Abbi is uno!

from Meghann:

To Abbigail...

I can't believe it's been a year since we made the phone call from our hotel in Bruges and found out that you had just been born! Seems like not that long ago that we became a tia and tio. But looking back at pictures, you have really grown and changed so much.

We first met you in February, when you were only 3 weeks old, but already so alert and you just couldn't keep your arms and legs still. It made a photo shoot a little challenging...

Uncle Graham holding his niece for the first time and looking terrified.

By April you were rolling over and checking out the world from belly-level. 

This summer you had become a little person - so much personality! And already a beach baby!

When we went home for the wedding in October, you were taking your first steps! 

We are so sad that we can't be there for your first birthday, we know it's a big one, and we hope you can forgive us for missing it. We wish we could see you more often, but want you to know how much we love you and miss you! Have a wonderful day and we'll be thinking about you from across the ocean. And tell your mom to book some tickets to España!

¡Feliz cumpleaños, Abbi! 

My little sister's big dia!

from Meghann:

 Today is my little sister and her husband's 1 month anniversary! I can't believe a month has passed since we were in Maryland to celebrate Catherine and Doug's wedding day. Like our other trips back to the States, we had a lot going on - spending time in DC, another friend's fabulous wedding, holing up for Superstorm Sandy with Dark and Stormies, getting stuck in the States because flights were delayed and cancelled. But this was the main event!

I took some photos while it was just us girls getting ready, before the photographer* arrived. This is such a special part of any wedding day and I think something that every soon-to-be-married lady looks forward to. The private girl time, hiding out from the boys, the mimosas, playing fun music, getting beautified, the moments before the dresses go on and the momentum of the day takes off. 

A little taste of España in Chestertown, Maryland. Cava - yum!

My pretty sister!

Familia, friends, and food...

is what our trip to the States was filled with. We took separate space-A flights over (flights that military members and their dependents can get on for free, if there is extra space) and both ended up on cargo planes. This meant there were jump seats instead of regular airliner seats, ear plugs were necessary due to the noise, we had to wear layers since it was not climate controlled like a commercial plane, and we spent most of the 9 hour flight sleeping on the floor in a sleeping bag. On the positive side, it was free, we had plenty of leg room, and it got us where we wanted to go (well, we flew into New Jersey, but close enough) which was to Maryland to meet this little lady:  

Our niece, Abbigail! She arrived back in January, when we were in Belgium.