Dear Isa,
I know it's been a while since you've heard from us.....we are busy as usual. But I've lots of news for you.
First off, my sister, Shirley, had a baby boy on Saturday, February 11. 9lbs 2 oz! She had a miserably long labor, 36 hours! Most of it was easy going until the last 12 hours or so. She was only dilating 1/2 centimeter per hour! Anyway the baby is really sweet, 21 1/4 inches long (a little shorter than Jillie). So after the baby was born my brother-in-law offered me a free coupon to fly back east to visit. Naturally I accepted and Jillian and I went to Virginia last week for six days.
She was SO good on the airplane. There were only 33 people on board from San Francisco to Denver so we had breakfast, read some books and then I let her wander up and down the aisle. At Denver we had an hour layover so we hopped off the plane and walk/ran for 45 minutes, therefore on the flight to Virginia she slept for one hour and then played with her miscellaneous toys I brought with us. Of course Beaver, Teddy and fur came along with her "ba" and a bottle helped a lot.
She warmed up to Sandy, Lisa and Brian really quick and by the evening she was right at home. My Dad and Betty came over and of course went nuts over her. She was really sweet and flirty! In no time she was saying Granddaddy and now when you sing "Old MacDonald" she says "i-e-i-o". so it's a sing-a-long! Dad brought her a whole bunch of balloons which she went crazy over.
We only had a bit of trouble getting her down to sleep but once she realized that Lisa was in bed too, she went right out and the next day she went down for her nap right away.
Two times we went up to my sisters home to see the baby. He's just adorable - a real little man with a "tough" looking face and clenched fists. Shirley is having an easy go of nursing so Alex Timothy is quite content. She has off 3 months to be with him.
The rest of the time we pretty much stayed at Sandy's home. It's really big - 1,000 square feet larger than our home - 1/2 again as big as ours. 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a den and really large family, nook and kitchen area. Jillie loved all the room to roam around. They have a cockatoo (bird) which is quite friendly with females so I would let it sit on my finger while Jillie studied it - she'd say "bye-bye Chi Chi" (bird's name) and "no-no Chi Chi" when he would whistle too loud.
She says "be happy daddy" all the time, "apple juice", and "bubbles" for bath time. She can really let you know what she wants easily.
Everyone got such a kick out of her. Unfortunately the day before we left she started to run a high fever - 102 degrees which I couldn't get to break all night - even after a tepid bath. By morning her fever was 105 degrees! Sandy and I put her in a cool tub then took her to the emergency room at the hospital. Her fever had dropped but the examination showed an inflamed throat. So the doctor put her on 2 kinds of antibiotics and said we couldn't leave that day. Her fever broke later that afternoon and after a couple of doses of antibiotics she was pretty much back to her old self.
The flight home was uneventful. I think it's easier to fly with her during the morning when I'm rested. We left D.C. at 5:30pm and I was a little tired so less patient. She didn't sleep all the way to Houston which was 3 hours - but we played quietly and walked around a little. Again we got out in Houston and walked around which tired her out when we got back on board. She ate my snack tray then laid down to sleep for 2 hours. Unfortunately, though I had my hand on her, she flipped over real fast and fell on the floor. She absolutely screamed and cried. Poor dear - then she couldn't get back to sleep.
The cutest thing was when we got off the plane and saw Gordon. At first she was a bit shy but Gordon grabbed her immediately and she started giggling. She really studied his face and when he would look at her she'd laugh out loud. Both of them really missed each other. Several times while we were away she'd call his name when she'd hear the garage door or once when we were in the tub Sandy knocked on the door and Jillie said "daddy?".
Anyway we're back now and things are back to their normal hectic ways. The building I'm selling in San Jose closes next week and Gordon and I are buying 70-something % of a home here in Pleasanton with Mark and Rhonda. Gordon is really happy to be getting another piece of property in his name and has been working quite a bit at the new house painting and cleaning. He worked a lot while Jillie and I were away and has quite a few appointments this weekend which will hopefully bring him some new business. He has had a brief encounter with depression during the past month but seems to be pulling his way out OK.
He has agreed to go on a camping trip in early May which Jim is arranging. Can you believe it? They have spent quite a bit of time on the phone visiting on this sale transaction so their relationship has really come around.
We have decided to go with Jillian to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina this July for 10 days. I think the separation from Jillie the past week has made Gordon want to be with her more. And she really was very good on the plane. We are very much looking forward to getting away and the camping trip will be fun too.
Our anniversary is next Friday. We have arranged for a sitter and will be going out to dinner and for drinks. We haven't been going out much lately. It is staying lighter now so we can be outside later with Jillie. The temperature has been pretty warm and Spring flowers are beginning to come out. Katie Krause has come up to work in the yard with us a couple times planting lilacs and shrubs under our bedroom window and trimming and pruning here and there. We are really looking forward to Spring and Summer. The winter has been so long - not very rainy but cold. Believe it or not one morning when I got up to shower we had no water....the pipes were frozen! We, meaning California, will be hurting this summer for water - I don't believe we even met an average rainfall much less exceeded it in any successful manner. I dread going through another draught year.
I suppose I should close now since I seem to be developing writer's cramp! We miss you and think of you often. I'll give Jillie and Gordon a big kiss and cuddle for you.
Take care Isa.
Sharon
No comments:
Post a Comment