Christmas 2010

Jimmy, Mike, and Abbey came in for Christmas this year. It was so nice to have them. We went to 4 o'clock Mass on Christmas Eve and Colton almost made it through the entire service. He enjoyed the music and the lights of course. We had dinner at our house and Bob, Mary, Ava, and Luke came down to join us, along with Mr. Kenney & Pat. Ava got to talk to Santa on the phone on Christmas Eve and couldn't contain her excitement - she wanted to hurry up home to go to bed. We planned on doing a fun grab bag between everyone, but only Mary, Bob, and I got a gift to exchange, so it didn't really work out. When everyone left, we watched the rest of A Christmas Story and then went to bed. Christmas morning consisted of breakfast egg sandwiches (courtesy of Jimmy and his stove-top griddle from Bob & Mary), exchanging gifts and then enjoying our gifts. Jimmy, Mike, Brian & I played a game called Telestrations (similar to the game - Whisper Down the Lane) and had many a laugh before we headed out to Bob & Mary's for dinner. Ava and Luke were totally high on Christmas spirit since Mickey Mouse called them in the morning to tell them they were going to Disney World. Jimmy & Mike left a day early due to the imminent inclement weather of 10-20 inches of snow. No white Christmas - just a white day after Christmas. Merry Merry.

Caroling

Our neighbors go caroling every year. Over the past few years, we have seen them spreading Christmas cheer to other homes while we were walking the dog. We were actually invited this year to join them (thanks to our friendly neighborhood party), but couldn't go due to family arriving around the same time for the holiday. They were pretty darn good and we were happy they stopped at our house to share the joy. Hopefully next year we will get to join them even though Brian says my singing is like audio terrorism.

Ava's Christmas Show

Brian, Colton and I went to see Ava sing in her Christmas show. It was so much fun at Halloween, we couldn't miss this one. Ava was decked out in her Mrs. Clause dress and was full of energy. She was awesome. Brian and I couldn't stop laughing at all the other kids though. The one girl in the front was on the verge of tears the entire show, one boy spent most of the time crawling around the stage, another had a scowl on his face while his hands were placed in his armpits, and others were just belting out tunes for the entire auditorium to hear. Oh to be a kid again and get away with all of that. Fa, la, la, la , la, ra, ra, ra, ra, raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Linden Neighborhood Party

Brian and I have been wanting to have a neighborhood party since we moved in 6 years ago. We decided since 2010 brought us such joy, we should spread it to those around us during the holiday season. We invited 14 of our neighbors and 10 of their children, and every one of them replied 'yes.' It was so nice and we had a great time. I didn't take one picture because our house was packed, but I did snap a picture of Colton before the party - looking dapper in his khaki overalls and signature bedhead hairstyle.

Non-denominational Christmas Party

Work parties typically are 'holiday' parties vs. Christmas parties, but not us, we threw a traditional non-denominational Christmas party. That is what our one Jewish employee called it. All in fun. We had a great time and enjoyed celebrating a phenomenal year at 2nd Spark. Top picture - Chris (owner), me, Melissa, and Beth outside the front of our carriage house office, middle picture - Cheryl and me, bottom picture - Colt with Melissa and Beth.

Santa Comes to Glenside

Santa visited Glenside so we walked down to the Keswick Village to sneak a peek. There were carriage rides, hot cocoa and cookies, and Santa rode in on the Weldon fire engine. Thank goodness Colton is too young to know what is going on because it was cold, rainy, and there was an enormous line down the block for boys and girls to sit on his lap. I was the crazy stranger that shimmied my way up to Santa to take a picture for posterity so we could hurry back home. The above was the best I could get.

