Week 34: Happy Thanksgiving!

So why is it that holiday weeks end up being busier than “work” weeks?! This has been a busy week around here, as I’m sure it has been for many of you.

We started out the week on a rather negative note, in that Theo had a real “Leon” day on Monday. Fussy, fussy, fussy, all day long. So much so that I canceled plans to go out and meet my mom and sister, and I aborted plans to go get Theo his flu shot booster. Why was he so fussy? No idea. He still has no teeth, so heaven only knows. Luckily, Monday was the only such day. He was a cheery little guy on Tuesday, so we got his flu shot booster and he kept me company while I did a lot of work that I couldn’t get done on Monday. And he was cheery again on Wednesday, when Grandma Diane came over to help me prepare the Thanksgiving meal. Amazingly, we got the whole thing done on Wednesday—all I had left to do on Thursday was make the green beans and pop everything else in the oven. Easy!

Thanksgiving itself was a nice day. A little hectic with 11 people plus Theo in our tiny house, but nice all the same. For once I didn’t burn the rolls, although my “chocolate derby pie” (essentially a chocolate pecan pie) had to be sacrificed because the glass pie tin I baked it in shattered for no particular reason. No harm done—I had also made a pumpkin cheesecake and two cranberry-apple pies, and Chris’s dad had baked his grandmother’s famous coffeecake, so we had plenty of sweet treats.

In case anyone is interested (because I know at least a few of you are foodies who like reading about food), I also made streuseled sweet potato casserole, cheesy potato casserole (Chris’s favorite!), Colonial corn pudding, homemade stuffing, a Jell-o salad (yes, yes, I know—how 1950s chic of me!), and homemade cranberry sauce. Oh, and the aforementioned sour green beans (old family recipe—sounds weird, but they taste yummy!). And rolls, though those were just brown-and-serve rolls. Chris’s dad BBQed turkey tenderloins for us, and they turned out awesome. I intended to take pictures of all the food, but as usual, it got hectic and I forgot. So, there are a couple pix of food in this week’s album, but not many.

In case you’re wondering, I’m not just some freakish overachiever. I happen to really enjoy cooking, especially big holiday meals. So yes, I know it would be easier to just buy pre-made stuff, but I actually really enjoy the cooking part. I look forward to it every year. I’m a nerd, I know. But it’s fun... Besides, with my mom helping out with Theo on Wednesday, it wasn’t nearly as taxing as it sounds.

My sister and her family came over for dinner on Thanksgiving, as well as Chris’s parents and my mom. Grandma Ruth was supposed to come, but she opted to stay at the nursing home...wasn’t feeling up to it, I guess.

The next day, Steve, Tanya, and Nik stopped by for a couple hours on the way back from Chico, where they spent Thanksgiving. Tom and Kathy came over again, as well as my mom, and it was really fun to see the boys together. They definitely notice each other now. Nik was petting Theo’s back at one point, and Theo did his “blind-man-face-grab” at another point. (He seems to like exploring faces with his hands. It’s almost like how a blind person becomes acquainted with someone’s face—he touches you all over the face, as if “seeing” you with his hands.) Both boys have reached that really fun age where they’re very vocal and very interested in everything around them, so it’s a lot of fun to watch them explore. There are quite a few pix of the boys in this week’s album.

Saturday Chris and I took Theo for a leisurely stroll around Davis (Farmers Market and our favorite Italian deli, as well as a fun toy store), and Sunday we just meandered around the Galleria to get out and about for a bit. We intended to get our Christmas tree Sunday afternoon, but I ran out of steam, so we put it off for another day. Still plenty of time....

In other Theo news, he is trying more desperately than ever to crawl, and he is soooo close! Chris thinks it’ll be a few more weeks, but I think it’ll be any day now. We’ll see who wins the bet. I hear that the advent of a great developmental milestone can cause disruptions in sleep patterns, and Theo most certainly has not been sleeping well at night by his standards, so I’m hoping he crawls soon. Maybe it’ll get us a little more sleep!

Hope you all had a relaxing and wonderful holiday weekend!