In Loving Memory: Paul D. Jarvis (a.k.a. Dad, Grampy, Grandpa, Great-Grampy)

It was with heavy hearts that we said goodbye to Great-Grampy Jarvis on Sunday. He leaves behind a great legacy of 5 children, 10 grandchildren, and 8 great-grandchildren (sorry if my numbers are off). He was my last living grandparent, and the only great-grandparent who was alive when Jack and Charlotte were born. Here are some pictures of Jack's first visit with Grampy in Vermont when Jack was 8 months old.


And some photos from our recent trip to Vermont at Thanksgiving. I am so glad Grampy got to meet Charlotte and see Jack one more time.


I've thought back these past few days of some memories with Grampy: as a child, following him around on the farm and asking questions about Sam the Ram, feeling bad when we went to Uncle Norman's and Great-Grampy got his hand scratched when trying to grab a bunny for me to pet, staring in fascination at all of his projects in the wood shop, Grammy and Grampy's surprise 50th anniversary party.

Also lots of food memories--those delicious homemade pickles, raiding his freezer to check out the stockpile of Ben&Jerry's, being offered Penny's "dog cookies." During our visit to Vermont when Jack was a baby, Grampy kept trying to sneak Jack some ice cream and I wouldn't let him. And I didn't see this, but knowing Grampy I can picture it clear as day--he was a passionate (and stubborn) gardner to the very end. This summer he became dependant on an oxygen tank, but he rigged up a system to pull the tank along side him so he could still tend to his vegetables.

One of the great blessings of my life has been that my parents remarried into such wonderful families. I never realized until later in life, because I had never experienced differently, that divorced kids aren't always treated well by their step-families. Grampy and Grammy Jarvis (and all my other extended family, on both sides) took me in as their own from day 1. They were the epitome of "good people," and were what we should all strive to be. Grampy lived a simple life, but his love, humor, work ethic, and kindness made it an extraordinary life. We will miss you, Grampy. I hope you are in heaven right now with Grammy enjoying a home-cooked meal.

The other night I was trying to record Charlotte making some noises. Of course Jack also wanted me to record him, and since Charlotte wasn't being very cooperative, I took this video of Jack counting. He's normally quite good and can count to well over 50, but he must have had a little stage fright.


I finally got Charlotte a little more in the mood to talk. Her favorite new word is "uh-oh." She'll also say "mama" and "dada," but is very unpredictable with when she says those.



Some news with me--I was offered a temporary faculty position this semester at Loyola University, so I'll be teaching "Public Health Nutrition and Research Theory for Dietetic Practice" for 3 hours, 1 night per week. So most of my "free time" through April will now be spent preparing for class. First class is tonight!

And just for fun, if anyone wants to see a picture of me in a local paper, check out the link below. The article isn't about me; the story was on one of our clinics that moved to a new location. So the article is fairly boring, but you can see a picture of me in the photo gallery section (I'm actually in the main picture too posing as a client, but it's just the back of my head).

http://evanston.suntimes.com/9933249-417/ceda-changes-in-evanston-may-affect-services-to-people-in-need.html

A girl and her dog + New Year's

Charlotte loves to relax with Louie in his bed. Well, maybe it's not very relaxing for Lou, but it beats Charlotte's other favorite things to do to him--pinching, eye poking, and tail-pulling (and she always has to grab his tail right up close to the butt.)

What a cutie!

Also, a couple pictures from New Year's that I hadn't gotten around to posting. We were joined at the lake house by the Flynns and the Words (visiting from North Carolina). I tried to take some pictures of the kids, but they were just too busy having fun and running around. This is the only picture that isn't all blurs:

Who are these crazy people??

More Christmas photos

Thanks to Grandma Nold for sharing her Christmas pictures! Also best wishes for a speedy recovery to Grandmomma Fields, who underwent knee replacement surgery this week. We're glad it went well, and that you're home now!

Here are some more photos from Christmas morning:


This tent has been a big hit. Jack is making it into his own personal hideout.



Charlotte's chase-the-kitty toy. She alternates between having fun and squealing while chasing it, to getting angry that it keeps running away. When that happens, she usually just grabs the kitty and holds it hostage.

"I know I'm not supposed to be touching this, but what are you going to do about it?"

The kids stayed overnight at Grandma and Grandpa's the night before Christmas Eve. Charlotte didn't sleep well and decided to wake everyone up at 5 am. The kids spent some early morning snuggle time on the couch.

Earlier that week, Jack had helped Grandma decorate Christmas cookies. It's been a lot of fun this year, since he's old enough to really participate in a lot more Christmas activities.

Decorating cookies is hard work--Jack never has trouble sleeping at Grandma and Grandpa's :)

Jack-and-Charlotte-in-a-box!

The kids still often have more fun with gift packaging than the gifts themselves. Case in point, this big box from the presents that Aunt Nancy and Uncle Danny sent. Turns out it was the perfect size for Jack and Charlotte.

There were lots of giggles and squeals as Sarah scooted the kids across the floor.


So cute! Jack actually totally enclosed himself in the box, curled up with his monkey in the bottom and said he was taking a nap in the dark (that lasted about 2 minutes). Wish I'd known he likes to sleep in a box; would have saved a lot of money on a bed.

Peek!

Christmas

We enjoyed 2 days of Christmas festivities--great times were shared with family, and now the kids are still on serious toy overload. The picture above was from our gathering the day after Christmas with the Felton side of the family. We were able to get Parker, Alexis, Jack, and Charlotte to sit still for a few photos, but getting them all to look at the camera and smile at the same time just wasn't going to happen. Maybe next year.

Some pictures of the beginning of the toy explosion on Christmas Day.

Our 2 au pairs, Sarah and Elif, joined us for some of the fun. Elif left the day after Christmas and returned home to Turkey. We'll miss her and we wish her the best!

Charlotte snuggling with a new stuffed polar bear. She loves to cuddle with her animals--gives lots of hugs and kisses.



A cute close-up of Charlotte and Jack when we were taking pictures with all the kids.

Of course Jack loved Grandma and Grandpa's Christmas pyramid because it spins.

Parker and Charlotte

Charlotte and Macie. Wasn't Charlotte cute in the Christmas dress Grandma got her?

Charlotte and Lori

The piano is always a big hit.

We hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

School Christmas Party

On Friday, Grandma and Grandpa Nold came with me and Jack to a holiday party at his preschool. It was pretty informal--just food and getting to see the kids do some of their regular school activities. In the picture above, they're enjoying some reading time. Jack is sandwiched in between 2 of his usual girlfriends Kensie and Joanna (he changes his mind every couple of days about who, and how many, girlfriends he has).

Jack with one of his teachers, Ms. Kathleen. He's holding up a poster of his family that each of the kids made.

Ms. Maria

Jack and friend Max

Jack and his newest girlfriend, Junila (see them holding hands). It actually took several tries to get a good picture of them.

This was more typical behavior.

It was so unbelievably cute to watch the kids and how truly excited they are at this age to have their families participate in activities with them. I'm sure I'll look back on these moments often when Jack is a teenager :)