maybe this is how traditions start

What was supposed to be the Worst Thanksgiving Ever, thanks to Natalie's untimely germ-fest, actually turned out to be pretty wonderful. We felt so down about missing out on Turkey Day in Schoharie, but resolved to make the most of Natalie's first food-centric holiday. Our resolve paid off, and now we are left wondering if perhaps this new-fangled coastal Thanksgiving will become our little family's new tradition.

Here's a breakdown of our day:

1. Random chocolate-covered strawberries are delivered to our doorstep. For real. We just opened the door and there were these treats from heaven just waiting for us. This is just one more example of Everything Coming Up Mikey, which I think I will be making a regular feature on the blog just to marvel at how lucky my Moo is all the time.

2. We were pleased to get a reasonably decent night's sleep and discovered that despite her lingering cough and runny nose, miss Natifuss was in a darn good mood. We put her in her homemade Everyone is Thankful for Me onesie and enjoyed a morning with our giggly girl.

3. We had decided to go for a full-on Maine harvest Thanksgiving once our travel plans were foiled, which included (obvs) a couple of lobsters. One of the best parts of the day was letting Natalie check out the little sea cockroaches on our dining room floor. She was so curious and fearless, and desperately wanted us to let her pull on their antennae and play with their claws. Not to worry, no babies or lobsters were harmed as a result of this playtime.



4. After a morning at home we followed doctor's orders and got Natalie outside for some cold fresh air. It was a chilly, clear morning and we had Main Street all to ourselves since most people were busy, you know, peeling potatoes and brining turkeys and cleaning before guests showed up. We? Meandered downtown and made a pit stop at the world's largest lobster trap Christmas tree (that will be lit up tonight!), and then headed back home for our own meal preparations. Mikey played with Natalie while we sipped on wine, listened to music (any Thanksgiving playlist with both Dr. Dre and Ray LaMontagne is a winner in my book), and I did the requisite potato-peeling and table-setting. At last, those adorable lobster placecard-holders were put to good use!

5. Natalie had a little midday snooze during our first course (scallop & shrimp stuffing on the half-shell! Hello, yumm.), and then joined us when it was lobster time. Since we're still holding off on shellfish for the little budgie, she was treated to a more traditional Thanksgiving feast: squash, mashed potatoes, corn & sweet potato medley, and some white fish in place of turkey. She gobbled it up, and we had a great time watching her check out our cooked lobsters before they were also gobbled up.

Over our meal, Mike and I both marvelled at what a special day it had turned out to be. We've been slow to start planning out our own family traditions (I think we're both still so used to being the kids who are part of our own families' traditions), but we agreed yesterday that it felt right to have spent Natalie's first Thanksgiving at home. I'm not saying I'll never eat turkey again on Thanksgiving, but I have a feeling it will be a challenge for us to break this new lobster-potato-moxie-pumpkin pie Thanskgiving tradition in the near future.

One wrinkle in our Thanksgiving day? The rightful owners of those chocolate-covered strawberries came knocking at our door right in the middle of our lobstah crackin', and seemed more than a little miffed that we had obviously already eaten half of their special Turkey Day dessert. Oops. More on that later, for now we're celebrating Natalie's 8-month birthday and getting ready to go see Santa arrive in Rockland via Coast Guard ship.