Belated One Month Birthday to Seamus!

Sunday was Seamus' one month birthday.

We ALL LOVE YOU Kiddo!

Getting To Know You

Sunday, Seamus met his Auntie Carol... his mama's sister.
I do believe that they hit it off. He fell asleep in her arms while she was "bonu-izing" him.
Confirmation that he felt comfy and safe.
In hand, came a fun and cheerful basket of goodies that she and Lizzie had put together for everybody. Carol's card to Greta speaks the truth.
"Greta, I love you... What a lucky little man to have you as his Mom!"

Ain't that the truth!
Seamus is one lucky kid to have Greta Ann as his mommy!
And Jim as his Papa, of course!

Here are a few photos of the wonderful basket of goodies... some for Seamus... some just for Mama (forgot to take pix of those lovely shirts).
Comment on the Chicken Book from PapaBear Jim... Oh! My Mother would love this book!

And how can you not smile when greeted by this "clucker"!
And his pal. the NYC pet.

A still very tired PapaBear is getting a lesson as to how to put on the sling.

Hmmm... not sure how successful that venture was.

One day at a time, all things are falling into place.

Seamus Meets Mimi... Foot Rubs All Around!

Mission Elves from NYC to CT was successful yesterday!
We dropped Grampy off at Mimi's so he could drive her to our palace in her car. She could not wait and took a quick peek at her Greatgrandson before heading out with her handsome driver.

Upon returning home... emptied car of luggage, baby "things", (Blau laundry!... gotta love it), and 2 very tired parents... oh and baby of course! :o)

We then cranked the heat up, started the fire in the fireplace. I then made Mama some soft boiled eggs with buttered toast. (YUM) Mimi postitioned herself to give Greta a much needed foot rub. We all settled in.

At dinnertime, Grampy grilled Talapia (as only he can) while I prepared the rest of the evening meal (winter squash, baked potato, salad with avocado)... MORE YUM. Kitty joined us as we settled down in front of "Seamus's first fire" to enjoy a good meal. Finally, Mimi got to hold her newest greatgrandson.
The picture says it all.

The new parents were given the king bed to sleep in.
As I type at 6:00am... all is quiet. Hopefully they got a, much needed, good night's sleep.
Only heard baby at about 4am, probably for a feeding and a quick diapie change.
Happy Sunday.

Seamus! You are Cordially Invited to Nana and Grampy's House!

On the Road Again!
Today we will set out to NYC to pick up the Blau family and bring them back to CT! This will be Seamus' first visit outside of NY and his first meeting with his Great Grandma Mimi!

Grampy is busy "cleaning" the joint (as in egads... where did all this dust come from?) and prepare the fireplace for Seamus' first glowing experience of the warmth of a cozy fire on a cold winter evening.

Hopefully, Auntie Carol and Great Auntie Lizzie (aak! we are "Greats" now sis? or is Grands?) will come to meet Seamus too! My Antonio will be upset to find he had missed Seamus' first visit. But we will make a special meeting for that Tony... soon!

Oh! Be careful out there Northeasterners.... Icy! I fell last night in the driveway! O U C H!

Ok... must dash to get ready for our trip parts west! Will post pix of the visit tomorrow!

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

Sadly, yesterday we had to bid a sad farewell to Zippy, our beloved guppy.

He was more than just a fish to us.

Tony will miss how he was always swimming around in his tank, how colorful he was for a guppy, his jumping up, and Tony always trying to catch him to clean the tank.

I will miss this little creature for (silly as it may sound) his continual presence, daily morning hello and nightly welcome, upon my returning home, with his tank light. He actually used to swim up to the top of the tank to greet me as I would drop his food in each morning. Most surely, I will miss how he truly lived up to his name. He would zip up to the top of the tank from the bottom as if he was playing at times.

