Cathy and the Girls Visit 2014

Cathy brought her girls to New York to enjoy all the fun holiday stuff. We met them at the Children's Museum of Manhattan and had a great time. It's four floors that are really more like four big rooms that the kids can run around in and explore. Fun way to spend 12/13/14!

Me and Cathy with Kennedy (2.5), James (3.5), and Madison (4.5)

Climbing the tongue slide on the EatSleepPlay floor. Um, clever?

James and Madison- cute!

Adventures with Dora and Diego floor

Kevin tired to get a nap in but no.

The PlayWorks floor- Madison, Kennedy, and James

Children's museum joy!

Writing his name on the computer

Driving a firetruck together

Oh look who found a hat!

Madison is too adorable!

Dragon!

Doing important sandbox work.

Don't let the pigeons drive the bus!

We also went to lunch afterwards. Here's Kennedy trying to take a nap at the restaraunt. Also, she looks so much like Cathy in this one!

Naptime

• Last time I saw Cathy, September 2013
• Last time I saw Madison, March 2011

Grandma Catherine Passed Away 2014

Grandma Catherine passed away last week just shy of 95 years old. She was married for 66 years, and she had four children, four grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. In the end, I knew her for 29 years, and I had more years with her than with my dad.

Wedding Day 1942


1957- I don't have one with Maura or with Richard not hiding

I have lost a lot of important people in my life. That's in part the consequence of the blessing of having a lot of important people in my life in the first place. All that death has taught me to appreciate people while they're still here. My heart rests easy this time, because I visited Grandma Catherine frequently and always treated her with respect.

1985- Grandpa Jim, mom (28), dad (35- and exactly my age now), Grandma Catherine (65)

Grandma Catherine was my dad's mother, and I met her for the first time probably when I was six. I think at that time, she might have had some vague idea that I was Mexican. (I am not.) I spoke English, but my Spanish accent was thick, and my vocabulary was extremely limited. Suffice to say, it took a while to get to know each other. But she and Grandpa Jim still lived in Ridgewood, NJ back then, so occasionally she'd pick me up from school and bring me back to her place. I'd chase around Max their dachshund (fabled to eat rocks). And sometimes I'd sleep in Aunt Maura's old bedroom-- I remember I loved the wallpaper in that room because it seemed so girly. I still love wallpaper in general. 

Back then, Thanksgiving was new because my Cuban family never celebrated the holiday. So every Thanksgiving meant dad's family and Grandma Catherine's cooking. She'd meticulously plan each meal, and when she sat down at Thanksgiving dinner, she'd immediately start talking about what we'd have for breakfast the next morning (inevitably French toast). And we'd look forward to the next day's turkey sandwiches. I still have happy memories of the Thanksgiving that Uncle Richard and Uncle Nick (Bob) smooshed together all their sides mostly gross out my mom and delight me.

Thanksgiving, it was always tough to get Grandma Catherine to sit

Since the whole family got together at Thanksgiving we did Christmas presents then too, and since there were so many people we did secret Santa. Uncle Kevin used to get me the best books even when he didn't draw our family. I still remember the illustrated children's Encyclopedia I pored over for years. (Who knows how much I owe to him and that one gift?)

Christmas in November

Here's one of my favorite pictures of Grandma Catherine- she looks amazing and happy. It's Richard and Elaine's family engagement party (I think) and my mom took her to buy that outfit. You can tell she knows she looks good.

 Richard and Elaine's Engagement Party, 1989

Grandma Catherine met us in Disney in 1990

After Grandma Catherine and Grandpa Jim moved from New Jersey to Cape Cod, and after Graham was was born, Thanksgivings moved to the Cape. She was overjoyed when her other three grandkids were born.

Graham born!

Grandma C, Bob, me, and Graham, Thanksgiving 1993


Mom and Rachel, Thanksgiving 1993

Grandma Catherine and Grandpa Jim were at my 8th grade, high school, and college graduations.

Day of my high school graduation 1997


After my college graduation 2001

After college, I started going to the Cape more regularly with my parents- once in the summer and once at Thanksgiving. She also met a couple of my boyfriends during this time and wasn't too impressed.

Grandma C reading to Griffin 2000


Grandma C and Griffin, Thanksgiving 2003


Thanksgiving 2004

Then Kevin and I started dating and he had family in the Cape too, so we started going even more frequently. Grandma Catherine instantly liked him when she met him. She had good taste. This is also around the time she started talking to me like an adult and I discovered she had - in Massachusetts parlance- a wicked sense of humor.

Visiting with Kevin during Christmas Week 2007

Surprise Cape Cod family bridal shower 2009


Our Irish grandmas- Ruth and Catherine 2009

Grandma Catherine had a blast at my wedding. There are pictures and video to prove it.

Shute family at cocktail hour- missing Maura but she's two pictures below

Dancing like crazy during the reception at 89 years old

Almost the whole family- set up the timer 2009

My dad looked a lot like Catherine, and after he passed away I searched for him in her face. Unlike my dad, Grandma Catherine was able to meet both the kids. She met Miranda in June, and we saw her again a few weeks ago after Thanksgiving. There was really nothing else I could have asked for, except for Graham, Rachel, and Griffin to have her a little longer.

Feeding James at 2 months old 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

With Kevin and James in 2012

Meeting Miranda 2014

June 2014

• Other posts about Grandma Catherine

Baby Phineas 2014!

Our friends Teresa and John welcomed their second son Phineas Sutton, Finn for short, this past weekend! He came a little early but why wait when you're already perfect? We can't wait to visit with him and his big brother JJ next time we go down to DC.

Chillin' Finn

Recent Visitors- Holidays 2014

Since we live on Long Island, we're not terribly convenient to our New York friends, which is why I appreciate it even more when our friends hike out here to see us. And even more lately because Miranda has been really difficult since late October and I am barely hanging on.

Sarah and Lukas came by before Thanksgiving, and though I failed to get a picture of them, let me share the "worth a thousand words" one they posted online. We are so excited for them!

Lukas and Sarah

Jon came by to visit after Thanksgiving and we ate lots of Greek food. Yum!

Jon and James practicing writing words

Jaime was here last week for a couple days. We looked at open houses in my neighborhood and I made her my now famous West African peanut soup. I am obsessed with it, and Kevin and James like it too because it tastes like peanut butter.

James and Jaime on her iPad

Cape Cod- November 2014

We were actually in Cape Cod for a few days, so here are more pictures of how we spent the time there.

Wednesday- Miranda reacquainting herself with Grandma

James gets "jello"

We got some solo time with Miranda while James slept-over Grandma's

James spent a lot of quality time with Dolores's three youngest granddaughters: 

Ellen (7), Lillian (5-almost-6), and Beatrice (2-almost-3)

Miranda is chill with Dolores

If you don't let them have swords, they just make their owns!

Second round of the tournament

On Friday, Casey and his kids came to visit and stayed through Saturday afternoon.

James (3.5), Oliver (4), Miranda (.5), and Laurel (6.5)

Friday night dinner at Dolores and Dave's with Kevin A and Monica's family

Dave, Granda, Kevin, and Miranda 

Cute and yummy turkey cupcakes!

This is like 1985 all over again

Saturday morning chaos with 6 kids (bonus: Ellen and Lillian) and a dog Toby 

Then on Saturday before we left, we took the kids to visit my grandmother Catherine in Brewster, and Miranda met my Aunt Elaine, Uncle Richard, and cousin Griffin.

Miranda and Aunt Elaine meeting