Christmas in New York!

We arrived safely in NY without any delays on the 20th! David and I were grateful to grandma Cuesta for watching Ethan while we spent a couple of days going into Manhattan. On our way to the train station we walked through several neighborhoods. I was surprised to see how much Christmas spirit there was! SO many lights! So gawdy, it was wonderful :) My old neighborhood hasn't changed too much, but I admit that it becomes more and more Spanish-speaking!

We spent an evening having dinner with his sister, Donna, and her husband Greg. We had a fantastic meal at Knickerbocker's on University (near NYU). I had the braised short rib and David had the duck. These portions were big enough to split! It's always nice visiting with Donna and Greg and hearing about what's new on the horizon for them.

We got the chance to meet up with my old highschool friends, Maria (left) and Nina (center). These two sisters have remained some of my "bestest" friends throughout the years, even though we are physically separated by distance (Vegas, NY and IL). We also spent a few hours at the Museum of Natural History to see the Mythical Creatures exhibit, and the origami Christmas tree. Here is David standing next to the tree...all the ornaments were hand folded.

Onto our next destination...NEW JERSEY!

Christmas at Home

Before leaving town, David, Ethan and I had our own little Christmas celebration. After having dinner at a nearby Chinese restaurant, we came home, sat by the tree and opened up gifts. Ethan had a slew of things to open from the Snyder and Phillips families in Texas, which was so much fun. And of course, David and I exchanged our gifts to each other. He got a pair of indoor soccer shoes and a new Columbia jacket for the cold weather. He got me a hefty gift certificate to my favorite day spa in town (I can't wait for my massage and facial in a few days!). Ethan got some great outfits from his Aunt Gayle and Uncle Randy, and a gift certificate from Grandma and Grandpa Snyder.

Well, it's off to NY tomorow!

Dashing through the snow

This past weekend we got quite a good snowfall! Saturday morning we had a couple of inches on the ground, so we decided to take Ethan sledding for the first time. We had a few good runs, and I think Ethan enjoyed it, as did we! The video clip below has Ethan going down the hill with Daddy, then Mommy. Then on the ride home we listened to some Christmas music which got him in quite the festive, dancing mood :) We had a lovely morning!

Posse Christmas 2007

A few days ago I drove up to Chicago to visit my girlfriends. They were my "posse" back when I was young and single, ha ha ha! We were all in the same bible study small group at my old church, and these became my closest friends that I had had in a long time since I had moved to Chicago.

We had about one year together before I got engaged and moved two hours away, but we've all managed to stay in touch. Several of them are married now and have moved away, but I'm grateful that we make it a point to get together several times a year. There have been lots of weddings, baby showers, birthday celebrations and such. But this gathering was very special because ALL eight of us managed to make it!

We had dinner and LOTS of time to talk, which is what girlfriends do best. Thanks, Heather, for opening up your home and allowing all of us to get together! I love you girls...

An early Christmas gift

Several weeks ago Grandma Cuesta sent Ethan a few pieces of persimmon since they are in season (and she loves them). Ethan liked them well enough, so she decided to send us a few more pieces to tide him over till we see them next. Ok, she sent us more than a few pieces, she sent us a boxload! Ethan was eager to see what was inside this package.

Thanks, Grandma!

Happy Birthday Rachel!

Last week, Ethan's friend, Rachel, turned two! She and her parents invited all of us to Chuck E Cheese's for games and pizza. It was our first time to go there and both Ethan and I had a lot of fun! Here is the gang...


And the celebrant with her mommy...



The pizza was surprisingly yummy :) We'll definitely come back!

Thanksgiving Adventures

An update that is long overdue!

The Snyder family headed to Dallas, TX to visit the extended Snyder family. Getting there was the hard part due to flight delays and cancelations, but once we got there (the very next day), we had a fantastic time! Our first day we had 80 degree weather! But soon the weather did plummet down to a comfortable winter like weather. Here we are toughing the cold at the zoo, posing with the ol' time carriage...

