The Revolving Door Begins To Spin

The revolving door of our home is one for friends and family.  Two weekends ago, one of my closest friends, Pat, came to visit.  He had never met the girls before.  I've known Pat for almost 15 years.  I'm so thankful that an introduction was finally made, though I'm completely disappointed that I didn't take a single picture of him with the girls.  Next trip.

This most recent weekend, Uncle Buddy and Aunt Carolee drove up from Springfield to get their triplet fix.  You can't really blame them though, can you?  I'd drive three hours to see these little ladies.

One of the benefits of having moved to Chicago was to be closer to some of the family from whom we used to be far away.  When you're within a reasonable drive, why shouldn't you make time to see each other?

It's unfortunate that it takes something so drastic to make you remember what's important sometimes, but Sharon's (Meg's mom) passing reminded me how fleeting life can be and how much we really need to cherish the moments we have with our loved ones.

I, for one, have not always been the best at making time for family.  In my youth (yes, I classify myself as getting older now), time was abundant and the thought of not having time with the people for whom I cared so deeply, never crossed my mind.  I was selfish with my time.  Time goes on forever.  There will always be another tomorrow, right?  At least that's what I used to tell myself.

Everyone is getting older, including us.  I had never been to a funeral in my life and within the last 18 months, I've been to three.  I'm not trying to set any records here, but I am realizing every day that this is a trend I do not like, yet can't avoid, as much as I'd like to.  There's no putting your head in the sand and pretending like your loved ones will always be on the other end of the phone when you want to catch up.

I'm not saying anything that hasn't been said before.  Nor am I unique in coming to this realization after the death of a loved one.  For me and, probably, for all who have figured this out before me, it is profound.  But it shouldn't be.  We should all be so lucky to have family in our lives and even more lucky to remember how incredible a gift it is before it's gone.

Well, this post took a completely different track than what I set out to write about, but it's worth sharing if it makes someone call a parent, a grandparent, an aunt, an uncle, a child, or a friend just to say "hello" and catch up for five minutes.

This weekend, my mom comes to town.  For now though, enjoy some pics of the girls with Uncle Buddy, Aunt Carolee, and some cool Chicago weather!

Buddy and Carolee, thank you for making time to come see us.  You're welcome back any time!

Uncle Buddy, getting in a late afternoon workout


Sophie, toughing it out in the cold


Izzy, kicking back and enjoying the free ride


Maddy, making sure that no one was following us to the park


She's always so curious about what everyone else is doing




Uncle Buddy, setting up the audience at the bottom of the slide


Aunt Carolee, using an innocent toddler to warm up


Uncle Buddy, playing the role of backstop


Even the Chicago wind can't keep us locked up inside


Sophie, excited to be back in our warm house




Wow, she's getting big!




Maddy smiles just like me--eyes squinched and mouth open :)


Sophie, practicing her kisses on her snuggly (she kisses now!)


Izzy, lounging and enjoying the sun


There's a new hairdo every day, though the exact style depends on the number of rumbles and tumbles incurred each day


Maddy likes to meditate...with her tongue out, of course


Izzy, doing her best Sophie impression




I think what Sophie meant to say was, "Oh S#!T"




In case you're wondering, her shirt reads, "My grandma is friends with Santa."  Why yes she is!


"My parents don't feed me, so I have to eat this thumb."




Izzy, working on her color identification (who am I kidding? she was just playing with the balls)


Sophie, working on her sharing with Uncle Buddy


I'm 99% sure she was getting tickled


Sometimes, I don't think I'd be able to pry that finger out of her mouth if tried.  Why would I though?  She's so stinkin' cute!


Maddy, getting on some UB time


While Izzy has definitely outgrown the jumperoo, she sometimes enjoys a stroll (and jump) down memory lane.  Look at her fly!


Izzy, cuddling up to Aunt Carolee


Love it when this girls cracks up!


Ok, so one picture of her flying wasn't enough :)


I could stare at that face all day.  Wait, I do.


Who doesn't want to see her crack up twice?

No More Monkeying Around

Saturday marked the end of this season's Monkeys in Motion class--a place to where we could escape on Saturday mornings and where the girls could run around like crazy and tire themselves out.  You could always count on at least one other kid showing up with a runny nose, just waiting for your kids to go play on the toy that he just sneezed all over.   I will miss that.

What do we do now?  There's always Cafe N Play.  We'll see.  Honestly, we're not too worried.  We'll have guests in town every weekend from this past one to the second weekend in January.  At that time, a new Monkeys in Motion class will begin and there will be new germs to discover.  The girls can't wait!

Sadly, we've been away for over a month. Not away from our home or our lives, but from the blogosphere.  It's not that I haven't been wanting to write.  In fact, I have a month's worth of photos to share.  We've just been busy.  Busier than I think our family has ever been.

It all started with that damn RSV again.  It hit the girls during the second week of November.  Then, on a much more serious and sad note, Meg's mom, Sharon passed away.  I have an entire blog post that I'll be writing in hopes of celebrating her life.  I want to make sure that when my girls read these posts later, they'll at least get a glimpse of who their grandmother was and have photos to help fill the enormous void that Sharon's passing will inevitably be creating.  Thanksgiving crept up on us as soon as we returned from Erie.  Then I had a big proposal due at work.

Like I said, there are a ton of photos and I'm going to make every effort possible to get caught up this week with older posts.  So, get your popcorn ready and pull up a chair.  Cute pictures await you!

Izzy, deciding that being in the middle of the tube is much more fun than climbing out on either end.


Sophie, scoping out the room for the best play station!


Izzy, working up the courage to climb the stairs


Sophie, telling me with her eyes, "Hey dad!  We need one of these trampolines at home!"


Izzy, being entertained by the other cutest lady in the room




Maddy, running to tackle dad (yes, she's walking pretty fast these days)


Talk about fast, Sophie can run circles around the other girls right now




Izzy, getting a little help from mom






Sophie, yelling out her warning cry for all other kids who might be at the bottom of the slide




Sophie, getting ready to put some static in her hair


Maddy, doing her part in the germ sharing ritual




Maddy, getting ready for the fastest ride of her relatively short life.  It's almost like National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation where they slick up their sleds with that cooking spray.  This thing was fast!


Yes, that wet mark is my daughter's slobber, being left for the next unassuming toddler.