Baby Shower 2 and More Christmas
We had two relaxing days at my parents’ house after the baby shower. Everybody went home Sunday evening, and Dave and I were left with Mom and Dad. It was just lovely! We slept in each morning and stayed up late watching TV each night. Mom had to work on Monday, so we went to the mall and the bookstore with Dad. We ate beef stew for dinner and played Scrabble (Dad won). On Tuesday, we went downtown to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland, Ohio
It was much cooler than Dave and I expected! There are all sorts of rock artifacts, including hundreds of guitars and lots of outfits worn on stage by famous people. We saw letters to Elvis, Janis Joplin’s Porche, some interesting video of people protesting the moral turpitude of rock, a pair of Freddy Mercury’s pants (with underpants built in—on the outside), ZZ Top’s furry drums, Jimi Hendrix’s capes, and much, much more. We could’ve spent another few hours there, since we didn’t even get a chance to see the movies. We parked underneath the science center, and I would’ve loved to go there, too. We’ll have to head back to Cleveland one of these days!
On Wednesday morning, we went to the coffee shop with Dad and then headed east on the Ohio Turnpike toward Pittsburgh. Some city traffic slowed us down a bit once we got to PA, so we were a little bit late to meet Dad Gribble for lunch at Penn State Greater Allegheny (he had to work that day). We went to Luciano’s and then got a tour of some of the computer labs. Looks like they have a pretty nice setup for a branch campus, and we know they have a good director of IT!
Erika, Genevieve, and Heidi
After lunch we headed over to Erika and Heidi’s. Genevieve was napping, so we had a few minutes to get settled and say hi to Rowan (the dog) before she woke up. Valerie and Don arrived just half an hour or so after we did, so we carted luggage and gifts into the house and snacked and visited for a while.
Grammie and Genevieve
Pappy and Genevieve
We got to open a few baby gifts, too, which was fun. Baby Gribble is sure to love the rings Aunt Erika and Heidi bought! And we’ll love the useful stuff, including a nail clipper for tiny nails and a cool caddy for diapers and creams. We played a game of Parcheesi, which Dave won. Then we ate dinner: Erika and Heidi had prepared a delicious meal of ham, au gratin potatoes, green beans, and green stuff (otherwise known as pistachio fluff, or, the Internet tells me, pistachio pudding or pistachio and fruit delight). We were all kind of tired that evening, so we went to bed fairly early.
The next morning Dave and I went out for a long walk—he was eager to have a mocha and we were both looking forward to getting some exercise after all that time in the car during the past week. We walked along Brownsville Road from Erika and Heidi’s house in Carrick to the Brentwood Town Center, where we knew there was a Caribou Coffee. It took an hour, so we figure that it was a three-mile walk or so. We speculated that in certain parts of Boulder, we would’ve passed five or more coffee shops! We got out some cash so that we could take the bus back. It’s always a pleasure to ride the bus; it makes me feel like a grownup to navigate the city. We were lucky to be on a bus route that had a bus going by every 10 minutes. We got back to the house before Valerie and Don got there (they were staying at a hotel), so we played with Genevieve a bit and then had some lunch. Genevieve had Christmas a bit early so that she wouldn’t be overstimulated and we could all get a good view of her opening her gifts.
Genevieve and her new stacking cups.
Genevieve chewing on her new photo album.
We played a game of Carcassone (which Dave won) and then Don and I went out for a walk. We headed the other way on Brownsville and went about a mile or so and back. The streets were a bit snowy and icy, and my awkward gait led to a few sore muscles by the end of the day! We had some dinner and then Dave and I got ready for church, since it was Christmas Eve. We said goodnight to everyone and drove downtown, where we had time to look at the manger scene in front of the old U.S. Steel building (now the UPMC building). Then we found a seat at First Lutheran Church and were joined shortly by Dad, Sandy, and Aaron for the 10:15 p.m. pre-service music. The church is just gorgeous, especially the ceiling, and the music was very nice (flute, harpsichord, violin, and choir). I really enjoyed the service, which included all the standard liturgy and a very good sermon, but I was really tired by the time we got back to Erika’s around 12:30 a.m.!
Christmas morning we had some breakfast and played with Genevieve until Valerie and Don arrived, when the grownups got to open presents. Thoughtful gifts all around, but I got the food processor I’d been wanting, so I think I made out the best.
New food processor!
We left Erika and Heidi’s around 2:00 p.m. to drive over to Dad and Sandy’s for Christmas dinner. A nice full house included Megan, Jeff, Darren, Grace, and baby sister, Aaron, Dad, Sandy, Erika, Heidi, Genevieve, and the two of us. We had ham, potato salad (yum!), baked beans, green salad, and rolls. And plenty of cookies, everywhere we went! We ate a lot of cookies for breakfast that week.
