Babies' First Thanksgiving

When I was growing up, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter were always at my Grandparents' house in Vallejo.  Sometimes there were just five or six of us, sometimes as many as nearly twenty.  Over the years a sort of pattern evolved and my mother took over more and more of the preparations for the meal.  A pattern evolved and in it she (and sometimes I) would go up early to set up and start cooking whatever hadn't been prepared in advance.  Then my dad and brother would come to set up the table and get it set, then my aunt's family would come with a few dishes to add to the feast, we would eat, and they would take charge of much of the clean up.  Since my grandmother passed away in 2004, when Thanksgiving was held in San Francisco, I have done the hosting.  And over those five years I was responsible for the turkey (brining and roasting and presenting - my mom did the actual purchasing and my dad did the carving), mashed potatoes, vegetables, and dessert, plus getting the place presentable, configuring the dining room to accommodate however many people we'd invited, and setting the table.

Because Joe's dad is still recovering from a viral infection, the babies are not allowed to visit him and he is not allowed to visit them until he is cleared of all contagion.  This meant we'd be doing Turkey Day in San Francisco.  Luckily, nobody assumed I would be hosting again.  This year, my mom ordered us a Honeybaked Ham, added a turkey breast for the traditionalists in the bunch, some fluffy mashed potatoes, the yummy homemade stuffing I dream about starting in late October every year, and green beans.  Notice anything missing?  That's right - the cranberry sauce.  We forgot to put the cranberry sauce on the table! This is actually traditional, since it has long been my favorite part of Thanksgiving - the Ocean Spray cranberry jelly from the can, that comes out in a sloosh all at once with the little tin can ridges in the middle - and yet each year I hosted dinner I forgot to put it on the table until I was cleaning up and getting ready for dessert.

Which leads me to dessert.  (Nice segueway, no?)  Remember how I said that for the past few years I've done the bird, veggies, potatoes, and dessert?  Well, this year I made dessert: spice cake.  from a box.  with cream cheese frosting.  from a can.  And all I can say is YUM.

One other thing that set this year's feast apart from others is that we (me, my parents, and my brother) were being interviewed by Austrian TV for a half hour documentary about Arnold Schwarzenegger's governership.  We were asked to talk about its effects on teaching and education in California.  While the thought of the damage done to California's educational system over the past seven years can put a bad taste in your mouth...at least the end of his tenure as governor gave us one more thing to be thankful for.

Obviously, the babies were the center of attention.  It was, after all, their first Thanksgiving.  It was also their first time at Grandma and Grandpa's house (since they usually demand house calls from their SF family members).  While they didn't have any turkey (or ham), they seemed to enjoy the festivities:

Caroline hangs out with Grandpa

and addresses her adoring fans

Max, in his knit cap and overalls, doing an impression of a longshoreman

Getting cuddles from Grandpa

He's just heard he doesn't get to have any of the food

Grandpa tries to make up for it with smooches

Hanging out on their named blankies!

Such a cutie!

Thanks to Amy Whiteside for the really cute overalls!