August and September

Hey everyone! It's been so long since we posted so I figured I'd back up to the month of August to do a little picture update of what the Virginia Tompkins have been up to. We have had a busy summer since Joe and Nicolette's wedding, with lots of pool trips and outings, as well as a trip to New York over Labor Day weekend for my Aunt Raquel's wedding. Ryan is working hard at CACI and has been playing flag football on the weekends in a Catholic pick-up league. He's excited that the Fantasy Football season has started, and he looks forward to beating you all like a drum. I have been enjoying the research phase of my "cookie business," tinkering with different cookie and icing recipes and experimenting with shipping methods, and I have already gotten some orders. I had so many awesome suggestions for a name, but I keep going back to "Mookies" as my favorite so far. :) Cecilia and Ryan Jr. are both getting crazier all the time. Cecilia has been talking a lot more and continues to put her own little accent on words. For a while, her version of "yes" was a German-sounding "Ya!" but now it has morphed into "Yesh." Last night, as we watched the Notre Dame game, Ryan and I were cracking up as Cecilia repeated almost everything Ryan said during the game, whether it was "Yeah!!" or "NOOO!" or "Oh maaan!", Cecilia's voice served as Ryan's echo. Ryan Jr. is growing up and is very much "all boy"": hyper-active and always looking for ways to wreak havic and destruction, make messes, and annoy his big sister. Because he spends all day trying to walk, climb and jump, he is constantly getting bruised and beaten up, and always looks like he's been in a fight, as you can see from the pictures:We have really been enjoying all the activity on the blog, as well as having the opportunity to webcam with many of you. We cannot wait to come visit FL again soon, and in the meantime we'll be in touch. :) We love you and miss you all!