The Schnyders Blog

Big Girl Zoe

2012-01-28T07:59:00.006-06:00

Sometimes I look at Zoe and wonder when in the world did she become this little girl and not my baby anymore. She is so full of life and she entertains us daily. As you will see in the videos, she has a Snow White dress of. She is obsessed with the Disney princess, so we decided to use this for our advantage. We told Zoe she could have a new princess dress (which she has been asking for for months) if she traded in all her pacifiers. She immediately said yes, but we were doubtful to her carrying the agreement out. Last night we went and let her pick out a dress. She wore it from the moment we got home until it was bed time. She went to bed without a paci and without complaining and slept great all night! The moment she was awake this morning the dress was back on:) Here are a couple videos of Zoe showing the letters she knows. I finally got her to agree to let me video her when she is "playing" letters.

Sounds and Faces of Deacon

2012-01-24T20:08:00.002-06:00

First Hair Cut

2012-01-17T19:20:00.003-06:00

Zoe is closer to two than three and she finally had her first hair cut. We really talked it up and she was very excited about the idea. She did awesome during the haircut. She was more quiet than I have heard her in months. She didn't move an inch and asked me several times after we left if her hair was beautiful. Here are a couple pics of the big event.

Video and Picture update

2012-01-13T15:17:00.003-06:00

Two Months

2012-01-12T19:33:00.004-06:00

Well, Deacon is already two months old and I haven't blogged in over a month, sorry about that.

We had his 2 month appointment today. Here are his stats

weight: 12.10 - 75th %

height: 22.5 in - 50th %

head: 15.75 in - 70th %

Deacon is smiling more and more everyday. He is really responsive to my voice and when Zoe gets close to him. He has now been at Linda's (daycare) for 5 days and has done ok. He has done quite a bit of crying as he is used to more face time than is possible at daycare. Has been sleeping about 6 or 7 hours, I nurse him and then he sleeps another 3-4 hrs each night. I try to feed him right before I leave for work at 6, that way Tony doesn't have to give him a bottle before he brings them to daycare, but it doesn't always work out that way.

My transition back to work has gone quite well. It is really nice to get back in the classroom and the students were excited to see me back. I am pretty exhausted every night, but it is all worth it. I decided not to take a class the first 8 weeks of the semester to help with the busyness of our life right now.

Zoe continues to amaze us every day with her verbal skills and feisty attitude. Her latest favorites have been coloring, singing, playing with her kitchen and picnic set, building "really tall towers" and most of all, wearing her MN gophers cheer-leading outfit. She wears it EVERY evening, she just loves it.

That is all for now, I have some videos and pictures I will try to post this weekend.

One Month

2011-12-07T16:21:00.004-06:00

Deacon continues to be a pretty content baby although he sad found his voice and much prefers his mother or fathers arms as compared to anything else. He is still eating every 3 hours around the clock. He is filling out as you can see in the picture. We go in for his 1 month appointment on Monday, so I will have some stats for you then.

The first of many Christmas parties. This was the RA and RD gathering.

3 weeks

2011-11-26T11:33:00.006-06:00

Deacon is almost three weeks old already and I can hardly believe it. The time has gone so fast and has been such a joy. His days and night are still a little backwards which leads to a very sleepy Mommy, but it is improving. We try to keep him up as much as possible during the day. The great thing is even when he is awake during the night, he is not crying or upset, just wide awake. He rarely cries, he is such a content baby. He is really filling out and his cheeks are getting bigger already:)

His big sister on the other hand is still having a few attitude problems. She seems to be getting better in that she only has a couple melt downs a day, but she is definitely still adjusting. Zoe and I put up the Christmas tree a few mornings ago. She loved the idea but was not quite patient enough for the whole process. We also would have had every ornament on the same branch if it were up to Zoe. I had to keep moving her ornaments after she put them on the tree, she was not a fan of that. These last few days have been great as campus is closed and Tony has been around the whole time. We have enjoyed the weather with a couple walks and even did a little shopping before thanksgiving, no black Friday shopping for us. Here are a few of the latest pictures.

You will see in this video that Zoe also is very happy at times. She loves playing catch and very recently actually learned to catch the ball and not just throw it. I really can't tell you what she was laughing at here, but every time I caught the ball she lost it.

Deacon's first week

2011-11-15T13:39:00.004-06:00

I cannot believe Deacon is a week old already, it went soo fast. He is such a great baby. We have hardly heard him cry. He eats often, but that's ok because he is a great eater and nursing is going well. He is also a very good sleeper, he has given me 3-4 hour segments every night. I can do that! When we went to the pediatrician Deacon had gained three ounces in two days. Doc said everything else looked great!

My Dad and sister were here from Thursday until Sunday and my mom is leaving this evening. It was great to have them here and the extra help was fantastic. Tony had a pretty crazy week with work, so he had to be gone a lot, so the extra help was much appreciated.

Zoe has definitely had the hardest time adjusting to the new schedule and family member. She loves her baby brother and is really good with him. She loves to hold him for a few minutes at a time, but she has been acting up a lot. Many time outs and loss of movie time and candy. She is talking so much and it is hilarious, but the attitude is scary. She is going back to day care tomorrow to give her some routine and me and Deacon a little alone time:) I think once we get into a routine her attitude will improve.

A new album of the first week has been added to Shutterfly.

Deacon Arvin Schnyders

2011-11-09T17:15:00.003-06:00

9:16 am on Monday Nov. 7, 2011 out little boy Deacon entered the world. He is a very content baby and is eating well. Details to follow, pictures have been added to shutterfly.

Princess and 1 week countdown!

2011-10-30T10:16:00.006-06:00

Zoe has had the opportunity to show off her princess side multiple times in the last week. Wednesday night I took her trick or treating in the mall with some day care friends.

Friday she came to school with me for out Halloween Party. She was very popular, but not so sure about some of the costumes in the Middle School Saturday morning Tony took her to the Pumpkin fest on campus. She came home with more candy and a pumpkin.

Sunday night we went to "Little Saints Night." One of the girls dorms decorates all their halls in different themes and children can walk through and collect candy. So, we have plenty of candy now and are implementing the rules of only 1 piece at a time and we do not eat candy when it is dark out.

We are only 1 week away(at most) from finally meeting baby brother! I have reached the point of constant discomfort and am very ready to hold him in my arms. I am planning on teaching all week, it will be exhausting, but worth it! I have a big presentation in my class Tuesday night, so I will feel great once I get through that. Zoe keeps looking at my belly and saying, "Come out baby brother, I want to play with you. I will be gentle" She is very excited to "play" with him, though I am sure once he is finally here she will wish he wasn't at times. I am interested to see how that transition goes.

That's enough for now, hopefully the next blog has pictures of baby boy!

34 weeks

2011-10-03T16:16:00.003-06:00

I cannot believe it is only 5 weeks until baby boy will be here. At my last doctors appointment mt blood pressure was pretty low (90/50)and the baby's heart rate was quite irregular. The Doc wasn't too concerned with either as long as I am feeling ok and continue to feel good movement. This does help explain my dizziness, but still isn't very fun.
This past Saturday a friend of our took family pictures of us. We had planned to do this outside, but it was cold and rainy all weekend. Here are a few of my favorites, they can all by found on shutterfly.

