dreaming of a white christmas

Every year Tim and I cohost a Christmas party with two other couples. Each year we hold the party in a different location. There are only two stipulations...there has to be a theme, and we can't repeat the same dish twice except for a cheese plate. This year the party was at our house and the theme was all things WHITE- i wish I could show you our invitations. They were so lovely with sparkling snowflakes and perfect print:

dreaming of a white christmas
you are invited to a night of all things sparkling and white

And it just so happened that the party was on the same day of the biggest snow storm in DC! It could not have been more perfect. We thought of postponing the party but how could we? Did I mention just how perfect the weather cooperated with our theme? Several of our friends live within walking distance and the others are hardy east coast folk, and have driven in much worse weather before. So we went on with our party...roasted marshmallows over the firepit and all!

And more pictures of Ian in the snow....

Pics from the Snowstorm

Hanging Around the House

I love going for walks. Actually, I need to walk everyday. This may be coming to an end. It is cold and Ian refuses to keep his gloves on. The other day he screamed in pain the last fifteen minutes of the walk: his fingers were frozen. So, we have been spending most of our days inside. We have also been watching Owen a bunch lately, and Ian and Owen are just two peas in a pod. Here are some pics of Ian just hanging out at the house.

Thanksgiving

Here is it almost Christmas and I haven't even blogged about Thanksgiving yet. I actually had to write it into my day planner to remember to do so this weekend. This year we spent Thanksgiving at Tim's parents house in Sewickley, PA. Susannah drove down to DC to pick up Ian and me early so we were able to spend a nice long week with Ian's grandparents. He had such a blast bouncing from his grandfather (who strapped a delighted Ian into the front seat of his car and drove him around town while listening to country music) to Nina (who let him blow dry her hair and help with the Christmas tree lights) to all of his aunts and uncles. There was never a moment he had to play alone.

On Thanksgiving day we drove up to Aurora, Ohio to Tim's grandparents house. They have a great room with a huge dining room table and a smaller side table that fit all 26 of us!!! Ian loved the mashed potatoes and especially the sailors duff (a Chapman family tradition).









Tim and his dad finally finished our kitchen table and so now our kitchen is complete!!!

I don't think I ever posted these pictures. I walked out of the kitchen one day and this is how I found Ian when I returned.

UVA

A few weeks ago my parents and brother came to visit us in DC. My little brother is currently college shopping so we drove down to UVA to check out the campus and take a tour. I absolutely love Charlottesville and UVA's campus. I secretly hope Gregory ends up going there...I would visit him every weekend. We had the most perfect fall day which made UVA's campus sparkle.

So, I just went through all of my most recent pictures of Ian and realized that I tend to take a lot of pictures of Ian when he is in his pajamas. He is just TOO CUTE not to. Don't worry, I will post about Thanksgiving soon, but in the meantime....

Pumpkin Seeds

We were in Sewickley, PA during Halloween visiting with Tim's family. When Halloween falls on a weekend, Sewickley children go trick or treating on the prior Thursday, so there was no dressing up for Ian this year. Instead we carved pumpkins and roasted pumpkin seeds to celebrate Halloween. Ian was very skeptical of the pumpkins at first, but then dove in and helped clean out the seeds along with the rest of us. Kind of...he kept putting the seeds back into the pumpkin instead of the other way around.

Homecoming Trip

A few weekends ago we traveled up to Wenham, Massachusetts to visit Uncle Pete, friends, and attend our college (Gordon) homecoming. It was Ian's first plane ride. He did great on the way there, although he did not like the earplugs they gave him. It was also incredibly hot on the plane, but we survived. The way home was a different story. Ian was a wreck and cried most of the way home. Fortunately, the flight is only an hour long!

While in Massachusetts we stayed with Tim's brother Pete. He has a great house with an amazing yard. We helped him fix up his house and decorate his front steps with pumpkins and hay! We also took Ian to Singing Beach...a beach right down the street from our campus where Tim and I used to hang out on warm days and walk on cooler ones. It was so fun to be back on familiar turf with Ian and to show him where we met. We also got to see Nate (Ian's godfather) and Jaime and their awesome new apartment!

Uncle Pete, Owen, Uncle Nate, and Ian (in Nate and Jaime's backyard)

Reunited!

Uncle Pete's front doorstep...all ready for harvest season!

Singing Beach

Real Quick Update

A Real Quick Update on the Chapman household...well, really just Ian...

- There are now rubberbands on our kitchen cabinet doors. Ian finally found my coveted glass lemon juicer and emile henry casserole dishes.
- We are cooking bacon, bread with jam, and eggs on a regular basis...Ian's new fav foods.
-Ian is a real serious dude as you can see from the picture above, but he still loves to play. We frequent the playground at least once a day.
- Ian now feeds himself. He will not allow us to spoon him food anymore. His new fav. snack is Rice Krispies with whole milk. Gotta love the snap, crackle, and pop!
- Mums are on the back porch with dirt everywhere. Ian likes to throw the dirt on the ground and break off the flowers. My flower gardens may never be the same again.
- We recently flew to Boston to visit Uncle Pete and attend our college homecoming. Ian did great on the way there...then cried the last thirty minutes on the way back. An awful, screeching wail that left my ears ringing. We had a great trip though and got to do all things "new england" so it was well worth it!
-Ian is now on a one nap schedule...one nap that lasts three hours! He is also going to bed earlier, say around 7pm and then gets up at 6am. As long as the coffee is brewing, this I can handle.
-Our best friends, and Ian's godfather, moved from across the street. It is heartbreaking every time Ian points and walks toward their house. We are slowly recovering from their move, and there is definitely a hole in our lives now.
- Ian now knows where his "belly button" is. A fun new trick is lifting up his shirt.
-We love autumn and the brisk morning walks! Acorn squash on the mantle, butternut squash in the oven, and artichokes for dinner!