Rainy Saturday

It was a typically rainy, fall day today. Samuel continued to succeed with his potty training. He also showed true to his urban roots when he refused to get into the van to go get ice cream this afternoon. He only wanted to walk! It took some work but we did convince him to get into his car seat and we took the three kids to a mall down the street (Bayview Village, for those in Toronto). Samuel enjoyed his "yellow" ice cream (orange sherbet) and asked that we clean up each drop that fell on the ground as we walked around the mall. Renee and Matthew had a lovely day. Renee is holding her torso up really well during tummy time. She also figured out how to roll over from sitting propped up on pillows. Matthew held a rattle for quite while and is completely fascinated by hands - his own and other's.





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My aunt Emma died last night, at her home in the sitting room outside her bedroom where she spent a great deal of time and were we used to spend time with her - as a kid, I remember many nights of watching TV and eating dinner with her there - a special treat generally not allowed at home. In an earlier post I described her as ageless, she was indeed full of life and always active. She took all sorts of classes from Shakespeare to pottery, traveled, enjoyed food. She was a strong woman with a strong character and openly expressed her views. Her home was always open to us and we spent tons of time swimming there as kids and staying there when we visited Mexico, she even hosted one of Andy's birthday parties. She always had special treats for us - from a bottle of coke to a special chocolate from her pantry. She cared deeply for her family and I always felt loved in her presence. Upon hearing her diagnosis of leukemia last month, she decided she would beat the disease and travel to meet "los Gemelos" (the twins). But that wasn't meant to be. Instead, Matthew and Renee will get to know her through stories we will tell them and Renee (whose namesake was my grandmother, Emma's sister) will one day get to play with and then wear the many gifts of jewelery that Emma gave me through the years.