Justin and Me

Mira here. My nephew, Justin, and I spent this past week together at my parents' while Rose and Robert were in Puerto Rico for their honeymoon. He just turned six this summer and is a sweet little boy. Because Justin is quite behind developmentally, he can be a handful, but the week, though challenging at times, was such a blessing--it was so great to get to know each other better! Here are a few pictures from our time together.

Here he is being cute:

My step-dad, Jim, had his opening for a photography show on Friday. I love his new "Chicago streets" series! While we were at the furniture store where the gallery is, Justin walked by himself for a good 50 feet--longer than we had ever seen him walk!

He loves playing my parents' organ.

One thing we did almost every day was swim! My parents have an above-ground pool, but on Friday, we visited our family friends, the Klemps, who have a beautiful in-ground fancy thing. Justin loves anything concerning water--swimming, taking a bath, splashing his hands in the sink or the dog's water dish, flushing the toilet over and over again....

One thing that made him laugh uncontrollably was hearing me sing the ABCs along with this gadget. It's one of his favorite toys, but I'm pretty sure my mom dispises it.

It was so good to see family and high school friends and be in Holland for a while, and it was also really nice to come home to our Chicago apartment. I was so wiped out when I got here late this morning that I slept for three hours! Eric's new job is exciting--not only is it a 5-minute bike ride along the lake, but he gets to bring home lots of goodies from the bakery. Some of them are vegan, so they've got to be good for you, right?