DSF & Family Reunion

Every Memorial Day Weekend, my family gathers together for the Delaplane Strawberry Festival. This year my dad switched to a different church and became their choir director, but my parents still volunteered for the festival. Most of my childhood I volunteered, too. Now, with a toddler, it's a bit harder.

This year our get-together was more like a reunion!! Our whole family hasn't been together since... well... the festival last year? Correct me if I'm wrong, everyone. Phoebe & James were living in France since September and Willem has been in shows throughout the year. Whenever we've been together it's been just a few of us, but not the whole group. In fact, the last whole-family picture we have of the whole gang was while I was still pregnant with Ian!! It was in the summer before he was born and now he's 20 months old. Crazy.

Anyway, I was bound and determined to get a picture with everyone during this visit. 

Our first morning there, Grumps spotted a deer in the front yard and shared it with Ian.

Grumps also gave Ian a very special gift!! No longer will we have to listen to the painfully out-of-tune and twangy xylophones we have here. No sir. Now we have a beautiful and authentic xylophone to call our own! Ian is mesmerized by it. He plays the notes up high and down low. He plays them fast and slow. He uses both hands or just one. Oh what fun!!

Thank you, Grumps, for such a wonderful gift.

He takes it pretty seriously. I love his expression in the photo below.

Eventually everyone was up and ready to hike over to the festival. My parents live right on the Appalachian Trail which is handy for hiking, and especially handy for hiking over to the festival!!! It's one of our favorite little traditions. The festival appears like Brigadoon, when you head down over the hill. I love it.

Here are the many family pictures we took. Unfortunately, to get the view Dad wanted, we also have some shadows to deal with. That's okay. We were all together!!

Ian was asleep at the time we all agreed to meet, so we gathered around him in the stroller! Left to right: Samanda, Willem, Mom, Ian, Dad, Me, Jim, Phoebe & James.

This one has the added face of Leif ;)

And Phoebe's friend, Bailey, was visiting that weekend, so we got a picture with her.

We're so excited for these two who each recently signed their first contracts for full-time teaching positions!!! Phoebe will be teaching upper school English at Highland School, where she went to high school and where Dad teaches. James will be teaching Spanish and coaching sports, among a few other things, at The Hill School, where we all went to school through eighth grade and where Mom teaches. They'll be living near Mom & Dad in a sweet place where we cannot wait to visit them starting in August!! Congrats, guys!

Our little sleeping beauty...

Unfortunately, the original five's (plus Ian) picture turned out a bit too dark. Oh well!!

Love those siblings of mine.

The tractor made it's grand photo-bombing presence just in time!!

And just when we thought it we were done, someone we knew walked by and took a picture of the entire gang.

Soon we all headed back to the mountain, some in vehicles. 

Well, actually all of us except for Leif & Jim ;)

Most of us passed a frisbee in the yard for a while during dinner preparations.

But then there was one who decided to keep exploring...

It was a great weekend with family. This night finished with a delicious dinner on the deck with everyone and then a bonfire with the middle generation. I'm grateful that Jim was able to come along and for the time we had to enjoy together in the car up and back. A wonderful weekend all around!

Mom & Dad, thank you for hosting the whole bunch of us!! The food, the conversations, the xylophone, the pottery... we are thankful and had a great time with you!!!

Hide Your Glasses & Sunglasses!

So crazy about this goofball.

As usual, life is getting away from me before I get these posts done. As much as I try to jot things down along the way, I know there are always things I'm forgetting. His development isn't waiting for anything... this boy is on the move and we cannot get enough of just observing him and marveling in what he does next!

We spent some time visiting with my family in Paris and were grateful to have time with Grumps, Äma, Uncle Willem, Aunt Phoebe, and her boyfriend James.

Still struggling with a cough, Ian's sleep was disrupted a lot and he was a bit fussy. During one nap, Jim and I were playing frisbee outside with Phoebe and James and my mom was watching the monitor. I glanced in the window to see Ian cuddling with Äma after waking up way too soon from a nap by his own coughing. Poor guy, but sweet moment. Äma sure didn't mind the cuddles!!

Then Ian came out with Äma to watch the "big kids" play frisbee. We did have the DIII National Player of the Year in our presence (Way to go, James!!), so he was learning from the best.

Staying cool in the shade.


Leif  got to spend some time with one of his girlfriends. Gillie just adores that guy. This was the first time we really trusted Leif to stick around at my parents' home. It was so nice to be able to shove both dogs out the door and know they'd be content together.

