3 Months

Since we last spoke, it snowed in Seattle- twice. Liliana rolled over- more than twice- I think we're up to seven or eight times now. She took a bath and dunked her head under the water. More family came to meet her, and more friends. I'm not sure if its how quickly Liliana passes milestones, but its been a very long and amazing 3 months. This installment includes the first shots of Logan and Liliana really getting to play together. There's pictures of Liliana in a very special gown sewn by her namesake Grandma Neva (We have heard that this gown was sewn from seven antique linen pillow cases!) Tonight she laughed- I mean really laughed- for the first time. Every day brings new richness, new marvels, and new ordinary moments, and they're all wonderful. Enjoy the pictures!

love. marita, ian, and liliana

Week 11 - Nana!

We all waited anxiously for this birth and on Dec. 27th the waiting was over. A little Princess was born and the world became a better place. I watched her grow and develop from pictures and on March 6th I got to meet her, hold her in my arms, and my heart melted- My Great Grand Daughter. She looked at me seriously for a while and then. . . a big smile saying you are welcome, great grandma- and this is what Heaven is all about. It is hard for me to describe how I felt in those first moments holding her.....I was waiting a long time for this. I will try to describe that unforgettable weekend spent in Seattle. Marita and Ian, Rachael (Marita's sister), her husband Mike, and their adorable happy little boy Logan live in an environment only to be admired and envied. Not many family members can create this warm and secure place for children to grow unless they are as compatable and respectful as they are towards each other. Logan at 10 months is a very happy and funny little boy who runs all over the place giving his parents a work out, and in not so far distance Liliana will follow suit. I am confident she will grow up to be a strong, independent women given the kind of parents and grand parents she has. Good role models, but to me and in my heart she is always going to be my little Princess. Marita, Ian, Rachael and Mike I want to thank you for your kind hospitality. Special thanks to you Ian and Marita for arranging that surprise brunch which made me feel special and loved, and this whole experience unforgetable. I apologize for nagging you about the heat in the house, but at my age I feel more cold then you guys. It is a senior thing. One more thing, the house, one word fantastic. Beautiful as it is and lots of potencial if you need change. Take care of each other and my little princess and keep up the good work. I love you all very much.

Nana

10 Weeks- Words from Grandma Alice

Hi everyone, Ian and Marita have instituted a visitor’s toll: if you visit them in Seattle, you have to offer up a guest blog entry. Let me assure you: it is the smallest of fees for the greatest of experiences. So here goes a blog from Gram-Alice:

I returned from Seattle on March 3rd and have been thinking a lot about my visit. It was especially wonderful for being so ordinary: I camped in the guest room, went to a Frisbee game, helped with the dishes, shopped at the mall, made my own coffee, sat in on Marita’s book club meeting. More than usual, I had the chance to be part of Ian and Marita’s everyday lives. As many of you know, they have a unique and, I think, enviable way of living. They live in a big, friendly, comfortable and welcoming house with Marita's sister Rachael and brother-in-law Mike. From what I could see, they share responsibilities and purchases and household chores, not in a self conscious, ideological, split-down-the-middle with everyone doing their exact fair share way, but more through an easygoing, generous and reciprocal sense of support. And, it is not that they are all just like each other---their styles and friends and priorities are different. But they each seem to have simply moved over a little to make room for one another's values and preferences, with love being the single constant. It is truly a loving household. Even as a guest arriving at the tail end of a long string of weekend visitors, I felt embraced by the easy generosity of my hosts and their warm home.
Then there are the children. Rachael and Mike’s boy Logan is the funniest, flirtiest, smartest, most curious little guy on the planet. He makes you forget that he’s ten months old: he just gets everything so immediately, you can see the gears turning as he figures out every single thing he comes upon. And about Liliana—what can I say? I am unabashedly astounded by the powerful feelings I have for my grandchild. Many new grandparents "warned" me, but I still got blindsided. Now, some people (ahem, my children) won’t believe this, but despite my tendency to cry easily and watch “Sound of Music” reruns, I actually think of myself as someone who doesn't go too overboard. Well, I am overboard and drowning in love. Don't save me! Liliana is amazing, a peaceful and contented baby whose default mode is joyful. She has a way of solemnly and thoroughly scanning your face as if reading the fine print; and then suddenly, sunshine! Her happy smile just lights you up, and captures your heart. She is a delight. And Ian and Marita are incredible parents. They are so natural and easygoing in the way they care for Liliana, and so obviously in love with her. When I see them leaning down together to tend to their baby girl, I feel the presence of all the generations--the Grunfelds and Neustadts, the Gallants and Shechters, all the elders of Marita’s mighty family lines—all gathered to have a peek at this child that their lives conspired to create, and to offer their many blessings.

