A Cornucopia of Thanksgiving Gratitude

In honor of Thanksgiving, we've gathered a little basket of recent gems:

"I like this potty Mommy. It's holding all of my pee really well."

Madeline's foot-stomping, hand-clapping, delighted squeals of welcome when Donald came home from work a few nights ago.

Patrick's attachment to a mini tube of lip balm that a local dentist handed out to the kids at school: "I need to put on my lipstick Mommy."

Madeline's eagerly anticipated morning routine of going into Patrick's room to wake up her brother. Every morning he hides under the covers, and every morning Madeline thinks that "looking" for him as she crawls around on the comforter is the most fun thing she's ever done.

Patrick's enthusiastic help making mashed potatoes for his school Thanksgiving feast, and the sight of 37 hungry preschoolers sweeping clean a buffet like a plague of locusts.

Cousin Colton's refrain of "Patrick, Patrick, Patrick" and the sight of all three cousins bouncing for joy in the moon bounce set up in Gran T's basement.

Madeline's Thanksgiving weekend appetite, which included two bowls of butternut squash soup, chicken marsala, and a giant helping of gumbo, which she was so eager to eat that she grabbed spoon and bowl out of my hands and started shoveling it in herself.

Patrick's new respect for Santa Claus, who Donald has brilliantly programmed into his phone, with photo. "Is Daddy really going to call him Mommy?" "I don't want Daddy to call him."

"I like having a baby, Mommy. How do we get a lot of family?"

We are thankful, every day, for our many blessings.