Oh Wow! Ojos, nariz and bellies...

Nick's new favorite phrase is "Oh wow!" and he's been using it alot lately with all his new discoveries including:

"ojos" - eyes, "nariz" - nose, and belly. I'm not sure why I didn't start teaching him belly in Spanish first, but here we are, with belly in English, so I'm sticking with it.

Here's a short little video of Nick showing off his new finds. If you are in arm's reach, he will likely tell you where your ojos, nariz and belly are too. As you'll see in the video, he's also a BIG fan of taking everything out of the kitchen cabinets at least 62 times a day. Who needs toys when you have pots, pans, various plastic containers and big wooden spoons!

A good stick in the mud

Grandpa died today.
He fell down, had a heart attack, and left this world just the way he wanted to...an old man, with a full life, loving family and still able to tell you what he was doing in 1932, 1968 or 2009. Still able to get around, albeit with the help of a walker, and most importantly, not in a hospital. He was a tremendous man.
I just need to write some of my favorite stories or memories about him because, even at 32, I realize memories get fuzzy, buried and sometimes forgotten, and when I'm in my 90s I still want to be able to clearly tell the story of what it was like to be Dick Young's granddaughter.

When I was a kid, about the age in this picture and for some years later, I loved to sit in his lap and ask him to take out his teeth. I thought THAT was the coolest trick I person could pull. I distinctly remember when my first tooth fell out I was very pleased thinking I was that much closer to my own fake bunch of teeth. He would also kindly let me stare at amazement at his "belly". Understand he was in his early 60s and certainly did not have a belly, but hey, I was a kid.

His pipe. I can't remember exactly when Gramps stopped smoking his pipe, but anytime I'm in a cigar/tobacco shop the smell brings me back to the safety of being a child on the farm. I'm almost waiting for Grandma to appear and tell me to go get a cookie.

The story about when he came back from World War II. He was in a train with a fellow soldier - a black man - and he wanted to share his bottle of booze with the black man. Someone on the train said the soldier had to go to another car and my grandfather certainly couldn't share his booze with the returning soldier. Grandpa let those ignorant people know that this man would sit with him and he could share his drink with whomever he chose.

Going through the woods and watching the crops grow. Two party favorites of Gramps. On a recent trip home, maybe two years ago, Grandpa was definitely slowing down and everyone was talking about it. Of course, we were all sitting under the tree and Gramps turned to me and said "Rin (he and Grams always say "Rin" not "Ren"), let's go for a ride." I could tell others were a little nervous - plus I think I was pregnant - but off we went. We rode through the woods and he pointed out everything I'd seen all my years growing up, but this time I enjoyed it so much more. That day he told me more stories while we sat under the tree - the Prohibition "runs", the man who paid with $100 bill at a bar during the Depression years, so much, so much.

When Jason met Grandpa and Grandma, he fell in love with them too. On a vacation up north one year we went to Chicago, then drove to my Grandparents house then on to Cincy. My grandparents were so happy we were there. Of course we would be there! It turned out to be one of my favorite visits of all time. Grandpa told Jason how he and my Grandma were at the game when Joe DiMaggio's hit streak ended. It was a game against the Cleveland Indians in 1941. Jason, being the sports maniac he is, promptly asked, "Do you still have the ticket?".
No, he didn't, but I think my Grandpa was having so much fun recalling sports stories with Jay. Those two were peas in a pod and spent a great deal of time talking about sports, jobs and my inability to cook. Jason's very favorite question to ask my grandpa...
Jason - "Gramps, what do you think of the (Cleveland) Browns?"
Gramps - "They're a bunch of bums! Dirty bums!" (Always said with the same defiant enthusiasm.)

I am so blessed he was my Gramps. I like to think he was proud of me. Even during my wilder years, he believed in me and I could feel it. I feel great comfort knowing that he met and loved Jason and Nick. And even greater comfort that he and my beloved Abuelo are up there watching over us, undoubtedly sharing a scotch and water (Gramps) and whisky (Abuelo) and finally speaking the same language.

My grandmother, my father, his brothers and sister have an deeper well of memories and love to draw on. When I go home on Saturday I want to be there for them, because even though we all know Gramps is free, happy and FINALLY able to hear everyone, it is us that will still be wishing we could listen to him once more.

It's Rodeo Time in Houston!

Yee-haw...it's rodeo time in Houston! If you are not from Texas, I realize how difficult it may be to imagine how rodeo time could be so exciting. Especially when it's me who is excited and the closest I've been to lifestock is a delicious steak and I'm not exactly a cowgirl.
This year we had fun with Nick on Friday evening at "Go Texan" day in The Woodlands. Next year we will definitely dress him up head to toe for the event. This year, he had a good time cruising through the area, checking out the animals and dancing to the band. And eating. The kid is always eating.
Saturday, February 28, Jay and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary. As I do every year, I put on my wedding dress and we watched our wedding video. On Saturday night, we went to the Patron party at the Rodeo BBQ Cook-off with Wes and Toni and then stayed the night at Hotel ZaZa. Let me tell you, there's nothing like drinking Platinum Patron to put you in celebratory mood! We had a great time dancing, eating delicious BBQ and enjoying some fabulous Patron cocktails. Thank you Wes and Toni!

Back to the Blog

Here we go again! Back to the blog. If you're confused, here's the short story...

I started on this blog, but then bought a new Mac and decided to create a full-fledged Website and blog when Nick was born. That was going to great until Hurricane Ike hit, followed by serious damage to my computer. September 2008 was a tough month in general, and I lost my desire to report the day-to-day happenings anyway.

But now we're back! Why? Because I know one day I will be so grateful to be able to look back at the journal of my young family's life. Who we were then - what made us laugh, or cry - and, mostly, capturing Nick as he grows up and discovers the world. I've chosen to come back to the original blog platform and site mainly because the site loads faster than the Mac site. It's not as dynamic, but it's much easier. Let's face it, I have a toddler now, I'm down with anything that makes life easier!

So, I apologize for any confusion, or if you are one of the three people who've missed our posts (Hi Mami/Papi and Tia), but we're back, and I hope you'll enjoy following our new adventures.

The highlights since we last posted in September...Nick turned 1 on October 28, 2008. We had a great time celebrating with family & friends.

Also, Nick started walking on Superbowl Sunday. At 15 months, he just got down from his chair and walked across the kitchen, family room and into our bedroom. Then, he sat down and clapped for himself! That was it...he's been "upwardly mobile" ever since!


I'll be much better about posting now that I'm back in the saddle. I feel it's going to be such an exciting year - Nick is discovering more and more every day, I am working toward a new career in education, we have some fun trips planned, my sister Nikki is getting married and Jay's sister Laura is expecting a new baby in August. We look forward to sharing the fun times with you.

Lookin' Around

Nicholas has arrived! There is tons to catch up on, but for now I'm just trying to get some videos uploaded. Hopefully this works...

Jay is healthy as a horse -- thankfully his last physical confirmed it -- and training for the Houston Marathon in January. Here he his finishing the 10 for Texas ten mile race in The Woodlands last week. I admire so much the mental and physical stamina it takes to participate in these long runs. My "baby daddy" rocks!
In other news, we're just waiting for Nick. Like his mama, grandmama, and great-grandmama before him, he has opted to stay butt-down instead of heading south to make his exit. I can't say I blame him....birthing oneself seems like alot of work for little bitty guy. So, it looks like C-section it is. We have a C-section scheduled for November 5th at 12:30.
Of course, there is a full moon on October 26th and Nikki said she feels something about the 28th, so until we make it past the 28th, I have the 5th marked as his tentative birthday:)