A Born Cowboy

I keep forgetting that even though Ethan is no longer a baby, he still experiences many "firsts". Last weekend we went to the McLean County Fair where he got to ride his first pony! I couldn't believe how cute he looked on that "horsey".



He also got to ride his first carnival ride. I was surprised that he wanted to ride this one...It looked fast, and the music was so loud! He was jolted at first, but I think he enjoyed it. He also rode a little train ride, and cried bloody murder when it ended! We had a lot of fun that afternoon :)

A green thumb?

When we got back from South Haven I was surprised to see that we had our own little farmer's market in the backyard. A friend of ours watched the house while we were gone and said that some of the heirloom tomatoes were ripening and that she had tried a cucumber as well. A cucumber?? The last I checked the fruits were tiny. I couldn't imagine there was anything ready to eat. Boy, was I wrong. Look at these things! I would have loved to have these cucumbers in the first trimester of my pregnancy when all I wanted to eat was cucumber salad!

Goodbye from South Haven

It has nearly been a week since we left our little vacation cottage in Michigan, and I still do miss the beach! Here is a picture of our last sunset on the lake.


Our last morning at the house we had to clean up and check out promptly at 10. Afterwards, we went out to the Saturday farmers market and had some breakfast at a local cafe. The market had beautiful fruits and vegetables to choose from, but I had only one thing in mind: blueberries! Every year, South Haven hosts the National Blueberry festival, but we were missing it by a week. Oh well! At least I got my blueberries! I also bought some cherries, and Ethan absolutely devoured them.


After breakfast and a quick tour around some shops, the Snyders and Zimmermans parted ways. We decided to make one more stop to end our vacation, and that was a short hike in Van Buren State park. It was a delightful surprise. After we parked the car and hopped on a trail, we were brought up and down some wooded hills, and eventually hit sand. Then beyond the trees we saw this:

It was the perfect combination for David and me. We love woods, paths, sand and the beach. And they were all right there at our feet! The weather was pleasant with a strong breeze, and it was so exhilarating to stand on this hill, looking down at the beach. We sat on a log and enjoyed the view for some time.

We highly recommend vacationing in South Haven, Michigan! We'll have to come back next year...

New Experiences for Ethan

Seeing a pirate ship!

Riding a floaty with Daddy...

Flying a kite...

Eating ice cream (and liking it!)...

Holding hands with another boy! We are happy to say it quickly degenerated into a tug of war fight after we finished crossing the street altogether. But it was a cute moment, wasn't it?

Vacationing with Friends

For the last half of our week in South Haven, our friends the Zimmermans joined us at the cottage. We were so glad to have the company, and Ethan was especially happy to see his friend, Grant, when he woke up the morning after they arrived. They instantly took to playing cars and trains as they watched some morning PBS cartoons.



Fellow beach bums are always nice, don't you think? One of the best parts of the trip was spending quality family time together. Or I should say, quality time between fathers and sons! The boys would go off in the water or play in the sand as the moms relaxed under their umbrellas, again, reading our favorite books. Most days we didn't get too far, since we would often start gabbing about something or other! I always welcome girl time between friends. And the weather was perfect. Not too hot, and not too cold. And the lake was so refreshing to swim in.

Ethan sitting in an impromptu chair to have his morning snack!

Lakeside Living

The lake feels a lot like the ocean. It's hard to believe, but on a windy day, the lake can get pretty choppy, with lots of waves! One of our beach mornings it was particularly choppy and Ethan was reluctant to go in the water. But he was confident with Daddy holding him.


Ethan was also quite at home in this vacation cottage. Here he is playing with his trains in the living room...


...and trying out his new tricycle in the drive way.

Our first day at the beach

Our first day in South Haven was spent exploring the beach and walking the harbor. Most mornings after breakfast we headed straight to the beach where Ethan played in the sand, "swam" in the water, and went for long walks along the shore with his dad. I happily sat in the shade of our huge umbrella reading a book :)

This is the harbor that cuts through South Haven, dividing it into the North Beach and South Beach. We stayed in the South Beach area. In the evenings we would walk the harbor and watch the boats go by.

South Haven Vacation

We've just come back from a lovely beach vacation in South Haven, Michigan! Yup, Michigan. It's hard to believe, but this lazy resort town feels like the real thing!

