Lucy, 4 Years Old

I might not have done the best job of keeping track of everything that happened this past year, but I have no doubt that this one will go down in history as one with incredible highs and lows. This past year you became a big sister and, after waiting so patiently for his arrival, you were the picture of grace when you learned that James was born, shouting in the middle of the hallway of your school, "he's here, he's here, I can't believe it". And when you saw him for the first time you realized what all of the fuss was about and your heart was so full of love and pride. I saw it all and made a memory which is tucked away in the not-so-far recesses of my brain and when I need to smile I bring it back and I feel good.


You also lost a grandparent this year and, though I worried a great deal about how to act and what to say, you made my job easy because it seemed as if you understood what they say about what awaits us upon death. You were not disturbed by my tears and you were sympathetic about my broken heart. You reminded me about what is high up in the sky and the angels and the beauty of heaven and I felt comforted. I know you will remember your grandfather, not so much because you remember things that happened to you when you were eighteen months old, but because you were his favorite person in the world and I am certain that he left his mark. I am looking forward to telling you about the time you spent together and explaining the hundreds of pictures I have of you next to him. There is a beautiful story in each one.


Despite the deep swings and having to reckon with life being so bittersweet, you continued to grow and thrive and captivate me. A few times over this past year I was struck with the feeling that you grew. I would look away and then look back and your legs seemed longer and suddenly your p.j.'s didn't fit and I had to let the hem out of your dresses and you needed a haircut. I started to hear your opinions more, about how you don't like peanut butter and how orange really isn't your favorite color anymore and why I should buy Oxy Clean (because it gets your stains out). The most annoying thing you started doing this year is making plans with your friends without informing either me or your friends' parents. Occasionally your father or I would show up at school and Aleaya and/or Devyln would be standing next to you, bag in hand, ready to come over. When we explained that we hadn't talked to their parents and it just 'didn't quite work that way' you flipped out. In the middle of your school. I think you sort of understand the concept of a play date now, barely.

You are still clumsy with crayons and have trouble writing your name, but you have small fingers and your father and I do not do enough to help improve your fine motor skills. We should spend more time making you color, write letters, use stickers, string beads and perform whatever other tasks will help you get better control and coordination of your hands. I know you would benefit if we turned the t.v. off more frequently but, honestly, after a long, hot day at camp or school I can understand that you want to veg out and watch some old Loony Tunes, who wouldn't.


So you haven't mastered writing your name yet, you have learned how to do quite a few things. You can jump, ride your bike and your scooter (okay, sort of) and you have even started to climb on furniture. I can tell you are nervous about it, but I have seen you jump from sofa to table to bed and back. You also learned to love the beach this year. While we were in Florida you ran in the sand, built sandcastles and searched for crabs and seashells. You love to swim and, at last, can do so with a bit of confidence, jumping into the pool unassisted and swimming from side to side.


You have a big imagination and love to create stories. You recently figured out that if you don't like the way your 'story' is playing out, you can stop and start all over with a new, more exciting theme. This happens most frequently when I am losing interest in whatever 'story' I am caught in the middle of. I usually end up having to play the role of the school teacher or the family pet and, I promise, it gets old. You still love dress-up and princesses and books and movies. You still suck your thumb and sleep with your bun-bun and want to talk about your friends and the day's events before you drift off to sleep and every now and then when this happens you are in my arms, reminding me of the very first time you were there and how I almost couldn't take how heavy me heart was when I finally understood what my incredible love for you meant.

Happy Birthday Baby Girl, I love you.

Pick A Hand

In her wildest, almost-four-year-old dreams she never imagined this was what mom-mom was talking about when she offered to take her to get a manicure:

Summertime In Thibodaux

It was a rare weekend of very few obligations so we decided to spend it in Thibodaux. Despite the incredibly high temperature, there was a nice breeze and we stayed cool by spending hours in the pool. We literally had to pull La Luz from the pool. I think she would have spent the entire weekend swimming if we allowed it. By the end of the weekend, and after much patience on Molly's part, La Luz was swimming the length of the pool (with floaties, of course) and jumping in without anyone there to catch her. She has improved dramatically since last summer, so I suppose the over-priced swimming lessons paid-off.

