Our $40 Vacation

Yep, that's right.

For $40 dollars we spent two nights and three days at Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort in Utica, IL next to Starved Rock State Park.

"How is this possible," you may ask?

TIMESHARE PROMOTION.

"Oh no! You didn't fall to prey to those blood thirsty sales reps pushing over-priced, useless condos and "amenities" that you'll never use?"

No, we didn't :)

This past January we went to the annual Kids Expo in our town where we signed up for this promotion: 2-nights at Grand Bear Resort and their indoor waterpark. The only caveat? Sit through a 90 minute presentation to learn about vacation opportunities through Silverleaf Resorts. We couldn't pass up the opportunity, considering hotel rooms at this resort average about $150/night depending on room and season. So we took our chances. I don't think we would do this again, since our 90 minute off-site presentation ended up being a 4 hour excursion! But we were able to enjoy the waterpark and some hiking at Starved Rock. Here are the pics!

On our way home we stopped for lunch at a local drive-in. David was surprised to find that I had never been to a drive-in before. The waitress didn't come out in roller skates, but everything else was definitely old school!

It's a Bug!

This is what we do on sunny days while Kate takes her morning nap. We go outside and look for creepy crawly things... That day it happened to be a caterpillar.

Just for fun

A slide show of recent pics of Kate and her tiny toy box

(http://www.slide.com/r/RnVxvUhz0D8UCV8eYspJ7S8VEI4tUH7T?previous_view=mscd_embedded_url&view=original)

Playtime with Kate

Ethan's favorite pastime is trying to make Kate laugh. We love to watch. Now you can, too! Enjoy this clip...

The Neighborhood Gang

The nice weather has brought out all the kids on our block. We have children ranging from 6 months to 16 years!

It's wonderful to go outside and see the kids playing. I don't know what it is, but it totally warms my heart. For the past couple of days Ethan has played with the boy next door, Jaden, who is 5 years old. He's also played with the kids two houses down from us, Naomi (5) and Daniel (7). Ethan LOVES to hang out with the older kids!

All this has made David and I very sentimental and nostalgic about this neighborhood. You see, in about one month we'll be moving to a new house! We're only moving a few miles away within the same town, but we will be sad to leave some of Ethan's friends behind. Jaden is also moving in about two weeks! Our neighborhood has experienced quite a bit of turnover as houses have been selling rather quickly. I guess it's our turn, huh?

We found a lovely house to call our new home. More details on that later...

Sent From Above

I like to think that God sends me little gifts.

Yesterday, still recovering from whatever cold/sore throat I had, I needed to go to Walmart to do some grocery shopping. Though I woke up, with a foggy, dull headache I needed to get some food since our fridge and cupboards were bare! David was done with classes and so he was able to stay home with the kids. I quickly got myself into the car for an hour or so of "me" time (if you can call grocery shopping without the kids "me" time!).

As I was standing in the dairy aisle contemplating what butter to buy, blowing my runny nose and rubbing my dry, itchy eyes, an old man further down the aisle said to me smiling, "I saw you yawning just a few minutes ago back over there. Rough night?" I chuckled and proceeded to tell him that I was sick, and my 7 month old was sick, so we were both up several times the previous night.

Such a little thing to strike up a conversation. I would never believe it, but it's so true about that whole "smile" thing, and how it's a wonderful gift to receive. This old grandpa began to share a little bit about his children and grandchildren, and after those ten minutes I had laughed, connected with a generation so far removed from me, and walked away forgetting that I even had a headache.

Thanks, God, for lifting my spirits and making me feel better!

Potty Training STINKS

For the past month we've had a second go around at potty training Ethan. I hate it. I can't believe how much I hate this.

We've tried a few approaches. In January we attempted the "one day approach", pumping him with juice and salty snacks while letting him run around in just cotton underwear. The philosophy behind this is the more he eats and drinks, the more opportunity he has to go, and in 5 hours you can get your kid to use the potty chair. While this did indeed give him the urge, he did not like peeing on himself. He did not like sitting on the potty either. As a result, he would withhold. Oh, the pain he was in! He would only relieve himself in his diaper at naptime or bedtime when he could finally relax. I mean, this was causing some serious physical issues! He could really hurt himself, I thought. We ended up trying this approach for one week. While he did go in the potty a couple of times, the longer we trained the more he withheld. It was terrible. We decided we needed to back off and regroup.