No other news here. Tony and I both have fall break in the next couple weeks which will be great. I am wrapping up my first class at Malone and getting ready for my second. I also have parent teacher conferences in the next couple weeks, so the busyness continues. A group from Malone and our church are each throwing us a baby shower, so we are looking forward to that.
I think I am finally safe to safe that Zoe is potty trained. She wore panties all weekend and did great. She still wears a pull-up to day care, but usually comes home dry. We are all very happy about this!

2011-09-13T16:09:00.002-06:00

It is obvious from my lack of blogging that things are pretty busy around here. We are in full school mode and it is going well, just busy. It seems we have something every night of the week.
The thing that has really made me extra busy this fall is my class every Wednesday night from 6-10. It is a long time, but I have really enjoyed the class thus far even though it is a phonics class. I have little experience teaching phonics or reading so I am learning a lot and the 4 hours goes quite quickly. It’s the time outside of class that makes it busy. Tony and Zoe enjoy that evening together. They went to a movie the first night and spent much time walking around the dorm, which they both really enjoy.
Labor Day weekend we were able to drive to Pompton Plains New Jersey to visit some friends. It was great to connect with old friends. We went to NYC for an afternoon, which was my first time to the city. I am glad we went to experience the city and see some of the sites, but 4 hours was plenty for me. I am definitely not a big city girl.

Zoe is doing well these days. We are still working on potty training, which is very frustrating since she was completely trained before we left on our road trip in June. She usually stays dry throughout the day and has no trouble peeing on the potty. But when it comes time to poop, she refuses. She is learning more and more words everyday and using them in ways we don’t always appreciate :) She is very stubborn and would rather sit in a time out than quickly do something we ask of her. She still really enjoys going to daycare and tells us often that she has so many friends at Linda’s house. Tony brings her mid morning and Tony or I pick her up around 3:00 in the afternoon Monday-Thursday, so she is at daycare a fair amount, but not too much.
Tony continues to enjoy his work with the men of PGB. He hasn’t had hardly any discipline issues this year so that has been great. This year he is the staff advisor to the Celebration team, which is the campus praise and worship group. This has added a little extra work for him, but he has enjoyed getting to know these students and help them in their leadership roles.
I am still feeling really well during this pregnancy. I am very tired every evening when it is finally time to sit, but that is to be expected. This little boy has really been moving a lot, which is so fun. The C-section has been scheduled for Nov. 7, so unless something goes wrong, that will be his birthday! I plan on working until Nov. 4 and then returning to work on Jan.2. We were very blessed with the timing of this pregnancy as thanksgiving and Christmas break fall over my maternity leave, making it longer than is would have been otherwise.
We are still working on a name for this little one. We have a few that we both like but can’t seem to agree on anything, so this may end up being a last minute decision. We are working on getting everything ready for him. We just rearranged Zoe’s closet to make room for his future clothing and have a list started of thing we need to get in the next couple months. All of this is making it more real and we are getting very excited to meet this little boy!

Singing with a little attitude

2011-08-30T18:47:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Gram!

2011-08-27T10:34:00.001-06:00

Home Sweet Home

2011-08-12T13:09:00.004-06:00

After a wonderful 5 and a half weeks on the road, we are very happy to be back in our own newly remodeled apartment. I don't have time to write about all the adventures we had this summer, but the pictures on shutterfly give you an idea of the amount of fun we had. Tony has been busy at work for 2 weeks now and I went to school for a day this week to get things rolling. School starts for me on the 24th, so I have a couple busy weeks ahead of me.
We are still working on re-potty training Zoe. She is thrilled to be in her own space with all her toys so she is a happy little girl.
I will leave you with a few pics of our new kitchen and living room!

Road Trip

2011-06-27T18:25:00.000-06:00

Doesn't that look like fun?!?! (notice the resemblance to the shape of MN)
This is our plan for the month of July, here is a little explanation:
A: leave Canton:)
B: July 1: Cincinnati, OH for a baseball game.
C: July 2: Nashville, TN, visiting a friend we met in Guatemala!
D: July 3 - 7: Fairhope Alabama: visiting more wonderful friends from Guatemala. Hoping to spend lots of time by the water and on their sailboat!
E: July 8: New Orleans: just a one night visit because we have never been there.
F: July 9 - 13: San Antonio, TX: visiting another friend from Guatemala and spending time with some of Tony's family
G: July 14-16: Tulsa, OK: attending a wedding of friends from Guatemala!
H: Minnesota! Tony will be flying back to OH on July 31st as he start work Aug.1st, but Zoe and I will be staying an extra week in MN and making a trip to ND during that week!
This will be an almost 4,000 mile round trip. We are so excited to have this opportunity to see so many of our friends and family. Our biggest concern is keeping Zoe content through all those miles. We have a DVD player and many books for the car so that should help and the great thing is we are by no means on a tight schedule so when we need to stop we will!
Looking forward to seeing many of you in the next few weeks!

video update

2011-06-23T20:18:00.003-06:00

I have quite a few videos from the last few weeks. They are nothing great but I know some of you are always asking for more videos:)

Also, a few new pics have been added to the June folder

Summer Fun

2011-06-15T12:18:00.005-06:00

I have been done with school for almost 2 weeks now and it has been a fabulously relaxing and productive time. Tony was gone for 4 days to a conference in Missouri, but Zoe and I found plenty to do, including going to a twins game with Uncle Scott! Zoe loves playing outside and we do that as much as possible, but we have a few really hot days that were better spent inside.

Yesterday we went to the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, best zoo in the U.S.! It was very impressive and Zoe loved it. We saw it all in about 7 hours and Zoe stayed awake the whole time, she did great.

More pictures have been added on Shutterfly.

Where did May go?

2011-05-30T18:28:00.004-06:00

So, it has been a bit since the last blog. May has been very busy but also very fun. A few highlights:
- "Papa and Gram" Schnyders weekend visit. Zoe loved singing songs with Gram and trying to ride her bike with Papa's help
- We switched our bedrooms and set up a big girl bed for Zoe in prep for baby. She is not sleeping in it yet, because we told her she can't until she poops on the potty, which she has NO interest in:(
- We got official word from the University maintenance that we will be getting a total kitchen remodel. They are removing two walls, and adding new cabinets, new counter-top, new flooring and an island. This will all be done while we are gone the month of July. We are soo excited to have a kitchen that actually has room to cook in!
- I have signed up for classes to start my Masters program. June 20 is the first day of class.
- Tony is enjoying lots of time with Zoe and reading.(If you know Tony at all, that may be a surprise, but he has been doing alot of reading!)
- I am 16 weeks into the pregnancy, feeling great and showing.

- I have 3 days left of school!!!
- We have had a few gorgeous days.

- There are many new pics in the May album.

