St. Mary's Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption

Growing up, Michael attended Covington Latin, which is right next door to the Basilica of the Assumption. I have been wanting to visit this beautiful structure for some time but we are rarely in downtown Covington (KY). I've seen it more times from the views from Devou Park than I have up close. Last weekend we were driving through Covington and passed right by it and we made a point to stop.

The exterior is inspired by Notre Dame in Paris; the towers were never added, and in my opinion, the facade is just as impressive without them. The interior is inspired by the Basilica of St Denis in Paris, and as you walk through and look up at the towering ceiling it is really mind-boggling to realize that the height of the ceiling and length of the building are less than one-third the sizes of its Paris models.

This Cathedral Basilica is simply gorgeous, and while it may not be as magnificent as others, it is still a marvel to behold in person.

I have visited some amazing Catholic, Protestant, and Greek Orthodox churches and cathedrals in my travels -- 

Notre Dame (exterior only)

St Mark's Basilica (Venice) (exterior only)

Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute (Venice) (exterior only)

Washington National Cathedral (DC)

St Paul's Cathedral (London)

Westminster Abbey (London)

St George's Chapel (Windsor, England)

West Point Cadet Chapel (NY)

Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari (Venice)

Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral (Mexico)

Basilica of the Sacré Cœur (Montmartre, Paris)

-- to name a few. Some have been impressive and reverent and breath-taking. Others have been overly idolized and lacking awe.

I love the Basilica of the Assumption for its quiet, stoic beauty. We were lucky to visit it while practically empty, and I could have spent an hour just sitting and admiring the rose windows, the pipe organs, spanning buttresses, carved woodwork and mosaic tile paintings. When the tour bus arrived, the quiet magic vanished, so if you get to go, I hope you find it empty as we did.

What churches have you found most impressive?

Sam I Am, 9 Months

Actually, Sam will be 10 months in a few days, but I never recapped his 9 month doctor visit. He's had a lot of love here in blogland lately, but who's going to complain about another post about our dear #2? 

Weight: 19 lbs, 2 oz

Height: 27 3/4"

Head: 46 1/2 cm

Sam now has 2 top teeth to go with the bottom 2, and it won't be long before he'll be adding to the top again. He's also learned to grind his teeth, much to his mother's delight. (Ew.)

He has a trademark expression: Putting his pointer finger into his mouth as if to say, "hmmm, let me think about it for a second."

No walking yet but is scooting quickly around furniture, often with one hand.

He is a snuggler when he's sleepy. He has a couple of "tells" when he's ready for a nap. He starts rubbing his face back and forth in your shoulder and starts singing his "song" -- not a cry but more like a stretched out whine.

Aunt Kim has one too!

He loves balls, especially his Sit-to-Stand Giraffe. He likes pushing the balls into the "tunnel" and then watching them roll back out. He has started putting the balls in the "slide" portion and watching them circle around to the bottom. On top of the head he'll use his thumb to spin the purple ball over and over. It's always fascinating to watch him discover and figure out things.

We I gave him haircut #2! When Momma's bored and home alone with a shaggy boy, the scissors come out. At first I thought I went a teeny bit short, but now I love it. His hair is lighter than Adam's was at this age.

New haircut, new teeth!

He's very good at pulling on your legs when he wants up or raising his hands to you. He's also learned how, if he's sitting in your lap, to back himself off the chair, feet first to the ground, and when he gets to a standing position he usually has a triumphant expression on his face.

We went through a "Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da" phase, followed by what we all swear sounded like, "I did it!" I'm anxious to learn the next phrase.

He loves to chase another crawler, whether it's Mommy, cousin Jake or Adam. (Adam is becoming such an attentive big brother, watching out for him and playing with him. I'm long overdue for an Adam update.)

He knows his name and will turn to you when you call him.

His eyes are still... this color. I guess we'll call it gray. (I didn't think a person's eyes could be gray, just brown, blue, green or hazel.) All I know is that they are beautiful and catch the light perfectly. Sometimes they look really dark green or blue, too. 

