Tag Archives: Nana

Nana & Poppa Christmas visit

December 21, 2007UncategorizedChristmas, Claire, eating, Nana, PoppaStu

My parents came for a great six-day visit on their way to Seattle. Highlights included Claire and her Poppa going for long walks around the block in our new stroller, Claire sitting in a high chair for the first time during dinner out at P.F. Chang’s, decorating our mantle for Christmas, knocking off about 20 projects around the house, cooking our first prime rib with Mom’s help, a return visit to the Asian Art Museum, and finally buying lots of electronic gadgets both at Fry’s Electronics in Palo Alto and at the Stanford Mall. We’re off to Phoenix tomorrow for Christmas with Katherine’s family.

Click on either of the photos below for a slideshow.

Nana and Poppa visit

August 12, 2007UncategorizedAunt Mona, Claire, Nana, PoppaPeter

Given that it’s 2007, Mona and I have decided to embrace the latest internet fad and post our first blog entry (with a little help from Stuart).

We have had a grand time on a West Coast tour, starting with a visit to young Mona in Seattle for a week. After a few days in town and visiting Mona’s office at Chateau Ste. Michelle, we drove up the Olympic Highway through the mountains to the East side of the Olympics for some gorgeous views. We had a lovely overnight visit to a town called Mazama and stayed in cozy little cabin at the Freestone Inn. Here’s a picture from our Chateau visit:

Next we headed down to the Bay Area for six days with Stu, Katherine and their little girl Claire. We’ve spent most of our time watching Claire eat, sleep, play, cry (not much), and generally amuse us all. We’ve also enjoyed many picnics in the backyard and had a fun dinner out Saturday at the local P.F. Chang’s. Claire seems to change every day and we’re anxiously awaiting the latest weight statistics to see just how much she gained during our visit (it seems like a lot!).

One interesting thing we learned was a set of handy tips for soothing a baby called the “Five S’s” from a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block: Swaddling, Side, Shhh, Swinging, and Sucking. I didn’t believe it at first but a friend of Katherine’s and Stu’s lent them a copy of video that shows how to do it, and both on the video and with Claire these really work! If you have small children, definitely give them a try.

We’re heading back home this afternoon, but wanted to share our trip with you. We’ve got lots more pictures — click here or on the picture below for a slideshow.

Elizabeths

July 15, 2007UncategorizedAunt Mona, Claire, NanaStu

We’ve gotten a few questions about Claire’s middle name, Elizabeth, and thought we’d share some of the history behind a name inspired by both sides of our family.

On her mother’s side, Claire Elizabeth is named for her great-great-aunt, Elizabeth Emma Lampe Erickson (pictured here a few weeks ago at a Lampe family reunion in Glacier National Park). Aunt Betty, as she is widely known, is the matriarch of Katherine’s dad’s family. Claire shares the honor of being named after Aunt Betty with her great-aunt, Susan Elizabeth Heidel Lotz. Born in 1915, Betty celebrated her 92nd birthday just one day after Claire was born. She grew up in Philadelphia and Oak Park, Illinois. She has lived all over country including Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Ohio, and even Hollywood, were she worked for a movie producer. Betty currently lives in Iowa City and still drives her own car.

On her father’s side, Claire Elizabeth is named for at least four generations of Elizabeths. The first was Claire’s great-great-grandmother Elizabeth Dunne (pictured here on the right in about 1915 with her daughter, Claire’s great-grandmother Eileen Dunne Corboy who we know as Granny). The second generation of Elizabeths was Claire’s great-aunt, Jeanette Elizabeth Dunne (known as Aunt Tilly). The third is Claire’s grandmother, Mona Elizabeth Corboy West (known to Claire as ‘Nana’ and a frequent and enthusiastic commenter on this blog). And finally, the fourth is Claire’s aunt, Mona Elizabeth West (who is visiting Claire this weekend).