November 11 = Thanksgiving Outfit Day

Babies grow so fast so I'm not positive she'll fit in this in a few weeks so I went ahead and got some pictures just in case. 

November 24 = Zachary's Birthday and Early Christmas

Grandma and Dops came up to visit us this weekend for Zachary's birthday so we decided to go ahead and do Christmas gifts since we won't be traveling to NC and they have to be close to home for Christmas eve service and Christmas day since it's on a Sunday this year.

Here's a hat Zachary got but that Malia promptly took as her own:

Malia's a big fan of the tree.

Here's her dress-up stuff from Grandma and Dops- she tried to see just how many pieces she could wear at once:

She wouldn't stay still long enough for me to get a picture of her in her pretty Thanksgiving dress- this is as good as it got:

And here's Liam and Zachary in their matching Christmas presents:

November 26 = Thanksgiving

This was our first Thanksgiving not with one of our families.  We definitely missed everyone but it was nice not to have to travel.  Grace posted this picture of her and Matt and I just have to share because how gorgeous are they??

 I love this picture of Daisy... she has a hernia as you can see but I just love this because she looks like a grumpy old man.

I think Daisy and Malia are going to be best friends... here's a morning cat nap...

...and then an afternoon one.

So I have a little bit of regret regarding this Thanksgiving.  I spent a lot of the day cleaning because Zachary was home and was doing such a good job of entertaining the kids and the dog.  I started the day off by trying to watch some of the Macy's parade but Liam really wanted to watch Mickey Mouse so that was shot.  We just got our new washer so I was catching up on laundry and just putting stuff away that had piled up in places where said stuff didn't belong.  But Zachary cooked everything for dinner- this was our first turkey and it was perfect.  He made the best mashed potatoes I've ever tasted.  We had macaroni and cheese as well as sweet potatoes.  It was delicious and the kids agreed.  I just wish I would have done a craft with the kids or done some more reflection or something- the day just kind of passed.  But there's always next year.

November 28 = Thanksgiving II

Friday morning we got all packed up and headed over for Smithfield to continue our Thanksgiving celebration.  How lucky are we?!  Since this was the first time Zachary's family got to see him since his birthday, we celebrated his birthday too.  I had no voice so I wasn't able to accompany everyone in "Happy Birthday" but thankfully everyone else had it covered.  Dinner was delicious and continuing to surround Liam and Malia with family who love them made the day so very wonderful.

November 27 = Thanksgiving!

Another actual holiday!  Thanksgiving is Zachary's favorite holiday and we had a really nice one filled with family and good food.  Knowing that we were going to be celebrating Thanksgiving again at his parents house, I ate the ham instead of turkey so I could enjoy two different dinners but I never say no to mashed potatoes- I have no problem having them two days in a row.  This was almost everyone's first time meeting Miss Malia and it was so heartwarming how accepted and loved she was from the moment everyone saw her.  There was no asking, "Can I hold her?"  They just grabbed her and that's how I like it.  Everyone played with Liam too- both of my kids are so loved and there is nothing that makes me happier in this world than seeing my little family happy.  We also got some rare photos- my dad and all of his siblings- and for the first time, maybe ever?- a picture of me and all of my cousins.  I know we had one when my brother had just been born- he was 6 days old on Christmas of 1994 but that picture didn't have Callie in it- she wasn't born yet!  I don't know that we've ever had a picture of all eight of us so that was special.  So this may be picture overload but it was such a good day and we don't get to see everyone that often so these are memories that need to be preserved and shared!

Miss Malia in her "My First Thanksgiving" outfit

Aunt Pat helping Liam with some pumpkin dip (which he loved)

Me and my baby girl

Malia and her "cuz" Josh

Aunt Pat & Malia

All the girl cousins!

Aunt Lynn dominating the kitchen

Brooke, Maggie and Malia- animals love Malia

Cousin Chad & Malia

Uncle Matt & Malia

 

Lynn, Bobby, Pat, Deanie & Dad

All the cousins: Chad, Todd, Brook, Josh, Aaron, Callie, me and Matt

All the cousins plus the newest additions to the family- my little family!

November 19 = Thanksgiving Party Day

Liam's preschool class had a Thanksgiving party today!  I dropped him off at the normal time but came to pick him up thirty minutes early and we parents were treated to two songs and muffins that they had made.

I've been trying to post the video but it won't upload correctly- so I'll have to summarize.  All the parents filed in to a tiny space and you can see Liam scanning the crowd but he didn't see me.  He's thrilled with all these adults watching him and so as they start singing "The Leaves are Falling Down," Liam starts walking across their "stage" with a huge smile on his face.  One teacher tries to get him to sit in his seat but proves to be no match for him and he makes it across the room where another teacher grabs him and puts him in her lap and tries to get him to participate in "Hello Mr. Turkey, How are You?"  He resists again and breaks from her grip.  At this point, he finds me, makes eye contact, flashes his beautiful smile and proceeds to make his way through the crowd of parents to me.  He definitely was the star of the show!

After the show, the teachers served muffins the kids had made the Monday before.  Liam shocked me and started eating the muffin by just taking a bite instead of needing it to be cut up into bite size pieces!  It was such a great opportunity to watch how much he is growing!