2011-05-05T19:58:00.002-06:00

A little behind

2011-05-04T08:24:00.006-06:00

Sorry for the long delay in posts, seems there is always something else to be done and blogging gets put on the back burner. There has been quite a bit happening in the last few week around here.
I went to the doc just a few days after my last appointment because I was spotting and obviously concerned. Thank goodness he found a heart beat right away and just told me to take it easy for awhile. I have felt fine since, but not lifting Zoe and not working out have been difficult :( I spent two and half hours at the hospital Monday getting the Rhogam shot. Because I am O - the doctor suggested I get it now and later in the pregnancy. I am just thankful that everything looks good and I am still feeling great. I cannot believe I am almost done with the first trimester already.
Saturday was Malone's graduation, which means campus is empty and quiet again!! Tony is busy this week with end of the year meeting and getting everything in place, but soon he will be free and watching Zoe everyday!
We had Zoe's two year well-baby check yesterday. She is in the 75th percentile for weight and height. The doctor was very impressed with the amount of words she was using and even putting words together. It seems she learns a few new words everyday, it is so fun. She loves talking to the baby and asking how old he or she is and it's always two, everyone she knows is now two:)
Tony has big plans for the rest of the month while he is home with Zoe. We are switching our bedrooms upstairs in preparation for baby so that will require some moving and painting. He is also moving his office to a different location so we will have a toy room! I also have many other little jobs that will keep him busy:)
Last week was the big Ohio Achievement Assessment Test for me. This is the state wide test that so many things are dependent on and what has been the major stress source in my life. My student all told me they felt very prepared and that they did well on the test which was wonderful to hear. We do not get the results until mid-June, so util then I can only wait. My last day of school is June 3 and that cannot come soon enough.
We finally have our summer plans some what in order and we are so excited. I will be starting my Master's program with a class in June. I am actually very excited to get back to school, I love school:) It looks like my class schedule will work out well with baby arriving in November as I am only taking one class in the fall and it is over the last week of October!
July we will be doing our long road trip of Alabama, San Antonio, Tulsa, MN and then back to OH. We are so excited to see many friends who we haven't seen in a couple years and also some family along the way! We are also so thankful for jobs that give us the summer off, but with gas prices we are trying to think of creative ways to make this as cheap as possible.
I have been horrible at taking pics or videos of Zoe lately, I will try to get some up soon.

Pregnancy update

2011-04-19T09:56:00.004-06:00

I had my first doctors appointment last week. They confirmed that I am 10 weeks just as I had thought:) This was a very exciting day for me as I have been very much looking forward to doing the whole pregnancy and doctor process in the US! I do not want to be negative in anyway towards the service and generosity I was given while pregnant in Guatemala. I loved the experience (for the most part) and am grateful I had such a unique experience. All that being said, I was incredibly amazed at how nice and convenient everything was at my appointment. I know to everyone else reading this who has recently been pregnant, I sound crazy. But seriously, compared the amount of room, equipment, staff and luxuries we have here to what I experienced in Guatemala, it is crazy. Anyway, the doc could not hear the heart beat, so we just moved a few rooms down to have an ultrasound:) We have the babies first pictures and everything looked good.
I am very blessed to be a pregnant women who does not get sick. With Zoe I had some nausea but never vomited or was sick enough I couldn't do something. So far with this pregnancy I have felt great. Only a few instances of nausea, I am just really tired. I feel bad when I get home from work and hardly have enough energy to play with Zoe, but I try my best. Thank goodness Tony is wonderful at keeping up with house work so I don't have to deal with that.
Zoe knows that there is a baby in my tummy, but really wants there to be a baby in her tummy also. She gives the baby hugs and kisses every night before bed. She keeps telling us that it is a baby girl, but obviously we don't know that yet. I would like to find out the sex of the baby, but Tony thinks a surprise would be nice this time around, we shall see who wins that decision.
My due date is 11-11-11, how cool is that!If everything goes according to schedule I will be able to have maternity leave through Christmas break, returning to work Jan. 2. I did have a c-section with Zoe, but I am really hoping my doctors are willing to at least talk about the possibility of a natural birth if everything goes OK. I understand that this will be a risk for them as they don't have any records or information about the c-section in Guatemala, but I would really like to avoid another invasive surgery. Only time will tell.
I am beginning to show a little already. I had read that you show much earlier with your second because everything is stretched out, and I am finding that oh so true. I am actually OK with it, I love being pregnant and now that everyone knows, why hide it right?
That's enough about me, I do have a few more videos of Zoe from the last couple days that I will try to get up soon.

Happy Birthday Zoe!

2011-04-14T16:36:00.003-06:00

What a spoiled little diva we had today and oh so much fun:)It started when Miss Linda (Daycarae provider) gave her a basket of three little bunnies. They are very soft and cute. Then the ladies in the cafeteria found out it was her birthday and made her a special pink birthday cupcake and gave her a Minnie Mouse balloon. Next it was the big party at home. I will let the videos and picture speak for themselves. We did comment that this is not the usual 2 year old birthday party with everyone over the age of 25:)She had a great time as you will see.

We had a wonderful night celebrating with a very happy girl! More pictures are at http://schnyders.shutterfly.com/6158

Big Sister

2011-04-02T08:54:00.002-06:00

We are very excited to announce that we are expecting! The Lord willing, another little one will join our family in November.

Here are a few videos from our Spring Break trip to MN!

2011-03-13T18:57:00.005-06:00

I know it's been awhile and I don't have much to say, so I will leave you with what you all really want.
Zoe loves running in circles in the lobby.

She got her first baby this weekend with all the baby "stuff" also. She loves it!

Season of Lent

2011-02-24T07:30:00.000-06:00

Every year when Ash Wednesday comes round I try to figure out what I am going to give up for Lent. This is something we have practiced since we have been married and have found to be a challenging and rewarding experience. I have been reading the book "Girl meets God" by Lauren F. Winner. This is her memoir of her conversion from Judaism to Christianity. It is a very interesting and at times funny book. The book is set up according to the church calendar and while reading the "Lent" section I was confronted with some very good thoughts. Here are some quotes I want to share:
"I suppose that is fitting, since the Seder is about the commemorating liberation, and Ash Wednesday inaugurates the season that culminates in the greatest liberation of all, the resurrection of Christ from the dead."
"I want to encourage you to give something that really matters. Something you really love. Something that is hard to do without."
"Would we adhere to our devotions when no one was looking? Were we doing this to impress our friends, or to offer a gift to God? Would we sneak that chocolate bar or Coca-Cola when we were at home alone? Would we be diligent, or would we cheat?"
As you can see these are all good things to think about as I decide what I am going to give up. In the past I have given up things that are a pleasure in my life, but not something that is hard to live without (i.e. facebook, diet coke, pizza..) This year I really want to try and make it more of a sacrificial activity. Something that will truly make me think on a daily basis about the great sacrifice Christ made for me.
If you participate in sacrificing something for Lent, take some time before you begin to think of something that will make the experience as rewarding as possible. It's the least we can do.

Colors

2011-02-15T19:47:00.001-06:00

Keeping up.