After dinner we opened gifts (lots of fun toys for Genevieve, including a mock blender that played many different little songs, some of them very strange, and mixed up fruit drinks out of plastic shapes with fruit stickers on them). Then we played a game of Scattergories, which I won handedly. (It helps when Dave isn’t playing; he and his dad were discussing some computer stuff no one else was interested in.) I was so tired by that evening; I’m not sleeping particularly well (thanks, small Gribble!), and lots of driving and strange beds didn’t help. Dave and I sacked out on the pull-out sofa (a very comfortable one) in the chilly basement, and I slept like a rock. It was so nice to sleep well—and so crummy to have to get up at 7:00 a.m. to eat some breakfast and hit the road.
The whole gang at Dad and Sandy's.
We planned to leave at 8:00 a.m., and made it out the door at 8:45. Grandpa and Grandma Hoot were visiting Uncle Brian and Kassie in Anderson, IN (near Indianapolis), so we wanted to stop by and see them. We hadn’t seen Brian and Kassie for years. We had a nice, albeit brief, visit, exchanging some gifts (a gorgeous hand-crocheted outfit for the baby, wine, and chocolate…yum) and eating dinner (ham, green bean casserole, cheese, olives, potato soup, and rolls). We played a long game of Aggravation, made decades earlier by Grandpa, and again Dave won. Around 10:00 p.m. we heaved deep sighs and headed out to the totally packed car to drive back to Colorado. The journey loomed long, but we were both eager to get home and back to our own house, bed, and routines.
At 4:30 p.m. Colorado time, after a snowy delay in Missouri that I slept through, we arrived at home to unload the car and watch some TV before bed. It was wonderful to spend time with everyone, and we can’t wait to see many of you this summer when we’ve become a family of three!
American Baby
If small Gribble ever wants proof of being loved, we’ll simply point to this photo of baby stuff we’d accumulated before we’d even met her or him. Our relatives love us—and small Gribble by extension—so much that we couldn’t fit all of the tangible proof of that love into our rented Chevy Malibu. We ended up having to leave the crib with my parents, who have shipped it off to us by mail. Small Gribble has bath products, pacifiers, a wardrobe to rival Dave’s and mine together (including soft fuzzy outfits, sleep sacks, onesies, booties, socks, hats, a handmade layette, and something printed with every animal that’s ever been made into a cute little cartoon), books to read, a carseat to come home in, a stroller to ride about in, blankets, washclothes, towels, a pack ‘n play to sleep or play in, paste for its little butt, frames to feature photos of baby, frames to feature photos of family, toys including a homemade stuffed chicken, and more.
Pile of baby gear.
Thank you to everyone who’s looking forward to the baby with us! We feel a little less nervous knowing that we have so many caring and experienced friends and relatives looking out for us. As they say in academic writing, any mistakes we make will be our own.
Happy New Year 2010!
Christmas Eve 2009
It’s hard to believe ten years have already passed since Y2K was going to do us all in. The world has seen its share of sorrows, but I remain hopeful that what I read is true, and we live in the most peaceful time in human history. Dave and I have very much enjoyed our last decade and look forward to an interesting one to come. We wish you the very best new year!
Baby Shower 1
Baby Gribble's champion shower organizer and great aunt Martha.
The first baby shower is in the books, so I guess baby Gribble is official. Of course, we still don’t know if it’ll be a he or a she. As you may well know, we are planning to wait to find out when s|he is finally born sometime around the end of March or the beginning of April. At least that’s the plan!
We had a lot of fun catching up with some of Jess’s family. The turnout was very good. Thanks to baby Gribble’s great aunt Martha for planning everything and Grandma and Grandpa Hazelton for graciously hosting the event! Both sides of the family were represented, driving in from the Columbus area, Pepper Pike, South Euclid, Cuyahoga Falls, and Newark, Ohio; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and Allison Park, PA.
Dave models a lovely bib and matching suit. It looks a little small.
There were a few relatives we hadn’t even met! It was a pleasure to get to know my cousin Ashe and my cousins’ young daughters Lucy (Leah and Jared) and Mia (Andrew and Regan). They’re all total sweethearts. We started out with a delicious meal of sandwiches, meatballs, ham, cheese, pickles, salad, cake, cookies, pies, olives, etc. Dave and I were lucky enough to hang around a few days afterward to eat the leftovers!
After we’d all eaten, we gathered in the family room to open presents. It was like Christmas, except that everything was for us! We were a bit overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of stuff. Great aunt Martha found outfits that will fit from birth through eighteen months, including all the holidays in between!
Jess opening presents with Nancy, Bob, and Shirlie looking on in rapt fascination.
