"You silly little boy"

The last time I posted was almost two weeks ago and I had promised some more substantive posts in a few days.  I am getting on that promise now.

We went to visit my brother and sister-in-law about a month ago.  It was the first time we've taken L to their house since her birth.  It was only her second road trip ever.  Considering the sleep issues she had that first road trip (about a year ago), we were a bit concerned that her screaming would wake one or both of my nephews.  One is just a couple months younger than L, and the other is a brand new little babe, who was about 10 weeks when we went to visit.  To wake either of them would have been bad news.

We forced her to skip her nap on the day of traveling hoping that it would encourage an earlier bedtime and less fight.  It worked out beautifully.  I was absolutely shocked.  She used one of the boys cribs which I think made all the difference in the world.  She just cannot sleep in a pack n play anymore.  And she fell asleep without a peep and slept until she heard her cousin wake up in the morning.

L spent most of the visit laughing at her cousin F, who is such a funny little boy and shows off doing anything and everything to make L laugh.  And she spent the rest of the time obsessing about her cousin B the baby.  She wanted to hold him, help burp him, give him his bottle...everything.  When someone would leave the room with him, she would freak out because she wanted to be with him at all times.  It was a beautiful weekend watching these little ones together.  And I got my fill of baby holding, and am totally in love with my new nephew.

L did great on the drive up north, but cried so much on the way home she made herself vomit.  That was definitely not the highlight of the weekend, for sure.  But even with that little mishap, the weekend reassured us that we can do more as a family and travel.  More trips up north in the future!

A few stories I don't want to forget.  F referring to L as "you silly boy" when she would do something he did not like.  F and L taking a bath together.  L obsessively wanting to hold F's hand even when he refused.  F helping L put her socks and shoes on, and L totally sitting back like a princess allowing him to (see the picture below).  L receiving the first smile of the trip from B.  And finally, attempting to get a good picture of the three kiddos together was humorous, and a complete fail. Better luck next time!

The holidays at home

2012 was all about our life taking on a bit more normalcy.  We came out of the bubble that is the life of a transplant patient immediately following transplant.  We saw friends more often.  We introduced Luca to some typical kid experiences.  We had more date nights.  We went away for the first time just as husband and wife.  We eliminated lots of Luca's meds.  She started eating and drinking without assistance from her g-tube.  We had lots of family time.  We spent every holiday and birthday at home with our loved ones.  We have watched Luca turn from dependent baby to an independent little girl in what seems like a blink of an eye.  It also was a year of dealing with the emotional effects of everything we went through in 2011.  We needed some time to let our hearts heal and while it still is a work in progress, we are doing much better emotionally than we were a year ago.

Sure, it was also filled with doctor appointments, blood draws, one overnight admission (compared to 2011!), an ER visit, two surgeries/procedures requiring anesthesia, and many many colds and ear infections (for all of us).

But my God, 2012 was so much better than 2011.  It was a fantastic year of growth and love.  And one I will look back on fondly.

Here are some pictures from Christmas 2012 and the week off together!

Seeing the presents under the tree:

...and pretty excited about it!

Trying on her new Elmo slippers.

 Brobee!

Like mother, like daughter.

Luca's most recent smile - when she wants to be goofy.

Waiting for the food!

Great Falls

Warning - lots of pictures ahead.

We had a lot of family time this weekend since my cousins were here from California and New England.  We hosted dinner at our house on Saturday and made vegan eggplant potato moussaka for everyone as our cousin eats vegan.  (Ian has made this recipe a few times now and it is delicious, for both vegans and non-vegans.)  Luca was all geared up to help the chef. (Ignore the messy cabinet in the background.)

Sunday, we headed out to Great Falls on the Maryland side to take a walk and see the falls.  We got there a few minutes ahead of everyone else, so I took the opportunity to grab some photos of us.  Luca explored the wonder of fresh fallen leaves, while Tessa stared at all of the other dogs and people around us.

