Lancaster redux

Earlier this month we returned to the hotel we visited last December, in Lancaster PA, to celebrate my dad's birthday. This time, we were there for an H. family vacation! We enjoyed playing in the pool, visiting the Lancaster Farmer's Market, and a nostalgia-fueled trip to Dutch Wonderland.

Listening to a busker play music

M. loved playing with her big cousin A.!

Getting comfortable in the pool

M. did not last long on that horse. "All done, all done!"

Our darling...dinosaur baby?

The Difference a Year Makes

I can't get over these two photos!!!

First one, taken Jan 7, 2017:

Now compare with this one taken this weekend, Jan 11, 2018:

Matthias has transformed from a moppet into a little boy, and Maddie has grown from an infant to a toddler! Stephen and Grace have moved houses! Maddie can look at the book intently, and Matthias knows how to pick his nose. My Dad still seems the same, fortunately. How did this just happen in a blink of an eye???

Merry Christmas

Here's our family Christmas photo this year:

This is not M.'s real smile: this camera caught her mid-burp! But hey, mouth open, face looking friendly, practically a smile. And all of three of us are looking at the camera! Send that one out to family and friends, folks.

We had a fantastic Christmas holiday! First, we headed to a Doubletree hotel in Lancaster County for a very special event. We surprised my Dad there (he thought he was heading to an afternoon concert) for his 65th birthday, and we spent two days playing in the hotel's indoor kiddie-water-playland. M. really loves the water – I guess I should sign her up for some swim lessons in the summer.

It's not easy to see, but the kids are wearing matching "I <3 Grandpa" shirts, and my dad has his own Grandpa shirt too. We're becoming one of those families that goes on cruises together...oh wait!

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas day in the Land 'o Plenty. After a festive Seven Fishes dinner, my mom crowned the evening with a Buche de Noel. I've never seen M. so interested in a flame before. Please note the kids' Christmas pajamas, which I really loved:

Jingle Bells

Christmas morning!

M. particularly interested in my mom's new purse

On the day after Christmas, we headed to my in-laws' in NJ for Dave's family gathering. This year we had representatives from Vermont, Long Island, and NJ! Kids were very cute, and we had a very successful gift exchange. M. got a big haul of toys from her very generous aunts and uncles and cousins. Always special to be together...

Michigan and Waterloo

Way back in October, we took M. on a big road trip: first, we visited Ann Arbor, our old haunt:

Few of our friends still remain, but we could catch up with collaborators and former mentors – and now my cousin David is there. It was a disorienting feeling, to see the ways in which everything has changed, yet are pretty much the same. College town life!

We headed further west for a stop at Hope College, where I was invited to give a talk at a World Languages conference. My best friend from high school, now also a language professor, co-organized the conference, and it was such a treat both to see him in his element and to visit with his beautiful family.

From Holland, MI, we drove east across the border to visit my family in Waterloo, Ontario. We stayed with my aunt and uncle and got to spend precious time with my Ye-ye in the nursing home where he now resides:

I feel so sad that my Grandma didn't get to spend more time with M. She would be so tickled by M.'s enjoyment of books and her constant, tuneful humming. My Ye-ye doesn't know who we are anymore, and he won't remember a thing about our visit, but that's okay. Having a baby has taught me that every day is a special gift to be cherished for what it is, and these were definitely days together to be cherished.

Resurrected!

It's been a long time since I've posted...almost six months! The main reason for the hiatus was the beginning of my extremely intensive summer program. No time to post pictures and write when I was teaching 8 hours days, commuting, nursing, writing two conference papers, etc. And then I suppose it's taken me a while to regroup and get comfortable with writing again.

Because I'm into completeness for completeness' sake, I'll post a few pics of M.'s 12 months and her first year birthday party. She continues to be our star!

Her birthday party, hosted by Dave's parents, was cheese-themed. Though she napped through most of the party, the rest of us enjoyed a blind cheese-tasting contest, cheesy Italian food, and cheesecake desserts.

Wow, even though these pictures really are only a few months old, it seems like a long time ago! M. changes so fast, and nothing seems to stay the same. Here she is yesterday, boldly feeding a rather aggressive goat at the petting zoo:

I don't know if I'll manage to go back and write up the posts I've skipped over the past several months, but I'll do what I can!

