I can’t believe the last thing I really documented (besides Elliot updates) was our family vacation to Milwaukee. So I’m throwing it back in time to Halloween where I had the brilliant plan to have a group costume last year. Mostly because I don’t think Henry will let me make the costume decisions much longer, and we had a cute baby who demanded an even cuter costume.
I made the executive decision to dress us up as The Incredibles! If you don’t know about this family, go to your local library and check out a copy of this movie; it’s amazing. Basically, The Incredibles are a family of superheroes who have had to hide the superpowers due to the government banning use of powers. Naturally, issues arise where they have to embrace their powers and save the day, working together as a family.
Five people comprise this fictional family, but this fact did not deter us from an awesome costume. We simply made Violet, the Invisible Girl, invisibly present. Keith was Mr. Incredible, I was Elastigirl, Henry was their son, Dash (since Henry’s superpower in real life is his speed), and Elliot was Jack-Jack, the baby. I searched Pinterest and googled people’s blogs to figure out how to do the costumes without sewing, because that’s not one of my gifts, and ended up with an awesome result.
Henry threw a wrench into my plans by declaring he would be a jellyfish for Halloween and NOTHING ELSE. This happened a couple days before Halloween night, so I definitely wasn’t going to make that happen. Luckily, once he saw the costumes he only wanted to be Dash. We trick-or-treated together in our neighborhood, and even teenagers told us how cool our costumes were. Even Keith had fun being dressed up, and Henry wants to go as the same thing this year.
I’m sure he will change his mind about 57 times before then.
We headed north to Milwaukee in the fall to attend Keith’s cousin Katie’s wedding to her love, Matt. We woke up Henry from his afternoon nap to rush over to the ceremony at the Three Holy Women Catholic Parish. We walked in with a crying and cranky Hen and sleeping Elliot just as the mother of the bride was being escorted down the aisle. Keith walked around the back of the church to calm Henry, and then Elliot awoke, wanting to nurse. So I headed to the back of the building, too. Needless to say, we were distracted during the ceremony, but the parts we saw were beautiful. Everyone in the place was so happy for the couple, and it showed.
We piled in our cars to head for the reception at the Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, chosen in part because Katie and Matt are big beer drinkers and Matt works at the the Lakefront Brewery. It was a cool building with stained glass windows and cells in the basement. The cells made for a quiet place to nurse away from the party. Henry danced up a storm at the reception with everyone – he definitely has some signature moves! Keith and I alternately wore Elliot so he could sleep while we ate, drank, and danced. It was one of our favorite wedding receptions ever, but the best part was hanging out with extended family who rarely have the opportunity to all get together in one place (because there’s so many of them)! Milwaukee and the Meister-Krajnaks, we love you!
Back in October we took our first plane ride as a family of four up to Milwaukee to attend Keith’s cousin, Katie’s wedding. Making a mini vacation out of it, we hung out in downtown Milwaukee for a few days with our extended family, exploring “the good land” and eating and drinking our way through the town.
We’re members of MOSI in Tampa and one of its benefits is reciprocity with other science museums all over the country, including Discovery World. Located on Lake Michigan, this museum is amazing. One building houses an aquarium filled with fun and informational exhibits about the Lake Michigan watershed, and a second building focuses on science and technology exhibits including hands-on music (Les Paul) and physics areas.
Keith and I loved the aquarium, which Henry wanted to blow through, of course. Henry liked racing cars using air pressure, and Brent humored us by joining our adventure (I’m not sure what he liked the best). Henry keeps asking when we are going back, it was that awesome.
We also toured the Milwaukee River and Lake Michigan by boat, which was fantastic. Our guide gave a synopsis on the history of Milwaukee and its buildings along the river and lake, and local beer was available for purchase. Henry performed an impromptu dance, and we all loved spending additional time with the newly married couple and extended family – Miller and Meister cousins reunited!
Luckily, we happened to be in town on a Sunday when our friend, Alexis, was preaching at Lake Park Lutheran Church, so we drove up for worship with her and her congregation. We spent time on two different days with her; it was totally bonus donuts on top of an already wonderful trip.
Finally, we ate at several delicious restaurants (Milwaukee Brat House, Colectivo Coffee, Stubby’s, and Cafe Benelux were favorites) – lots of beer, cheese, and sausage consumed by all. At one meal, Henry ate bacon, sausage, and chicken tenders – he was in food heaven. We visited the Public Market and picked up yummy cheeses to bring a bit of Milwaukee home with us – I wish we had cheese curds here; I could eat them every day!
In the days before Hurricane Matthew hit Florida, different models projected different paths for the storm. It seemed like the whole East Coast of the state had a hurricane watch or warning. Even Central Florida felt threatened by the storm – it was so huge and horrible. My brother headed out of town for a work conference when it was battering Haiti, leaving Amanda and the kids home alone. Since they hadn’t been in their house for too long, combined with potential flooding and high winds, we offered up our home to crash with us.
Seven people in our three bedroom house is A LOT, but the kids had a blast. Henry loves his cousins, Grayson and Finley, and the kids played (mostly) well together. The three adults were exhausted at the end of each day, but we had prepared for the storm Florida-style and we were stocked up on snackies and adult beverages.
I’m thankful their house turned out to be just fine; Orlando didn’t get hit hard by the storm. My parents home in Jacksonville lost power for a few days, and there were tons of trees down in their neighborhood, but otherwise they were unscathed. Unfortunately, St. Augustine and the Jacksonville beaches flooded and were torn up, and we have friends who live out there. Hurricanes, especially ones category 3 and above, scare me, and I’m definitely taking steps to make sure our home is secure for next year’s season.
