Our First Family Holiday

Let me start by saying we love our families and are lucky that they live near us. I’m thrilled that our kids will grow up having a close relationship with their extended family. Tyson already adores his Grandma, Grandpa, Nanny and Papas and I’m sure it has nothing to do with how spoiled rotten he is by all of him.

That said, holidays with the extended family and a toddler don’t always mix to create the most wonderful time of the year. It usually goes without saying that Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner is going to be served smack in the middle of nap time. Packing to head over the river and through the woods results in us overstuffing our car with every piece of toddler gear we own and typically forgetting at least one crucial item. And while we always enjoy the time we spend with our families, we arrive back home exhausted and having to contend with an overtired and overstimulated two year old.

That’s why when we were found out we would be spending Thanksgiving at our own house with just the three of us, I secretly did a happy dance.

To prepare for the big day, there was lots of slaving away in the kitchen....

Thankfully, the hard work paid off with this wonderful spread:

Yep, all that food for THREE of us.  And when you consider that Tyson ate an apples, a bun, and a scoop of mashed potatoes you realize just how stuffed we were when we finished.

We missed our families, but we successfully prepared a wonderful meal, were able to sit down and eat it at a time that worked for Tyson and capped off the night with pumpkin pie in our PJs (with Tyson's Grandma Pat-extra special!). It was everything I imagined our first holiday with just our family would be and more. There’s a lot of responsibility in knowing that WE create the holiday traditions that our kids will remember year after year, but I’m happy to fill those big shoes be it with our extended family or at home with just the three (soon to be 4) of us.

Cheers!