Our walk was so beautiful I got a bit camera happy.

Luca was not thrilled with us wanting to pick up the pace a bit (by putting her in the stroller), but she stayed mostly occupied with her fruit cheerios.  This girl loves her cereal.

We plan on taking advantage of more of DC's parks soon.  There really is so much to see and we are not always the best about getting out to the sights.  Having family in town reminds us of all the great things we need to get out and see with Luca.

Her 90th Birthday

Some of our extended family is in New England today celebrating my great Aunt Cyrilla's 90th birthday!  When I spoke to her this morning, I asked if she was excited for her birthday party.  "No!" was her only response, followed by a short laugh.  I hope I have those types of remarks when I am 90!

11.14.09

November 14th will always be remembered as the day we found out we'd no longer be a family of two.  I loved that day. 

One year later, we are spending the day together snuggling, soaking in our time together, giving kisses to sweet baby cheeks.  What an amazing year it's been.

Bullet-Point Thursday

Randomness that needs to be said in bullets (because it's Thursday and I'm ready for the weekend!):

• I am less than 4 weeks away from exams and am STRESSING.  I need to buckle down and get things going for that - so my posts will probably be shorter the further along into November we get.
• My law school friends are celebrating my birthday with me tonight.  They're ordering indian takeout and we're all going to relax and catch up.  Super excited!  I've truly found amazing friends in law school and am incredibly fortunate.
• Ian is getting super nervous for his big marathon this weekend (it's just 26 miles - seriously, toughen up a little bit dude).  I'm desperately trying to think of fun phrases to write on the signs I'm making him.  Any ideas?  I actually asked him what he wants me to write on it, because I'm feeling that uncreative (and yes, I totally just made up that word).  He suggested one of the signs read "Finish Strong."  Bor-ing.  Any ideas?  Someone else suggested Brits Do It Better, which I think is awesome. 
• Ian has taken tomorrow off for my big 2-7 and has the day planned.  I have no idea what he has in store, but I'm so excited to spend the day with him.
• Thanksgiving is one week away - and I can't wait to be with our family and friends.  I LOVE, love, love, Thanksgiving. 
• I cannot wait to spend the weekend in Philadelphia, and am even more excited to support Ian, and spend time with my brother and SIL who are going to be there as well.

Lots of fun times coming up - can't wait!

Languages

Ian grew up in three different countries: England, France, and the U.S.  Then, he majored in French and Spanish, and studied abroad in Spain. 

I, on the other hand, grew up and stayed in the same state for all my schooling.  But I also studied abroad in Spain.

I often talk about how I want our kids to have a little piece of each of the cultures.  Ian is fluent in French, and we often talk about speaking to our kids in both French and Spanish (and obviously English).  When we start prepping to have kids, I'll be sure to buy plenty of French and Spanish books so that we can start practicing with them when they're just babies.

But how do we incorporate his English tradition?  They certainly won't have his accent, considering they'll grow up here, and especially because his accent is so faint.  I know we'll celebrate holidays in both the American and English ways.  And I want to be sure to visit England often, so they know where their family is from.

I figure that our kids will learn to be part English through Ian's language.  English language.  I'm somewhat used to his language now, but I remember the first year or two of dating, I'd burst out laughing when he'd come out with some funny word I'd never heard of.  And every once in awhile, he or his parents will surprise me with some word or phrase.  Here's a list of the words that demonstrate how different the English and American languages are:

• Garage is pronounced as "gairedge"
• And Bob's your uncle (is equivalent to, "and that's that")
• Rubbish
• Bloody _______ (insert whatever you want here, he often says he's bloody hungry)
• Gordon Bennett (holy crap)
• John Thomas (toilet)
• Wanker (he says this a lot while watching soccer games when one of the players makes a bad play. normally with "bloody" before it)
• Football (he refers to any games relating to the NFL as "American Football", and if he just says football he's referring to soccer)
• Oy (he says this when he's trying to get someone's attention, normally mine or Tessa's)
• Aluminum wrap is pronounced Al-u-mean-ium (like the end (ium) of immodium)
• Cellophane (saran wrap)
• Town shoes (men's dress shoes)
• Jumper (sweatshirt)
• Bollocks (this basically means bull shit - he says "that's a load of bollocks" a lot)

There are so many more that I'm forgetting.  I'll have to continue to add to this list as I hear more weird phrases.  Our kids are sure to have some really weird vocab.

