CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Our little Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving
2010

After a crazy day of cooking my first turkey EVER, along with most of the extras, it was time to sit down with my little family and reflect on what I am always most thankful for: the most amazing husband ever, and the 3 crazy kids we created!!!

We taught the boys to toast, in true Van Housen/Bienkowski style...
(we missed our CA family)

Layla was smiley all day, which made us extra grateful for her sweet personality. We are so blessed to have a funny, beautiful, and loving little sister.

Josh had been excited for this holiday for weeks, ever since discussing it in his SLC preschool. His only expectations were turkey and pumpkin pie, so I had to at least do those homemade. He was not disappointed!
We are grateful for this oldest brother who is SO smart about so many things. We are truly astounded by the way his brain works things out, the vocabulary he surprises us with, and his mature negotiating skills.

Jack is special in so many ways. He has the best imagination and watching him create scenarios with his trains/cars his so much fun! He repeats everything we say, which is why his speech has improved a TON in the last few months. Now we just need to work on his volume... since he basically whispers and even Layla is louder when she babbles!!

And then there is Dan. He is my other half, and I can honestly say that there is an overwhelming void when he is not around. The 2 weeks without him were 14 days too long, and will never happen again. I love him more than I can ever express, and will support him in the goals he desires to achieve because I know he has us always in his heart.

I was also grateful to see that I FINALLY have a child who will eat whatever I cook. The boys are famous for eating like birds... Not Layla! She is excited about whatever is on the spoon in front of her face.

Josh was happy with his first experience with pumpkin pie, while Dan was showing him that it's really all about the freshly whipped cream!!

We were thinking about ALL of our family on this day. We missed the laughter, the jokes, the movie quotes, and just the togetherness. (oh, and others helping with the cooking!) But we do look forward to creating traditions with Josh, Jack, and Layla.

5 comments:

Ryan and Jamie Turner said...

Awww, you guys are so cute. It looks so magical when you have Thanksgiving all by yourselves... with all your own kids around the table with you. I have that to look forward to, although I don't know how you cooked everything by yourself! I did 3 things and I was way stressed about it all.
We missed you guys too! So much. Love you guys!

Dawn said...

It warms this mom/grandma heart to see you celebrating the holiday and establishing your own traditions. Everyone looks happy and healthy, and well-fed...(hooray for Layla's love of food...it makes cooking so much more fun).

We miss you guys everyday. Keep the pictures and posts coming. It really helps.

Love you guys!

Amy said...

What a beautiful holiday! And a beautiful family! (you are looking fabulous!) I'm glad you got to enjoy it all.

Jace said...

Okay I love that picture of Jack! I'm glad you guys had a great day :)

Amanda said...

cute pictures!! I'm glad you had a good day