Thankful Chain

We did a little family project in November.  As much as I dislike Halloween, I love Thanksgiving.  I love the food, the family, the decor, and the concept of gratitude.  After chatting with some friends on facebook, I came up with the idea of everyone writing down one thing at dinner each night that they were thankful for that day on a strip of paper and making a Thankful Chain.  It turned out GREAT!  The kids were really into it and asked to do it each night.  At the end of the November we took the paper chain and used it to decorate our little Christmas tree in the den!

 

I took a minute to write down what every one was thankful for this year:

Gillian:
My family and friends
Cuddly Bunny Jammies
Momo napping with me today
My favorite friend, Louise
My Barbies
My warm, cozy bed
My pink, fuzzy blanket
Dancing class
My cousin, Sarah
Both Weasel and Momo
GraGra
The Earth
WeeWee
Daddy
My friend, Sarah
Love
Our dinner
Aunts and Uncles
Ham
Friends
Me
Books
Food
My family
Mommy


Colin:
Family
Bacon
A nice, cozy bed
Noodles
Snow
Legos
Bread
Houses
Santa
Real friends
Plants
Bones
Tomatoes
School
Potato chips
Joshua's triplets
Dino Museum
Ham
Friends
Mustard
Trampolines
Carrots
Momo and WeeWee
Turkeys

Mommy:
Daddy, Colin, Gillian.  Momo and WeeWee too.
That Daddy's home
A warm(ish), solid house
A fun afternoon with Gillian
Pretty, new curtains
Fridays
A warm, cozy bed
The milk actually being in the car
Colin and Gillian
Hawaiian Pizza
Daddy's hard work
New paint for the dining room
Yoga class
See Saw and Miss Thelma
Kids doing gymnastics
Kids who play in the snow
Happy Weasels
Family dinners
Friends
Music
A beautiful, sunny day
A fun day with Colin and Gillian
A beautiful red tree on our way to school
A productive weekend

Daddy:
Health
Beef short rib ragu
Daylight Savings Time
Math
NPR
Umami
"GraGra and Papa distracting C&G so I could sleep in"
Strudelknot and Festerdoodle
Veterans
Cat snuggles
Noodles and red sauce
To not be in the Phillipines
Wallpaper removal professionals
Chinese food
Noodles
NSAIDs
Feeling well enough to run
No fear of public speaking
The weekend
Legos
New tires for winter
Lazy Sundays
Being 1/3 done with work this week
Moderation
Family

Finished product!  See we managed to get some curtains up in November too!

Thanksgiving Weekend 2012

Oh Thanksgiving.  My favorite.  It was a good one this year.  And for that we are very thankful.  Given that 2008 was spent with 4 weeks old twins (and EXHAUSTION), 2009 was spent in the hospital with Colin's first asthma attack (and EXHAUSTION), and 2010 was also spent in the hospital with Colin's round of pneumonia (and EXHAUSTION), we will take any holiday that involves being home, being healthy, and a normal level of tiredness.  Amen.

So, Thursday morning we headed north.  We love to travel the morning of Thanksgiving.  Traffic is amazing.  We went straight to Grammy and Papa Frank's to get ready for some turkey!  Tickles help prepare you for turkey.



Colin was very snuggly on Thanksgiving.   Daddy almost accomplished his dream of napping with a snuggly kid on a holiday.


After a delicious lunch, we hung out with the family.  Some of us napping, watching some dog show, and plenty of Yahtzee Jr.  Gillian's favorite game of late!




After a quick lay-down for the kids, we took them into Dickiedoo and Noonie's for a second round of turkey and other goodies.  And, as usual, the camera did not get used!  Grrr.

On Friday morning, Grammy suggested that she and Papa take the kiddos to the tree farm to tag a tree.  Daddy and I volunteered to stay home.  That deal worked for everyone!  Looks like they had fun though!



They found one!


Good work, team.

On Friday evening we had our annual celebration of Papa Frank's birthday with the Keister family.  I only took two pictures.  Rest assured, there was much merriment, playing with Joe, and more Yahtzee.

(I think Colin is asking Joe a serious question there.)

(Can you spot the horse on the table?)

Saturday morning, we woke up to a dusting of snow.  The kids were transfixed.  They sat like this with Grammy, chatting about snow, for about half an hour.


Then we were off to Great-Grandma's for another round of turkey.  As usual, there was much noise, many people, too much good food, and just plain craziness.  Colin and Gillian just played and played and played.  I think they really enjoyed all their family, especially cousins Ben and Sarah.  Oh, and more Yahtzee.



