It's a little late, I know. Thanksgiving has come and gone and now we're all shopping and preparing for Christmas. I get it...I'm slacking on my blogging duties. I figure you still probably would love to see pictures of our Thanksgiving so here they are.
Of course, the holiday began with Dim Sum (Chinese brunch). We like to do this every Saturday with Will's parents but have only made it out about once a month since the school year began. I find myself craving the dim sum goodness so it was nice to feast on it once again for a special occasion. You'd think it was a special occasional, it being Thanksgiving and all. Apparently that thought was lost on Will's brothers who decided to hang out with their other families and not join us for the fry fest of dim sum.
Lynnea enjoyed her own little tea cup and ate her weight in siu mai (pork wontons, kind of). She is getting to be such a big girl.
Here is our spread...by the way, my lips don't touch chicken feet, especially those.
One of my favorites is the bolo gai bao which has a mixture of chicken, onion and other good stuff wrapped in a warm bread with a sugary coating. By the way, the red chili oil is my favorite. Mixed with a little soy sauce and hot mustard, it is the best dip for anything!! Siu Mai is my kid's favorite. It is shrimp and pork wrapped in a wonton wrapper. Tsa Siu Bao used to be my favorite (I liked the baked one. The one in the picture is the steamed one). Will's dad used to order it every time I'd come to dim sum and I never wanted to tell him that I didn't need to have my own plate of it each time. Finally, I latched onto another dim sum specialty, hom soy goh (it's not in the picture) so Will's dad would realize that I like variety too. I felt so special that he would remember my likes and dislikes. Will's dad isn't one to show emotion or special attention to anyone in particular and it means a lot when he tries to make me happy by doing little things like making sure I have my favorite dim sum.
Then we were off to the bakery a few doors down, our regular routine. These women love to see the kids coming and always have a fresh fruit tart to offer them. The kids eat off the fruit, lick out the custard and then leave the best part, the crust!! I finish at least one of them since it's a sin to throw the best part away.
The kids and Mama checking out the baked goods. I have to say that my mouth waters every time I come in this place.
These are my downfall. They are pretty much pillows of breaded decadence filled with a whipped cream-type filling and topped with sweet coconut. (I need a minute to compose myself again). Cara will agree that if, placed in a room with just you and them, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from eating them all. There is no self control around these guys.
These are always a temptation for me although I've never bought one. Look how cute they look with their "basket" appearance. So cute.
Then we were off to my parent's house that Saturday for our family celebration. We had to put it off a few days so we could all be healthy enough to enjoy about 20 pounds of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
Here's a rare photo of my sister and me. We're usually so busy taking pictures of the kids that we forget to get an updated one of the two of us.
...and the kids all squished on the couch. What a sight.
Right before we were going to leave, the cousins piled up in the living room and smiled for the camera. Miraculously, Will got the picture at the exact right moment. You can even see Lynnea's mischievous little grin.
Lynnea and my mom. She finally "allows" my mom to hold her and actually runs to her when she sees her. It only took, oh, 2 years?
Now we're well on our way to Christmas and I'm busy with preparations for a big party, wrapping presents and trying to keep my house in some kind of order just so I can relax for a few minutes throughout the holidays. I feel like I've been on my feet for the past 3 months. Maybe after the holidays I'll get to rest?? Maybe not.
Auntie Cara brought yummy, freshly made candy canes for the kids. This was definitely the highlight, surpassing the boat lights.
Lights!! It was so much fun to see all of the decorations on the boats. Some of them went all out and gave us quite a show.
We had a great time, even though I thought I'd left my wallet on the park grass...thank goodness it was on the floor of the car.
Of course, no McDonalds meal would be complete without a side of Ranch dressing. For Lynnea, the nuggets are the side and the Ranch is the main course.
Then we went and got her a birthday cake from Baskin Robbins. Ice cream cakes are my favorite and this one was really good. Chocolate chip ice cream with vanilla cake underneath.
