Thanksgiving

Behold! A bearded turkey!



I made this out of construction paper. This is a 'Jakob' Turkey. Known for its unusual sense of humor, bugged out eyes and bushy beard, the Jakob Turkey is a crafty creature. I made turkeys representing each of my friends who came over to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.



It was a whirlwind of a day. Awol was over at 6:15am to begin the bird. Did I mention that he broke his right arm and bone-bruised his left? Originally, his paper turkey was going to have two broken wings, but I decided to accentuate the positive by merely giving his turkey a swoopy pompadour. Since his arms were still on the gimpy side, I had to force him to let me do tasks like potato chopping. Note to the kiddies out there: if you lack arm control, FOR THE LOVE OF PETE, don't attempt to use a cleaver.



It was a strange day. Lovely, yes, but strange. We were sort of the Turkey Day 'pit stop'. Most folks came right around dinnertime and then had other feasts to attend. It was nice to see my old friend Ryan Gantz again. (And by old friend, I mean he is an old bastard, not that we're friends from long ago. I'm just kidding. He's an excellent good friend.)



Cooper tried turkey for the first time and he HATED it. He's loved every food he's tried thus far. Peas, carrots, prune and squash have all been grand successes.



He took a spoonful of mashed up Beachnut Stage 1 Turkey and he made a face like he was being tortured. He then used his tongue to push any and all turkey bits out of his mouth.



We tried a second turkey spoonful, and this time he cried AND shook his head back and forth as if to say, "NO! NO! NO! What are you doing to me???!!!"



I fed him some prunes to make him happy. As you can see, it worked.

I'm so thankful for Cooper and Jakob. My guys. They're the best.



Oh, and though there's never been any doubt that Coop is a spitting image of his father, here's further proof:



Look at that face! It's the same expression Jakob has in over 130 different photographs.



Thanksgiving is my second favorite holiday. (Nothing beats Halloween. The costume/candy factor is tough to top.)



Thanksgiving is all about being with loved ones, eating a home cooked meal together and taking time out of your busy year to let everyone know that you are thankful. It's a day of true appreciation for the good things.



There are many days when I hear myself saying, "UG! Why do I have to deal with this?" But on Thanksgiving I get to say, "I'm so lucky that this is my deal."