Thanksgiving

 The friendly turkey (and owl) Charlotte made at church.

 

 The demonic turkey Charlotte made at preschool.

 All six burners at work. If only we needed to cook something on the griddle!

 Keeping herself innocently occupied while Mommy and Daddy ran around the kitchen. Her new fetish? Handbags. As you can see.

 This year's table.

Charlotte also got a fancy(is) table setting! She even sat on my (eek) nice upholstered dining room chairs, instead of the made-in-China kitchen chair booster seat. And yes, I did indeed lay a (matching dark green) towel beneath her. I'm not stupid. 

 

Mommy and Daddy's table setting. I'm pretty sure the bread plate is in the wrong spot, but when you're sitting next to a toddler, you put the china out of reach.

Many people mocked the idea of my double dishwasher when we had them put in. But you know what? It's BRILLIANT. The best tweak I made to this kitchen. By FAR. Clean up = a breeze. In ONE round.

We had a lovely, low-key Thanksgiving with just the three of us this year. Chris, as you know, is a darn good cook, so he handled the turkey, stuffing, mashed pototoes, green beans, and the all-important GRAVY. Mmmmm. Gravy.

I did the homemade rolls, pumpkin pie (crust and filling from scratch, of course), and cranberry sauce. Oh, and the table setting. I love, love, LOVE setting festive tables. As you know.

While the three of us dilly dallied together in the family room, drinking our morning coffee (or milk, for those under two) and periodically having Charlotte make her "gobble gobble!" sound, I asked my girl a question.

"What are you thankful for, Charlotte?"

"DADDY!" she cried.

"Daddy?" I clarified.

"Yeah!" she answered. Like, duh.

I grinned and snuggled my goofball girl into me. "Me too," I said. "But you rank pretty up there, too."