Dylan's Older Sister

For the most part, Chloe has taken Dylan's presence in stride.  It didn't start out that way.  Her first meeting with Dylan was at the hospital in front of aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents in addition to Dan and I who were eagerly awaiting her reaction.  We all had pushed her to interact with Dylan that she didn't know what to do so naturally she shyed away from him.  Dan recalls two big crocodile tears in her eyes as she tried to leave the hospital room.  My sister Jennifer told me about Chloe's somewhat shocked reaction to me holding Dylan (she also could have been reacting to my puffy face and me wearing an un-flattering hospital gown :P). 

The next day, after all the extra audience left, Dan brought Chloe to the hospital to visit with me and Dylan.  He mistakenly brought their pizza dinner into my hospital room.  Soon enough, Chloe was getting her pizza sauce stained hands everywhere and Dan was too eager with the hand sanitizer.  This made Chloe come to me with her arms outstretched begging me to pick her up and hold her which I couldn't do since I couldn't lift anything heavier than Dylan for two weeks.  So when I tried to explain to her that I couldn't lift her, she started to cry which made me cry since I really wanted to hold her and tell her everything's okay (plus after two nights in the hospital, I really wanted to go home).  Then, Dylan started to cry.  Dan was definitely having a Calgon moment, but he handled it well and somehow managed to calm everyone down.     

Chloe has become very protective of Dylan.  During the first couple of days home from the hospital, it took two people to change Dylan's diaper - one to do the changing and one to hold down his feet and ankles so that he wouldn't kick his recently circumcised area.  During a diaper change, I was holding Dylan's feet down and Dan was changing the diaper.  All the while, Dylan was screaming at the top of his lungs.  Chloe ran in, thought I was hurting Dylan and while trying to release my on Dylan's ankles she yelled, "Stop it, Momma!  Go away Momma!".  Whenever Dylan cries, she's quickly at his side trying to soothe him or thinking that he must be cold, covers him with a blanket.  She enjoys helping out when we give him a bath and gladly throws his diapers into the trash can (even the stinky ones) .

Dylan enjoys having a sister.  When Chloe comes home from daycare, she greets him and Dylan responds with a smile and vigorous kicking.  He may not understand why she throws a tantrum (neither do Dan or I), but when he hears her cry, he starts to cry.  It may have been rocky during Dylan's first days, but I think it was the beginning of a beautiful sibling relationship.

Goodbye Chris...

When I was four, my family lived in Willoughby Naval Housing in Norfolk, VA.  We often recall memories from living there and whenever I drive home to Virginia Beach, I always look out the window at Willoughby trying to spot the house that we lived in. 

My older sisters, Jennifer and Janice,  were a part of a gang of 10-12 kids that always hung out together.  In the summer, they were often at our house playing ping pong or out late in the evening playing hide and seek.  Eventually, this Willoughby Gang split up as  families were transferred elsewhere.  Despite geography, some remained close friends throughout the years and others kept in touch.  Chris Daclan, a member of this Willoughby Gang, passed away Sunday.  He was only 42. 

If you met Chris, you never forgot him.  He was outgoing, very musically talented and could make anyone laugh.  He wrote a song for Janice and I can still hear the cassette tape of him singing the song to her.  I remember one time he was over at our house in Virginia Beach and he entertained my family playing the piano and singing for an hour or two.  I remember funny AOL IM chats many years ago that always put a smile on my face (of course, he was probably just IM'ing me to learn about Jennifer and Janice).  It was Chris who helped keep the Willoughby Gang together.  He always seemed to know where everyone was and made efforts to track down members of the gang.  From his facebook profile, you can tell he touched the lives of many.  Goodbye Chris, you will be missed, but we all know you're making the angels smile and laugh more.