Thanksgiving and Birthdays

We had a really busy holiday weekend. . .complete with roast duck and birthday cake.

We had our friends Michelle and David over for Thanksgiving and had our first non-traditional Thanksgiving feast. Because of Em's food allergies I did Thanksgiving a little differently. For the first time in years our menu lacked many of my favorite Thanksgiving regulars. No mashed potatoes. Nogreen bean casserole. No infamous buttery sweet potato casserole heaven. Instead we had roast duck, cranberry/orange chutney, parnsip puree and collard greens. I also cooked a small turkey. . just because.

Em and her Thanksgiving feast. Complete with feet on the table.

My mom arrived on Friday and Sunday was Em's first birthday.

Here she is opening presents on Sunday morning.

Em got her first baby doll. .. .and to my dismay. . she LOVES it!

We met friends at Salty's for Em's birthday dinner. It was a fabulous party. We had the corner to ourselves, the kids could stretch their legs, and the parents were able to relax and chat.

The great birthday debacle became Em's birthday cake. Because of her food allergies she couldn't have dairy, eggs, or soy. I surfed the net and found a couple recipes that looked good. Well if it looks too good to be true, it usually is. The cake was super dense. . . and in my opinion, barely edible.

This expression says everything.

Gram suggesting that Em just eat the icing. .. . (you can't go wrong with confectioners sugar and water)


Em scraping off the icing. . .. she figured out the icing is where it's at!

This is what Em thought of her birthday cake. . . it needed a good beating!