Having a place to go is a home. Having someone to love is a family. Having both is a blessings.”
—Donna Hedges
Now that our daughter Michelle, husband Kyle and our granddaughters Lyla and Emmy moved from Redwood City to Los Gatos, just a couple of miles down the road from us, we have been blessed with being able to have impromptu get togethers.
It was a very hot Sunday. I had just finished a 19-mile bike ride that began late morning. I put the A/C on and took a nap.
Cecile got a call early afternoon from Michelle asking if it was okay to come by for a swim later in the day. Of course the answer was yes.
When you're entertaining, the pool is a wonderful place to nurture family closeness. We did it with our kids Jason and Michelle at our old home in Saratoga. Now we get to do a reprise with our granddaughter Lyla who is 2 1/2. Emmy who is 6 months old will be soon to follow. In the meantime she is very content with frequent nursing and being rocked to sleep in our arms. Her almost constant smiles, energetic moments of her arms and legs and bright blue eyes bring us a lot of joy. Of course, her goo goo, ga, ga noises she makes as the precursor to her speaking in the near future is immensely welcomed.
When we were all in the pool, and I was twirling Lyla around and sliding her back and forth with Kyle, Cecile asked rhetorically what is it about
water that captures the imagination of kids? Turns out that boys and girls who play with water are stimulating many of their senses including
touch, sound, and sight. It is also very calming and elevates a child playful mood. It also brings out the inner child in the adults who are reminded of their youth. Speaking of playing with water, I had to clean our Roman fountain. With all the heat, it was getting discolored and was becoming a breathing ground for insects. I cleaned and emptied it and Lyla who has taken to the water hose for some time now helped me fill the fountain. Her aim has gotten much better.
In anticipation of having dinner, Cecile had ordered fresh salmon delivered by Whole Foods, and made fresh tomato sauce for pasta and a fresh, crisp mixed salad with avocado. Cecile added brown sugar and chili pepper seasoning atop the salmon and Michelle and Kyle grilled them to perfection. I cut up Blue Line Pizza slices into appetizers. Lyla was entertaining us by singing a made up nursery rhyme that had us in stitches and with encouragement from Kyle and Michelle told us about her friends at Day Camp which she is relishing. For dessert we enjoyed a slice of a killer Caramel Fresh Banana Pie with whipped fresh cream that Jason brought Saturday evening when he had dinner with us. Lyla was in heaven.
After dinner, Lyla played with the Bindi GeoSafari Jr. Talking Microscope which includes 20 high quality microscopic image slides that we gifted her.
It requires no effort to focus, has 2 modes of play, and speaks more than 100 fun facts featuring the voice of 23 year old Wildlife Warrior Bindi Irwin Bindi is the eldest of two children of the late conservationist television personality Steve Irwin and his conservationist wife, Terri Irwin, who is currently the
owner of Australia Zoo. Bindi herself has earned street creds for being an Australian television personality, conservationist, zookeeper, and actress. Though it is intended for 5 year olds and up, Lyla is quite taken by the images.