Three months later here we are. We decided we needed to take a more laid back approach, focusing on giving him a positive attitude about the porcelain throne. We decided to put away the potty chair and just use a cushioned seat on top of the real thing (Ethan is so tall that none of the potty chairs we found seemed big enough for him). How about a reward system? What kind of rewards? Do we force liquids and salty snacks on him again, or just make sitting on the potty part of his routine? We decided to just incorporate it into his routine, use training pants to avoid messy accidents, and make a rewards chart where he put stickers everytime he successfully uses the pot.

We've been doing this for about 3 weeks now. He's still sometimes negative about the toilet, but at least we can get him to sit there. And the only times he has used the toilet was when we put him there ourselves and let him sit there for an extended amount of time (like 30 minutes!). We read books, sing songs, and lately we've put his portable DVD player so he can watch a video. This is REALLY sad, but we just don't know any other way. We say to ourselves, "If he could just eliminate in the toilet once, he'll get it!" No. Not really. I don't think he's made the connection between the physical sensation of "having to go" with actually walking over to the bathroom and using the toilet. Our only comfort is he knows how to pull down his pants and training pants.

I don't know how long this is going to take, but according to everyone I've talked to, it takes a long time. And it takes patience. I thought I was a patient person, but this experience has definitely challenged me in that area. Truth is, I don't have patience at all. I really wish someone else could do this for me. David has taken most of the responsibility for this, but I'm the one who spends the most time with Ethan. It is work I must do.

I know Ethan WILL learn to do this one day. I just need to remember that this, too, shall pass. And perhaps a year from now I'll hardly remember blogging about this...

7 months

Where has the time gone?? The month of April flew by, and I'm sorry to say I never got formal 6 month photos taken of Kate!

In the past month she has gotten two teeth, learned to roll over, got her second cold and second ear infection, and weighs just over 20 lbs. She and Ethan "play" together a lot, and the older she gets, the more interactive the two of them become. It is so fun to watch.

The biggest challenge is her eating and sleep schedule. I'm sorry to say that it is quite erratic. With Ethan I was such a stickler about his schedule, but with two kids it's so hard to impose the same standards. She often misses a morning nap, or gets a very small one because Ethan inadvertently wakes her up, or I'm just busy and insist on getting out of the house--even if it is with two kids. Lately she hasn't been nursing well either, probably due to her sickness. But this is really hard for me because without a set routine and schedule, I can't set my own routine or schedule for the day.

With her sickness this past month her nighttime sleeping got messed up as well. She would wake every two hours on the dot--probably due to discomfort of her ears and/or throat. To comfort her and put her back to sleep I would nurse her. All that eating during the night might be another reason she's not eating so well during the day. All this being said, we are almost past it. She is on the mend, and we are working hard at flipping her schedule. But the best part of this past month is that Kate began taking a bottle again! And she takes it from me! Usually breastfed babies refuse a bottle from mom, so this was quite the breakthrough. I think she probably prefers the bottle now, though she will nurse from me a few times a day. With this switching back and forth I will have to pump and make sure I keep up my supply. But hopefully this will afford me some time away from Kate for some much needed breaks.

I always put Kate on her back to sleep. Here is how I found her one morning after taking her morning nap. On her belly!


And here are the two misfits causing trouble :) It's so fun to see them interact and laugh together. It's going to be crazy in this house when Kate gets mobile!

Splish Splash

Kate's tub time...a video medley of our favorite little girl:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r919MaxeI2U

Easter Day

Since Ethan's birth we've kind of started this new tradition of an annual Easter photo. Here is our attempt to take a nice family snapshot on the couch. You can see more photos of Easter posted on my facebook page http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=76190&id=610621963&l=b0da8af55d

I like this one of Kate and me...

An Easter Egg Hunt

This was probably one of the most chaotic kids events I'd ever been to...

There's a church in town that was hosting an Easter egg hunt...over 30,000 eggs, plus free lunch, and prizes to giveaway. What we thought was a "hunt" ended up in a blood bath!

It was a free for all, grab as many eggs as you can in 5 minutes! They blew the whistle and tens of kids with their parents ran out to the field and picked up as many eggs as they could. And that was only the 3-4 year old kid division.

