A Visit from Granddad

Granddad Sam came to visit us for Sebastian's birthday.  But he (Granddad, not Seb) got more than he bargained for.  A last minute change of plans meant that we had no child care during the time Mommy was supposed to be in Toronto at a conference of French historians.  So, Granddad very graciously offered to stay on a week longer and try his hand at single-parenthood.  Not sure how daunted he felt at the prospect.  As you can see, everyone's a bit exhausted by the end of a long day at the Delnore house!

But thanks to Granddad, Mommy made her conference, and Daddy was still able to meet her in Toronto for a weekend in Canada (which Mommy and Daddy claim is a country where kids are not allowed.  We're not buying it).  Here are Mommy's feet way up high over Toronto (from the CN Tower).  Mommy and Daddy claim that the CN Tower is taller than any building in New York, but we know that is a mere technicality and won't let Canada get away with it... or this no-kid policy of theirs, either.

Back on Earth.

Between Seb's birthday and Granddad's timely visit, we got lots of new boxes to play with.  There was cool stuff in the boxes, too.  But look how much fun the boxes are!

By the way, granddad did a fantastic job watching us.  We had so much fun.  And I (Eli) was so glad he was there at my end-of-year "Celebration of Montessori Life." It meant a lot.

It all meant a lot to all of us.
Thanks, again!

Legos, Legos, and more Legos... and Seb's first steps, too!

Father's Day picnic at Schenley Overlook.  Note buildings of downtown in background (on a cloudy/hazy day).
The picnic was followed by a short game of Frisbee golf on the course directly behind us.

Abe and Eli were in heaven - Lego KidsFest for Father's Day!

Not-so-minifigure

Evidently, Eli and Abe weren't the only ones in Lego heaven.

Seb made a new friend. 

Walking is overrated... that said, Seb took his first independent steps last Thursday, June 16th!!!

Sweepin' up and takin' names.  Our little charioteer. 

Frick Park to Schenley Park and Everything in Between... by Eli and Mommy

Eli dictates:


On one such day, we were walking around and we went to a park with a HuUUuuuUUuuGE tower. And there was a huuuUUUuuUUUUUUUUuuuuuuuuuge climbing and a bridge that was pretty-darn shaky and then I was shooting down the slide for the last to final thing and I was swinging and I was climbing most of the time. But other times I was just running through the tunnels and crossing the bridge with blue gates. . .
Click here for a map of Frick Park - we are talking about the Blue Slide Playground. 

Hit play for video of Eli climbing.

I love Frick Park.

Now we are talking about Schenley Park. There is a great big swing in the playground we are talking about. It can go really high. Two swings on each area and there is baby swings, toddler swings, and big-boy swings, and grown-up swings.  In fact, the grown-up swing is with the only big-boy swing. We are talking about the Anderson Playground in Schenley Park. 

The Huge City of New York City

We spent Easter weekend in New York to visit our baby friend Ila, who was being baptized.  She is our cousin and she is kee-ute.  But our trip was a bit bumpy...  This all happened like two months ago, but we're just getting around to putting up the pictures now.  As you will see, we have been a bit busy getting sick.

Eli was not feeling well when we began the trip, and things got progressively worse as we drove across Pennsylvania late Friday night.  Finally, feeling like we could not push it any further, we pulled over near Harrisburg and found the closest hotel.  One with a guest laundry, thank goodness.  Eli was so excited to go to NYC, that we pressed on the next morning and got to Brooklyn just in time for Daddy and Seb to change into their church clothes and then head to the Easter Vigil where Ila was being baptized.  After a quick dinner in Manhattan, Eli and Mommy turned in early at the hotel.  Eli slept like a log.  Seb and Daddy got back late, with Seb perfectly happy and ready for a quick transition to bed.  Worked out rather well.  All accounts are that Seb and Ila did very well on their late-night spiritual adventure.  Seb didn't get the same shower that Ila did, but both enjoyed seeing so many family members.

The next morning, Eli, feeling a bit better, was thrilled to discover that the Easter Bunny had visited our hotel room in the night.  He and Seb hunted for eggs. It was Seb's first time, but he proved quite a good hunter.

We then headed to Mary and Chris's for brunch, then into Manhattan for another Easter Egg hunt at their church.  It was lovely, well attended, and a good time was had by all.

But by the end, Eli was exhausted, so after lunch we jumped in the car and began our long drive home.  We made it by that night.  Eli spent the next few days recovering from the adventure.

We did not know it then, but it turns out Eli had strep throat.  Strep would continue to plague our household for the next six weeks, as it manifested itself in different ways throughout Eli's body, then passed to Seb, then was finally eradicated through judicious use of antibiotics.  Good riddance!

Our little trooper in his Easter finery: