Thanksgiving 2011

It has been a whirlwind week, and we are thankful for such a fun trip to the Midwest.

Last Saturday, all four of us flew to Chicago where Grandpa John picked us up. It was the first time we flew as a foursome. I had flown with each boy individually but never together. And Dave had never flown with either boy. It was uneventful. Sam, who isn't big on amusement park-type rides, wasn't thrilled with flying. He liked watching the airplanes come and go at the airport, but repeated 'No Airplane!' for the first 30 minutes or so of our flight. He was fine after that. Henry was fine, too, once he fell asleep.

We traveled to Platteville, and it was the first time we saw Grandma and Grandpa's new remodeled house. I think we all enjoyed the extra space and amenities, like a huge bathroom. Plus, Sam and Henry had their own room. Sam slept in a trundle bed, the first time out of his crib. We have since converted his crib at home to a toddler bed.

Aunt Susie, Uncle Tony and Cousin Vitty (Sam's godmother) came over for a visit on Saturday evening, and on Sunday, we ate lunch with the Casey family in Dodgeville. Madelyn is now 4 1/2 and Emma is 18 months. Both visits were good but too short as always.

For the first half of the week, we spent time playing, shopping and cooking. Grandma and Sam made a huge batch of chocolate chip cookies and I made a huge pot of spaghetti and meatballs in Mom's new kitchen.

We visited my hairdresser, Vicki, who did my hair growing up, so I could get my haircut (way cheaper than a New York cut!) and she could see the boys.

Uncle Nathan and Uncle Kyle arrived on Wednesday. Sam, of course, wanted to do nothing but play with the uncles' iPhones. That night, Henry, who had only taken 3 steps at that point on his own, took 10 unassisted steps!!! (He has yet to repeat it.)

We all traveled down to Oregon, Ill., on Thanksgiving. We had dinner with Aunt Sue, Aunt Anne, Uncle Neal and Uncle David before heading to the nursing home where my grandmother has been staying. She fell several weeks ago, breaking her shoulder and knee. She is recovering well and will hopefully be home for Christmas. We celebrated Christmas early with her and the Putnam family and stuffed ourselves with Thanksgiving dessert.

We flew back to Brooklyn yesterday. It was another uneventful flight - relatively speaking when flying with two young boys.

Alas, we have lots of photos to share.

Here are the photos we took: Thanksgiving 2011
Here are Uncle Nathan's photos: Nathan's Turkey Day Photos 2011