Ann Arbor, MI

David is finishing up his fellowship interviews.  His last one is at the end of this week.  So from here, David will make his rank list of all the programs and submit it in early November.  We have done lots of talking about the pros and cons of each program and location. So far, we have a better idea of the bottom of the list instead of the top.  It is hard to say where we will be next year, as David has so many excellent choices in so many different places.  December 4th is Match Day, so we will find out then where David will do his fellowship!  Please keep us in your prayers that we will find the best place for our family and where God wants us to be for the next three to four years.
Earlier this month, David had an interview at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.  This is where our friend Sean is doing his fellowship, so our whole family went to Ann Arbor to visit Sean, Angela, Theo, and Cora.  It was a bit of a crazy time.  Theo slept on his parents’ bedroom floor while we squeezed our whole family into Theo’s room.  Eliana had a great time torturing her brother while she was supposed to be sleeping by throwing blankets, toys, and diapers on him in his crib.  Once things finally got settled down for the night, we were able to get some sleep.  While David was at his interview and Sean was at work, Angela and I took the kids to a petting zoo not too far from their house.  We all had a great time!  The animals were definitely used to the system because they all came right up to the fence to grab some carrots as we walked around.  Cora did not like getting her hand slobbered by the goats, but the rest of the kids all enjoyed feeding carrots and petting the animals.  William’s favorite part was sitting on the tractor (which apparently he knows the word for – I didn’t even know he could say “tractor” until we got there!). He cried when I finally pulled him down, but was better once we went to visit the chickens. 
It was great to see Eliana and Theo play together again.  They were so good!  Playing mostly independently together, they came up with all sorts of silly games when we went to the playground after the petting zoo.  They collected a huge pile of twigs which they put under some playground equipment and called their “nest.” This game went on for a long time, until it was time to go.  We were sad to leave, but hopefully we will have the chance to visit again next month.  

Feeding carrots to the sheep.

William and Cora with the chickens.

Friends reunited!

Apple Picking

This if from a while ago, but I thought the pictures were too sweet not to post.  Back in September? earlier October? the kids and I went apple picking along with Adele and her family, and my brother, sister-in-law, and baby Claire.  The trees were full of fruit with lots of branches low to the ground.  Both kids loved grabbing apples and throwing them in our bag.  We picked 25lbs + of apples.  I had many great plans for these apples such as apple muffins and apple pie, but the only thing I made was applesauce.  Mostly we have just been eating the apples just as they are.  William loves to eat whole apples.  He usually only eats about a third of the apple but with so many pounds of apples, I don't mind a little waste.  He likes to take a big bite out of the apple, spit out the peel and then continue to eat the inside.  I've tried peeling the apple first to see if he would eat it that way, but that just makes him mad!  So bite, spit, eat is our main way of consuming apples. 

At the apple orchard, they also had a fall festival that including a play area for little kids, a petting zoo, several bounce houses, and a barrel ride.  William was too small to do most things, but Eliana loved the bounce houses!  William desperately wanted to join in on the jumping, but he had to settle for bouncing a little on the outside of the bounce house while we looked in the window at Eliana.  Maybe next year!  I did let him try out the barrel ride.  I put the kids together in one barrel and buckled them in.  William was really excited about the stirring wheel.  I told Eliana to watch out for William, and she put a protective arm around him.  All was going well until about halfway through the ride when William slid down the seat into the bottom of the barrel.  Eliana did not have the strength to pull him back up on the seat.  He was still safe - he was sitting on the floor of the barrel with the buckle now around his upper chest instead of his waist, but boy did he not like that!  Luckily another parent was nearby when it happened and kindly pulled him back up on the seat.  (The barrel ride traveled very slowly.)  Overall, they had fun but I guess technically William was a little small for that ride too.  We had a great time, and apple picking is always a must for fall activities. 

William and Eliana with their cousin Claire.

My sweeties.  William was quite expressive this trip, knowing how to say both "apple" and "ball," which is what he called the many apples that he saw.