There is no doubt that it was a weekend well-spent, but it was not without a fair amount of heavy-heartedness. The last time we were out there was Easter weekend. I remember staring in disbelief as Pop rolled around on the floor with James, both of them laughing. It seems like yesterday and, yet, like ages ago. I missed him...probably a bit too much, but I felt comforted by the familiar sounds he loved and by the smell of the night blooming jasmine right outside of our door. I wish there was an easier way to do these things, to go through these experiences knowing that there will be a hole there. The only way to do it is just that, to do it, but I have to brace myself pretty hard and be ready for tears and for feeling, for the hundredth time, like the wind was knocked out me. I know that I have to do these things and it will only get better (or different or just less painful) if I continue to do them and not just curl up in a ball and wish it all away (which is an occasional temptation but not a realistic decision considering my personality type). At any rate, one down, one hundred million to go...or something like that.

La Luz and James provided a good distraction, especially James who happened to have a somewhat fussy weekend. I think the rice cereal is interfering with his usually efficient digestive system. He managed a little fun though - cracking up as we entertained him with ridiculous baby babble and facial contortions that would've frightened any onlookers - and enjoyed some nice strolls with mom-mom.

I am not particularly well-rested after the weekend but I feel a little bit, just the tiniest, eensiest bit, more at ease.

Here are some shots from the weekend. I played around with the zoom lens a bit. I need to use it more often. The picture clarity smokes the kit lens.

5 Months

Oh yeah, almost an entire 1/2 year since he was born. How is that possible?

Yum?

On the eve of the celebration of James' 5th month we opened up the rice cereal. He has had some intestinal issues, and has been spitting up more than usual, so we reached a consensus - it was time to introduce cereal and cut back on the bottles.

The rice cereal was introduced without much fanfare. It was after dinner, during one of the most chaotic hours in our house, so there were plenty of distractions. I wouldn't say that James particularly enjoyed his first experience with food, but it wasn't a total bust either. Despite basically being force-fed by La Luz and feeling sleepy and full already after an evening bottle, James humored us and gagged down a few bites.

First bite:


La Luz steps in to help:


Saving some for later:



It feels weird to post this story and know that Pop won't read it. He always got a kick out of the very mundane goings on in our house and I appreciated that so much. He had a way of making me feel like everything we do is extra-special, at least to him. I am going to miss that feeling.

Mr Richmond Minor Eustis 1945 - 2009

I never wrote about his battle with cancer becuase he was modest and would've been embarrased by the attention. Now that I can write about it I don't want to because I am mostly filled with heartache. I haven't yet begun to figure out what life is going to be like without him in it.

What follows is a lovely obiturary written by my brother, Richmond. It captures the essence of Pop perfectly.



