Thanksgiving with the Keddies!

Let's see if I can get a Thanksgiving post up before Christmas...  :)

We hosted David's family for Thanksgiving this year -- it helps having David's brother and his wife living in Manhattan now.  (Still getting used to thinking of Iain and Erin as married!)  So David's parents drove out from Indy, and Iain and Erin took the train down from the city, and we all missed Donald, who's out in South Korea now...

The last time we hosted Thanksgiving, I was heavily pregnant.  And now look at our great big boy, imperiously commanding all of us on a brief walk around the neighborhood!




He had so much fun exploring with Grandma and Grandpa -- and I don't think they really minded being ordered around by such a benevolent dictator.  :)

(Here's where we switch to iPhone/Instagram pics...)

After a lovely, Wegmans-catered Thanksgiving dinner, we all hung out with Joshua and his books and trains.  Mostly his books -- he loved having so many new adults to beg to read to him!


Then on Black Friday, we made a trip into the city to hang out with Erin's family.  It was Joshua's first time on a train -- and both Joshua's and Grandpa's first time on the New York subway!




We then walked the High Line, a really lovely park converted from an old elevated rail line.  Currently, it runs from the meatpacking district up to Penn Station, but I believe there are plans to expand it further north.  I'm afraid Joshua wasn't terribly impressed -- but at least he got a nap in during this very busy and exciting day!




All in all, it was a lovely holiday weekend with family.  We have so many things to be thankful for!

Rachel and Shay's wedding!

On June 12, we drove out to Long Island for the wedding of one of my college roommates (and one of the very first people I met at Princeton), Rachel!  The wedding was held at the DeSeverky mansion, a former DuPont mansion and one of the most beautiful wedding locations we've ever been to.  If it weren't a 2.5-hour drive away, I would seriously consider taking Joshua there just for a photo shoot!  It was an absolutely lovely backdrop for a beautifully romantic wedding.  (For some truly amazing photos, check out the sneak peek from their pro photogs here -- and check it out, Joshua made it into the sneak peek!)

Rachel and Shay really did have such a lovely wedding.  They met in Israel while Rachel was posted in Tel Aviv with the State Department, so they officially got married there back in April.  But I personally was very, very glad that they had a ceremony close enough for us to drive to in a day with a toddler.  ;)  Joshua had SO MUCH FUN celebrating -- he played with a fountain off to the side during the ceremony, was enchanted with the hora, clapped along after all of the toasts, and generally charmed the pants off of all and sundry.  And we had a lovely time being there for Rachel and Shay and catching up with dear old friends.  We all really should get together more often!!

(And this was the first big event I got to use our new 70-200mm telephoto lens -- I looooove this beast of a lens!)

A Brooklyn playdate!

It's not often that parents will drive over an hour to make a playdate happen for their son.  When that happens, you know that either (a) the parents are willing to do anything for their son, (b) the playdate partner must be the coolest kid in the world, (c) the parents are dying to hang out with the other parents, or (d) all of the above.  :)

In our case?  Definitely (d)!

Last Saturday, we finally made it up to Brooklyn to visit our dear friends Emily and Brian, and to meet their son Evan!  Evan, of course, has already had his debut over here on Keddiebears Central, but we hadn't actually had a chance to meet him yet.  And Emily and Brian hadn't yet met Joshua.  This was a situation that seriously needed to be taken care of -- especially since they're all moving to Texas in just two short weeks!  :(

So we decided to make the trip out on Saturday -- and we had SO much fun!!  Evan is such a cute little chunker.  He's almost exactly three months younger than Joshua -- and he's at least three pounds heavier.  :)  Joshua, I think, was fascinated by him.  Our little guy is definitely starting to notice other babies, and it's such a joy to watch him try to play with them.  Evan was a very patient host, as Joshua attempted to grab and eat his feet.  :)

The J's took us around the pretty and hip parts of Brooklyn -- we took our strollers along the Brooklyn Heights Promenade, had brunch at a trendy (and family-friendly) restaurant, got dessert from Jacques Torres, and just had a grand old time.


Matching strollers!


Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan


Family photos!


This shot says SO MUCH about Brian and Emily...  :)


Mmm, massively oversized cookie ice cream sandwich...


Evan laughing at his daddy

Emily, Brian and Evan, thank you so much for being such wonderful hosts!  So glad we could squeeze in a visit before you head out to Texas... We'll miss you all so much!!