- [Chris] Look at this little cutie
(upbeat music)
- Good morning everyone.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone.
We are getting ready to go to my sisters house
Colleen is hosting Thanksgiving this year.
Bailey and Duncan are finishing up their breakfast.
What are you eating?
- Oatmeal.
- [Chris] Oatmeal?
- Me too.
- [Chris] You're eating oatmeal too? So cool.
- I have water.
- [Chris] Water, that's a reason to celebrate.
- Two days ago, me, Jacob, Parker, and Daddy
we made a whole bunch of muffins.
We made 48 muffins, but we ate four of them
so now there's only 44.
- Maths.
Let's take a look here.
The kids made these pretty much on their own.
I got out the mixer when the mix got too big
for the bowl they were using, so I helped them transfer it.
But they really did this all on their own.
These are banana muffins.
Jacob, Parker and I made cranberry sauce.
We made two of them.
The store was out of vegetable broth
which we need for our vegetarian gravy
so I made vegetable broth out of old veggies that
I found in the fridge, two jars of the stuff.
So that's what we're going to bring.
Oh, and also vegan oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
which Jess has been enjoying quite a bit
because she is off of dairy because it
upsets Luke's little tummy when she drinks
dairy or has dairy, so vegan.
And Rachel will enjoy those as well.
Parker just got his shoes on, boots.
Why do you have on such big boots?
- Because I got them for Annie.
- [Chris] For Annie?
Because all of the orphans wear these boots and
you got some cool boots and you've been wearing them
like every day since you got them.
- Yeah.
- [Chris] Jacob's all ready too, these two guys
I've got to say, they super helped out this morning.
They got up early, they did a bunch of cleaning,
they did a whole bunch of chores, getting ready to go
and make sure our house is nice
when we get back to it.
So thank you fellas.
Not only did they do their own chores,
but their sister was sleeping and they were like
"let's do some of her chores too".
- Do we get an award?
- [Chris] You get two thumbs up.
One on this side, and I've got to switch
to hold the camera, and one on this side.
I can't do both at the same time unless
I hold the camera with my teeth.
That's a bad idea, I'm not going to do it.
I'm not going to hold the camera with my teeth.
- Why?
Why don't you hold the camera with your teeth right here?
- [Chris] Okay, so here we go, let's do this.
Here, two thumbs up.
There's two thumbs up.
- I'm never going to touch that strap again.
- [Chris] And then there's this little sleepy head.
You're so cute.
- Hey you good morning.
- [Chris] Good morning, how are you doing?
- Good, just watching over my little cutie
while I sip my tea and have a lactation boosting brownie.
- [Chris] Yum, sounds delicious.
You've been busy this morning, you pumped,
you were taking care of the baby and
taking care of the kids.
- But it's been a great morning.
- [Chris] I think this is like the first time
you've sat down this morning.
- I did my makeup.
- [Chris] You're in bed now, but you haven't
been in bed all morning.
- No.
- [Chris] Just saying.
- I mean clearly this isn't how I wake up, sorry.
- Well I think she looks that nice when she wakes up.
For sure.
- He's having a good first Thanksgiving.
- He's got born in the holiday season,
so he's experiencing every holiday.
- [Chris] Isn't that cool?
- Yeah.
- [Chris] Are you excited about the holidays?
- Mhm.
- [Chris] What are you excited about for today?
- I'm excited to eat the food.
The funny thing about me is I don't like chicken, so.
- [Chris] Well it's a good thing that Thanksgiving
you have turkey instead.
- Yeah I don't like turkey too.
I don't like any meat instead of bacon.
- [Chris] You're just a bacontarian?
- Mhm, and fish.
- [Chris] And fish. What about eggs and cheese?
Are you a lacto-ovo-pescatari-bacontarian?
- Yeah I'll have that.
- [Chris] Look at this little cutie.
- Ta da
- [Chris] Are you tipping your hat?
Who picked out your outfit today, was it you?
- No it was Bailey.
- [Chris] It was Bailey? You look like a little newsie.
Are you a little newsie?
Whoa, whoa.
- I packed two bags.
- [Chris] Why?
- Because I'm doing something special and please
don't say what it is.
- [Chris] Okay, we'll save it for later.
No spoilers.
- Yeah, but you can talk about the suitcase.
- [Chris] Okay, so you got a suitcase.
But we can't talk about what's in it.
- No you can talk about what its in the suitcase
Just not my other bag.
- [Chris] Oh. So you've got a suitcase and another bag,
but we can't talk about the other bag.
- Uh huh.
- [Chris] Okay.
All right are you ready to get in the car Duncan?
- Yeah.
- [Chris] All right, lets go.
We are at Colleen's house now,
and we're here a little early.
So we're going to help with some of the cooking and
preparation, and the kids are all distracting
each other right now, which is great.