Poor Ethan...I pulled him through the crowd, trying to get him to an open area with some eggs, Kate strapped to my body in a sling. But before Ethan fell, he did manage to grab one egg, while all the other kids around him snatched the others from beneath his hands. David found us in the crowd and finally took Ethan to the other side, where he could gather some more eggs for his bucket. Not as fun as I had hoped...

Ethan had lots of fun with his friends Cooper, Asher and Kayela, BEFORE the hunt started though. It was sort of like a playdate outside. It was good to be outside and expend some of that energy from being cooped up in the house yesterday, a rainy Good Friday.

Maybe we'll just host our own egg hunt next year!

6 months

Kate had her 6 month check up today, and she is doing great! 19 lbs, 1oz, which puts her in the 94th percentile, and 26 inches long, which puts her in the 52nd percentile for height.

She laughs a lot now, and sits up fairly well, though we need to spot her still. She doesn't roll over yet, but she kicks her legs so much that she often ends up in a different spot when she's laying on the floor. She eats 5 times a day, and sleeps for 6 to 8 hour stretches in the night.

We've also started her on solids. For the past three weeks she's tried three different cereals, and we're now starting her on veggies. Her first one was squash, and she REALLY liked it. Finished the whole jar!

Speaking of chomping...her two bottom teeth have come in, which has made nursing her much more painful! Kate, mommy's not a chew toy!

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

March 31st marked Ethan's 3rd birthday! In lieu of a big "to do", we had a family celebration at home with pizza, cake, and presents, of course. Here is a video recap of our lunchtime celebration. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bN1llkwUKIg

Ethan trying out his new t-ball set from Aunt Gayle and Uncle Randy...


The next day, his friend, Kayela came over while her mommy went to a doctor's appointment. They came with a little gift for Ethan--his very first game, Chutes and Ladders!

We had a small window of opportunity (a few hours of good weather) to set up Ethan's new sand and water table from Grandma and Grandpa Cuesta. He had lots of fun digging his new Percy train in the sand. Thanks for the train set, Grandma and Grandpa Snyder! It's a great addition to Ethan's collection!

Happy Birthday, Ethan! We love you so very much. Everyday with you is a blessing! You are growing so fast and we can't wait to see what this next year brings. You're our number one guy!

mealtimes

Mealtimes can get kinda silly here at the Snyder house. Especially when one of your kids is sitting ON the table.


I finally got Kate laughing on video. The best of it is right at the beginning of the clip...The rest is of her giving half-hearted chuckles, but cute nonetheless (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgxdjTuvkl0)

Fantastic Four

March is a big month! Lots of birthdays for friends and family. This year, we decided to throw yet another bash for the fantastic four! We had our shindig at Make a Mess...a kids fun center where they can literally mess the place up. We rented the entire place for two hours. There's a huge ball pit, climbing apparatus with slide, a "swamp" area, toddler area, huge inflatable obstacle course, and a few arcade type games. They also have a concessions stand where they serve pizza, hotdogs, chicken bites and other junk food. Since so many of us have children we thought it would be a great place to gather around--the kids are happy, and the adults get to visit with one another! I think it was an overall success despite the unusual venue!

If only it were as easy as putting on a hat!

Today at Lamb2Lamb (the children's program at my mom's group, Mom2Mom) the children made crowns that illustrate the lesson they've been learning this month: obedience. His crown says "I will obey." I think his face illustrates how he REALLY feels...

One year later

It has been a year since Ethan's accident. For the past couple of weeks, I've been thinking about where we were one year ago. I don't know why. There were moments where I would just stop whatever I was doing, find myself lost remembering the events of that week, and start crying. This is what his arm looks like today. You can't tell from the picture, but the worst of his scarring is the one nearest his armpit. It's like a round nodule, and if you touched it, you would feel how hard that flesh is. To see "before" pictures from a year ago click here.

The rest of his scars have healed really well, though you can still see some discoloration of the skin, especially on the outside of is upper arm. His chest also has some discoloration but it is hardly noticeable.

