Thanksgiving 2011

I love holidays.  I love them even more now that I am a Mommy.  I love making little things extra special for my Munchkin.  Growing up, we didn't have family in Michigan.  Which meant holidays were just us.  Which meant we never left the house on holidays, and my Mom was in charge of the entire holiday meal.  I loved helping my Mom make Thanksgiving Dinner.  We have always prepared a lot of the side dishes and pies the night before.  Wednesday night, Karson and I headed over..around the corner...to help Nana.  I figured Karson would just play in the living room while we baked.  I was wrong.  He spent the entire night sitting on the counter helping us.

 What started out as just a night of preparing food for Thanksgiving, turned into a night my Mom and I will likely never forget.  He had so much fun.  He mixed, and stirred, and helped Nana  flute the pie crust.

Of course, I didn't have my video camera or my slr with me.  Because, after all, we were just baking.  Karson has this shy grin and laugh when he is really excited about something.  He loved helping Nana with the pie crusts!

It may have taken us twice as long to make the pies, and the cake, and the corn, but oh my word he had so much fun!

And our pumpkin pies had the cutest Karson finger prints in them!!

Karson didn't sleep thought the night, and after tossing and turning for a few hours after DJ got K back to sleep, I finally got out of bed at 5am.  EARLY!  I had planned on getting up early to make cinnamon rolls.  I just didn't plan on getting out of bed at 5am, after being awake since 3.  But...I wanted my baby to wake up to my Mom's homemade cinnamon rolls on Thanksgiving morning.

 

Someday, I will post the recipe, they are relitively easy, and after growing up with them, even a Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll doesn't taste good!

Nana and Grandpa came over for coffee and a cinnamon roll  in the morning.  It was the perfect Thanksgiving morning.  Have I mentioned I LOVE living around the corner from my parents?!

We watched the parade for a while with my parents, and headed to DJ's parents for lunch.  We ate, Karson played with his cousins, and we headed back to my parent's for Karson to take a nap.  Holidays are hard on little ones, and we are sticklers about Karson's nap! When he woke up, Uncle Steve & Aunt Jenni were over, and we ate Turkey Dinner.  The best part about being pregnant on Thanksgiving...I don't feel full.  I ate a lot...a lot a lot.  Plus, maternity pants =  elastic waste.  Fabulous!  

Our Thanksgiving was wonderful.  I was having so much fun (and was absolutely exhausted :)), I totally forgot to take any pictures after breakfast. We have so much to be thankful for this year!!  I can't wait until next Thanksgiving...when a sweet baby girl will be joining us at our Thanksgiving Table!