Christmas in Baltimore

So that first picture was taken a couple days before we left, but I thought it was a pretty good pic of our little family so I thought I would share it. Well this Christmas we had the opportunity to travel to Baltimore to spend 9 days with Ryan's brother Scott (aka Unkie Jigs) and his wonderful girlfriend Jenny. Ryan's parents also came for a few days so it was wonderful to be with the whole family for little one's first Christmas. The trip started a bit rocky as the usual 12 hr journey took close to 16 because we drove through a HORRIBLE snow storm. My wonderful hubby was determined to get us there safe and drove the whole way. We arrived at 6AM after driving all night! We finally got to bed around 6:30AM when 1 hour later our lovely little lady woke up thinking that it was time for her day to start (even though she had only slept about 4 hours in the car). Needless to say it took us a couple days to get caught up on our rest, but we pushed through and still had a wonderful time! I will write more about our trip as I take you through it with pictures. Oh and by the way, I do wish that I was more talented at writing and this whole blogging thing...I read many of my friends blogs and they are so eloquent and come up with the best things and ways to write about. I am sorry I am not so fluid, but I do enjoy having a place to share our lives, as chaotic or random they may be:-) So thanks for hangin in there with me!

Lorilyn watching her DVD player...no joke, her eyes looked like this almost the whole time! We called it her own baby IMAX.

Eyes are a little smaller, but not much...mind you this was at 4:30AM...we quickly found out she doesn't like to sleep in the car!

This was LJ and Baron's first meeting at 6 in the morning...it was the beginning quite a relationship. They love each other so much they can't stand it. There was much laughter and crying, but overall I think they are the best of friends:-)

We were snowed in (by 22" of snow non the less) the next day so we got to just relax and hang out. This was what happened after spending a little too much time together. Baron makes Lorilyn laugh which then makes him super excited and he starts play nipping at her, which then makes her cry which then makes him run, causing her to laugh, and the circle begins again...so everyone needed a little break for a bit.

However they do love to share food:)

On Monday Scott and Jenny had to go to work so Ryan and I decided to find somewhere yummy to eat. We happened to come to this Pub type place called Mother's. It was SOOOO bad for us, but soooo yummy. This was my blue cheese burger, delicious, but Ryan's (of which I sooo wish we had a picture of) was called "Heart attack on a plate". Yes, it was a 8oz patty stuffed with cheese, then deep fried. The thing was at least 5 inches high with the bun and all. But yes, he did finish it all! Crazy kid!

Lorilyn enjoyed a feast of some of her favorites...crackers, fries, onion rings, and pickles!

Ryan's parents got there Tuesday night. After a couple hours of some entertaining games, we all retired to bed and arose on Wed ready to take LJ to meet Santa and the mall. I dressed her in her adorable Christmas outfit and we got ready to go (Thank you Aunt Kori for letting us borrow it!)

Look at that cute hat!

Unfortunately when we got to the mall Santa was hungry and at his lunch so there was a HUGE line and it wasn't moving anywhere any time soon, so this was as close as we got this year...guess we'll try again next year!

On Wed night Scott took the entire family to the restaurant Fogo de Chao. It is a Brazilian BBQ, which is where as long as your card is flipped to the green side they bring around all the meat you can eat of lots of varieties. It was amazing and delicious! Thank you so much Unkie Jigs, your the best!

Little one was so good for the meal, but towards the end was ready to run around so we took her to the front to do just that:-) Not only was the food delicious, but it was located along the harbor which was just gorgeous...what a great night!

Christmas Eve was nice and relaxing. We mainly just ate lots of yummy food (thanks grandma!), rested and played games. It was wonderful to just spend the time with the family though!

Jenny surrounded by gifts for her, and our family on Christmas morning.

It was a snuggie Christmas for the family from Ryan and I. Jenny was oh so kind as to model hers for us! Scott got a MSU snuggie and Grandma and Grandpa got a blue one!:-)

Lorilyn loved ALL of her gifts, here she is playing with her Turtle friend from Unkie Jigs. She didn't quite get the concept of opening the gifts, but after some help with that, she loved what was inside!

Riding on her awesome toy from Grandma and Grandpa!

LJ decided that Grandma's pumpkin pie was awesome, so she thought she would help grandpa out with his piece...oh and she cried when it was all gone until Grandma started sharing her with her too:-)

Man all that opening presents can really wear you out!

Scott's sink was just the right size for a LJ's own little bathtub.

Could you ever be upset at this face?!

Jenny is a Photographer and was so wonderfully going to take family pictures for us on Saturday, but it didn't stop raining the WHOLE day! We were all ready all day just waiting for our break, since it was not supposed to last all day, but our break never came!:-( This was Lorilyn's outfit, I at least had to get a picture of her in it...maybe next time! Thank you Jenny for being so willing though! Well we had an amazing time in Baltimore. Thank you so much Scott for opening your home to us!

This is our new bedding...Grandma gave us a down comforter for Christmas which finally gave me the excuse to get a cover and some matching bedding. Man that thing is comfy! We love it!

Sorry this was so long, thank you for sharing our Baltimore adventure with us. If you didn't make it down to here, I totally understand!:-)