Liliana is 2 months old!

Okay people, here are the newest set of pictures just a bit shy of her 2 month birthday. Notice how much closer in size Liliana is to her sock monkey already! Also, don't be confused about the change in pattern on her special monthly picture outfit . . . It's reversable!! We thought switching from one pattern to the other would be a fun way to distinguish her growth from month to month. We are also trying to post some videos (wish us luck)!

Also notice the pictures of her with her Aunty Meredith who visited us last weekend. We took Liliana on her first hike! It did turn out to be more of a walk in the snow, but it was still her introduction to the beauty of the outdoors. Plus, I guess it was her first true introduction to snow, as well. We also went on a road trip to Tacoma to take Meredith to Wintergrass. It is one of the big bluegrass festivals in Northwest. We had a lovely time listening to the many jam sessions in the lobby of the hotel. We are sure Liliana will be a musician like her daddy. Ian even bought his first banjo while we were there thanks to an early birthday present from his parents. So, Liliana will certainly be surrounded by music in her life. Anyway, thanks for visiting us Aunty Mer . . . we miss you already!

The nest blog will of course be written by Grandma Alice who has been visiting this past weekend! We hope you are all still enjoying Liliana's newest adventures!

Liliana Week 8

Hello there, how are ya? I’d like to take a minute to talk with you about my visit, with my travel companions, Gabe & Joanna. I could start by telling you about all the things we did here. Like visiting the Locks, or staying up playing Scattergories & what “elusive bus” means. I could tell ya jokes that you wouldn’t get, cause ya weren’t here, like “elusive bus”. Or about great pizza in Seattle (that’s right… I said it, in Seattle!) Maybe we could talk about pork chops & its importance. Or I could share with you how wonderful our family dinners were over pasta, sausage, salad bread & laughter. I could write about our visit to Pikes Place, & our walks around town. And sure I could thank Ian, Marita, Mike, Rachael & Logan for puttin us up in their great new home, feeding us & showin us around.

Or perhaps you’d like to know a about the newest member here, Liliana. Well, look, we could get into how incredibly beautiful she is, which is true. Or how sweet she gets, true too. Or maybe ya were hoping to read about how awesome it is to hear her gurgle, & coo & giggle & wriggle around in our arms. Or how bout those strange, adorable, funny faces she makes when she’s sleeping & awake; all true. Maybe you’re hoping to hear about how that she’s so small that she fits right in between your hand and bi-cep, or how she can look at you so seriously & it still melts your heart.
Well sure, I could talk about that all day, but me, I’d like to talk about something else, I’d like to talk about…me. Ok, so I ain’t one of them fancy pediatricians, but I know a thing or two about babies. I mean I saw “3 men & a baby”. So I expect a few things; cute, sure, small, ok, bald, perhaps. But what I never expected was this…

This child cried… that’s right, I mean really, really cried, like a good ol’ fashion, I’m a baby & I got somethin’ to cry about cry… ONCE! If ya count those 15 minutes on the last night right before she was about to be fed & then to bed. That’s right, ONCE! 1 time in all our 5 days here. Who’s ever heard of such a thing? Oh & when she wasn’t crying, which was always, she was doin’ all that other jazz I wrote about above. Unbelievable! I mean here I come, all the way across the country to make sure that my best friends were having a helluva time with their new baby girl & what do I find? Sweetness, the most, bestest, sweetest baby I’d ever seen! Didn’t seem real to me I tell ya! And to make matters worse, Liliana’s cousin, young Logan is… The happiest 10 month old in the universe. Nothing could make this kid unhappy. Bonk his head on the floor “Yeah”, really hungry for food “Whoopee!”, time to go to sleep “Hurrah!”, play with mommy & daddy “Weee” (ok, well that one makes some sense). All I saw was Logan walkin about, arms stretched proudly to the sky, grin from ear to ear, making the happiest sounds. Everything was always fun with him. Especially his adoration of his baby cousin. You remember her, Liliana, the completely content one.

