Thankful

So much to be thankful for today. . .

. . . the chance to run an early morning race,

with a cheering fan club,

and a nice prize for my 1st place age group finish (and 4th overall finish!).

. . . a little turkey that is pretty darn adorable, even if every single meal is a royal mess for him, me (or Rich), and the 4 foot radius around his high chair.

. . . a slightly bigger turkey sitting in a time out for dumping a box of Mommy's things on the floor (with a devilish little glint in his eye). This was about ten minutes after he "leaked" a large puddle on the floor, which followed 20 minutes of insisting that he didn't have to pee and would not go sit on the potty (despite asking him just about every minute or so), which all started with his insistence that he wanted to wear big boy underwear when he got out of bed this morning.

Yeah, he's a big turkey, but I couldn't be more thankful for him!

. . . a husband who loves those little turkeys just as much as I do (and who helps out with them enormously).

. . . handprint turkey place cards.

. . . a wonderful feast with TURKEY!

. . . friends to feast with.

. . . a first Thanksgiving.

. . . chocolate pumpkin tart.

. . . and, most of all, my family!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some light reading. . .

Of all the things about my older son that I have hoped my younger son would emulate, his love of books and reading tops the list. Hayden loves books. Our own collection of children's books ranges in the several hundreds and we go to the library to temporarily expand it weekly. Hayden will sit in his room by himself "reading" his books for well over an hour. We read stories together before naptime and before bed and frequently throughout the day as the mood strikes him. And I fondly remember sitting in the glider in his room for 40+ minutes at a time (in the days when he was only child), going through book after book after book. He loves books--pretty much since he was born.

So, just as I did with Hayden, I started Benjamin on the books early. Much to my dismay, he's more interested in eating the books than reading them. We're lucky to get through 2 picture board books in a sitting. Now, maybe it was like this with Hayden when he Ben's age, but I really don't think so.

This morning, though, I was delighted to see that Benjamin went right for the book during his playtime on the floor. And it didn't go straight into his mouth! He actually flipped (as well as his not-very-coordinated-hands could) through some of the pages to look at the book!

"See, Mom, I like books, you don't have to worry." He seemed to be saying. . .

Here he comes. . .

Benjamin is mobile. I'm not quite ready for it, but there's no stopping him now. The last morning we were at Grandma and Papa's house (10 days ago) he made his big move, pulling himself army-style about 8 feet across the floor. His motivator? A toy car. . . his big brother was so proud (or maybe jealous!)!

Mmmmmm. . . tasty!

He has continued his efforts since we've been home. I know I need to get video of it, and I promise, it's coming! Anyhow, he started in the middle of the blue blanket and in the time I walked over to the kitchen to grab my camera he had scooted right off. I think maybe he was going for Hayden's train stash in the chair.

But, before he got there, Hayden came over to investigate the situation.

And then a lesson on "Thomas" ensued. . .

I don't know if it's genetic or it has just kind of soaked in due to the sheer quantity of them around, but Benjamin has a thing for cars and trucks and trains. He scoots right past the baby toys I have strewn about to get to the train cars. After 6 months of waiting, I think Hayden almost has that playmate he's been asking about since Ben came home from the hospital!

The perils of having an older brother. . .

. . . a dent in your forehead from a green bucket being thrown at you.

The especially bad part is that Benjamin was sitting in my lap and I didn't even see it coming. One minute everyone's happy, the next there's a loud thump and two little boys are in tears. Ahhh, just the kind of days I've been having lately.

Ten on (it's still) Tuesday (but only for another hour or so!)

1. We're a Nielsen Family this week. I got a call a few weeks ago asking if we'd participate in the TV ratings survey. I thought it sounded like fun, so last week we got a packet in the mail and we're supposed to record everything we watch for longer than 5 minutes over the course of 1 week. This became very interesting on Saturday when Rich changed the channel about 25 times to check different college football games and scores.

2. With all the snow we had, I was in a very comfort-food kind of mood. All of the recipes I picked for this week (I actually updated the sidebar, so check it out! ------->) are hearty, soul warming dishes. As I was making my grocery list after selecting my recipes, I realized that I needed 3 cups of shallots for the week (split between 3 different dishes). That's a lot of shallots!

3. My book club is meeting tomorrow night at my house. I love book club nights! This month we read Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. It was a great read and I'm hoping for a good discussion.

4. I'm officially back to my pre-baby weight! I fit into my old pants (hooray!) but my belly is in a sorry state of flab. I really should start doing something about it. . .

5. Benjamin had his 6 month check-up at the pediatrician's yesterday and weighed in at 17.0 lbs (39th %) and 27 inches (59th %).

6. While we were at the doctor, I wanted to get flu vaccinations for Hayden and myself. About a month ago we both got the nasal mist for the seasonal flu. They didn't have any H1N1 vaccine at that time, but they did have it yesterday. So, we filled out the papers and after Benjamin got his standard 6 month vaccinations, Hayden and I got a nasal squirt of the H1N1 vaccine. Later in the afternoon, the nurse called to say that she was truly sorry, but she had messed up and that Hayden and I got the seasonal flu mist, not H1N1. So, now we've both gotten seasonal flu vaccine twice this year. And since we did just get a nasal mist, the only H1N1 vaccine we can get is the shot. Not only do I have to go through the hassle of going back to the doctor's office, but I have to get a needle stuck in me and I have to watch my 2 year old get stuck. Great.

7. It's not often that I get excited about toothpaste, but I just had to share my newest find.

This stuff is great! It's has a pleasantly minty flavor, but the best part is that it really does leave your mouth feeling clean hours after you brush. Rich commented to me that he was going to eat a mid-morning snack but didn't because he still had that "just brushed" feeling and didn't want to ruin it--and it had been 3 hours since he had brushed his teeth!

8. I have so many photos to edit and post from our trip to Florida. I'll get to them. . . hopefully before the end of November.

9. One of the things that has been keeping me so busy is Preschool Photos. I offered to do school photos at Hayden's preschool and had a blast taking pictures of 26 adorable 3-to-5 year olds. They were a huge success and the parents really loved them. And I was especially thrilled to get my own son to cooperate and give me a cute grin (even if I had to do his a second time on the make-up day)!

10. Taking the preschool photos spun itself into a little photography business for me! I had several people from the school, as well as some of my neighbors, inquire about doing family photos and Amy Shertzer Photography was born. I've still got lots of business set-up work to do, but I do have a blog. Head on over and check out AmyShertzerPhotography.com! I have some of the preschool photos posted and will share some from the 2 family sessions I just did before the end of the week.

It's the most wonderful time of the year. . .

. . . ski season! After getting more than 2 feet of snow in about 16 hours last Thursday we spent nearly 3 hours digging out our driveway. While we were moving snow the good folks at the Bridger Ski Foundation were hard at work grooming the cross country ski trails at Lindley Park. On Saturday, we bundled up the kids, packed up our ski gear, and headed for the trails. Hayden was just as excited as his Mommy and Daddy to be on skis again--a true Shertzer!

He took turns holding my hand or holding Rich's, but he was propelling himself along on his own two legs pretty well.

His favorite part was the downhill. He wanted to go "faster! faster! faster!"

(notice the tongue sticking out in thorough concentration as he glides down the hill!)

Benjamin rode in the Chariot, but Hayden skied for nearly 50 minutes before deciding he was ready to ride alongside his brother. Guess he tired himself out pretty good. . .

I must attest that pulling 50 pounds of children in a 30+ pound sled--on skis--is no easy feat. After hauling them both around for a few minutes I was ready to climb in for a nap, too!