2011-02-12T13:12:00.006-06:00

This is how my life has felt lately, just trying to keep up with all the tasks each day brings me. I am not writing this blog to complain, because I love my life and am grateful for the position we are in, but I am writing to simply vent and be able to look back in months or years to come and see God's faithfulness.
Here is a list of things that are constantly on my "To Do List"
School:This is a very important time of year at school, as we are preparing for the Ohio Achievement Assessment Tests. These are the tests that sadly determine everything for the school: school rating, finances, administrative decisions and anything else that matters. I am in an especially tough position as last year was the first year that my school district ever made the 5th grade math test scores after moving the best math teacher in the district to 5th grade. I am filling very big shoes and have felt the pressure often. I was told in my interview process that they would not be afraid to move me or get rid of me if I don't make the grade. Now, I don't think they will fire me if I don't get the score, because this is a very rough class and the history of the test, but it still puts a great amount of pressure on me. I have been told my other teachers and the Principal that I am doing a great job and they are happy with me, but of course I am always a little concerned. All that being said, I am obviously doing everything I can for my students in planning and instructing the never ending concepts of 5th grade math. This makes my days go fast at school, but it is not always fun to come home with more school work. I do really like my job and enjoying doing it everyday, but from now until the last week of April when we take the tests, it is a bit stressful.
Parenthood: Like every first time parent, we can't remember what life was like without Zoe. She brings us so much joy and laughter it is unbelievable. Last week she had this rash that kept showing up at random times. We took her to the Doctor who just said she is having an allergic reaction to something and we should try and figure it out. We changed her juice and soap and haven't seen the rash since! We want to be the best parents we can and really give our best to her, but with so many other things to do it is hard to keep it all balanced. She is a very happy, healthy and we think smart girl, so I guess we are doing ok:)
Home: Thank God Tony has a job where he is home more often than most jobs and can get alot of the "domestic" chores done and he does a wonderful job with that. But there are just some things that I like to do and I need to do. I am grateful for the home that we have, but let's be honest, it's a 60 year old dorm, not the easiest or funnest place to keep clean, but we do our best.
Sleep: Tony slept 13 hours last night. For those of you who know Tony and how little of sleep he needs, that tells you are busy we have been. I try to make sure I get 6-7 hours of sleep every school night, but that is not always possible.
Future Decisions: We are in the midst of trying to decide when to begin our Master programs. We can both get our masters for half price at Malone, which we really want to take advantage of while we are here. As of now, it looks like Tony will begin his program of Organizational Leadership in the fall. This is a 16 month program if he goes straight through. I would love to start my program as soon as possible as I love school and will have to get it eventually anyway to keep to teachers license up to date, but because I graduated in South Dakota I am have issues with my license as it is. SD has very different standards and licensing formats than OH which means I may have to take 9 undergraduate classes in the next year to be "legal". So, we are weighing out our options.
Fun: Although this is not at the top of the list, I think it is important that we have fun in our lives as well. We often enjoy basketball games, playing cards or just watching Zoe develop. These are not big events, but they bring us joy and we are thankful for that. Next weekend we are planning on going a few hours South to a friends cabin they are letting us use for the weekend, it will be great to get of of campus for a couple days.
Faith: Last, but hopefully obviously not least, trying to be faithful to our loving savior in everything we do. We love and appreciate our church and small group which keep us focused. Tony and I have been going through a book as best we can and that has been great. At the moment we are both working on committing a scheduled, deliberate time to prayer daily. I am working on 5 minutes of prayer before I leave the house everyday. Doesn't seem like it should be that difficult and I now it will be well worth the time.
OK, that was way too long and if you are still reading, great job. I just wanted to get this all down as a way of processing my thought and like I said earlier, I know God will be faithful through all of this and in will be great to read in the future.
I haven't been very good at taking pictures lately, but here are a few.

ICE

2011-02-02T18:23:00.003-06:00

Along with most of you reading this, we have been stuck at home the last two days. We only got a couple inches of snow today, but underneath that is a good half inch of ice on everything. There was no class on campus the last two days, that tells you how bad it is. I am pretty sure we will both be back at work tomorrow, but the roads are apparently still pretty bad, so who knows.
We enjoyed the surprise days at home with a few naps, playing games, working out, cleaning and just getting caught up on alot of things: it was wonderful! Today Zoe and I made sugar cookies and decorated them. Of course she just wanted to eat the dough and the frosting.

Nothing too exciting has been happening here. Zoe and I were both pretty sick last week. I did go to work everyday although I probably should not have. Tony did treat me to a wonderful night Tuesday for my birthday. We had a great date night while Zoe hung out with Scott and Christina.
Zoe is continuing to talk more and more.

2011-01-19T18:25:00.003-06:00

Here are a few of Zoe's latest discoveries, including her first poop on the potty tonight!

Snow Day!

2011-01-12T11:49:00.002-06:00

2010 reflections

2011-01-05T18:59:00.008-06:00

As we were traveling home on the first of the year, (a day later than planned thanks for the lovely winter weather) I couldn't help but think about what an amazing year we have had. A year with a few surprises and of course a few struggles, but none the less a very blessed year. Here's a little review
Jan: Adjustment back into routine after a great 2 weeks in MN and a visit from a friend in Guatemala! (RKJ)
Feb: Many inches of snow resulted in a few snow days for me. Continued growth and development of Zoe, she really started to move this month.
Mar:Zoe and I had a nice visit from Grandma Schnyders as Tony was at the Big 10 Tournament have a blast! I also started coaching track.
April: Zoe turned 1! We had a mini vacation during spring break on lake Erie. I began a full-time high school English position. I spent my Saturdays at Track meets.
May: A surprise weekend in the hospital while Zoe dealt with ITP. We went to our first Twins game of the season. Zoe and I flew to MN for Jessica and Aarons wedding.
June: Lot's of Daddy-Daughter time while I finished the school year. I had an interview for a dream job I thought I would never get. We made the trip to MN for the summer and soon after enjoyed a week in Northern MN with my family.
July; Tony worked many long hard hours in concrete construction while Zoe and I enjoyed time with friends and family. What an amazing husband and father. All the Schnyders were able to get together to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday. Oh, and I got the job!
Aug: Back in Ohio preparing for the new school year. Tony made a trip to Philly with his coworkers. Jerry and Sheila made a visit to catch a few Twins games.
Sept: Busyness of the new school year and job. And of course another twins game.
Oct: A wonderful weekend in PA with Scott and Christina. Zoe dressed as the cutest piglet I have ever seen:)
Nov: Many hours outside enjoying the beautiful fall weather. We enjoyed a trip to Chicago to a friends wedding.
Dec: Two trips to MN for hours of memories and Christmas celebrations.
As you can see we have had such an amazing year and we are so thankful to God for all he has blessed us with. I cannot write this honestly without says we do think fondly about Guatemala often and miss it in many ways. We know we are in the right place for right now, but are always looking to what doors God is opening or closing for us.
We can only pray 2011 will be as wonderful as this past year. Thank you all for your love and support of our family. I realize we don't see many of you as much as we or you would like, but we are very happy where we are and very thankful for everyone in our life.
I will leave you with a couple recent photos of Zoe. She is pretty obsessed with Barney and Dora.

Ready to go...again!

2010-12-22T07:42:00.002-06:00

Since the last post we have been in MN, for longer than expected thanks for a blizzard and back in Ohio for 8 days. We are again packing for return to MN. I am soooo ready to be with Zoe again. This time away from her has been great for us, but we miss her greatly. Today is my last day of school (I am actually at school right now writing this while my students are busy working on their Christmas packets:) Tonight we are enjoying a meal with Scott and Christina and her family from California and then we fly out early tomorrow morning. We are flying into Sioux Falls which will be much more convenient than MSP or OMA.
I really don't have anything to write about because I haven't seen Zoe, how sad is that. Something I have been overwhelmed with today is the generosity of my students. I have gotten some amazing gifts, it is really unbelievable. I got them all a little something, but I am feeling like it is not enough. They are all so sweet and I am just again so grateful for this job.
Tony has been enjoying his free time with doing lots of things for me around the house, working out and playing videos games. Although, he did admit to me he got a little bored yesterday with nobody on campus and nothing to do... what a strange thing for us.
We are looking forward to a relaxing Christmas in Chandler with my family followed by a few days in Worthington and hopefully Sioux Falls before it is back to Ohio to start 2011!

