A Weekend Trip

We arrived at Tom and Kelly's lake house in the Poconos Mountains of New York, driving here from Michigan on Friday. Because we are in the mountains, it is cool with sunny and beautiful days. We are happy to see Matthew who is now 4 1/2 months old, changing and developing so rapidly as only babies can do. He smiles easily, especially when his grandfather talks to him. Somehow babies always respond very well to Tony, thinking him funny, and smiling a lot.





We had two purposes in our visit here: most important, seeing Tom, Kelly, and Matthew, and second, to help with a house project. The lake house has a balcony on the upper floor that extends across the house on the lake side. The balcony had large open spaces making it very unsafe for a small child soon learning to walk. beneath it. Tom had a very good plan to make this safe for Matthew next year when he'll be walking and wanting to be outside. My job was to do the painting so you can see me here in my paint spattered jeans with the lake behind me. The wooden spokes you can see me painting were assembled, painted, and then carried up to the balcony to be attached securely onto the railings of the deck. We worked steadily on the project and got a majority of it done during the weekend. It is very satisfying to undertake a project and see it go so well.

Matthew enjoys books, listening to the rhythms of the words and curiously gazing at the pictures. There is nothing better than spending time with my grandchildren.

Friday was a beautiful early autumn day. I picked up my little friend Ann Marie at school and we spent a little time at the park. Then we went to my house to make cookies. Children are always very interested in cookie baking! After the cookies were in the oven, we spent a little time on a sewing project. I was teaching her how to sew a button on fabric. She did pretty well but was a little worried about the point of the needle. Next I showed her something that I had made for her: I had knit her a bright green sweater, which I gave her and she promptly tried on. We decided it looks really good on her plus she modeled it well.
Ann Marie is a very nice little girl and it was a pleasure to have some time with her.

Change

Just now we've had a change of seasons. A few days ago it was too hot and we needed the air conditioning. Suddenly the cooler weather is here. This morning the temperature is 46 degrees. I've started thinking about long sleeves and jackets. Trees are starting to change color and a few leaves are beginning to fall. My garden, though still full of red tomatoes and green beans, is starting to wind down. School began a couple of weeks ago. And I notice I'm feeling really good! I can work much better and think more clearly in the cooler months. I love to wear fleece. It's a great time of year!
I have a few projects in mind now. I always have a couple of knitted items on my needles. Right now it's a lace shawl and a Baby Surprise sweater. I have some sewing projects in the works. A wonderful novel I'm reading right now: A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini, about women's lives in Afghanistan. Such an excellent book, the best I've read in a long time. I'm back to exercise classes and have even joined pilates where all the students (and teacher) are half my age! From Monday through Thursday I'm seeing my students, kind and eager to learn, such a lovely group of people that I am privileged to teach. My little friend Ann Marie will visit me tomorrow and we will bake cookies together. Is there anything better than baking cookies with a child? We have a trip to New York next week to visit with Matthew and his parents plus we will get to see the other grandchildren as well in the weeks to come.
Life is good.

A Blogging Break

Without planning, I have taken a blogging break; it's been quite a while since I posted, but here I am again. A flurry of activities near the end of August came and went too quickly. There was a wonderful family get together on August 25, with barbecue overseen by Tony, the greatest day with all my children, grandchildren, and so many other very dear family members. It was a time to catch up on the latest news, admire the new baby, remark on how children had grown, and plans for the coming year. Here are some random pictures. I didn't get pictures of everyone and I'm very sorry about that! I want to experience that time over and take tons more pictures. I wish I could see everyone more often!

Time with Scarlett
I spent last weekend at Cathy and Sasha's house and enjoyed some days with Scarlett. We went to the park, went out for lunch, and did a little shopping together. Scarlett is lots of fun and a very easy child. Mostly she can play by herself, especially with her toy animals. She walks everywhere carrying as many toy animals in her hands as possible. At the park she is very cautious about trying new things. I don't have to worry too much that she will try something risky. She loves books and spends a lot of time either listening to stories read to her or else turning the pages and saying the story to herself.




Above you can see her walking around in my shoes, pretty big footsteps to fill!




Next you can see Scarlett playing at the park.




The last two pictures show Scarlett with her favorite things, animals and books.

The Baby Surprise Sweater for Scarlett

I just finished this sweater for Scarlett and presented it to her this weekend. I used cotton yarns, Fantasy Naturale and Cotton Ease, starting with a random skein of the Fantasy Naturale and then added white and orange Cotton Ease plus orange buttons. Using size 9 needles resulted in a very stretchy fabric so it should fit her for a long time to come. This is a very fun pattern to make and I've probably made 6 or 8 versions of it in the last couple of years. Hopefully it will be useful for the cool autumn days coming soon.

