After we had some quality time with Michael’s side of the family, we headed over to my side to spend Thanksgiving day! The girls were a little extra excited, because on this trip, I told them that we’d take out my childhood American Girl dolls. My parents have had them at their house all these years, mostly because I didn’t really have any space for them in our previous apartments.

Kaya instantly fell in love with my Kirsten doll, and spent nearly the entire visit holding her, changing her outfits, and “getting her ready for school/church”. I asked them to be as gentle as possible with these special dolls, and I was surprised at how careful they truly were.

The girls also really enjoyed watching the Macy’s Parade and looking for all their favorite character balloons, including Paw Patrol, Hello Kitty, and Snoopy! They were even pretty excited to see Santa at the very end.

While they were busy with my dolls, my mom was cooking an amazing (as always) turkey!We had quite a full house this year, although I really missed seeing Karl and Kaitlyn. My mom always goes above and beyond with holiday meals. As a mom myself now, I appreciate her cooking more than ever.Everyone wants to sit on Daddy’s lap, at all times.I title this one, “Smug kid on Dad’s lap; sad kid not on Dad’s lap”.Nella actually slept right through the entire dinner, but when she woke up, she ate so much turkey (I think I actually ended up giving her seconds… and then thirds)! This little pumpkin is my best eater by far. I think we were all feeling how Kaya felt after the meal…Of course, there’s always room for dessert later!Nella ended the evening with a pile (or two) of whipped cream. She dug right into it, smashed it into her hair, and painted the entire high chair with it, so I’d say she enjoyed it.