We've Been Busy

Sorry about the delay in posting. We have been experiencing technical difficulties. Well, I still am, but I decided I better try to get a post done before I just get too behind.

Grandma and Grandpa Downing came to visit for Thanksgiving. We had such a fun time with them. I realized that I didn't get any pictures from the actual day, but it was definitely a day to remember. My first time cooking Thanksgiving dinner.

I decided to be a great hostess and make the pumpkin pies the day before. Disaster! Twice the pies spilled all over the oven. The second time there were actually embers roasting on the bottom of my gas oven. I really worried that I had no idea what to do if a fire actually broke out. Smoke filled my house and the alarms went off. Luckily, Nolan slept right through it all! After they finished baking (yes, I did push on) they looked alright, so I salvaged them.

Our turkey was also an interesting experience. We cooked it the designated amount and tried carving it. It looked raw! Yuck! So...back into the oven. We kept checking it, and decided after 2 more hours, it HAD to be done. (Good thing dinner was scheduled for 4:00-it wasn't too late for usual dinnertime!) Upon carving, Ted discovered that the jiggly undone-looking part was still there. Our poor turkey must have had a tumor or something like it. We just ate the other side and still had plenty of leftovers. I don't have any pictures of our dinner, but my parents and Ted said everything tasted good-especially the pumpkin pies! Who knew?

Nolan's birthday party was a blast! We had my parents, Ted's parents, his 3 sisters and his grandmother over. We had a great time. Here is Nolan's cake:
He really loves this truck. He puts all his toys in it and pushes it all over the house. Super cute!

He was also a great present receiver. Everytime he opened something, he looked at it, smiled, and really seemed to show appreciation. He got some really great things. My favorite reaction, and I think everyone's who was there, was this:
My mom makes each of her grandkids a quilt for their first birthday. Nolan's has puppy faces with floppy ears to snuggle. I opened it, and he immediately snuggled in. He spent a good 5 minutes rolling in it, smooshing his face down on it, and just letting grandma revel in his reaction. A great treat for the loving hours she spent on it.

Another favorite present:
This was from Great Nana and Papa in Maine. Nolan LOVES it. Mom will love it when it has a place in our basement. (It should be refinished in about 3 weeks! More updates to come!)

Well, as I was trying to post this, my computer really had it. It is chock full of viruses. Poor thing. I did manage to load 5 pictures before it shut down, but I can't for the life of me get Ted's laptop to work. Seeing that I started this post 2 days ago, I figured you get what you get and don't throw a fit! I guess we will all be in suspense for the remainder of our pictures. We did have such a great time with my parents. My dad was pretty sick, but gave Nolan TONS of love. My mom helped me with 2 craft projects-Yep, 2 in a month! Crazy. I made stockings for Ted, Nolan and I. Fun! Hopefully I can get things up and running again soon.