Go Away!

So the other day I was in the kitchen with Lucy and I could have sworn she was telling me to "go away." It sounded like "go a-way." I was heating her up some chicken and she was emphatically repeating "go a-way," "go a-way," "go a-way" over and over again. Just as I was about to get offended I realized she was pointing to the microwave where I was heating up her lunch. She was trying to say "microwave" but hasn't gotten the "micr" part down yet.

Inauguration Day

I am still reeling from our experience on Tuesday in DC at the inauguration. It is something I will never forget and am so thankful that we were there to witness this monumental and historical day. Our day began at 4:00 AM and we arrived home finally (after missing our train and being re-routed to another station) at 7:00 PM. When we arrived in DC we were told that the entire mall was full and we wouldn't be able to get a spot to even see a jumbo-tron of the swearing in ceremony. We decided to walk to the end of the mall (opposite the end where the Capitol Building is located). After speed walking 26 blocks in mid-20 degree weather we were elated to discover there were plenty of spots still near a jumbo-tron by the Washington Memorial. Then we stood for almost three hours waiting for the festivities to begin. Never before have I encountered such kindness from strangers and a sense of unity amongst a crowd of a million plus. Everyone had a story and was eager to tell where they were from or how excited they were about the day. We stood next to a mother and her teenage son from Florida who knew the names of every major political figure. We stood near college students who were eager to share their opinions of the wrongdoings of the former administration and a group of middle aged friends behind us who expressed that now they have a newfound hope for employment despite encountering joblessness during these trying economic times. The heightened energy and sense of communal spirit was palpable and difficult to effectively articulate. Everyone's spirits were high and people were eager to help one another. This was demonstrated when a mother lost her 9 year old daughter for about a half hour and the crowd just spontaneously began chanting the child's name over and over again in an effort to locate her. Thankfully the child was found and a cheer erupted from the crowd when she was reunited with her mother. There was a feeling of joy that permeated the crowd. Even the secret service, police, and volunteers were all extrmemly friendly and helpful. One of the most poignant images for me of the day was when I say an elderly African American woman who was bundled up in a bright blue sleeping bag sitting in her wheelchair and being pushed by another African American woman. She resembled a glow worm all covered up so that all you could see was half of her face. I thought to myself how determined she must have been to be apart of this day and imagined her saying how she had waited her whole life for this and wasn't going to miss it for the world. It was surprising that even amidst traffic jams, streets being closed off, and bottlenecks of people that weren't moving, everyone remained calm. When we exited the mall we were elbow to elbow within a mass of thousands of people and moved less than a couple blocks in over an hour. People were cold, restless, and tired from the day and yet everyone remained calm and cooperative. I had this sense that if we could just capture and sustain this sense of shared purpose, this eagerness to serve, and concern for the common good then change might really be realized after all.

Don's Mom's 70th B-Day Party

After Christmas in Chicago we flew to Washington state to be with Don's family for New Year's. Thanks to a new portable DVD player Lucy did wonderfully on the plane ride. One of the main reasons we went out to Washington was to participate in Don's mom's 70th birthday celebration. It was such a wonderful and meaningful event. Don's sister and brother-in-law Jody and Trevor hosted a lovely open house for mom's birthday. She had lots of guests come to join in the celebration and to show her how much she is loved and cherished.
Grandma opening up her birthday gifts with Lucy and Asher nearby trying to help.
The fam (minus Susie and I). Mom and Dad are on the left, then Don's brother, Doug, Don's sisters Leslie and Jody, and Don's brothers in law Trevor and Steve.
A picture of all the Vander Griend cousins: Johann, Lucas, Simone, Jude, David, Michael, Asher, Joshua, and Lucy.
Aunt Eleanor, mom, and Aunt Donna at mom's party

Aren't these brothers a good looking bunch? Don's dad with Don's uncles Orv and Lamar.

We were able to see friends that lived in the area as well. Here is Don with his good college buddy, Trent. It was great to catch up with Trent and his wife, Jenny. They have 3 adorable kids and have settled in Lynden (the town that Don's parents live in).

Lucy had a lot of fun playing with all her cousins, but she particularly enjoyed being with Lucas. He is so sweet with her and was really tender and loving.

Little Rooster

Catching Up

One of the best parts of going to Chicago is that we get to catch up with old friends. We always have a blast with Emily and Eric. It is so fun to see how little Eleanor (almost 2 now) is growing up. Lucy and Eleanor had fun running around and playing together.
The girls were so active it took forever to get a shot where they were actually sitting still.
Emily and Eleanor

I was able to join meet up with my friends from high school for brunch. It is always great to re-connect and catch up with everyone.

During our trip I was able to attend Nikki and Nate's baby shower. Nikki (who is my brother in law Eric's sister) is due with a little boy in March. Their baby shower was lovely and a great celebration of the upcoming birth of little Teddy.

Last Chicago Christmas Shots

We had a blast putting Lucy and Milo in their adorable Christmas outfits. I just wish she could wear this dress again. It is hard to tell from the picture above, but we found the cutest little bow to match.
Last year we bought Lucy and Milo these Christmas pjs on clearance and couldn't wait to put them on Christmas morning. This picture was taken right before Milo tipped over (he was still learning to sit up at this point) and seconds before Lucy started screaming.

Milo and Lucy went for a little spin in the radio flyer Lucy received for Christmas. Lucy kept yelling "go" to have Don pull them faster!!

Airport Games

Christmas Part II

So, now that we are finally back home we will continue with our many Holiday moments (and there were many of them...). Our holiday break started with a drive from Baltimore to Chicago, and Lucy did not recover from that trip as well as we had hoped. It didn't help that a tooth was coming in as well. This is a typical shot from the first few days. Note how cute Milo looks in his vest.

Lucy wanted to open the big gift waiting for her from Grammy, Puppy, Titi and Kunkle. It turned out to be a really cool radio flyer wagon with all-terrain wheels. That wagon will get many miles of use!

At 17 months, she still didn't quite get the whole gift thing. This is her usual response - either climb in the box or enjoy the pretty paper.

I got Lucy a toddler labcoat for all her upcoming art and cooking projects. As you can tell, she wasn't pleased, as was the norm at that time.

NO!! I do not want to learn about protons and neutrons right now, Dad!