The baby loves his Daddy

he really does. The first thing Liam says to me every morning is "da da da." Usually, it is also the second and third thing, progressively louder. This generally wakes Mollie up downstairs and she starts walking around and jingling her coller; when Liam hears that he says the fourth thing, "ah ah ah" which is 17-month-old speak for "ruf ruf ruf" (what a dog says).

Finally, Liam's Shoes

We've been looking for some decent shoes for Liam. He has some nice boots for serious trips outside that my mother got him at Target, but we wanted something less bulky for every-day errands and running around. We saw our neighbor and her daughter at the park today and she recommended a store in town so this afternoon off we went. Shoes galore. Liam choose his own shoes from the selection on the table. He looked them all over and grabbed these. So, now Liam has shoes, they seem to work great, and they promise not to screw up his feet. Also, they are adorable.

The Slide Series

Will got up with Liam and me today which is so great, so we had all day to do stuff together. This morning's activity was a walk downtown to the Farmers Market*, then to the outdoor store to try to find Liam some decent shoes (they don't have sizes as small as his feet), then to a different park, where Liam showed me how much he has learned about the slide on his walks with Daddy and Mollie. Delightful. Really. Note that Liam's idea about going down the slide is the same as his idea about going down the stairs when he was first learning. . .get all set up the way you want to be early. He's a planner, our baby.

*Liam loves the farmer's market. He especially loves to help choose the apples and put them in the bag. This has only gotten better now that he is tall enough to pretty much reach the apples on his own. Liam's only word besides "mama" and "dada" is "apple" which he says as "ump-ah." And, honestly, I think he used it in context before "mama" at least. On account of this, and also because he is a very nice guy, the fruit seller at the market (Sullivan's, they're the best) almost always gives Liam a free apple, which Liam almost always eats in these tiny, tiny (but getting bigger) bites. He spits out the peel.

The Dinner

Will isn't really a fan of roasted turkey, so we made the deboned, stuffed turkey breast from the November issue of Martha Stewart (except I made my own stuffing, the kind I make every year). I would link to a picture of hers, but I just spent 10 minutes "navigating" the website trying to find a picture and, well, I'm tired. You'll have to settle for a picture of ours (in the overhead shot of the table). I love that I get to be custodian of my mother's good dishes these days; the good dishes we grew up with.

Nice things about doing the turkey this way: it really did come out tasting good, and you don't have a huge turkey carcase to carve and deal with when you're trying to get 20 other things on the table. Not so nice things: not really very many pan drippings, so the gravy sort of sucked, I thought.

Other things we cooked this year: roasted squash slices, brussel sprouts, mashed potatoes, stuffing, a green salad with apples and cheese, corn bread, gravy and, of course, the two pies with whipped cream. We're done eating, that's for sure. It all came out well; the turkey was pronounced a big success and Will wants to cook it that way next year too. Liam ate very little of it, unfortunately. (He had a huge breakfast and snack earlier in the day.) But he did go to bed with minimal rocking and production so. . .I know he needs to eat, but, honestly, I don't think he'll starve, and I'm a pretty big fan of the off to bed much less fuss routine. . .if I had to make a trade. . ..

Photos are: before, during, during and after. Happy Thanksgiving; I hope everyone had time to pause in the doing today to reflect on the many blessings in life.

Thankful

This year, as last year, I am especially thankful for Will and Liam, our miracle IVF baby, such an unexpected and welcome gift. I'm thankful for the family that raised me and taught me the value of hard work, and that after my father died my mother was able to find Grandpa DM, who has been such an easy and welcome addition to our lives. I'm thankful for my sister -- it is so hard to believe I could be related to someone who I like so much and who has achieved the things she has. And for Will's family, who has so enriched my life. That Liam is cared for during the day by his grandparents is a blessing that goes beyond words.

I'm thankful for the work opportunities that I've been given and that since college, I've always had a good job; mostly at something that I'm interested in and that I think makes a difference in the world. And, that I have pretty good health insurance, and am healthy anyway. I'm grateful that I can provide for our little family and still have enough to give a little away to the food bank at this time of year (there are so many who need help). And that we can live in this little town that I love, and that will (hopefully) provide Liam with a good foundation from which to move into the world.

It's a long list, it could go on and on, but those are the things that seem most important to me right now.

PS -- yes, Mollie is on the couch. I'm going through a phase where I don't mind as much. Poor Mollie, I'm sure it's only a phase.

Do you think two pies is too many for five people,

one of whom is 17 months old and cannot be relied upon to eat pie? Well, we have two. I confess though, I didn't make them both. The lumpy apple pie, I made (hopefully it will taste great). The good-looking pumpkin pie, I purchased here. The best pastry shop in the Puget Sound region, if you ask me.

Puppet Theater

Liam was getting a little worked up at dinner tonight, so Will made a puppet out of one of the junk-mail envelopes that was around the table. Just folded, with some eyes and a mouth drawn on. Liam thought it was the greatest thing ever. We told him the puppet only would eat crackers (thus, hopefully, steering the more nutritious food towards Liam), and he would grab a cracker and give it to the puppet, and the puppet would make gobbling noises, and Liam would laugh and laugh and laugh. And eat (a little). Envelope pupped immediately diffuses imminent toddler melt down over dinner. Who knew?