Ready to go

2010-12-07T20:02:00.004-06:00

We are all packed up and ready to head to MN tomorrow. All the bags just need to fo in the car in the morning. Zoe will be going to daycare while I go to work in the morning. Then she will spend the rest of the day with Scott and Christina flying to MN. Tony is coming to my school at about 12:30 to begin the long drive home. My wonderful co-workers are covering for me and letting me leave a couple hours early! We have had a lot of snow here in the last few days so we are hoping for clear roads tomorrow. We are very excited to spend a few day in Worthington celebrating Christmas with all the Schnyders! But I have to admit, I am already getting emotional thinking about leaving Zoe there for 10 days.. it will be tough, but good for so many of you:)
Please pray for safe travels for all.

videos

2010-11-29T13:06:00.002-06:00

The above two videos are just a glimpse into the life of Zoe.
The videos below are from out quick trip to Illinois this past weekend for a friends wedding. Zoe was the dancing queen. She loved all the attention she was getting and danced for over an hour, we were tired just watching her.

We had a very good thanksgiving break. We enjoyed a great meal with Scott and Christina followed by complete domination by the women in pinochle, it was beautiful:)
We have a week and a half here before we head to MN for our first trip of the month!

Too many things, too little time.

2010-11-16T06:48:00.003-06:00

I know it has been quite some time since I have really written anything on here. This is mostly because I always seem to find something else that needs to be done that is just a little more important that blogging. This is also because I am just not sure what to write about. I know you all love seeing videos and pictures of Zoe but other than that I feel like our life is pretty normal, which I am thankful for:)
Even today I am writing this at school. It is a test day for me so I have a few minutes here and there in between questions to write a little.
We have been busy making holiday travel plans, and let me tell you they are crazy. Over thanksgiving break we will be going to Chicago for just one night to attend a wedding of a college friend of Tony's. We are looking forward to that and also seeing a few other college friends there. December is when our travel plans get crazy. Tony's brother Ryan and his boys who we have not seen in two and half year will be in MN for a couple weeks at the beginning of December. We could not pass up the opportunity to see them. Tony and I will be driving through the night while we send Zoe on the plane with Scott and Christina to spend a long weekend in Worthington. Zoe will then stay in MN for 10 days while we come back and wrap up the semester before we fly back to MN for Christmas break. I have to admit that I am nervous about leaving Zoe for 10 days as I have never spent a night away from her. But I know it will be good for us and I am sure everyone in MN will greatly appreciate the extra time with her. So as you can see the next 6 weeks will be a bit crazy for us and therefore I am not making any promises on the frequency of my blogging.
Now on to the part you really all care about: ZOE. She has quite the attitude. Last night when she was in her second time out of the evening I was thinking about how my mom used to talk about how stubborn my sister Darci was and nothing seemed to upset her or stop her from doing what she wanted to do, and that is exactly what we have in Zoe. She has a very good fake cry, but has learned that doesn't really work any more. Time-outs don't seem to really bother her either, so we are not sure what to do.
On a better note, a very sweet side of Zoe is that she has become quite the hugger. She will hug anyone at anytime and about anywhere (target, football games, daycare). When it is just the three of us at home she will go back and forth hugging Tony and I for minutes at a time. She also makes this fake "awwww" sound during each hug. It is adorable.
She is also very much like her father in that she refuses to eat vegetables and would be perfectly happy with pizza and a cookie for every meal. She is very aware of where the desert bar is in the cafeteria and will not leave the caf without choosing a desert. Sometimes we do say no and then we get many laughs and looks because of the tantrum she is throwing, oh the joys of a stubborn toddler:)
That's all for now, there is a new November album up with a few pictures from the last couple of weeks.

giggles

2010-10-25T18:52:00.002-06:00

I forgot to post this video from the weekend. She loved the stairs in the house we stayed in because she could see so much from them. She spent much of her time on the steps.

Weekend Away

2010-10-24T17:00:00.004-06:00

I don't have much time to write, but I thought I would share a few pictures of our very fun and relaxing weekend we just returned from. We went with Scott and Christina to Clarington, PA. It is a very small town on a little river. It is absolutely gorgeous and Scott and Christina have a generous friend who let us stay in one of her cabins for the weekend:)

For some reason the pictures uploaded smaller than usual, just click on them to get a closer look.
We have another very busy week coming up. I cannot believe it is the last week of October already, where is the time going??

Having fun!

2010-10-10T18:41:00.006-06:00

A lady from our church was getting rid of some older toys. We claimed the basketball hoop and she loves it!!!

Today we walked all around campus pushing the cart.It looks like she is about to fall at the end of this video, but she did not, I promise.
And this is her favorite game to play at night before she goes to bed.

Quick update

2010-10-02T16:51:00.004-06:00

I know most of you are anxiously awaiting this post since it has been more than two weeks, I don't have anything exciting to write about, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. The last two weeks have been good in that they were pretty routine with work, school and daycare. The bad thing is that our routine is just plain busy, hence the lack of blogging. Last weekend we spent all day Saturday at Cedar Point! It has the biggest roller coasters in the US. For me, it is a dream day and I love every minute of it, not so much for Tony. He does not like roller coasters and therefore spent the day taking Zoe on rides and pushing her around in the stroller. He said he still enjoyed his day so that is great. Zoe loved the rides!

This weekend I did absolutely nothing but school work and some cleaning and I loved it:) It was just great to stay home and check many things of my to-do-list. Tony went on a little retreat with a floor last night but returned this afternoon. The cooler weather has finally arrived here and we are loving it.
The next few weeks will be especially busy for me as I have a few huge night (5 hours straight) of Parent-teacher conferences. But once I get through the next two weeks I have fall break which is a 4 day weekend!
I will leave you with a video of Zoe doing what she always does:making noise. I am not sure if she was mad at her father or looking for him here, but either way she is obviously emotional about it.

Also, the last of the September pics have been added on shutterfly.

Great Week!

2010-09-16T11:07:00.006-06:00

This was our first full week of school with nothing special going on and it has been great. I finally feel like I am in a routine with my school work. When and where to get it done and how that fits into being a wife and mother. My body is adjusting to the 5:30 alarm every morning and I have felt quite energized this week.
A possible reason for a good week this week could be the amazing weekend we had last weekend. We went to two twins games. Friday night we went with a group of Malone students, the Twins lost but it was still a good time. Sunday we went with Scott and Christina. Because the Indians are pretty horrible tickets are crazy cheap. We were three rows up on the first base line, the weather was perfect and the twins dominated, it was a wonderful afternoon. (check out the album on shutterfly)
Last week Sunday started the Sunday school season at our church and Tony and I are the 5th-8th grade teachers. I was not sure about committing to another hour or so of teaching every week, espicially on a day that I can actally slepp in, but we had a great time and I think it will be more than worth the extra effort. Sometimes we will teach together and other times we may do it seperately to get a little break. Our church has nursery during sunday school as well so Zoe can go there while we are with the kiddos.
Zoe has had a pretty bad cold this week. She also had a diaper rash and is constantly chewing on something. We are obviously dealing with a new tooth and we are praying it comes soon as she has slept most of the week in bed with us and that does not result in effective sleep for any of us.
This weekend is Malone's first home football game. Tony is helping with a tailgating event and Zoe and I will be joining him at the game. That is about all the weekend plans we have and I am very excited about that.

She's getting so big.

