Dressing Up

It's hard to believe how many clothes one can have for a baby girl! I was blessed to receive many beautiful outfits before Kate was born, and even now I continue to receive clothes from moms whose daughters have outgrown these beautiful dresses!


I don't often take pictures of Kate in her Sunday best. Here is a dress she received while she was still in utero! You'll have to excuse the multi-colored background. The towels are being used to cover our furniture while we potty train Ethan!

It's fun that Kate smiles at the camera. Small children are not always so cooperative!

McLean County Fair 2009

Enjoy these recent pictures of the fair
http://picasaweb.google.com/mvsnyder/McLeanCountyFair2009?feat=directlink

sorry...

The link to Mommy and Kate pictures should work now. Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone!

Mommy and Kate

Kate and I goofing off with the camera this afternoon. Click on the link below to see the pics on facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=97729&id=610621963&l=0268a6fdcc

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Okay, so I was way too eager. Potty accidents still abound!

SOLD!

Looks like I posted too soon :)

Or better yet, God answered both prayers...

We had a housewarming party today in our new house. During the party, our realtor called (who was hosting her own party, by the way), with an offer from another agent's client. After negotiations over several hours we settled on a price. Interesting timing, huh?

God is good!

Potty Progress

Last week, this whole potty training thing came to a head. For the past month or so David has taken most of the responsibility for it, since I was up to my ears with Kate, the house, and Ethan's attitude regarding the potty. But then David decided he was done with the whole training, too. It was getting the best of both him and Ethan, and we needed to re-evaluate.



So, we switched. I took Ethan, David took Kate. It was now my turn to deal with the madness again! But at least it would be on my own terms :)


We decided to go back to just underwear (rather than the pull-ups) and let Ethan learn the hard way. No more reminding him, no more nagging him. So, we covered up the furniture as best we could, got the carpet cleaning spray to the ready, and let Ethan "go". Rather than going bare-bottomed (as some recommend), we decided we cared too much about our personal belongings! We figured his underwear and clothing might catch most of the mess.


After two accidents, something clicked. We were at the playground when it happened. Ethan had wet himself and we took him to the porta John to change him (not fun). When we got home there was definitely a different feeling in the air.


"Mommy, are you okay?" Ethan said.
"No, Ethan," I replied. "I'm sad."
"Mommy, you upset?" he pushed.
"No, sweetie. I'm just sad."


And I was sad. While none of the kids cared (they probably didn't notice), the image of Ethan being taken to the bathroom, huge wet stain and all, kinda burned me. I had never felt public humiliation before.


That night before bed, as is our custom, I asked Ethan to use the potty. He obediently went, no protests, no tears. I realized that while fruit snacks and treats are a good start to positive motivation, nothing motivates Ethan more like wanting mommy and daddy to be happy. He just wants us to love him and be happy with him.


This changed our approach entirely.

Here we are a week later. Ethan is still in underwear and hasn't had any accidents! He still hasn't gone on his own (meaning of his own volition), but he goes everytime we ask him with very few protests. This is a HUGE breakthrough for us. Of course he wears a pull-up at bedtime and naptime, but we've made huge headway in that area too! This morning he woke up dry. I asked him to use the potty (again, no protests!), and he went. In all 3 years and 4 months of his life he has woken up wet and/or dirty, so this is quite the miracle.


It's funny. Recently, David told me if God could answer one prayer, and it was between our old house selling and Ethan being potty trained, he would take the latter. Oye! I guess we'll be making double house payments for a while...

Ethan Goes off the Deep End

On the second to last day of swim lessons the kids got to jump off the diving board into the deep water. Yikes! I didn't think Ethan would do it, but he saw his friend Asher go during the last session and he wanted to do it, too. Enjoy the video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OB2jJspvLHo

She is on the Move

This past month Kate has officially become mobile! She can crawl rather fast and she pulls up on furniture and is pretty close to cruising. It's fun to watch her explore, but don't keep your eyes off her for too long. I've already found on on the first step of our staircase and at the patio door about to nibble on some flip flops. Maybe I need to get her some more teethers!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7g9mnQJ1oVA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECCk8DTlLwI

She is also quite the eater, now that her ear infection is gone. All of a sudden she is eating table food! Her menu has expanded from purees and baby crackers to bits of scrambled eggs, bananas, bread, pasta, split peas, chicken and ground beef. If it's soft enough to chew, she can eat it.

Welcome Dela Cuestas!

Just as Grandma and Grandpa Snyder left for Dallas, my Uncle Mars and Auntie Sylvia stopped by for an overnight visit on their way to a Couples for Christ conference in Urbana-Champaign. We've had so much family this week--what a treat! It had been over a year since Ethan had seen his Great Aunt and Uncle. And this was their first time to meet Kate. They were so delighted to meet her and couldn't put her down!

Thanks for taking the time to stop by and visit us!

Welcome Snyders!

This week Grandma and Grandpa Snyder came for a visit! Ethan loves his relatives and couldn't wait for their arrival. We did all sorts of fun things while they were here. They came to watch Ethan at his swimming lessons, took a tour of the wind farms out in corn field country, and went to the zoo.

