Happy Happy Turkey Day!

Thanksgiving... by far my FAVORITE holiday.

Everything about this holiday exudes comfort... you wear comfortable clothes, you hang out in a warm comfortable house, you eat calorie-laden comfort food and no one bats an eye if you have 3 pieces of pie (It's a holiday! indulge!!). What could be more perfect than Thanksgiving??

Don't get me wrong, I love what the holiday represents as well. I love that we have a national day to reflect on what is great in our lives, what we sometimes take for granted and need to stop and appreciate, and what things we are truly blessed with (a home, a job, a loving spouse, a healthy child.. the list goes on and on).

Our turkey day started with little traditions.. watching the Macy's parade, and making homemade butter!

We made butter every Thanksgiving morning when I was a kid. I think my Mom was a genius because it entertains the kids for quite a while.

All you have to do is put heavy whipping cream in a jar and shake! It turns to whipped cream first, then separates and turns into buttermilk with a chunk of butter floating in it!

Austin helped shake a little.. but he lost interest and just wanted to unscrew the jar. So it was left up to me and Neal to finish and I literally made my arms sore shaking that bad boy.

Then I set to work cooking. We were having dinner over at Neal's parents house and they were only doing the turkey and gravy, so this was the first year I really cooked and contributed to the meal. I felt so grown up! Of course, Austin insisted on helping.. so I let him peel an egg with me.

Look at that total concentration!!

And the picture speaks true.. that is NOT a baby bump! I promise. Its a "whoa Jessica needs to shed a few more lbs" bump. You bet I wore stretchy pants and a loose top the rest of the day!!

After a morning of cooking, we were off to Poppa's house!

My sis-in-law Lori made an awesome Thanksgiving cocktail for us, so we sipped and got Austin down for his nap (after a lot of struggle!) and just relaxed for a few hours before the eating began..

Festive and strong! Just how I like my holiday cocktails!

Dinner was amazing and you'll have to take my word on that because I didn't get a single picture.. probably because Austin woke up right before we ate and wanted to cuddle on my lap for half the meal. When he finally went into his highchair all he'd eat was rolls.

Whatever. It was a holiday. I indulged and let the kid eat rolls.

After dinner we subjected everyone to the Nick Jr. channel and Austin watched his favorite show for a bit to relax.

Neal's stepbrothers Garrett and Grant (identical twins!) were over and Austin LOVES them both. He gets so excited about "Uh-gart" (Uncle Garrett) and "Uh-ghett" (Uncle Grant) and got Uncle Garrett to chill on the couch with him for a bit!

Then we got some family pics (minus Neal the photographer) and played some games into the evening!

And yes.. there was a hissy fit toward the end of the night.. thank goodness for Aunties who have a sense of humor!!

So much to be thankful for.. truly I try and appreciate it every single day.

Happy Thanksgiving!!