Eliana and Adele dancing.  They played a game in which they pretended they had a house under the branches of an apple tree.

Enjoying the barrel ride!

Some more cute pictures from the Zoo

I finally pulled a few more pictures from our many trips to the Columbus Zoo from my phone.  Here are some additions that didn't make my last post about our zoo adventures.  Our zoo has many sculptures of animals that kids can climb on, which Eliana and William love!  Sometimes those are better than the real animals, in their opinion. 

A trip early in the spring with Grandmama Bond.  Climbing on the rhino statue.

Before William could walk, he had to ride the carousal on the bench seat.  He liked it, but not nearly as much as he does now that he can ride on the horses!

This was a special trip to the zoo with just Eliana and me.  We went while David was at home with a napping William.  It was really neat to have this special mommy/daughter time.  This is a shark statue.

Another trip, this time with the whole family.  William loves the aquarium!

A more recent trip earlier this fall.  Climbing the moose statue.  William often wishes he could get up as high as his big sister.

Playing in the airplane by the lion exhibit.  It is hard to get these kids out of the plane to see other things at the zoo!

Inniswoods Gardens

While David and I both had to work the weekend before Labor Day, we actually both had Labor Day itself off.  So we took the kids to a metro garden called Inniswoods.  The gardens are beautiful, with lots of paved paths throughout the gardens and surrounding woods.  Perfect for a little stroller ride.  Eliana started out the trip mad that we were going to visit gardens instead of a playground.  She pouted the entire time we walked through the woods and meadow.  However, after our picnic lunch, we made it to the "Sisters Garden" (they have about 10 different gardens, each with its own name).  This particular garden was geared towards kids.  Inside was a maze, a big birds nest themed bridge, a treehouse, and a "secret garden."  Once we got here, Eliana didn't want to leave.  William enjoyed the trip too, especially the treehouse.  He was just disappointed that he could not climb up as high as Eliana.  Despite our rocky start, we had a great time.  I really liked looking at all of the different planters and gardens, especially the herb garden.  They labeled many plants, which was nice so I could learn their names and picture planting them in my own garden one day. 

The first part of our walk through the trees.  William wished he could walk instead of ride in the stroller.

 At the tree house.  There was a small door on the bottom, perfect for William to check out.  He couldn't quite make it up to the top like Eliana to be in the big house.

David and William in the secret garden.

Several fountains were located within the garden.  It was really beautiful.

With my children.  Eliana was so funny - since it was a secret garden, she insisted on hiding any time someone else came to the garden.  We spent lots of time ducking behind brick walls so that no one could find us.

Columbus Zoo

For Christmas, my parents gave us a membership to the Columbus Zoo.  We have been making great use of the membership and going frequently all summer long.  In fact, Eliana went to ZooKids day camp in June, where she got to learn about "how animals get around" (they had a theme each week - hopping, flying, swimming, etc), have special animal visitors, and explore the zoo with leaders.  I need to scan in her camp photo.  It is quite funny.  The leaders said it was one of the worst they had ever taken, haha.  We go on a fairly regular basis to the zoo.  With a membership, it is nice because we can go for just a couple of hours and not worry about seeing everything.  Eliana's favorite animal is the elephant, so we usually start out there.  William really likes the aquarium and will scoot all along the window watching the fish swim by.  The way we usually end the trip is with a favorite of all - a ride on the historic carousel.  Here are some pictures from a recent trip with friends.

Checking out the manatees.  Columbus zoo is actually a rescue center for manatees.  They are given injured or sick manatees, rehabilitate them, and then hopefully release them back into the wild.

Checking out the gorilla exhibit.

The gorillas came right up to the window!  With Adele and her mom Holly.

On the carousel.  William loves it!

No trip is complete without a ride on those horses.

