Memories Made

My mom was 20 when she had me; her mom was 18 when she had her, and I think my great-grandmother was even younger when she had my grammie. When I was starting my family at the ripe old age of 23, I felt old! But in my experience, one of the best parts of being a member of a young family is that there is A LOT of family still around to get to know and love. Our boys not only have a handfull of grandparents, but they have almost two handfulls of great-grandparents and even a few great-greats! T and Ev are lucky to have so many family members that love them, and so many to love in return.

Last week James was traveling so the boys and I decided to head back to Sacramento for some company (reason #2579 why I LOVE living in Palo Alto=so close to home!) We were able to spend time with lots of loved ones, and I wanted to document the memories the boys made so that they will always remember these incredible people.

Noni and Grampa (my dad's parents) were visiting from Washington and met baby Ev for the first time. Noni had the magic touch and was able to put Evie to sleep almost instantly. I loved watching them snuggled so closely together. She thinks Everett is a gorgeous baby...and she also thinks he looks just like my Dad as a baby (though she's not biased at all!) Watching them bond was a beautiful memory made.

She also had an ability to get our baby to coo and smile. This picture is an amazing memory in and of itself. I'm so glad I captured it. So much love and so much happiness.

We were also able to go visit Great Papa (Jim's dad's dad) and spent a wonderful afternoon with him. As soon as I took Evie out of his carseat Papa was sitting and ready to hold him. Fortunately Everett was in a super good mood and sat in his arms for the better part of an hour, smiling and flirting with his great Papa. Watching the joy in Papa and Evie's face was a beautiful memory made.

While I fed Evie in the living room, Papa took T to the family room to watch golf on TV. Their conversation was heart-warming. Papa let Talmage sit in KK's chair. He told him about different golf clubs, and taught him what an aerial view of a golf course was. Talmage loved the attention and I heard him say over and over, "Great Papa, what do you see now?" Within minutes Talmage and Papa migrated to the kitchen table, where they both had a glass of grape juice. When we left the house and were driving away, T said from the backseat, "We had so much fun at Great-Papa's house. I really love him." That afternoon and that comment were beautiful memories made.

Who knows how long we will live this close to family, but while we do I am going to soak up every second of their goodness and love. I hope over the next two years we will make many more memories for these two precious little boys.