Thanksgiving update

Catching up! This may sound trite or cliche, but it's true: once Aria started walking, it became impossible to do anything. Everything has amped up a notch. It's more fun. It's more work. It's more invigorating. It's more tiring. Etc.

Anyway... we had a great Thanksgiving vacation this year. One of the best we've had in a while. First, a trip to San Jose to see my family. Now that Aria is walking we all had a blast watching her hang out with Machen & Adamen. They all three got along very well. Hosanna and I were much more relaxed now that Aria can hold her own a little bit better.

Aria was really getting into this ball toy. It didn't take much coaxing for her to give it a try. Once she figured out where the balls go, she played with it all night.





She also learned how to walk while carrying heavy things, like Mommy's purse. (Of course, this is one of the many things that Nana has taught her how to do.)



Grandpa, meanwhile, introduced her to his favorite pastime: giving grandkids rides on his foot.



After San Jose it was up to Santa Rosa to Manny & Tova's place, where we had Thanksgiving dinner with Hosanna's family. We all cooked up a storm and it was a truly lovely feast: Kathy made vegetable pot pie, Hosanna made mashed potatoes & mushroom gravy, I made nutloaf, Adamen made a big salad, Manny made sauteed chard, and as a bonus Kathy showed me how to make cranberry sauce out of real cranberries. Then for dessert, Hosanna's famous pumpkin cheesecake. Yuuuuummmm-mmmmy. :)

Manny was stoked because Aria finally got over her fear of him:



And in this rare moment, both girl and dog held still for at least 5 seconds while I snapped the picture. Doesn't it look like she's stealing cookies from the cookie jar, and he's egging her on? I have no idea what she's reaching for.