We had a really nice Thanksgiving weekend. It was a quiet one and one that started out a bit disappointing and had a bit of worry in the middle, but nonetheless a really wonderful long weekend with our feisty big girl.
My sister, brother-in-law, and nephews were all set to fly out and be with us and we have been looking forward to their visit for months. But just before leaving, the boys both came down with colds. 🙁 They weren't major illnesses or huge issues for them, but we all knew this meant they couldn't be around Gwendolyn. Boo…boo…triple boo. After a good pout about the situation from all of us (and some well deserved grumbling about how much SMA stinks), Bill and I tweaked our perspective and embraced how fortunate we are to have such an understanding and respectful family. They never hesitated about this completely ruining their own plans. And they always think of Gwendolyn and her needs first. But we sure did miss them this weekend…a lot!
So without my sis and her sweet crew, it was the three of us and Gramma and GrandPa. Bill was in charge of the turkey, Gramma brought lots of homemade delicious goodies like always, and I even busted out the apron and pitched in with some side dishes (although I think my table decorating skills are far better than my culinary expertise). Gwendolyn put on a matching apron and was “Chief Supervisor” — mainly directing GrandPa to sing her songs 
Gramma and GrandPa stayed the night and the next day we drove out to quaint Los Olivos Cafe in the heart of the Santa Barbara Wine Country. We love it there and Gwendolyn loves it too (especially on the days she gets to see horses trotting through the town). She was excited to take Gramma and GrandPa out on a “grown up date” and was on her best behavior. We intended on spending the afternoon exploring the area but little Miss G didn't seem herself during lunch and that got us pretty worried. She hasn't been sleeping well at night for the last week and we think exhaustion was the cause of the issues but we decided to head back home after lunch to take it easy the rest of the day.
The rest of the weekend we spent snuggling, watching movies, letting G rest, reading books, playing in G's play house, going on walks, and filling the tons and tons of theGSF Shop orders that came in (more on this later — but seriously you all are AMAZING!).
Gwendolyn seemed totally fine by Sunday. In fact, she pulled a HOLD-MY-BREATH-I-AM-SO-MAD-TANTRUM on Sunday morning when Bill wasn't moving fast enough for her. She hasn't done one of those in a long time. (Remember this?) She and Daddy had a long talk about big girl behavior and what is appropriate (patience was mentioned a time or two). She knows she's being naughty and is sheepish when called on it. I can't help but laugh really. Bill wasn't laughing at the time… Gwendolyn making herself turn blue isn't funny, but what a feisty little monkey! And we are certainly thankful for that feistiness!