They're keeping each other busy while the adults
set up everything and get ready for the meal.
It's going to be a great day.
I love Thanksgiving.
It's one of my favorite holidays.
Are you guys playing?
(happy music)
- [Chris] What is this?
- It's a cape and this should be spread open.
- [Chris] Why is it hanging from the second
story down to here?
- Because it's for a show.
- [Chris] You're doing a show today?
Oh my goodness.
- This is what that bag was for.
- [Chris] Oh.
- It's all clothes.
- So I guess we're getting a little
Thanksgiving dinner theater.
(holiday music)
- [Chris] Your curtain doubled in size.
- I know, I'm trying to figure out a way
to make this the middle because like these would
be stripped there, but these are too short.
So I'm trying to figure it out.
- [Chris] I think you could just use these two and not
need this covered, no?
Rachel's here, Rachel's here.
- What's up? I'm making room for everybody.
Jake come be strong with me.
- I was standing right here.
- [Rachel] You're holding a camera.
- I was standing right here, and she's like
"No I want the Jake, he's the strong one".
- Well he is, I mean look at him.
- [Chris] Yeah, he is the strong one.
- [Rachel] Is he going one handed?
Oh look at that, let's put it right here bud.
(upbeat music)
- So every year, people ask me what is in
this vegetarian gravy that I make and this year
it is vegan gravy because we are using
Earth's Balance, instead of butter.
- [Colleen] Hashtag sponsored.
- Hashtag not sponsored Colleen.
- But if they want us to do a sponsorship
you know our email is down there
- There's a contact somewhere.
- Anyway, so it is half a cup of flour.
You kind of brown it in the pan and then you add
a stick of butter, or Earth's Balance and then
stir that until it's all melted.
And then you add at least 17 ounces of vegetable broth
and just increase the broth until
it's a consistency that you like.
I think it usually ends up being closer
to a quart total.
And then you add two tablespoons of nutritional yeast
not brewers yeast, nutritional yeast.
Add two tablespoons of soy sauce and then
half a tablespoon
of garlic salt
and then pepper and then salt.
You don't really need salt, mostly the pepper to taste.
I put in a ton of pepper, I love pepper.
And that kind of balances it out, and that's it.
And I always am kind of tasting it near the end
and making sure that it's what I want it to taste like.
Because it can get kind of salty, or it can
get drowned out by the vegetable broth and you
just kind of want to make it a good balance.
And it is delicious.
- This is a recipe that Jessica has been
working on for years and so I'll show you
a picture of her recipe.
- [Jessica] I've just been experimenting with it.
- [Chris] So she makes changes and then adds to her
little recipe page that is now yellow.
It looks like a treasure map at this point.
It's like the edges are all burned and like
- Yeah.
- It's real recipe, it's the real deal.
- And as a non-vegan this gravy is really bomb.
I've had it, it's delicious.
- These curtains keep growing.
Parker loves to make an entrance, so he's setting that up.
Sugar, butter flour.
(upbeat music)
- [Jessica] It's vegan land.
Vegan mashed potatoes, Bailey made vegan banana muffins
they're so good.
We have vegan cranberry sauce.
All cranberry sauce should be vegan.
Well except for white sugar
but we're not going to go there.
(upbeat music)
- [Chris] All the littlest ones.
- Their first Thanksgivings.
- [Chris] Did you tell them all about Thanksgiving?
You did? You told them?
Okay, so they know?
What kind of food are you going to get?
- A sandwich
- [Chris] A what, a sandwich?
That's what you want is a sandwich?
Let's pick out some food, let's get it.
Look at this feast.
Yum.
- No.
- [Chris] No? You don't want the broccoli?
The one tiny little broccoli?
We're going to teach you to eat the broccoli.
- No
- [Chris] It's happening.
- I'm eating my food.
- I'm thankful for Luke and everyone here.
- I'm thankful for my family, my friends and my pets.
- I'm thankful for food.
- And grandpa.
- [Jessica] And grandma.
- And grandma.
- [Jessica] And Aunt Rachel.
- I'm thankful for myself.
- Duncan what are you thankful for, the Grinch?
- [Chris] That was a very Grinchy frown.
I'm thankful for all of my kids.
Are you one of my kids?
And I'm thankful for mommy and I'm thankful
for our family and friends and all the people
that are here today eating food with us
or watching us eat food out there,
I'm thankful for you guys.
- Yum.
- [Chris] And I'm thankful that he's asleep.
(upbeat music)
- [Jessica] How's it going Duncan?
- [Chris] Do you like Thanksgiving?
- Mhm.
- I'm thankful for you.
And I'm thankful for you, and I'm thankful for you.
And I'm thankful for you,
and I'm thankful for you.
Let's go find daddy.
We're going to tell daddy we're thankful for daddy.