Motivation

This is a long ass post.

I love fall weekends.  The past couple weeks, I've been enjoying having the AC off, opening the windows, and letting the breeze come through our house.  I pulled out our fall smelling candles and lit them on Sunday - with scents like cranberry cinnamon and pumpkin spice.

This fall weekend was also full of inspiring moments and laughs with family.  Friday night, I made a big carb dinner for Ian and we went to sleep early to prepare for Ian's half marathon on Saturday morning.  He has run 13 miles multiple times during his training, since his ultimate goal is to run the Philly marathon on November 22nd (God willing - so long as he stays healthy).  But this time was different for him - it was his first official race.  He was extremely nervous in the morning before we left and once we got there.  The whole city of Baltimore essentially shuts down for this event, so we parked in Little Italy, knowing we'd be walking quite a bit.

Rain was called for, so I packed a backpack with a rain coat and the day's essentials: a book to read while I camped out waiting for him at the finish line, snacks and water, advil in case he got a headache, and map of the course.  We got there early and immediately felt the energy of the event.  With over 20,000 runners expected and even more spectators, the band playing - Ian became excited and I was inspired.

I took some pictures, then after Ian and Jeremy lined up, I headed off to the finish line area and set up shop for the next couple hours.  It started raining, but I was content with my rain coat as I watched the frontrunners of the full marathon come in to finish the race.  Everyone - almost all of them strangers to the runners - cheered wildly for the strength and motivation each of these people clearly possess. While I waited, I also witnessed a fight between a street vendor and police.  He was determined to make money next to the finish line, but did not have a license to do so at the race.  He pushed and shoved and everyone around him stared.  It was some action that made the wait a little less boring.

Ian's parents finally made it downtown and stood with me.  Finally, it was about time for us to start looking for Ian.  Shortly after Jeremy ran by, I saw Ian in a big group of people coming and I was overwhelmed with excitement for him.  I took a picture and then cheered for him loudly.  I was worried he wouldn't see us since there are so many people, but luckily he heard us.  He looked comfortable still after 13 miles.

He described the experience as inspirational and has motivated him even more for the Philly marathon.  He also said it was quite emotional coming towards the finish line and seeing us cheer for him. 

Afterwards, we went to have a big lunch with Ian's parents and my mom at The Corner Stable.  A-mazing ribs.  Seriously.  We laughed hysterically over poop talk (seriously, we cannot make it through a visit with Ian's family without talking about poop or farts).

After lunch, we went and got a new radio system put into my car since my old one stopped working the past couple weeks.  We also stopped by Ian's parents and picked up his birthday present from them, and discussed our upcoming trip to England to figure out the details.  Of course the conversation once again turned to poop/fart talk.

Sunday, we spent the day watching football, relaxing and cleaning up the house.  It was a weekend filled with

fall fun and laughs about poop.  It was a much needed weekend.

Something to look forward to

Ian and I booked our next trip.  We have a wedding in England on December 19th and decided to make a trip of it.  I don't really think there will be as much exploring and sightseeing as I would like because Ian has a lot of family we have to catch up with.  Ian's parents are also going, and Ian's brother will be meeting us there (he lives in France).  We'll be visiting both of his nan's and seeing all of his cousins, along with many family friends.  I'm super excited but also slightly nervous to meet all of these people all at once, being the only American among them.