And from his original owner ~ Zippy was a good little guppy. He must've been 4 yrs old. Fernando got to witness his birth. After 2 wks old he came home to live with us. He had 1 sister and 1 brother. They were so small you had to squint and look real, real hard to see them. Zippy was the larger of the three. And right from the start he wasn't very nice to his siblings. He made sure he got to eat first. He got to chose his "spot" first and wouldn't let anyone else invade his space. It was so hard to clean their bowl when they were so small and almost invisible. I was certain I had accidentally flushed them down the drain. But then Zippy decided to get rid of his siblings, he wanted the fish bowl all to himself. It was a lot of fun watching Zippy grow up and get some color. He was a real enjoyment. Every morning feeding him and watching him swim around was a nice ritual. But then it was time to have Zippy move on and bring others enjoyment. I'm glad he spent his last years in a nice home with those that loved him. Something about a fish that makes you smile. Even tho Zippy wasn't always the nicest little guppy he still brought out the smiles. Goodbye Zippy, you were a good little guppy.

I am reminded of the time years ago when Greta and Carol were little and we had 2 gerbils. Along the lines of 'survivor', the stronger one decided to "get rid" of the weaker one. AAK! Greta was devasted, asking us to bury him in a box in the back yard, all of this in the midst of a raging thunderstorm! And our backyard was no more than 3 feet from a very full brook! Grets, remember the CROOKED HOUSE? So we put the gerbil into a box and trundled out in the rain and thunder and buried the little creature. It was the least I could do. It took me a while to 'forgive' the remaing gerbil.

Oh.. and then the time that one of our cats was hit by a car. Poor Greta again. As we were retreiving our kitty and walking back across the street to our property to bury it in the yard, (remember this Greta?) somebody STOLE the shovel we had left by the side of the road! Insult upon injury!

Life... hmmm

Farewell Zippy... I missed you this morning.

3 Generations cross The Bridge To Terabithia

A must see! This movie opens the heart for what I believe in... HOPE and POSSIBILITY.

Today, Great Grandma Mimi, Grandson Antonio and I went to see this movie. Delightful... enlightening... dreamy.The "giant" is my newest favorite friend.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY... Safe Passage GrannyFrannie!

Safe Passage Granny Frannie and John!
Let us know when you land that all is well!


I will be brief...
(HA!) Bobo! Stop laughing!

Bad weather out there
and need to get to work!

How lucky am I that I have been given the opportunity to love so many awesome people.
Family first...always. Friends who are like family...
and those I have yet to cross their path.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY to you all! Y

Dorky Blogger...Cat on Crack...PapaBear Penguin

Kind of a jumble of thoughts here folks...
APPARENTLY, I had a setting selected that kept me from getting all of your wonderful comments. Read the directions completely next time Nana! I have a horrible habit of "skimming" stuff. Moving right along.

Perhaps time for some soothing tea?



On my list last night were some teas for Greta to drink. Chamomile, Sleepytime and Tension Tamer. We chose for the first cup of tea... Tension Tamer. I opened the box to let Greta take a sniff to see if it fit her aroma needs. Ah, yet... licorice among other ingredients...smelled like a good choice...It was not just we who agreed! Partial, one their loving kitties, was in loud vocal agreement and beginning to stalk me as I proceeded to make the tea. I apparently had become his new best friend. Greta said, "Does it have catnip in it?" Checkng the ingredients, I was amazed. "Why yes it does", said I. And from the now wildly insane behavior Partial was exhibiting... we got confirmation. Who knew? Catnip in human tea? Leave it to Celestial Seasonings. After much of a struggle (he and I on the floor) I was able to secure the box of tea and make Greta a hot steaming cup. Greta was peacefully nursing Seamus. All was well... then....I had this brilliant thought to open a tea bag and rub it on one the cat toys. I did just that and naively threw the rest away in the garbage. Ah... that's done.. everyone is happy now... I proceed to give Greta a foot rub. But the "crack cat" was not letting up... " I want my fix!" Behold! He had found the source of his need! BANG! CRASH! Over went the garbage pail, spilling the contents of the loose tea on the floor. This was followed by a swift cleanup. Were was the cat for the rest of the evening? Sprauled on the catnip kitchen-flavoared floor in his glory. Gotta love it.
Seamus was up and down last night and PapaBear Jim took the 3:30am detail. He lovingly sat with his "wee" son for hours so to let Greta get some much needed rest/sleep. It reminded me of the father penguins.
[Each penguin egg’s father balances it on his feet and covers it with his brood pouch, a very warm layer of feathered skin designed to keep the egg cozy. There the males stand, for about 65 days, through icy temperatures, cruel winds, and blinding storms. And they eat nothing that whole time.]
And another day begins...

