Turkey

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite days of the year. My cousin Steve and his wife Tracy throw a fantastic shindig every year and -- especially now that parenthood makes trips to So Cal less frequent -- it is often the only time all year we get to see my extended family.

This year was a special treat in that we got to meet Riley's new cousin, Jack, pictured below with his Grandpa Steve and my mom. Jack is such a sweet, quiet, mellow dude, I almost had baby envy!

We always love spending time with Jack's dad, my cousin, Jason, seen here with Andy. Check out the awesome 'stache Jason is growing to raise money for prostate cancer research as part of the Movember campaign.

As several posts over the next few days will indicate, the highlight of our four day visit south was playing with my nephew Rene, seen here with my sister Caroline.

On every day of this trip except for Thanksgiving, we had a blast watching Riley play with family members. But on Thanksgiving Day, he was a real turkey. This kid just does not sleep well in new environments, and true to form he spent four hours up crying in our hotel room the night before. He was a mess on Thanksgiving. Can you see the bags under his eyes?

So, I spent at least half of Thanksgiving chasing a wild turkey. I'll admit I missed the old days when I could just kick back, drink a few glasses of wine, chat for hours with my cousins and play party games. At one point, I started to pity myself, pouting internally that I don't get to have any fun anymore. But a reminder from my cousin Susie that "we've all been through it" made me remember that I'll have plenty of time to relax again some day, and for now I need to cherish my funny, cuddly little guy who regularly floods my heart with happy hormones. Even when he's a turkey.