I'm taking ownership of his non-brown eyes because, frankly, there's little else of me I see in him so far! There's no doubt who this boy takes after....

Daddy's boy all the way!  (Though it might be my nose, too. What do you think?)

What He Was Up To

In case you were wondering what Michael was up to while Sam was with his aunties and Adam and I had some Mommy-and-me time, here's a very brief overview of his business trip.


It was just your average...

Commute to work...

Stuffy office buildings...

Concrete jungle,

Typical lunch breaks,

Board meetings,

Rush hour traffic,

And mandatory corporate dinners.

Yes, just your average, boring business trip!

---------------

From top:  

1. Snowmobiling on the Mocho-Choshuenco Volcano, Chile

2. Lonquimay Volcano at Corralco Ski Resort, Chile

3-4. Huilo Huilo Biological Reserve in Southern Chile

5. Bariloche, Argentina

6. Helicopter Tour over Lonquimay Volcano (and others) at Corralco Ski Resort, Chile

7. Tango show in Buenos Aires

Sam's Sleep Away Camp

Michael was away on a business trip. For eleven nights. Initially he thought to turn down the opportunity to go to Chile and Argentina since he is Sam's caregiver during the work week. We ran through all the various scenarios of who could watch Sam in his absence and, without firming the details, I told him to go on the trip. We'd figure it out.

Ultimately we decided to enlist the help of Sam's aunties to watch him. I had a lot of Mom Guilt about the decision initially. If you're a Mom, you've been a victim of Mom Guilt.

I felt guilty that I didn't want to take off work to be home with him. (It would use most of my vacation time for the year, and I'd much rather spend my vacation days with our complete family. Did I mention Michael's trip was for eleven nights away?)

I felt guilty that I was imposing on their families with a 9-month old who requires a nap schedule, special foods and a baby-proofed house.

But most of all I felt guilty about sending Sam away and not seeing him for days at a stretch. Our family all lives in Kentucky, and unless I wanted to drive the notoriously bad commute from NKY to north of Cincinnati (plus going farther north to drop Adam off at his school) twice a day, I would have to kiss him goodbye and wait days to see his sweet face in person again.

You know how sometimes worrying about something is worse than the actual event you worried about?  Once I saw how delighted his aunts, uncles and cousins were to have him, and how happy he looked in their care, my worries were dashed.

Michael dropped him with Aunt Amy on Wednesday with strict instructions not to start walking while he's away. Sam had a fabulous time with cousin Carter (plus Uncle Scott, Hailey, Channing and Sophie in the evenings). They played outside:

They treated him to playtime at Toddler Otterville:

He tagged along to football practice and became one of their family.

He was there two nights and I picked him up on Friday. We then road-tripped down to Aunt Kim's house for the next hand-off on Sunday evening. Adam was not happy about leaving Sam in Lexington. ("But I want my baby brother.") 

From Sunday to Wednesday Sam became the baby in the Mauney household. Lilly was a little helper {when she wasn't jealous of this fact} and Jake loved making Sam laugh.

"Rock a baby, rock a baby"

"I hold it like this."

He played and walked and contributed to business meetings...

..before Aunt Kim packed him up and brought him to Aunt Jenny's house where he tagged along on shopping trip, spent time with cousin Alyssa and was confused by Uncle Kevin (if you've seen Michael and his brother together, you'd understand).

I finally finally picked him up on Friday evening!! 

It made me feel better knowing I have such a laid back child to "impose" on others, too. I mean, really, as long as he has some food in his belly,

A bottle in his hand,

familiar toys like he has at home,

 

And people to give him "lovins"

He is a happy camper.

Many, many, MANY thanks to these amazing moms/aunts and families who helped us out! And for the phone calls and text updates and photos of your adventures to help tie me over. I forwarded many of those to Michael, too, so he could "see" Sam every day.  You're the best!

----

And in case you were wondering, nope Sam did not start walking last week, but it wasn't for a lack of encouragement! He's been walking behind a push walker lately.... I'll keep you updated!