More Girl and then some cheerful stuff

Thank you, all of you, for your beautiful words about Girl.  Your facebook comments, blog comments, text messages and phone calls have been kind and comforting.

My grandmother really was an amazing woman.  Like I said, her parents died when she was very young.  She and her siblings raised each other.  She quit school in the 8th grade so that she could work to support her family.  When my uncle (her son) got his PhD,  her gift to him was to get her GED.  She could have gotten 14 PhDs though- she was that smart.  She wrote her own autobiography and had it published when she was 80.  I re-read it every couple of years.  I will have to wait a while before I read it again though.  It will be too sad.  There are many, many stories I could tell about her.  It's overwhelming.  Instead, I'll share some pictures.

When I was pregnant with Spencer we flew to Pennsylvania and spent about a week visiting family.  We had been talking about doing it for about a decade and both recognized that it wouldn't be possible once I became a mother.  This is her niece, my dad's cousin.

This is her friend, and the maid of honor from her wedding, Clara.  Their parents were on the same boat when they immigrated from Poland and Clara and Girl knew each other their entire lives.

This is her baby brother.  He was 1 when their mother died.  He was 9 years younger than her and they were the last 2 siblings.  I think the first sibling (a brother) died in the 1940's.  Girl always thought that he would outlive her, but he passed away more than 2 years ago.

With Spencer on his 2nd birthday.

Christmas 2008

Spencer's 1st birthday

Christmas 2007

Christmas Eve 2009- It was one of those funny family holiday things that you have to experience to really understand the humor.  We had given Nick a children's book and he read it outloud while holding the pipe and wearing the Santa hat.  Then everybody took turns.  Girl recited 'Twas the Night Before Christmas.  With the hat.  And the pipe.

Let's move on to some more cheerful fare.

Spencer is finally back in school.  His two and a half week spring break felt like it lasted about two months.  He's only in school for seven and a half hours a week, but we all need that break.

  Yesterday, Elliott napped for two hours, an hour of that while Spencer was at school.  It was HEAVEN.  I decided that Spencer needed a fun snack to come home to.

I made him apple, peanut butter, marshmallow smiles.

Don't let his droopy eye fool you (temporary bell's palsy?), he was delighted.

After Elliott's nap, when our house reached 80 degrees and I broke down and turned the AC on for the first time this year, Elliott wore a t-shirt and diaper combo for the first time.

I just love a baby in a t-shirt and diaper.

It's irresistible.