Kielbasa & Karaoke

Wesolych Swiat!  (Happy Easter!) The Lerczak Family had a wonderful Easter together in sunny (but chilly) Buffalo, NY.  Shay was our Little Master of Ceremonies and enjoyed all the activities. He was especially fond of hanging out in Ivy's kennel.

And as usual, we ate ourselves silly.  Cousin Janice's homemade kielbasa and kuchen were delicious and flooded us with memories of our Mothers.  And cousin Amy's homemade pierogi were outstanding - potato, cheese and cabbage with mushroom - yum!   

Here's cousin Margaret overseeing Amy's frying of those delectable dumplings of delight.  A nice pinot gris helps with the task.

Shay took a break and saddled up on the Guth's rocky horse with the help of cousin Joe.

And after dinner, it was time to sing a few songs!  With some gentle coaxing, cousins Alyssa and Catharine joined in on the fun.  Notice cousin Wes resting his vocal chords and lubricating them with a nice, ice cold beer.

Those too shy to step up to the microphone were a supportive audience (only a few jeers were heard when cousins Courtney and Wes duetted :).  

Here are Dolly and Cousins Janice, Joey, Joe and Pam.

Easter Egg Fun!

The Kristys (plural) did a fine job setting us up for coloring Easter Eggs.  Here's some of the gang showing off the goods:

And the egg colorers themselves, cousins Colin and Dylan:

Shay got pretty tired after such exciting activities...thanks for cuddles, Aunt Kristy!

Cannon Beach Bliss

Oh, the Beach....  We spent a relaxing week at Cannon Beach, Oregon, in late March and enjoyed many beach walks between rain showers.  Here's Shay enjoying his first back-pack style walk.  He sure enjoyed being perched up high and pulling on Mommy's hair!

And here's Shay lounging in the baby jogger, all cozied up his Cookie Monster jacket.  Notice the black form in the background - it's Teddy chasing tennis balls. 

Goin' to a Dojang

TGIF!  Not because it's the end of the work week (no such thing for Mommies), but because we join our friends at the dojang!   Heartfelt thanks to Gailyn and Kristin for opening their world to us. Shay loves hanging out with his new Aunties and all his older buddies!

Here are Anders and Jorja teaching Sue how to read:

And here's Shay on the move - go, baby, GO!

Whoopin' it Up!

We had a GREAT time visiting everyone in NY - Grandpa, Uncle Mike, Friends and Cousins galore!   Can't wait to see everyone again in April!

Here's Shay playing with Grandpa.  "Thanks for teaching me how to climb stairs, Grandpa!  Now my Mommies are REALLY busy!"

And here's Shay learning new things from Uncle Mike.  "Uncle Mike has some really cool hats."  Then Shay seemed befuddled and added, "But did you know I have WAY more hair on my head than he does?"

And Cousins Amy & Stephen put us up like royalty in Buffalo - Thank you!   "Amy serves up some tasty grub, and Stephen, well, I'm still trying to figure out if he has the Lerczak nose or not!"

Buffalo, and Beyond

Our trip to Buffalo was a tender one, as we went to say good-bye to our sweet, dear Auntie Adeline.

Our Lerczak Mothers are all gone now - Agnes, Irene, Adeline and Dorothy -  and what Mothers to have had.  We miss them and cherish them dearly.  They are with us every day.  

Bostwa knows there's a perpetual Polka-Fest up in the Big Blue now, with homemade pierogi and golabki and kielbasa and pierniczki and potato and shrimp salads and pickles and olives and ice cold beer, with just a sprinkle of salt to boost the fizz.

Here's Aunt Adeline from July 2008.  When she first met Shay, she exclaimed, "Oh, Kimmy, your Mama would have eaten him up with a SPOON!"  

Food, Folks & Fun!

We had WONDERFUL times and FABULOUS dinners at Shirl's Chateaux and Chez Tracy!  

Here's Shay with Uncle Danny (a.k.a. "Smiley") and Aunt Kristy.  Uncle Smiley's going to teach Shay how to play golf and how to catch the ladies.   Aunt Kristy's going to teach Shay how to make bruschetta and how to avoid being the kind of man that chases ladies.  : ) 

And here's Shay playing Elephants with Aunt Tracy and Maddie the Basset Hound.  We shared lots of time together, walking and cooking and talking and playing, and listening to music and fiddling around with our computers, and hanging pictures and visiting Nona and Grandma.  Aunt Tracy makes one cozy nap nest on the couch.  Shay caught a few ZZZs there.   

Oh, and Maddie's ears are so long and soft.  They're like velvet.