EUSTIS Richmond Minor Eustis, a lawyer, died Saturday in his home in New Orleans after surviving cancer for nearly two years. He was 63. The son of David Eustis and Molly Minor Eustis, Richmond Eustis was born in New Orleans and graduated from Isidore Newman School. He earned a BS degree in economics from the University of Virginia, where he was a member of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity, and he earned a JD from Tulane University Law School. An expert in corporate and admiralty litigation, Eustis began practice at Phelps, Dunbar, then joined Monroe & Lemann, where he became a partner. He later founded the firm Eustis, O'Keefe & Gleason, where he practiced until shortly before his death. He was a member of the Maritime Institute and the Louisiana Bar Association, and was admitted to federal practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. His survivors include his wife of 38 years, Catherine Baños Eustis; two daughters, Julie Eustis Vaicius of New Orleans and Molly Minor Eustis of New York City; two sons, Richmond Minor Eustis, Jr. of Baton Rouge and Joshua Leeds Eustis of Chicago, IL; his brother David Leeds Eustis of New Orleans; his sister, Kate Eustis of Birmingham, AL; son-in-law, Christian Vaicius; two grandchildren, Lucy and James Vaicius, and more than a score of adoring nieces and nephews. His family and friends were gathered around him as he died. Eustis served on the board of the Children's Bureau and the New Orleans Board of Trade, and was an advisor to family-owned White Plantation. He was a member of the Inns of Court, the Sons of the Revolution, the Louisiana Club, and the Boston Club. In addition to his legal work and his board work, Eustis enjoyed working outside in his yard or around his Lafourche Parish house. Blessed with what he liked to call "a trivial mind," he was fond of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, of punning humor, and of the dogs who flocked to him. He also was one of a handful of people expert in the history, repair and maintenance of traditional Carnival flambeaux. Services are on Friday at noon at Trinity Episcopal Church, 1329 Jackson Ave., in New Orleans - where as a boy Eustis served as an acolyte. Burial will follow in Metairie Cemetery. Visitation at 11:00 in the church. In lieu of flowers, donations to: Trinity Episcopal Church Medical Mission, 1329 Jackson Ave. 70130; Kellermann Foundation/Burundi Community Health Center-Uganda, P.O. Box 1901 Penn Valley, CA 95946; or the Delta Chapter of Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity at the University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400314, Charlottesville, VA 22904. To sign and view the Family Guestbook, please visit www.lakelawnmetairie.com.


Mr Richmond Minor Eustis 1945 - 2009 - Obituary - Tributes.com

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Will This Garden Grow

I don't know how he did it, but somehow Papa-T managed to find the energy to spend Sunday afternoon totally overhauling the backyard. He set us up with an incredible vegetable and herb garden. Again. Last summer we proved we were capable of growing only a cucumber and a tomato. I suppose there is only room for improvement at this point.

So, here we go:


and he did it all while these two were completely underfoot:



I can't even make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with these two hounding me.

Impressive.

A Few More, With The Rebel

Aunt Sue, holding her godchild for the first time:


James, all baptized, all love:



and with his hot dad:


The Vaicius Martin cousins all together for a picture. It isn't great, but it is a start:


La Luz, with Pete and Liam:



and with Edward and Liam:


I know, words escape me...

My Weekend, How Was Yours?

La Luz recovered just in time for an action-packed weekend. Despite all of the foaming at the mouth of the meteorologists earlier in the week, the weather was actually quite beautiful...balmy, sun shining through occasionally gray skies, a small patch of rain here and there, and a lovely breeze.

We celebrated La Luz's 4th Birthday with a party at GG's for La Luz and two of her friends who also share June birthdays. It was a Wizard of Oz theme and I think all of the girls had a great time.

On Sunday James was baptized and it was not a moment too soon because the gown fit perfectly. If we had waited any longer he probably would not have been able to wear it and that would've bummed me out because it was my grandfathers and, obviously, has tremendous sentimental value.

My nephews were in town for the festivities, along with my sister and brother in law and Nana and Papa-T. The house was packed and with so many of us under one roof things were a bit chaotic at times but it was worth it to see La Luz enjoying her time with her cousins. I know she will remember this weekend.

I took a bunch of pictures with Christian's camera this weekend and I wish I hadn't relied on it so much. I am a bit disappointed with the blurriness in pictures (and I know this is my fault) and the red-eye (which I am sure I can figure out how to reduce). I suppose it is a good lesson that I have become completely reliant on the magic of the Rebel and that it is, perhaps, the camera that makes great pictures and not the photographer.

Here is the first batch of pictures from the weekend. These are the ones that were taken with the Cannon Power Shot. I will post the ones that I took with the Rebel later this week.

