SPRING BREAK '09

You know we're busy if I haven't posted a blog in a whole month. Here's our month in review:

Beloved friends, Johnny, Rennie, Jim and Sandi came to us with their giant puppy Kumo for a weekend. The dogs mauled each other, the girls drank chai tea and slept in, and the boys golfed. Vanessa blended in nicely, although she was a tiny bit afraid of Johnny. Not sure why, maybe Daddio has been telling her some of their college stories.

We women hit a little street fair for some local fare. Daddio took this opportunity to babysit, man-style. We took a camera.

The guys took a baby and two dogs through a cave full of seawater. When we got home after dark, they were just trailing in, soaking wet and freezing cold. The dogs, the baby and the men slept well that night.

After the San Francisco crew left, we make the trek to Los Angeles for great Aunt Helen's memorial service. It was very touching and even upbeat. Aunt Helen had a great sense of humor and her children did a wonderful job of honoring that during her memorial. Jack's mom and siblings were mostly together, as were cousins. I didn't take any pictures (with my camera), but we did catch up ever so briefly with a whole giant branch of Vanessa's family. Of course the time flew by and we scarcely got to say hello to each other before we were saying goodbye. Maybe absence makes the heart grow fonder, but seeing each other warms me right up, too.

The day after the memorial service in L.A. Daddio had to fly to Boston for a weekend track meet with "Auntie" Shea-Shea. Daddio stayed with my cousins, Maureen and Tom, as he has for the past few years for this national indoor meet. They met Uncle Mark and the Magic Aunt (Debbie) at the meet and went out for a bite to eat afterwards. "Can we call you 'Auntie' Shea-Shea, too?" Uncle Mark asked the Olympian. Yes, she said.

Daddio came home and two days later cousin Corey arrived to kick off our official Spring Break '09 gig. Woo hoo! This tradition began in March 2007, when she and her sister Meghan came out to meet and greet newborn baby Nanners. Meghan arrived a few days later. Corey and Meghan laughed so often and so hard at most everything Vanners said and did that I actually had to intervene for fear our little entertainer would become self conscious.

The cousins helped out quite a bit with Vanessa-sitting as well as dog tending. You see, Milo broke a toe this month and the vet asked us to keep him calm and immobilized. Impossible!

We hiked, ate pizza, ate ice cream, went shopping, laid out in the sun, and tried on clothes. The cousins taught Nanners, who has mysteriously taken to calling her father "Daddio" (I only ever use that term on the blog... does she read the blog?), to say, "Shake your bootie, Daddio." They also gave her the terms Princess Bra and Princess Juice (code for beer).

We watched American Idol together and it got pretty rowdy. I think we halfway convinced Corey to audition for Idol, and Meghan to look up Anoop via a mutual friend. You heard it here first, folks.

Daddio had to drive to San Francisco and fly to North Carolina for another national indoor track meet on the weekend, using a red-eye. When he flew home, he picked up Meghan's big sister, Sarah, and they drove the 3 hours home. Vanessa was happy to see her Daddio but she was thrilled to have 3 happenin' cousins in the house.

Sarah is turning 30 later this year and getting married, too. We tried on wedding dresses with the bride and Vanessa was fascinated and totally clued in. "She's the bride," she informed me. "Her dress is beauuuuutiful." She also reminded us that "Auntie" Nell is the bride and got married at her (Vanessa's) wedding. Okay.

When the cousins left, Nanners would approach groups of 3 young women and say, "Cousins!" then realize she was mistaken. Very sad.

The day the cousins left we got to see "Auntie" Nell for an overnight. It was weird to see her at at track meet in her civies. Earlier in the week Vanessa posed with Nell's Under Armour poster at the local sporting good shop. Maybe you've seen Nell in the Under Armour ads in last month's Self, Seventeen and Glamour magazines...?

I know, I know: you're still thinking about that photo of Van in the Princess Bra, but we did have a professional family portrait session done last week. Thank you, cousin Sarah for being the baby wrangler on the shoot. You can see a few of the shots on our photographer's blog, here:

http://tamlalannephotography.blogspot.com/

GREAT AUNT HELEN



Today, I am so sad to say, Vanessa's great aunt Helen passed away. Aunt Helen was a steadfast and loving prayer warrior for me, through my cancer treatment, and for Vanessa, from the time she was just a hope in our hearts. Aunt Helen was a dovotee to this blog, too, and always made me feel like I did a good job.



She was Jack's father's sister, and we feel she has had a wonderful reception in heaven with both of Vanessa's grandfathers and her Uncle Michael. Aunt Helen was in good health, but she slipped and fell down the stairs. She lost consciousness and died a few hours later. We think she did not suffer.

Today is Granny Ernestine's 82nd birthday. Ernie said, "I am honored my sister Helen was called to heaven on my birthday."

We know Aunt Helen was a great woman of faith - we are not sad for her. But please do remember her wonderful children, cousins Andy, Jennifer and Peter, and their families. It is a great loss to us all, we don't yet understand why the Lord called his daughter Helen to him so suddenly.

