New Year's Eve beverage of choice at Chez Derderian

Who needs a $200 bottle of '97 Dom to ring in the new year, when you can enjoy Martinelli's '09 sparkling cider for 3 bucks?!







A: "Mommy, this bubbly is amazing. Can we have it with hot dogs sometime?"

Bidding adieu to a decade (?!)

As Jeff & I were enjoying a (rare) moment of quiet in the car a few nights ago, 2 kiddos peacefully snoozing in their car seats behind us, he sipped his extra large hazelnut coffee (skim milk, no sugar), took my hand in his, and softly asked me,
"Can you believe that the decade will be over in a few days?"
Umm, say WHAT? It honestly didn't even occur to me until I heard it out loud that we are about to bid adieu to the busiest, most chock-full, exhilarating, life-changing 10 years that we will (probably) ever experience together.
So now, in no particular order, allow me to take a trip down a 10-year memory lane and recount just a few of the events that have comprised a decade.

-I graduated high school & began college
-Jeff graduated high school & began college
-I met my birth-mother (and slew of siblings!)
-experienced college & everything it had to offer. (yes Bush, I even inhaled.)
-lived through 9-11-01...and I remember exactly where I was, what I was wearing, and sitting glued to the TV for hours upon endless hours. That day seemed to move in painful, surreal slow motion.
-started dating Jeff
-traveled to Spain-- met all of the Spaniards to whom I am related. What an unbelievable, life-changing trip....would love to go back with my own kiddos someday soon
-took trips to Dominican Republic (note to self: great place to visit, NEVER drink the water though. This includes using their ice in a drink.) & Aruba (<---amazing!)
-got engaged!
-planned a wedding
-purchased our first new car(s)
-Jeff scored an unbelievable job, at which he's been incredibly successful
-got married!
-got pregnant!
-found out about the pregnancy in the middle of the blizzard of '05 in NYC. It was magical!
-bought our first home. (got completely screwed-- but we're all the wiser for it!)
-welcomed Ms. Ava into the world (after 26+ hours of labor, 3 hours of pushing, and an emergency C-section in a pear tree)
-wrote a bunch of great children's books; came painfully close to having them published, only to have it fall through the cracks. Ouch.
-survived the terrible two's!
-watched more Teletubbies and Max & Ruby than I ever would have thought humanly possible
enjoyed all of Ava's firsts: smile, tooth, giggle, word, birthday, trip to Maine, ballet class, dance recital, soccer game, sleepover, etc
-got pregnant again
-welcomed Mr. Gavin into the world
-lots more that my exhausted brain is probably forgetting due to lack of sleep and it being 1 AM.

In conclusion, thank you last 10 years for being incredibly exciting, for keeping us on our toes, and for creating a foundation for a beautiful life ahead. At the very least, there's certainly never been a dull moment. A solid marriage, a house that we've transformed into a home, and 2 beautiful healthy children-- not a bad way to commemorate a decade.

Happy New Year's, and many happy, healthy years ahead!

A very Derderian Christmas DAY 2009

A very Derderian Christmas EVE 2009

"Enjoy the little things, for one day you will look back and realize they were the big things."

Gavin unwilling to 'Go Green'

So Gav's culinary repertoire continues to grow on a weekly basis at this point. He has mastered, and loves: oatmeal, applesauce, pears, peaches, bananas, sweet potatoes and squash. Today we decided to try something new- PEAS.
How'd it go? I believe the pictures speak for themselves.

The kiddos and Mr. Claus 2009!

Gav was obsessed with his beard...and Ava just kept asking me why "Santa at the other mall looked way different last week?"
All in all, the line wasn't too atrocious (less than 30 minutes) and there was no screaming, so I'd call it a success!