I mean what’s going on in this world where people as caring & loving as Ian & Marita have such support & love from people like Mike & Rachael & Logan… and not 1 day of tears. Not even a half hour of them. I thought babies cry! What’s the point of calling someone a “crybaby” any more if Liliana’s around to contradict it!

Anyway, as you can probably tell by now, I’m thoroughly distraught. A perfectly good trip, ruined by happy babies who only know to laugh, sleep, play & never cry. I believe it’s time we started taking a closer look at these parents who are caring for these kids to see what exactly what it is they are doing here.

I’ll tell ya, it was a “helluva’ trip we were havin’, huh!” and it was fantastic.

Thanks & love ya lots, Jakes, Gabe & Joanna.

Liliana Week 7

Uncle Dan, here - guest blogging after visiting Seattle, in the interests of bringing a little objectivity to this site, lest anyone think Ian and Marita are being less than impartial in their unfailing adoration of Liliana.

So, objectively speaking... she's totally amazing. And how shall we define amazing? Well, amazing in that she managed to sleep like a rock through three separate restaurants, the Washington State Democratic caucuses, and the entirety of a screening of Pootie Tang (for which I seriously envy her). Amazing in that I got to witness her inaugural wearing of pants, if only because some judicious padding ensured that said pants would stay on (and some judicious pooping ensured that said pants were a short-lived experience). Amazing in that she managed to spit-up with impeccable comic timing all weekend. And especially amazing when she smiles. Not just because it's a beautiful smile, but because her typical waking hours seem like a never-ending restivestate, clawing and fidgeting for better comprehension, or endlessly trying to discover her comfort-zone. I realize this is all normal behavior, but when she breaks character in the middle of all that,with one of those expressions of unbridled glee that only babies can pull off... I trust you've all seen the pictures. I'll testify hereand now that they don't do her justice. And that's a completely objective observation, of course.

Overall, a splendid weekend: everyone paid a visit to Liliana's new pediatrician, who seems to be a big hit. And Lily herself appears happily preoccupied with the assortment of vibrating chairs that populate the house. Ian and Marita are doing a fabulous job, with some able assists from Rachel, Mike and Logan. One cautionary note: rhyming Liliana's name with "banana," no matter how unintentional, appears to be a bit of a touchy subject in the household (correct pronunciation rhymes with "Obama"). But for now, I don't think she minds so much.

Watching Baby: Weeks 5 & 6

Our little Liliana is growing each day. She is truly a pleasure. She is still sleeping well and doesn't cry very often--though, honestly, her parents still don't really like hearing her cry at all. It is such an amazing thing to see the developmental growth of such a little girl. She is no longer wearing her newborn disposable daipers. She fits into her small FuzziBunz washable daipers, although we do have to cross it over to button it tighter around the waist. She's been growing, but she is still a skinny little thing. Even though the FuzziBunz help her fill out her clothes she is actually quickly growing out of her newborn outfits! We love that Liliana is even more awake and aware of things day by day. She has been focusing not only on black, red, and white, but all bright colors on her play mats, toys, and general surroundings. Our favorite, of course, is when she focuses on our faces. It is simply mesmerizing to have your daughter staring back at you--especially when you smile down at her and she smiles back! Yes, Liliana has learned to return our smiles. It brings us the most incredible happiness. We have tried to capture the smiles on camera, but none seem to capture the true thing. This picture at least captures her enthusiasm. You will all just have to visit us to experience her personality in the flesh. We think it might just melt your heart--it melts our everyday, multiple times over. Can you tell we love being parents?