This Thanksgiving we had deep fried turkey over at David's sister's house. If you've never had it, I HIGHLY recommend it! Here's a video that David took of the turkey, the feast and family.

Next on the docket, we've got a video of Ethan taken on that day. You can see what all that "schooltime" has taught him. I think I need to continue working on those letters and numbers with Ethan!



Finally, the highlight of the day...David, his brother-in-law Randy, his sons Nathan and Steven, Nathan's friend John, and Randy's new son-in-law Elijah (aka "Lige") played a game of football after dinner. I went out with the video cam and got this footage. David put it all together in this "highlights" video. Enjoy!

Growing up before my eyes

Officially using a booster seat now, Ethan stuffs his face at dinner time... I love to watch him eat like a big boy (although most of the time he is reluctant to try what I give him. Even his old favorites!).

Walking with Ethan through Funk's Grove

It was nine in the morning, very brisk outside. And on a Friday morning we were all by ourselves on the hiking paths. We started our short hike at the chapel in the trees. I held his hand as we crunched our way through the leaves. Ethan loves the leaves! I let him walk on ahead for a little bit as I snapped some more photos. I love the sunlight filtering through what's left of the fall foliage. And the best surprise of all...a family of deer literally prancing through the distant woods. I could see their white tails!

You can read more about Funks' Grove at http://www.iwu.edu/~psolowsk/website/Funks_Grove.html and http://www.funksmaplesirup.com

Sleep challenged????

It is incredible how it feels when after a long morning of crying and screaming your toddler finally falls asleep for his nap.

He is a GREAT sleeper...has always been, for the most part. We put him down in his crib awake, turn out the lights, walk out and close the door. And for the past 10 months we've had a consistent sleep schedule:

Rise and shine: 6:30-ish AM
Afternoon nap: 12:30 pm to 3:30 PM (yes, a three hour break in the day!)
'night 'night: 7:30 pm

But just this past week, something has happened with his afternoon naps. He is CRYING and SCREAMING his head off everytime I leave the room! I don't know why. And I've just come from one of those sessions. It is now 2:15 in the afternoon and he has just fallen asleep. Yes, he screamed when I left the room at 12:30. At 1pm I took him out, let him play for another hour, then I said, "Ethan, time to go night night." He followed me into his room, and as soon as I put him in his crib "WAH WAH!". I finally just stood there at the side of his crib and watched him as he lay on his stomach, head cocked to one side as he stared at the animals on his bumper pads. My thougths wandered to all the things I was supposed to be accomplishing during his nap...grocery lists, home projects, dinner for tonight, laundry. My eyes looked at the sun shining through the drapes at his window. Ugh...what a wasted two hours with nothing accomplished! I then looked down again at my precious Ethan, and his eyes were closed. A wave of relief washed over me. I wonder if we'll have to do this again tonight?

It is incredible how it feels when after a long morning of crying and screaming your toddler finally falls asleep.

Schooltime

With Ethan having a cold this week, I had to find some interesting things to do at home. Recently after his afternoon nap I've decided to have "schooltime" for about half an hour when Ethan can concentrate on learning letters, numbers, colors and shapes. Plus, he gets to draw! He loves any writing utensil, but he still needs to be supervised with them. SO! This was the perfect activity for the both of us.

Over the past few months he has slowly learned his numbers. But for the longest time, he didn't really name his letters. Then one day several weeks ago, I was reading his favorite book: Dr. Seuss's ABC. The front and back inside covers have the alphabet, and Ethan started to point at some of the letters. He also named them, much to my surprise! It was awesome!

So, everyday now we go over the basics. Here is one of our "schooltime" sessions. And no, we don't have a new dog. We're dogsitting :)

Happy Halloween!

