Thanksgiving Recap

We had a GREAT Thanksgiving week visiting my family in Detroit.  After our last two disasters flying, we decided to drive the 14 hours, becuase (a) you can easily spend 14 hours in transit with air travel, (b), you would have no control over those 14 hours of your life, whereas at least we have control to stop or go as we please in our own car, and (c), TSA "pat-downs."  The boys did great on the way there, until about 10 p.m. when James woke up crying, and Sean spent the next three hours staring at him (albeit quietly staring).  I was so glad to get to my mom's house and lay down in a silent room.  We did use benedryl on James on the way back, and everyone was happier for it.  Yes, I drugged my child, judge me as you will. 

At my mom's house we saw my Aunt Sue and Uncle Jerry from St. Louis.  Sue is a notorious baby-lover, and after a few hours observing her with Sean and James, Cody asked if I inherited that gene from her. Danny and Mikey, if you are reading this, beware, I saw your mother mouth "I need grandbabies" more than once. 

Sandy, Eva and Gaia came by for a day for a Sunday-Thanksgiving and an impromptu bday party for Sandy.  This picture captures the visit-- Gaia LOVED holding James and reading to him, and Sandy graciously read countless Berenstain Bears books to the 4-and-unders all afternoon....meanwhile, Eva is 12 and texting. 

First-cousins-in-law (its hard to explain).  Gaia was so great with James, and Seannie loved following Gaia around.  When one of our guests left that afternoon Sean pointed at Gaia and said "Her stay here."  Just tonight he was talking about Gaia and asking us if she has a Costco.

Talk about looking up to his first cousin-- Eva is legendary in Sean's eyes--- we pray for her at night all the time, have pictures of her all over, and he even gets to see her a few times a year!  So, when they do get together, he is in awe. 

Of course, the boys got LOTS of grandmotherly attention from Mama Peggy-- reading Berenstain Bears and Clifford books (in a laundry basket), and a REAL (stuffed) Clifford Dog was waiting for Seannie on his little bed when we arrived (at 2:00 a.m.).  Sean did not let go of "Cliff" all week-- and he is currently sleeping with him. Sean also loves watching tennis on TV (and can say "Djokovich"), which gels perfectly with Mama Peggy, whose TV is on the Tennis Channel 90% of the day.

Next it was off to Pop and B's house, and Pop took us to the Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade early Thursday morning.  This is something we used to do as kids every year and I have fond (but cold) memories of it.  It was exciting to watch Sean soak it all in (Cody promptly volunteered to stay home with James when he saw the weather report).

The only snag to the "Po-rade" (as SB says it), was when a brightly painted clown tried to put beads around Sean's neck.  He was so scared out of his mind, he was screaming, sobbing, and as the clown got closer (couldn't the clown tell this was not going well????), he started flailing all limbs to keep it at bay.  Unfortunately, the clowns were the first display, but luckily, Sean recovered.  When we asked him about it later, he denied the whole thing-- I guess he blocked it out.  We said, "Seannie, did you see clowns at the parade?"  "No."  "Did a clown give you those beads?" "No."

And of course, where there is Pop, there is Costco.  Here is a shot of "Uncle" and Sean in matching ND jerseys, in the basket at Costco.  Gabriel couldn't decide all week whether it was better following around (mobile) Sean, or investigating (stationary) James.  Sean was just about in heaven with all the new toys to play with, not to mention the treats Pop kept "sneaking" him.  Somehow, he now knows what M&Ms are and has been asking for them since we got home.  Tonight we went to Costco and he asked for "red cake."  Hmm...

With all the babies, this is a pretty accurate representation of our Thanksgiving dinner. It was delicious and enjoyable, and we timed it so that all three boys were awake and eating with us.  Perfectly timed, or perfect mistake?  Not sure yet.... Most of the dinner was spent managing three bibs, three demands (in different stages of language), three different forms of milk, and six curious hands.  But, a joyful chaos nonetheless. 

We also had my 10-year reunion the day after thanksgiving, but for some reason I didn't take any pictures, which I am kicking myself for now.  Trust me, it wasn't because it wouldn't have been cool-- I threw out any semblence of "cool" when I brought out the camera to show people pictures of Sean and James!  Somehow, it never got switched from "play" mode to picture mode.  It was really really great to see so many people from high school though.  High school is awkward and embarrasing for everyone, but I really loved the experience, and loved a lot of people I don't see anymore. 

That's all for Thanksgiving... in full swing for Advent and Christmas preparations here now!