Happy New Year (and belated Merry Christmas) everyone. We just returned home from an ten day visit to Chicago where we enjoyed the holiday break. Meg's step-mother, Barb, hosted a very nice baby shower for Meg and we are grateful for all of the wonderful gifts. Papa Ryan and Brad turned out to be the only men at the party so we enjoyed each other's company and the food in the other room. Also during our time in Chicago (the greatest city in America) we celebrated Maura's birthday at the Drake Hotel downtown, made the rounds of our favorite restaurants, and enjoyed Christmas dinner with the entire Ryan family which included 12 little kids. The experience possibly made us have second thoughts about having a baby... No not quite! It was wonderful visiting with everyone.
Over the past few weeks, many of you have made a comment about how pathetic (okay, maybe not that bad) our blog has become. So, for the New Year, we have challenged ourselves to make two weekly posts to update you on how we (and our little one) are doing.
Speaking of the baby, a big thank you is in order for Brian and Patti (Meg's cousin) for all of the baby gear. They graciously cleaned out their basement for us which filled (and I mean FILLED) the entire bed of our pickup truck. Now our little princess has just about everything she will need until she is three years old.