LAST YEAR'S VIDEOS



So I haven't posted all the video clippets of Vanessa that I think are darling or otherwise noteworthy. Here are a few more from last year...

Here is Nanners getting a piano lesson with Ganny's big sister, Aunt Betty.

And here is wee Baby Nessa getting a jumping lesson from her favorite Olympian, "Auntie" Shea-Shea.

This video we made to add to our adoption profile we show to prospective birthparents. You see, we already send out a scrapbook of photos and reference letters. Our adoption agency suggested a video too. We drafted and rehearsed a script then recorded this over a dozen or more takes. This is "Take 10" or something like that. Vanessa was not impressed. It's two minutes long.

GREETINGS, VANESSA FANS

We have been zipping about with Nanners in tow. Here's the latest:

Grandma Patty was here for three weeks. Grandma and Van played together a lot.

Cousins Pete, Becky, Molly (4.5) and Daniel (2.5) came to visit for the weekend. We partied down with three preschoolers in the house! Milo slept for three days straight after they left.

Last Monday Granny Ernestine arrived to spend a few days with us. Having two grandmothers present for her every move was, well, divine for our little Miss V. They sipped tea and explored the backyard. Van wore her cowberry boots.

On Wednesday afternoon the grandmothers left on the train. A few hours later, Vanessa, Daddio, "Auntie" Shea-Shea and I packed up the car and drove to Los Angeles.

Thursday Daddio and Sharon caught a plane to Seattle where Sharon tried a new event for the first time. She entered the indoor pentathlon. And won it. And broke the meet and stadium records. "Way to debut."

I brought Vanessa to an audition for baby formula. It went badly. After waiting an hour in a crowded, sweltering room full of toddlers, they brought us to the studio and we both had to go on camera. Vanessa was behaving like a rascal by then and I looked like a bedraggled homeless person, so we will surely not be getting a call back. At least I think I was successful at stifling Vanessa's "I want the boob! I want the boob!" demands. I doubt the baby formula folks would appreciate that.

On Friday Vanessa and I attended "Auntie" Nell's and groom Braidy's wedding rehearsal because Banana was one of the flower girls. That's when I got a call from the adoption agency that a birth mother and father are considering us for adoption of their baby, due in July. It was a busy, exciting day. Vanessa did a great job with rehearsal, but couldn't settle down for the rehearsal dinner - we had to leave early. The poor little dear had been so interested in every new thing she forgot to nap. She fell asleep at 6:30 pm and didn't wake up until 5:00 am Saturday morning.

Saturday was a busy day - we picked up "Auntie" Shea-Shea and Daddio from the aeropuerto, spruced up a bit, and headed off to the wedding site for photos. It all went very well and "Auntie" Nell was a vision and a very happy bride. Let's just say she made bridal models look ho-hum.

We weren't sure how two 2 year olds were going to handle the task of walking down the aisle. In the end, after a lengthy and somewhat dubious pause, something clicked and Van marched the two of them off, holding hands, with a smooth, purposeful gait. Once down the aisle, Kacey stood with her mom, who was one of the bridesmaids.

Vanessa, remembering someone's bribe from the day before, headed right past the bride, groom, and bridesmaids and directly to the adjacent kiddie park. I chased after her and helped her onto the swing. All the moms at the park laughed. We missed the entire ceremony, then sprinted back for the recessional.

Van is pretty cozy with Braidy. "Oh, honey. He's so taken."

It was a fabulous day, gorgeous group of people, a lovely ceremony, the perfect banquet room, awesome music, lots of dancing by all generations, and the food was delicious. A success? You bet! Vanessa was very much at ease with the crowds and the hubbub. After the bride and groom had their first dance, the bride danced with her dads and Vanessa made a bee-line to Braidy. She stood next to him and held his hand. Van was quite at home on the dance floor that night. All eyes were on her as she swung her party dress around to the music in a solo interpretation of today's current grooves. She gets that from her daddy.

On the way home from L.A. we stopped in Santa Barbara to visit Rob, Manuela and Sophia. Sophia gave Vanessa a beautiful toy crib and matching high chair, two baby dolls, a bag full of princess garb, and a purple vanity table. Vanessa is into being a princess - she wore her slippery, high-heeled princess slippers to the pediatrician's office today - and she loves, loves, loves her baby dolls. I've seen her leaning over the crib and cooing to the babies like a real mama. The timing is good, because we are hoping to adopt...

And last but not least, we have started potty training in earnest. Vanessa accepts rewards of gummy worms - 1 worm for peeing in the potty and 2 worms for going number 2. Last night she sat on the big potty to have a number 2 successfully. She brought a book and sang a happy little song to herself, "I'm going number 2 on the big potty, I'm going number 2 on the big potty," and Daddio and I were giddy. Of course I took a picture.

I'll leave you with a video of Nanners and Kacey, practicing for their big moment.