Sunday, December 7, 2014

Thanksgiving 2014 Highlights

Let's see...where were we?  Oh yes, Thanksgiving.  Last week was an adventure, that's for sure.  But we'll just focus on the parts we are thankful for - like a visit from Travis' parents, YaYa and Papa! 
We celebrated Thanksgiving by dressing in our holiday best - no, scratch that.  We had every good intention of dressing in our holiday best but YaYa and Papa's luggage didn't make it to town.  And Josie and Merryn's super cute Gymboree skirts that had been purchased months in advanced and saved for the occasion turned out to be WAY too large.  So we all resorted to our Plan B and made the most out of the resources that we available to us. 
 
We went out for a fabulous Thanksgiving brunch because my beloved in-laws have known me long enough to realize that I don't possess the culinary aptitude nor the emotional stability to prepare a formal 8 course holiday meal.  So we found ourselves a lovely restaurant where we would relax and indulge in all of our holiday favorites without the tedious preparation and clean up.  The waitress even came by and wiped Josie's runny nose -seriously - that's service!  It was terrific!
 Unfortunately, the bloody mary *ahem* tryptophan kicked in a little too soon and I forgot my good camera at the restaurant.  We eventually realized and retrieved it but I didn't get to document as much of the holiday as I would have liked.  I did, however, capture a few gems.  Check out this perpetually pleasant, pink-cheeked little turkey celebrating her first Thanksgiving with her YaYa:
 The little "cooker" in the family whipped up a batch of homemade cake pops and proudly distributed them to our guests.
Every year we alternate Thanksgiving and Christmas between our families and since it was Thanksgiving with YaYa and Papa this year, we also celebrated Christmas together with a little gift exchange.  The adults have a tradition of purchasing one universally appealing gift.  We draw numbers and each select a gift.  The surprise element is the most fun part.  You could end up with a wine decanter from France (like I did) or you could really luck out and score a biography of Abraham Lincoln (like YaYa did).
The holiday was not without it's challenges (lost luggage, less than ideal accommodations, and a handful of ER visits) but overall we had a terrific time.  Being in the presence of loving family is a true reminder that we have so much to be thankful for.
 
 


2 comments:

  1. Hi,
    I've been reading your blog for awhile now.. I found your blog after my niece was born and we found out she has Ds.

    I have a question and I don't know how else to contact you. All of a sudden there is some major hype about this speech program called Gemiini. Have you heard of it? They are heavily marketing to families in the Ds community. But I can't find any reviews that sound genuine. Do you know anything about it? Or know anyone who has tried it?

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    Replies
    1. Hi Rebecca,

      I am not familiar with that program. I have been asked to blog about Josie's speech and I keep meaning to but it's tough to find time these days. Check out the FAQ's - I did address the topic there. Sorry I couldn't be of more help!

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