We had a small celebration with just my parents and my Nana. Nothing big. I didn't really feel like inviting all of her friends (honestly, does she really have any at this point?) and I didn't want to shell out any money either. I'd done enough of that for Christmas. I know when she gets bigger, we'll have to "make it work."
Grammie gave her a baby doll for her birthday so she wouldn't steal her sister's. She was so excited!! Nana gave her books which she looked at for quite a while and we gave her a shopping cart for her new doll. Unfortunately, Auntie Cara and Uncle Bryan couldn't come but they did give her a fun book and shirt.
Here's a picture of Gramps and daddy putting together the shopping cart.
Nana and Mikayla.
Throwing her tantrum...for a while.
My sweet, wonderful 2 year old! Happy Birthday!!
Enjoying a little frozen yogurt.
Here are 3 of my friends who helped me that night with cleaning and organizing, Mina, Kristine, and Valerie. Where would I have been without them. I wish I would have taken more pictures of the other people who helped like Robin, Aly, and Lena. You girls are the best (your husbands were pretty helpful too, I must admit). Oh, and if anyone needs a phone number of a great taco guy, give me a call!
We were also invited to celebrate the birthdays of a few girl friends of our kids. I made each of the girls a tooth fairy pillow and thought I'd put them on my blog to show that I actually do use my creativity every once in a while. I made a pink one and a purple one. Now Mikayla's tooth fairy pillow isn't to her satisfaction and she wants a new one with a necklace and wings.
Lynnea enjoyed the cupcakes immensely!
Lynnea enjoyed her own little tea cup and ate her weight in siu mai (pork wontons, kind of). She is getting to be such a big girl.
Here is our spread...by the way, my lips don't touch chicken feet, especially those.
One of my favorites is the bolo gai bao which has a mixture of chicken, onion and other good stuff wrapped in a warm bread with a sugary coating. By the way, the red chili oil is my favorite. Mixed with a little soy sauce and hot mustard, it is the best dip for anything!! Siu Mai is my kid's favorite. It is shrimp and pork wrapped in a wonton wrapper. Tsa Siu Bao used to be my favorite (I liked the baked one. The one in the picture is the steamed one). Will's dad used to order it every time I'd come to dim sum and I never wanted to tell him that I didn't need to have my own plate of it each time. Finally, I latched onto another dim sum specialty, hom soy goh (it's not in the picture) so Will's dad would realize that I like variety too. I felt so special that he would remember my likes and dislikes. Will's dad isn't one to show emotion or special attention to anyone in particular and it means a lot when he tries to make me happy by doing little things like making sure I have my favorite dim sum.
The kids and Mama checking out the baked goods. I have to say that my mouth waters every time I come in this place.
These are my downfall. They are pretty much pillows of breaded decadence filled with a whipped cream-type filling and topped with sweet coconut. (I need a minute to compose myself again). Cara will agree that if, placed in a room with just you and them, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from eating them all. There is no self control around these guys.
These are always a temptation for me although I've never bought one. Look how cute they look with their "basket" appearance. So cute.
Then we were off to my parent's house that Saturday for our family celebration. We had to put it off a few days so we could all be healthy enough to enjoy about 20 pounds of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and pumpkin pie.
...and the kids all squished on the couch. What a sight.
Right before we were going to leave, the cousins piled up in the living room and smiled for the camera. Miraculously, Will got the picture at the exact right moment. You can even see Lynnea's mischievous little grin.
Lynnea and my mom. She finally "allows" my mom to hold her and actually runs to her when she sees her. It only took, oh, 2 years?
Now we're well on our way to Christmas and I'm busy with preparations for a big party, wrapping presents and trying to keep my house in some kind of order just so I can relax for a few minutes throughout the holidays. I feel like I've been on my feet for the past 3 months. Maybe after the holidays I'll get to rest?? Maybe not.