To those who are celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving! To those who are not, Happy Day…..hopefully!

It’s Avery’s second Thanksgiving and we’re celebrating at our house just like last year, only this time it’s just Going Mom, Avery, and myself. We’ll miss seeing our families, but it just worked out this way and that’s okay. Plus, I know we’ll have many more future holidays to spend with our family.

Looking back at pictures from Thanksgiving last year, I can’t believe our little ball of mush has grown into a bigger (but still little) ball of life!

Here she is, motionless, last year…

…and one more, still motionless…

But noooowwww, we’re lucky to get her to sleep during the day (or ever!), and she’s full of life and gives us wide-grinned smiles every day.

Yeah, they grow too fast, huh? Now we have an active little girl on the verge of walking (we think), talking (we also think), and constantly learning about the world around her. Hopefully, she’ll start learning how to help in the kitchen and maybe lend a hand next Thanksgiving. Too early?

I cooked everything but the turkey yesterday and the plan is to drink copious amounts of coffee, go for a family run/walk around the neighborhood, and watch as much of the videos we’ve taken since Avery was born last November. Oh yeah, and enjoy our small Thanksgiving feast.

Our menu for day includes goat cheese garlic mashed potatoes (Kelley’s favorite and #1 request), mashed sweet potatoes with cinnamon and stevia to sweeten, roasted brussels sprouts and garlic (my favorite), microwave cranberry sauce sweetened with stevia, free-range turkey, and crust-less no-bake pumpkin pie.

It’s not much, but I’m excited, and as long as we have goat cheese paired with mashed potatoes, my wife is excited too! Hopefully Avery will enjoy the spread too, and maybe NOT throw it on the floor.

Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving or not, hope you have a great day!

Do you have any traditions you must do every year? We don’t, but I’m hoping to create them now and celebrate them every year with Avery and Kelley.