Beautiful Snow
As I sit here listening to my mother playing the piano live and not on a recording, the warm cozy comfort I feel being sheltered from the frigid air outside make it hard to believe where I was a week ago. We were en route to Sydney with Matt, maybe stopped at Koala Park feeding kangaroos, driving on the Pacific Highway or visiting with Matt's dad and step mom at the seaside. We have come a long way, no doubt. But the few days with my family have already made the trip worthwhile, and we still have over three weeks left!
Matt took a week off work to enjoy our presence and help with preparation for our trip. He took the girls out a few times, bought gifts for me to take, even submitted to a garden tour to discover how much I wanted done while I was gone. He helped so much that I never had a stressful moment, prior to coming in contact with United Airlines at the airport, which is to be expected. He helped us through as much as he could, until we had to go through security. This will be the longest he has ever been away from the girls, but he didn't let his sadness show in the hopes that the girls would be purely excited and travel well. Amazing daddy.
These girls are great little travelers. United sure isn't known for great service, but luckily we ran into a few kind souls who tried to help us. They may have seated the girls and I 30 rows apart and could not fix it pre-boarding, but we ended up together and made it across the ocean safely. I can't ask for much more. Genevieve is a heavy lap infant, but temporary loss of circulation saved us $2000. Both girls slept well, played well, and enjoyed the plastic packaged meals. They loved seeing the boats down in the water, the clouds, the sun set, the stars, and certainly the beautiful mountains of San Francisco as we landed. Genevieve saw "Daddy! Daddy!" every time she looked out the window, sounding so convincing she made us look. This was the first time I traveled alone with two girls, and the first time I could not sleep so I sure wished it was Daddy. Our layover In SF was great thanks to my friend Sarah who picked us up and took us out to a park and to her home for lunch. Another highlight was meeting her new husband. Sarah had more energy for the girls, pumped us up on healthy food and coffee for the jet lagged mom, and got us back to the airport on time to fly to Chicago. California weather was a great way to ease into the US.
Arriving in Chicago was a familiar shock to the system, frigid air and snow, something the girls do not know. Getting across O'hare with the girls and the luggage at 10pm, took longer than it would take most humans. But we lallygagged. Genevieve was a zombie in the stroller. Jacinta floated slowly from moving walkway to moving walkway, rolling her suitcase only because I looked so pathetic trying to drag everything else. The pretty lights overhead kept her going, as the lonely sound of the busker on the saxophone playing Silent Night in the corridor did for me. I almost kissed the shuttle driver I was so grateful for a hand after an hour of O'hare. The girls both curious, had to touch the snow before we went into the Super 8. It was quite a celebration: pizza, phone calls, bath time, stories and bed, all by 2am.
The girls slept until 11:30am. We packed up and waited in the lobby for our ride. He was a little lost so we had to go out and have a little snowball fight, the girls are in awe of this powdery ice. "Uncle Ben," Genevieve's most talked about family member, eventually found us and took us away into the arms of family. Home sweet home. Home is wherever we stay for the night, but for the girls right now home is mom and sister. With a little bit of coaching, they are learning to inhabit a small space and avoid squawking at each other. What a world of difference being out of ones' comfort zone can make. They finish each other's lullabies before bed, and have learned to share a bed. They giggle quite a bit and have improved at sharing. They have been great travel companions, we laugh a lot.
Jacinta has been singing a lot of songs with recognizable melodies, but in a strange language. She seems to be at peace amidst all the moving around. She goes nuts when she sees a squirrel. Surprisingly we have only seen four, keeping up the illusion that they are a rare species. Jacinta is quite happy to go out with my parents or stay home without me, just as long as she gets to do what she most desires. After we had tried out sledding in dad's backyard with my nephew and brother in law, my dad took her out sledding on her own. She loved it and tired out Grandpa. My dad loves the sound of her calling out, "Come on Grandpa." She cried the first time she got sprayed in the face from the sled, but I guess it was a shocking sensation.