2010-09-09T16:32:00.002-06:00

That is what we keep hearing from everybody that is seeing her for the first time since May, and we couldn't agree more. She is such a little lady, well she doesn't always act like a little lady, but we definitely have a toddler on our hands. Here are a couple videos of her lovely personality.
We are very busy around here. It is great to have a routine we are comfortable with, but I feel like I am constantly tired. I am still loving my job. The kids and other teachers are great, but it is quite exhausting. I think I am still adjusting to the schedule and it will get better:)
Tony continues to do the RD thing and is loving it. It's amazing how much easier and more comfortable the second year of a job is.
Tomorrow night we are going to Cleveland to watch the Twins beat the Indians (hopefully) We are going as chaperons for a Malone SAC event. Zoe is staying on campus with babysitters so we can really enjoy the game!
I blogged earlier about the troubles we were having with the Jeep. Well we did end up trading it in for a 2008 Saturn Aura. It gets amazing gas mileage, has plenty of space and is a very smooth ride. I very much enjoy my drive to and from school. But wouldn't you know it, even though we knew it was coming anytime, just when we get rid of the Jeep, the Grand AM and it's 230,000 miles is not looking too good. In fact we are not sure it is safe to drive and Tony brings Zoe to daycare everyday in that. So we are now looking for a very cheap high mileage car that Tony can use for daycare and emergencies while I am at work. It is moments like this that make me miss Guatemala and the simple life of crazy public transportation:)
Speaking of Guatemala, the country has been going through some pretty tough times. They are experiencing torrential rain fall (the worst in 60 years) and there have been several casualties due to landslides and flooding. Please keep Guatemala in your prayers.
Ok, enough babbling, have a great weekend everyone!

Week one completed

2010-08-29T12:54:00.006-06:00

My first week of school is done, and although it was not a full week, I came home Friday afternoon absolutely exhausted. Overall the first three days went great. I was very prepared and the students were all great. Of course there were a few beginning of the year confusions and mishaps, but we are on our way! I have about 140 names to learn and I left Friday feeling confident with close to 100 of then I think, so hopefully in a few days I will have all the names down. In my past three years of teaching I have never taught the same class more than twice in a day, so teaching the same math lesson 5 times a day is an adjustment. I have found myself being very sick of the lesson the last couple time, but I obviously can't let the students know that. But at the same time I have perfected the lesson by that time as well. It will be an adjustment, but good one I think.
the last of the student are moving into our building today and class starts tomorrow for Malone students. So finally Tony's normal schedule will be starting this week. Here is a picture of his lovely staff at a bowling event.

Zoe is doing well. She continues to say new words and have new expressions every week and we spend a good amount of time laughing at her (all out of love of course). She is finally adjusting to the 1 nap schedule and is sleeping 10-12 hours at night, so that has been great. Because I am not home very much I do not have many pics of Zoe . I will try to be better about that when I am home or try to get Tony to use the camera. Here are couple. The first is a side of Zoe that has been seen more frequently, that being her girly side. She gets very excited whenever I put her in a dress and she loves wearing that hat and carrying around her purse. And the second of Zoe doing what she does best - smelling flowers.

We have been busy trying to figure what to do with our Jeep. The transmission is in bad shape (it's only a 2006) and we need new tires and possibly a few other things. Because we got a heck of a deal when we bought it we can almost get what we paid for it 15 months ago in a trade in. So we are thinking of getting a bigger Sedan that gets better gas mileage but still has room for all of Zoe's stuff. I really don't want to buy a new vehicle, but we are thinking it is probably the best choice right now. We will see what happens.
Happy First Day Of School for all of you starting this week!

Room B4 at manchester Middle School!

2010-08-20T15:54:00.006-06:00

Here it is, all ready to go.

I have meetings all day Monday and Tuesday and then it all begins Wednesday! This week Wednesday night we had 5th grade open house. About 125 of the 140 5th graders and their parents showed up so that was great. They all looked pretty scared and nervous about Middle School, but it was a very encouraging and exciting night. My homeroom and study hall will be 34 students with my 4 math classes and 1 language class each being about 25 students. As you can see my room is pretty full of desks, but we will make it work.
There is a new album up with some fun random pictures of Zoe.

videos

2010-08-14T17:39:00.003-06:00

We just got back from a wonderful day on the water. Tony and all the RDs and RAs have been gone since Thursday on retreat. Today was the RA solo day so we got to go up and have fun with the RDs! The camp that they are at has alot of fun water toys and we enjoyed the very hot and humid weather on the water.
This is a video of me being flown in the air on the Blob by Rhett. This is such an awesome toy.
Here are a few more videos of Zoe. First one is her "reading" her favorite book.
As you can tell on this next video she really likes apples and smelling flowers.

Next is the not so sweet side of Zoe. She has really been into hitting when not getting her way. I am not sure where she got this from or if she even knows what she is doing, but it needs to stop. She is in time-out here for trying to hit me.

Lastly, Zoe has a very cute mad face, if that is possible. The funny thing is she never really does it when she is actually mad, only when we ask her if she is mad. We may be doing bad things to her mental state, but we don't do it often:)

2010-08-11T09:18:00.004-06:00

I cannot tell you all how blessed I feel to have the job that I do. The way I got the job and how it just seemed to fall in my lap, all I can say is Thank you Jesus:) I have been spending a few days there preparing my classroom and curriculum. Every single teacher I have met has been very encouraging and helpful. I am loving getting back into my own MATH classroom! For the first time in my teaching career I have all the resources I could want. I am really having fun with the SmartBoard and preparing interactive lessons on that! Because I just got my Ohio lisence, it is only a 2 year provisional license. Which means I have a mentor and hours of paper work to do in the next 9 months in order to hopefully get my 5 year professional license next year! My mentor is an amazing women with many years of expereince, I am really looking forward to learing from her and developing a frienship there. The only thing about the job that I think will be a downer is the drive. It takes about 25 mintes one way. It is a beautiful drive through the tree filled rolling hills of Ohio, but I am not used to that long in the car. I am confident the drive is well worth the job. My room is almost completely set up, I will put pics up when I can.
Tony is in his second week of the year. The RA's are moving in this afternoon..crazy. I feel like it was just a few weeks ago we were checking them all out and they are back already. It is an exciting time of year on campus and Tony is pumped to be with his guys again. He has 4 returning RA's and 2 newbys. Because the Cafeteria is not open for a couple weeks yet we get to feed the boys breakfast every morning. I have a pretty tasting menu planned! Last year Tony's RA's were the only ones who got home cooked breakfasts and they loved it, so I thought I would do that again this year. Although it will be alittle more of a challenge now that I am working, but I like cooking:)
Zoe is hilarious... and sometimes not so funny. She is developing quite the attitude and has therefore starting having time-outs. She acutally handles them quite well. She sits perfectly still on the steps and screams her lungs out. After a couple minutes we go and talk to her and she immediaetly stops crying and hugs us, it's pretty cute. These are the words that make up her vocabulary: dada, mama, ball, hot, hi, bye, apple, up, no, yah, and then of course all of her noises (dog, car, etc.) She understand much more than she says, I feel like almost anything we say to her she gets. Her favorite thing to do right now is walk around campus and smell all the flowers. She bends over scrunches up her nose and just about eats them and then says yum yum. She has also figured out where the swings on campus are, so anytime we go outside she heads straight in the direction of the swings. There is not a child's swing so she just sits on our laps and swings very high, she could do it for hours.
I have to admit it has been ok bringing her to daycare for just a few hours a day while I go to school, but I know I will miss her immensley when I only get to see her a few hours a day once school starts. That will be a hard adjustment for us all. But at the same time, I will say it again, I am very blessed to have the job I do.
There are a couple new albums on shutterfly. One of our very fun weekend with Tony's parents at the Twins games and Hall of Fame parade. The other album is of Tony's week in Philadelphia for RD training. Enjoy.