Matthew and the City

At three months of age, Matthew is already a city baby. He is comfortable on the tops of skyscrapers and inside subway tunnels. It is just another day for him to make an appearance on the Today Show. He knows how to navigate crowds with ease; in fact, he can even catch a nice nap right in the middle of it all. What can be next after you've already mastered the Big Apple?













More adventures of Matthew and the City can be seen here.

My Garden BountyOur weather in Michigan has been unpredictable. Several weeks brought day after day of hot humid weather with little or no rain. Everything was drying up. Finally the rains came this week. In some locations in our state there was too much rain (ask Steve and Marta!) But it was great for my garden. Every day I'm picking tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, cucumbers, Japanese eggplant, and green peppers. Above you can see just what I harvested this morning. I have been freezing green beans and tomato sauce to enjoy in the coming fall and winter months. There is nothing more delicious than a fresh picked tomato from my garden, still warm from the sun, split open, lightly salted, and eaten from the hand like an apple.

Scarlett

Here are some recent pictures of Scarlett who was 2 years old in April. Now her hair is getting a little longer and she's looking more like a little girl and less like a baby. Scarlett loves animals and books. Her mother tells me that she enjoys several books before sleeping at night and also throughout the day. The rest of the time she's playing with her animal toys.

Gabriel's Weekend Fun

Saturday morning Tony and I took Gabriel to a nearby park while his parents were shopping. Near our house is a perfect small park for a three year old (and his grandparents) to enjoy. All the play equipment is safe, exciting, and fun so Gabriel can do whatever he wants while his grandfather and I enjoy watching him.


































Saturday evening we enjoyed cooking making (and eating!)
















Gabriel also enjoys active play with Steve and Coco.

A Visit with Matthew

We just spent a weekend at Tom and Kelly's lake house near Eldred, New York enjoying a quiet weekend and spending time with our new grandson, Matthew. Above you can see the lake view from the deck of the house. Even though it is just two hours from Manhattan, the lake house is so quiet you can barely hear the sounds of civilization. Cell phones don't work. A big box store is 45 minutes away. A car's engine can barely be heard. This is the perfect spot for Tom and Kelly to reinvigorate after spending weekdays in one of the world's busiest cities.
Little Matthew at 2.5 months, is just beginning to learn all about his life. He is a very good baby and we had a delightful visit. Now he is sleeping longer at night (maybe 7 hours!) so his parents are not quite as tired as they were at first. He can smile and communicates very well with his eyes. You can tell when he thinks you're entertaining and funny. When we make cooing sounds at him, he can respond with his own coo. He is very interested in everything around him and curious. One of the highlights of his day is his bath, which Tom usually gives him. He has wide open eyes when he listens to a story. I am very happy to be his grandmother.

Gabriel Goes to the Zoo










The best time to enjoy the zoo is, in my opinion, at three years of age. When we become parents (and grandparents), we can again enjoy many activities through a child's eyes. Marta says, explaining these pictures,

"Last Saturday we went
to Deer Forest... a very nice
place where you can see,
meet, and feed animals... we
had the best time. Here
I put some pictures."

Dear Matthew,

How nice is to go to Yoga lessons... I love it too! Although I am sure you
will be a little better than me.... Since you are so flexible at this age!

New York happy hour???? You are a very lucky baby..... I was pretty old
the first time I said "I am going to New York City"....This is sooooooo much
fun.....you, baby Matthew, in the "real" New York City !!!!!

Your cousin Gabriel asks about you all the time, he wants to meet you,
although he thinks he will be able to play with you with his trucks... Ha
ha, I will tell him there is another game that you love the most.... To
roll
over!

Please, have fun with mom in NY and be patient... I am sure that many
"loud"
women are doing to say 1,000,000 times how cute you are and they will kiss
you and hug you and squeeze you.... ;-)

We also love you and can't wait to see you in August.

Lot's of love,
Villanuevas of Stevensville (Coco included)

A Message from Matthew, age 2.5 months

Hey everyone,
Yesterday I found my left hand. I like to suck on my
thumb when my hand is in a fist. It's a little
difficult, sometimes I can get my thumb and pointer
finger in my mouth.
I went to my first yoga class yesterday. Mommy was
laying down in class and I rolled over, off the pillow
I was laying on and onto the floor. I kind of
surprised Mom but she was happy that I rolled over.
There were 9 other babies in the room and at times
there were about 4 babies crying all at once. I was
pretty good during the class since I found my hand but
I wanted my Mommy to pick me up a few times and she
did some poses with me.
Tonight Mommy and I are going into New York City to a
happy hour. I'm going to meet all of Mommy's work
friends and I'm so excited.
My Mommy attached a picture of me yesterday with my
hand in my mouth and one of Daddy and me when he got
home from work.
I miss you and love you!
Matthew