I'm a bit nutty

I can't believe I haven't posted since before this picture was taken at a Cubs game almost two months ago! But we've been having a very busy summer, and I am a summer gal so I like to soak up every minute of it. If you don't know me well enough already, I'm a bit of a nut. But come on, people, just because the Cubs are losing 15-0 doesn't mean you can't get up to do the YMCA!

The kid behind me in the blue shirt has got the idea. Besides, right after this the Cubs rallied to score five runs. I know my dance must have inspired them. That's my dad, lifelong Cubs fan, on the left, and my brother-in-law Dan and niece Katie on the right.

Since our whirlwind trip to the Chicago area in June we have traveled neither very far nor very wide, but next Monday we'll be leaving to spend the better part of a week in Stevensville, Michigan with my mom, dad, Sara, Dan and Katie.

I've had trouble keeping in touch with long distance friends lately (including those as "long distance" as Manhattan!) so I hope you'll forgive me. There have been some ups and downs.

On the down side, in May, three years after my diagnosis, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thankfully she is stage I, her cancer was low grade and not aggressive, and she will not need to endure chemotherapy. She's almost finished with radiation and will get to relax on the beach in Michigan soon.

On the up side, Fredi has a new nephew, Hugo Allan! He's a real cutie and I'll post a picture when I get a chance. We are still waiting for news about Fredi's green card interview, so it may be longer than we'd like before we get to meet our baby nephew in person as he's overseas in Switzerland.

I turned 36 on July 21st, and to celebrate, Fredi and I went to a water park in Long Island called Splish Splash and acted half our age. Fredi turns 36 next week on the 22nd of August! He'll be spending a breathtaking, exhilirating birthday driving 750 miles in the car to get to Michigan. I think I'll take him out for a special birthday lunch at Bob Evans in Youngstown, Ohio. (Seriously! I love that place and we don't have them here.)

For our 2nd wedding anniversary, which was on August 9th, we went to a Yankees-White Sox game. Luckily we went the day before our anniversary to see the Yanks actually beat the White Sox 3-2 in a nailbiter. I got to see my favorite pitcher, Mike Mussina, better known as MOOOOOOOSE, and we were treated to a stellar performance by the greatest closer in the history of baseball, Mariano Rivera. At the game the next night, on our actual anniversary, a teenage kid jumped off the upper deck into the net behind home plate on a dare, and George Steinbrenner reportedly said it was the most exciting thing that happened in the 2-1 loss to Chicago.

I've probably spent less time traveling this year to see friends because I've been spending every chance I get with Katie. The great thing is now she knows who I am and we talk on the phone and sometimes over the Internet with the web cam. The other day she even had a whole pretend conversation with me on her play phone. She's super smart, and I am not biased at all to say she's quite advanced for her age. She knows a ton of words for all of her 20 months, and for a few months now she has known our names, which are "Wauwi" and "Fedi." It's a bit sad each time we have to say goodbye to her. Recently she had on a bracelet we gave her as a gift, and she pointed to it and said, "Wauwi. Bye-bye."

So bye-bye to you from Wauwi for now.