My First Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving 2008 was our first Thanksgiving at our own house and subsequently, my first Thanksgiving to prepare for. Matt was on-call (and thankfully didn't have to go in on Thanksgiving) so my parents and sister Mary Jo drove down from Wisconsin for the long weekend. Oh, and Cali their dog. And as you can see from these first few pics, the kids LOVED having Cali here. They followed her everywhere and even wanted her to sleep in their room (but I wouldn't allow it!)

My other sister Lindsay is living in New Zealand and obviously couldn't be with us, so we got a webcam and talked with her several times throughout the weekend. We'd all huddle around the computer to make sure we could be seen be her! It was hilarious and, according to Lindsay, we were more entertained watching ourselves on the webcam than listening to her.

Thanksgiving Day.....the turkey was in by this point in the morning. I prepared the turkey by myself for the first time and was pretty weirded out by some of the preparations---i.e, pulling the neck out of the turkey and making sure all the feathers were gone. As I stood over the turkey looking in to pull out the neck with my mom coaching me, I was totally freaking out about it, but knew I had to do it on my own. I said, "Kris, just grow up" and ever since that moment, Wyatt tells people that "Mommy had to grow up to make our turkey!" I did eventually pull the neck out, but not without using tongs!

Thanksgiving 2008 Family Pic

Wyatt loves helping----anyone at anytime--and Thanksgiving was no exception. Here he was helping Nani finish the sweet potato casserole.

Waiting.......

....waiting.....

.....waiting.....

..waiting and in need of some entertainment. Nani and Pops singing songs and reading with the kids. I love this picture because it really shows how much my parents love being with the kids and meeting them on their level.

The turkey was finally done and Matt did the honors of carving the turkey for the first time--with some guidance!

A few more pics from the day

(I love Wyatt's little hand on Pops' neck!)

Pumpkin Pie!!

We had a great Thanksgiving and a memorable one for our first! I'm not sure I'm ready to do it all without my mother present, but feel a bit more confident in my abilities. The side dishes and pies were quite easy, but the turkey will still take a few years to perfect! Let's plan on being able to come home for Thanksgiving next year!