|
|
By Dan, on October 21st, 2011 I know, I know… This may be the most boring blog title in all of history. But I’m just not feeling very inspired to write much, and all I really want to do is share some recent pictures of our darling little girls. Enjoy!
 Elizabeth's playful grin  Look out, she's got a stick!  Backyard giggles  Fun and laughter  Carolyn's smiling, even though she just had a nasty chomp on her lip!  Can you say photogenic?  Squeals of laughter  Playing at the park!  Without any prompting or help, the girls put their dolls into the high chairs and strapped them in!  Carolyn has independently discovered planking! Further information on planking can be found here.
 This adorable picture was snapped moments before she threw chalk at my face.  Young artist?  I LOOOOOOOVE JUMPING!!!  Almost naptime?  New pajamas!  Hugs  Playing in the tunnel  Look at me! I'm so cute!  Believe it or not, they actually can cooperate enough to spin like this...
By Janet, on October 11th, 2011 My earliest memories of my maternal grandpa are of him in his work uniform, his Sears repair truck parked in front of their house. Grandpa could fix pretty much anything. I remember my Dad calling Grandpa on more than one occasion for some pointers on what to do about a malfunctioning appliance. And Grandpa could help – from 1,400 miles away over the phone – just by listening to a description of the problem.
 Grandpa - September 2008 I mostly grew up in the Western United States. But Grandpa and Grandma were in Wichita, so of course that meant visits with them were somewhat rare. But they made extra efforts to spend time with me. I remember my parents driving us to Wichita one summer. Then they returned home while Karen and I stayed at our grandparents for a few weeks before Grandpa & Grandma drove us home. (And I remember my aunt rode in the middle of the backseat between us the whole way to California! She must really like us to have indulged us all that way.)
I remember Wright Family reunions in various parts of the country – Grandpa and Grandma always had their popup trailer. One year the Wright reunion was in California. Grandma & Grandpa came out early, picked up Karen and me and took us to the reunion. Then Mom and Dad came up for the weekend and we went home with them.
Despite the distance between us, Grandpa and Grandma made it a point to be at some of the most significant events of my life – high school graduation, college graduation, and my wedding.
 Grandma & Grandpa - September 2008
Grandpa had a hemorrhagic stroke in June, just weeks after his wife of 66 years passed away. When he was recovered enough to be discharged from the hospital, he was very weak so instead of going home he was transferred to a nursing home. We all hoped for some time that he would regain sufficient strength and mobility to be able to return to his home – but that was not the case. I think he missed Grandma and without her much of his incentive to recover was gone. He passed away in September at the age of 90.
The last time I saw Grandpa was in November when I took a trip to Wichita over Thanksgiving. It was a hard trip. I travelled alone and was away from my girls overnight for the first time. At the time Grandma was living in the nursing home suffering from the late stages of Alzheimer’s while Grandpa was still at home. I think part of me knew it would probably be the last time I saw my grandparents even though I desperately wanted to plan another trip that would allow my girls to meet their GGma and GGpa.
I miss Grandpa and both of my Grandmas. But more important than that, I know that they are without pain and suffering now. So my sadness is only for myself, not for them. They have been restored. And I like to think that they can look down from heaven and listen to little girl giggles and laughs any time they want.
 Mom & I with Grandpa & Grandma - November 2010
By Janet, on September 10th, 2011 At breakfast time recently, I held hands with the girls so we could pray. At the end they said “amen” with me. Then they said “pray, pray, pray.” I asked if they wanted to pray and told them they could say “thank you God.” This is not an uncommon exchange and it usually ends either there or after I say another short prayer. But this day was different. This day Elizabeth repeated, “thank you, God.” These days the girls repeat everything they hear, however I think Elizabeth does have some rudimentary concept of thank you — she does say it at appropriate times at any rate. God is a much harder concept. There is much for her to learn still, but this was a great step in the right direction.
And now moving on to some of my favorite August pictures…
 At the "car" wash  Just... need... to move it... here.  Hi!  Mmm... strawberries.  Does she have a great smile, or what?  Enjoying her new "shoes"  On their way to becoming bookworms
By Janet, on August 14th, 2011 The girls are at that amazing age where they WANT to help. So often they’ll come to me arm stretched out towards me and say “Help? Help?” I’m trying to encourage that behavior! If I’ve been to the grocery store, I’ll let them put the groceries in the fridge (which means everything is on the bottom shelf) and I’ll let them hand items to me (one by one) to put in the cabinet. Or I’ll give them each an empty milk jug and we’ll walk outside and I’ll lift them up so they can put it in the recycling. I kneel on the floor and help them measure and pour and stir so we can make ice cream. I’ll hold them up and let them help me mash the potatoes for dinner. They help put the megablocks away in the box. (Of course it’s pretty tempting to then upend that full box of blocks again!) In the bath they each want a washcloth so they can wash themselves. They hand me clean laundry to fold (and it often has to be folded more than once) and then want to help put it away in the drawers. Pretty much every chore now takes longer than it used to — but it’s way more fun. Gotta take advantage of this eagerness to help while it’s there!
I had trouble finding “helping” pictures so here are some of my favorites from July that I hadn’t got around to posting yet.
 Let me help you!  Cool water on a hot summer day  Water! Water! Water!  Down? Down? Down?
 Monkey Girl  Exploring the back yard  They love manipulating their world  Simple joys  I found a stick!  In!  There!
By Janet, on August 4th, 2011
My Dad and Linda were able to visit for a few days in July. What fun it was to once again reacquaint the girls with some of their grandparents! It took a little while for the girls to warm up, but by the end of the visit they were giving hugs night-night and playing happily with Grandpa and Grandma. One day we spent some time at the park where the girls tried out their new bikes and also demonstrated their climbing prowess. I’m slowly becoming more confident of the girls’ climbing skills. They’re pretty adept – at least as long as they’re paying attention to what they’re doing. Of course, they are just barely two so they do tend to get districted. That’s what makes me nervous.
We’ve been playing Peek-A-Boo with the girls since long before they were able to really participate. But Grandpa and Grandma put a couple of new spins on the game that the girls have enjoyed. Dad picked up a plastic ring toy, looked through it, and said “I see you.” The girls wanted to see him use the other eye. Then of course they both wanted a turn. I’m not sure if they know that “I see you” is a three word sentence instead of a multi-syllable word, but it sure sounds cute when they say it. Now they’re looking through all kinds of things and saying “I see you” – the holes in the laundry basket, the shade awning supports at the park.
Later in the visit the girls noticed Linda’s wedding ring. She turned the diamond to the inside and asked “Where did it go?” The girls long ago mastered the concept of object permanence and had no trouble finding the ring. They wanted to play more, so they would reach out and turn the the diamond inside and ask “er go?” with a little shrug of the shoulders. Too cute! They’ve continued to enjoy this game. And I like playing with them, each time discussing the significance and symbolism of the ring Dan gave me. It can’t be too soon to begin instilling those lessons.
 Snuggled up with Grandpa & Grandma to watch Sesame Street  Vroom! Vroom!  Too busy to sit still for a silly ol' photo.  Three generations.
 Doing a craft with Grandma.  Giggly girl!  Grandma & Carolyn  Proud Grandpa!
|
|
Recent Comments