Sunday morning we packed up and headed home.  Daddy and I remarked on the way home that we have two wonderful kids.  They traveled so well and were so well-behaved, friendly, independent, and just plain ol' awesome this year.  Hurray!  Ready for next Thanksgiving already!

Turkey Day Catch-up

I think we are still recovering from Thanksgiving, over a week later! We just finished unpacking the last suitcase today! Anyway. Catching up on Thanksgiving!

A few years ago we happened to HAVE to travel on Thanksgiving morning. AND IT WAS AWESOME. So, now we do it every year. No traffic, fast trip, just in time for lunch. PERFECT. We had a lovely lunch at Grammy and Papa Frank's house with Uncle D and Aunt Cedes. Colin even tried a brussel sprout. And the only picture we got was our attempt at a family photo.

G insisted on wearing the Rapunzel dress, sitting in Grammy's little chair, AND holding two bears. On Colin's side, we had pumpkin insistence. So, it was great, needless to say.


The kids took an amazingly good nap after lunch (given that they hadn't eaten enough turkey to fall victim to it) and then we headed in to to see Dickiedoo and Noonie. We mostly just visited and picked at their feast. The kiddos had so much fun playing with my step-brother's 11 year old son, Dalton. Giggles, giggles, giggles. It was great.

On Friday, I took the kids to visit my Grandparents Bish. We also saw my Aunt Pat and her grandkids, Alyssa and Adam, and my cousin Becky, her husband Haiko, and their son Sven. The kids played with Alyssa and Adam so nicely. They played dominoes and cars and wrestled and laughed the entire time. I think my Grandparents had the best time just watching all the crazy. I wanted a couple of pictures of the kids with my Grandparents, but the kids wouldn't get a picture without me in it. I was NOT prepared to be photographed, but the pictures were worth it!

Great-Grandma and the kiddos! (Yes, that's my 87 year old Grandmother on the FLOOR. Man.)


Great-Grandpa and kiddos!


Friday evening, Grammy and Papa Frank were kind enough to wrangle C&G for us! We met Matt, Rachel, Samantha, Tim, and Betsy to watch "The Muppet" movie and have some Mexican for dinner. It was so nice to spend the evening with old friends (and family). You knows those friends that you don't see for months or years at a time and sit down together and it's like no time has passed? Yeah, that's awesome.

Saturday morning we headed out to my Grandparents' Smith house for Crazy Turkey Day #3. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of noise. Great, crazy fun.

Any, hey, look! We finally convinced Grandma to sit a large portion of the day instead of working so hard (and thanks to Matt, Rachel, and Aunt Lori who picked up most of her work!)!


My cousin Becky's little girl, Sarah, and Gillian were FAST buddies almost off the bat. G told Daddy, "I try to ask Sarah to be my friend, but she too quick, I can't catch her." I think they were friends anyway!



Those girlies even made a "Girl's Club" and kept trying to shut Colin out of the bedroom they were playing in. I think he took it in stride though. He was laughing about. But I think he was a little confused as to WHY he couldn't play with his BFF, Gillian. Not sure his sweet, friendly little brain could compute the girls only game!


FOOD!

(Even after feeding 35-ish people there were enough leftovers to feed about 20 more people!)

After that enormous feast, we hauled ourselves back to Grammy and Papa Frank's house to celebrate Papa's birthday with the Keisters. Colin was beyond thrilled. BEYOND. He loves Joe. While we were eating dinner, Colin would lean over on Joe's arm, gaze up at him, and say, "I love you Joe." Those boys played and played and played (OK, Joe is 22 I shouldn't call him a boy, young MAN). And Gillian colored with Jessie Bean (and Bean tried to teach the importance of re-capping your markers). It was so nice to visit with our Keisters. They kids have so much fun with them (as do Daddy and I)!!

Next morning we were up early, ate some of Papa's waffles, and helped Grammy light the Advent candle.

Then it was home again, home again. And we're still recovering. Ok, well, I am still recovering. The kids seem fine ; )

Applesauce and Candid Cameras

Our assignment for Thanksgiving at Great-Grandma's house is applesauce. Oh, and green salad. GraGra gave us a big bag of apples last weekend when we were visiting, so I thought it would be a fun post-nap afternoon activity to whip up our applesauce. (And then freeze it until the big day)

I cut and cooked the apples while the kids napped and let it cool for a bit. Then we set up the food mill and off we went.



While it was Gillian's turn to turn the mill, Colin got bored. He found the camera and wanted to take some pictures. Ok, fine. Here's his handy work:




(I need to get him to work on taking FLATTERING pictures)

Of course, then G wanted a turn. She took a more "still life" approach.



