Our Thanksgiving

Hopefully all of you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and I hope you were able to see your family, or at least talk to them.  I was lucky enough to get to see a lot of my extended family yesterday.  We drove about an hour to my cousin's new home, which was super-cute.  My brother rode with us, so he was there, as well as my mom, grandmother, aunt and uncle, and some family friends who have become part of our family at Thanksgiving.  Their daughter and her new boyfriend also came.  It was a really great time, and Anne (my cousin) did a fantastic job.  She even cooked the turkey!  (It was delicious, too)  Karina was wonderful.  Even though her entire daily routine was rocked, she took it in stride. 

First, she followed the three little dogs around (Nana's, Aunt Betty's, and Anne's dogs are all small--a shih-tzu and two Havanese) and laughed and squealed.  Then we all took the tour of the house and admired Jason's awesome Lego room (he builds really complex castles and things--I mean really, really cool stuff!).  We snacked on cheese and crackers, and there were also some different dips, but I don't care for dips much, so I stuck to the cheese.  Karina ate some of that and some of the stuff I'd brought her.  After she started getting tired, because we didn't eat til well into her normal nap time, my cousin brought out a new toy that my aunt had bought just for her!  It was a Fisher Price Little People car (pink) with a mom and baby in it.  It makes three sounds, a beep, a sound of children laughing, and a song.  Karina loved it!  First, she pushed it around the whole downstairs and I had to tie up her dress with a rubber band because she kept stepping on it.  Then she finally decided that she needed a break.  She holed herself up in Anne's study, which has two glass doors.  She made me come in with her, but all I was to do was sit there and be quiet.  She shut the doors, and whenever someone would come in and not shut them, she'd get up and go shut them again.  We stayed in there for about 20 minutes, just playing quietly and listening to the car's song over and over.  It was really fine, though, and it rejuvenated her enough. 

Then we ate dinner, and Karina did manage to eat a little more of the lunch I had brought for her.  I couldn't give her most of the food from the family because I didn't know who had made it, so the peanut thing was an issue, and then what I did know about, she wouldn't even try.  She did finally try the lime jello with pears, but she didn't like it.  (I'm not a big fan of jello, either) 

Then I tried to get her to nap.  Ha ha!  We laid down in the study, and I had brought a blanket and Lambkin, but she was just too distracted and couldn't stop playing with the car.  Then Anne suggested we take her for a walk.  It was a genius idea, and I don't know why I didn't think of it.  We walked around her neighborhood for a while just the two of us, which was nice.  I haven't had a chance to see her much so it was nice to catch up.  Karina was all snuggled up in her stroller with Lambkin and the blanket, and after a while, she fell asleep!  I was so happy!  Anne was gracious enough to let us bring the stroller into the house and we put her in the study facing the doors so I could see her.  She slept for about an hour and a half, best I can figure.  When she woke up, it was right when we were starting to pack up to go home, so it was perfect!  She got to tell everyone goodbye, except Mom and Nana who left while she was sleeping.  And she was awake early enough to still go to bed on schedule.  Phew!

Overall, it was such a wonderful day!  I loved seeing my family.  I didn't get to see Anne's brother and his wife, though because her grandmother fell and broke her hip and was not doing well.  So she and Will unexpectedly had to go see Mindy's family.  We missed them, but it was still a great day. 

Today we were supposed to go meet a friend we know from online, but have not met in person yet, but her daughter got a stomach virus so Karina and I stayed home and David still went to visit her. 

Tomorrow, Bill, Karina, and I head up to see my dad's family for Thanksgiving round 2.  They do a non-traditional meal each year, and this year it's pizza.  Yep, pizza.  I love pizza, so that's fine with me.  Karina likes it, too, so hopefully it's a peanut free brand so she can have some. 



Hope your Thanksgiving weekend was wonderful!