Thanksgiving and Uncle John's Donuts

Ameila enjoying an Uncle John's Donut.  Pumpkin variety.

mmmm...donuts.

Hard at work painting a Christmas tree complete with "dtar"

Happy Thanksgiving.  We continue to give thanks for our many blessings.  For health, for family, friends, for the food on our table, warm beds to sleep in, and for miracles.  We are truly blessed as a family and thankful to have all of you in our lives.  It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by since Amelia's first Thanksgiving. If you remember, we made the long trek to Michigan, by car, and zipped around from place to place over the short weekend to share in the many holiday festivities.  And if you also remember, Amelia was OVERloaded, I'll never forget it, and she and I spent most of the holiday tucked away in various bedrooms!  This year, although a year older and a much different baby, we stayed in Nashville for Thanksgiving.  It was tough not being with family but we enjoyed a quiet day with our own little family and even prepared the entire Thanksgiving feast with all the trimmings.  Amelia, however, did not care for Thanksgiving dinner, except the cranberry sauce and pumpkin pie of course.  Maybe next year.  

Big news and also a reason to give thanks...three dozen Uncle John's donuts made their way down to Nashville this weekend.  After mentioning on my facebook page back in September, that I was wishing for a warm pumpkin donut from Uncle John's Cider Mill in St. John's, MI, close to where I grew up, Aunt Mary Sue made it her personal quest to get us some of these delectable treats.  (One of the things I miss about fall in Michigan are the trips to the apple orchards.  Tennessee does not produce apples, at least in our area, and therefore there are no apple orchards and consequently no cider mills and ultimately, no freshly baked pumpkin and cider cake donuts).  The donuts finally made it South, along with a gallon of fresh Michigan cider, via personal delivery by the Cole family, friends of Mary Sue, who traveled to Nashville to visit their daughter for Thanksgiving.  Can you even believe it?  Above you will notice Amelia enjoying a nice pumpkin donut.  A special THANK YOU goes out to Auntie Mary for working so hard to make sure Amelia did not miss out on this fall tradition!  We are thankful for you, Mary.  :)

 

Language EXPLOSION!

Saturday morning...relaxing in the sun and twirlin' hair.

Pumpkin and chalk purse.

Little old lady, or what?

Big girl.

...it's happening.  She's trying out all kinds of words.  Some she's commited to her vocab for regular use and others she just tries out, or repeats if she's asked to.  It's amazing to watch it happen right before our eyes.  She's jabbering more than ever before with hilarious inflection and animated facial expressions, just like she's talking and asking questions.  Her favorite jabbering phrase, is:  "jaba-jaba-jaba-jaba-joe". To which I answer" "jaba-jaba-jaba-jaba-joe?"  To which she replies..."butha-butha-butha-babeeee, baby."  

old favorites: baba (bottle, which is acutally a sippy cup or any type of drink), baby, mama, dadee, up, bear, and of course the ever popular animal sounds...

New ones include:  star, wa-wa (water), down, boo, bath, please, cheese, Jesus, cracker, Gi Gi (her dolly), bumpa, mam-ma, Pat (Grandma Pat),  juice, blue, I-I (her friend, Ivey)

Phrases:  "mama, bath!"  (this was a demand, actually, made to me after Ford already told her she didn't need a bath).  And her first phrase was actually: "dada baba" which was in reference to Ford's beer bottle :)  Nice one. 

It just happens, all of the sudden!  You can actually see the wheels turning and the determination and desire to communicate.  She is growing up, right before my eyes.  Any minute now she's going to be asking for a puppy. 

And perhaps one of my favorite things she communicates right now is this...

Usually at meal time I am in a scramble to get the cooking done and the kitchen cleaned up and the dishwasher unloaded...and all the while, Amelia tends to try to roam about freely into other rooms and out of my sight.  So that I can keep my eye on her, I put her in her high-chair and get her started with some food while I cook.  So, she's well into her meal before I sit down to eat with her at lunch time.  The same usually goes at dinner time when Ford and I both sit down with her, she's usually already started her meal.  So, here it is...without fail, whether it's just me or both Ford and I, as soon as we take our seats, all on her very own Amelia stops eating and folds her hands to pray.  

Every time.  

As soon as we are all seated as a family, she knows it's time to pray.  Sadly, I have to admit, in the craziness and hustle to get everything done and everyone fed, I tend to forget sometimes.  I am always so grateful for the reminder and, everytime, so amazed that she remembers this very important activity...praying as a family and thanking God for our blessings.