Little Dorothy on her way to the party via the very cool yellow brick road Molly created:



La Luz playing Dorothy, playing Glenda:



GG, babysitting for James during La Luz's party:


And for some amazing, beautiful reason many of my cousins on both sides of my family were in NOLA this past weekend so, inevitably, there was some drinking going on. Here is one of me and Molls at the Columns:


How we spent Monday:

Big Sexy

Every morning when I drop James off at daycare one of the caregivers always asks how "big sexy" is doing. I didn't really think he was all that big, but I imagined that they have seen quite a few babies, being that they work in a daycare and all, so I started to worry they were right, that he was some sort of monstrosity. Luckily, I didn't have to wait too long to clear it all up because James had his 4 month checkup today. According to the doctor, he weighs 15.8 lbs and is 26.5 inches long. She didn't gasp when she read the numbers and didn't even mention the stats, except to repeat them to me. In order to figure out whether those numbers actually mean he is big and sexy I had to input the numbers and have the computer plot them on a chart. As far as I can tell he is somewhere around the 50th percentile for weight and around the 75th for height...so, not unusual. I suppose it is the way he carries it.

Here he is testing out the Bumbo (a hand-me-down from the Bourgeois family). What a great invention. When La Luz first saw it she said,"where did you get that awesome potty?". I don't think these things existed when La Luz was a baby:


and with La Luz, whose mouth is covered in Spaghettios (she was sent home from school today with fever and immediately changed into her princess nightgown so she could get comfortable for marathon movie watching in her bed). They are watching Dora the Explorer. Riveted, as usual:


For some reason he looks particularly pasty and drooly in the pictures. I guess it looks like I don't bathe or properly care for my kids and, honestly, at 6:30 p.m. this is generally how they look, so I have no great excuse.

Through A Different Lens

Christian requested a "point and shoot" camera ages ago. He wanted one to throw in his bag or carry in his pocket. He wanted one that was less bulky and more dispensable than my precious Rebel. The Rebel is an incredible camera but the thought of carting it around Jazz Fest and on trips to the zoo tends to be somewhat of a deterrent to picture taking.

I love reading and learning about cameras. Photography is a hobby of mine and I wish I had more time to devote to taking pictures, using new cameras and techniques, and just becoming a better photographer overall. I love portraits more than any other subject matter, which is perfect because I have great subjects around here.

When I started researching "point and shoots" I read about and fell in love with this guy:


Sadly, it was a bit out of my price-range and the extravagance would have been completely lost on Christian who has never held on to a pair of sunglasses for more than a few months at a time and misplaces ipods like loose change.

The decision was ultimately an easy one. I opted for the Cannon PowerShot Digitial Elph (the SD 750 model). The tiny little thing shoots pictures in 10 mega pixels, way more than are necessary for a decent picture, especially pictures that will primarily be viewed on the computer. This camera is, by far, the best of the best of user-friendly, "point and shoot" digital cameras. Yeah, if you have the shakes your pictures will blur and, sure, you might capture the mouth agape instead of in the smile that melted your heart, but, with a little practice, you can get some great pictures. I recommend this camera to everyone looking for a good digital camera and no desire to fork out the ducats for an slr:


Although it is Christian's camera, it spent most of the weekend in my purse. I can't resist taking pictures of these guys:



And giving La Luz her first shot with the new camera, very avante-garde:

Happy Birthday Christian

With all that has been going on it was a bit tough to focus on your birthday, but don't think for second that I am not psyched about it...you are, after all, finally my age.
To commemorate the special day I decided to waste time digging through old photographs to see if, by chance, I had one of you on the first birthday we celebrated together. Wouldn't you know, I had one. I suppose that is the upshot to (or horror of) sharing your life with someone who attempts to chronicle almost every event. Without your IT assistance the cropping is sub par. Regardless, it is a sweet picture and it takes me right back to that day when we were just falling in love and probably couldn't even fathom what our lives would be like in 14 years.


