Holiday Visitors 2011

Over the holidays, James had a lot of wonderful visitors who saw him in Massachusetts and New York. My friend Jaime came to meet him for the first time on the day after Christmas.

Jaime hits it off with James

Then on our way off the Cape, our friends Casey and Victoria and their kids Laurel and Oliver came out to meet us part way between their house and the Cape.  They weren't able to make their visit to New York in December because the kids got sick, so they finally got to meet James and James got to play with his hand-me-downs "big brother."  

Victoria and Laurel


Kevin, James, Oliver, and Casey (I think James is saying something.)

Andrew came home with us and visited for a few extra days.  He was pleased that James seemed to like him a little more after a couple of days of "getting used to" Andrew.

James with his uncle Andrew

Then our friends Chrissy and Jason and their son Owen came from Ohio to visit their family and New Jersey and kindly came up from Jersey to see us too.  I've known Chrissy since we were 12 years old so I was super-excited to see Owen and James meet.  It was pretty cute to see, but the 18-month age gap is going to be tough to bridge for a while.  They were interested in the same toys so there's that.  It was wonderful to see so many great friends over the holidays.  

  

Vondy family visits


Hilarious interaction between Owen and James


Would have been fun to see this sneak peak of the future when we were in school

Have a happy New Year!

James's First Christmas in Cape Cod 2011

We had a double Christmas this year because James wanted to spend quality time with both his grandmothers, so we drove up to the Cape on Christmas morning.  James was bad bad bad in the car and had a complete physical and mental breakdown just minutes away from Great-gandma's.  The festivities were held at James's great-grandmother's place and when we got there it was evident there was a new baby in the family, as the gifts were spilling into half the living room.

I have never seen so many gifts

But it's obvious his family on the Cape loves him to bits. They all showered him with gifts and love.  It's a bit of game deciding who will hold him next, as his grandma's siblings, and Kevin's cousins take turns.

James LOVES Grandma Kathy

Chilling with Great-grandma Ruth

James opens up a present from Great Uncle Dickie- a car!

Siblings, Denise, Dickie, Mary, and Kathy

I retook a photo they took 50 years ago in the same order!

The cousins, Andrew, Katie, Chris, and Kevin

James enjoys the wrapping as much as the presents this year

James's First Nochebuena 2011

Clous at Christmas

Nochebuena is the Spanish-Cuban-Latin American Christmas Eve. Mom came over and made pork loin, yuca (also called cassava), and black beans and rice. We don't have a dining room, so we moved our kitchen table to the tree. We were going to secure James's seat to a chair but he was just as happy on the floor getting bits of food from Nana. I know he's not a puppy. After, we opened presents in the evening like we've been doing in my family for a few years. Among other things, James bought Nana a biography based on his voluminous book licking. 

Nana feeding James yuca


Nochebuena meal


James opening a present from family


James opening his first present from Santa


The Cubans


Nice try, James

Kevin's Short Story in Natural Bridge 2011

Kevin had his short story, "Brendan and the D" published in the Natural Review, Fall 2011 issue! The only way to read it is subscribe the journal, find a copy in the library, or come over and look at our copy.

“Brendan and The D.” Natural Bridge 26 (2011): 134-48.

James is 8 Months Old 2011

8 months

James is 8 months old and 35 weeks now!

Growth- James two center bottom teeth have come out completely.  They are really cute when he shows them off.  The pediatrician and his nurse both measured James at 30 inches long, but he is definitely not that big.  I get 27.5 or at most 28 inches when I measure him which means he hasn't grown in two months.  He hasn't gained much weight either, but his head has gotten bigger.

Bottom teeth are out (34 weeks + 1 day)

Moving!- He no longer falls from a sitting position like he did last month.  He's crawling all over the place, and now that he has the power of movement he can crawl over to places where he can pull up to a standing position. He stands as much as possible, and he's gone from holding on with two hands to one. Sometimes he attempts to "cruise" which means he tries to go from standing in one place to holding onto something else to stand.  He hasn't been hugely successful at this yet, but it might because stuff in our living room is spaced out too far for him.