We had a lot of down time, too. Here is Grandma with Kate during some afternoon playtime.

We don't get the chance to see David's parents all too often, so their visit was so very special. Thank you for making the trip to see us!

Swimming!

Ethan started formal swimming lessons this week. For $30 he will go to swim class everyday, Monday through Thursday for two weeks. The 30 minute session gives him some good one on one instruction since his section only contains four students! Parents get to watch from the sidelines as their kids learn anything from the basics to the more advanced techniques. Here, Ethan gets the hang of holding on to the wall and kicking his legs.

They also teach him how to float...

And they often do group activities together, holding hands in a circle as they move about in the water.

I love this aquatic center because it has a zero depth pool where Ethan can comfortably go as deep into the water as he likes.

Homesick

A few weeks ago I went to my local Sears store to return a recent purchase. It was first thing in the morning, so the store was still quiet, almost empty. As I approached the customer service desk I noticed the woman working the counter was not white. Not only was she not white, she looked Asian. As we greeted each other, it became apparent that she was Filipino. I could hear it in her voice. Though hard to hear at first, her light accent was unmistakable. I don't often meet other "pinoys" in my town, though I know there is a considerable Filipino contigency here in Central Illinois. I just usually never meet them.

There are one of two things that can happen when two Filipinos meet: they can either acknowledge that they are both Filipino. Or they can ignore their common thread altogether and remain two strangers in what could be a moment of connection. We chose the latter.

As I walked away I could only think that hearing her voice made me feel like I was home. It's a distinct rhythm and lilt that characterizes the Filipino speaking English as a second language, and Tagalog is definitely a distinct language of its own. Hearing her voice instantly brought me back to the large family gatherings at my Auntie Sylvia's house where on any given holiday or special occasion you'd walk in the door and be engulfed with the fragrant cooking and language that still surrounds who my family is today.

It's a strange thing. Sometimes I forget who I am. I am a first generation Filipino-American, and as such I have had one foot here, one foot there in two different worlds for a good part of my life. However, I've been steeped in white, American culture for so long, that I forget about this whole other side of me. And in one brief exchange at a Sears counter it all came flooding back.

I've spent a good deal of my life wishing I was someone else and striving to become something I will never be. Not because it was something to be desired, but because my "otherness" was always so apparent it was hard to feel accepted. You cannot hide skin color, nor can you easily hide socio-economic status or background. And perhaps this was all self-inflicted paranoia stemming from the hyper sensitive lens of an adolescent. I was, after all, a minority in a sea of pretty, rich, white girls. But now, nearly twenty years later, many things remind me of that "otherness", that "I'm not like you", or "we don't have that in common". But it's not about skin color anymore, just about other things.

Maybe I haven't really grown up at all. Maybe I'm still that insecure adolescent who felt infinitely different than everyone else around her. Or maybe I've just been in the Midwest for too long.

Home for Sale

Many of you know we are in the process of selling our house, and that we've moved into our new one! I thought I would at least document that here on the blog for posterity...


It's been a weird journey. We thought we would have sold by now since the other houses in our neighborhood have sold very quickly. But after a month and a half and about 20 showings and 3 open houses, no offers yet.


For those of you who have never seen our house, our realtor arranged for a virtual tour. Just go to http://www.206orlando.com/ and click on "virtual tour" to "walk through"our home.


In the meantime, here is a picture of our new house.


We've been slowly getting it in order. The hardest part is decorating! I have NO talent for that whatsoever. Many of the rooms need new paint and window treatments, and the kitchen and bathrooms need cabinet hardware. Doesn't sound like much, I know, but with two small children I have less energy to do home improvements than I did when I was pregnant (some of you may remember me telling you stories of installing toilets and vanities while I was 5 months pregnant. All in good time...

Like Father Like Son

I looked out our patio door yesterday, and this is what I saw...

9 Months

For Kate's 9 month birthday she went to the doctor. She had been recovering from an ear infection the previous week, but after a full round of antibiotics one ear remains infected. This will put her at four ear infections in three months. The doc said we ought to think about the possibility of putting tubes in her ears. Not fun, but we have had our share of sleepless nights due to her sickness, and she of course has not been happy either. If this surgical procedure will keep her healthy, then I'm all for it. Right now, we are treating this infection with a different antibiotic, and if she gets another one any time soon, she'll be off to the ear, nose and throat doctor for the procedure.

Other than ear aches, Kate is CRAWLING! And very well, too. She is even pulling herself up to a standing position. It will only be a few more months till she starts walking, I'm sure!

Kate is also TEETHING. In addition to her two bottom teeth, she has three upper ones coming in, and a third bottom one. All at the same time...ouch!

Time is going by so fast...On the one hand, I can't wait till she's older so she can do more, explore, try new things. But at the same time she is so cute right now and can't disobey, talk back, or fight with her older brother. Everyday, I constantly remind myself that a year from now everything will be different, and that I need to cherish both Kate and Ethan TODAY, everyday...