Happy Birthday Tyler Patrick Harding!

Seven years ago today I was pacing the hallways of Hartford Hospital waiting for my very first (and only) nephew to be born. At somewhere around 10 p.m. my brother walked out with a squawling, pink newborn in his arms looking a little faint but happier and more excited than I have ever seen him look before.

I don't have an ultrasound picture of Tyler but did find this rather flattering picture of Karla on her birthday (2-3 weeks before Tyler was born) and very pregnant with the little guy!
My brother kissing Tyler the day after he was born - I'm not sure if Karla remembers but I basically stalked them at the hospital to get this little guy in my arms and had to arm wrestle my brother each time.
Tyler playing with playdough at the condo! I was lucky enough to get to watch Tyler once a week while Karla and Pat worked and got to spend lots of quality time with him when he was little. Before Katie was even a twinkle in their eyes!
Tyler and Pete hanging out in Newport!
One of my favorite pictures of Tyler because it shows his playful side!

Uncle Bob and I composed a list of

Ten things that make Tyler Special to Us!

1. He never turns down a chance to come and play at our house and spend time with us.

2. He has patience beyond his years!

3. His love of reading and his enthusiasm to share books with you.

4. His hilarious knock knock jokes!

5. His tight hugs and big smiles!

6. His ability to make Annie smile without even trying!

7. His love of being a big brother to Abby and Katie!

8. His infectious giggle!

9. His kindness, honesty and love of his family!

10. His perfect mix of serious and silly - we LOVE being with him!

Happy Birthday, Tyler! We are so happy that you were born!

GNM - ILY!

A little update on Chelsea sent via e-mail by her Mom!

Chelsea arrived in Jackson Mississippi about 4:30PM EST yesterday. The travel was uneventful, but the highways were full. She called me at about 11PM to tell me she was homesick…….for New Orleans ! She and the girls are fine, but bored to tears, as Jackson is not the tourist capital of the world.

The growing reality is that she may not be going back to Loyola this semester. If Gustav continues at this strength, it would destroy what Katrina and Rita did not. The city is on reserves from the hurricanes three years ago and this storm could bring extended power outages, building damages and unsafe community conditions. After Katrina, students did not return to Loyola, Tulane or Univ of New Orleans until January, but were accommodated at other schools. Loyola is part of a large and strong Jesuit community, so she could be placed at any of the Jesuit schools (including Fordham with her brother ) as she awaits her school to re-open.

The last few days of "vacation"!

Most of you know my goddaughter, Chelsea Rose. Chelsea has had her share of struggles over the last few years which just culminated in her graduation from high school and her acceptance at Loyola in New Orleans. ON Tuesday she left for school and shortly after she arrived the governor ordered a mandatory evacuation of the area due to Hurricane Gustav. Chelsea is on her way to Mississippi right now with her roommate and her roommate's grandmother who happened to be there this week visiting. They will stay in a hotel there for a few days until they know how long the evacuation will last and than Chelsea and her parents will decide if she should come home for awhile or not. I'm not sure how Chelsea's mom, Sondra, is staying so calm except that she has raised an incredibly independent and strong willed child! PLease keep Chelsea and her classmates and neighbors in your prayers as this latest hurricane tests the new levis and accomodations repaired after Hurricane Katrina. I'll update you on what is going on but right now we at least know that Chelsea is out of New Orleans and safe with a loving grandmother!

Bob and I loving Chelsea at her graduation in June!
My beautiful goddaughter at her graduation party!

Poor Annie had a rough couple of days in DC. Based on the pediatrician's recommendation after Annie had a fever of over 102 for 4 days we ended up in the George Wasington University ER on Wednesday night. The poor kid had been miserable and couldn't eat, sleep or soothe herself - very unusual for Banana! When the Ibuprofen kicked in Annie would have a few hours of normalcy but even then she was quieter than normal and not herself. We all ended up in the ER until after midnight and poor Annie had to endure bloodwork and a catheterization just to find out that the rash and high fevers were all symptoms of a very serious virus that they could do nothing about. Annie slept most of the way home yesterday but is still really not feeling great - we checked in with our pediatrician today and will go in for further tests if the fever is not totally resoved by tomorrow at noon. They are fairly certain that we are not dealing with an infection since we had all the tests done in the ER but a persistant fever in a child her age is an issue so.............

A moment of fun with MOlly sharing her Red Sox hat with Annie and putting a smile on her sister's face!
Molly-doll looking super cute - does she ever look any other way?
Annie learned to drink through a straw - yeah!
Annie fell asleep on the bed on Wednesday morning.

And this was Thursday after our night in the ER!
Thank goodness for Grammy blankies and big bird!
Our sweet, sick baby girl.

And how did the ride home from DC go - you might ask? Molly rode for an hour this way due to a tummy ache and a few minutes after this picture she heaved for 10 minutes straight. What a trooper she is, though. She got everything in the bag and felt better after and was her normal happy self - not a care in the world. And about an hour later when we stopped for lunch we let her eat chicken nuggets and fries. So there were many fun moments on the trip but it was tiring and hard to have fun knowing how awful Annie was feeling. The only thing worse - I decided - was if I had gone alone and was not there for Annie while she was sick so I was counting my blessings that at least we were all together and I could be with my baby while she was sick - even if it was in a hotel room in a strange city!

So now we are getting ready for our 1st Birthday Bash for Annie and our official 1st day of school on Tuesday! We are hoping the virus that Annie has does not move on to anyone else in the family!

GNM - ILY!