Thanksgiving Prep & Fun.

So sorry, you have to turn your head for this photo.  I could not get it to rotate for the life of me!   November Thanks started out with a salute to Veterans at Kate's school.   "Give a hand to Veterans." was the theme.  Kate called her Great Grandpa Harvey and asked him what his favorite colors were to decorate her Thank You Hand in honor of him.  She worked very hard on this project.  Her hand was displayed on a huge quilt at the school. 

We started out our Thanksgiving celebrating with Great Grandma Van Zee in Pella.  I volunteered to bring an apple crisp for the dessert.  I got a fancy dancy apple peeler last yr and the kids loved it!  The spiral apples were so much fun to make.

Will was determined to help with the project as well.

Ta Da!

On Thanksgiving we went to W'burg and celebrated with Brett's Mom and the rest of the family.  Unfortunately I forgot to take the camera.  But like always we had a ton of great food, chatting and exchange of xmas lists for the kiddos.
On Saturday Brett & I hosted our 1st Thanksgiving at our house.  My mom was determined to teach me how to cook a turkey.  With her guidance and a great recipe from a friend we accomplished the task!  We were so proud!

I found out halfway through the day that my parents had a little bit of anxiety with my cooking plan.  When I told them I didn't put the turkey in the oven until 7:30 that morning and the plan was to eat at noon they got a bit nervous.   However we really weren't off by much.  We had to cook the bird about 30 min. longer than what we had planned for, but it worked out fine.  My dad is the gravy pro (with mom's guidance) in the family.  I gave them the reigns on the gravy. 

My Mom did a great job as Supervisor of the chefs.  She is such an AMAZING cook.  I have learned everything I know about cooking from her. 

We broke out our chargers and table cloths for dinner.  I don't think I have used them since before we had kids!  A little dusting was in order before setting the table.

After the turkey coma went away we played a few family games.  Fibber was the game of choice this year.  The funny glasses and nose pieces made it pretty fun. 

No a week of working out to burn off all those extra calories before we head to Iowa City next weekend for our final Thanksgiving Dinner with our Iowa City family!!!

Will's Tonsils are OUT of HERE!

Will got his tonsils removed on November 1st.  After lots of testing for other things, the doctor thought the reason he may not be growing well is because he has HUGE tonsils!  Recent research has shown a link between large tonsils and growth delay.  Will has always been a light eater.  He takes little bites and doesn't like to sit long to eat.  He has never choked on any food because of the restriction of his airway, but nonetheless he may find the restriction uncomfortable and therefore not eat a lot because of it.   So the day before the surgery, I cooked him whatever food he wanted.  He chose dippin eggs and toast.

We had to check in at the surgery center at 6:30 am.  He was actually pretty excited about the whole thing. Little did he know that a lot of pain & discomfort would follow.  One of my rehab patients bought him 2 little toy cars as a get well gift the day before.  He LOVED them so much that he put the cars in those 2 little pockets of his surgery gown to take with him back to the operating room.  SUPER CUTE!  I think he melted Dr. Close's heart!



Kate has had her tonsils out, and 3 sets of tubes.  Will has had 2 sets of tubes and now his tonsils.  My least favorite part of the experience is watching the nurse take my child off my lap and walk back to the operating room without me.  This being the 6th surgery for me to put a child through, I was super excited when I saw the new RIDE show up to take Will back for the surgery!   He was so excited to get in the wagon with his cars and superhero books! 

He was all smiles as the nurse pulled him away!  And I was all smiles too......because he was smiling!!  What  a brave little boy!


 



The surgery went great!  He was ready to go home 3 hours after surgery! He was pretty groggy for most of the first day.  He did do a great job eating soft foods and drinking water.  I tried to get him to eat these popsicles I bought.  He took 1 bite and was done.  He has never liked really cold foods or drinks.  I was hoping a sore throat might change that, but not so much.  He stuck to the water or milk for the first few days.   Dr. Close was right,  days 1-3 were rough,  then Will rallied for a few days.  On days 7-10 he had a set back again as more changes in his throat took place.   He also ended up with a really high voice!  Almost as if he has been breathing helium all day long!  Brett & I both hope the voice lowers soon!
This past week Will has been eating so much better, and he also doesn't snore anymore when he sleeps!  We had Will's 3 week follow up today and HE HAS GAINED 1 lb!  He now weighs in at 29 lbs!  YEAH!!!!!