Thank you to Grandpa Snyder for this authentic Cabelas toddler gear, given to Ethan nearly a year ago! Ethan didn't get the chance to wear it untill now, so it was a bit small, but not small enough for him to fit into it!!! Instant Halloween costume! And of course, he's old enough to figure out his pop rifle. The perfect finishing touch....

Snyder Family Daycare

Today I tried my hand at having a "big family". For a couple of hours this morning, I watched three other toddlers and preschoolers in addition to my own little tyke! Let me tell you, snack time was a bit of a circus :) I had a lot of fun!

Apple Blossom Farm

Another fun fall day! Apple Blossom Farm is about an hour away in Peoria. http://www.appleblossomfarm.com/ We explored the orchard, pumpkin patch, bakery, and store and had a fantastic time at their playground. Here is Ethan and Mommy going down the slide. It took us a while to actually get down since there was a little boy stuck at the bottom!

Me and my "Boo"

Do you remember that birthday playdate Ethan and I went to? Each child got a little party favor--a helium-filled balloon! Ethan loved this "boo" he called it. He loved it even more when it started to droop and float more towards his head level. Towards the end of this balloon's life, Ethan held it by its string without end. He even slept with it. Talk about strangulation hazard!

Father-Son time...

I am forever tickled by the sight of Ethan with his father, especially when they're doing things together. To help me get dinner prepared without the distraction of Ethan, David took him out to the backyard to do some "work". There was some uneven areas that he wanted to even out to prevent water build up, and he wanted to work on one of the trees (I don't know what he was doing). As dinner was simmering I went out back to see what the guys were doing and this is what I saw. After filling the hole, they put the sod down, then they pat it hard...

And stomped on it. Cute, huh?

Raders Farm

This morning we spent a lovely time having some fall fun. We went to a place called Rader's Farm where you can go pumpkin picking. They have a few animals to check out, a "corn box" (like a sand box, but filled with corn) and something like a jungle gym made out of bales of hay. Or is it straw? I don't know, but that's what you get when you put a city girl in the middle of farm country!

Our friends, the Schmidtgalls, joined us with their two girls. We had so much fun watching the play with Ethan. And of course, it was a great time being able to catch up with what was going on in their lives.

After some play time, we all decided to go pick out our pumpkins for the season. They had these wagons, luckily, so Ethan got to have a snack while we loaded up the cart with a pumpkin for each of us. Even one for our cat, Eddie! Then we took (or tried to take) a family picture over by their "photo op" station. For some reason, Ethan doesn't like to pose for pictures with Mommy and Daddy! If you click on each picture you can get a closer look...

And here's Ethan's encounter with the farm animals...

It's now or never

Folks, I'm going for it again...the weight loss journey. And I'm blasting the news out there into cyberspace because I actually want to be held accountable. I figure the more people I tell, the more I'm pressured to actually do it. There are a few more baby pounds to lose before packing them back on with another pregnancy. No, we're not pregnant, but we hope to be in a few months.

You can read my ramblings day by day at http://vickyonadiet.blogspot.com/ I find myself wanting to journal my progress and frustrations, but my pen can't keep up with my thoughts. But my fingertips can... So, for a good laugh, you can check it out. Peace, and bless God...

Park Playdate

Ethan's friend, Grant, had his 2nd birthday celebration yesterday at a nearby park. We had cupcakes and juiceboxes and lots of cool playground equipment! Here's Ethan trying out his learner's permit...

One, two, three!

Yesterday I finally got the chance to hit some garage sales and pick up some much needed items for the upcoming fall. Like pants and pj's that fit! For Ethan that is :) I also found some toys for him like this set of magnets. I don't know why I haven't gotten these before, but he loves taking them on and off our refrigerator. We've been teaching him his numbers, but he's got his favorites like the numbers 2 and 6. He will often pull it off, hold it to us and say "six". While he knows some of his numbers, he will only say them in a certain pattern, probably because we've been teaching him by call and response. He says "2", I say "3", etc. So now he knows 2, 4, and 6. But that's about it!