Pulling up on everything! (33 weeks + 2 days)


One hand, mama! (34 weeks + 5 days)

Social- James seems to have recovered from his fear of strangers. He says "ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" all day long, but he doesn't know it means me. He high-fives on request, though he really just holds his hand up so that you can high-five him.  He waved today for the first time!  He thinks all sorts of things are funny: hiding behind walls, wrestling, being snuggled by the teddy bear, and people wearing hats. He also follows us and misses us when we leave the room.

What he does when one of us goes to the bathroom

Eating- He's trying to figure out how to feed himself from the bottle, and he can lift it but doesn't know to tilt it.  He'll eat pretty much anything you feed him, and often requests parts of our meals, much how an untrained puppy would.

Sleep- James sleeps in his crib from 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m, 3 a.m., or 4 a.m.  At that point I feed him, then bring him to our bed.  This is not comfortable at all for me, but if I'm lucky it gets him to sleep until 5.a.m. or 6 a.m.  

James is having his first Noche Buena (the 24th) this Saturday here on Long Island.  My mom is cooking traditional Cuban fare, including pork loin, yucca, and rice and beans.  Then Sunday he's headed to the Cape for his first Christmas day with Kevin's family.  It's his 6th visit to the Cape in his short 8 months! We're going to have to go to New Jersey more to even up the score!

Santa James at 33 weeks

Grandpa Buff 2011

Last Saturday, Kevin's grandfather George passed away at 93 years old. He was extremely well-loved. He was the last grandfather Kevin and I had and one of the best men I have known. I am certain he is one of the reasons Kevin is such an amazing husband and father. At his wake and funeral this week, I felt proud that James is his great grandson.

This is what Kevin said about him the day of the funeral:

By anyone’s estimation, my grandfather’s life was an overwhelming success.

George Altimus Rogers was married for over sixty years to a woman who cherished him so deeply she withstood thousands of hours of sports she did not care for and pretended not to understand. Only occasionally—when the table was set and dinner was warm—would she say, Turn off the idiot box, Buffy.

He had four children—Nesie and Mary and Dick and my mother—all of whom were by his side when he died. He had four grandchildren—Katie and Chris and Andrew and me—and one great grandchild, all of whom visited him during his final days. He owned a business, ran a farm, and served his country overseas. You are not likely to meet someone else who can say this.

He was the only Red Sox fan I know who was alive when the team won the World Series in 2007, 2004, and 1918. As a kid, he crafted wooden nickels in shop class to circumvent the turnstile and sneak into Boston Braves games. The last time we spoke, he had opinions about the Patriots’ defense.

Everyday he listened to an AM radio older than I am and read two newspapers. Until it was no longer possible, he kept himself fit playing golf and gardening. His mind he kept sharp with crosswords. He told me he liked all of the presidents. For decades, he sat in a comfortable chair beside my grandmother and looked at peace.

My grandfather attended my graduations and my wedding. When my son James gripped his finger, he called him Jimmy. My grandfather and I had an entirely uncomplicated relationship. He treated me with respect, and I respected him tremendously. When someone lives a life as long and rich in meaning as my grandfather did, you feel very grateful and, for a time, you feel very sad.

I will miss the earnest greeting he unfailingly delivered to me—and then my wife Ericka and later James—when we came to see him. I will miss the reverence with which his chair was treated—both in the living room and at the head of the table—and his perpetually stained slacks. I will miss his indifference toward those stains. I will miss the long silences my grandfather and I shared waiting for the pitcher to throw the ball to the batter. I will even miss the fable of how he ate every part of the apple, though I suspect my grandmother will keep this story in circulation.

I will miss a lot of things about my grandfather because there were a lot of things to appreciate and to admire. We will all miss him and, in doing so, we will honor what a great grandfather and father and husband and man he was.

With his kids and grandchildren in 2007


At our wedding in 2009


Celebrating his 60th wedding anniversary in 2010


Meeting his great-grandson James in 2011


James's fourth trip to visit his great grandpa and our last photo together

Christina's Baby Shower 2011

This weekend I went to Christina's amazingly nice baby shower at Locanda Verde in Tribeca. There were tons of friends and family and they hosted a delicious bunch with multiple courses. Baby Hudson is going to be a lucky boy surrounded with so much love.

The baby-parents, Dan and Christina

The GW ladies in attendance: me, Christina, Rachel, and Megan

The baby shower room

The main course- yum!

Christina's besties, Pam and Nikki