Thanksgiving 2011

Fans, we have so much to report from Thanksgiving 2011. Settle in. Joe woke up chirping about. . .Christmas. He is keen to have the Christmas tree up, and Santa donate to him a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. You read that right, Fans. There is an organization here in St. Louis Park called STEP, that assists low-income folks with food and necessities and, around this time of year, presents for the holidays. We (by which we mean so far only Ted) have begun volunteering there. As part of his inaugural visit, Ted took some food and two toys Joe had helped choose: a garbage truck and--yes, you were no doubt there already Fans--a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. Joe does understand that by "donate" one means give away. But his definition is not yet so refined as to encompass the concept of give away to those with less. And so he has been keen to have donated to him a Thomas the Tank Engine puzzle. Fear not, Fans. The item has been secured and will be donated to Our Hero December 25. (It is perhaps worth noting here that later in the day, when Joe was kept occupied with making a list of all his heart's desires for Santa, his heart's desires numbered but two: the Thomas puzzle, and a fishing pole.*)

Alas, today was only Thanksgiving. We whiled away the early morning hours at the annual Walk Against Hunger at the Mall of America (Read: a good cause and excellent opportunity to let your toddlers tear about the Mall of America at warp speed thus tiring them out at warp speed; Joe tried an escalator! So brave!) with Marco and his entourage. As the meet was at the early hour of between 8am and 8:30am, we had cereal for breakfast. Joe charmed Julie when he brought his bowl to her at the sink and set it on the drain board, announcing, "Mommy, I'm just setting this on the counter because I need to go potty." That's verbatim because Julie was so taken aback by the completeness of thought and expression, she stripped off her dishwashing gloves to grab a pen and write it down. However, there was not a meeting of the minds, despite this clarity. Julie, assuming Joe meant he really had to go and thus was setting his bowl by the sink with a banana peel still in it instead of tossing it in the garbage first, tossed the peel and the cereal dregs and washed the bowl. Joe was rather sad when he returned from the potty, ready to finish the job. He meant he was setting it on the counter, but would be right back. !!!!!

Fans, by now, you may be thinking, "Editors. Get to it!" But we sort of like these little bits. They're really the good stuff, right? Also good stuff: the Grandparents Trump arriveth. Grandpa Charles is having hip replacement surgery in three weeks, and is really a trooper. Somehow, despite it all, he managed to tickle Joe on Joe's bed this morning for rather a long time. He has a cane for the time being, and Joe is quite taken with it. Let us simply say that Grandpa Charles does not deny Our Hero anything. Turns out, Grandma Connie is also rather good at tickling. While Julie and Ted were in the midst of the final moments of the Thanksgiving feast preparations, Joe and Clara were on the porch with their Grandparents Trump and Fans, we don't know what was happening, but the squeals could probably be heard throughout all of St. Louis Park.

And then it was dinner. Grandpa Charles said grace. (Clara banged her plate through it. Give it up for giving thanks!) Now, Fans. You would think that mashed sweet potatoes with maple syrup (you know, the stuff you put on pancakes) that are orange would be the biggest hit with the bambini. And Fans. You would be wrong. The clear winner: "that red stuff."** This would be the cranberry sauce. It is good. We use a recipe from Grandma Jane that notes she took it to Thanksgiving at Kate's in 20-something-we-cannot-remember-right-now-exactly. There was also, naturally, pie. Clara ate hers the way she eats cake--i.e. just picks the whole piece up and tries to eat it all at once. The meal ended sort of organically when Clara picked up a remaining hunk of pie on her plate and pitched it on the floor--splat! (Fans, our dinner theater goes up every day. Our show runs 365 days a year. Matinees twice a week in addition to the dinner show. Don't forget to tip your wait staff.)

We mentioned that Grandpa Charles said grace. He did, and he does, and it's always nice--familiar, but unique to the year, too. And as Clara was banging away anyway, we did not, in the end, do as Julie has thought of doing--going about the table to share something for which we are thankful. But, if we had, Julie would have shared what Joe said at some point this weekend: "When we're all together that means family."

To our family, right now in Fayetteville and Santa Fe, we miss you. Happy Thanksgiving.

And here are some pictures!

*Special to Kate: We forgot this! Or at least, I did! Clearly, Joe did not! [Fans, many--all?--of you may recall that Joe was rather taken with a toy fishing pole that was at the lake house we stayed at this summer.]

**Honorable mention to green olives. Julie grew up with a "relish plate" on her holiday table that included dill pickles, green olives, radishes, carrots, and celery (the later three collectively referred to as "rabbit food"). She still likes to do the dill pickles and olives. So does Grandpa Charles. As it turns out, both bambini tried--and liked!--the green olives. Joe also had a pickle. [Special again to Kate: You're cringing, right? :)]