Marshall Update

Marshall is quite the talker these days. He is much more intelligible and very funny. When we drive around a corner, he'll chirp from the backseat, "whoa, mama." Some pronunciations are great: hello is "hey-yo," balloon is "baboon," and grandma is "bamma." He loves singing, "E I E I O" and randomly calling out, "wee, wee home" (referencing "this little piggy..."). His new favorite food is zucchini bread (which he calls "chini bed"). Thank goodness he's getting a vegetable in some way! We're working on learning colors and so far, everything is yellow ("yay-yo").

A surprisingly tolerant Riley.

Stopping to smell Bamma's roses in Cayucos.
Enjoying a visit with Blazej relatives (Alan, Grandpa, Stan, Nita, Tom, Doreen).
Hang on!

Capitola Camping

Long ago, my book club planned a family camping trip for September. Only three families ended up going, but we had a great time! Marshall thought the tent was novel. We enjoyed campfire time, beach time, a visit to a park, and a bike ride.

Chris and Marshall in the tent.

At Capitola beach.
With Donovan ("Donny") at the park.
Donovan, Chris, and Marshall trekking between campsites.

Sorrowful Family News

Sadly, Chris' sister, Candy, passed away on October 1. She was 62 years old. Her health had been failing for some time, but she had remained optimistic that she would get better. Unfortunately, at the end of September, she took a rapid turn for the worse. Chris and his siblings were able to be with her at the hospital, spending Candy's last couple days all together. Candy was remembered at a memorial party at Patty’s house on October 4. The outpouring of support for Chris, Patty, and Chet was uplifting. Thank you to all of you who reached out to Chris. Your kind words were so thoughtful.

"Cary Pider"

Years ago, a friend's young daughter coined the phrase "cary pider" during a scary spider encounter. I was reminded of this the other night when Marshall was in the tub and I saw a spider on top of the bathroom door. I got a tissue to dispatch the spider but I missed and the live spider fell on me, then the floor, and continued to scamper around. I am not a spider fan, so I let out a loud yelp and did a frightened little dance before successfully getting the spider. Marshall thought this whole display was HILARIOUS. Not only could he not stop laughing (the big, fun, toddler belly laugh), he spent the remainder of his bath imitating my yelp. I guess this is a good thing...I think my spider phobia is silly and I don't really want him to be "cared" of "piders."

Ciao, Utah!

This last weekend my friend, Claire, and I met for a girl's weekend in Park City, Utah. Claire lives near Chicago so Park City was our attempt at middle ground. We stayed at The Canyon's Resort, which was great! It was off-season so not crowded and the weather was perfect. We went on a hike, got massages and facials, and ate WAY too much yummy food. Claire has a two year old son so we had fun comparing toddler notes. Claire and I met in Rome 13 years ago and we've gotten to see each other approximately every 4 years since. We email weekly to keep in touch but it was so nice to visit in person! We hope to make this an annual event so we don't have to wait multiple years to see each other again.

Grandparents

Last week, Marshall and I spent a few days down south visiting my parents and grandparents. It was a quick, but fun, trip. We ate lots of good food and enjoyed an afternoon at the beach.

Trip to Orange

This last weekend we made the journey south for our niece's, Chelsea, wedding. Marshall and I drove down Friday morning with Kathryn and MABs and Chris drove down Friday night after work. Marshall was a trooper in the car...hardly any fussing on the 7 hour trip. He loved staying in a hotel. He was fascinated by the glass elevator and the indoor pool. The wedding on Saturday was great. Chelsea was a beautiful bride and we had a lot of fun at the reception. On Sunday, we drove to the canyon to see the Browns. MABs has quite the set up with her travel trailer and above ground pool. We played in the pool, BBQ'd, and camped in a tent (another first for Marshall). We drove home on Monday and again, Marshall was amazing in the car. Oddly, he hardly slept and spent most of the trip chatting. He loved to yell "freeway" (sounds like "fee-wee") and "tunnel" (sounds like "tunuh"). He also liked all the big trucks on I-5. "VROOM, VROOM."

Kathryn and MABs delivering us to our hotel

Marshall is so helpful!
Kevin, Chelsea, Chris, Marshall, Emily & Patty
Marshall and his cousin Franky
Swimming with Tom, Haley and Taylor