So, for Thanksgiving we went over to a friend's house to eat our feast with them. Alden was very happy to have other kids to play with but he was very tired by the end of the day since he missed his nap and we went and did a little black friday shopping that evening. I baked pies (6) and rolls (5 dozen) for the meal and all the food tasted great and we had plenty of food, especially because there were only 4 adults, two children, 1 toddler (Alden) and 2 babies. Here are pictures and more stories from our Thanksgiving preparation and Thanksgiving celebration.
Alden wanted to help Mommy cook and he loved using the hand mixer all on his own. He loves being independent and being a "big boy." This was Alden helping me make pumpkin bread with the extra pumpkin we had left after making pumpkin pie the day before Thanksgiving. I asked Alden if he wanted to put chocolate in the pumpkin bread and he got really excited and said yes and then had fun taking a handful of chocolate chips and mixing it into the batter. I love how much of a helper Alden is, even if it sometimes makes things go slower. It is totally worth it because Alden gets so happy and proud of what he accomplishes!
This was the pumpkin bread that Alden helped me make and the pumpkin pies that I think came out really good. Pumpkin pie is probably my favorite part of Thanksgiving (except maybe the rolls) and I am glad that they came out well. I made a regular pumpkin pie and a pumpkin praline pie for variety. The crust for the pumpkin pies worked out well and the extra pie crust was really yummy.
These are the apple pies that I made Thanksgiving morning. I made a traditional double-crust apple pie and a french apple pie. Besides the crust not looking good at all, they ended up tasting really good. I love baking pies and it is nice to have a reason to make them and have people to help me eat them.
It was raining off and on all day on Thanksgiving but we still found times to go outside to play and run around. Alden loved wearing his rain boots and splashing in all the puddles.
While we were hanging out over at our friend's house they got out some crafts and made hand print turkeys and then let Alden decorate his paper however he wanted. He thought it was so great and had fun getting the bigger kids to help him out with the glue.
So Alden wanted a snack before dinner was ready and was super excited to get grapes.
So this is my plate compared to Alden's. We had lots of yummy things to eat like homemade stuffing, sauteed brussel sprouts, turkey, corn casserole, homemade rolls, mashed potatoes, gravy and grapes. All that Alden wanted to eat was rolls and grapes and he had no interest in trying anything else. I really hope that he grows out of his picky eating habits and expands his food choices as he gets older.
We went on a walk after our feast and before dessert. Alden had a lot of fun playing with a Frisbee and was really excited that we walked over to a little play area where he got to swing. I really enjoyed getting out and being active between eating courses since there is always lots of food on Thanksgiving.
Alden has no qualms about going down wet slides and getting his pants all wet. My friend did dry the slide off quite a bit for Alden before he went down so he didn't get as wet as normal. I love how much Alden loves to play outside and stay active and it was nice seeing him being able to enjoy playing outside again after he had been sick.
When we got back Alden wanted to eat a snack and he wanted crackers and rolls. Still a very boring selection.
This was all the pies that we had. We had enough pies for every single person to have their own pie, including the babies which I found pretty funny. We had both my apple pies, both my pumpkin pies, a white chocolate peppermint pie, a jell-o pie that I thought tasted like cough syrup (I can say that because I made it and thought it was gross), a coconut creme pie, pecan pie and pumpkin cheesecake. I had fun trying little slices of lots of different pies. The other picture here shows the top crust of my apple pie that just did not want to cooperate and ended up being patch-worked together. At least it tasted good even though it was not pretty.
By the end of the night both Alden and I were exhausted but we still went out to do a little black friday shopping. I was super proud of how well Alden did. At the stores we went to Alden sat in the cart with his binky and blanket and just cuddled down. I felt bad taking him out when it was his bedtime but I was super proud of him and he was super excited because I bought him a set of winter bed sheets with doggies on them. We had a long Thanksgiving day that was fun and relaxing for both of us.
