Thanksgiving with Xander & Jessica

The November weather this year has been mild and quite warm and I love it. The weather has been so warm in fact that I have not worn a coat or jacket much at all. I did most of my lawn and leaf cleanup wearing a sleeveless or short sleeve t-shirt. Warm enough for all the "older men" in the neighborhood to be out mowing their lawns in late November. The temporary warm weather in November may be the only positive effect of global warming.
H1N1 has taken its toll on many people including me several weeks ago. This past week it hit Terri, Rodney, Jackson and perhaps Madeline. Terri also has pneumonia. They are all on the mend after getting Tamiflu and other meds but they could not be with us as planned for Thanksgiving.
Grandma Dee had a smaller crowd than usual with just me, Mike, Doug, Xander and Jessica. Jim and his family traveled to Escanaba to be with Wendy's family and Shelley was home ill too.
We started off our meal with a prayer lead by Grandma Dee. After the prayer I asked Xander what he was thankful for and without hesitation, he took a look around the table and said "Family". That sure was special!!!
We had a very yummy traditional turkey dinner.....well most of us did. Grandma Dee had to make Xander some Chicken McNuggets and Mac & Cheese since turkey and potatoes were just not his thing. We all kidded him and Grandma Dee since my siblings and I didn't get to order special meals when we were young. I guess that's what grandmothers do.

I presented Jessica with her "big girl" quilt and she tried it out immediately by pretending to take a nap.

She is a real cutie.

Jessica, with her new quilt and her daddy, Doug.
Xander got a surprise too. I brought a package of Disney Cars murals and a fresh box of crayons to be shared by Xander and his cousins when they are visiting at Grandma Dee's.
Xander had fun with Grandma Dee and Uncle Mike while they colored a drawing of Lightning McQueen.

Jessica and I did come coloring too. We made pictures of pumpkins and then I made a turkey for her by drawing around my hand. She colored the turkey but it really looked like it had painted fingernails rather than feathers.

Then, to my surprise a few minutes later Jessica showed me how she could draw a turkey too and here she is drawing around her little fingers. She just turned 2 years old on November 4th. She is not only cute but she is smart too. I'm not sure who had more fun coloring Grandma Dee and Uncle Mike or Xander and Jessica.

I hope you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving too.