weekend part 2: la familia

after our visit on saturday from the fudges, it was time to hit the road. it was a short trip to my auntie janice's house, right down the road from where we live. even though we were only going a short way, we still had to strap in the beebs.

binky?

check. little mouse?

check. okay bebe, we're ready! let's get you in the car-

the car?!?!!

beatrix was a big hit. she was her totally sociable self and didn't even flinch at all of the new faces she saw as my mom's side of the family met her for the first time. cousin brian took a turn with beebs, and as per usual, she was a flirt. here she is snuggling up:

we were all together to visit with my uncle dennis and aunt joyce. they live in florida so we don't see them much.

this is my uncle bob and his wife barbara. my maternal grandparents had five kids. the first baby died when she was only seven months old. after that came my uncle bob, my aunt janice, my mom, and my uncle dennis.

this is my uncle bob (auntie janice's husband), my aunt joyce, and auntie janice.

the siblings were going over the documents my grandfather had left behind when he died. there were some pretty old papers there, including birth certificates from the first and second decades of the twentieth century, my grandfather's enlistment certificate (he was in the national guard), baptism certificates, death records for my great grandmother, and also a few old pictures. my uncle bob had even done some research in the office of public records in providence and found the cemetary where the first baby had been buried. with both of my grandparents gone, none of the siblings had known the burial site until uncle bob found it. in with the documents was a lock of the baby's hair that my grandmother had saved. it was a light brownish-blond, the same color that bebe's is becoming right now. my hair was also that color for a short while when i was a baby.

some serious thinking going on here...

beatrix sat at the big kids table

littler kids

bigger kids

waiting for permission to have dessert

it was fun to just give bebe to my aunts and let them spend some time with her. it's too bad none of them have any baby experience though. i had to keep a close eye on them...

and of course, grammy wrestled her away from everyone else. often.

and just when we thought it was nap time, face got her second wind and held court in the living room with her cousins. she laughed and giggled and shrieked and yelped, all to the delight of anyone in attendance. the best part about the day was that everyone got the full bebe experience. she was a little fussy at times, and silly and flirty and charming, too. good one, beatrix!

three old dudes and a dog, closing out the pats game...