Christmas Part 1

Holiday Playgroup/Brunch

Last weekend we hosted a holiday playgroup/brunch at our house. I have no idea how we were actually able to pack in 13 adults and 8 kids into our tiny house, but somehow we managed! Lucy had such a good time hanging out with her friends. All the kids were dressed up in cute holiday outfits. We enjoyed drinking mimosa's and bloody mary's (juice boxes for the kids) and eating together. We also did a used toy/white elephant exchange which was a good way for the kids to get "new" toys without having to buy anything. Here is a picture of the kids (minus 2). You have no idea how hard it was to get them to sit still for this. Saranell and Ellie.
Maria is quite the kisser. Sophia is about to get a big smooch on the cheek.
Sundai and Robbie. Robbie is the youngest of the group (13 months), but he holds his own.
The toy exchange.
Lucy with her buddy, Chris.

Sophia has the most beautiful smile!

Erika and Lucy hanging out.

Maria and Lucy posing for a photo op

Monument Lighting

A couple of weeks ago we met up with some friends to see the lighting of Baltimore's Washington Monument (not to be confused with the one in DC). There were fireworks and singers, and a celebratory spirit was in the air. However, I was a little disappointed only because I thought I was going to see a lighting of a Christmas tree, not a Monument decorated with Christmas tree lights. But whatever, it was still a festive experience.

This was Lucy's reaction when she heard the loud explosion of fireworks. Poor thing!!

It's Snowing!!

Last weekend was bitter cold in Baltimore, but we managed a jam packed weekend of activities anyways. Hey, we're from Chicago like a little cold is going to slow us down :) We went to our favorite brunch spot on Sunday with friends. Lucy had fun interacting with her playmate Gibson. Her pigtails were a little out of control that day. At one point during the meal, Gibson tried to share his juice box with Lucy which was really cute.
On Saturday we went to the Maryland Science Center and hung out in the kid's room. This was the first time that Don was able to go with us and he was in heaven being surrounded by so much science. He wanted to take a picture of Lucy in a lab coat (kind of hard to tell in the picture below). The scientist in him wants to encourage her even at this young age.
Lucy loves to knock down blocks (or anything for that matter).
Building a lego stacking tower with daddy.
Lucy loves the water table at the Science Center. Thank goodness they have little ponchos the kids can wear to protect their clothes, since she was soaked by the time she was done playing.

On Saturday night we met up with some people for the lighting of the Christmas tree in Fell's Point. Although the mayor was late so we never did get to see her light the tree. And earlier that day we had missed by 5 minutes Santa's arrival by tugboat--bummer! But we did walk to the pier in Fell's Point and actually saw the Parade of Lighted Boats. It was absolutely freezing out, but it was snowing and totally beautiful. As you can see from the picture below we bundled up Lucy so much that she only had one eye exposed.

It is kind of hard to tell from this picture, but the boats had different themes and it was pretty to see them lite up with snow falling around us.

By the time the Parade of Lighted Boats was done the Christmas tree was finally lit and we were able to get a family photo before heading home for the night.

Fun Festivities with Family

We had such a blast when my family was in town over Thanksgiving. We went out to lunch, did Black Friday shopping, decorated our house for Christmas, and just hung out and had good conversation. Kristin and Milo were here for a whole week which gave the cousins plenty of bonding time. Milo even wore some of Lucy's clothes due to the fact that he had a poop explosion and none of his clean clothes were handy. I refrained from posting pictures of him in pink leggings for fear it would haunt him later in life.We went to the Festival of Trees which was a fundraiser with different themed trees decorated for sale to benefit a local children's hospital. They had lots of child friendly activities and free Starbucks coffee-yum! Milo had a comfy ride in his Bjorn.

Two of my favorite trees where one that was a Save the Earth tree and the other was from the movie, Hairspray (very Baltimore).
Earlier in the week my mom was able to accompany us to music class. Lucy and I have been going for the past several months and she really enjoys it (as you can see from the fact that she is trying to do a headstand during the middle of class). She spends more time running around than anything else, which is fun for her and exhausting for me. She really enjoys it and we are looking forward to having some of our friends join us for next semester's class.

Our First Time Hosting Turkey Day

So Don and I had a blast planning and executing our Thanksgiving extravaganza! We went a little overboard with the side dishes, but we had so much fun planning the menu! It helped that we have been cooking and preparing weeks in advance (I am a little obsessive). I am so cheesy that I am actually posting pictures of the cornbread shaped liked a turkey and the apple pie we made. I had a blast doing the place settings and Don actually helped me with the glue gun and all. He is actually more crafty than you would think (and I am sure that he appreciates my telling the world this). Bear with me with all the pictures, I was a little excited that we actually pulled off hosting our first Thanksgiving.

The one major mishap was when Lucy pulled my glass of red wine off the side table and doused herself. Of course being the good mother that I am, I ran and grabbed the camera.

I saw on Martha Stewart's website this idea for putting a floral centerpiece in a pumpkin. It was incredibly easy!