Miriam Trauger (c. 1970s)
I’ve been thinking a lot about my Grandmom lately. She lived through the Depression, stopping school in the 8th grade to help her family run the farm. As the oldest child with no brothers, it was her responsibility to work the land as a farmhand when money was tight. She didn’t even inherit the farm she toiled over because she wanted to marry my Grandpop, a man my grandparents thought inferior for her. maybe their 50th wedding anniversary
A housewife, she loved her family, went to (first Mennonite, later Congregational, and lastly Presbyterian) church regularly, and cherished food. She always admonished me when I failed to clear my plate. Don’t worry, she saved whatever I didn’t eat and included it in her weekly soup (any and all leftovers, mostly produce, that didn’t get eaten became her soup). As far as I know, no one ate the soup except for her. I guess growing up not having enough to eat will do that to a person.
She also advocated for food security in the best way she knew how – through walking in the Arlington area’s annual CROP Walk for Hunger. The most prolific fundraiser for years, she walked the six miles with joy knowing she was helping those who didn’t know where their next meal was coming from. She loved to walk (she could be seen in the mornings and evenings each day walking throughout the neighborhood), and was the oldest person to complete the walk her last couple of years of doing it.
But that’s not why I’m thinking about her these days. Most of the time, I just think about how much I miss her. She lived less than a mile down the street from me while I was growing up, and she was my first and most memorable babysitter. One of my favorite moments as a kid was piling all my stuffed animals on the bed and reading books while laying on top of them. She did that with me. She also braided my hair in pigtails whenever she was around after bath time, something I loved because only she could do it (my mom never did). Funny, I ended up being the one to brush and braid her hair in pigtails at the end.
We took walks to the neighborhood playground, collecting nuts that fell from trees to throw in the St. John’s River, played endless games (she loved card games the best), and ate weekly Sunday dinners together. As I got older, I spent less time at her house, and more time with sports and school activities. She came to those when she could, but mostly I saw her at our family dinners (which I didn’t even really want to attend (ugh, teen life)).
During high school, my parents chaperoned a trip for my brother for a week one summer and I was bummed to have to stay with my grandparents. Looking back now, I’m so happy I did. I’d never spent a whole week with them before, being part of their regular lives. It felt special, and I felt loved.
Before she died, she told me how happy I made her, especially since I was excelling in college. She said that’s why all of my birthday and Christmas money (never presents) had to go to my college fund – it was that important. She didn’t see the importance of it when my dad wanted to attend college (first in the family), but after he did, and saw his support of us and my grandparents, she told me she was glad to be wrong.
The last time I remember seeing her was on a car ride on my way back to college. She was pretty frail at that point, but she insisted on making the two hour ride to and from Gainesville with me and my parents. I think she slept most of the ride. But I knew she cared for me and was there for me unconditionally.
I hope that I’m continuing to make her proud in my raising of two young boys. I often think about how she would react to a situation or what kind of advice she would give me. I miss her. And our Grandmom/Granddaughter bond is why I’m thinking about her so much these days. Right now, Henry spends two days a week with his Oma and Opa, who live 20 short minutes away. It’s a lifesaver for me as I adjust to life with two kiddos, but it’s amazing for him (and hopefully them) as well. I know he’s going to have lovely memories of his time spent with them now, and I hope these memories continue to build exponentially in the years to come.
One week ago we had one of our friends from college (Lutheran Gator Campus Ministry represent!), take photos of the family, but mostly Henry. Even though her business, Katie Burns Photography (www.katieburnsphotography.com) is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, she offered to do a photo session of us while visiting Florida on vacation. We are so happy she did.
Katie specializes in documentary photography – photography that tells a story – and she is amazing at it. Henry felt comfortable with her right away upon waking from his nap, which doesn’t usually happen (he typically wants to sit and cuddle while gradually waking up). He smiled and flirted with her, while showing her his favorite toys and his room. We played inside and outside, and sometimes forgot she was even there. The pictures capture the Hen’s playfulness and beauty (boys are definitely beautiful). We love them.
Henry and I spend most Thursday mornings at “Wiggle, Giggle, and Sing” at the Seminole Community Library. The program itself starts at 10:30, but beginning at 10am there are toys for the under-five set to play with and get some energy out. It’s a nice way to ease into the chaos that is 30+ toddlers and their caregivers dancing around. The class consists of 10-15 minutes of movement-based songs, then 10 minutes of dancing with beanbags, handkerchiefs, or a parachute, and 5-10 minutes of playing with musical instruments.
the chaos
The Hen’s fav dance move is spinning, always spinning. He can totally do what the songs are talking about, but he’d much rather spin in circles. I don’t know how he never gets dizzy. He also loves playing with the musical instruments, especially the coffee can drums. He can drum and spin at the same time, yet somehow trips when standing still. It makes no sense. He’s starting to sing along with the songs (any song he loves, actually) – his current favorites are “Swim to Stay Strong” and “Shake Your Sillies Out.”
drumming like Animal from the Muppets!
Afterwards, we either color or do the craft of the week, read a few books (trucks, trucks, and more trucks these days), and play with the puppets in the puppet theater. Henry and the other kids mostly throw the puppets from the ledge and hide behind the curtain while giggling excitedly. It’s pretty adorable. We finish by eating a snack outside at the picnic tables because all that playing builds up quite an appetite. Yogurt raisins and oranges are usually the perfect combination. Today we had two special guests with us – my parents, Grandma and Grandpop to Henry, are visiting for a couple days. Henry thought reading with Grandma was the best part of it all.
