thanksgiving!

zuzu's first thanksgiving started out with monkey bread, fresh from the oven. though she wasn't able to enjoy it in the same way that jenn and i did, she did get a chance to take a good look at it and perhaps breathe in its warm, gooey goodness.

we're all about enjoying classic holiday family traditions here, so next on the list was turning on the macy's thanksgiving day parade, mainly to just have on in the background - to create atmosphere. normally, we don't have zuzu watching tv, so she was quite curious about the activity taking place. even when turned in her exersaucer to face the other way, she insisted on twisting around to see the next float, balloon, band, or performance.

i started noticing how everything was so carefully orchestrated to blend smoothly into the advertising. the latest barbie super-princess mega-dream castle float featured a "live" barbie, singing about her perfect life (or something like that), then transitioned to a strategically positioned commercial alerting viewers to the newly available super-princess mega-dream castle DVD. ech! okay, the "corporate marketing machine" may have put me under its enchanting spell when i was a kid, but they can't have my zuzu! so i turned off the tv and we enjoyed some holiday music until it was time for a morning snooze-break.

after zuzu's naptime, we headed up to see my family for an afternoon and evening of thanksgiving feasting and fun. on the way, we took some time to talk about some of the things for which we are very thankful. loving families and friends, good health, and a happy home were found on the list, with zuzu being the number one answer on our board this year! thank you, god, for such a wonderful little girl. thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

everyone had a good time being together and playing with zuzu and dayten, her 6-month old cousin. we enjoyed a bountiful meal of turkey, dressing, potatoes (mashed and sweet), cranberry sauce, and more. we put zuzu down for her afternoon nap in the middle of the meal, which offered me a good chance to take a break from stuffing myself. i eventually made it back to the table to finish off an additional helping of some fine sweet potato casserole (thanks, julie!), turkey, and mashed potatoes.

zuzu's napping didn't last too long, so jenn and i spent a good hour and a half or more encouraging her to sleep by lying down with her on the floor and then on the bed. all the excitement of a festive family environment must have wound her up quite a bit, but eventually she fell asleep for about an hour. a bit later, we enjoyed some pie and took some family pictures.

it was a good thanksgiving, indeed!