Christmas Eve Dinner

This year, as we planned our Christmas Eve dinner with the Karpewiczs, we assumed we would go to the same place as the past 2 years - Yellow Dog Tavern.  It's close and we have always enjoyed our meals there.  Unfortunately they, along with many other bars/restaurants in Baltimore, decicded to close their doors after the end of the Ravens game, and would not be open for dinner.  After brainstorming a bit, we decided to go to Speakeasy in Canton Square.  It turned out to be a great decision, as Canton Square was decorated for Christmas with tons of props that made for great photo opps with Ryan and Ava.  And a bit of a longer walk just allowed for more time for Ryan and Ava to belt out Christmas Carols at the top of their lungs.  We had a great meal, a fun walk to and from the restaurant, and overall another wonderful Christmas Eve with the Karpewiczs!

Christmas Eve 2011 - Pre Dinner

This year, for the third year in a row, we stayed in Baltimore to celebrate Christmas as a family of three.  we have really enjoyed these new traditions that we created with the perfect mix of spending time with friends, and having our own little holiday at home.  It turned out that the Ravens were playing on Christmas Eve this year, so we invited the Cardwells and Karpewiczs over for the game and some snacks and drinks.  I gave Tim one of his Christmas presents early  - so he could wear his new Ravens jersey to watch the game..

Ryan and Laura decorating cookies for Santa

 Ryan loves the Cardwells!

 Ryan, the magician and Laura, his faithful assistant

 Tim and his new jersey

Ryan and Ava

 Reading Twas the Night Before Christmas

 Cardwells and Doodys

 Karpewiczs and Doodys

Cousin Love

It was a no brainer what Ryan would bring in for show and tell - "Pictures of my cousins!"

Pumpkin Patch Birthday Party

This year, Ryan's Birthday Party was finally all about HIM!  Not that he hasn't enjoyed the past 3 years - where we invited all of our friends (mostly adults, and a few kids) over for food  and drink to celebrate his big day, but we thought it was time for a change.  He has been invited to several of his classmates' parties, and in turn was asking if they could be invited to his party as well.  Knowing our house is not big enough to host a true "kids party," I began searching for venues and was delighted to find a local farm where we could do a low key party at a fairly reasonable price.  Actually, when I subtract all of the money we have spent on beer the past few years, this year's party was the cheapest yet!  And not having it at our house meant no clean up - perfect!  We had 16 kids in attendance, ranging in age from 4 1/2 months to 6 years old, with most hovering around age 4.  All of the classmates we invited from Ryan's school attended, and he was ecstatic to spend time with them outside of school.  It was obvious that these kids spend a lot of time together, they interact so well and are at the age where friendships really are forming and developing.  Everyone had a GREAT time!  After playing in the hay maze and empty tires for awhile, the kids then explored the petting zoo area, went on a hayride, picked out pumpkins, ate pizza, cake, and played some more.  The party was a great success and it was nice getting to know some of Ryan's classmates and their parents a little bit better.  And Ryan loved every minute of it...Happy 4th Birthday Ryan!

Last Beach Weekend...

 In mid September, we packed up our swimsuits, beach towels, and sunscreen and made one last trip to to the beach.  Thanks to the Ruhnos for opening their beach house to all of us for the second year in a row.  The weather was absolutely perfect, and we made the most of our last beach weekend, spending 7 straight hours in the sand on Saturday.  Ryan had a blast playing with Anna and Charlie, while the adults soaked up the sun, and laughed more than I had in months.  It was a great time with a great group of friends, definitely a new tradition in the making!  Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures on the beach, but plenty of the kids impromptu dance party on Friday night before bed...Already looking forward to next year!!  Thanks again Ed and Meghan for hosting...

We have been waiting for this day....

Catching up...

I realized last week that I haven't updated my blog since late August!  A lot has happened since then - we spent another glorious weekend at the beach in NJ with friends, I got a new job, we put our house on the market and started searching for a new house, and Ryan turned 4!  With so many changes, and even more to come, it was easy to put the blog on the back burner.  However, the constant stream of hilarious remarks from my now FOUR year old, along with the emotions all of life's changes stir up, make it even more important than ever to update this blog, no matter how busy I am.  I am vowing to catch up on life via the blog, and continue to use it to document our lives.  Stay tuned......