New York, New York!

This past weekend we met up with our dear friends Matt & Jamie in NYC! We try to see them at least once a year to catch up and enjoy some great food and wine. This time around, we stayed at the New York Athletic Club right on Central Park. It is a beautiful old private club with a very strict dress code. It was fun to see Matt & John (and Jamie!) out of flight suits and in real suits during the day for a change! We then went to NJ to visit Matt's family and had a great dinner at Rats (bad name, great food!). We were so thankful for their kind hospitality.

For our military friends, send me a note and I will let you know how you can stay at the NYAC as a guest... very reasonable, great location, great drinks and food, and beautiful rooms!

The girls before dinner in NJ with some friends we found in the park.

Matt & Jamie in the NYAC lobby. Where is your tie Matt?

Going to see Wicked

On the roof terrace enjoying the view and the weather - 55 degrees!

Escape from Alcatraz!

I have been busy uploading pictures to Ceiva all morning. How it works: you have a digital photo frame, it has a wireless modem. You give your account name & password to those you trust and they can upload pictures from their computer directly to your photo frame! It is such a wonderful idea for those who are digitally challenged and who don't want to bother with a memory stick AND for those of us who are far away from family and friends! Here is the website http://www.ceiva.com/

It also allowed me to download pictures from the rest of the family... which means that I now get to BRAG about my brother-in-law Bret. He swam from Alcatraz to San Francisco! There was a reason why they built the prison in the middle of the ocean and why so few people have ever escaped. It is cold, the currents are really strong, and did I mention it is cold? BUT, he did it! We are so proud of him! The finisher... Bret is the second from the right.

There they go!

Jumping in

Christmas morning!

Santa arrived at our house and left a new kitchen for Maggie! She was so excited and has already made mommy a cup of coffee and some toast.

Getting ready to go to church

Merry Christmas!

Last Christmas we were living in Barton Bendish and were going to enjoy a quiet Christmas just the three of us. We had just returned from the trip to see the Smiths in Germany and we were exhausted. Our wonderful friends, the Simons invited us to spend Christmas dinner with them. The meal was wonderful and we were so thankful to be with such a great family for Christmas! I am using my Delia Smith Christmas Cookbook for the meal tonight! Thanks again Simons!

We are gearing up for Santa tonight! Busy baking for the big man and wrapping presents. Maggie has learned a new word: "Please". I feel like I have to give her everything now just because she says 'please' after asking for it! Really it sounds more like: 'peeessss?' You guessed it... she is pointing to her presents under the tree and saying the magic words! It is really too cute and hard to resist.

Las Vegas Girls Weekend

My dear friend Lindsay is getting Married! We spent the weekend celebrating with her. It was not the weekend to travel in the states with the weather issues around the country. But, we made it and had such a great time. The group of girls is amazing and I am proud of all that they have accomplished! Jenni has just started importing jewelry from Bali. It is woven silver and gold. It is really unbelievable how it sparkles in person. You can check it out at: http://www.sanurjewelry.com/

Maggie stayed at the Farm and had a great weekend will Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Sussus and cousin Evan. She barely noticed when I returned! How happy and sad that made me.

Having a party

Little busy body was hard at work this morning. I was in the other room while Maggie was busy serving puppy in her high chair. She did the entire set up by herself! Even the bowls for breakfast were on the table. Daddy will not be too happy that the mugs that she grabbed off the shelf are from his old squadrons. I think that they might be hard to replace if she breaks them!

Filling up Daddy's cup.

Would you like a drink Puppy?

Here she is again...

...with that darn present from Baba. Maggie was not even dressed yet this morning and she wanted to make sure her present was still under the tree!

Lighting up Oakwood

Last night we walked over to the park for the neighborhood holiday party. They had Hot Cocoa, Santa on the Fire Truck, horse drawn carriage rides, and of course the lighting of the tree. It was fun to get together with our neighbors and new friends.

John, Maggie, Cousin Ange & Cousin Eri

The tree!

Mom & Maggie with Frosty & the Mouse King!

Christmas Present from Baba!

Maggie received a Christmas present in the mail last week. She loves the package! Every morning she pulls it out from under the tree, sits on it, moves it around, stnads on it, and points to it over and over again saying, 'Mine!' 'Mine!'. Do you think that she will be disappointed when we finally open it?

A new hat

Maggie thought that Jude's party favor was a hat! She put it on and walked into our kitchen laughing. She is so funny.

Maggie eating again!

I just can't help taking picture of Maggie when she is eating. She is just too cute and it is the only time she will sit still.

Jude's Birthday

Pictures from our friend Jude's birthday party on Saturday. It was really fun! Ange & Eri at Jude's Birthday Party

Jude enjoying his birthday cake

Eri with green frosting all over him.

The beautiful cake.

Weighing in... 15 months

We went to the doctor last week and Maggie weighed in at 25.5 pounds and 33.5 inches long. She is off the charts for height and just in the middle for weight. Everything else looked great and she is a healthy and happy little girl.

This blog is suppose to be...

...all about Maggie, documenting her life, creating her baby book via the web (yes, there is a company that will turn your blog into an actual book! Perfect!), and of course, providing pictures for all of our friends and family from around the world. But, I just have to share a great website I found today.

