Thanksgiving was an intimate affair in the Kilps household: just the four of us. Here's Bella in front of the appetizers. . . and who doesn't put the black olives on their fingers.
Although we wouldn't be getting together with extended family, I didn't want this to feel like an ordinary day. So I tried to add a few special touches. Like this menu. . .
We made some turkey napkin holders. I am particularly fond of Bella's on the right. Two feathers, five feet, and no beak. Perfect!
Daddy carving the turkey while Bella supervises.
Graydon couldn't wait for the turkey, so he snacked on a bread roll while Daddy carved.
This is our Thanksgiving Tree. I think we'll make this into a tradition. Starting in September, I put this tree on the table in our hallway with some blank leaves and wire. Whenever we thought of something we were thankful for, we'd write it on the leaf. On Thanksgiving, we read through all of the leaves. Besides the biggies like family, God, health, our home, etc. we were also thankful for little things like snuggling together on the couch, six straight hours of sleep, Barbie pajamas, good beer (guess whose that was), beautiful fall days, etc. We had a long list - as we should. There's a lot to be thankful for.
At the end of the evening - Daddy had a bit of difficulty with getting Graydon's clothes over his head. He ended up sporting this "hat" for a little while.
The next day was Christmas decorating day! Usually I'm pretty antsy to get decorating; but this time Bella was the eager beaver. She unpacked every box before we were even ready for them. The living room was a disaster - we could barely see the floor!
With Christmas music playing and some popcorn to snack on, the house gradually started to look a bit more like Christmas. Andy's job is to string the lights. I stay away from that. I love to do the ornaments, but lights stress me out.
And, he does such a great job - so why mess with that.
Bella put up pretty much every ornament. . . which meant that all ornaments were placed on the bottom third of the tree. Not good when we have a little Graydon who is into everything. I had to do a little rearranging after she was in bed; though I tried to leave as much as I could right where she put it. This was her favorite part of decorating.
And this is just a random pic from the week. Graydon is just like big sister. As soon as I sit down to play, he immediately shows up and starts banging on the keys. He looks serious in the picture, but he was having a blast.