We were originally going to come home before Christmas so we could be home for the holiday and see my family.  But we decided we probably won't want to do Christmas in England after we have kids, so we should take advantage of it while we can.  We also do not go to England, and the opportunity for our flights to be taken care of by Ian's parents, so we decided to come home after Christmas.

Ian's family has already started with the "oh we can do this all together, and let's go here all together."  Ian's brother even suggested that he will be stealing him from me for the majority of the trip.  I had to QUICKLY put a squash on some of those ideas.  Don't get me wrong - we are going there to visit his family and I so look forward to finally spending more than a few hours with them.  But we will be there 9 days.  9 days of family time.  We will be staying at various family member's houses (possibly in twin beds for part of it), with all of his other family members there as well.  I love his family, but 9 full days together - but being with my family for that many days without any alone time with Ian would drive me crazy.  So I quickly suggested demanded that we have 1-2 days to go explore without his family with us.  And I don't mean we'll go and spend 2 full days at a hotel.  I mean we'll still spend dinners with his family, but take the day time to go explore London, visit where Ian grew up, and see other places.  For my sanity, I need some time away to just be with my hubby.  I think we'll be going on lots of walks to have some quiet time from the madness (read: drinking fest) that I'm sure will occur.  After all, this is my vacation and Christmas too!

I have only been to London twice - the first time was for a long weekend while I was studying abroad in Spain, and the second was on our way home from our honeymoon in Greece and we stayed a total of 12 hours.  But I am not sure if Ian has really ever done the touristy thing there, so it'll be fun for us to do that together.

Once we figure out the details in terms of whose house we'll be staying at, Ian and I will schedule in the two days we're spending just the two of us.  But I also have to start planning Christmas gifts.  I'll have to take them with us I think, which will make packing interesting a disaster.  And it also means that we will likely have to get some little presents for extended family - people we don't really know that well and normally don't get presents for.  This will be interesting.  What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Trip to New England

We are back from our trip to New England to visit my great aunt!  After her recent health scare and amazing recovery, I wanted to be sure we'd visit with her since it's been so long, and since she's never met Ian. 

Thursday afternoon, I got a call from my Mom informing us that my aunt was back in the hospital with extremely high blood pressure.  We figured we would go and visit her whether she was in the hospital or at home again. 

Friday
We left bright and early on Friday and drove to one of my cousin's houses to drop off our things.  I had never met their youngest child so we met him and then off we went to the little beach down their street with their youngest (he's 4 and so freaking cute) racing us there on his tricycle. 

Before I could stop him, the little guy ran ahead of us towards the beach and tore off his shoes and socks and dug them into the sand, throwing his body all around to get sand anywhere and everywhere.  Great.  I've just met the kid and I can only imagine how thrilled his mother will be when I bring him back to the house covered in sand.

We fell in love with the area they live in - beautiful!  Very old time feel to it in terms of the friendliness of the people there and the style of homes.  Ian loved the view.

We got back to the house and were relieved that my cousin just laughed when she saw how dirty he had gotten in the sand.  We had a quick bite to eat for lunch and then checked in to see if my aunt had been released from the hospital yet.  She had, so then my mom's cousin came by and picked up me and Ian and headed to my aunt's assisted living community. 

We walked in and were immediately greeted by a huge smile on Cyrilla's face.  A little bit about her: she's incredibly blunt, and is said to have my mom's family's sense of humor (dry - and you have to get used to being poked fun at if you ever want to be around the cousins and Cyrilla).  She also is not all warm and fuzzy - she's a complete smart-ass, very smart, and doesn't like hugs.  She's mellowed out a bit through the years and doesn't mind hugs from me and the other cousins anymore - but I wouldn't go so far as to say she likes the affection.  She has photos of all of us all over her room - on the walls, next to her calendar, up and down the windowsill.  I think she gives everyone grief, pretending like she doesn't care, but deep down she loves all of us unbelievably and even loves the attention/affection we show her.  Back to the story.  After a hug and kiss, I went to introduce Ian to her and she points to him and says "Ian, I need you to fix my blinds."  No hello, no introduction, just an order to help her.  SO much like her.  Glad Ian didn't take offense and just responded with "oh, well, hello to you to!" which only made her laugh.  Glad he was able to fix her blinds - he would've never heard the end of it if he hadn't. 