William

Our little boy is growing up so much.  He is my big cuddler, with a quick, easy smile that melts my heart.  He brings such joy to our family that I can't even describe it.  For example, today at breakfast he was just giggling away while he ate his muffin.  He would bring the muffin to his mouth, kiss it, then beam at me with his big toothy grin and start to laugh.  I couldn't help but laugh along with him.  He probably understands Spanish just as well as English, and will give you the biggest kiss on the cheek when you say "Besito" (little kiss).  He also says "Afuera!" (outside) all day long while pointing at the window.  He can be quite opinionated at times and will whine loudly if you don't do what he wants (like changing his diaper first thing in the morning instead of feeding him right away).  His whining drives David crazy, but for some reason I have a soft spot in my heart for my little baby boy, so he gets away with a lot.  His favorite activities are playing ball, taking things out and putting things into containers, reading his dinosaur book (thanks Uncle Michael!) and his construction books, and playing in the sandbox.  He crawls quite quickly, but loves to walk holding on to your hand or the furniture.  He has taken a few steps but usually just plops down on the floor and cries if you let go of his hand.  However, even though he can't quite walk, he loves to climb!  He will race up the stairs (which scares me) or the steps at the playground.  He loves to climb on his stroller and one day I found him dangling from the handle bar crying out for help.  How does my nonwalker climb up there?

We recently found out that William has a milk intolerance.  For about a month, William had diarrhea and his eczema was much much worse.  This happen to coincide with when we were starting to switch over to cow's milk.  So the pediatrician recommended cutting out milk from his diet.  Within a week, William's diapers were back to normal and his eczema was nearly gone.  First went whole milk, and now we have had to also cut out cheese.  It is quite hard finding food to prepare for the family since cheese is a staple in Eliana's diet.  Almost all food is better accepted by her if it is covered in a layer of cheese.  I have offered William almond milk, which he is starting to like better.  Hopefully this is something he will grow out of.

Here are some pictures of my little boy from this summer.

Visiting my friend Morgan with her daughter Caroline.  While we were playing outside a little lost kitten wandered over to play.  The kids all loved her!  William was much more interested in her than this picture shows.  Don't worry, Morgan found a home for the lost kitty a couple of days later.

Crawling around the splash pad in Powell.

We got tired of the splash pad and had a little picnic in the grass.  Eliana and her friends rad around the field playing with sticks and leaves.  And William climbed up and down this hill.  See, isn't he crazy?  Why does he do this but not walk??

Eating cream of wheat.  I don't know why I find high chair picture so adorable, but I probably have a million in my phone of William eating an assortment of foods.

So much for eating the food...

Playing on the tractor at my grandparents farm.  Look at those overalls!  The cuteness!

First Day of Preschool

At the beginning of September, Eliana started preschool at her new school "BEARS Preschool."  She is in the three year old "Panda" class and will go to school two days a week.  We switched schools this year because this one is much closer to our house.  Also, she will still be going with her friend Adele, which is great for carpooling.  Her music teacher already said that she can tell the girls are best friends, and they even hold hands in class.  Speaking of music, the music program at BEARS is one of their big areas of focus, which I think Eliana will enjoy.  They have a Christmas concert in December and a Spring Concert in May.  I have been promised that these will be some of the best 20 minutes of my life!

Some statistics about Eliana:

3 year old preschool in the Panda class.  Her teachers are Mrs. Keys and Mrs Rietz.

When she grows up, she wants to be a mommy ballerina.

Her best friend is Adele.  She only likes girls.  Boys are not her friends, except she likes Daddy, William, Uncle Michael, and Sean (Theo's daddy) "a little bit."

She likes playing in the sandbox, dancing, reading, playing with dollies and doll houses, and watching TV shows.

Her favorite things with Daddy are playing soccer people, riding in the jogging stroller, watching running races, and watching music videos on YouTube before bed.

Her favorite TV show is "Daniel Tiger"

Her favorite food is peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

First day!

William tagged along too.

The second week, wearing her new princess backpack and bringing her lunch.  One day a week she stays an extra hour for "Pack and Play."  She eats lunch at school and gets to participate in "gross motor activities" aka recess.

While Eliana is at school, William and I get to spend some time together.  Some of our activities have been going to Babytime Storytime at the library, jogging in the stroller and going to the park, going to the grocery store, and taking naps.