Tis the season for Christmas cards and I LOVE getting them. Really, I can't wait for the mailman. Today we received a card that was sooooo beautiful. Nosey that I am, I flipped it over to find out what company made it. To my pleasant surprise, the name of the company was on the back. I have found my new obsession: IOMOI. They have great calling cards to leave after you visit for tea (which I have always wanted and actually needed while we were in England), clever stationary, and the owner posts a blog of cute gift ideas. For example, they blogged about this company: http://www.morganandmilo.com/ and this one: http://padraigcottage.com/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=2 and one more: http://www.pinkchicken.com/SpSm08/spSm08.html

Here is the original website if you are interested in window shopping:
http://www.iomoi.com/

Next post will be back to Maggie.

Thank you Auntie Gianna!

Gianna sent the best Christmas present for Maggie. Tom Shoes! The company was started in 2006 and for each pair of shoes you buy, Toms donates one pair to a needy child in a different country. This time around, they are aiming for 30,000 shoes to send to children in Ethiopia. You can help out, by purchasing a pair at:

http://www.tomsshoes.com/shoes.aspx

Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention: they have Vegan shoes?! Hummm, I know someone who would love those for his birthday coming up on Friday. :)

Our Hero!

John starts flying again after his long break with the Brits. I thought that I should post a blast from the past. This is John's original 'hero shot' which is now over 10 years old! I will try to get another one if he lets me :)

Ange, Leo & Eri in Ohio for a visit!

Cousin Ange & the kids have escaped the depths of winter in Texas and are visiting for a while. Whooo hooo! Someone to walk to Starbucks with and have playdates all the time! It is also a great excuse for friends and family to come up for a visit. Sunday we had a brunch down at the farm. Here are some pics from the day: This might be one of my favorite pictures. Cousin Katherine singing along happily, showing her little cousins the way around the farm. Eri & Maggie look so confused!

Eri & Cousin Sarah.

Cousin Katherine & Maggie... yes, she is teething!

The story behind this skirt. As many of you know, Grandpa Bill has a bunch of horses. The most beautiful ones are the Kigers. Steph found this skirt with Kigers on it! I think it is the perfect way for Maggie to start buttering up her Grandpa for her own pony. The rest of the outfit is my fault. I could not find any other socks!

Great Grandma Trudie with Leona Smith, 6 Months old already!

Best wishes to Jill!

Cousin Jill is getting married next year so all of the Smith/Slaven ladies got together to shower her with love & gifts. We were so happy to see everyone there and especially to see glowing cousin Kate carrying baby number 5! A little baby girl who we can't wait to meet! Unfortunately there were no good pictures of the ribbon bouquet that I made for Jill's rehearsal. I guess we will just have to wait for pics from the wedding.

Auntie Sus-sus & Maggie

All of the gifts!

Grandma Trudie & the beautiful bride to be, Jill.

Lebanon Horse Parade

Every December, the town of Lebanon holds a horse-drawn carriage parade through the streets. It is a full day of food, fun & horses dressed up for the festivities. Maggie, Steph & I went downtown to see the parade. We met up with Cousin Sarah & Branden. Lots of fun, a little snow, and a little baby girl Maggie fast asleep through the entire event!

Eating Ice Cream

Food all over her face! Maggie enjoying a ice cream treat.

Happy Friday!

Reasons to be happy today: The sun is shining (but it is still 20 degrees outside)! Great weekend planned with Cousin Jill's Bridal Shower, the horsedrawn carriage parade in Lebanon with the Smith Family (Maggie should love this event!), reconnecting with friends at a Christmas party, and thanks to Steph's offer to watch Maggie over night on Saturday, we get to sleep in on Sunday!! Have a great weekend!

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 was spent with great food, great family and of course our wonderful friends. Thank you to Bret & Carol for an amazing feast and really fun wine tasting (Bret, we still think that your wine is the best of them all!!). We are also thankful that dad came home from the hospital on thanksgiving and is now quickly recovering with the best nurse in the world! The feast is about the begin. Carol is making sure that her little guest is happy!

Cocktails outside by the fire before dinner. Ahhhh, perfect. The labs are circling the table just in case something falls.

Always fun to have Brian home from college. He was such a big help at our Thanksgiving last year in Barton Bendish!

Kelly & Maggie playing before dinner. Fight on!!!

Dad looking and feeling great! He was Maggie's favorite. I think it was the See's Candy he was slipping her on the side.

Capitola

We had a great time in California as always. We ate way too much, spent too much time at Gayles, and rushed around trying to see everyone! For those of you who have not yet come for a visit to the beach house... you should! Besides the beach, etc there is the best bakery in the world just a few blocks away from the house. Why are we surprised that we have both gained 5 pounds? John teaching Maggie the basics of the ocean

Checking out his favorite surf spot the "Getty" (as he puts it).

Ta da! Sand!

Can you tell that it is really early in the morning? That is the sunrise. In case you are wondering the beach is south facing, with the bay that allows for an amazing sunrise and sunset. We are still on east coast time after all... that means 4 am wake up call from Maggie.

The best place for a cup of coffee in the morning.