We had a fantastic Thanksgiving with my parents this year! They came down late Wednesday night so we didn't get to see them until Thursday morning. When Ella Ann woke up I told her that Mimi and Grandpa would be here soon and I should not have done that because she got up at 7 a.m. and my parents got to our house around 9 a.m. so I had two solid hours of, "Moooommmmm! When are they going to GET HERE!?!?" So needless to say when they did walk through the door Ella Ann jumped in their open arms. Rane made his way around the corner and smiled so big at them. They were both beyond excited to see the grandparents. Spencer worked each day in the mornings but was home by noon so he didn't miss too much. Mom and I prepared appetizers to snack on during the day and we had our Thanksgiving feast at The Palm in Buckhead. The dinner was so good and we all ate way too much, especially Rane. He had turkey and all the fixins and couldn't get enough of it! We were there for over two hours and both kids did great. No crying, whining or complaining occurred. We really enjoyed just sitting at the table talking and enjoying the food and atmosphere. The restaurant is inside the Westin so after dinner Mom and I took the kids out in the lobby to check out the big Christmas tree...certainly the highlight of the evening for Ella Ann. Rane managed to yank off a few huge ornaments but no harm done. It was a great night.
Friday while Spencer was working we went to the mall (I know, we were CRAZY) to take advantage of a few holiday deals. Honestly it was manageable, even with the kids. We didn't stay long and after a quick lunch at home Mom and I went to Atlantic Station (outdoor shopping area) and did some more shopping. That evening I cooked dinner and we finally got to open up and read from our "Thankful" jar. Last Thanksgiving I took an empty oatmeal container, decorated it, cut a slit in the top and cut strips of construction paper to lay beside it with a pen. The outside of the jar says, "I am thankful for...." and whenever we felt thankful or thought of something we would write it down and put it in the jar. I encouraged friends to write in it when they were over at the house and our family. We collected a lot of blessings over the year and we had so much fun reading them! It was great to read what we were thankful for back in January (Rane) and throughout the early part of the year. It was much better than taking a piece of paper and writing them all down last minute because we would have never thought of it all doing it that way. Some were funny, some were sweet and others brought a tear to our eye (well, not Spencer's...he doesn't shed any). Now I am going to make a paper chain out of them and put it on our Christmas tree (which, by the way, we got today!). That night Mom and I went to the movies and saw "New Moon." I saw it last week with Jana and I loved it so much (of course!!) that I went with my Mom to see it again! She read all the books in like a week and read them again so she was just as excited as me to see it! It was so fun!
Saturday after lunch my parents went home. We had a great time with them and we were sad to see them go. I drug out all of our Christmas decorations yesterday afternoon and Ella Ann was thrilled to have it all on display. Now comes the hard part....keeping little man away from the ornaments, lights and from just pulling the tree over period. He is one determined little boy so we may just have to break down and buy a little fence to put around it...no joke!
Friday while Spencer was working we went to the mall (I know, we were CRAZY) to take advantage of a few holiday deals. Honestly it was manageable, even with the kids. We didn't stay long and after a quick lunch at home Mom and I went to Atlantic Station (outdoor shopping area) and did some more shopping. That evening I cooked dinner and we finally got to open up and read from our "Thankful" jar. Last Thanksgiving I took an empty oatmeal container, decorated it, cut a slit in the top and cut strips of construction paper to lay beside it with a pen. The outside of the jar says, "I am thankful for...." and whenever we felt thankful or thought of something we would write it down and put it in the jar. I encouraged friends to write in it when they were over at the house and our family. We collected a lot of blessings over the year and we had so much fun reading them! It was great to read what we were thankful for back in January (Rane) and throughout the early part of the year. It was much better than taking a piece of paper and writing them all down last minute because we would have never thought of it all doing it that way. Some were funny, some were sweet and others brought a tear to our eye (well, not Spencer's...he doesn't shed any). Now I am going to make a paper chain out of them and put it on our Christmas tree (which, by the way, we got today!). That night Mom and I went to the movies and saw "New Moon." I saw it last week with Jana and I loved it so much (of course!!) that I went with my Mom to see it again! She read all the books in like a week and read them again so she was just as excited as me to see it! It was so fun!
Saturday after lunch my parents went home. We had a great time with them and we were sad to see them go. I drug out all of our Christmas decorations yesterday afternoon and Ella Ann was thrilled to have it all on display. Now comes the hard part....keeping little man away from the ornaments, lights and from just pulling the tree over period. He is one determined little boy so we may just have to break down and buy a little fence to put around it...no joke!
My parents brought down my Dad's old rocking chairs that were his and his brother's when they were little. I rocked in both of them for years at my grandmother's house so now it is 3rd generation. The kids LOVED them! It was the longest I've ever seen Rane sit in one spot!
They also brought one of Ella Ann's toys that they had stored for us and Rane enjoyed playing with that too. He does really well walking with a push toy.
Ella Ann wanted to "sleep" with Mimi and Grandpa.
The little people before we left for our dinner Thanksgiving night.
Spencer gave Rane a lime and he really liked it!
Dancing out in the lobby.
Playing in the kitchen.
I found Mickey's Santa hat in a box of decorations and Rane loved playing with it.
Dad brought down a pack of fake mustaches and we were all going to put one on and take a picture (there's a story behind it) but we forgot. Ella Ann spotted a nice, furry one and wanted to wear it, i.e., suck her thumb while holding it, but as soon as she put it on she hated it but I made her keep it on for a picture.
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