New Traditions

Life is so much fun with Colton. Beginning new traditions, letting him experience the traditions we started before, and seeing the smiles and hearing the giggles make it all so exciting. We started this holiday season by getting a tree. I always wanted to go out and chop down a tree in the wilderness. It would be a fun tradition to start, hiking through the snow, Brian sawing down the tree, and then carrying it miles and miles to our car. Because it sounds a lot easier and more fun in my imagination, we have decided that the VFW a few blocks from our house is where we get our tree, and have made that our tradition. Colt strolled around the aisles and helped us pick out the perfect tree. It was fun. We also baked cookies, one of Brian's childhood favorites his mother used to make, oatmeal cranberry cookies, and peanut butter blossoms. Colt napped for most of it, until he joined us in his exersaucer. The house smelled of sugar and butter. Next year he will be walking around the kitchen or standing on a chair next to us. Can't wait.

Love & Other Drugs

When I saw the trailer for Love & Other Drugs, I wanted to see it, but little did I know that my brother was actually in it. A little back story...more than 15 years ago David worked as an usher at the Galleria cinemas. With this awesome high school job, family & friends got to see movies like Jurassic Park, Forrest Gump, Dumb & Dumber for free. As an usher, responsibilities include everything from tearing ticket stubs and directing people in the right movie direction, to cleaning up empty popcorn containers and finding people seats in a packed house. What isn't a responsibility of an usher is to memorize movie lines and act them out. David knew the exact times a specific scene would play and make sure he was in the movie at that time to study the lines and how the actor delivered them. He would then practice these scenes at home over and over again. While acting isn't his day job, his hobby is getting into Pittsburgh-based films as extras or stand ins. He may spend a few days on a set for a nanosecond in a movie. So when we were in town for Thanksgiving and Dave asked if we wanted to go see a movie (which Brian and I haven't done in probably years), we thought it would be fun. But when he told us he may be in it, we just had to go see it on the big screen. It was a very good movie - pharmaceutical sales rep meets girl with early-onset Parkinson's disease and they fall in love. David was in a scene for about 2 seconds. He was a pharmaceutical sales rep in a waiting room with Jake Gyllenhaal. You see David's head first of the three guys sitting down before Jake gets a page and leaves the office. He apparently was in a bar scene too, but unless you knew where he was, it goes by too fast to pick him out of the crowd. Congratulations Dave - you will always be our movie star.

ELMO

We played a little Sesame Street one day on YouTube and as soon as Elmo started to talk, Colton started to laugh out loud. Not sure what it is about this bright red, high-pitched puppet, but he sure captivates Colton and every other kid on the face of this earth. Our nanny got him a Hokie Pokie Elmo one day and that seems to save the day when needing to turn a frown upside down. We were at the mall attending Gymboree with Gavin & Alexa and ran into the furry guy. We couldn't resist a photo opportunity.

Thankgiving 2010

We went in to the Burgh for the big feast. It was delicious as always and we enjoyed the family tradition in my parents' new kitchen and family room. Pictured above are the great grandchildren with great grandma and my parents with their grandchildren (sorry mom, this was the best one I had). My dad did the math and calculated that there was a total of 38 people who were at our house for either appetizers, dinner, or dessert. And by the way, we are very thankful this year for a wonderful little man in our lives.

Visits

Thanksgiving in Pittsburgh is filled with lots of visits, but a must everytime is to see Godparents Jessie and Craig.

Eating. Teething. Rolling Over.

At 5 months, Colton has rolled over from stomach to back (he won't do it the other way), he has two bottom teeth coming in, and is eating rice cereal and loving it. He laughs lots (especially with his dad), talks a ton, and weighed in at almost 20 lbs. We go to his 6 month appointment this week.

Triple Date at the Shanachie

We have been going out to dinner every weekend and bringing the little guy. We figure Colton better get used to it now. The crowd is very different from when we used to go out on the weekend, it's more of an early bird special kind of crowd. This past weekend we went out with our good friends and their daughter. It was a triple date. We went to an irish spot in Ambler called Shanachie. We go there now for the irish potato boxty du jour. It is so tasty. Colton enjoyed his date - he did all the talking since Keira slept the entire time until we captured this photo.

fish.