Genevieve was downright angry at the cold. After a fifteen minutes in the snow she lost it. Although it's fun to mock the little Aussie for her lack of experience in the cold, it may have been fatigue. We spent a lot of time inside catching up with my sister and her family. The girls are smitten with their cousins, especially little Paige who is eight months old. Their Uncle Jeff was home for the weekend from his group home and likes to do puzzles. Watching Jeff do puzzles is one thing that will actually bring the girls to silence, he is amazing. Genevieve, in her obsession to make sure people "look at her," followed Jeff around his meditative rounds about six times around the stairwell demanding, "Look Uncle Jeff...boots!" Jeff needs to keep moving more than communicate verbally so he ran away while she chased him. Eventually, I made her think he had actually looked.
So now we are at my mom's house in Indiana. The girls are comfortable and in Christmas heaven. We got down all the boxes today and put up the Christmas tree. We strung popcorn, put up lights, listened to Christmas music and mom's music boxes. The girls particularly love the battery operated train that runs around a Christmas tree and plays music. There are toys everywhere, but no snow outside. Today Jacinta and I bundled up and pretended we were squirrels outside while Evie slept. Following the nap and stamping with Grandma, we enjoyed two very American delicacies: shoe shopping after 5pm and a Mexican restaurant. I am home.
Perhaps the most exciting news is that I have two new nieces, born in the last week. Both my step brother and step sister have had little girls and they are beautiful. Jacinta asked, "Mommy, why do I keep getting new cousins?" Lisa and Terry had a little girl named Natalia Katzman Wister and David and Christine had a little girl named Lucienne Aleta Whittinghill. Yesterday Mom and George took the girls and I out to Lafayette to meet little Lucy, what a treat. It was a long drive, but we found an awesome little family restaurant called the Whistle Stop en route, filled with electric trains running around tracks above your head while you dine. Meeting Lucienne was wonderful, both girls felt honored to meet such a small little being. Genevieve is still talking about, "Jacinta hold Lucy." We ask her if she got to touch her and she gets this light in her eyes, pauses, smiles and says, "Yeeeeessss."
Speaking of the devil, it is 1am and little Evie is talking in bed. She has been awake and chatting to the monitor for over thirty minutes. "Cinta touch Evie's foot. Mommy? Mommmy? Mommy? Shana? Grandma?"
Enjoy the cold. I am enjoying the cold I have missed for so long, but more so the people inside.
Peace,
Shana
Matt took a week off work to enjoy our presence and help with preparation for our trip. He took the girls out a few times, bought gifts for me to take, even submitted to a garden tour to discover how much I wanted done while I was gone. He helped so much that I never had a stressful moment, prior to coming in contact with United Airlines at the airport, which is to be expected. He helped us through as much as he could, until we had to go through security. This will be the longest he has ever been away from the girls, but he didn't let his sadness show in the hopes that the girls would be purely excited and travel well. Amazing daddy.
These girls are great little travelers. United sure isn't known for great service, but luckily we ran into a few kind souls who tried to help us. They may have seated the girls and I 30 rows apart and could not fix it pre-boarding, but we ended up together and made it across the ocean safely. I can't ask for much more. Genevieve is a heavy lap infant, but temporary loss of circulation saved us $2000. Both girls slept well, played well, and enjoyed the plastic packaged meals. They loved seeing the boats down in the water, the clouds, the sun set, the stars, and certainly the beautiful mountains of San Francisco as we landed. Genevieve saw "Daddy! Daddy!" every time she looked out the window, sounding so convincing she made us look. This was the first time I traveled alone with two girls, and the first time I could not sleep so I sure wished it was Daddy. Our layover In SF was great thanks to my friend Sarah who picked us up and took us out to a park and to her home for lunch. Another highlight was meeting her new husband. Sarah had more energy for the girls, pumped us up on healthy food and coffee for the jet lagged mom, and got us back to the airport on time to fly to Chicago. California weather was a great way to ease into the US.
