Family Vacation

Hi friends.

It has been a while. Partly that is due to the fact that my ancient computer is soooooo slow lately and it is such a headache to get anything done. And we were gone on vacation for a couple weeks! We had a family reunion in Idaho and got to spend a couple days in Philadelphia as well. Pictures to follow.

In other news, Alex is a Junior Resident instead of a lowly intern now. As far as whether this will be better or worse than last year, the jury is still out. Probably better and worse from what I can tell.

We have been in our home now for a year. We did a lot of work last week to put some flower beds in. It finally looks like someone cares about the place. Now we just need to plant something in them.

Okay picture time. We will go backwards.

 We were able to visit Washington's Crossing at the tail end of our trip. This is where, you guessed it, Washington crossed the Delaware River that fateful Christmas day in 1776. As the tour guide said, the victory there didn't win the war but kept us from losing it. This boat house has replicas of the boats that he would have used.

Ah, camping with a 15 month old. It was fun.

 And exhausting. Try chasing her around all day long...

 Napping was a challenge because of the heat.

 She was teething for much of the trip.

 Can't believe how much this little lady has grown since we saw her last.

Oh my goodness, this one too! What a cutie!

 Isn't he such a handsome little guy? I wish I had more pictures of family but I was too busy keeping my child out of the fire pit to think of pulling the camera out.

 Quality time with grandpa. She was very mommy clingy, BUT if you just get her away from me, she does fine!

 I so miss the wide open spaces. Seeing the stars. No traffic. I am so not a city girl.

 We managed to make it to Jackson and had to visit our favorite chocolate shop there!

 Cecily couldn't get enough of the movies in the floor at the visitor's center.

 These mountains, this view. It feeds my soul.

 We also took a day trip with some of the family to Craters of the Moon. Have you been there?

 It is a unique place.

 The wind had to be blowing 60 mph on the top of this hill. It was crazy.

 My dad saved the day by chasing down my mom's hat which blew off her head and we all assumed was a goner.

That was our trip, or at least what we have pictures of. It was hard to come home, partially because it still doesn't really feel like home (see above about the not being a city girl...) but good to see our dogs and be in a routine again.

Happy Illinois Day!

A year ago today, my little family and I left Illinois. It was the saddest day of my life. We also left a big pile in the front yard of stuff we didn't have time to take to Goodwill. I still feel bad about that. I hope the landfill gods will forgive me for that one.

Today, Illinois (in the form of Noah and Cherry Ruggieri) left us. I was very sad to see them go. They also left a big mess.

I declare May 25th Illinois Day for the rest of my family's life. It will revolve around anything Illinois and making and cleaning up messes.

This gives you an idea of the mess:

Thank you, Elders, for helping us start cleaning it up today. 

A little piece of Illinois (though not dressed like it)

We were worried about a tree in our backyard that had a crack between the two main trunks. We were not expecting him to take us up on the offer, but we invited our good friend who conveniently happens to be a tree guy to come out and help us take it down. We couldn't believe it, but he said yes!

Just starting

Just finished. An unbelievable amount of work to get that tree down. And no one got hurt (although we won't mention the very close call and we won't count the fence).

See what I mean? Ginormous tree.

We were also lucky enough to have a visit from our other friends from Illinois, the Packs. It has been so much fun seeing these two families. Even though we have been gone for a year, it was as if no time had passed when we saw them again. The beauty of friendship. Thank you so much for making the effort to come out and see us. We loved seeing you. Please come again!

Since today is Memorial Day, which is much, much more important than Illinois Day, I share this picture. Amazing some of the things you randomly run across living in this part of the country! Samuel Whittemore, although apparently left for dead, wasn't actually killed by the British, but many others were. To him, to them, and to others that have given their lives, I say thank you. You didn't know me and I don't know you but I am the grateful recipient of the legacy that you left.

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the women in my life!! (not just those that are technically mothers - because there are some women in my life with no children but that have been/are wonderful mothers.) This is my second Mother's Day as a mom and I know I often wax sentimental on this blog, at least after having my baby, so I will spare you that today except to say: being a mom is awesome! I never knew how much I would enjoy it!

I wanted to share a link to a blog of a friend Ashlee who wrote a great Mother's Day post last year. I was thinking of it recently and went back to find it and reread it. I love her message, so I share it with you here. She included pictures of many of her friends with their children and seeing those pictures makes me pine for Illinois and all the people I love and miss there...

