Love,marriage, & all things Republican?

Friday, December 23, 2011

December Daily: Twenty Two

T is for teeth! Piper is now the proud owner of one bottom tooth and one more cutting through on the top. She is chewing on EVERYTHING! And frozen bread happens to be her teething toy of choice. Thank goodness Costco keeps us well stocked.

December Daily: Twenty One

On the road again...

Our journey to northeast was short lived, but wonderful. We hugged and kissed our friends and family. We swapped stories, shared cookies, drank as much Wawa coffee as possible, saw snow flurries, froze our buns off, exchanged Christmas packages, and relived old traditions through the eyes of Piper.

We arrived home Wednesday night at 5:30, safe and sound. It feels fantastic to be back in the warm Florida sunshine. We are in short sleeves and flip-flops. Our tree is lit and our hearts are full of love.

This is certainly shaping up to be a very MERRY Christmas!

December Daily: Twenty

Pitman Grove Lights

Back when Mr. R. and I were first dating he invited me to Pitman, New Jersey to help him put up and decorate his Grandmother's tree. As a thank you he treated me to a donut from the Pitman bakery and a trip to Pitman Grove to see the Hagerty Lights.

We continued this tradition for two more years and then we moved away and created new traditions in DC and now Florida. Last year we visited Pitman lights when Pip was an 18 week bean in my belly. I was so morning/afternoon/night sick that my Pitman bakery donut wasn't even appetizing.

But this year we continued the tradition with Piper in tow. My mom and Todd also joined us. We tried the peanutbutter and jelly donuts (so good!) and checked out a few more houses on Main Street.

December Daily: Nineteen

Philadelphia is home to many things that we love.

Cheesesteaks, the Phillies, Reading Terminal Market (home of the flying monkey), LOVE Park, ice skating at Penns Landing, Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and Union Square.

On Monday we were able to introduce Piper to the City of Brotherly Love complete with a trip to the market, Love Park, City Hall, and a stop by the biggest Christmas tree she has ever seen.

We also tried Tommy Dinici's roast pork sub and got a cupcake a whoopie pie for the road.

And then she promptly fell asleep in her carseat and napped for 2 hours!

P.S. We took a few pictures of The Flying Monkeys creations. Pummple Cake (pumpkin and apple pie baked into a two layer cake) and Smoreo's (a s'more and oreo brownie).

December Daily: Eighteen

Meet the Republicans!

Mr. R.'s Mama hosted a larger family dinner on Sunday to introduce Miss Pippa to her extended family. Mr. R. is a member of a large Italian family. Half of the Republicans live in New Jersey/Philadelphia and the other half reside in South Carolina.

It was great to see Mr. R's siblings and his Aunts and Uncles, cousins, neighbors, and old friends.

Miss Pip also put on quite a show. She rolled, scooted, danced, jumped, and tried her hardest to get her foot into her mouth. She certainly loves attention and the camera lens!

December Daily: Seventeen

New Jersey is no longer my home, but many of my favorite people still live there. And more importantly I could not wait to introduce Piper to my sweet neighbors, high school friends, and church family. My mom hosted an open house on Saturday. Mr. R. and I had a blast visiting and catching up.

My heart aches now that we are home. New Jersey is where I grew up and it is so comforting to be back, but I know we are supposed to be in Florida right now and that our dear friends are only a phone call, email, and text away. Plus its only 6 more months until the next visit!