And our Thanksgiving

We have a Thanksgiving tradition at our house: I get out this decoration and crack up.  Every year.

Then Ray rolls his eyes at me.  Every year. 
It's a turkey eating a potato.  With a knife and fork.  Come on, that's funny.

We also have a tradition of pizza on Thanksgiving Eve.  This tradition began the first year that we were married when I spent the entire day cooking and then Ray came home from work and asked what I was making for dinner.  I gave him the look.  He was smart enough to respond "I'll call Papa Johns" and Hayes family tradition was born.

We've hosted every year since we've been married so I've slowly tweaked the menu that I grew up with.  In addition to turkey, gravy, and mashed potatoes (which you cannot fool with, although Ray keeps threatening to deep fry the turkey) we have butternut squash casserole, rosemary cornbread stuffing (never actually stuffed), and asparagus.  And despite the fact that it's just my parents and us, pumpkin pie and pumpkin roll and fruit salad.  It's tradition.

Ray will also argue that it's tradition for me to squeal when I inevitable have difficulty removing the neck from the never-quite-completely-thawed cavity.  I HATE that part.

This year I'm trying to teach B about the holiday too and not just rush past it to Christmas.  We've been reading One is a Feast for Mouse which he seems to enjoy. (http://www.amazon.com/One-Is-Feast-Mouse-Thanksgiving/dp/0823422313).  We've also been singing some turkey songs and coloring some turkey pictures (Did I mention I like turkeys?)

We made these cute keep sakes based on the idea found here http://www.busybeekidscrafts.com/Hands-and-Feet-Turkey.html.

N was NOT a fan.  It was one of those crafts that was really more work for us (yes it took two of us) than them.  B did cut out the beaks and glue them on.  The first time I put the hand prints too close to the bottom of the page so I had to cut them out and glue them on a new sheet rather than mess with paint again. 

B also enjoyed making turkeys (maybe we'll use them as centerpieces?) from toilet paper rolls (http://www.messforless.net/2011/11/paper-roll-turkey.html).

Yes, these turkeys have blue feathers.  And they are done in his trademark minimalist style. 

I'm looking forward to the Macy's parade, a delicious meal and even better leftovers.

How do you celebrate Thanksgiving?

and a paper plate pumpkin

So, my good intentions for posting more often? Ha! I need to 1. Get supplies together for projects; 2. get B to DO the projects; and 3. remember to take pictures of said projects.  So, it's slow going.  B gets excited about "projects" but loses interest pretty quickly.  Nevertheless he gets excited about seeing his completed works hanging in the breakfast nook, so I guess we'll keep plugging away.

We did manage to complete a few fall themed crafts easy enough for a two-year-old-boy and his Mama who is always. holding. the. baby. (right now? He's sleeping on me.) in the the last month.

First we made a paper plate pumpkin.

B painted a paper plate orange with a foam brush.  Fingers would work too, but he doesn't seem to like being dirty.  Every time he got paint on his fingers he had to go wash his hands (wiping them off wasn't enough).

He's been excited to use scissors, although he hasn't quite gotten cutting in different directions so he usually just cuts in and then tears off.

He used a glue stick attach his "face."  I cut out a brown stem and stapled it to the top so that you could tell it was supposed to be a pumpkin :)

We're working on some projects with leaves and a fall sensory box which I think/hope will interest him longer than the crafts.