#117 - Pretty Girl in a White Dress, Part I

A girl gets to wear a beautiful white dress and veil only twice in her life. Both occassions are special days in that girls life. This weekend, Lou, Owen and I had the honor of sharing that first occasion with Miss Grace Valeria Tylutki as we celebrated her First Holy Communion. She was a breathtaking young woman in that flowing dress. You'll see lots of pictures of her over this post and the next one.

But first, a little more about the weekend. The three of us flew up to Detroit last Thursday. A few things in life we get anxious about - Owen in church, Owen on long car trips, and Owen on a plane. Well, despite our anxiety, he was a trooper on the plane! He sat in his car seat like a big boy, checked out all the airplanes at the airport, and watched a little Caillou on the DVD player. We lucked out! We counted it up, and Owen's been on eight plane trips so far in his 21 months of life. He's already accrued quite a bit of airline miles!

Once in Michigan, we were reunited with Abuela Isa, Tita Susan, Tito Mark, and Noah and Grace. Over the past few months, we have been Skyping with them a few times a week, and I think it's really helped Owen bond with them from hundreds of miles away because he immediately went to them and starting playing, and handing out hugs and kisses. It was really special. Over the weekend, I kept thinking about the bonds that cousins have. They are interesting - it's definitely different from the sibling bond, but not necessarily in a lesser way. I remember growing up with my cousins - Joey, Heidi, Holly and Julie - and I love the memories I have with them. I can only hope that Owen develops that kind of bond with his cousins Kaylin, Noah and Grace.

Grace (8), Owen (21 months) and Noah (10)

Horsing around (Owen started crawling again after this stunt wanting to be like Primo Noah)

Each night, Grace would read Owen books before bedtime. The favorite this weekend was "Who Said Red?". By the end of the book, Owen was pumping his fist in the air yelling, "I SAID RED!". I can't begin to thank Grace and Noah enough for how wonderful they were with Owen. They were by his side the entire weekend, playing with him, making sure he was eating, and most importantly, keeping him out of trouble. Grace, especially, was a little mama to him. She's so gentle and nurturing with him. She's going to make a great babysitter in a few years!
And, a first look at the pretty girl in a white dress. Here's Grace on Friday at the church's May Crowning celebration. She was there with all the other 2nd graders in their Communion outfits.

Grace with Tita Katie

And with Tito Louie

And, finally, the little guy with his Abuela Isa.

More coming tomorrow......