still here

2010-08-02T18:10:00.003-06:00

Well, we have now been back in Ohio for a week and have officially begun the craziness of August. Tony left this morning for RD training and will not return until Thursday evening. Zoe is already pointing outside and saying "dada" so he is obviously missed:)Zoe is going to daycare three days this week so I can go to school and get some work done. I have a few days of in-service in the next couple weeks and then my first day of school is the 25th. So far and I am excited about my new job. The school is amazing, the staff that I have met are very helpful and friendly and there are more resources than I could imagine! I am only teaching 5th grade math and Language which means only 2 preps. I have never had that both in Guatemala and last year I had multiple preps, so this will be a new and hopefully good experience.
Today was Zoe's first day of daycare and I was very interested to see how that would go. It could not have gone better, which iIshouldn't have been surprised about considering how social she is. The moment I set her done she was off and playing and didn't flinch when I said good-bye and walked out the door. When I returned this afternoon to pick her up they were outside in the pools and she didn't want to leave with me she was having so much fun, so I guess that is a good thing.
Like I said Tony returns Thursday just in time for his parents to get here Friday. We are planning on going to two twins games this weekend with them while the Twins are in Cleveland. And then Tony has a very busy few weeks ahead of him including one more retreat. I remembered that I didn't see much of my husband last August, but now that I am working also, we will pretty much not see each other until September. But we both love our jobs and are excited for this next year, so that is a great blessing!
I only have one picture to share, I haven't taken many pics lately.
Zoe loves to feed herself, so we usually undress her and let her go at it. It does result in some wasted food but she loves it and she has to learn sometime;)

Update

2010-07-21T09:54:00.005-06:00

Nothing too exciting or new to report, we are just winding down our time in MN. This is Tony's last week of work and he is very excited about that. We decided to go home a week earlier than previously planned just to have a little time to relax and get organized before the craziness of August starts. This past weekend we were at Okoboji with most of the Schnyders to celebrate Grandpa's 80th birthday. It was good to see family that we rarely get to see. We even got to spend sometime in the basement during a tornado warning and then spent the night without power, it was an interesting night to say the least.

This weekend we are camping with all my Vander Woude cousins near Albert Lea. We are looking forward to a fun weekend before we start the long drive home Sunday afternoon.
There are a couple more albums to check out.

Yet another change in the Schnyders home.

2010-07-05T11:50:00.003-06:00

While we were on vacation I received some exciting news. Let me back up a bit first. This past year I have spent teaching at Heritage Christian School and loved it. It is a great school and they treated me well and I loved my co-workers. I had signed my contract for next year to teach various Middle School classes as well as yearbook and be senior class advisor. The ONLY problem was I was not teaching my desired area(Middle School Math). About a month ago I was searching the Ohio Department of Education website for job listing, basically out of curiosity. I saw a 5th grade math position listed for a school about 15 miles from Canton. I decided it can't hurt to send in a resume, so I did. The next week after school was out I drove to the school with a resume in hand because often with so many applicants your resume can be lost in the stacks. When arriving at the school I got an immediate interview with the principal which was surprising, but wonderful. He liked what he heard and the superintendent called the next day to set up another interview! At this point things were moving much quicker than I had anticipated and I still was not at all planning on getting the job, but thought it doesn't hurt to go through the process. Well needless to say, through a few more phone calls and interviews the Superintendent called last Monday to offer me the position. I was thrilled! Although I will miss many things about Heritage, the opportunity to teach my dream position with a much increased salary and other benefits is too good to pass up. It's amazing how God worked this all out and I am very thankful for this oppurtunity.
We already had a day-care provider lined up for next year so Zoe will be going there 5-6 hours a day. The new job at Manchester Middle School is about a 20 minute drive for me, so that will be a change, but a welcomed change. I am excited to get back to Ohio and jump right in!

Vander Woude Vacation

2010-07-04T13:00:00.015-06:00

A week on Lake Brophy through pictures:
Our Cabin for the week.

Zoe loved that sand!

Zoe and I on the tube!

Zoe and I after falling of the tube. We were not going very fast and therefore took a nose dive, but Zoe's hair did not even get wet and she didn't mind at all:)

Of course many hours of card playing, and I have to say Tony and I won many hand of pinochle together:)

Zoe loved driving Uncle Jess' boat.

A kayak ride.

Tony spent a good chunk of the week reading, pretty uncharacteristic, but he really enjoyed it.

Zoe biked(rode) over 100 miles with Grandpa in the week, her longest ride was 40 miles in one day! She did great and slept most of the time.

Zoe was very spoiled for the week.

Family picture before we had to leave after a great week.

Check out the rest of the photos on Shutterfly

Sweet Summer Days!

2010-06-24T11:44:00.005-06:00

Sorry for the long break in posts, but we have been enjoying very warm lazy days around here. Well, at least Zoe and I have as Tony has been working very hard in concrete construction. Back a couple weeks, we made the drive through the night to MN without any problems and we made it in under 15 hours also, so that was great.
Tony and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary last weekend by going to the drive in theater, I know not too exciting, but we are hoping to take a little weekend get-away sometime this fall. We also had Tony's Grandpa Gallands memorial service last weekend which means we got to see alot of family.
Tony and some of his cousins

Zoe has spent alot of time in pools of various sizes and has loved every minute of it.

She has also fallen in love with my parents trampoline.

We leave this weekend for Alexandria MN with my family for a week on the lake! We are very excited and the forecast if great!
Check out the new album of pictures

Summer!

2010-06-07T09:03:00.002-06:00

Summer is officially here for me and we are having a great time. Tony is gone for the week, but Zoe and I have plenty to keep us busy. I am hoping to do a lot of cleaning and organizing before we head out for the summer.
No new news, but a few fun videos. Zoe is starting to "talk" alot. They are not real words, but she is constantly making noise. She does say "dada" and "hi".

She also has really enjoyed walking in circles, not really sure why but she does it often. (Don't mind the noise in the background, Tony was watching Lost while taking this video)

Memorial Weekend in Michigan

2010-06-01T06:25:00.008-06:00

We had a fantastic vacation in Michigan this weekend. Scott, Christina, Tony and Zoe picked me up from school at 2:00 Friday afternoon. (I was able to leave a little early!) We arrived in Grand Rapids at the Van Zanten's a little after 8. Zoe did fairly well on the trip but she was definitely ready to be out of the car. We spent the night catching up and eating with the Van Zantens and DeJagers. For those of you who don't know, they are college friends of ours.
Saturday we went to the beach of Lake Michigan with The Ten Hakens. The water was obviously cold (about 55 degrees) but the sun was very hot and we all were a little burnt after the couple hours in the sand! Zoe hated the water, who can blame her, but did quite well on the sand.

Saturday night we were able to go to A Grand Rapids White caps game, their minor league baseball team. There was little interest in the game, but much food was eaten and much fun was had:)The burger in the picture is famous to this ball park. It is more than 1.5 pounds of beef with many other toppings including chili. The guys all shared it.

Sunday we went to church and just had a grill out and relaxed inside for the first part of the afternoon as it was sooooo hot. We spent the late afternoon and evening on Lake Macatawa. Kim DeJagers parents have a house there and they were gracious enough to host us and we were even able to take a boat ride onto Lake Michigan. Tony took Zoe into Lake Mac, which is much warmer than Michigan and she loved it!

