A morning at the Louisville Zoo

Before leaving Louisville we met up with my parents to spend some time at the zoo. Too bad it was a bit chilly! We only got to see half of the zoo before we needed to take off, but it was plenty of exercises for me (perhaps not enough for Ethan)! Here is a slideshow of pictures from our brief visit. Highlights included seeing a family of elephants, the gorilla exhibit and the giraffes. You could get really close to the animals!

We also had a very delicious lunch at the hotel my parents were staying at. It was a lovely morning, and a smooth drive back to Bloomington...

Congratulations, Hannah and Victor!

This past weekend, the Snyder family drove to Louisville, KY to attend the wedding of my cousin, Victor (That's Vicky's cousin). It was a lovely ceremony at a beautiful cathedral in downtown Louisville, and the reception was at an arts center just outside downtown. Very chic! And the food was yummy! My cousin Vic is a chef, so he knows food...

I didn't get as many photos of family as I wanted to. It's hard to do that when you're looking after a toddler! But we had Cuestas from all over the globe: Japan, Russia, Australia, Canada, Europe. We're all over this crazy planet! Ethan had a great time dancing, as you can see from the slideshow. More photos to come of our stay in Louisville...

Karaoke Kids

One of the joys of mommyhood is swapping babysitting with other mommies. A few days ago, my friend Deb watched Ethan while I ran a myriad of errands (hard to do when you're in and out of the car with a toddler). Then yesterday morning, I watched her little 3 year old named Sam. Ethan took particularly well to him. When the kids are about the same age, they really just play together, and so you're free to get some stuff done around the house (but not TOO far away from the kids :) Makes me wish I had twins!

They did several things over the course of the morning. Other than playing with cars, they had a good snack, and played with the toys in the family room. There, we keep a mini portable karaoke machine that Ethan likes to fiddle with, mostly by just pushing the buttons. But yesterday I turned it on for him, and he started speaking into the microphone. Well, this was just plain fun for the both of them, and when Deb came to pick up Sam, we had a little recital for her. Here is a sampling...

Bandage-free!

This past Tuesday we had what would be our last visit to Springfield. When we arrived at the Burn Unit, they unwrapped Ethan's arm and were pleased to find how well it was healing. It was healing so quickly that we were all ready to leave bandages off completely, and we no longer had to come back! We don't even have to meet with the doctor for a follow-up! Of course, if any problems arise we are to contact them. You can imagine how happy I was!

It's hard to see in these pictures, but most of Ethan's skin will look normal after about 6 months. However, there will be some scarring of those trouble spots we keep mentioning. You can see one of the spots just below the crook of his elbow.

All of this pink skin is new, healthy skin. We will need to be vigilant about sun protection the next year, after which we will see what the final scarring will look like. I had a similar injury as a small child, and already I recognize the scar tissue on Ethan, because I had the same kind of skin on my right thigh. But by the time I reached my twenties, it was hardly noticeable!

How can I forget?

Maybe we can chalk it up to "mommy mush brain"! I want to give a special shout out to Grandma and Grandpa Cuesta ("Pipaw") for the colorful Zoobooks subscription they started for Ethan earlier in the year as an early birthday gift. It's one that will keep on giving, for sure! Every month we get a magazine focusing on one animal. It's filled with pictures, educational info, even an activity page. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Ethan!

March 31st marked Ethan's two year birthday! To celebrate, we had a birthday playdate with all his friends. We had about 9 kids over with their mommies. Wow! What chaos! I think Ethan was a little bit overwhelmed! When we sang happy birthday, one of his friends started crying, and then he started crying. It was very funny. Afterwards we all ate some Elmo cupcakes I made. Aren't they cute?! Yellow cake mix topped with homemade buttercream icing tinted red. The eyes are made of vanilla wafer candies, and the nose is an orange jellybean. The pupils and smile are icing tinted black. Funny thing is, Ethan ate everything on his plate BUT the cupcake :) That's ok. I don't object to his aversion to sweet, baked goods!

The night before we decided to let him open his gifts. David and I got him a little race track with cars.

Grandma and Grandpa Snyder got him this cute Thomas the Train starter set.

His Aunt Gayle and their family sent him this huge aquadoodle mat. It draws with a marker that is filled with water. Yay! No colors on the walls!

Ethan had so much fun playing with his new toys! We even got surprise gifts from afar! My bestfriend from highschool, Maria, remembered Ethan's special day and had them delivered just in time. What a sweetheart...

Here is a short video of the birthday chaos...