What a difference a year makes! Our Thanksgiving last year was a wonderful, but crazy experience. We had a full house, a brand-new Evie, and were a bit sleep-deprived. One year later, we have two very independent little people, and man, do things sure seem easier! For our Thanksgiving this year, Clint's parents came down to Dallas to spend the holiday with us (Clint was on call Thursday and Friday, so we couldn't leave town). Although we were sad to not have the big group, it ended up being really fun and special to get some quality time with Mimi and Pawpaw. And the holiday ended up being restful and productive, so I am much more relaxed going into the holiday season.
Here are Charlie and Evie in their Thanksgiving finest. Charlie's "yonghorn" shirt didn't quite do the trick this year, unfortunately.
To make some room for our big meal, we took the kids to the park down the street to burn off some energy. They both LOVE the park. It is always our favorite outing. Evie climbs up, down, and all around the playscape. She usually takes several trips down the slide, and although it looks pretty treacherous, she somehow is always smiling at the end. She ended up going down the slide once when no one was there to catch her and landed flat on her back. I expected her to cry, but when I got to her, she looked up at me with a huge smile. I am glad she is so tough!
Here's Charlie in his fancy new boots from Mimi and Pawpaw. He is so proud of these boots. Charlie would like to wear them everywhere, and usually does. Charlie had strong ideas about Pawpaw's attire as well--he wanted him in his hat and boots the entire time!
Somehow, Evie didn't let this smocked outfit slow her down. Not sure how she managed that...
These two love the slides, whether they're headed down...
...or up!
Miss E is fascinated with climbing. I cannot keep her off our tables, chairs, stairs, ladders, and anything else that she can make it on top of. Help!
Monkey boy on the monkey bars...
We also went down to the lake to feed ducks. Charlie and Evie love this activity every time. Charlie likes throwing food to the "daddy ducks" (he's a bit of a male chauvinist) and Evie likes to eat the stale bread and say "duck." :)
After our fun outdoor excursions, we had a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Mimi and I made it together and it was so much less work than I remembered! (probably because Mimi did so much of the work :) Charlie is in a bit of a non-eating phase, so he didn't eat much of it, but Evie was in heaven. She devoured several helpings of dressing, sweet potatoes, and rolls. I don't think I have ever seen that girl eat so much. Charlie's favorite thing (maybe the only thing he tried?) was Mimi's buttermilk pie. He got to stay up late and have a piece of that and he was thrilled.
While Mimi and Pawpaw were in town, we decided to take advantage of the extra help and get a jumpstart on our holiday decorating. First step: picking out a tree! We do real trees every year and this is always one of my favorite parts of the season. Just like last year, Charlie was particularly fascinated with the guy chain sawing the bottom of the trees.
Here are our two little snowpeople...
Charlie insisted on a photo with the deer.
Evie inspecting our tree.
Miss E was such a helpful little shopper. :)
Other Thanksgiving activities included:
watching and playing football
and taking photos of Charlie and Evie. Pawpaw has a new smart phone and took picture after picture of the kids. It cracked me up to see him posing them and getting his pictures set up just so. Something so funny (and sweet) about seeing such a big guy taking baby pictures! :)
A final parting shot with Mimi and Pawpaw... :)
So much to be thankful for this year!!
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