It was a girls' night out last Thursday and we tried another restaurant in the city. We still tried to pull one off even though Devon is in Boston for her residency and Jamie is leaving us to move to North Carolina with her soul mate. So it was Kelli, Katie, and I, and we tried a super tiny little place called Fish on 17th & Lombard. While the place was tiny in size, the flavors were anything but small. We had rock shrimp as an appetizer, skate, cod, and mahi mahi for our meals. We finished our meal with a pumpkin tart. Fantastic seafood. I want to go back. Great time with the girls.

A Beary Happy Halloween

I remember last year's Halloween. I was laying on the couch trying to stop the room from spinning. While we knew we were prego, we had no clue what we were going to have and what he/she would be for Halloween this year. It was WAY more fun this year - dressing up Colton in his bear costume and enjoying multiple bottles of wine with Brian, Pat, and Mr. Kenney. If the room was going to spin this year - I was going to be in control of it this time. Colton didn't love his costume like we did. He was in it for about 20 minutes before he cried his way out of it. It was a happy Halloween and so much fun having Colton in our lives. Best Halloween EVER.

Cinderella Bride

Ava had planned on being Alice from Alice in Wonderland and then the night before her school Halloween music show, she changed her mind and wanted to be bride - more specifically Cinderella in a wedding dress. Luckily Toys R Us had one left so she could fulfill her dream at her Halloween play. Colton and I decided to take advantage of my day off and came out to her school to see her perform. No words could describe how it made me feel to see her face light up when she saw me in the auditorium. It was such a great time and she did a fabulous job singing and dancing. There was one other Cinderella bride in the crowd, but Ava was the most beautiful one in the group.

Colton's Baptism

It was Colton's first official day - his baptism. The family traveled in to celebrate, along with his Godparents' Jessie & Craig Doman. We had a nice weekend, but the baptism day was extra special. We believe Mrs. Kenney was there with too, as one of the girls getting baptized along with Colton was named Madeleine. The message was clear on that day from Monsignor Flood - your children will learn religion by example. It empowered me and also stressed me out. A lot of responsibility to raise a child and make sure they are well rounded and learn the words of God. So we will try our best and hopefully Colton will be a kind, loving, and faithful boy someday. That's all I wish for. Colt loved getting baptized as he loves his baths. He smiled so big. We love him so much!

Fun Filled Family Festivities

Colt's weekend festivities began with the family arriving and us enjoying time together. Glenside had a Halloween trick or treat fest at the local shops where the kids got to go. We had to be creative and made Alana into a mummy. Pictured above - my favorite brother Dave & Colton, Dad & Colton, Mummy Alana, and Gavin enjoying his lollipop.

Tyler Arboretum

A few weeks ago we went to Pumpkin Days at Tyler Arboretum with Bob, Mary, Ava and Luke. We walked all around hoping we would arrive at the most amazing tree houses ever known to man - but there was nothing like that there. I believe I may have created something in my imagination of what I would have hoped for at this place called Tyler Arboretum. We enjoyed our time with the family and ran into a college friend and her family - which was a nice surprise. Pictured above - Luke, Ava, my friend's boys - A.J. & Will, the Kenney Klan, and our precious little man.

Pumpkin Time

Our little pumpkin in a pumpkin patch. Having a child is fun. Reliving fun events in your own life and seeing their reactions is what makes it special. Colton's first Fall brings a trip to a local farm where we picked out our pumpkins, drank apple cider, plopped Colton down for many photo ops, and then called it a day. Next year we will do the hay ride when he is older.

Blessing of Val

We attended the blessing of the animals the last day we were at the shore. Ever since we attended it last year, we have been praying the prayer of St. Francis every night for Val. We believe that was one of the contributing factors to her getting better, so we continue to believe in the blessings and the prayers to keep her whole and healthy. We love our Val.