Baby Gribble will be far more stylish than either parent ever was. Can you believe that Martha even found a Thanksgiving outfit!? Baby clothes are ridiculously cute, and we’ve got more ducks, giraffes, turtles, and lions than you can shake a stick at. Hooded towels. Baby shampoo. And several of the large items we really need to get the baby home from the hospital and asleep! We’re going to use the old crib my brothers and I had (with super-fun spinny plastic disks), and Mom and Dad found all the bedding we’d need. We got a carseat and matching pack ‘n play (little elephants) and the lime green stroller we wanted. The Styblos gave us a beautiful quilt.
Jess's dad Chris with our little cousin Ashe.
While I don’t remember this, Elaina says that in high school I said that if I ever had a baby shower, I wanted some gifts for myself—the baby would get enough. Well, the baby got plenty, and Elaina gave me one of our favorite movies (Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man), a book about women motorcyclists through history, and a juicy romance novel. Perfect!
The brute squad (Matt, Lee, and Josh) with Sarah, Cathleen, and Mary Ellen also looking on.
After we opened our gifts, we adjourned to the kitchen and living room for dessert and playtime. I got a chance to flip Evers upside down a few dozen times, which was really fun for both of us. (We’d only met three times or so, so I was glad to spend some time with him.) He and Ashe ran in circles through the downstairs with Spongebob Squarepants and Bob the Builder for a while.
We said goodbye to all the grownup relatives who had driven in: Uncle Bob and Cindy, the whole Mazak clan (minus Uncle Andrew and Jared), Aunts Nancy and Shirlie, Matt and Erin, N and Laura, and the Baskeys (Josh and Sarah have become a young woman and man since we’ve last seen them!). The men got to go out and help pick up a car that had wound up with one wheel off the slippery driveway, which N pointed out was a good antidote to all the baby stuff they’d had to suffer.
Leah with Mia and Jess's mom Betti enjoying the show from the couch.
Really, the perfect day! Not too much squealing about the clothes (which were definitely cute enough to squeal about). Lots of gifts that will be used and enjoyed by baby Gribble and parents. And a great opportunity to see family that we hardly ever get to spend time with.
Christmas: Part 1
Our nativity set at home in Colorado surrounded by some early Christmas cards. Well have a bunch more by the time we return!
Jess and I are on a lovely Christmas vacation. We left after work on Friday, and after picking up a rental car in Boulder, we stopped off at home and headed for Ohio. While packing up the car, we checked out the weather report. The forecast was for pretty low temperatures (15–20 °F) across most of I-80 with 20–90% chance of precipitation. I yelled at Jess to stop wrapping the last few presents so that we could hit the road.
Jess's dad Chris with a new t-shirt he got for his 60th birthday.
As things turned out, we had excellent driving weather. Although the roads were a bit wet on occasion, nothing was frozen and we encountered only a little light mist. We’d have made exceptional time if it weren’t for a couple of encounters with the local constabularies in Nebraska and Iowa. Fortunately both resulted in just warnings, so all is well.
About 21 hours after leaving home, we arrived at Jess’s parents’ house near Cleveland. Jess’s brother Nathaniel and his wife Laura beat us there by a few minutes, and her other brother Matt and his wife Erin arrived just a few minutes after us. It was nice to have the whole Hazelton clan together—complete with spouses.
Matt and Erin Hazelton at our Christmas portion of the get together.
Since there are a number of birthdays in December, we decided to have a combined birthday party for everyone. We also celebrated Christmas a bit early as this was the only time all of us would be together during the vacation.
We had a nice time opening up presents. Jess’s dad got an exciting new GPS for his car, and everyone else got some fun presents as well.
On Sunday, we all made it to church at Trinity (Jess’s mom is the Senior Pastor there) for lessons and carols. The theme was waiting (for the birth of baby Jesus, of course). They did a really nice job of tying the theme into the carols.
Nathaniel and Laura opening presents.
After church, we headed back for the first of many baby showers for little baby Gribble. There were presents galore, and a lot of family made the trek to see Jess’s protruding belly. I hope s|he felt all of the love. Look for a future blog specifically on the topic.
The following day we hung out with Chris as Betti had to work. We slept in pretty late and took a drive to a few different stores guided by Australian Ken (voice of the Garmin Nüvi). The GPS did much better when provided with an accurate destination, but, as always, GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out for those without the requisite computer geek background)!
Back at home, we took a walk to Giant Eagle to pick up some meat for beef stew. It was good to a get a little exercise. Note that Jess and her dad got a bit of exercise with Ada Jenkowitz’s Basic Training.
Jess and Chris "exercising" to Ada Jenkowitz's Basic Training
On Tuesday, we got up and took a trip to Cleveland’s own Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame. This time Nüvi did an excellent job of guiding us. The museum was a lot of fun. I think my favorite part was the pants with built-in underwear (on the outside) that belonged to Freddy Mercury. Who else could pull off such an ensemble?