Thanksgiving Weekend (Part 1?)

It's only Saturday and this little thanksgiving weekend has been pretty great so far! Wednesday night was a relaxing night of grilled 'cheese' and tomato soup with Marlowe's first real bath experience. Marlowe and I borrowed Eric's tub and soaked in some bubbles. 

 Thursday morning Marlowe, Eric, and I watched the Thanksgiving day parade. Afterwards, I manned the kitchen to prepare some Thanksgiving goodies while Marlowe slept and Eric took care of some necessary geeky business and then joined me in the kitchen to help cook. We made garlic mashed potatoes, tofurkey, a mushroom gravy, and some green beans.

 Thursday afternoon we stopped by my family's house. We weren't having our meal there, but we wanted to say 'hello' and make sure Marlowe got some good family time in! Marlowe was sleeping when we arrived, but her very proud grandfather needed to wake her up and show her off to his friends :)

 After our visit we headed to Eric's family's house for our Thanksgiving meal. It was awesome. It was Eric's parents, two of their friends, and his granny. Everything was vegan except the actual meat dishes and one dessert. We had tofurkey, turkey, smoked pork, mashed potatoes, two green bean dishes, biscuits, sweet potato casserole, roasted carrots, and tons more. For dessert there was a (vegan) pumpkin cheesecake, (vegan) apple pie, and a keylime pie (all made by Heidi). Everything was delicious. I definitely served myself the biggest plate.... and then went for seconds.

I found a little surprise while I was in the office feeding Marlowe :)

NOM NOM NOM. 

On Friday Marlowe, Jerry, and I went on a little stroll to meet up with Anita. Afterwards I headed to Eric's house, where Mark and Nicole picked us up. We headed out to lunch at the Yardhouse. They added a whole "sub vegetarian" section to their menu with items that can be made vegan pretty easily. You would think none of us had ever eaten before with the amount of food we ordered. 

Nicole wanted to be the Marlowe carrier for lunch. It was nice to have a food break where I don't have to constantly worry about spilling ketchup on Marlowes head :)

Yes, Eric has over-worn this shirt. He owns at least 60 shirts, but always seems to grab this one. 

It was happy hour so all our entrees were half off and we (not me!) went a little overboard. My sliders had to be sent back because they had added cheese, but this little mix up left me with a double serving of fries, so I cant complain!

After lunch Eric and I headed back to my house where Eric and Marlowe partied to some funk music while we waited for some friends to arrive. I think this is the first time I really invited people to my new house. I'm not sure why I haven't before. It's so easy to have people over where I can be at home for feeding her. It's nice to not have to leave because its her bedtime. I should do this more.

       

I am beyond thankful for all these things in my life... and so much more. I am so incredibly thankful for Marlowe and how much she has enhanced my life. She is such a joy and her entrance into this world has come with so many good things. My family has been brought much closer together. I have received so much support and warmth from all my family members. I had a decent relationship with my father and step-mother before, but now it is exponentially better. I have met so many amazing people this year. I am so happy to have all of them in my life-- I really do have some of the most amazing friends a girl can ask for. I'm a sap.. but I do love all you guys. I am thankful for my wonderful blog readers! I never thought this blog would be such a hit! I am thankful for how this year is coming to such a good end. The beginning of this year was so incredibly scary and I really didn't know what was in front of me, but now, I am so eternally thankful for all the happiness in my life and everything I have to look forward to. Thank you everyone for enhancing my life!  You've all made my world so much brighter.

Edit: Also, I don't think I posted this lately... but could you guys take a second and vote for me? It's much appreciated :)