First Mother's Day

Today was my first Mother's Day! Dave and I agreed not to go overboard for each other for Mother's/Father's Day gifts...after all, it's supposed to be up to the children! But I still had a lovely day. We went to church and enjoyed the sunshine afterwards:

I relaxed afterwards by making brunch for 7 — still more fun than waiting to eat overpriced and mediocre brunch out at some restaurant!

My mom demanded pictures with her three grandchildren. I noticed that she didn't request a picture with me.

The present that I wanted from Dave was some family time, just the 3 of us. We very rarely spend time together these days. Whenever one of us is with M., the other is trying to work; and when M. is asleep, that's really the time to be productive! So we did something unusual today to mark Mother's Day: we explored a nearby park together! It has a nice playground, and a pool and different rec courts, and even a nature trail! I'm looking forward to going back to walk the nature trail in the summer. And hopefully once Dave's grant is in, we'll have more opportunities to enjoy time together.

But for all the joy, it is sorrowful, too. We were in Canada last weekend for my grandmother's funeral, and this is our first Mother's Day without her. I would have expected to call her this year, and we'd put each of her great-grandchildren on the phone, and she would love to hear their voices. I already miss her so much.

Saying goodbye

Last Thursday, my Grandma (my dad's mom) passed away. I had rushed to Ottawa by plane on Wednesday evening, arriving at midnight, and I was so relieved that I got to say my goodbyes in person and be with her at the end. It all seemed to happen so fast: my parents were visiting in late March, and two days later she had a minor heart attack. She called an ambulance—the neighbors saw and called my dad—and went to the hospital. We all expected her to recover and be moved to a retirement home for cardiac rehab. In fact, my visit was planned for two weeks later so that I could perhaps help with the move from the hospital to rehab. But instead, her condition deteriorated. She never the left the hospital again. It's still a shock to me, though I suppose she was 89 years old. But she had been in pretty decent health—or so we had thought, not knowing about the extent of her heart disease—and still living independently with my grandfather in their own home. Now she is gone, and my Ye-Ye is living alone in a retirement home with a memory unit.

A classic photo hanging in the study of my grandparents' house:

Grandma always made us wear these bucket hats when we went out in the sun, and we always thought they were dumb. Haha!

There are a lot of things I can say about Grandma. First of all, I'm named after her! So I always felt a special connection. I also always thought that if I had a daughter, I'd name her after my mom. But...well, Mom, you got the middle name! Grandma was a poet and painter. She loved nature and sunsets and the sea and flowers, and she nurtured our appreciation for all of those things. She used to send me her poems in my birthday card. That's how I first learned that poems are a gift! And now I study Greek poetry for a living. Here's a poem she wrote that is hanging in their living room:

Her funeral and memorial service will be the first weekend in May. I think I'll continue posting here about my thoughts and memories of Grandma. I miss you already, Grandma, and I love you!

Tribute to M.

We met up with my cousin Ruth a few weeks ago in the D.C. area. In addition to her many talents as a journalist and producer, she is also an artist! And just look at this gift she made for us:

A beautiful line drawing with wash of our little girl! Maybe you'll recognize the photo Ruth was working from:

I'm so touched at the way Ruth captured Maddie at seven months – and she already looks different today. This special portrait is now proudly displayed on our shelf in the living room. Come on over so you can admire it for yourself! Thank you, Ruth!!

Thanksgiving 2016

Baby's first Thanksgiving! It was her first time to visit my parents in WC, the Land o' Plenty! I was so busy playing football and eating that I didn't take too many pics of little M. But she did enjoy spending time with Dave's parents:

And my mom was so pleased to have her youngest grandchild at her home:

The big adventure came the day after Thanksgiving, when we took M. to hunt a Christmas tree at the local tree farm. It was a little overcast, but the weather was mild, and I think she enjoyed the tromp among the trees. A. helped to cut down the tree, while Matthias seemed a little less interested.

Grandparents extraordinaire!

We don't have many pictures of the three of us, but I like this one! You can see A.'s coat in the corner as she saws away at that trunk! Hehee!

I also took M. to Longwood Gardens for the first time, for a quick sweep past the Christmas lights and through the conservatory to see the Christmas lights. She was not upset, but she was also not that impressed. Maybe it'll be more exciting to her next year.