Thanks and Giving 2010

I've had a bad cold for well over a week now and am getting really tired of it! It doesn't help that our Nick has been sleeping really horribly lately, and even though my lovely husband has been shouldering the majority of the burden, he's waking me up as well. He is holding on the last vestiges of babyhood in two essential ways, one of them bad sleep habits! Typical youngest child? I don't know...you tell me!

Fortunately our Thanksgiving plans always involve going to my aunt and uncle's house in Lake Oswego. Our contributions were a vegetable (green beans with onion, crimini mushrooms, garlic, and basil) and a bottle of wine. Easy peasy! The food was marvelous and the company even better, although we were a smaller gathering than usual.

Decorating plates--we came home with about 20 of these!
Even Uncle Bill and Uncle Jerry got into the act later on!

Cousin Cameron and his adorable son, Caden

My dads brothers (John and Ed) with Ed's wife, one of my Aunt Judys

Aunt Barbara, cousin Cori, and Uncle Jerry

Uncle Jerry lives in Seattle, and he and his family usually come down for Thanksgiving--we miss them at Christmas. Growing up, Nadine and I had a special relationship with Uncle Jerry and his wife Judy--they took a special interest in us. Both of us worked as nannies for them during the summer--Nadine when their daughter Anne was a baby, and me for two summers--when Elena was a baby, and again when she was 1 and Anne was 3.

Mom talking to Brad, a friend of ours from church--their family are close friends with my
Uncle Bill and Aunt Terry (one of those small world things

Chris and his second cousin Jake--playing video games

Cousin Gary with his kids, McKenna and Jake

Kieran and Jake

Cousin Elena and her boyfriend Gus

Olivia, her mom Anne, and Uncle Bill (one of the hosts)

Mike and cousin Kim (who looks so more and more like my favorite Great Aunt Noni!)

Kieran with baby Noah (our church friends' grandson)

Baby kisses

I like your shoes, mister!

Cousin Cori with her brand-new puppy Ollee

Nicholas was quite the hit with the little boys--
here he is hugging Caden

And having an examination...

Uncle Jerry with Ollee

Me with my beloved cousins Anne and Elena--they were the flower
girl and ring bearer in our wedding...and now look at them!
Beautiful, bright, and loving young women!

Definitely the highlight of my Thanksgiving was catching up with Anne and Elena. After most of the guests had left, we hung out and watched "Avatar" in my aunt and uncle's little home theater, while Mike and Nick were being social.

Elena, Anne, and Olivia

Of course, seeing these sisters together made me miss my own sister...they spent Thanksgiving in Puyallup with David's family. But we will see them next week when we celebrate my nephews' December birthdays.

I've been feeling daring because I've started playing Christmas music. Turns out I'm behind the curve ball; the neighbors across the street have their Christmas tree up, and Nick is insisting that we must get one immediately!