From Maui with love

Today is Cora's 1.5-year birthday! Happy 18 months, little lady...

At the Frankfurt airport on our way from Ethiopia to Maui

It's also the first day in weeks that I've felt up to even attempting a blog entry. We've been traveling literally halfway around the world, plus I've been ill for most of the last 2+ weeks. So energy and enthusiasm have been low, and what little I've been able to muster needed to be focused on the here-and-now, namely James & Marley's gorgeous wedding and the family and friends surrounding us this week. Who, by the way, have been taking excellent care of me and my gal Cora while I've been indisposed (aka napping or heading to the ER).

Building sand castles with Gigi on a north shore beach in Maui

Nate has been Dad/Husband of the Year, taking the brunt of Cora duties on our four flights from Addis to Maui. And all the family here in Maui at the wedding have swept Cora off to the pool, the beach, bedtime, whatever she needed.

At the beach outside our condo

First beach day in Maui

As I've gotten better over the week, we've had some fun beach days, and the wedding was beautiful (more on that later). Now we're down to our last two days in Maui, which means our last two days together as a family before Nate heads off to Nairobi for three weeks of writing work and Cora and I head to Vermont with my mom for a couple weeks.

Mother's Day brunch at the Grand Wailea

Cora and Mimi (Aunt Janet) at the Grand Wailea koi ponds

By the beginning of June, we'll all be home together in Ithaca again, and I'm not planning to budge until the baby comes. Which, according to our two last ultrasounds (in Addis and Maui), may be WEEKS sooner than the original due date of July 24...