Turkey For Me, Turkey For Toots

I've always been a Thanksgiving fan, because frankly...I like food.  A lot.  So this year, I was obviously looking forward to sharing that great American tradition with Makenna.  Who also likes food.  A lot.  Adding to our usual excitement for the Thanksgiving experience was the fact that Chad's grandparents would be coming down from New England.  We couldn't wait to see them again!


A couple of days before Turkey Day, Great Grammy and Great Grampy arrived.  We met up at good old D'Vine Wine, since Chad was working, and had a tasty little beverage to start the evening off.

 

Then it was off for a delicious dinner at Saltgrass to begin our few days of gluttony.


Thanksgiving morning, I was up early making some homemade rolls and sweet potato casserole to take to Round One, with Mimi and Granddad.  We got Toots decked out in her pretty Thanksgiving dress, which her Daddy will want me to tell everyone he picked out.  (Yes, he really did.)

At Mimi and Granddad's, Makenna charmed the pants off of every out-of-town family member there (and probably a few IN town family members, too!).

 
She donned her turkey bib and gobbled down some of the tastiest goodies her sweet little tastebuds have ever had - turkey, tomatoes, squash casserole, green beans, cornbread stuffing.  She was in HEAVEN!

And of course, when she finished, she gave herself a stunning new hairdo with her gooey, grubby little hands!

After a hand wash, a great walk and some more visiting, it was time to head to Round Two at Uncle Randy and Auntie Karen's.  Toots took the opportunity to get in her turkey-induced nap on the way, since it was a little bit of a drive.  But when we arrived, she was ready for some more deliciousness - just NOT a fan of Auntie Jennifer's pilgrim hats!

Brisket, sweet potatoes, some more turkey...she downed it all like a champ and finished off with some sweet peaches.  This girl knows how to eat!!


After dinner, Makenna had a ball playing with whatever she could get her hands on.  

Some spatulas,

a magazine,

and maybe a napkin or two.

She faced off with Rudy, the dog, and just generally kept us all entertained.

All in all, I would say it was QUITE the successful first Thanksgiving! 

Halloween Hijinks, Makenna Style

I have to admit that I was almost more excited about Makenna's first Halloween than I was about any other holiday during her first year, Christmas MAYBE being the exception.  It's true.  I. LOVE. HALLOWEEN.  I love the idea of dressing up in costume, love the decorations, love scary movies.  It's one of my favorite times of year.


I knew that finding just the right Halloween costume for Makenna would be a chore.  It could take me days, even weeks, to make a decision.  So like a good indecisive mommy, I started looking early, searching websites with adorable kitties, pumpkins, witches, monkeys.  But none of them were quite right.  And then one day, I came across The One - Scout the Scarecrow.  I looked at the picture and could just SEE Makenna wearing that costume, so I knew that had to be it.  The problem: it cost $50.  Seriously?!?  I was having a very hard time justifying spending that kind of money, but some little angels (i.e., Gramps and Gran) helped us out.  So, Scout the Scarecrow she was!


When I got the costume in the mail, I could not have been more excited to see her in it, and she didn't disappoint!

 


The only problem?  I had VASTLY underestimated the amount of glitter that would be on that tutu.  Trust me, the glitter is definitely not visible in the pictures online.  One "test run" in that costume, and it was everywhere!  Not cool, Mommy.  But I was already hooked.


Our first Halloween-ish activity was a trip to Nash Farm in Grapevine, to the pumpkin patch. Makenna was not super impressed by the pumpkins, but she was a great sport!

Activity number two was a visit to Boo at the Zoo in Ft. Worth.  Her Grammy and I took her the weekend before Halloween, so it was slightly busy, to say the least.  The weather was perfect, though, and she loved checking out some of the animals.  The giraffes and flamingos in particular caught her attention.  Mostly, she was happy just playing with our sunglasses!

Makenna was really too little for any of the activities they were doing, so we walked through, watched a little bit of the "magic" show (complete with Justin Bieber lookalike, I kid you not). Before we left, we did her first trick or treating!

The next day was the annual Trunk or Treat at our church.  Our Sunday School class chose a Harry Potter theme, so Chad and I were all decked out as Professors Dumbledore and Trelawney.  Makenna sported her scarecrow outfit again but just would not keep that adorable hat on!  We trick or treated with Mimi and Granddad and passed out some candy ourselves, too.  She was clearly confused about all of the activity and strange-looking people, but still seemed to have a great time!

 

When October 31st finally arrived, it was time to trick or treat for real.  The weather was just right - SLIGHTLY cool, but not too cold or too hot.  Perfect for her sweet little costume!  Daddy had to work, unfortunately, but Toots and I headed to Mimi and Granddad's.  Mimi and I then hit the neighborhood, with Toots all comfy in her stroller.  That girl is WAY too heavy for us to have carried her all night!

                                      

The hat never made it out the door, and the socks MIGHT have made it through two houses.  We were constantly picking them up!  Makenna turned on the charm at every house we visited and raked in the candy.  So much so that there was no way we would EVER eat it all.  (Yes...much of it is still on top of our fridge at this very moment.)  She had a great time visiting with all of the neighbors and the other kids who were out.  When we finished, it was back to Mimi and Granddad's to check out our loot.

Daddy came by for a few minutes, and we took our Tired Trick-Or-Treating Tootie home for a few last First Halloween photos.

And then we put our sweet baby scarecrow to bed, with visions of happy ghosts and goblins dancing in her head.   I would say her first Halloween was a rousing success.  I can't wait to find her a costume for next year!!

Makenna Meets New England: The Final Chapter!

Yes, folks.  It's that time.  Time for me to catch up on my Makenna blogging, since I am officially about two months behind, and SO much has happened.  Without further ado...we have finally reached the exciting (Yes?) conclusion to Makenna's first visit to New England.


