James's First Thanksgiving 2011!

Thanksgiving with Kevin's family: Kathy, me, Kevin, James, Grandpa George, 

Grandma Ruth (James is notably less photogenic when I'm not behind the camera)

We spent James's first Thanksgiving on the Cape, where both Kevin and I spent many Thanksgivings before we knew each other. This is a little strange considering we met in Virginia, but Kevin's maternal grandparents have been living there for a long time, and so did my dad's parents. We had Thanksgiving dinner with Kevin's extended family, aunts, uncle, and cousins. The day after Thanksgiving, we briefly visited my grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousin an hour north in Truro.

With Aunt Katie, Uncle Chris, and Great-Aunt Denise


James is ready to eat in his new Thanksgiving Day bib

I was really excited to feed James all the mashed Thanksgiving sides. He usually only gets to have one flavor at a time, and while he had tried squash before, he had never tried mashed potatoes, turnips, stuffing, or cranberry sauce. I know you're only supposed to introduce one thing at a time so you can figure it out if they're allergic to something, but James isn't a very delicate baby, and Kevin and I have almost no allergies. James LOVED Thanksgiving. He loved being around Kevin's family, getting constant attention, and he loved eating everything. He wanted me to keep the food coming. I had to check between bites that he didn't still have food in there from the last spoonful because he wanted more before he was done. He was super cute.

This is less fun than I anticipated; my dinner is getting cold!


James's plate: mashed potatoes, turnips, squash, stuffing, and cranberry sauce


With Great-Grandma Catherine


With Great-Aunt Elaine, Uncle Griffin, and Winky


With Great-Uncle Richard

Thanksgivings without my dad are hard and sad. Especially on the Cape. Especially when I'm at his family's house and Thanksgiving is so much less without him. Last year was the first Thanksgiving without him, but it was so close to the day we lost him that we were still spinning in shock. This year felt like the first year without him. He is everywhere, and at the same time, his absence is suffocating.