Highlights from the trip: staying in a cute, cozy cottage one block from the beach, and half a mile from downtown, shops and the harbor. More pictures to follow...

Ethan Runs for Fun

Every Friday night here in town they have a kids "Fun Run" where kids through age 12 can run against other kids their age. Last night, David and I took Ethan for his second run.

The first time Ethan ran, David said he felt so proud! He impressed his dad by weaving in and out of the crowd and eventually finishing before many others. I was sad to have missed the event! So last night, the whole family went so I myself could witness Ethan's running prowess, ha ha ha.

Here is a short video clip of the finish! There were lots more kids this time around, David said, and they were a lot faster, too! Ethan finished the half track in one minute and five seconds. Is that good? I don't know...

Afterwards, he was quite thirsty! They have cookies, water and juice for the runners. There were lots of our friends and their kids, too. It's quite the social event for parents! There are only two more weeks for the fun run, with the last one being trophy night. Every child will get a trophy. Isn't that cute? Too bad we didn't start going earlier this summer!

Expecting

As the weeks go by, the reality of another baby sets in. There is some fear and apprehension of the delivery, of juggling nursing with running after Ethan, of running on very little sleep!

But then the excitement and anticipation sets in, too. When I'm out running errands or shopping, I will often pass by the baby section of whatever store I'm in and look at the baby clothes. Such tiny shirts! Such tiny pants! Such tiny feet! And what an array of options for dressing a baby girl! The pinks and yellows and lavenders and green--they all tickle me with delight. It's hard to resist!

And then when I lay down to go sleep, or even just for a nap, I will feel this little baby squirm. She moves very differently than Ethan did. Ethan kicked me in between the ribs A LOT. This little one wiggles, depending on my position, and it actually tickles sometimes. Or when I watch TV, out of the corner of my eye I will see my belly wobble from one side to the other. Every move she makes reminds me that she is coming very soon and just makes me all the more excited for her arrival. I hope and pray that she continues to grow well and healthily.

28 Weeks

Baby and I are doing well! I am officially into the third trimester now, and so my doctors visits are now every two weeks.

It seems like time is going by VERY fast. Before we know it, our little girl will be here! We have lots to do before her arrival. Right now, the basement is being drywalled. When that's done, we have to paint, then move everything back into those rooms. Ethan's room needs to be finished. That means the closet needs to be cleaned out to make room for his stuff, and there's still some decorating to do :) Then the nursery closet needs to be cleaned out, girl clothes laundered and inventoried (I don't even know what I have or need!), and if I have time I would like to redecorate that room just a little bit. It could use some pink!

One thing at a time, huh? Can you tell the nesting instinct has gone into full swing?

Water Sliding

Ethan has finally started to enjoy some slides. I've been trying to convince him to try this water slide since last summer. It's the perfect size and incline for little toddlers, but he remained apprehensive for the longest time! See how fun it is?

Happy Fourth of July!

The Snyders took a brief camping trip last week with two other families to celebrate the Fourth. Ok, by brief we mean overnight! We had never been camping with Ethan before, so we weren't sure how long we could last! We had a great time! The Owens are on the left, and they joined us the day after we got there, essentially taking the overnight spot of the Snyders (we even left our tent and pack n play for them to use). The Alkires are in the center.

Setting camp the afternoon we got there was fun. We grilled chicken and garlic toast for dinner and served it with salad and baked beans, heated right in the can. After putting the kids to bed we all roasted marshmallows over the fire and had some s'mores.

The next morning we got up EARLY! One of the rv's next to us decided to rev up his generator which was so loud that the kids woke up.

This is me realizing that it's 5:45 in the morning after getting to bed at about midnight.

But this is one of my favorite parts of camping: open fire cooking. Katrina made us some french toast and eggs, while I prepared coffee and sausages. Doesn't this look yummy?


The kids couldn't really wait, so Kayela had some yogurt while Ethan had some instant oatmeal.

After breakfast the dads took the kids to the lake while Katrina and I cleaned up and had a rest.

Later that morning, David and I took the kids to the nearby playground while Katrina and Andrew (Kayela's parents) tried to catch some fish. We are so glad Ethan had a playmate with him. It made the trip so much more enjoyable for him!