Arriving in Chicago was a familiar shock to the system, frigid air and snow, something the girls do not know. Getting across O'hare with the girls and the luggage at 10pm, took longer than it would take most humans. But we lallygagged. Genevieve was a zombie in the stroller. Jacinta floated slowly from moving walkway to moving walkway, rolling her suitcase only because I looked so pathetic trying to drag everything else. The pretty lights overhead kept her going, as the lonely sound of the busker on the saxophone playing Silent Night in the corridor did for me. I almost kissed the shuttle driver I was so grateful for a hand after an hour of O'hare. The girls both curious, had to touch the snow before we went into the Super 8. It was quite a celebration: pizza, phone calls, bath time, stories and bed, all by 2am.
The girls slept until 11:30am. We packed up and waited in the lobby for our ride. He was a little lost so we had to go out and have a little snowball fight, the girls are in awe of this powdery ice. "Uncle Ben," Genevieve's most talked about family member, eventually found us and took us away into the arms of family. Home sweet home. Home is wherever we stay for the night, but for the girls right now home is mom and sister. With a little bit of coaching, they are learning to inhabit a small space and avoid squawking at each other. What a world of difference being out of ones' comfort zone can make. They finish each other's lullabies before bed, and have learned to share a bed. They giggle quite a bit and have improved at sharing. They have been great travel companions, we laugh a lot.
Jacinta has been singing a lot of songs with recognizable melodies, but in a strange language. She seems to be at peace amidst all the moving around. She goes nuts when she sees a squirrel. Surprisingly we have only seen four, keeping up the illusion that they are a rare species. Jacinta is quite happy to go out with my parents or stay home without me, just as long as she gets to do what she most desires. After we had tried out sledding in dad's backyard with my nephew and brother in law, my dad took her out sledding on her own. She loved it and tired out Grandpa. My dad loves the sound of her calling out, "Come on Grandpa." She cried the first time she got sprayed in the face from the sled, but I guess it was a shocking sensation.
Genevieve was downright angry at the cold. After a fifteen minutes in the snow she lost it. Although it's fun to mock the little Aussie for her lack of experience in the cold, it may have been fatigue. We spent a lot of time inside catching up with my sister and her family. The girls are smitten with their cousins, especially little Paige who is eight months old. Their Uncle Jeff was home for the weekend from his group home and likes to do puzzles. Watching Jeff do puzzles is one thing that will actually bring the girls to silence, he is amazing. Genevieve, in her obsession to make sure people "look at her," followed Jeff around his meditative rounds about six times around the stairwell demanding, "Look Uncle Jeff...boots!" Jeff needs to keep moving more than communicate verbally so he ran away while she chased him. Eventually, I made her think he had actually looked.
So now we are at my mom's house in Indiana. The girls are comfortable and in Christmas heaven. We got down all the boxes today and put up the Christmas tree. We strung popcorn, put up lights, listened to Christmas music and mom's music boxes. The girls particularly love the battery operated train that runs around a Christmas tree and plays music. There are toys everywhere, but no snow outside. Today Jacinta and I bundled up and pretended we were squirrels outside while Evie slept. Following the nap and stamping with Grandma, we enjoyed two very American delicacies: shoe shopping after 5pm and a Mexican restaurant. I am home.
Perhaps the most exciting news is that I have two new nieces, born in the last week. Both my step brother and step sister have had little girls and they are beautiful. Jacinta asked, "Mommy, why do I keep getting new cousins?" Lisa and Terry had a little girl named Natalia Katzman Wister and David and Christine had a little girl named Lucienne Aleta Whittinghill. Yesterday Mom and George took the girls and I out to Lafayette to meet little Lucy, what a treat. It was a long drive, but we found an awesome little family restaurant called the Whistle Stop en route, filled with electric trains running around tracks above your head while you dine. Meeting Lucienne was wonderful, both girls felt honored to meet such a small little being. Genevieve is still talking about, "Jacinta hold Lucy." We ask her if she got to touch her and she gets this light in her eyes, pauses, smiles and says, "Yeeeeessss."
Speaking of the devil, it is 1am and little Evie is talking in bed. She has been awake and chatting to the monitor for over thirty minutes. "Cinta touch Evie's foot. Mommy? Mommmy? Mommy? Shana? Grandma?"
Enjoy the cold. I am enjoying the cold I have missed for so long, but more so the people inside.
Peace,
Shana
posted by Matt & Shana & Jacinta & Genevieve Henry at
8:14 AM
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