And because I can't really resist posting pictures of C, here you go. Blast from the past:

I've been told a million times that the time goes quickly, they change so fast, etc. 

Well, those million people are right. These cheeks? they are a thing of the past. I miss them.

 I miss these moments too. 

Happy Mother's Day to my baby's grandmothers, great grandmothers, aunts and all the female role models she already has in her life. We both love you and are grateful for you!

A letter

A letter to my 13 month old daughter.
April 28, 2015 Dear Cecily, I want to write you a letter to tell you how much I love you and try somehow to capture these fleeting days and weeks before they are gone like sand running through my fingers. Now that you are over a year old and the dates and holidays we are living through are not your firsts anymore, I find my mind drawn back with some frequency to what life was like a year ago. It is hard for me to realize that memories of even those times are already fading.

Patriot's Day 2015.

Hi Paul Revere.

You have become a curious little person and like exploring things and places that are unfamiliar to you. You seem intent on mastering certain tasks, like putting the plastic coins into the slot. You don’t have many intelligible words yet, but it seems like every day we hear a new combination of sounds from you. You are social and like interacting with other people, often even strangers. You have started giving precious hugs, which melt my and your dad’s hearts. There is nothing sweeter than a hug from you. Leaving you with the babysitter often means that I endure frantic inconsolable crying on my way out, but I am always assured that you calm down quickly and are perfectly content for the rest of the time. You are a toddler now, preferring to walk instead of crawl. You are not completely steady yet but every day I see improvement. You are a good eater, but have started shaking your head to certain things and refusing even to try them. You take either two naps or one depending on the day.

Spring has finally arrived after one of the longest, and definitely the snowiest, winter of my life. Today we met Bex and Saul at Whole Foods for dinner and afterwards you and I walked some in the park by the river across the street from Whole Foods. You really wanted to pet the Canada Geese, and you liked picking up brown leaves and trying to steal my sunglasses. You totally messed up my hair when I put you on my shoulders to go back to the car. You pointed at the birds in the sky and I finally showed you the real moon, instead of all the pictures of the moon in the books we read. I love spending time with you and watching you learn things about the world around you. I love being your mother. Every day is an adventure with you. You have even started helping with small chores such as “go get your shoes” and “put these stamps back in the box.”

We visited Buckman's Tavern last weekend. This is where the Lexington Militia waited from about midnight until 4:30 am when the British Regulars showed up on their march to Concord. It is directly across from the Lexington Green where the fighting took place.

The painting on the wall is of the fighting that day.

I was thinking on the drive home today how every single human, those people playing softball over there, the drivers in the other cars, were also once tiny babies like you were a year ago. They all grew up and so will you. Someday I will look back and wish I could spend a few minutes with my one year old again, or hold my precious baby in my arms. That is not the way life works, though. We take the good with the bad every day on earth that we get and hopefully we are present, truly present when the good moments happen. That is the stuff life is made of.

I love you my sweet Cecily. ***

By the way, I owe you an ice cream cone, Candy!

Spring IS here!

Friends, neighbors, countrymen: 

I am pleased to announce that the last of our snow melted on April 11th and while a few stubborn patches hang out in parking lots around town, they cannot last for long. The weather has been getting into the 60s! I went outside the other day and actually felt warm! I couldn't believe it. 

I think that may have been the longest winter of my life. I don't really know if I am any stronger for it, but I survived. I lived to tell the tale. I feel almost giddy sometimes when I think about all the months of warm weather that await us, all the parks we can visit, the fact that I can go outside without a jacket. You heard me: without a jacket!!

Cecily is a little toddler. Meaning that she toddles. She will take a few steps before having to regroup but I think her days of having to be carried everywhere are quickly coming to an end. Just like every milestone, it is a wonderful thing and a little bittersweet. 

I realize that 99% of the pictures I have of her are in her high chair. And, yes, that may just be a prefold diaper that she is using as a bib. It seemed like the right thing to do.

We are thinking about putting wallpaper on one of the walls in our front room and maybe a wall in our bedroom. I have assembled quite the wallpaper sample collection. I think I have narrowed it down to three favorites. If you guess which ones, I will buy you an ice cream cone.

Someday I might have hair, guys.