes to feed himself his big boy Gerber Grabbers (and other puree pouches). He's getting so independent with his eating, which is so neat to see.

Mom: Things are still going well for me. Now that his birthday party is over, I feel like I've got some more free time on my hands on the home front. I feel very content with where I am right now in my life, as a working mommy. I am very much looking forward to the holiday season this year, and spending it with all of our loved ones.