Bunny time!

We had all kinds of visitors today. Marsha and Steve, my mom, Betsy, Archie, and James, Susie, and Sean, and...the Easter Bunny! 

Jason helped show Molly what to do

She found all the eggs that the squirrels didn't get first

James is still a little too young to hunt for eggs

Tummy time or nap time?

Molly had kind of a rough Easter, despite having all of her adoring fans in one place. She took a spill on the sidewalk and ended up with a goose egg on her forehead and a skinned knee. Even after the initial bout of tears, emotions continued to run high for most of the afternoon. At one point, Uncle Archie shouted out to keep Molly from bumping into a shelf corner and it was just too much for her to bear. High drama. 

The good news is, Molly gets to stay home from school tomorrow with her Bam-a and Papa. They have big plans to go to Steak 'N Shake and Target. There's nothing a milkshake and new clothes won't fix. I have a feeling tomorrow will be a better day.

Missing Grandma

It's been a week now since my Grandma Pudvin passed away and it still feels kind of unreal. We all thought she'd live to be 100. At least. It seems like just a few months ago my grandma was still walking a mile every morning, reading every book she could get her hands on, and keeping sharp by playing card games on her iPad. But then she started having to go in and out of the hospital, and let me tell you, my grandma was not one for hospitals. Or for having people make a fuss over her. This blog post is probably more time in the spotlight than Ruth would have been comfortable with, but I'll put her in it for a few minutes anyway.

My grandma was kind and funny. She worried too much, but she also had a lot of spunk. She was an athlete when she was younger and even in her 70s was still able to get me hustling all over the tennis court for drop shots and lobs. She loved to travel, loved the arts, and loved to get carried away by her imagination. She was the type of person who would walk into a room or a restaurant and say, "Well, isn't this delightful?" My grandma was delightful. She will be missed very much.

With Ruth at the Ca' d'Zan Mansion / Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota (2006)

A very special guest

I started working off my babysitting debt today. Betsy and Archie brought sweet little James over for a half an hour or so while they checked out a potential house in Evanston. The house was not a hit, which is too bad because I am dying to have my little nephew close by, but I'm confident they will find something soon. Until then, I certainly won't complain about babysitting while they house hunt. It was sooo wonderful to have a sweet baby to hold again.

Molly was very excited to meet her cousin. She was careful not to touch him (as instructed), so she blew him kisses and whispered sweetly, "It's okay, James." It all went well until I put him in her lap. Then, she was not impressed.

James slept the entire time

Snuggling with Uncle Jason

Get this baby off my lap!

Tooty ta

Molly looooves to sing and dance. She sings all day at school. She sings when she's supposed to be napping. She sings in the car. She sings during meal time. It's always pretty cute, but this new favorite song / dance has had Jason and I crying with laughter. Here's Molly doing "Tooty Ta":

Betsy and Archie...this is what you have to look forward to in just 2.5 years!

Sweet baby James

Of course that's the title of this post :) Meet James Christos, born today at noon. 7 lbs, 21 inches. My sister is a rock star...she had a super short labor and gave birth just an hour and a half after arriving at the hospital. No time for meds! Everyone is happy and doing well.

Happy family

Happy Aunt Maggie

Blurry but beautiful

The clock is ticking. B is due to have her baby March 22nd, so Susie, Molly, and I took her out to brunch today to celebrate. The pic is a little blurry, but you can still see how happy we all are:

Sisters + Molls

The next time Betsy makes an appearance on the blog, she will probably have a baby in her arms. Can't wait!

Glory days

I've been feeling very nostalgic lately. Maybe it's because I've seen a lot of my college friends over the past few weeks, or maybe it's because I'm reading a book with a main character who is a student at Columbia. Whatever the case, I've been thinking a lot about my time at Northwestern and missing the days when I was a student and didn't know how good I had it. I still have it pretty good, don't get me wrong, but there's something magical about that time in life when you're independent (ish), but don't really have any major responsibilities other than to learn, have fun, and gain experience.  

What's crazy is that despite living just two blocks from campus, I haven't really spent much time there since I've been back. Sure, we've been to football games and to the lakefront, but I haven't done much strolling among the buildings, absorbing the feel of college life.

But today, since my arm's stuck in a sling and I needed to figure out a hands-free workout to meet my weekly quota, I decided to take a long walk to downtown Evanston and back through campus.

It's funny because the part of campus I now enjoy the most -- south campus, near the library -- is a place I never really went as a student. I spent so much time in Tech, the engineering building, that I completely missed out on a big part of Northwestern life. Oh, to do it all over again! I wouldn't change my friends. I wouldn't change my life as it is now. But how cool would it be to go back in time and try another major? Or to have the chance to study abroad in Spain or Paris?

I'm starting to see why people try to live vicariously through their children. As I was walking around this afternoon, I kept imagining Molly in 16 years, starting out on her own adventure. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately for her, by living so close to my Alma Mater, we've pretty much guaranteed she'll never go there. My guess is that, by the time she hits 18, she'll have heard enough about my glory days and will be ready to get as far away from here as possible. Then again, looking at these pictures, maybe she won't: 

The Arch

View from mid-campus