Thanksgiving Weekend

Thanksgiving weekend was busy with family and fun. It was quite the Christmas kickoff too!

To be sure we saw Santa this year we went the day before Thanksgiving. Jackson was beyond excited to see him! If it wasn't for the snow globe and lots of fake snow to run around in before Santa it would have been hard to make him wait. My wonderful parents helped make this happen by my dad waiting in line while I drove in with the kiddos. Many many other people had this same idea cause the line was outrageous and I would have otherwise had one sad two year old.

Leading up to see Santa we kept asking Jackson what he was going to ask him to bring him on Christmas. Without hesitation each time Jackson said "Ninja Turtle socks." Well, sure enough that is exactly what he told Santa!When he was finally up with Santa, Santa asked him if he wanted some cars or trucks but nope, just some Ninja Turtle socks that I had to repeat for confused Santa to hear.

Thanksgiving was wonderful, spent with my family at my Aunt's house. Lots of delicious food and way too many turkey cookies for Jackson. We sat at a table with some of my cousins. It was so weird to be at the "kid table" with them with two kids of my own this year. Jackson had a blast playing a matching game with my cousin Helen and tried hard to help us out with a puzzle.

Friday we started a new version of an old tradition. Instead of cutting down a Christmas tree we decorated my parents with them. Jackson was all into it! He loved taking the ornaments out of the boxes and putting them up, often asking to put them waaaaaay up.

Before we even started decorating the tree though Jackson very seriously asked Grandma where her star was for the tree. He said that the tree needed a star so that Santa could find it. He repeated this many times with concern that there was no star. He was very worried that Santa would not know where to go without it, so my mom found a way to make the star happen.

Jackson helped draw it out, decorate it and even cut it. He was so proud when it went up on the tree! My mom says its the best star she has ever had on her tree.

Little Em was not in the best of moods and slept/cried through most of her first decorating experience.

Saturday kicked off with Gingerbread Construction Company! It was a fun park district event for Jackson and me. Although this task was super fun and I absolutely loved being on a date with my little man, the house was a little more challenging and sticky than I anticipated.

Jackson got into decorating our house a little bit, adding a garden to the roof. But he was most excited about eating everything! "I eat this?...Mom, I eat it?...What else can I eat?....I eat it now?....I eat this, yes or no?...I eat another one?...Just one more?

Everytime I turned around he had another piece of candy ready to eat or already in his mouth. He would sort them out, one for the house and these to eat. 

In the evening we went to my in-laws for a Thanksgiving celebration with them (and to watch the Iron bowl). Jackson was busy with making (eating) marshmallow snowmen with Aunt Megan and a gingerbread house with Nana Trish. Still concerned a lot with what candy he could eat he did make a cute house with candy lights.

He partied hard with Aunt Megan, lots and lots of building various "flyers" out of blocks and staying up way past his bed time.

We are so sad its Sunday and the weekend is over. I am making the most of this long, much needed nap from my kiddos and have a little more preparation to do for a certain Elf that arrives tomorrow!