Thanksgiving in the city

We had a really special Thanksgiving this year. We often go to Dallas but for a variety of reasons Dallas came here this year. And I couldn't cook Thanksgiving for half of our family and not invite the other half so it ends up being 15 for a sit down dinner. We brought in Oma's dining room set from storage which we had been meaning to do for a while anyway. We brought in lots of wedding presents which made the table beautiful. And of course we had to have the family heirloom candles - the little Gurley Pilgrim candles which always decorated Oma's Thanksgiving table (they say 15 cents on the label and they completely priceless in our family).

I think what made it really special for me was to have all of Katie's grandparents in one place sharing the holiday; they don't get to do that often. And of course the fact that we had a very special guest - Oma. Oma hadn't been to our apartment, she fell not that long after we moved in. She was very excited to see Katie's room. In this picture, Katie is leading her in a tour of our aparment (as if you need a tour, it's all visible from one spot!). It was very cute to see Katie share Oma's walker, but we made sure this was very brief. I think Oma loved to see all the things we have that were hers and now grace our apartment, and a great variety of things from paintings to lamps. And of course Oma loved the food.

The food was great! I'm very lucky to have a family full of talented cooks and I couldn't have done the meal without them. Rachel, Debbie, Ann, Lesley, and my mom all brought things. In fact, all I did was the turkey, 2 cranberry sauces, roasted cauliflower, and an apple crisp. Okay, all that and innumerable hours cleaning up our apartment. Ann was such a huge help. I always describe her as a gracious host and her veteran hosting skills help keep things organized and on track, otherwise I never would have remembered to heat things up on time. And Ann's attack of the dishes was most impressive. One thing I loved is that she brought me a family heirloom to put on our Thanksgiving table, a silver laddle that had been in her family and is so beautiful that I had often admired it.

The table was cozy but beautiful with the inauguration of our wedding china and silver. The turkey cooked in a record 3 hours for an unstuffed 18 pounder. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and of course there was too much food. But not enough turkey leftovers according to Peter so I'll be cooking a turkey breast sometime soon. At one point all 4 kids were on our bed watching a movie - I wish I had gotten a picture of that. Ann loved seeing Katie with her cousins and Pete was very careful to make sure Katie stayed on the bed. Here are some picture highlights.

Ania stops by to meet my grandmother and to join us for hors d'oeuvres.
Katie dances with Aunt Lesley
Katie gets a hug from Aunt Rachel

Robin wants to play in the crib. Katie, with her thumb in her mouth, wants to go to sleep