Happy New Year everyone!! I know it's been forever since I last posted...I'm slacking. I've just had trouble uploading pictures onto my computer, and I didn't want to post without them. But I'm finally back on track, so I have a lot of catching up to do! So let's take it back to Thanksgiving :)
Yes, this was the first year I've been 3,000 miles away from home on a major holiday. I felt okay though; wasn't lonely. I was actually invited to a couple dinners for the holiday. Fortunately, I was invited to spend Thanksgiving with a family that I started babysitting for back in October. Lovely family, very warm and welcoming. I am so thankful they were brought into my life during this major transition. They made me feel like I had a second family here that I could go to if needed. I started babysitting for them through the
Care.com website. They were looking for a babysitter 1-2x/week for their 1y.o. son. Trying to make a little extra cash and being that they lived around the corner, I immediately messaged her and said I was interested, but that I would be moving in 3 months :/ . Knowing that, she still wanted to interview me, and within a couple weeks I was babysitting for them! It was one of the best things that happened to me while up in the Bay. We all immediately clicked as if I had known them for a while...even their dog! It was nice. It took a couple of visits for him to warm up to me, but within no time he knew who "Shante'" was :) .
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| My little man! |
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| Love him just as much as he loves his binky! ;) |
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| My gurl! |
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| Let's all play on Shante'! |
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| His favorite silly face! |
They invited me to his 1st birthday! I got to meet their family, friends, and spend time with him for his big day. It was a fun party...nice people, good food, and great cake! I really enjoyed myself that day. The cake was from
Sweet on Cake. If your in Cali and need a cake for any occasion...I HIGHLY recommend her! It was
delicious! And beautiful! (She also did their wedding cake).
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| Happy 1st Birthday! |
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| Birthday Boy! |
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| Loved this cake...so pretty! |
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| Beautifully decorated! |
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| The BEST cake everrrr!!! Banana w/cream filling <3 |
Now back to the topic of this post...for Thanksgiving, they invited me to their parent's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I was very grateful that they were so welcoming in knowing that I have no family here and they didn't want me to spend it alone. They treated me as if I were apart of the family. And it was nice because I met their family at the birthday party, so they already knew me and were happy to see me :) It was a very comforting feeling. Dinner was nice and lots of quality time was spent. There was lots of food and TONS of dessert! I made pumpkin bread that was a big hit! Little man LOVED it as well, and if he approves, then it's a go! lol. I did have to work at 11pm that night, but I was still able to enjoy the holiday as if I were at home.
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| Beautifully decorated |
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| My own place setting :) |
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| Happy Thanksgiving <3 |
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| Dinner was taking too long for him..lol |
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| Turkey, turkey, turkeyyyy! |
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| He loved my banana bread! Kept wanting more! <3 |
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| The guys watching football post dinner |
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| The ladies chatting post dinner |
All in all, it was sad leaving Martinez...I didn't want to leave them nor stop watching my little man, and they felt the same. I miss them. I try to keep in touch and hope to go visit them soon. They are an awesome family and I am forever grateful!
Xoxo,