So, our applesauce turned out super yummy. GraGra had GOOD apples. It was so good that we volunteered to bring applesauce to Grammy's house for Thanksgiving too!

Dobble, Dobble

Phew, finally catching up on Thanksgiving....gobble, gobble....or as Colin says, dobble, dobble. Thanksgiving this year was better than last year. No one was IN the hospital. YAY! Sadly, Daddy and I had nasty colds, Gillian was still teething, and Colin was still doing plenty of breathing treatments. Perhaps next year we'll all be hale and hearty, but I'm not holding my breath.

Anyway, we didn't get many pictures over the holiday, but we made the rounds to all sorts of family gatherings and ate, ate, and ate. The kids were pretty funny at the turkey dinners; they just don't eat mashed potatoes, gravy, or, umm, turkey. So, they feasted on olives, pickles, rolls, cranberry sauce, and a banana. Yikes.

Papa Frank had been working on a big surprise for the kids for several weeks before Thanksgiving and it was finally ready to reveal! A TRAIN! Papa had fixed up Daddy and Uncle D's old train in the basement! The kiddos really enjoyed it!

Look at Colin! I think he's saying "WOAH!"


Gillian enjoyed it too!


Uncle D helped Colin get a good view!


Grammy came to check it out too!


On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, my Mom's side of the family gathered to eat. Rachel and Matthew cooked us a 28 pound turkey and there was, FINALLY, enough stuffing for all. The kids really enjoyed playing on Great-Grandma Smith's computer. As you can see....



GraGra helped them out some...


It was a busy, tiring, snotty weekend. We enjoyed our family and (Daddy and I enjoyed) the turkey. But, we were all happy to be home and sleeping in our own beds for a while!

Over the River and Through the Woods....

The Friday after Thanksgiving, Colin, Michael, and I made our way North to the Land of Grandmas! FINALLY! We were quite happy to be headed toward turkey and Gillian! We arrived at the Uhls' house by lunch and were happy to scoop up Lil'Bean and scarf some leftovers!

We were interested in what C&G would do after not seeing each other for two days. The answer is....nothing. They really could not have carried less about not seeing each other. I also wasn't quite sure what to expect from Gillian, after being separated from Mama and Dada for two days. The answer is...whine, and cling, and snot. She was not pleasant. I think she held it all together for the Grandmas, but once Mama was there, she was Free To Be Me. Honestly, she didn't feel well, at all.

That evening we had the Traditional Grandpa Frank Birthday Get-together with the Keisters. Since the kids were tired and messy after dinner, we gave them a bath and put them in their jammies for the evening. They enjoyed a nice play with Jess, Joe, Uncle D, and Aunt Mercedes. This is also pretty much the only time all weekend that Daddy had his camera out. He got some awfully goofy pictures, especially of Colin. I'm not sure what was up with Colin, but he was WILD.

Colin and Gillian received these awesome blocks from Great Aunt Jane and Great Uncle Bob, and they were a HIT!




CRAZY COLIN!




See, more crazy....


On Saturday evening, we had dinner with my mom's side of the family. Crazily enough, there were 31 people there for dinner. It was loud, busy, and a little overwhelming, but C&G took it in stride. They ate well with Grandma RoRo and Grandpa Greg (so Mommy and Daddy could eat in peace, which was a treat!), and were friendly and happy with everyone!

On Sunday we visited Dickiedoo and Noonie for lunch, and the kiddos were spoiled once again by their Grandparents. Seriously, they were just handed every little thing that they wanted!!

After lunch, we headed back to the 'Burgh. It was a busy, tiring weekend, but we were pretty happy to make it North at all!

Smith Family Thanksgiving

Here's the end of our Thanksgiving pictures!! We had Thanksgiving lunch with my mom's side of the family the Saturday after Thanksgiving, and it was the first time that most of my family met C&G.

Great-aunt Sue LOVES babies, and especially loves giving babies baths. I don't particularly like giving baths, because C&G don't really like them yet.

Colin getting clean


Gillie's turn:


My twin cousins, Isaiah and Bernie, met C&G and we took the traditional "Twins holding Twins" picture. Isaiah was Twin A and he's holding our twin A (Colin); Bernie was Twin B and he's holding our twin B (Gillie).


And finally, we tried to get a picture of all four great-grandchildren together. They aren't he best, but they are funny in that Sarah is SO much bigger than the twins!! Benjamin was also a good sport in the pictures!!