We’ve been talking about Thanksgiving and discussing what we’re thankful for. I’m not sure if Walker gets the concept but I’m certainly satisfied with his response. We love Uncle Thayer and appreciate his knack for keeping things silly.

Daddy gave Walker a very special present — his very own gallery. Walker was so terribly excited to see all his creations hanging in his favorite part of the house (he learned to walk, throw, kick a ball, and jump in the hallway). Come on by and Walker will give you a tour of his most recent creations.

Thanksgiving week was terribly hectic. It wasn’t just that we were making soup for dinner or preparing for an extended visit to Pop-Pop’s. We also did a major upgrade to the electrical service to the house so we were without power on Monday until after 10pm (and then only a few rooms had power). We had a lot of fun having a picnic dinner on the floor of the kitchen with candles and reading Walker’s bedtime stories by flashlight. The upgrade was much more complicated than they anticipated given they had to essentially rewire all the connections and we’re terribly pleased they are perfectionists and triple-checked each connection, circuit and switch. Of course they found some old knob and tubing we’ll want to replace and there are some outlets with “reverse polarity and no grounding” which sounds like me after a particularly trying day at work…

Feeling good about the safer electrical situation in the house, we went up to Sea Ranch. Walker loves his family and was extremely excited to play with Pop-Pop and Uncle Thayer. On Thursday morning we got a picnic breakfast and went to Point Arena to watch Uncle Thayer surf. It turned out we watched him contemplate the “junky” waves and whether they were worth the pain and suffering of putting on a cold, damp wetsuit. (The answer was that yes, it was eventually worth it.) Walker was eating a muffin that I had thought was a blueberry bran but after a taste, I think it was closer to a chocolate chip mocha muffin — and may have contributed to the refusal to nap later that afternoon. No nap + holiday excitement = Sleepy Walker eating a popsicle at Dinner.

I’m thankful for all my boys, young and old. I’m thankful for a wonderful home and a good job. And I’m thankful for giggles, bubbles, balloons, tricycle rides, swings, kisses, smiles, and morning snuggles.