Saturday morning was beautiful, and we got up and at 'em pretty quickly.  Great Grampy was taking us apple picking!  We knew that it was a little late in the season for that, but it was still exciting, and the orchard wasn't far from the house at all.  When we arrived at Currier Orchards, those little red Radio Flyer wagons were calling Makenna's name!

 
We got our apple bags, then plopped her in the wagon and were off to the trees.  Unfortunately, it wasn't long before she lost her balance and toppled out onto the ground.  After some quick hugs and kisses from Mommy and Daddy, all was well again!


The trees looked gorgeous, even though my favorites, the honey crisp, were stripped pretty bare.  We were still able to make quite a haul, and Makenna enjoyed herself immensely!  
        
We even found a giant pumpkin - the size of Makenna! - so we couldn't resist a photo.

After our apple-picking, we ran by the grocery store quickly before going back to Great Grammy and Great Grampy's to get ready for the family cookout.  Makenna had some lunch, and we all sampled some of our apples.  Then, it was theoretically time for Toots to take a nap.  Right.  THIS was the point where Makenna hit her wall.  Just before the whole family was to arrive to meet her, she started to get very fussy.  And I mean VERY fussy - as in screaming at the top of her lungs and crying her little eyes out.  It was so sad!  She was so exhausted but just didn't want to sleep.  We finally got her to go down.  And of course, shortly after, the family began to arrive.


Makenna slept for about an hour while we greeted and hugged and visited.  We were all just standing around in the backyard when Chad's cousin, Ben, came out to let me know that Makenna was crying inside.  Sure enough, we went in, and she was bawling her little eyes out again.  We gave her part of another bottle and rocked and rocked her until she calmed down and fell asleep again.  It was beginning to look like she didn't want to make her grand appearance at all!


We all ate and hung out while Makenna finished her nap, and she woke up our usual cheerful, happy little girl again.  Once she was up, the passing of the baby started!  Everyone got their turn holding her, and she smiled and enjoyed every second of it.  You'll notice that this part is pictureless.  Yes, her brilliant Mommy and Daddy neglected to take pictures of her visiting with most of the family!  I just want to smack myself every time I think about it, but we were just so wrapped up in seeing everyone that we apparently just...forgot!!  SUCH a bummer, but we did get a couple of shots that are pretty darned adorable.

Smiling with Aunt Annie

Mugging for Aunt Peggy and Great Grampy

Sadly, the visit had to come to an end, and we packed ourselves into Aunt Annie's car so she could drive us to Uncle Paul and Aunt Katherine's for the night.  Katherine was driving us to the airport the next morning, so we were spending our last night there.  We arrived fairly late, but Makenna was a trooper and stayed up for a good amount of time to visit with her Great Aunt.  Once she was down for the count, Chad, Katherine and I chatted late into the night, snacking on some delicious fruit, cheese, and, of course, WINE.  But we knew we couldn't stay up ALL night and finally had to turn in.


Makenna had a somewhat restless night, but she was bright eyed and bushy tailed once she did wake up.

Cuddles for Aunt Katherine!

We said our final goodbyes to our family and New England at the airport, then hopped our plane home.  Again, Makenna slept most of both flights and was an absolute dream.  Such a happy, sweet little girl!

We came home exhausted, but feeling so wonderfully loved and blessed.  Can't wait until next time!

Makenna Meets New England: Part Four

Our Friday in New England was a VERY busy day!  We started off with a good breakfast with Great Grammy and Great Grampy, after someone had a bit of a fussy and fidgety night trying to sleep in her playpen.  Not that you would know it, judging by her beautiful, albeit sleepy, morning smile.

We quickly got ourselves all ready, then jumped in the van to make our drive to the Massachusetts coast.  I think the adults were all looking forward to some delicious seafood, while Makenna was probably just looking forward to some good naptime in the car!

We wound our way through Essex first and took in some of the sights, then made our way into Gloucester and parked to walk around.  The weather was pretty chilly and windy, so we bundled Toots up as best we could to keep her nice and warm.

The only problem with that was that she absolutely did NOT want to wear her socks!  Under no circumstances!  Every chance she got, she was pulling them off of her feet and either chewing on them or dropping them to the ground.  That whole day, we got The Look from so many people, who were clearly thinking, "They need to put some SOCKS on that poor baby!"  

Oh, believe me.  WE TRIED.  She is about as stubborn as they come!

After Gloucester, we drove in to Rockport and were ready to stop for some lunch.  Ellen's Harborside was the perfect spot, with THE BEST (and I mean BEST) clam chowder I have ever tasted.  There, Makenna got her first introduction to fish.   Great Grampy kept sneaking her small pieces of his haddock, and she was practically climbing onto the table to get more.  She LOVED it!

We walked down Bearskin Neck and looked out onto the water for a little while, watching the waves crash onto the rocks.  It was a beautiful setting, and we could have stayed all day!

Quick stop for some saltwater taffy and fudge, then back in the car, and we were off to Salem!

I have to admit - we visited Salem pretty much just for me.  I was dying to see the city all decked out for Halloween, and it did not disappoint!  There was a great little street fair, with lots of...ahem...interesting people, all dressed up for the holiday. 

We picked up a cute little button for Makenna,

checked out some "witches," (with which she CLEARLY was not impressed),

and got some sweet little shots of her in her Halloween finest.

When it was time to head home, she was wiped out!

Luckily, not so wiped out that she couldn't squeeze in a quick visit with cousin Julie and Uncle Mark before heading off to Sleepy Town.  

We had just one more full day left, and she would be meeting the whole rest of the family, so she needed her beauty rest!  

Up next: The Final Chapter!