It has been a long time since I revisited those trying events. I'm thankful to God that He pulled us through, that He blessed us with countless people who prayed for us, helped us in tangible ways. They were truly an outpouring of God's love and mercy. To read about it, click here: March 2008

5 months--Kate Goes Green

For her 5 month birthday I switched Kate to cloth diapers. Several friends have asked me why, and I am by no means an environmental activist! Having both the kids in diapers just highlighted the gross monthly expense of diapers. I was also really turned off by how much trash we had each week. An acquaintance of mine had told me she used cloth diapers, but I was surprised to find how uber modern these things were. These aren't the cloth diapers your grandma used! Luckily, there is a store in town that sells them and offers a lot of support to find the right products for you, so I went and checked it out. I bought a small sampling of chinese prefolds, a diaper cover, and one of the best selling modern cloth diapers out there--bum genius cloth diapers--and I fell in love! So, Ethan will remain in disposables for the next few months till he's potty trained, while Kate will stay in cloth diapers for her "diaper doo doo" career. Here she is sporting a bummis super brite diaper cover over her chinese prefold. For naptimes and bed times I use happy heinys one size diapers. These happy heinys will adjust to fit even Ethan, but David is dead set against putting him in them!

Kate continues to grow very well, though not up--out! She's pretty chubby, and we like her that way. Just recently during her daily babbles she said "dada", which made David say to me "Kate loves me more!" She may very well show a preference for daddy. He can just look at her and she starts to smile and coo. I usually have to work a bit harder! She really is a daddy's girl!

indoor activities

With the weather being as cold as it is, and with the kids being as sick as they are, we've had to entertain ourselves in the most unusual ways. Like seeing how high you can throw your socks...

And having your 4 month old jump on the bed with your 2 and a half year old. Well, it makes for fun blog material, doesn't it? Here's the youtube link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ClfOpi7HBeg)

Kate really loves to do whatever her big brother is doing. Do you hear her squeal and giggle? She will also often follow him with her eyes all over the living room from her swing or bouncy seat. I have a feeling she will be quite an annoyance to Ethan when they're older!

My Funny Valentine

When David told me that he had a concert to play Valentine's Day weekend, I was really disappointed. So was he! Of course, we've made plans to celebrate on another day. No biggie.

Today, Friday the 13th, he left right after dinner to go to rehearsal like any other performance week. On his way out he said, "Oh, I've got some laundry in the drier. Do you mind getting that for me when you get the chance tonight?" "No problem!" I replied...

After putting the children to bed, I got another load of laundry to bring downstairs. Setting the basket down, I opened the doors to find this...



I started laughing...and I had to take a picture. What an unlikely place to find such a nice surprise. Isn't he great?

All you husbands out there, I give you permission to "use this one" on your lovely wives, ha ha ha! I think they would love it!

Kate Hears

She passed her hearing test today, so I guess there's nothing for me to worry about! Perhaps she's already practicing either disobedience or indifference by not turning to me when I call!

She has also discovered a new sound and practices it OFTEN. It's that raptor sound from Jurassic Park taken to a whole new level. It is also peppered with these high-pitched squeals, which just makes us laugh. So delightful to hear babies discover new sounds...

Four Months Old

At four months, Kate is 16 lbs, 12 oz, and 24.25 inches tall. This puts her in the 90th percentile for weight and 50th percentile for height. David was QUITE disappointed with her stats, since he was hoping she would be a tall girl. He claims that boys don't date tall girls, and now that she's average height, "Boys are gonna want to date her!" Sheesh. Rest assured, David, that height has nothing to do with dates! I was quite petite and hardly dated growing up. But there are a slew of other reasons why the boys didn't like me, ha ha ha!

We also made an appointment with an audiologist. While it is clear that Kate does hear (and she passed her hearing test when she was first born), she doesn't seem to turn her head towards my voice when I speak. I've tested her several times as she lays in her crib, not seeing me. "kate..." I'll say. "Kate..." And she won't turn her head. The doctor recommended we double check her hearing just to make sure we're not missing something. "It's probably nothing,"" he said. But you never know. So, cross your fingers for next week's appt.

As you can see in this picture, she doesn't look very happy. It's probably because she got stuck with two needles for her immunizations! Last time, time she had 6 immunizations--5 of them injected, one of them swallowed in syrup form. They have since been able to combine 3 of them into one, so that little babies don't need to get stuck with FIVE needles (that was heart wrenching when she went through that two months ago).

She still sleeps. A lot. Just not through the night!