Happy Birthday, with love, Jules

Four Months

I am a little late but things have been busy around here...
After just four short months I feel comfortable saying that James is possibly the most awesome baby ever. Thanks for smiling at everyone, even people that have somewhat scary faces. Thanks for never minding who is holding you. Thanks for sleeping through the night. Thanks for enjoying both your play mat and the vibrating, bouncy chair. Thanks for enjoying most of the many hours you spend in daycare each week. Thanks for making me feel like I would absolutely adore another baby and, most importantly, thanks for sinking deep into my arms and falling asleep so peacefully at the end of each day.


I have a sneaking suspicion that I might have just hexed myself. I guess I should prepare to be awake at 3 a.m., just in case...

A Little Sleep, A Little Running & A Lot Of Love

All things considered, it was a lovely mother's day weekend. Notwithstanding the usual (and not so usual) business of ballet, errands, laundry, grocery, and everything else, the weekend was peaceful. Christian and I took advantage of Molly's presence in NOLA and cashed in on some free babysitting for a late-night dinner at Patois and it was incredible...more about that later. On Sunday I slept late (of course, it was mother's day after all), opened a lovely gift, took La Luz for a run in the stroller (yes, in the stroller - she hasn't wanted to go with me for about a year now), and celebrated mother's day with a small portion of the Banos family at Aunt Margot's. We also celebrated the newest arrival to the Banos family, Jack Porter. 3 beautiful, healthy babies in just 4 months. We are blessed indeed.

GG, Molly, Mom-Mom, La Luz & Me:


GG talking to James:


Jane and James:


La Luz, petite fours in hand:


Mom-Mom and Jamesy:

What Was Old...

Remember these:

I had tons of them in the mid-80's. I LOVED them and, because they were cheap, I don't think mom and pop thought twice about purchasing a variety of colors to satisfy my wardrobe needs. At some point we realized that they were hideous or uncomfortable or a combination of the two and stopped wearing them. Forever. Until...enter Tory Burch's summer line:


I saw these and at first I gagged a little and thought, "jellies, why I..." but then I started to warm up to the idea and then ultimately fell in love and decided it would be the perfect shoe for summertime. They are sort of outrageously priced, considering that they are nothing more than the contemporary version of jellies, but I sort of think they might be my answer to the croc craze. I don't know how they feel on but if they are the slightest bit comfortable I think I am sold.

Sigh...

To get to this incredible, peaceful, beautiful point in my day, the part that I want to stick out when my brain is racing through past events to pull out the stuff that is important, is a long journey.

Today it started at 3 a.m. and involved a bleary-eyed morning, baby barf on my freshly dry-cleaned suit pants with no time to change, riding the elevator up to the 40th floor with the other mommys all running late with messy hair and sippy cups creeping out of the tops of their bags, a long day at work, and then the bustling evening hours rotating from arms to swing to play mat to lots of tears because La Luz doesn't want to be bathed first and instead wants to play and James wants to be bathed first instead of waiting, alone, on the bed begging for someone to entertain him.

It ended like this, with Tumble Bumble as a courtesy to James, because La Luz thinks it is a good book for a baby, and lots of kisses and whispers and sleepy, sleepy heads:

Jazz Fest 2009

Despite really wanting to see Neil Young live, I decided to skip Jazz Fest this year. James seems to be in the middle of a big growth spurt and basically wants to eat all the time. He was also (quite uncharacteristically) up in the middle of the night (to eat) last night so that, on top of three days traveling for work, was enough to deplete any remaining energy and desire I had in me. So, while James and I had a peaceful and only marginally productive day (I managed to make quinoa for the first time and I love it but accomplished very little else), La Luz and Christian headed to Jazz Fest. I can't remember the last time I missed Jazz Fest and La Luz has never missed it. They had a blast despite a deluge in the early evening that brought the adventure to an abrupt end.

Here's La Luz enjoying a snowball:


and hiding out in the neat sheet just before the deluge: