Fun with Tissues

Yay for Sunday!

First post from new iPhone 4s

Charlie -10 months old

Charlie turned 10 months old on Christmas Eve.  No new stats because he isn't scheduled to go back to the doctor until his 1 year appointment in February.  Besides a little bit of a cold (you can see proof on his nose in some pictures probably...) he is doing great.  Lots of climbing and standing up, but so far no standing without something to hold on to.  Lots of fast crawling!  Our little chunk is wearing 12-18 month clothing.  He got his 5th tooth and looks like number 6 might not be too far away.  We really just love him so much and his smile and laughter make us such happy parents.  I know his grandparents feel the same.  We love the hugs he has started to give us!

Here are the photos I took of him that day:

First few days of our Trip

Charlie all ready to fly!  Several people asked if this was his first trip, but it was actually his third...

There are no non stops to Boston or Providence, Rhode Island so we ended up stopping in DC.

Luckily 3 out of 4 of our flights (the two there and one coming home)  weren't full and we were able to spread out.

Paul picked us up at the airport and we continued our long travel day to Cape Cod (less than two hour drive).  The next day we drove  2+ hours just north of Boston to visit some of Pat's aunts/uncles and cousins.  We stayed with Aunt Mae and Uncle Lee in Dracut, MA.  Their kids are Liz and Brian.  Liz and her husband Mark have two kids - Liam and Molly.  And Brian and his wife Lashanta have Mackenzie and Miles.  All four are adorable and we got to see them all!  You've heard me mention that many of Charlie's clothes are Liam hand me downs - well here is the cutie:

Aunt Mae and Uncle Lee have a crib for when their grandkids are over, so Charlie had a perfect spot to sleep and did wonderfully.  The next morning we lounged around with coffee and Aunt Mae's banana bread.  Then we got to see Aunt Judi and Uncle Hank for a brief visit and were able to see pictures of their new grandbaby, Gracie. 

 Then we headed for a lovely neighborhood walk and then Aunt Mae treated us to a great lunch.  She wanted a picture of us in front of their tree, so I got one too:

From there we headed a short distance to see Aunt Anne in Amesbury.  Charlie loved playing with her granddaughter Serenity's toys! 

Then we drove back to the Cape and settled in for good, since we'd traveled the previous three days. 

Charlie went ahead and took control of the remote.  (this was actually an old, unused one) 

Boys and their electronics - Paul and his new iPhone, Charlie with Kate's old cell phone, and Pat and his laptop:

This bucket was full of toys, but I think Charlie enjoyed playing with it just as much as the toys inside. 

As you can see, it was great to see family on our trip.  So good to be with family anytime, but especially during the holidays.

More posts to come!

Cape Cod Walks/Hikes

It was pretty chilly, but we tried to bundle up and get outside for some fresh air as much as we could during our trip.

The above photos are from walks in Orleans from Paul and Kate's house.  The following pictures are from a hike that Paul took us on in Welfleet.

We had the trails all to ourselves.  It's fun to be there in the Off Season. 

Pat doesn't start classes again until next week, so we have this week to relax and get things done at home.  We'll take off for a walk when Charlie gets up from his nap.  :)

Back Home

We made it back to Nashville last night after 10 days in Cape Cod.  Boy did we have a great trip!  But it is good to be back too of course.  I have lots of pictures to share from our time away, but for now, here are a few of Charlie from this morning.

We got Charlie a rug for his room for Christmas - here he is already enjoying it. :)  We will get that set up tomorrow.

Charlie sure got some great gifts for his first Christmas.  My friend Michelle from my old, old job got him this Thomas the Tank Engine ride-on toy.  He loves it!!  Pat spent a good chunk of the morning pushing him around in it.   

Wishing you all a happy new year! Can't believe it's almost 2012 already!

Charlie w/ Aunt Maura and cousin Greer

Merry Christmas!!!

Cousins at Christmas

Early Christmas Dinner

Since we moved to Nashville we've been getting together with my parents and sister most Sundays for a family dinner. This is always put on by my parents. But since we'll be spending Christmas with Pat's family, Pat and I decided we wanted to host my family for a holiday dinner. Last night Mom, Dad, E, and Mark came to join us for supper. We cooked something new - duck! We had crescent rolls, asparagus roll ups, mashed potatoes, pan seared duck, and blueberry chutney to go on top of the duck. We love duck but had never tried cooking it before. Yesterday morning Pat went on a wild goose chase, or rather, a duck hunt. ha! He ended up with 4 duck breasts.  This is what they looked like after Pat scored them.

And here we are sporting our matching aprons.  These were a Christmas present from my parents a couple years ago. :) 

Here is the duck all cooked.  We saved the excess fat from the pan to use for future cooking.  Duck fat potatoes sound pretty good to me.  Alton Brown calls duck fat culinary gold.  I didn't get a picture of the chutney I mentioned, but it was great.  It was made with 2 cups of brown sugar, some red and white wine vinegar, 4 cups blueberries, 1 lemon juiced, 1 cup minced onion, some freshly grated ginger, and green peppercorns. 

Here we are about to eat on our fine china! (for the first time) 

Here we are after the great meal, before exchanging gifts and having my Mom's chocolate pecan pie. 

It was so nice to have them over for a great meal.  We have a lot to learn as far as hosting meals, but you have to start somewhere and we are learning from the best (my parents and Pat's parents).