We are excited to begin holiday activities that will hopefully become traditions for our new family. For Thanksgiving, I bought a plain tablecloth and we traced our handprints on it, then wrote what we are each thankful for this year. We can trace Brayden's hand as he grows and look back on all the blessings we receive through the years.
Brayden’s first Thanksgiving celebration began the weekend before the holiday with a visit from Tim’s Aunt Mindy and cousins Kasey and Kristopher from Texas. Later in the week we headed to Salina for several days to spend Thanksgiving with our families there. Thursday was spent at Tim’s parents’ house with a wonderful dinner prepared by Uncle Ryan. Tim’s Grandpa and Great Aunt Marge and Great Uncle Steve and their grandsons Zach and John joined us for dinner. After dinner, we visited Tim’s Grandma. Her room is filled with pictures of Brayden so she can watch her great grandson grow.
Exciting news to be thankful for is that Brayden will soon have an aunt! Tim’s brother Wes proposed to his girlfriend Kristin earlier this month and we look forward to their wedding this spring.
Friday we spent the day at my parents’ house. In between meals, there was always someone who wanted to see Brayden, meet him for the first time or have a turn at holding him! Tim and I continue to be amazed at how well Brayden handled his first major holiday in Salina. He went from place to place for four days and fell asleep anywhere and anytime we put him down. Brayden definitely did not learn this flexibility from his mom and dad!
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| Starting a Thanksgiving Family Tradition Here is our first set of handprints celebrating our blessings this year. |
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| Baby’s First Thanksgiving No first Thanksgiving is complete without a turkey hat complements of Grandma Blake. |
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| Turkey Hat's Matching Bib |
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| Smiling Brayden After many attempts to capture a Brayden smile, Tim finally caught one on his phone. |
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| Happy Brayden This Thanksgiving we are very thankful for a happy and content baby. |
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| Visitors from Houston Tim’s cousins Kasey and Kristopher meet Brayden for the first time. Brayden liked to stare at Kristopher's glasses and enjoyed Kasey’s long hair. Consider this your warning for anyone with glasses, dangly necklaces, long hair or other shiny accessories! |
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| Cousin Kasey |
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| Cousin Kristopher |
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| Brayden's Great Aunt Mindy |
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| Mommy & Brayden The turkey and ham weighed more than Brayden this Thanksgiving! |
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| 2011 Thanksgiving Family Photo |
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| Brayden's Thanksgiving Outfit Brayden sporting his stylish fall hat complements of his friend Megan. Check out the Argyle socks too! |
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| Mommy's Love of Stylish Coats Brayden is ready for cold weather in his denim jacket made by Grandma Laubhan. Someday we can look back on these pictures and laugh at the 1980s flowered couch at Grandma and Grandpa's house. |
