Thanksgiving in Sacramento (G: 2 years, 10 months, 28 days old to 2 years, 11 months, 1 day old / C: 3 months, 17 days old to 3 months, 21 days old)

Thanksgiving in Sacramento was a pleasure as always.  It is the one time of year that my entire side of the family commits to be together and we look forward to it all year long. 
I’ll let the pictures tell the story…
My mom bought a special art project for Graham and he loved it.  He called his menorah his airplane and played with it for a solid month after we got home:

On the way home, we stopped at a fast food place and Graham got a kid's meal with a toy train.  He was obsessed and loved watching the train go in circles.  It actually made for a relaxing meal for Mommy and Daddy.  Check out these funny pictures and this video of his little eyes following the train around and around until it stops:

Graham’s trusty ‘videos’ came all the way to Sacramento with him:

My nephew, Cameron is an amazing chess player.  I had great fun playing some intense games with him during our visit:

My sister makes the world’s best cinnamon rolls.  She doesn’t eat bread any more, but just for me, she braved the ingredients to make me my favorite treat:

"Hi Carter":

My brother-in-law, Andrew always makes the turkey.  Yum, yum!:

Thanksgiving dinner!:

Hungry hippo – so fun!  They don’t make games like they used to.  I’m glad my parents kept all of our favorites:

Graham was awake for much of the loooong drive to Sacramento, but what kept him going was talking about and anticipating the HUGE hug he would get from Grammy and Grandpa when he arrived.  It did not disappoint:

Another classic!  My sister and I loved this game when we were growing up.  Graham was pretty lucky that Auntie Rachel was willing to play with him:

Carter Anthony Jay with Grandpa Jay ♥:

I was very nervous for our trip because it would be Graham’s first time away from home in a big boy bed (ie: not trapped in a crib that he could not get out of).  My parents got a twin blow-up mattress that they wedged between a wall and a bed.  It was perfect.  Graham napped and slept overnight like a champ.  I guess my little man is growing up:

Helping Cousin Cameron open his new Lego set:

Carter joining the evening conversation:

Now trying to help actually build the Lego set:

Graham was VERY good during family pictures, so I decided to take him to the store to get a toy.  He loved examining his different options and was very gracious when it came to also selecting a toy for Cousin Cameron and Baby Brother:

My Dad introduced Graham to Cooties and apparently he built a creature all by himself!  Wow!  My mom even got a video of the ‘learning’ phase:

We take the opportunity to celebrate Hanukkah while we are all together for Thanksgiving.  Daddy held up Graham when it was his turn to light the BIG menorah:

The day we were leaving, Carter was quite fussy (we found out later that a dirty diaper was the culprit).  Grammy (aka: baby whisperer) got him to fall asleep in her arms:

When it was time for Grammy to wake up in the morning, Grandpa and Graham went in to give her a very special greeting:

Graham loved a game he played with Auntie Rachy, Uncle Andrew, and Grammy.  These two videos show him running the loop from the family room to the living room.  Each time he tried to pass, he would get grabbed by Andrew or tickled by Rachel or my mom.  He never wanted it to end:

Carter brought his own travel neck pillow for his first road trip:

Off to the park for some fun:

Always amusing to see wild turkeys walking around my parents’ house on Thanksgiving morning:

I found a swing on Craigslist in Sacramento (while I was still in Santa Barbara) and had my mom go pick it up because I knew that Carter would not survive the trip without a swing.  Needless to say, he took many happy naps in the swing:

Graham got a kick out of using Grammy’s Mickey phone:

Grammy and her special, littlest buddy:

Somebody is sleepy (note the pen on his hand from a trace-the-hand project):

Cameron teaches Uncle Nick a Hobbit game:

The big menorah is fun to light, but the small menorah comes with real fire!  Graham (with his new fire hat) is lighting the new fire engine menorah that Grammy and Grandpa gave him:

Taking a nap on the drive home (while holding his mini train):

Carter thinks Hanukkah is fun, too:

Terry (the photographer) wore a shirt that Graham loved:

Here are the pictures from the photo shoot.  I included almost all of our family-of-four shots.  It is somewhat comical to show just how hard it is to get the shot where everyone is looking at the camera and making a ‘normal’ face:

Graham had great fun walking to the toy store with Grammy and Grandpa after the family pictures:

Heading home with his purchases was fun, too:

Auntie Rachy tickling again!:

Can’t wait to do it all again next year :)