Move over Nannies and Watchin' for Meter Maids!

Since reading Jim's Nanny blog entry, I have been envisioning some media report, photos and all. So early this morning while Seamus and Greta were slumberng and Jim was preparing to reenter the work force, I began to create. I give you a special edition of "In the Limelight".

Back to reality...
Today was an eventful day for "wee" Seamus.
He had his first bath... what fun... he loved it.
We then took him to Dr. Chaudary for his 2nd week check up.Greta's comment was, "he better have gained with all the nursing I've been doing!" Seamus came through... he had gained 9 ounces over the past week.
And they got the go ahead to let Jim feed Seamus. Good thing for Greta, she needs some extra sleep.
Kathy K! Are you reading this? !!! Express and feed!

So... why the mention of Meter Maids again?
Well this time Jim was unable to join Greta in the doctor's office due to a rental car that was about to run out of gas. After adding enough fuel to get us home safely, Jim double parked in front of the doctor's building. As I was looking out the window down at the car, I noticed... OH NO! not one, but TWO meter maids chatting as they crossed the street towards Jim's car.
Luckily, they first stopped at a van parked in front of Jim's rental. So the ever ready "A-Team" gal that I am, I whipped my cell out and called Jim!
"Hello?", he said.
"Meter maids coming your way!, said I. Without even saying goodbye, Jim started the car up and drove off around the block. This time the ugly scene of getting a ticket was averted. TEAMWORK! And of course the CSI photo team was on the scene to capture the "get-away!"!
Oh.. the cow? said Meter maid. Gotta love it, huh? :o)

Poppin' in for a Repeat Performance

Well, I guess my mothering/nurturing skills aren't all that bad! Since Greta is not a happy camper with the two infections, I will return to NYC on Wednesday (very early!) to help them for the remainder of this week.

As much as I hate that Greta is suffering so, I am happy to have the opportunity to see them all again!


My wonderful and understanding husband has been so generous with his chauffeuring skills and kindness towards me and Greta and Jim and Seamus.
Oh.. Grampy...
We love you!


Off to get ready for my next visit with Seamus!
Oh.. and Greta.. and Jim!

What a difference a week makes! (updated)

I have noticed how much Seamus has changed.


And all in just one week of living on Mother Earth.

and then... papabear...

Parting is such sweet sorrow!

With mixed feeling, last night, I bid adieu to Seamus, MamaBear and PapaBear.

My time with them was magical beyond words. I will forever hold the experience in my heart to revisit whenever I want for sweet dreams. As I said in an earlier post, bearing witness to the birth of my grandson was wondrous experience. I have 3 grandsons. Each has given me the richness that fills my heart with warmth. When I think of Seamus, I will recall the moments holding this, as Auntie Teri referrs to him, the wee Seamus... in my arms... so fragile and trusting, the smell of his hair, the way he snuggles against the body without reserve. My memories are endless.

Thank you Greta and Jim for allowing me to tend to all your needs this past week. It has been a true honor.
I now leave you to the much required and respected need, and nature order of being alone, just you 3.

I would like to report that Greta and Jim are a true team. They have worked together to tend to all of Seamus' needs since his entry to this earthly plane. He will be well cared for and truly loved. Verklempt now! Ah.

As Cliff and I were trundling my belongings to our car to journey back to CT, we mused a bit of how it would be to live in "the city". I do love the area that "The Blau's" live in... streets small in nature, people bustling about, a bit of a village atmosphere.

NanaBanana :o)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE TERI!!!!!!

Auntie Teri!
Wee Seamus here sending out a big hug and smoocher oocher kiss to your for your Birthday!
I will attempt a song.. my first.. so be gentle...
la la la la la ....

It's Auntie Teri's Birthday today...
And all I can is is hip hip hooray!
She is a warm and happy Auntie to me...
She sends messages to me... with such glee.

I know that when I meet her one day...
We'll have fun.. joke and really really play...

So Auntie Teri I'm Seamus and here to say...
Have lots of fun 'cause it's YOUR BIR-IRTH-DAY!

Well, Auntie Teri?
You likie?
Love your nephew Seamus :o)