A few more glimpses from our trip to St. Louis.  My little French sophisticate.  My little quarterback. My little girl behind the wheel.

I could probably write ten more blog posts about our trip, but I wouldn’t be able to capture the magic of all the in-between moments, just talking, hanging out, being together.  It was wonderful for Drex and me.  We had plenty of people to chase after Sonya, hold Leena, push the double stroller, and carry our daughters and all their stuff.

For all the people States-side, Happy Memorial Day weekend!

“YEE-AAAAY! PRANCESS!” Sonya shouted after she removed the tissue paper from the gift bag and saw what was inside. I wish I’d filmed her reaction. It was so cute. Troy and Ivy bought two matching ruffly dresses for Sonya and Leena. Sonya was really, really excited. We went to the bedroom to get changed right away.

The girls wore their matching dresses to the Wash U. graduation. The weather was gorgeous, even though the forecast called for rain.

Author, humanitarian, and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel gave the commencement address. I was really excited! I remember reading Night in high school. The take-away message from Elie Wiesel’s speech: “When you see injustice in the world, don’t stand idly by.”

Drex and I took turns walking the girls around the quad in their new double umbrella stroller. The ceremony actually went by very quickly, and the girls fell asleep. Here’s everybody gathered around Doctor Justin Ruths!

Sonya enjoyed being amidst family. Since we got home, she’s kept up a running dialogue that goes like this:

S: Peepul? Peepul?
me: The people in our family? They’ve all gone home.
S: Juh?
me: Uncle Justin is moving to Singapore.
S: [nodding] Poh. [repeating the last syllable of Singapore... then a long pause] Missa?
me: Yup, he’s moving there with Auntie Melissa.
S: Dadu?
me: You’re going to see Dida in Disney World.
S: bahp-pack?
me: Yes, Dida sent you the backpack.
S: bahp-pack…. Toyee? Ibee?
me: They’re at home.
S: Peppuh?
me: With Pepper.
S: [makes panting sounds like a dog] Papa?
me: Grandpapa is at home, too, with Grandmama…
S: Gruh-ma…
me: … and Uncle Weston.
S: Wey-suhn?
me: [slowly] Weston.
S: Daddy?
me: Daddy went to work.
S: [nodding] Wuhk…. Mommy?
me: Mommy is right here with Sonya and Leena.
S: Sohn-ya (she’s gotten pretty good at saying her own name)….. Lee-na? (and at saying her sister’s name, too!)… Lee-lee? (which is my sister)
me: Leena has the same birthday as Lily Mashi.
S: Burd-day?
me: Your birthday is coming up! In July, you’re going to be two.
S: Two! Hat!
me: You’re going to wear a birthday hat.
S: Eat.
me: We’ll eat and sing and have cake in the park.
S: Pahk… Wok?
me: We can go for a walk.
S: Peepul?

Based on how she goes through her sequence of names, I find it interesting that Sonya has an intuition for relationships. For example, she knows that Juh and Missa belong together, and that Toyee and Ibee belong together, and that they should have Peppuh with them.

Sonya now knows the names of her entire extended family. From Derek’s side: Papa, Gruh-ma, Juh, Missa, Toyee, Ibee, Wey-suhn, and Peppuh the chihuahua. From my side: Dadu (usually meaning my mom but also meaning my dad) and Lee-lee. I wish we lived closer to these wonderful peepul.

TO BE CONTINUED

Eleven years ago, Justin and I met our freshman year in college. Who knew that one day we’d be part of the same family?

We took a trip for Justin’s graduation from Washington University in St. Louis. He received his Ph.D in Systems Science and Mathematics. We arrived a few days early, so we got precious one-on-one time with Justin before he moves to Singapore with Melissa.

Getting to St. Louis was quite an adventure— requiring the collaboration of some close friends. On Sunday, Forest drove us (all four of us!) and our luggage from Montreal to Norwich, Vermont. The two guys sat in the front seat. The three girls sat in the back seat. We stopped for lunch at a Mexican place in Montpelier. The little humans were surprisingly good for the whole trip.

Forest dropped us off at Lynn and Richard’s house in Norwich, then turned right back around and drove home to Canada. Now is that an amazing friend or what? We owe him BIG.

Lynn and Richard have a daughter named Eloise who was born just a few days after Leena. We got to swap new-parent stories. It was a full house. Richard’s younger sister was there to help with Eloise, because Lynn was starting back at work on Monday (so we got to be there to witness the transition). Lynn’s parents, who live nearby, came over. We had homemade pizzas and cake to celebrate Lynn’s mom’s birthday. The next morning, Richard made pancakes. Lynn got ready for work. We rented a car from nearby Lebanon Airport one-way to Manchester Airport in New Hampshire.

The flight had two legs: first to Baltimore, then to St. Louis. We got in around 9 p.m. and Justin was waiting for us by baggage claim. Sonya, in a tired voice, just kept saying “tubbie… tubbie… tubbie…” meaning she really wanted to take a bath because she felt dirty and wanted to be keen.

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Several packages were waiting for us in St. Louis, including a special delivery from Linda, who worked with Drex back when he owned a start-up company called Advanced Reality.

Linda sent a blue toy that Sonya immediately started calling ehffunt and an adorable jungle sweater (there’s a purple minkey wearing a pink tutu!) for Leena.

My mom also sent a package with a few little items for Sonya, including eyegrrr and a booklet of stickers.

We went to the St. Louis Zoo.  Here are Leena and Sonya contemplating the zebras in the distance.

Then we had a picnic in Forest Park. Sandwiches, apples, and chips. We talked about the essence of travel and Singapore and our dreams for the future.

Photo credits for the next few posts are shared with Justin, Melissa, Troy, and Ivy Ruths. Cameras were being passed around. Everyone pooled their pictures together in the end.

TO BE CONTINUED