During this time, Leif was the object of great fascination for Ian. "Gentle" was probably the most spoken word from our mouths, since Leif knows what it means and we are trying to teach Ian it, too. Fortunately, Leif would either allow the "petting" or he got up and walked away.

Ian started playing a few games while we were there. Without prompting, he grabbed a spatula and started batting balls around the floor; his own form of field hockey!! He observed Jim throw a ball for Leif and started grabbing the ball and attempting to throw it himself. Mostly, it would bounce across the floor. How fun it is to see him figuring things out and developing new forms of play!!

Our little guy loves being dirty or covered in food. Feeding times have really become exciting! I've developed a system of using two spoons. One spoon is for feeding him the first bite, then it's his to play with. Then I load up another spoon and wait until he seems interested in another bite. He either drops the first spoon or continues playing with it while I feed him and go for another scoop.

While with family and traveling, we didn't always have a high chair. Sometimes we got creative and fed him while sitting on the floor, as we did in this picture...

Ian LOVES it when people play with him. Äma started walking her fingers toward his toes and he'd laugh as she tickled his foot. Uncle Willem knocked this ball back and forth with him and mirrored his babbling sounds.




Ian chewed on a watermelon rind and a bit of watermelon for the first time. What a great teether!! Especially since his second tooth came in!!!

He really enjoys bath time, but hates getting out of the bath! The splashing, standing up in the tub, and splashing some more, are just too darn fun!! When it comes time to pry his little hands from the tub, boy is he upset!!

Another thing that makes him upset is when Mama or Papa leave or walk out of his sight. Separation anxiety is certainly in full swing!!! This has been something we've all had to adjust to, since our content boy becomes fussy quickly.

And have I ever mentioned that he is incredibly quick?!? Well, now he's faster. WAY faster. He's into everything. I know that my next post will say the same thing... but wow!!!

In the mornings, Jim would watch him so that I could get a little more rest (Thank you, Hon!). I learned later that my dad normally came and had time with him during this time, as well. And the first day we were gone I received a text from my dad saying how sad he was not to get to play with Ian that morning. So sweet, the love of a grandparent.

Thank you for hosting us, Mom & Dad! Glad we could all be together for a few days this summer and happy to have time with Willem, Phoebe & James!!

Oh, and watch out for your glasses or sunglasses!!! This boy's stealthy. He'll have yours in his hand before you can say, "Ray Ban" or "Oakley," not that any of us have those brands.... and it's probably a good thing because he's teething on them and banging them on the floor before you've even realized what hit you! Ask anyone who's tried to wear a pair around him ;)

This post is now almost two weeks old, so stay tuned for more recent goings-ons; I'm just playing catch-up!

Happy 36 weeks, messy boy!!!
What would we do without you?

Strawberries, Family, & Friends

One of my favorite things to do each year is to go to the Delaplane Strawberry Festival. The festival signifies the approaching of summer, of fresh-picked fruits, sun, and time with loving family and friends.

Each year throughout my late childhood my family would volunteer at the festival and it came to be a tradition. We still try to make it back each year to enjoy the music, to visit with old friends, visit the vendors, and eat some strawberry shortcake, cheesecake, or sundaes. We usually hike over the mountain on the Appalachian Trail to get to the festival and it always reminds me of Brigadoon.

SCORE performs the first day of the festival, but they will be taking a hiatus next year, so this was the last concert for a little while. It was beautiful, as always, and a real treat for me to join them in singing the last song, while holding my precious son.

 My dad, the artistic director of SCORE.

 Leif, thirsty from our hike :)

 Mom, Phoebe, & James...

You never know what will become a fun toy. The straw provided hours of entertainment.

My parents were both volunteering a lot at the festival but we got to see them along. Phoebe and James were there to hang-out, so it was nice to enjoy their company in pockets of shade throughout the weekend. Fun picture :)

 The "kiddos" (minus Jim)

 The next few pictures are from KC, our dear friend. Living in NYC right now, we were excited to hear that they'd be in the area for the weekend. We met Tim & KC and brought them to the festival. It was so nice to have time with them!!

And here we are with our baby BOYS!!!!! We learned that they are pregnant!! We cannot wait to meet Baby Fish sometime after October. He is one fortunate boy to have these two amazing people as his parents.

We could not have asked for a more beautiful weekend. It was wonderful for me to introduce Ian to the festival and to our friends & to enjoy time with family. Looking forward to next year!!