Baby Three

Today was the due date for our third baby that we lost to miscarriage.  Please lift up our baby, our family, and all those who have suffered from the loss of a child in your prayers today.

Vacation

In April, David and I went on our yearly vacation, this time to the New England area.  We have been lucky in that we have been able to go on a little trip each year since we have been married, sometimes with kids, sometimes without (big thanks to our parents!!). 
2010: Lake Tahoe (our honeymoon)
2011: Sleeping Bear Dunes, MI
2012: St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
2013: Sedona, AZ
2014: Tulum, Mexico
2015: Charleston, SC (Feb) and Salt Lake City, UT (Sept)
2016: Boston, MA and New England

David and I were reflecting on our many vacations since we have been married, and with the exception of our honeymoon, I have either been pregnant or breastfeeding for all of them!  Actually, with the exception of our first year of marriage, I have pretty much been pregnant or breastfeeding our whole marriage.  Wow!

We had a rather relaxing vacation to the north east, with very few set plans and no big agendas.  We booked our hotels as we traveled, and just went north along the coast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.  David did have the desire to visit Acadia State Park in the very northern most part of Maine, but we didn't make it that far.  A bit too much of a drive.  We stayed as far north as Portland, ME, and then drove to Camden Hills State Park, but that was all I could handle in one day.  I particularly liked Portsmouth, NH, a little tourist town on the coast.  Traveling in April, the weather was a bit cool, so it was not crowded at all.  We definitely missed tourist season.  Boston was also a great city to visit with lots of history.  We spent a day walking around but could have easily made a whole vacation of just going to that one city.

Boston Commons with the state house behind us.

A port in Salem, MA.  We stayed at the cutest boutique hotel in Salem called The Merchant.  In general, Salam was really cute with lots of boutique restaurants and shops to visit.

Driving north along the coast in York, ME

A windy walk by the beach

Sandy beaches!

Nubby Lighthouse in York, ME

 We were planning on doing a lot of hiking in Maine, but while we were in Portsmouth, NH, David went for a run and sprained his ankle.  It wasn't a terrible sprain, as he could still walk on it, but it was enough to slow him down for a few days.  It also has dampened his racing schedule for this summer... So we went on some easier hikes, which I didn't mind at all.

We stopped at a restaurant called "The Taste of Maine" on our way north and of course had to have a lobster.  It was quite a battle getting the meat out of the shell but we managed.

Camden Hills State Park in Camden, ME

This was the "Ocean Outlook" on a hike to the top of Mt. Megunticook.  David was scared to death, which I tried to capture in this picture.  He does not like heights.

Quite a view!

To get to the actual summit, we had to walk through the forest, so we could not see the ocean from the top.  Elevation 1385 feet - right along the coast!  Not so many beaches along this part of the coast - too many rocks.

The lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth, ME.

Thanks Mom and Dad for watching the kids so we could take our little trip!

Stratford Ecological Center

On the tip of a friend, we visited a farm north of us in Powell called the Stratford Ecological Center.  The weather was a little on the cool side, so I had the kids bundle up with the hopes that we would last longer outside.  We had a great time!  We visited the gardens, the greenhouse, the barn, and went for a walk on a trail out in the wooded area.  Next time if the weather was warmer, I would pack a picnic lunch and stay longer.  One of the big attractions for William was following around the farm cats.  Luckily they all seemed friendly enough and didn't seem to mind him petting them.

In the greenhouse - both William and the cat liked digging in the dirt.

 We went inside the barn to check out the baby animals.  They had many baby piglets, baby goats and lambs, and calves.  The kid goats were the funniest - they would climb on top of the mommy goat's back and just stand there.  I was cracking up, but I don't think Eliana or William could figure out why. 

Although William looks calm in this picture, it did not last long.  The mother goat started bleating loudly which made William cry.  He covered his ears and kept saying "Too loud!"  So we had to leave the goats to visit the cows.

The farm had several nice trails to walk along.  I wasn't sure how the kids would do since they usually complain about walking to far, but they actually did great.  William found a stick and was just as happy as could be walking along with that.  We walked all the way to the Sugar Shack but then William had to be carried back.

Green plants were just starting to peek out from under the leaves.  We were on the side of a gently slopin hill and could see down to a creek that had many lovely green plants growing along the banks. 

All in all, it was a wonderful walk through the trees with very few complaints.  I would definitely call that a success!

Firefly Play Cafe

One our true favorites, Firefly Play Cafe was our destination of choice on a free day.  We had not been there for quite some time, and William has grown so much.  Perhaps it was the influence of the trampoline park, but he has grown to love the bounce house as much as Eliana does.  While he still cannot actually jump, he does enjoy kind of prancing around in the bouncy house with Eliana in a modified walk/skip/jump.

Perhaps I am extra emotional lately, but I teared up watching the kids play together at Firefly.  Watching them jump together made me think of how much they have grown and how small Eliana was the first time I brought her there.  Firefly is kinda where it all started for me in Columbus - it is where I met up with Morgan and was then introduced to Angela and Holly for the first time.  Four years later, our babies are all 4 years old, in preschool, and are best friends.  How did I go from one baby not even able to crawl to two big kids?  I love William and Eliana, and watching their personalities grow and blossom.  Time flies by!

(By the way, this isn't the only time I have teared up lately.  Earlier this week, I dropped Eliana off at preschool and started crying over the "getting ready for kindergarten" display.  William kept saying, "Mommy sad!" And Eliana still has another year of preschool left!)

Bouncy House

Eliana spent much of her time hiding out in this little space with a mommy fox and a baby fox.  It was like she was in her own little nest, or fox's den.

So William explored the rest of Firefly on his own. Climbing high to play with magnets. 

Where did the warm weather go?

This is a bit delayed, but I had to post these pictures from early April of the snow!  I swear, it was warmer in February than it is now.  It is the beginning of May, and I still have my heat on.  I make the kids wear jackets everywhere, and I think it is exceedingly cold in the mornings!  So it is only appropriate that I show you how crazy Ohio weather can be.  At the beginning of this particular week in April, it snowed enough to accumulate on the ground!  Then by the end of the week, the temperatures were in the 70s. 

This just goes to show that Eliana has a direct line to God.  Her prayers came true once again.  These pictures were taken after the ones I just posted about springtime!

As soon as Eliana saw the snow, she ran for her snow pants and boots.  She was so happy to pull them out again.  I didn't think it was that cold out, after all, it was April, but after a few minutes outside, I had to go back in to grab hats for everyone.

Eating snow in April

Sorry flowers, it is survival of the fittest at my house.

Eliana was trying to "sled" down the hill on her bottom in the snow.