Thankful

Once again, we have a LOT to be thankful for this year!  This little turkey is such a blessing in our lives and brings us untold joy.  One day a year is not enough to show our gratitude for all we have, but we were certainly happy to have the opportunity!

On Wednesday, Olivia made these cute little turkey cookies for her teachers.  Her day care is one of the many things we are thankful for this year.  She really loves her class and her teachers and its such a blessing to Matt and I knowing that she is happy and learning everyday while we are at work.

On Thanksgiving morning, we started the day with a chocolate chip pancake breakfast.

Olivia is pretty hit and miss on foods - even foods that I know she will love (e.g. grilled cheese sandwiches).  If she's in a funky mood or the food looks weird, she won't even try it.  So, I was a little hesitant to get up early to make pancakes.  But luckily she obliged me and tried the pancake....and of course LOVED it!

After breakfast and a little family playtime, we headed to the Woodlands to have brunch with Pop-O and Tutu.  We had such a nice time.

Olivia and Pop-O have a special bond and he wins her over every time by letting her escape the high chair and walk around outside.  Thanksgiving was no exception.  So, while we finished up eating, Pop-O and Olivia walked around outside and apparently found a very cool water fountain.

Back at the Dean's house, Olivia continued to follow Pop-O around and even started calling him "Pop."  So cute!

Later that afternoon, we headed to Humble to my Aunty Minda's house for an early dinner.  Uncle Ed and my dad fried up a delicious turkey and we sat down to another incredible - and this year gluten free - spread.  Aunty Minda tops herself every single year.  This one was no exception.  And my mom made a strong finish with 2 amazing desserts.

Luckily, we had a lot of help to entertain Olivia while we waited for dinner.

Olivia and Aunt Nazreen played with Aunt Naz's purse, read books, and emptied the contents of Olivia's toy bag.

 

Olivia loves doing puzzles and showed Mimi how good she is at putting the pieces in....and dumping them out!

Olivia, GrandDad and Aunt Naz enjoyed several rounds of ring-around-the-rosy.

And....when dinner was almost ready and sweet Olivia was about at the end of her rope, her Mimi snuck her a few pieces of turkey early.

We had such a great time and I was so happy to spend time with my family who I'm so thankful for.

Finally, my amazing parents helped Olivia make this adorable turkey handprint for Matt and I last weekend when we were out of town.  We both absolutely adore it & I am SO thankful I have such a crafty mom!

The only bad part of Thanksgiving was that we did not get to see Yasmin.  She had to work all day, so by the time she got out to Humble, Olivia had already melted down and we left.  Even though we missed her, we got to talk to her on the phone and hopefully she knows how very thankful we are for her too!