I've seen so many posts that start out '....Thanksgiving was a little different this year for us...' which is funny bc I think it's probably been that way for most everyone....living life in a pandemic means new norms and adjustments. We of course were no exception! Our thanksgivings have always been varied but the one consistent is we've always spent it with others [be it family or friends]. So this is the first time we spent it just as us, our little Pineda unit. 

I was a little unsure as to how it would turn out, so in the days before I came up with a few small plans to make it feel a little special and fun. For one, I had the kids come up with the Thanksgiving menu and then after we decided on what was doable, we divided it up into assignments. Each of the kids were in charge of 2 parts of the meal, which I think they enjoyed planning. For example, Addy loves this green jello salad that my Grandma Chandler makes and Isla insisted that there be fresh green beans instead of the casserole [which I am with her 100% on] and that we should do roasted potatoes instead of mashed. Then for the grocery shopping, we waited till the stores were known to have least busy, masked up and went in all our pregnant, million kids glory. 

I had each kid make and bring their own individual list with the ingredients they needed and then treat it a bit like a scavenger hunt to find everything they needed. It ended up being comical some of the things that happened during that trip [like getting blocked into our parking spot by another car, and Isla climbing out of the cart and accidentally sticking her pencil up her nose and having resulting in a very messy bloody nose, and then finding out we had gotten a free turkey at checkout], but the kids were still so into feeling involved like 'grown ups', and with being a in grocery store for the first time in so long [as Lester and I have been trying to take turns going to mitigate risks] that at the end of the day, we were just proud and happy we made it out alive haha. Perspective, people!

The day of we worked together and took our sweet time cooking, without rushing or being worried about presentation or the house being perfect. We listened to Christmas music, talked about what we were thankful for, played a bit in the snow, snitched cider and rolls throughout, and watched Home Alone. We talked to both of our families a few times via zoom, and even got to do a fun activity that was Addy's suggestion. She read a book at school called Turkey Trouble, where the main character turkey tries to disguise himself so he won't be eaten for dinner. So every member of my side of the family took the same template and created their own turkey disguises, using a book character as inspiration. It was so silly and fun and weird and creative and we loved making ours, coloring on the floor like we were all kids, and then sharing with our family and seeing their awesome creations. 

[and the second was good old Nancy Drew. I'm obsessed]. 

[I made a Legolas turkey since I'm currently re-reading The Two Towers. Please notice the eye of Sauron, Lothlorien, and other book AND movie details. And also don't judge me haha!]

[Lester made a Batman Turkey haha. Bear and him are cut from the same mold I tell ya.]

I've been wanting to do this post for a while, but never sat down to do it. But now that he's got one last sister on her way, its about time I prioritized this and wrote his own post down. So, this is the story of how our Bear boy got his name.

Bear, when we found out your sisters were on the way and needed naming, our problem was we had too many options. And while it did take us some time to decide on the right ones, in the end, with you we had the opposite issue. The more we got to know you-be it from your active kicks and patterns, or when we'd wonder about what you'd look like, or how your personality would be-the more we felt dissatisfied with all the options out there. Traditional names didn't seem to suit you-they were either too common or just not right. But when we thought of more 'out there' names, your Dad and I both ended up on different sides of the spectrum between what we felt sounded nice and what just sounded weird [or 'weeod' as you would call in now haha.] And even then, we still didn't feel strongly enough about our individual likes to say that one specifically suited you.

Things changed a bit after two things. The first being that one of the hobbies that Daddy and I have always shared is appreciation for the world and nature around us. Are we rough and tumble living on the edge type people? Definitely not. But some of the most beautiful places and things we've seen in the world that make us feel one with ourselves and our Creator is exploring the earth and all the diverse beauty it has to offer. So both of us, be it for entertainment or preparation on trips we were taking over the years, would watch a show together hosted by a man named Bear Grylls. I know its silly, and I probably should be embarrassed that he inspired your name a bit-but both of us loved his appreciation and knowledge of nature and the world around him, his lessons on how to truly get in there and be part of it, and how to be prepared if disaster hit; as well as his easy going, down to earth, friendly and kind to everyone attitude. He seemed humble, grateful and kind, while also willing to push himself to do more, learn more and be more while respecting nature. These are all things that both of us, as vastly different as Daddy and I are, greatly value, and wanted to instill in our kids. So, early in our pregnancy with you, we put the name Bear on the table. But even as we did it, we both kind of laughed and talked ourselves out of it. It just seemed a little too outlandish, and we wanted you to be able to have something you could put on your resume some day and get a job with haha. But in hindsight, whether we admitted to each other or not, I think we both kept it in the back of our minds as a maybe, and one we weren't willing to fully let go of. 

The second was with your first name. We had gone over and over lists a million times-we had narrowed down that we liked J names. So one day one of us said 'what about Josh?' Like with Isla's name, we both looked at each other and were quiet for a second-and it just felt right. It felt like your name. Almost like you had chosen it. Not us. We both have cousins named Josh who we love and admire [mine in particular was always one of my closest partners in crime in my childhood]. We also thought of Joshua in the Bible and the leader and person he was, and thought that he was yet another role model that could work for you. And although you weren't specifically named for any particular one of them, they all have positive qualities that we felt you could glean from. So in the end, shortly before you were born, YOU decided that your name was Joshua. And any time we'd revisit and think 'maybe your name is something else...' we both felt a strange kind of spiritual confirmation that no. This was your name, and try as we might-it was who you were.

The day you were born, we saw you. And there were no questions. It was simple and clear, and we knew. You had already told us you were Josh. But when we looked into your eyes and felt your beautiful happy soul-[bc there is no other word to describe you-as you often tell us for no reason to this day-you are just a 'happy guy'] and when held you skin to skin-you WERE Bear. And there was just no other name for you. Regardless of our awesome cousins, Joshua in the Bible, Bear Grylls-even if there HADN'T been them. There would have been you, with this name. This is who you were. It wasn't our choice-it was yours. Our Bear. You are both a force to be reckoned with, strong and firm, as well as incredibly playful, funny, cuddly and wonderful. Very much like a real Bear. You were, and are, a gift to us, to your sisters, and to the world. So we took the name off the shelf, dusted it off regardless of how outlandish or worried we were about what others thought, and we gave it to you. Joshua Bear. And we have never once doubted or questioned that for even a second.