Oh where is he, oh there he is.
He's got a lot of turkey on his plate.
He also has the most cat hair.
You're covered.
- What is this?
- [Jessica] You're covered, I'm going to
make sure that it focuses but first I want to say something.
I'm thankful for you.
- [Chris] Wait I need to show this to Colleen.
- [Jessica] Colleen, look at Christopher.
You're used to this but.
- [Chris] This is the grossest place.
- My cats are really gross.
- [Jessica] Hi little sweetie.
Oh what are you doing? Are you getting daddy's cat hair?
What do you think, is that pretty gross?
Yeah.
- Gross.
- [Jessica] Yeah.
- [Chris] Oh Bailey, are you getting some pie? Nice.
So look at the chocolate chip, the pumpkin.
- [Colleen] Nice.
- [Chris] You want a goopy?
- Today I do.
- [Chris] Okay, all right.
- [Colleen] Usually it's more congealed, but I feel
like that's just going to be a lot of
goopy delicious, so I'm not mad at it.
- [Chris] No, no.
Turkey bottom.
- [Jessica] Oh he loves it.
- Turkey front, turkey front. Hi little turkey.
- [Jessica] Hi turkey.
- Are you a turkey? Look at your little turkey butt.
- [Jessica] Let's see give me the full turkey.
- Are you a turkey?
- [Jessica] Oh, gobble gobble.
- [Chris] Rachel is playing a very stressful
game of operation.
- And the kids are making buzzing noises.
- [Chris] Are you sure that's not the game?
- Shh.
- Buzz.
Aww, I'm laughing
Daddy it's your turn.
- I'm about to do my show.
Bailey and Duncan are in the show.
- [Chris] Bailey and Duncan are in the show?
Is the operation man in the show?
Why, you left something in him here.
- Are you ready?
- (singing)
(Clapping)
- Pee pee pee pee pee.
- Pee pee?
- I'm going to pick him up.
- [Jessica] No.
- I can do it.
- Is this what the show is like?
- [Chris] Yes very accurate.
- Okay.
- It's a hard nock life for us
- Don't it feel like the wind is always howling
- Don't it seem like there's never any light.
- Once a day don't you want to throw the towel in?
- It's easier than putting up a fight.
- [Chris] It's a holiday and you're playing
a board game with family.
How excited are you?
- I'm so happy.
- [Chris] This little guy is having
a good first Thanksgiving.
Go back to sleep, there ya go.
The game just ended. Who won Jake?
- Mommy.
- [Chris] Mommy won.
Mommy won Catan.
And this guy is hungry.
He's hungry, got to take him to the food.
He wants a Thanksgiving feast.
- So Luke and I have some pretty awesome news.
He started actually nursing a couple of days ago.
It hasn't been perfect but he had like two days
where he did total like breastfeeding without
the nipple shield and then he had a day where
he completely went back and wouldn't breastfeed at all.
And then today he's back to being okay with nursing.
So I am currently nursing him.
So that's pretty exciting for us.
You guys know what a journey this has been for us.
I'll pump and give him extra breast milk
or whatever extra he needs just if he seems hungry.
But so far this seems good.
So we're really excited about that and tomorrow
is going to be a lot of fun.
Tomorrow, we are filming our vlogmas intro.
We love doing fun special intros during
the vlogmas time, and we have some really fun things,
and I bought some special clothes for the kids
that we're going to give them tomorrow.
So I'm really excited about that.
I got some new things for me and Christopher as well.
Yes.
So that's what we will be doing tomorrow, so yay.
Thanksgiving has been so much fun
and we get to have a really great day tomorrow too.
I'm excited.
If you don't know what vlogmas is, it is a time
when we start doing daily vlogs from Thanksgiving
all the way through to the New Year.
It is a tradition in our family, we have been doing it
I think for maybe five years or
maybe this could be our sixth year, I don't know for sure.
We vlog every day through the Christmas season.
It's so much fun, we do so much during this time.
If you haven't seen those videos, you can go back
and see the previous years.
I think there are playlists, I'll put a card here for you.
Hey.
Gosh we have been doing vlogmas since
the kids were so little, it's so awesome
to have all of those memories compiled like that.
And the kids love going back and watching
all of our vlogmas videos, and like Christmas morning
and stuff is something they watch all the time.
It's pretty special.
And this year is obviously extra special, because
it is Luke's first Christmas.
So, he will be joining us for vlogmas for his very
first time, so we get to do all of the firsts with him
this year, like the last time seeing Christmas lights
and getting a Christmas tree, and it's just really fun.
I know he's so little, you think that it wouldn't
register that much, and overall it won't.
But Christmas lights are so magical, like babies
love them so much, and the Christmas tree it still
is such a big deal, so it will be really fun.
(upbeat music)