Memorial Day Feasting

This past weekend was full of holiday celebrations. We had a bbq every single day of the long weekend! The Snyders kicked off the weekend first with their annual bbq. Each year gets more and more complicated because all the kids keep increasing in size and number! We had about 8 kids there, all boys! Eventually our friends with their two daughters came.

Will here was the second youngest, and the least trouble of all. Cute and cuddly and still content to be on a blanket, he was a welcome addition to this year's bbq.


Now here is the youngest addition to the party. 3-month old Jude with his mommy, Amanda. Isn't he cute? Perhaps I should say HE was the least trouble of all. He slept a bunch of the time!



Here's Ethan with Grant taking a break on the kitchen floor. Ethan discovered chips this weekend, so he and Grant had fun crunching away. They were limited to a few chips a piece, but I know this is just the beginning!

No bbq would be complete without a game of wiffle ball. The kids loved to run around the field, but admittedly they didn't quite get the game. Dads played while their kids ran alongside them, got them the ball, and some of the older kids swung the bat.


Finally it was time for the men to really have at it. They played for quite a while. I'm always surprised at how much David's friends love to play wiffle ball. The ladies stayed on the deck and happily had our "gab" time.

The next day the Snyder's attended a b-day celebration bbq. Ethan was glad to find his friends Abby and Macy whom he saw just the day before!

The plane ride home...

...was a little choppy! Sorry the footage is so dark in this clip...

Life after vacation

You know you've had a good vacation when you're sad to come home!

We were blessed to find some incredibly low airfare through Allegiant, and very affordable accomodations at Summerland Suites. The owner of the property, Angela, actually owns the two adjoining properties, so we were free to use any of the pools on three grounds. Our one bedroom apartment was indeed BUDGET, but it had everything we needed and was very clean. Angela was even able to get us a crib for Ethan at no charge, and lent us her own beach towels and beach chairs and umbrella for free. This was a great place for a family! And with the very cheap rental car we had for two days, the whole vacation costs were way under what anyone would expect. What a blessing! Central Illinois has had some very cool and wet weather this entire spring. I've been aching for sun and something to lift my spirits. This was exactly what I needed!
Below is a slide show of our pictures. As I look outside at the Illinois rain and gray, I have the fond memories of a tropical vacation to look back on!

Here is a little video clip of our stay...

Water Baby

Thursday was our last morning in Florida so we hit the beach for the last time. But it was the first time that Ethan really finally took to the ocean. For the past few days he has stayed near the edge, sat on the sand, walked along the water, but never really wanted to go in without mommy or daddy, but even then he would say "all done". Today, he ran into the water, wanted to jump and splash, and didn't want to leave, not even for a snack! It was so fun to see him enjoy himself. But mom and dad got tired! Playing in the ocean means constant supervision!

Museum of Discovery and Science

Not many of you ventured any guesses! Ok, so here's where I give in and say we were in Fort Lauderdale for our last-minute, impromptu, budget vacation for 4 days. It was just what the doctor ordered! Hot weather, bright sun, and a beach two blocks away...



One of the highlights of Fort Lauderdale's downtown area is their Museum of Discovery and Science. There we got to walk through an exhibit showcasing Florida's aquatic life, play in the toddler area, and introduce Ethan to advanced scientific concepts! Magnetism, for one. Ethan knows full well how magnets work--but only on the refrigerator in our kitchen! Here we are at a table where you can see how magnetism can "rub off" on other pieces so that they stick together.



Another really fun part of the museum was their aerospace center. We got to try out flight simulators, take a look at certain parts of an airplane, and even sit in a real cockpit! David and Ethan got to fly together as you can see here, while I tried my hand at flying a cessna. I crashed. Twice. Looks like my career as pilot is shot!

David had a lot of fun being Ethan's co-pilot!

Where in the World are David, Vicky and Ethan?

Today we went to the Flamingo Gardens to check out their wildlife sanctuary, aviary and botanical gardens (location hint!) Here I am standing next to something called a champion tree. It was huge! One of the neat things about this place were all the birds. For one thing, they had peacocks everywhere. I will forever be traumatized by this one little guy who apparently felt rather threatened by Ethan. Ethan stood several feet away but was looking right at it, and before I knew it, this peacock spread his feathers in all his glory. It was spectacular, but also frightening.

Of course, I wanted a picture. The peacock walked around in a circle, so we crouched low and waited for him to turn around again. Snap! The picture went. Then before I knew it, I heard a strange sound behind me and this peacock started charging with that magnificent plumage. I grabbed Ethan and started running, but he fell, and the peacock was still coming! I turned around and swung my bag at it. How stupid. Ethan was on the ground crying from a scratch, and here I was swinging my bag at a bird. David was stunned that he saw what looked like me dragging my own son away from a harmless bird. I don't know, but I had flashbacks of Jurassic Park and raptors in my mind. That SOUND... I admit, I was a bit shook up for the rest of the visit.

After lunch and a long nap, we headed back to the beach for some playtime. This, by the way, is the ATLANTIC ocean. Have you figured out where we are yet?

