Thanksgiving 2007

Rory celebrated the second Thanksgiving of her young life in California with her Nonna and Pops. The journey began with Rory's 18th flight (not her happiest one, unfortunately). We landed in San Francisco Airport, where Nonna picked us up and drove us (in a Prius, it's California after all) to Palo Alto. La Maison de Pops was in the midst of light renovations, which meant that the living room was largely vacant, giving Rory a wonderfully open playroom of her own! In this picture, Rory takes a spin in the laundry basket (once again, a reminder that kids can turn anything into a toy or game).
Nonna and Pops had lots of toys and books and blocks awaiting Rory in her playroom, and she would rush into the room after each meal with shrieks of delight. Perhaps her favorite toy, however, was a little polar bear who Nonna had leashed for Rory.
Rory walked her polar bear around the house endlessly.
On Monday, Rory hung out with Emma, whose parents are friends with Rory's parents.
Emma was very generous with her toys, and Rory enjoyed a fabulous afternoon.
Rory walked the Stanford campus, picking up a new t-shirt at the bookstore.
Clearly, mommy is hoping that these pictures influence Rory's college choice someday.
While on campus, Rory met Miranda, who is Nonna's colleague in the Office of the President and an avid fan of Rory's blog.
Rory could not resist making a trip to REI with her Pops (who is on the board and enjoys a killer discount); she scored a new winter jacket.
Another thing that Rory enjoyed doing while at the Katz abode was playing the piano. She's a natural.
Rory spent a lot of time outdoors, visiting the duck pond at the children's museum (pictured) and hanging out at several parks.
Finally, however, Thanksgiving arrived, and Sarah and Nonna and Steph (a family friend) prepared an amazing feast!
Rory secured her place at the table early, and she dug into her turkey with abandon. (Unfortunately, our picky eater didn't crave much else, aside from the pumpkin pie.)



"Dad, don't bother me now, I'm feasting!
After dinner, Rory was treated to a tradition that her mommy enjoyed when she was a little girl ... "Pantaloon"!
Unfortunately, Rory's patience was not as well-tuned as her mommy's, who enjoyed her father's bedtime ritual gleefully.
The wonderful week came to an end with Rory's 19th flight. Fortunately, it was a much better experience that the cross-country flight that began the journey. As you can see here, Rory and her mommy turned into vegetables in front of the DVD player.