“Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart.”

On this day and always, I’m so very thankful for my family.  I am thankful for the family I made (both human and furry) and for the family that made me.  I’m thankful to have so many people in my life who support me and love me.   I’m thankful to live in such a beautiful home and to have a job that affords me all of the things to make my life as comfortable as it is.  I’m thankful for all of the struggles I’ve gone through that make me appreciate all of the good things in my life.  And so today,  I thank everyone in my life who has helped to shape me and my life.   I'm also thankful to have such a talented sister who took these wonderful photos.  Thank you, Renee...without you, my blog would be boring!

We had Thanksgiving dinner in Amherst at the Desrosiers’ household.  It’s always nice to get together with family to celebrate the holidays.  A.J., as usual, was enamored with his big cousin Ryan.  He can’t wait to be big and do all of the things that Ryan can do.

Ryan's Mosaic Turkey for Grammy was a HUGE Hit!  Awesome job, Ryan!

I just love this kid to pieces!!

    

Finally...a picture WITH his Mommy!!

So handsome!

Showing everyone what a big boy he is...

Catching up to his big cousin Ryan!

              



Hanging out as a family....well almost...Lulu was camera-shy.



Proud Pepere with his two boys!

Mom made many of the traditional holiday fixings…green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, French meat stuffing, and gravy.  And of course, you can’t forget the turkey!!  It seemed that everyone tried to make a claim on the old bird….

Uh...no...he didn't cook the bird.

He always was an @$$ man!

         

But only this guy can take credit for cooking the bird!  Thanks Mike!

Thank you for cooking the turkey, Mike!

                

With the table set for a festive meal, we dug in and indulged in all that Thanksgiving has to offer.  A.J. was particularly excited to try his first Thanksgiving meal…and he LOVED it!



Feasting at his first Thanksgiving dinner!

 

He loved EVERY bite!



         

We had a wide variety of desserts, but the pumpkin whoopie pies I made were a big hit!  YUM!



A.J. wasn’t his normal self thanks to two new teeth that are trying to make their debut…but he managed to take in a friendly game of Peek-a-Boo after dinner.  Check out those rosy cheeks!

 

A Full Family Weekend!

Another wonderful weekend full of friends and family!!  Saturday was Adam’s birthday.  He unfortunately had to work, but AJ and I got ready for his birthday celebration when he got home.  We busily wrapped presents and baked cupcakes!!  What better way to celebrate a birthday?!

Strawberry Cupcakes....Daddy's FAVORITE!

Helping Mommy wrap Daddy's Present!

I think I'm going to like all of the boxes that Santa Claus is going to bring for me this year!!

AJ and I also attended Enzo’s 1st birthday party!  He had a great time catching up with Enzo and Gabby.

Enzo the Birthday Boy!!

I just LOVE birthday parties!!!

AJ & Gabby

Look at me!! I'm upside down!!!

This is the best shot we could get with the three of them together.  Enzo and Gabby are very busy...and always walking!!

Enzo enjoys his birthday cake!

We spent Sunday with Renee and Ryan.  Ryan is such a great big cousin…always willing to teach AJ new things and lend a helping hand.  Auntie Renee couldn't resist having a little fun of her own with AJ.  Adam is not impressed with this at all ;)
 

     

     

     

      

We ended the weekend with a little time at home….without pants of course!

I Could Listen to Baby Babble all Day Long!

I just love listening to AJ babble.  He is particularly chatty first thing in the morning and right before and at bath time.  Here are a few video clips I captured  tonight.  Have a listen to all of his favorite sounds!

Roly Poly Baby Babble

Tubby Time Chatter 1

Tubby Time Chatter 2

Man Jammies and QT with Daddy

AJ is 8 months old now and has changed so much in this last week.  He’s longer, heavier, and starting to be mobile!  He’s not a real fan of crawling around yet, but he does manage to get where he wants to go by ROLLING!!  He has a whole new “vocabulary” and is practicing his “D”s.  “Dada” is one of his favorite new words along with “Da da da deee”.   But today, he made Mommy proud when he reached his arms upwards to be picked up and said “Ma ma” (and I have a phone witness on this one, right mom ;)  ).
AJ enjoys quite a bit of quality time with his Daddy.  He’s a very lucky little boy to have such a loving, attentive father!!

Cozy in his "man jammies" waiting for story time!

I love my little man!

    

AJ and Harley snuggle in for story time with Daddy.

He's growing so fast...he likes being a little independent now and feeding himself (sniffle sniffle)

“Snowtober”

The fall season is one of my favorites…bright colored leaves of yellow, orange, and red…apple pies…pumpkins…cool crisp air….22 inches of snow.  Yes, that’s right!  Mother Nature decided to drop winter on New England just a wee bit early this year.  On October 29th, we experienced a history-making snow storm that blanketed all of New England with snow cover that closely resembles that of February!  We got 15 1/2 inches of snow here in Webster and were very fortunate that we didn’t lose power.  While much of the state is still without power and heat, we’re cozy warm in front of our wood stove…enjoying all the luxuries of modern technology!!



Yes...that's right....well over a foot of snow...in OCTOBER!!!