She seemed tired - like she wasn't feeling well still.  And she didn't have her hearing aid in, which meant we had to speak up for her to hear.  And she's way too thin - I told her she needed to fatten up a bit and she just laughed.  But for 88, she's amazingly with it - coming out with jokes and carrying on with conversations.  She talked sports with Ian even though he's a Baltimore fan.

After a couple hours there, we decided it was time to leave her so she could get some sleep after a hellish 24 hours in the hospital.  We went back to my cousin Michael's house and played with the little guy, and his older brother before dinner.  We even went on their zipline in the backyard.  Sorry - no picture of that.  We ate a big dinner with their family and my mom's cousin and soon realized that the little guy wanted nothing to do with anyone but me.  Where should I sit - next to him.  What should I do after dinner? Read to or play with him.  (These were his instructions).  He even agreed to take a picture with me.

After Michael and Eileen put the kids to bed, we sat up and caught up for awhile.  But alas, we were exhausted from the travel and were in bed at 9. 
Saturday

We woke up early on Saturday to heavy downpours.  Unfortunately, Ian still had to go run his 18 miles - he can't stop training even if we're away.  So off he went in the pouring rain, while I stayed inside and hung out with the cousins.  We played trains and leggos before I decided I would go meet Ian for his last mile or so.  It was still pouring, so I put on my workout clothes and started walking/running to meet him.  He was exhausted and soaked from the rain, so we walked/ran the last part of his run. 

After showers and some lunch, we headed back out to visit with Cyrilla.  She looked much better than Friday - more rested and had just had a haircut.  We spent much of the time catching up, then took many pictures. 

Then, we went to mass with her, where Ian proceeded to get a case of the giggles because one of the residents sitting behind us must not have known the tempo/words of some of the songs.  There would be a break in the song, and that resident would still be singing the last verse, or would have started the next one. Hilarious.

After mass, we gave Cyrilla lots of hugs (her fave) and she even got one from Ian.  We said our good-byes to cousin Chris and my mom's cousin Judy.  On our way back to Michael and Eileen's house, we stopped by Vienna Bakery - seriously I would be at this bakery everyday if it were located near us in Baltimore.  Does Baltimore have any good bakeries??

Back to the story - we then headed back to Michael and Eileen's (Chris and Michael are brothers and are the sons of Judy) to play with the kids before their bedtimes. We were originally supposed to grab dinner with friends Sarah and Carlton who live about an hour from Michael and Eileen's.  But we were hoping to have an early dinner with them since Ian ran 18 miles that morning and we were heading out so early on Sunday morning, but sadly, Sarah had a work event so we missed seeing them.  And since Michael and Eileen had a fancy cocktail party to head to, Ian and I decided to explore the town a bit and find a place to eat.  We decided on this place which was super cute and had very good food.  Ian was excited to have Stella Artois.

While I was excited to have a glass of wine.

Afterwards, we met up with Michael and Eileen for some dessert at Newport Creamery where I had amazing chocolate peanut butter frozen yogurt (it tasted like normal ice cream - so good).  We headed home and were exhausted from such a fun day with family.

Sunday
We were up bright and early again and were on the road by 6:40a.m.  I slept most of the way (thanks honey) and we made it home just in time to watch the Ravens and Redskins play.  I also won week 3 in a row for my fantasy football team (YAY!).  We got our grocery shopping done and booked a trip online last night (I will talk more about this soon).

We had a fantastic weekend filled with family and laughs.  I can only hope to go visit again soon and have the opportunity to spend more time with Cyrilla.  She's so full of life and laughs.  Love her.