Wow. Time flies!
Does this kiddo look suddenly older, or is it just me?
I know Claire looks half asleep in this photo but there is something about it I like! Maybe it’s the color or the way she’s flaring her nostrils like her Daddy, heehee!
I had a few titles floating around in my head for this post -
“And the boys wore watermelon” a quip at Amanda’s color choice, she called it watermelon and I dubbed PINK (in all caps, shouted…loudly)
“For the Facebook Phobic” a poke at my friend Lauren who can’t seem to bring herself to join the fun but is desperate to see my slave labor tablescapes.
“Flower girl” Ok, not creative but Claire WAS the flower girl and seeing how she is the focus of the blog it works…right?
But alas it’s after midnight and a late afternoon coffee (bad idea!) has kept me wide awake, well that and the fact that I’m finally back online (!) after a storm knocked my phone and internet out (my lifeline!) and I have about 30 million things I want to read and catch up on.
But here I am dropping off a few favorite photos to share with you all with an untitled post because I just can’t think of anything catchy and clever this late at night.
I’m used to photographing wee-folk, but here’s a go at some wedding photography:
Aunt McManda smooching her new hubby DJ, note Claire’s headband hanging out in my bouquet – I didn’t notice that until just now!
Hello Photoshop, you are my friend indeed. I fully intend to blur out the groom’s eyes. Who kisses with their eyes open (let alone stares at the camera during a smooch?) You’re a freak DJ but I love ya anyway.
Ooh! A baby picture, how did that sneak in here? My sweet niece Jessica (or Jessa as Claire calls her) who snoozed through most of the reception.
Yes, the centerpieces were all hand made – on site, by yours truly and a few good friends of the bride. And no, we did not get much sleep the days leading up to wedding. We had to set the tables, and with a ton of dried orchids leftover, came up with the GORGEOUS place settings you can see in the second album. A stroke of genius I tell you! Look out Martha, I’m eyeing your job.
I wrote the post below when we found out Claire’s great-grandfather had few days left in life. I was torn about taking her to the wake, and eventually decided with my husband to take her. What a great decision! The deacon who spoke to us in the evening said he loved to see children at wakes because they are a symbol of life, love and family. I wish I had a tape recorder for his talk, he did a beautiful job turning a few of my handwritten notes into a well spoken eulogy.
Dan and I took Claire up to the casket after explaining that Pop had died and is no longer breathing or laughing. We told her that part of him now lived in God’s house. I avoided the whole “oh, he’s just sleeping” thing because I think that explanation can be terrifying for children. Who wants to go to “sleep” at night after seeing a loved one looking strangely still in a casket? So we opted for the truthful route gently explaining that all things live and then die.
Claire took a look into Pop’s casket said goodbye to Pop then promptly asked for her puzzles and toys and ran around the room with her cousin having a grand time. Kids are great, aren’t they? So accepting and resilient. We’ll miss Pop but I’m so happy that Claire really got to know him and will keep him alive in her memories. Not every kid gets to meet their great-grandparents, let alone spend nearly 3 happy years with one of them. I’m grateful for that indeed!
father’s day 2008, all the guys in Claire’s life
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written 12.July.2010As Claire gets older I find myself thinking more and more about choices we make as parents. Not questioning our choices per se, but realizing the magnitude of our parenting decisions and their implications for our precocious little toddler.
Case in point, death and dying. Treated as a natural part of the life cycle, I don’t think it is a scary thing for a child to witness, especially a gradual decline in the elderly.
Claire’s great-grandfather has been in failing health for the past month or two. She visits with him and has not turned off or spooked by the bi-pap machine that helped him to breathe last month. She was a little apprehensive about the “elephant mask” as we called it, but quickly warmed up to her great-grandfather, albeit a slighter and sleepier version then she remembered. We’ve brought drawings for Pop to enjoy and explained about Pop’s “boo-boo” in his lungs which makes it harder to for him to breathe. Claire’s been talking about Pop not feeling “berry good” and is obviously thinking about him throughout the day but doesn’t seem saddened or threatened by the change.
Now that he is weaned off the bi-pap machine and in the hospital being made comfortable in his last days I continue to take Claire to see him. I’m sure she can’t help but notice he’s skinnier and less and less alert but she clings to his hand and smiles at him and Pop seems to really enjoy the time with her.
There seems to be such a disconnect with death in today’s industrialized world. The animals we eat in the grocery store are shrink wrapped and unidentifiable so Claire’s only experience with death is batteries that run out of juice and the occasional mouse that Ray gets.
Of course I’m torn about the whole wake thing. Of course it provides closure but for someone so young would she understand? Should her last memories of her great-grandfather be of him alive and risk having her think dying just means “disappearing?” Or should we allow a goodbye and a viewing of his body explaining the whole spirit/body thing?
Any thoughts or advice?
We celebrated Grandma Caca’s birthday here on March 13 (she was turning 29 if you wanted to know), and while the party we were originally planning to surprise her with got rained out, we had a great little party. Linda and Sandy joined us for the weekend and Claire hammed it up as usual.
See the balloons below? Caca graciously left one behind for Claire and it is STILL happily floating around the house. Claire grabs a hold of the string and jumps along shouting, “yook, I’m froating like the balloon!”
One of my many resolutions is to post more to Claire's blog. I've been slacking a bit according to the aunties!
So here's a photo from the Christmas card session, I wound up going with the hooded sweater as you can see here. But I didn't want this photo to get lost - I just love the sun shining on her hair and the catch-lights in her eyes!
Have a happy and healthy 2009 from all of us :-)
PS - I hope YOUR resolution has something to do with commenting more on the blog, especially <ahem!> Grandma Caca who finally has a new laptop!
Ingredients for a Christmas adventure:
Oh my gosh.
So...we have no where to cook the giant 24 lb. turkey, two of the four burners in the stove are acting wacky and the root vegetables, all the appetizer ingredients and drink mixes are missing. The only side dish I ha d pre-made were mashed potatoes and lasagna.
I have to say that dinner turned out great, even if it wasn't what we planned! We had a bunch of apples and 
I intended to post these photos a bit earlier, but we've been without power and the internet (again) due to a storm. We had a lovely BBQ for father's day and Claire had all the important guys in her life present - her father, grandfather and her great-grandfather. If ever there was an excuse to get out the camera - this was it.
After a few rounds of cards with a mix of Jersey/Long Island rules (dubbed "Staten Island" rules by Laurie I believe) we all chowed down to a meal cooked on the grill. If Claire inherits these card shark genes, I think we're all in trouble.
