We stayed home in Kernersville this year for Thanksgiving. This is the first time in ten years that we have not made the trip to Woodstock, and we were sad that we did not get to see all of our Kennedy extended family for the holiday. However, the time at home was wonderful. It served almost as a paternity leave for Boomer, and our little family of 4 is starting to find its groove. We laughed about all the trash and dirty dishes we made over the five days - I guess that's a natural result of actually being at home!
We started out our Thanksgiving with Eli's first bath. He was less than thrilled! Since his umbilical cord has not yet fallen off, he can't be submerged in a real bath, so we sponged him down with soap and water. Emmy supervised and got a kick out of Eli's cries and squawks. She thinks it is quite funny when he is crying! After the bath, Emmy touched Eli with just the tip of her index finger, and later than evening, she even kissed Eli on the top of his head. Emmy continues to be standoffish, but little by little, she seems to be warming up to her brother.
After Eli's bath, we settled in to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Since we are usually traveling on this day, it was fun to introduce Emmy to this tradition. She loved waving at the people on the floats, and she especially loved the Paw Patrol balloon. She quickly lost interest in between the commercials and commentary (I didn't realize the parade was 3 HOURS long!), so she kept herself occupied with her other hobbies of coloring and reading. She's so advanced - she's now reading Mommy's chapter books! :)
That evening we had a meal at my parents' house with Great Grandma Nancy. The Houstons were in Charlotte, so it was a smaller gathering, but Emmy quite enjoyed being the only walking/talking grandchild. She said the blessing before our meal, and it was the sweetest thing to hear her little voice singing the "God, Our Father" prayer of thanksgiving. My mom made all the traditional Thanksgiving sides (sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, corn, rolls) with a cranberry chicken that was delicious. We only took one photo from the evening of Emmy in her festive Thanksgiving attire. She has continued to request wearing her "turkey dress" even after the holiday.
After another day at home on Friday, we went over to the Houston's house for dinner that evening. The Williamses were there, too, so although the menu was pizza, fruit, buffalo chicken dip, and Oreo dessert, it was almost like a Friendsgiving with the three couples and our six kids. Uncle Zack got in some cuddles with his nephew, and Boomer fit right in with the kids as they [attempted to] play Mario Kart.
On Saturday, we had our Bakewell Thanksgiving meal at the Houston's. They are always so generous to host each year. Zack once again made the turkey with deep fried turkey legs. Mom made her sweet potato casserole, which was a big hit with Emmy. We were all stuffed! We had planned to watch National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, but after a slight mix-up with reading the TV guide (oops, Meg!), we watched football instead. Like on Thursday evening, we didn't take many photos, just this one picture of the four generations: Grandpa, me, Great Grandma Nancy, and Eli.
To round out the Thanksgiving festivities, Bret and Cathy visited on Sunday. They had missed their little boy and were anxious to see him again. Paw Paw brought Eli a special gift...a Tennessee Vols hat! It has been a running joke between the grandfathers since Paw Paw is a Vols fan and Grandpa Buzz is a Gator fan.
Although we have mostly rested and ate over the last few days, the Thanksgiving Break has included a few chores as well. Megan passed along several bins of clothing from her two boys, and I tackled the task of going through all the clothes and putting newborn and 0-3 month clothes in Eli's drawers. We have traded out pink for blue! I am still holding on to Emmy's things for now, but our closet space is quickly filling up. It is a great problem to have; to be gifted a full year's worth of baby clothes is such a blessing. Between all the diapers we received at showers and all the clothes from my sister, Eli shouldn't need a thing for quite a while!
We also had Eli's two-week appointment. No shots yet, just the weight check and a general look-over. I was so happy to see that Eli's weight was up to 7 pounds 10.5 ounces, 3.5 ounces above his birth weight. I had wanted to see even higher, but the doctor reassured me that it was in the healthy range of 0.5 - 1 ounce of weight gain a day. Eli's weight puts him currently in the 23rd percentile, but his length of 21.25 inches has him in the 83rd percentile. His head circumference is 36.1 cm, 60th percentile. We won't go back to see Dr. Albright again until mid-January, but I have scheduled an at-home visit next week for another weight check. Overall, Eli's weight is much better than Emmy's weight at this same time, so we will keep doing what we are doing! One thing that we have already learned about Eli: he does not like to be unclothed or to have his diaper changed!
Now that we are into December, we are in the full Christmas spirit. We are listening to Christmas music, detouring to look at Christmas lights, watching Hallmark Christmas movies, and wearing Christmas jammies.
It really is the most wonderful time of year! We have even visited Santa already! Emmy was still shy, but luckily there weren't any tears this year. Daddy was able to coax a few smiles out of her, but she still was not interested in sitting on his lap. Maybe next year!
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