Happy Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving this year at Grandma and Grandpa's in Pennsylvania. It was a really fun trip for all of us, especially me. I had a great time playing with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Daniel, Aunt Lauren, Aunt Jen, Uncle Ben, my cousins Mianna and Amy, and all of my other aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Hazel and I did really well on the plane. Mom and Dad couldn't believe it. I liked looking out the plane windows, pointing at clouds, birds, and other airplanes. Dad surprised me at one point by pulling Duck out of our bag. I excitedly lifted Duck up so he could see out the window. Dad also read a lot of books to me, and the plane ride seemed to go by fast. I was even fine when we were stuck on the tarmac for an extra half an hour. Hazel slept most of the way there but found time to say "Mama" for the first time ever. By the time we finally got to Pennsylvania, it was dark and I was getting tired. I was so excited to see Grandpa when we landed. After not napping all day, Hazel and I fell fast asleep on the car ride to Grandma and Grandpa's.

When we got to the house, we were greeted by Grandma, Aunt Jen and Uncle Ben. It was exciting for me to see them again. After a wonderful dinner with everyone, Aunt Jen helped Dad give me a bath.

Uncle Daniel and Aunt Lauren came over too. I spent the next few days visiting our relatives like Aunt Cindy and Uncle Steve at their cool Celtic shop and hanging out around Grandma and Grandpa's house, adjusting to my new surroundings.

There is so much to play with at Grandma and Grandpa's! One of my favorite things to do was running around in circles around the house. I also found lots of new books to read, including some of my favorites from home. I liked playing with and feeding treats to the kitty, and playing with the toys in the playroom. I also liked stealing the TV remote control from Grandpa, turning off the TV, and running away. The TV remote looks a lot like a phone, so I pretended to talk to important people on the TV remote. Grandma helped me each morning to wash my face, brush my teeth and hair and to use cups in the sink in her bathroom to dump water everywhere. Grandpa helped a little too and Aunt Jen showed me how to make a river with a washcloth and the water. Hazel had a good time and impressed everyone with her speed while scooting around in a walker.

Thursday afternoon, I was surprised when I woke up from my nap and was greeted by a huge crowd. Everyone had come over for Thanksgiving dinner. Cousins Mike and Lana and Seth, Aunt Jane and cousin Molly, Mom-Mom and Pop, Grandma B (aka Gigi), Aunt Steve and Uncle Cindy, and Aunt Chris and Uncle Larry were all here. It was sure fun to have so many people to play with.

For Thanksgiving dinner, Grandpa deep-fried a turkey. It was delicious. I also ate corn, bread, and Mom even gave me a little bit of pumpkin pie. Yum!

After Thanksgiving, we had a couple of warm days so Grandma took me outside to play. I brought some boots with me and got to splash around in some puddles. Grandma also showed me how to pull a wagon up and down a hill, throw a giant plastic airplane, and rescue earthworms from underneath a sandbox. I had a lot of fun playing with Grandma.

Because of the colder weather, I got to wear some new clothes - a heavy jacket, my rain boots, and some warmer shirts. Hazel wore socks finally (thanks to Uncle Steve and Aunt Cindy for giving her some Irish socks from their store and Grandma's emergency shopping trip), and some tights. I wore my Batman shirt, which Uncle Daniel liked a lot. He wore his too, so we could match. Crime-world, look out!

Sunday morning we had a nice breakfast with Pop and Mom-Mom, then later that day, my cousins Amy and Mianna came over. Mianna is 6 years old, so she's a really good role model and playmate. She taught me how to make coffee and tea with Grandma's play kitchen set. We had a very nice breakfast together. We also chased each other around a lot. Mianna is really fun.

Monday, I stayed home and played with Grandma while Dad and Mom took Hazel to Chocolate World in Hershey. Hazel had a great time watching talking cows and Mom and Dad enjoyed free chocolate samples. On the way back, they visited Uncle Steve and Aunt Cindy's store again and bought Mom and me presents.

We ended our trip Tuesday with a quick visit to Gigi and lunch at the Famous Hot Weiner. We still smell like hot dogs from that trip!

Our trip home Wednesday was not the greatest. Mom and Dad said Hazel and I were the best behaved people they dealt with all day. We were stuck in the Harrisburg Airport long enough that Hazel almost learned to crawl - she kept pushing up on her hands and knees! Also, on the way off one of our planes, I showed them what a seasoned traveler I've become when I picked up our lunch bag, turned around to wave "bye bye" and raced off the plane.

You can see pictures from our trip here.