By dinnertime we were well recovered, especially after some deep-fried seafood! Ethan has a big smile on his face, doesn't he? He should...after his favorite food: pepperoni pizza. And it wasn't bad pizza, either. We are, after all, in the Venice of the US (location hint AGAIN!).

Do you know where we are? Post a comment!

Guess where we are...

Ah...SUN. Finally...

Death by chocolate!

Several days ago we had dinner with some friends of ours. We were to bring dessert, and I was wanting to eat something really special. My mother had this New York Times recipe that she had wanted to try this past Christmas, but we never got to making it. Mom, I have to tell you, this dessert is GOOD! I will definitely be making this again. Layers of brownie, chocolate pudding, chocolate whipped cream, chopped chocolate and fresh raspberries make this trifle a definite treat. The only shortcut I took was to use brownie mix rather than making them from scratch, but all the other ingredients were made according to the recipe. Delicious! Bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened cocoa and tart raspberries are in perfect harmony. Now if only I could make my layers more even in that trifle bowl...

It's a girl!

There's a reason why David and I were never able to come up with another boy's name... We're having a girl!

Yesterday we had our 20 week sonogram and check up and we were itching with anticipation. This was a rather long sonogram because they checked for all the organs and took several measurements. I was amazed at the sonographer working with us. She showed us the baby's kidneys, bladder, stomach, the heart with all four ventricles, the brain, and of course, the anatomy pointing to what gender we were to expect. While we were pregnant with Ethan we saw a different doctor and they didn't go this much in depth with all the anatomy. Very fascinating!

At the end of the sonogram we went through all the stats. She's about 13oz right now. Everything looks normal...all her vital organs are normal, she's got all her toes and fingers. Her spine looks good. Next time they're going to try to get a look at her face and check her mouth/lips for any cleft palate or other abnormalities. But we were so relieved to see her healthy and moving about :)

The End of an Era

For the past few months we've been considering a difficult decision, and today it all came to a head. Our dear kitty, Eddie, needed to find a new home. Rather than putting him in a shelter we put an ad in the paper and were surprised how quickly we got responses. The first day of our ad (today) we got two phone calls, and the first one decided to indeed adopt him as his own. A nice, older gentleman came over tonight to meet Eddie, and they immediately took to each other. Eddie is such a nice kitty, after all! Here we are saying our last goodbyes.

I tried to find some old pictures of Eddie. I've had him for 8 years, and adopted him as a kitten. But here is a photo taken about one year ago. I think it summarizes well our life with Eddie, and the relationship between him and Ethan. To our surprise, Ethan understood what was happening, and when the car pulled away, he immediately began to cry. "More cat!" he kept crying. Later that evening he asked, "Where's Eddie go?" in his toddler English. It made me sad. Eddie's new owner, Murray, promised "visitation rights", and we offered free cat-sitting when he goes on vacation. So perhaps we will see Eddie again.

In honor of our furball friend, I've put together this slide show with some favorite pics. And don't forget the ever popular "Crawling Critters" video of Ethan and Eddie. We'll miss you, buddy!

sweet treats

Last week my mother sent me some mangoes from my father's Florida farm. YUM! My dad grows a few different varieties, but this year he said this one was particularly good...the Nam Doc Mai variety. It originates in Thailand.

I have so many that we've been eating them everyday. Here is Ethan trying it for the first time this season. I never tire of watching him eat, or hearing him say "cheese" every time he sees my camera.



A few days later I made some jello jigglers for a little girl I know who just had her tonsils removed. Our friends, the Schmidtgalls, have two little girls, and they now BOTH have had this operation done. No fun for them, and no fun for mom either. This was my first attempt to make these things and I think they came out pretty well. But boy, are they sweet!

Snyder #2 due out in October

We're pregnant!

We've known for a while now, but wanted to take the time to tell as many people as we could in person or over the phone. Of course, it's impossible to see everybody, and by that time we would have been well into the third trimester! So, we felt it was time to finally post something on the blog as an official "announcement".

How far along are we? 19 weeks today! Here are some sonogram shots from the past few doctor's visits.


Baby Snyder at 7 weeks. You can hardly discern much of a baby shape.

At 12 weeks we definitely see more of a human form.

This is a zoomed in snapshot of baby at 12 weeks. Baby moved around quite a bit at this appointment, and I was able to see the legs squirming to and fro. I was able to see the umbilical cord, too. In this photo the legs are somewhat concealed. What you see is mostly the crown to rump (or butt) here.

Stay tuned...next Thursday we have our third sonogram and will hopefully be able to determine the gender! We're really excited to find out :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Lauren

This past Sunday the Snyders drove up to Chicago to celebrate with our friends, Liz and Jace. Their daughter turned one! They threw a Cinco de Mayo celebration with yummy mexican fare and a homemade butterfly-shaped cake! Ethan had lots of fun playing with the other boys and girls, and mom and dad had a great time catching up with old friends. Happy Birthday, Lauren!

Ethan on his first date! David snapped this shot as the two kids were playing by the patio door.

Mommy's little helper

I found this kiddie Dirt Devil at a garage sale several weeks ago and thought it would be the perfect push toy for Ethan. I'm amazed at how well Ethan mimics me. Sometimes it's almost like he really is trying to vacuum the floor!