Thanksgiving and Welcoming Christmas

As I mentioned in my previous post, our Thanksgiving was definitely eventful, as Grady had the flu.  But the fun didnt start (or stop) there! 

These two cuties crack me up :)

Eric enjoyed one last weekend in No-Shave November :) We got Sonny's after church the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Grady was in a food coma :) 

Whitney kept asking to decorate for Christmas, and unlike when I gave in and decorated for Halloween a little early, I held my ground and refused to put the tree up until Thanksgiving Day.  That is one tradition I absolutely LOVE and look forward to every year.  

But when my Aunt Gerry sent us a reindeer decoration kit for my car, I decided Whitney could win that battle and we could start decorating.....my car.  Like Rudolph.  She was SO excited! 

As the holiday movies started rolling on TV, I LOVED catching these two holding hands on the couch. LOVE.

And STILL not giving in to her adorable pleads to decorate, I HAD to say "yes!" when she asked me to read her "The Night Before Christmas"! How could I possibly say no!?

The week before Thanksgiving was a lot of fun at Whitney's school! She was so excited to have a feast with her class!  Can you spot her turkey feather? (Hint: she wrote it herself....and its the first time Ive ever seen her reverse a 'd'!)

My mom was super helpful and watched Grady so that I could go to Whitney's class party! She had so much fun! The kids are all super sweet, and she cracked us up when her teacher whipped out the ReddiWhip.  She shouted, "Hey! My Uncle Jay puts that on his NOSE and its SOOOO FUNNY!!!!!!!!"  

And despite Grady's fever the day before, he woke up on Thanksgiving morning HAPPY and ready to play!  We all watched the Macy's parade as we decorated the tree.  My FAVORITE! Both kids loved the ornaments, and Whitney did a great job spreading the ornaments out.  She had SOOO much fun going through the boxes of ornaments and commenting about her favorites, where they came from, when we got it, etc etc.  She declared most of the ornaments "BEAUTIFUL" and "sooo sparkly!" 

Grady loved a lot of the ornaments, too!

Especially his new Mater ornament from Mac and Gramps!

And while I often reminisce and wonder if we are cheating our kids out of the "real" Christmas tree experience, I can now rest assured that these two dont need to go to a Christmas tree farm and chop down their own tree.....they LOVE the box our fake tree comes in! And that is way more fun! 

"Grady! Come quick! Buzz Lightyear balloon is on TV!!"

"BUZZ!!!!!!!!!!"

After the family tree went up, we worked on the rest of the house and laid Grady down for a nap.  

For the first time in his entire life, Grady refused to nap.  Just played and talked in his crib for an hour before I finally gave up and got everyone ready to head to my parents' for the best. meal.  ever. 

As soon as we got there, Grady started getting cranky.  It escalated to big cries and I decided to lay him down in the crib at their house.  He was fast asleep in less than 5 minutes.  

Unfortunately, his rest didnt last long, and 45 minutes later he was up, covered in puke, and ready to go home.  So all the work and preparation and excitement was zapped as we trucked our sick little family back home within an hour of arriving at my parents house. :( 

The next day, we all headed to the pediatrician and learned that Grady had the flu and Whitney would need to be treated preventatively.  awesome.  Happy Thanksgiving!

After some tamiflu, both kids were cooperative and happy while we attempted some family pictures for our Christmas card :) 

And as Thanksgiving was behind us, it was time to bring on the Christmas cheer! We welcomed Booker back to the house :) 

Whitney LOVES this little elf and all the antics and messes he creates in the weeks before Christmas, and I think Eric has just as much fun :) 

Eric and Whitney built their first gingerbread house and it was a HUGE hit! Almost as soon as the "paint" was dry on their masterpiece, Whitney spiked a fever.  Sigh.  

So Monday morning came super early and Booker had a new coloring book ready for our sick little girl who couldnt go to school because of her cough, runny nose, and general "flu" yuckies.  

She was cheered up when she remembered she gets to open one Christmas book every day until Christmas, thanks to Booker's return!

Grady got in the action this year :) 

And the kids laid around being flu victims, watching Christmas movies and sharing germs.  

Grady was nice enough to offer our Santa a sip of coffee :) 

And while our sick princess drifted off to a tamiflu induced dreams,....

...Booker caught the flu, too :) 

poor guy.

And Eric has been great, once again, at making the Booker magic happen!

And Grady really loves this book tradition, too!

Booker took flight around the ceiling fan one night....and we were all super surprised when he landed HERE this next morning.....

 

Booker learned to secure himself in-flight a little better the next night ;)

And of course, the Christmas card picture options are abundant! 

 

I look forward to my mom's Thanksgiving dinner more than any other meal of the year.  So we were all really bummed when we didnt get the yummy meal and even more upset that we didnt get to spend time with the ones we love the most.  But the kids are finally both healthy again, and will be getting their flu shots on Monday morning in an effort to ensure Christmas isnt spent with tamiflu!