Thanksgiving 2011

Dear Kate,

You celebrated your first Thanksgiving and what a great one it was! On Wednesday, we joined your big sis at her school for a Thanksgiving lunch with her whole class. You had a blast because all the Ab's friends were so interested in you. Several asked to pet you and others had lots and lots of questions, although the main one was "Is that Abigail's baby". Miss Whitney (her teacher) informed me that she tells everyone that you are her baby! I don't blame her - look how precious you are!

You even got other teachers stopping by! Miss Sabrina dropped in because she heard you were making an appearance!!

After a yummy lunch, we headed to Cookeville to Aunt Amy and Uncle Martin's house. You relaxed for a bit while the other kiddos played outside...

And of course Aunt Amy had to have some play time - and your sister was right there to show her how...And Caroline took about 2oo picture of you!! She's turning into her Auntie Nicole!
We enjoyed a nice afternoon hanging out with family and you proved your Mommy right - a perfect angel, just like I said you'd be :) That night Papa played with you for a bit before bedtime and just couldn't get over how sweet and laid back you were (I think he means to say "especially considering your momma and sister!!!)

Thanksgiving Day morning, you enjoyed watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade with all your cousins jumping around you and soon enough Papa realized you needed a break! So he volunteered to take you on a hike, along with all the other kiddos!

I was more than happy for him to take you all on a walk and even suggested Uncle Martin and Daddy to join y'all! Now, your Aunt Amy was SUPER awesome this year and volunteered to cook the entire Thanksgiving meal on her own since we're in the middle of moving, and Aunt Steph is in the middle of having a baby, or super super close! At first I was a little hesitant because, well, she and Uncle Martin tend to make, how do I put it, different meals than the normal American family, which might make sense since Uncle M isn't exactly American. But anyway, I was a little hesitant, but Aunt Amy sent me the full menu, including multiple potato dishes, so I was content. And I was a little worried we might be eating at 10 that night, but she assured me that that is always Uncle Martin's fault and that she was the head chef today so I had nothing to worry about. Well, you know me, I had to see it to believe it, and at 9 that morning, we were chopping onions, cutting green beans, baking potatoes, and all kinds of things! So far, she was very organized and ahead of the game!

Meanwhile, you posed for a few shots in an outfit Nan gave you - that's Uncle Martin's mom. She sent you something all the way from England, so we Skype with her to show off what a beauty you were in her outfit!!

By noon, I realized that maybe, just maybe, your Aunt Amy was going to pull this off. So I took a few steps back and let her do her thing! And got you and your sister all spiffed up for your first Thanksgiving...

I'm telling you, the two of you are such precious little turkeys! And what a relaxing Thanksgiving. It was so nice not to be scrambling around the kitchen, jumping over one person or the other trying to get your dish made and at the same time as the others just to make sure you're not the reason the dinner isn't served on time! Well, it was relaxing for everyone except maybe Aunt Amy. Don't worry, she had a little help... The boys had to do their part.

And Uncle Martin had to tell them what they were doing wrong...

And believe it or not, we were sitting down to dinner by 6 o'clock!!! Look at the beautiful turkey!

Aunt Amy outdid herself and we all ate and ate and ate, and then went around to tell everyone what we were thankful for. You didn't say much, but I bet you were thinking that you were so thankful to be a part of such an awesome fam! Right??! I know I was - and thankful to have such beautiful, healthy girls, and that ole dad of yours too!

After dinner, you were sweet as can be and slept like an angel while we played games with the fam. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast, but unfortunately we did not go on our annual day after Thanksgiving Day hike - don't worry, you got lots of loving by your cousin Caroline (although she doesn't look particularly happy here, she was very happy to be holding you on her own!)

I was rather disappointed we didn't get to hike, seeing as this was going to be your first hike, but we needed to get back home and get things packed (another story...).

All in all, a very special first Thanksgiving for you baby girl! Love you!!