Weekend 88 of 52+

Expat Thanksgiving

Man, I said I was going to be in bed by 10, but that was when Joash went to sleep at 9. He went on to wake up at 9:30, so I said I'd go to bed at 10:30, and it is only 6 minutes shy of that goal. Five now. I lost a minute trying to think of a cleverer way to word the last sentence. Cleverness will have to wait until a morning edit.

We were invited to an expat Thanksgiving by a guy we randomly met at a Quizno's who is mutual friends with three different groups of people Dan knows in three different places on the earth. Um, that's pretty weird. His name is Ben. I am glad for the serendipity that led us to him and his Thanksgiving gathering. We did Thanksgiving dinner last year, but we ate at Dan's school, and it seemed more like putting on a novelty for the Koreans on staff. This year it felt proper and American and homey and cozy and tasty. There was the perfect variety of perfect food. I guess I don't have much to say about it. Pictures, then.



Toy bombing is one of my favorite activities.


He can't be fussed.


I put him in a cute, eared cap that kept popping up to make him like pope. I think he'd make a fine pope.


This is where we look to count cars and Koreans as they drive and walk by.


Joash is learning to sit on his own.


Because he's a baby, he doesn't know he's supposed to try and make attractive faces all the time.


That's a little better.


Also because he's a baby, sitting up is hard work.


Seeking commiseration from his dad.


Having fun and having chubby cheeks.


On our way to Thanksgiving.


Ben's house was left of here.


It was up quite the arduous hill, so we were glad to have arrived.


Caroline cooked most of the food and is here describing its features and intricacies.


Joash showed everyone his sweetest side. We don't know how we lucked out with such a publicly kind kid.


He even fell asleep in the arms of a stranger named Katrina. That's good for now. Could be bad for later. Photo by Sally.


Some of the food. There were sweet potatoes two ways, savory potatoes, stuffing, salad, two cranberry sauces, turkey, rolls, broccoli and cauliflower casserole, cheese and crackers, pies with fruit and pies with pudding, frosted cakes and cheesecakes, (not quite) eggnog (it needed rum extract) and sangria. It was delightfully feast-like.


Sally made much better documentation of the food, so I stole her pictures from Facebook.


Since girls always get to eat first, all the girls ended up in the same room. Photos by Dan.


Soyeon, Sally, Rachel, Paola. Photo by Dan.


Then Dan integrated for a bit. Caroline, Katrina, me, Soyeon, Sally, Rachel, Dan.


Joash sat with June for a while. I didn't even see him for most of the night. It was an odd feeling. I don't think I liked it. I kept waiting for him to come back. Photo by Dan.


Ben, whose house held the festivities, and who, because of his great height, I kept thinking was my husband (also of great height). Photo by Dan.


Me and my boy, reunited for his dinnertime. Photos by Dan.


Sort of the middle chunk of the group. My lens is restrictive. Photos by Dan.


This is where we laid him when we got home, and it is where we left him until he woke up for his first night feeding.


And here is my ridiculous kid learning how to do things on his own.


Things like chewing on toys.


And holding them in his mouth.


And looking toward the light from the window.


We're pretty sure he's in the throes of scraping out his first tooth. If not, he's just been cranky and irrational for no reason (or some other reason I may never know). Dan offered him a change of person for a minute during a work break. Poor, tired, cranky baby.

And now it's 10:57, so I lose completely, but maybe I can be asleep by 11?

Nope, 11:07 now.

But, before I go, I wanted to point out all the pants Joash is wearing in this post. Three pairs, by my count.