Thanksgiving!

Here are the yummies I baked this Thanksgiving. Don't they look scrumptious?
The first one is a pumpkin cheesecake recipe that I got out of Parenting magazine. This was my first time making any kind of cheesecake in my life- it was surprisingly easy. It has all the right spices and was really a hit! It is especially good chilled with some homemade whipped cream on top :) We candied pecans and added them on top with some toasted coconut flakes. double yum.
The second is an apple cranberry pie that my mom made last year and everyone loved. It was a bit more work to make but I think I liked it even more than the cheesecake. Its the perfect blend of tart and sweet. sooo good.

I didn't post much the other day about our time at Grandma & Grandpa Dennetts, so here goes. The car ride was long- much longer than ever. I give credit to the baby :)

He thinks its hilarious when I have a binkie, too.

Don't let his chill expression fool you. He hated being in that car seat.

We sort of had a mini-Christmas with Jonathan's family since we will be with mine for the real thing. Talmage got spoiled by his grandma :)

I don't think he knows what to do with it all.

Jonathan lives on a farm, and so I got to take Talmage out to see all the animals! He was really intrigued. Especially with the cow, hehe.





I just have to put these pictures on here too because they are cute. Here's my little chunk with his cousin Ethan having tubby time :D We got a bum shot because there is a picture of Jonathan as a baby doing the same thing! We compared, and they have the same bum! I know...too much maybe? I don't think so :)

Many Thanks

I just spent the last hour reading all my friends posts, those friends who are listed on the right side of this blog. How I love them all and how thankful I am for their own grateful attitudes. It was good to read about their Thanksgiving holidays. Now it's my turn!

This Thanksgiving has been real good. I spent it with the in-laws, and I'm thankful that I actually really like them. They are wonderful to me and treat me as family. I will never forget the first time I came to Jonathan's parents house, when I was just his friend. His dad gave a blessing over the food and in it he said, "Please bless Lindsey that she will feel comfortable in our home. We are so glad to have her here." I was flabbergasted. And in the 2 years that Jonathan and I have been married they have given us so much love and support. I am thankful for my in-laws, whom I call Mom and Dad.

As for my own parents, they are amazing. I love them both so much and am proud of who they have become as individuals, and of the great feats they have accomplished. Mommy and Daddy, I love you.

I am grateful for the relationship I have with my husband. This past week there has been some drama that I won't go into detail about...but it has made me realize just how good Jonathan is to me. I can trust that we will be together forever because we have a mutual understanding that love will conquer all. We don't let our share of trails or disagreements get in the way of our respect for one another. I love him so much- words cannot describe it. He is my better half.

I could go on and on, but mostly this year my focus is on the people in my life. And to all my friends that let me ramble/vent/talk to them, I am grateful for you. It gets awfully lonely some days and you all are the ones that make them better.

I will post more later about the delicious desserts I baked, because they are worth a post of their own :)

Things I love about my son

*Picking him up out of his crib when he's woken up from a nap. He's all warm and soft and a little drowsy still.
*Starting his bath as he sits on my lap. He gets excited and hugs me a few times.
*Smelling his hair after his bath. It dries right away and is so fluffy.
*Watching his eyes get wide as he plays with a toy. Especially ones that light up or make noise.
*Cupping his little face & cheeks in my hands and smooching him.
*The fat rolls on his chubby legs.
*His conversation with himself in his car seat.
*The pieces of hair that stick up on top of his head.
*His laughing as I sing the diaper song (which I made up and will never sing to anyone else).
*His "ya-ya-ya"ing as he cries.
*How determined he is to stand up every time he's on the floor.
and so much more :)

As Jonathan is away, I can't help but realize that I'm not so lonely because I have Talmage. He makes me laugh and the days are so much brighter with him around. I am truly blessed to have this boy for a son. I can't wait to share with him all the joys of this life as he grows.

So many choices

Lately it seems like no choice is too simple. Everything is more complicated than it used to be. I cannot decide whether I want my couch longways or sideways. Should I eat my apple slices with or without peanut butter? Which is more fun- date night or using that money for Christmas? I ask myself- when did life get so complicated?

Some of you may have noticed that in the last week or so, I've had multiple blog backgrounds. There were just too many choices. But I have settled at last. I promise that I won't be changing it again for quite some time...

unless, of course, I feel the need to complicate things.

No candy for me!

Every year when Halloween rolls around, I make it an excuse for scarfing down a million things of candy and making myself sick. SO this year I made a goal not to eat *any candy. And guess what?
I didn't! Not one!
Instead I made these yummies :)

The nuts slid down the caramel but we sliced them apples up and they were so yummy! Thanks Joelle for the idea!
And remember those cookies I said I would make? Well they were delicious. Very seasonal and good :) I think I want to make these oatmeal cookies every week, but with something different each time, like raisins, mini chocolate chips, peanut butter, etc.

Basically, these cookies changed my life forever.

In other news! Talmage now says "Mumm, mumm" along with "DA DA" and he says them both interchangeably. It's pretty funny. We really love him, a lot :) The other day I put him down for a nap, wide awake, and when I went in to check to see if he was asleep yet, this is what I found the lil stinker doing.

He was like, "Oh! You caught me!"

I think we may have to lower that mattress now, haha.