3016 Christopher Avenue

For 60 years, someone in my mom's family has lived in the house on Christopher Avenue in Baltimore, MD. My mom's parents owned it first, and she lived there as a little girl. Then they sold it to my grandmother's brother (my Great Uncle Alvin) and his wife, who have lived there ever since until recently moving to live with my cousins north of the city. My entire life we've gone back to visit Mom's family in Baltimore, and each visit has included special memories (and yummy meals!) in this home. Last weekend we gathered for the final time on Christopher Ave. for brunch and fellowship before a concert honoring my Great Uncle Alvin and his wife Virginia. It was a special weekend, as our extended family came together and shared the different musical gifts we have in a recital at the church where generations of my mother's family attended. There were vocalists, pianists (including little Cass!), violinists, a flute, cello, viola, oboe, trombone...it was quite a mixture of amazing talent! We had a great time capped off with Uncle Alvin singing the first verse of "How Great Thou Art"...it was very touching and a wonderful weekend.




















the traditional "kids" picture

Learning to Relax...

Ethan's never had much trouble with this, actually. He's a pretty chill little man. I thought these pictures were particularly telling of his ability to kick back and enjoy himself...

(daddy always forgets to snap the onesie before the pants! ha!)

More fun beach pics...

I couldn't help myself! These last few pics make me smile and laugh. Can you guess how long Ethan's sunglasses actually stayed on his face? (about 2 seconds)

Beachin' It

Uncle Dennis is covered!

Big tummy after big meal--lobster mac 'n cheese!

I was a little worried about Ethan's reaction to the beach this year, because he doesn't always like textures and being dirty. Well, these worries were unfounded because he LOVED every minute of it! He loved being covered in sand, eating sand, digging in the sand, throwing sand...and he loved the ocean as well. He would crawl straight in, so we had to watch him carefully! He loved all things beach--putt putt golf, riding bikes (he had a great seat behind daddy!), swimming in the pool, eating lots of food, playing with his cousins. We had a wonderful time as a family! (as you can see by the pictures, Ethan got some serious daddy time!)