Our First Thanksgiving!

 

This year was our first Thanksgiving on our own, but, we weren't completely alone, because my sister came to visit! Lilly is especially happy to spend time with "Nana!" (She can say "Aunt Amanda" now, but still prefers the name she gave her when she first started talking.)

 Aunt Amanda arrived Thanksgiving Eve, and Lilly's first words were, "Read Fancy Nancy!" And so they did. In the morning Lilly got a princess blanket from her Aunt "Nana", and she was ecstatic (that's a fancy word for happy). She just kept saying how "soft" and "nice" it was. She also correctly counted "three princesses!"

 

I stole some reading time of my own later that day, and as you can see, Lilly and the blanket have been inseparable.


While Lilly napped, my sister and I cooked and cooked in preparation for our big meal. I worked on the turkey, rolls, cranberry sauce and gravy. She made the stuffing, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole. Drew was watching football, but he stepped into action in a last quarter rush to make the mashed potatoes, carve the turkey, and do some dishes. It was definitely a team effort.

 

Lilly woke up from her nap just in time to eat. She hopped right into her highchair, ready to go!
She chose out her own fancy dress to wear for the day because, she said, "it nice! soft!"

 After we were all stuffed and the kitchen cleaned up, we decided to move right along to Christmas! Why not?
Lilly colored some paper ornaments to send to Uncle Marc in Thailand, and she helped us decorate our new (free from a garage sale) Christmas tree. She was extremely excited about the lights on the tree, and just about the tree in general. She petted the tree and said it was "nice" and "soft," which makes me think we may need to re-explain the meaning of "soft." 

This is the first year we've actually set up a Christmas tree, and I love the feeling it brings into our home!

Hooray for Holidays and Family! I love this time of year!