thanksgiving

we had a great thanksgiving. despite our worries about how bebe would handle the journey to long island and having to sleep in unfamiliar surroundings, she did great. while she didn't sleep as well as she normally does, you never would have known from her demeanor. she was, as she always seems to be when placed in a room full of people cooing at her, utterly charming and delightful. it was a real treat to see her with all of my mom's cousins. as usual when josh has his camera out, i barely took any pictures at all, but i do have a bit of documentation of beebs's first thanksgiving.

after spending the night at my nana's house, we took a ferry from new london, CT, to long island on thursday morning. bebe amused herself (and us!) on the car ride from orient point, where the ferry docked, to massapequa, where my mom's cousin mary and her husband laz live, by chattering away for almost the entire 90 minute drive:

then, after the great poop debacle of thanksgiving '08, wherein bebe pooped all over her adorable dress and tights (this, i might add, while wearing a disposable diaper -- we have NEVER had such a mess in cloth), we put her in a sweater and jeans and she hung out happily in a bouncy seat while we all ate dinner.

the next morning, she was completely mesmerized watching mary play this xylophone. she couldn't take her eyes off mary's hand, and every so often a particular combination of notes would make her smile.

we went out to breakfast, where daddy had french toast and bebe had breast milk.

and then we drove back to nana's, where we relaxed for a few hours before heading back home again.

i am bothered by the thanksgiving holiday -- the myth of happy pilgrims and helpful indians sharing a meal together that we all learned in grade school serves to obscure the years of violence and near genocide that ensued after europeans' contact with the native peoples of america. if you really want to know what i'm most thankful for this year, though, in place of the thousand words i could easily write, i give you this:

and i am thankful, too, for the support of family and friends that helped bring her here and now help keep her healthy, happy, and clothed. thank you all.

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