Riding around in our van, the two kids goofed off a bit. We kept hearing them giggling and squealing.

At lunchtime, the Owens joined us for sandwiches, chips and homemade, camp ice cream! It was Dave O's birthday, so this was our special celebration. Here is the video clip of how we made vanilla ice cream in gallon freezer bags.

After lunch it was time for us to go. The Owens stayed one more night, while the Alkires stayed two more. We enjoyed our time, but boy were we worn out! Ethan fell asleep about two seconds after he got in the car!

Congratulations, Val and Narss!

Another Chicago wedding! This one was unique for us in that it was held at an art studio--West Loop Studios. It was a beautiful ceremony setting and chic reception site all rolled into one! Good job with the planning, you guys! It turned out beautifully!

While Mom and Dad were celebrating, Ethan had some fun playtime with his friend Lauren. Her parents, Liz and Jace were kind enough to watch Ethan that afternoon. Thank you for helping us out!

Peoria Zoo

It was a lovely Friday morning for the Snyder family last week...

Ethan finally likes slides, too! Most kids his age can't get enough of them, but not Ethan. So it's been fun seeing him warm up to this playground staple. There was a whale shaped slide at the zoo where he played for quite a while! We had to resort to all sorts of tricks to get him off the slide to see the other exhibits.

Check this out this video clip...this was a pond full of aggressive koi.

The first time we approached this pond, not only did the fish approach the edge of the water, but they were splashing and frenetic. I thought we had approached a pond full of piranahs!

24 Weeks

This post is two weeks overdue since I am now 26 weeks pregnant! Our last visit to the midwife was very good (yes, a midwife). We were able to do one more sonogram to check a few more things that were hard to see last time. But the best part was I got to see a "4D" sonogram for the first time. That whole term doesn't make much sense to me, but you get the idea. Not only do you see the form of your baby, but I guess there's more computer generation in this kind of sonogram. David thinks it looks a bit creepy, but I was fascinated!

The pregnancy is going well. Everything is checking out great! I think the hardest part has been getting used to the extra weight again! Some of you might remember my die hard efforts at losing weight last fall. Efforts that were well worth it I'm proud to say. But I'm afraid I'll be working hard again in a few months!

Differences this time around: First, a lot more round ligament pain. If I walk too long, sit too long or stand too long, I start to ache quite a bit. I stopped working out months ago because of this. Second, I feel baby's movement in a different place than last time. The sonographer determined she was breeched this time around, which might explain why I feel movement in my lower abdomen. The movement an expectant mom feels is usually due to her baby's kicking legs. So, if that's true, then this baby is head up. This is a big contrast to the sharp kicks I felt in between my ribs while pregnant with Ethan, who was head down at the time of delivery. As a result, I've been reading up on what to do to encourage this baby to "turn around". You wouldn't believe what you could find on the internet...

Monk or Punk?

A few days ago we took Ethan for a haircut. David thought we should just take some #3 clippers to his head and shave the hair to promote thicker growth. I said, "OK, but he's gonna look really silly with his big head!" I laughed the entire time as the stylist shaved off his brown locks. I'm used to it now, and in fact, it's actually endeared Ethan more to us. His bald head is reminiscent of his infant days. It's like he's a baby all over again (except one that talks and walks and gets into trouble!)

Aunt Gayle's Visit

Ethan became quite attached to Aunt Gayle as soon as she arrived. It was "Aunt Gayle this" and "Aunt Gayle that"! First thing in the morning: "Go see Aunt Gayle", first thing after his afternoon nap "Where's Aunt Gayle?" It was very cute. I try not to take it too personally that he rarely asked for me, though towards the end of her visit he did start to ask for me more. In fact, he became downright clingy at times. Strange for my little independent boy.

Early this morning Aunt Gayle was finally able to get a seat on a flight outta here (long story). This was the exchange between Ethan and I when he woke up this morning:

Ethan: "Go see Daddy?"
Me: "Daddy's not here."
Ethan: "Go see Aunt Gayle!"
Me: "Aunt Gayle's not here." (apologetic face included)

I was relieved to see that Ethan didn't pitch a fit (yesterday he woke up from his nap while Aunt Gayle and Daddy were out), though he did continue to ask for her a while longer. I think he had such fun spending so much time with his aunt. Thanks, Aunt Gayle!