Kate's Playtime

Kate's playtime is rather limited! She can only stay awake for about an hour before she wants to take a nap again. By the time I feed her and change her diaper she has a half hour left to "exercise" on her play mat, or enjoy a ride in her swing.

Apparently, Ethan likes her play mat, too. He'll often lie down underneath the toybar and swat at a few things himself.

Here's the closest thing to a laugh I could get on video. Several weeks ago we heard her belly laugh for the first time, but we haven't heard it since. However, the little chuckles we hear now and then are enjoyable enough! I wonder what we can do to get that belly laugh going again...

Nearly four months have gone by, and I feel like I don't know this little girl just yet. She spends most of her day sleeping! Little by little I see bits of a personality coming out, though. For instance, tonight we decided to get burgers for dinner, so we went to the local Steak N Shake. To maximize the brief hour of her waketime, we decided to feed her at the restaurant. David and Ethan went inside to get a table and place our orders while I stayed in the car to nurse her. By the time she was done eating, our orders arrived. The minute I sat down to bite into a now cold hamburger, she began to get upset. This was a surprise to me, because we've taken her out to eat before. As I looked at her face she seemed bothered by the bright lights, the bustle of the restaurant and unfamiliar setting. Nobody likes an upset baby! Luckily, after some cuddles and bouncing on my knee she was content enough that we could finish our meal. We finished it quickly!

She was upset on the short car ride home, too. But the minute we returned home, placed her in her crib and turned on her familiar musical mobile, she began to coo contentedly. She really likes to be around the stuff and people she knows best (she doesn't like strangers much either). Perhaps she's a bit of a homebody like me. And perhaps she just likes to have a normal routine, just like her daddy.

Cabin Fever

We've had a lot of cold weather and snow here in the midwest. Combine that with a newborn that sleeps more than she's awake, and you have a lovely recipe for cabin fever! I've had to get creative about entertaining Ethan.

Am I a bad mom for sending my kid out in the snow while I sit inside sipping a cup of coffee?? Ha ha ha...

Sometimes I'll suit up and join him. It's the closest thing to skiing or snowboarding I'm gonna get for quite a while. As I hear my footsteps crunching in the snow, I imagine I'm on the slopes, gearing up for a day of skiing. Oh, it's a nice little fantasy, isn't it? Then I wake up and realize I'm the flatlands of Central Illinois...

A family photo shoot

We finally got to take some nice photos of the kids thanks to our friends Anthony and Carrie. Anthony has been working on his photography for a while now, and he agreed to take us on pro bono, ha ha ha! We'll have to start paying him soon since he takes wonderful pictures! Click here to see some more of our favorites from the session (or copy and paste the following link in your browser: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=59468&l=36f9c&id=610621963 ).

Life has gotten a whole lot better...

...since we STOPPED potty training Ethan!

I should say, we've postponed the whole thing. The last week has been a nightmare, ending in what we feel like was a traumatic experience for Ethan who held his pee for so many hours that when he got to the toilet he couldn' relax. The poor kid eventually eliminated when he went to bed (he had a diaper on). Previous to this, we would put him on the toilet after snacks or meals, and he did pee successfully a few times. Other times he missed and made a mess! If he got anything on himself, he didn't like that one bit!

He understands the concept, but I don't think he has made the connection. Not only that, the big pressure we were putting on him made it worse. FYI to all those parents approaching potty training age: wait for your child's cue. Don't make him/her follow your schedule!

Because Ethan understands the concept, he still continues to ask us to empty his diaper contents into the toilet. He'll usually say something like "poo in the toilet" when he has a dirty diaper. So, it's not entirely hopeless. But that huge transition step into actually SITTING on the toilet and successfully using it might be several weeks (or months) away. I imagine that when he wants to use the toilet, he'll tell us. I hope it's sooner rather than later. He'll be turning three soon!

3 months old

Today is officially Kate's 3 month birthday! She has grown quite a bit in the past month. She is now fitting into her 3-6 month clothing, grasping objects, holding her head up better, and looking cuter everyday :)

It's hard to believe this much time has already passed. We're in the process of sleep training now. A month ago she slept 8 hours straight a few times, but has recently started waking up again. In those dark, quiet moments in the middle of the night I try to remember that this will not last forever. It's both an encouragement and a reminder about how precious these times are.

We're also potty training Ethan at the same time. But this is a whole OTHER blog entry to post :)