Thanksgiving and more

We enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend with our little family and Mimi, Auntie Joey, and cousin Koa.  Counting baby Jack, that makes 8 people for the big dinner--markedly smaller than the feasts in UT where it was so crowded that as kids we would get banished to the "kid table" until we were old enough to sit shoulder to shoulder with all of the grown-ups.  However, our  feast this year  was nice and intimate and plenty crazy.  (Too bad we didn't think to have a kid table, though...)

JR's first Thanksgiving... 

Our turkey was SO good--it was juicy, and flavorful and tender (all of the things turkey meat typically isn't).  For the past couple of years Paul and I have gone to great lengths to prepare our bird for the big day: 1) we order a fresh turkey from an amazing market weeks in advance;  2) we pick up our freshly slaughtered turkey two days in advance;  and 3) we concoct a brine full of salt, sugar, and plenty of seasonings and fresh herbs and soak our turkey overnight.  Perhaps after all of this extra work we are just a little biased toward our bird, but we think our turkeys are among the best we've had.  Which is a good thing since we ended up with a 23 pound turkey to feed 3 adults...

Dinner in our new dining room.  This is probably only the fourth time we have had dinner in here...

Pilgrim Max.  He made this cute little hat at school and wore it during dinner--it was so adorable.  Another funny thing about this picture is the turkey leg in Max's hand.  He loves to eat chicken drumsticks so when he begged for the one from the turkey he wasn't expecting it to be so HUGE.  I think the size of it kinda freaked him out--he took a bite but then was over it.

Max and Koa having a "sleepover" in Max's room.  They look so cute all snuggled up together!  Unfortunately, Max ended up with croup the next day so they only got to sleep together this one night.

Koa and baby Jack...

Little JR at 11 weeks old...

Look how grown-up Sammy looks...

Sam is such a clever, funny little boy who gets compliments on his blonde hair and long eyelashes everywhere we go.  I often say that it is a good thing he is so cute because his other nickname is "El Destructo"--the kid will destroy anything in his path.  New refrigerator?  Sam will put a few good dings in it.  New dishwasher"  Sam will break the handle so it won't latch and then draw all over it.  Newly painted walls?  Sammy will drive his trucks and drag his toys all over them.  I could go on and on...  But he is SO stinkin' adorable!

Seriously, though, he is such a cute, affectionate little boy.  He loves to snuggle and cannot sit on the couch without insisting mommy or daddy come and sit by him.  He has a fun sense of humor and can be a bit of a tease--his older brother usually doesn't like this trait.  He loves music and is quite a good dancer (he obviously takes after Paul).  And, he loves to wear hats and boots and goggles and sunglasses and costumes.  He is a riot!

Sam marching around the house wearing only his underwear, goggles and a drum

Sammy's version of Captain Spiderman America

Sam pretending to be a Transformer in this costume

And Sam is such a sweet big brother--he really loves his baby Jack.  

 A couple of weeks ago we  enjoyed a visit from Uncle "Muck" and Auntie "Dee".  The boys had a lot of fun with them and talked about their visit for days afterward, and Paul and I enjoyed the chance to visit with them and drink good wine...

I took the boys to the mall (one of their favorite places) to see Santa.  Max had been begging to go and sit on his lap so he could tell the bearded man from the North Pole what he wanted for Christmas.  Sam was a little leery--opting to sit on a stool next to Max as opposed to some funny-looking stranger's lap.  Jack was indifferent.  It turned out to be quite a cute picture--no one is smiling, but everyone is looking at the camera and there are no tears... 

Speaking of Max's wish list this year, Santa was a bit confused by the obscurity of Max's request.  I had to sit down with Max on the computer and find pictures of what he wanted to email to Santa.  Unfortunately, Santa's elves won't have time to make a "Wild Kratt's Creatara (sp?)" this year, but I think they might be able to find him a "ninja".  Sam just wants "a toy"--he's pretty easy to please.  

Max has really enjoyed all of the Christmas decorations this year.  He was so excited when we finally decorated the Christmas tree and got all of the holiday tchotchkes out.  He has worn the Santa hat to school, and loves to put the stockings on his feet (they are called "stockings" after all...)

Max got his first love letter recently from a girl in his class named Ramona.  It was super cute, I will try to scan it and post it.  Max was a little embarrassed when she gave it--and then read it--to him, but he was excited to go over to her house for a playdate and talks about her coming to our house soon. 

Max and baby Jack...

JR is a whopping 3 months old here!  I can't believe how fast those three months flew by. He is such a sweet baby who is just full of smiles and loves to be talked to and is really quite loud on his end of a conversation.  He may be my loudest kid yet...

Jack has this crazy hair that won't lay down.  It is always just sticking up on top--he was basically born with a mohawk...

We are getting excited for our trip to Vermont for Christmas.  Max and Sam have been talking about it for weeks now, and I hope to take a lot of pictures, so stay tuned for the Blane Christmas blog...