Grandma Liz

We're so sad to share the news that Matt's Mom passed away last week. It has been such a shock. She was such a fun, vibrant, smart, and purposeful person. She really was one of those people who could accomplish whatever she set her mind to.

I will truly miss her friendship. Every time we had a chance to sit down and talk I would come away with a little bit of wisdom, or a wider perspective on life. I remember when Eloise and Owen were very little (not so long ago) and it seemed like I would never catch up on my sleep, Liz told me how when her kids were little she got about 5 hours of sleep a night for "a lot of years". But then, she told me with a big smile, as time passes eventually you get more sleep until one day you will get to sleep in as late as you want every single day. What perfect words of encouragement for a sleep deprived new mama!

She was a top tier Grandma to Eloise and Owen (and Charlie, Willie, Rosie, Lizzie and Arabella). She liked to teach Eloise funny little jokes, give her pretty dresses and really fun toys. She had a special knack for tickling and cuddling with Owen and she was an expert at picking out the coolest toy trucks.

We all miss her so much. Eloise said "I'm really sad about Grandma Liz, but Papa is the saddest because she is his Mama."

Happy Birthday Owen!

I can't believe Owen is already two! Hooray Owen!
Owen has recently started coming up to me and out of the blue he will say "Owen feels happy." This seems to describe his personality perfectly. He's such an easy going and fun loving little dude. Of course, every now and then he goes into what Eloise and I call "Turkey mode", but for the most part he's just a fun, curious, amiable, silly, energetic big boy.
Happy Birthday Owen, we love you!

Goings on

I have to give credit for this photo of Eloise at school to her teachers (Thank you Viola, Michele and Norma!). It's fun to get a peek into Eloise's time away from home and see the elegant tea parties she has been hosting. I haven't gotten around to getting my own pictures off the camera for awhile, so it's extra nice to have this one from school to share.

It's been a busy month with Matt making a few trips to Southern California to visit Grandma Liz who has been in the hospital. We're all hoping she will get better soon. The kids miss their Papa like crazy when he's gone and are so excited to see him every time he comes home.

In the past couple of weeks Eloise has wrapped up swimming lessons for the summer - she now can float on her front and her back! Owen did not like the toddler swimming class too much. Eloise is having much more success giving him swimming lessons in the bathtub.

Eloise has also been having a blast with music lessons with Verna (our across the street neighbor). She's been making up her own rhythms, learning the difference between treble and bass, can identify a few notes on the keyboard (C, E and F so far), and has even made a multi-track recording of a song with Verna (track #1 = singing, track #2 = music). I'll try to spend a little time trying to figure out how to upload the song so you can hear it.

Coming Soon: Owen's Birthday!

amtrak train!

I've been wanting to take the kids for a ride on the train for a long time now. We finally did it yesterday... got on at the Berkeley station and got off at Jack London Square (two stops). We had an hour and a half to kill until the next train back to Berkeley. What do you think we found to do? Eat ice cream cones, that's what!