This month, we finally got to meet Kaiya, our ten month old niece. Not meeting her for ten months is one of the major drawbacks of having family living 5,000 miles away.
I gotta say, I’m in love. She’s adorable (much like our other nieces). She has a crazy mop of hair and two fat cheeks framing her precious smile.
We first met her in person at Grandpa’s 60th birthday party, about two weeks ago. Then we got to spend four days with her and the rest of Karen’s family in Killington, Vermont.
Charlotte and Luke were very excited. As the big cousins on that side of the family, they take their roles very seriously. Whenever Kaiya’s name came up in the weeks approaching her arrival, Luke would declare, with gravitas, “I’m going to play with her.” He clearly felt that playing with his younger cousin was his duty, a serious obligation and one he was more than ready to fulfill.
The highlight of the trip for me occurred at the Ben & Jerry’s Factory in Waterbury. Kaiya’s parents had decided that this trip would mark the occasion of her first taste of ice cream, one of the true joys of life. How appropriate that this important rite of passage would occur here, at a Mecca for ice cream lovers?
And how even more appropriate that it occurred as I held her! She was hesitant to try it at first, pushing the spoon away, but soon realized that the only emperor is indeed the emperor of ice cream. I can’t help but feel that we now share an unbreakable uncle-niece/ice cream lovers bond that will bind us together (even across 5,000 miles).
After our trip to Vermont, we got to spend an additional few days with Kaiya at our house. We took her to a local farm, a blueberry patch, and a science and nature museum. It was difficult to say goodbye when they departed our home last Wednesday to continue their East Coast tour, which came to an end today with a flight out of Logan to return to paradise.
Oh well, it was nice while it lasted, and we look forward to our next visit with our beautiful niece. Until then, we have our memories. When she was born last fall, before I started Dad’s ‘Mac & Cheese,’ I submitted a post on another blog, which I’ve reposted below to commemorate her visit.
I hope you enjoyed today’s serving, and reserving, of ‘mac & cheese.’
Birthdays, September 25, 2008
I recently celebrated my 33rd birthday, an occasion that was commemorated by two special Hawaiian packages. I’ll start with the less momentous package. (I say less momentous because any package would pale in comparison to the second one I will mention.)
Several years ago, on a trip to visit Karen’s brother, who happens to live in Hawaii, we fell in love with Bubbie’s, an ice cream place in Honolulu that serves a divine treat called Mochi, small balls of ice cream wrapped in a flavored sticky rice paste. Words alone can’t do them justice. They’re something that absolutely must be tried to be appreciated as the gift from God that they are. (http://hawaiirama.com/2006/10/obscenely-delectible-mochi-ice). I should add that having family in Hawaii is GREAT. You’re actually obligated to visit (especially when there’s a wedding). Hawaii is truly a magical place.
Anyway, for the past couple of years, my brother- and sister-in-law have shipped a huge package of Mochi (in dry ice) from Hawaii all the way to Massachusetts to me and my brother-in-law Chris (married to Karen’s sister, lives in Somerville, also a BIG fan of Bubbie’s, and his birthday is the day before mine.)
Mochi in Massachusetts really does seem too good to be true. While Trader Joe’s does sell packaged Mochi, it’s just not the same as getting them direct from Bubbie’s/Honolulu. I almost pinch myself every time I eat one. Not only because of the tremendous taste sensation, but because having one magically transports you back to the idyllic paradise that is Hawaii (without having to pay the exorbitant cost of the flight.)
Anyway, back to the two Hawaiian packages. As you can guess, the first was the annual arrival from Bubbie’s on our door step on a Friday. Now on to the significantly more momentous package (which is also birthday related, just not my birthday related.)
Our sister-in-law was pregnant with their first child, due a week before my birthday. The same day we received the Bubbie’s package, we also received word that our new niece/nephew (no one knew), already five days late, would be arriving that night Hawaiian time, early morning EST (a c-section was scheduled for a variety of reasons.) In addition to no one (including the future mom and dad) knowing the gender, the parents had not disclosed any names that were under consideration. (In my opinion, a wise decision.)
We were thrilled at the news, partly because the rest of the family (who aren’t lucky enough to live in Hawaii) would be together the following day (originally to celebrate the birthdays of me and my brother-in-law). We would now be able to celebrate the three birthdays, occurring on succesive days.
As an added twist, while we found out most of the details (a beautiful baby girl) before getting together the next day, no one on the east coast had yet learned her name.
We spent the afternoon in Providence at the Roger Williams Park Zoo (fun zoo, by the way: www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org), followed by dinner at Fez and WaterFire (www.waterfire.org – very cool, the kids loved it.)
We were standing by a tree near the seal tank at the zoo when we got the call from Hawaii. Her long-awaited name: Kaiya, a Japanese word meaning forgiveness. We (and by we, I mean I) have dubbed the tree we were standing next to at the time as the “Kaiya Tree.” ‘We’ (see note above concerning ‘we’) look forward to someday taking our niece to the zoo and showing her the very spot where we found out her name.
I just hope that when she does come to visit, she knows to bring some Mochi from Bubbie’s.
Welcome to the world, Kaiya!