Monday morning we were planning on going to the Zeeland parade, but it was canceled because of thunderstorms. Once the rain stopped, we took a nice walk around downtown Holland and the Hope campus.

The trip home was much quicker as we did not hit any bad traffic, other than a 30 minute section of downpour, it was a great trip.

Thanks to the VanZantens, Dejages and TenHakens for hosting us and sharing a great weekend!

2010-05-23T19:48:00.004-06:00

Things have been busy, but fun. I have one more track meet tomorrow and then will hopefully have more time to blog. For now, here are a couple videos to enjoy.

There are also a few new pics in the May album.

402!

2010-05-17T16:39:00.003-06:00

Zoe's platelet count is up to 402! What an answer to prayers, we were not expecting it to be that high already, but it is great news! We have to have her numbers checked one more time before we leave for MN, but the doctors don't foresee any future problems. She continues to be very happy and full of energy. She is also turning in to a little drama queen. She can turn on the water works with no problem, but be laughing a couple seconds later. IT is a bit ridiculous, but we laugh every time.
We have a few new things around here. Malone bought us new couches! The old ones had been here for many years and were quite disgusting. We got to pick out the new one. The are smaller and chocolate brown, we love them! We also bought a new camera. We have had the same camera since out wedding and it was getting a little trashed. Zoe got a hold of it last week and that was the official death of the camera. It wouldn't even turn on. We were really amazed at how nice of a camera you can get for a reasonable price. I think the new one takes amazing pictures, let me know if you can tell in the new pics added to the May album.

I only have one week of track left and that makes me very happy. I had a really good time, but I am excited to be done at 3:30 instead of 5:00 or 8:00 every night! I am pretty sure I will not be doing track next year. I may assist once in a while when needed, but I want to be able to spend my afternoons with Zoe. I have three weeks left of school! I am counting down (almost every hour:)
Tony is officially done for the summer. He is on full time daycare for the next few weeks until I am done.
Thats all for now, thanks for all your prayers for Zoe during the last 10 days. A healthy Zoe makes much happier parents:)

Update

2010-05-10T16:43:00.007-06:00

I had a much better sleep, although not great Saturday night. This was only because my wonderful husband slept on the floor :\ A nurse came in at 6:00 to draw blood and we were both awakened by the lovely screams of Zoe. Sunday morning we just had to wait and wait until we got the great news that the platelet count was up to 58! This is not super high, but definitely showed improvement! The docs came in soon after and said we could go home! The plan now is to have more blood drawn on Thursday and then Tony will take her to meet with the hematologist next Monday. They said the expect the numbers to continue rising, but it could take months for it to get to a normal level. For now we are just making sure we are extra careful and that she doesn't take any big falls.

My wonderful principal as school let me come home this afternoon to spend some time with Zoe and get caught up on a few things, it was wonderful. When Zoe woke up from her nap we went for a long walk on campus. She loves walking on the track.
There are two new albums to check out.

A slight change in plans

2010-05-08T17:36:00.003-06:00

As most of you know, we are spending the weekend in the hospital. Here is how it happened and where we are at as of now. We had been noticing that Zoe had some bruises and we were not sure where they were coming from. She also hadn't been eating well. Tony decided he should take her in Friday morning just to make sure. The doctor thought is was just a lack of vitamin C, but sent them to get blood work done just to check(this was about 10:00 in the morning) The doctor called me at 5:00 that evening saying Zoe's platelet count was very low and we needed to take to the Akron Children's hospital immediately. They were calling ahead for us and they would be expecting us. So we quickly got a diaper bag together and were on the road. It was really strange because this whole time Zoe was perfectly happy and content. We spent a few hours in the E.R. answering many questions and they decided to do another test to see if the numbers had changed at all. Then the worst part of the night happened: getting the IV in and drawing blood. I have to admit I shed a few tears in watching Zoe suffer like that, it was tough. In the test that was done yesterday morning her platelet count was 7, normal is 250-600. The one done last night was 25, so a little better but obviously still too low. They told us they thought is was ITP. They decided to admit her just because the risk of internal bleeding is too high.
We got into our room, met a few doctors and they said they did not want to give her anything yet in hope the level would raise itself through the night. We tried to sleep, but with our nurse in and out and a very small couch as a bed, it wasn't a great night.
They came in early this morning to draw more blood, we found out a couple hours later that the count had gone down to 15. The doctor came in and said they had decided to start a medicine called IVGV. The normal medicine they use would not work for Zoe because her blood type is O- and it only works for those with positive blood types. IVGV does the same thing but can have pretty bad side effect(vomiting, sever headaches, fever, rash) They were in at 10:45 to load her up on Benadryl and Tylenol so try and subdue the possible side effects. At 11:15 they were in to start the IV. This went pretty well, but she was obviously not pumped about it.
The IV was in for 6 hours, she slept over half the time which was great! The time she was awake was a little more difficult. She wasn't feeling terrible, she just wanted to be moving and climbing as always and doing that hooked to an IV is not so easy.
Now the IV is removed and she is as happy as ever. It is strange being in the hospital with some severely ill children and Zoe appears to be totally fine.
They will be in at 6:00 tomorrow morning to draw more blood. We are praying her numbers are up then and we can go home. If they are not we are not sure what the plan will be. It may be just to wait because IVGV can take up to 72 hours to fully work, or they may try another medication.
I have taken a few picture during our time here, but I have no way of getting them on the computer, so you will have to wait to see the pics.
Thanks for all the calls and texts of encouragement. Keep Praying!

Just keeping swimming, just keep swimming...

2010-05-06T19:58:00.003-06:00

I am feeling a little like Nemo and Dora in that I have to keep telling my self to just keep going no matter how tired or behind I am. As any teacher or student knows, May seems to be so filled with activities and special events that is just flies by. It is going fast (the one week have had:) but it is so crazy busy I feel lost half the time. There are only 3 weeks left of school and then finals week for me and Tony only has meetings a few mornings next week, so we are getting close to the much anticipated summer break!
Zoe and I had an absolutely amazing time while in MN for Jessica and Aaron's wedding. Zoe was able to spend a good amount of time with family that doesn't get to see us very after while I was taking in the wedding events! Zoe did alright on the plane ride. She didn't cry at all which is great, it is just alot of work to entertain her for that long without letting her walk around. We went through many toys and snack and she even slept for one of the four flight!

Minnesota bound!

2010-04-28T09:47:00.003-06:00

All my bags are packed (sort of), I'm ready to go.. I have one more class period to go before I head home to quick throw a few more things in the bag, grab Zoe and we are on our way! I had a track meet the last two night and Tony has been very busy with end of the year stuff so I am excited to get out of here and relax and not work for a few days! I am a little nervous about the traveling abilities of my very active and loud 1 year old, it could be interesting. She is spending the morning with Auntie Christina and I told her not to let her take too long of a nap, so hopefully she can sleep on the first flight! We have a 3 hour lay-over in Detroit, lots of time to walk and explore:)
Hopefully I will be seeing many of you in the next few days. It is going to be a crazy 3 days, but I am going to try and see as many people as I can!

2010-04-21T19:11:00.002-06:00

Zoe had her 1 yr appointment last week and it was by far the worst doctors visit ever. I don't know what her problem was but she cried almost the entire time. She wouldn't let the doctor get close to her let alone touch her. So I held her down as she screamed and screamed, no very fun. She weighed 22 lbs and is 31 inches long. Her height is in the 95th percentile so if she keeps this up she will pass up her mom and dad.
I have had a very busy week. I had 3 track meets in 4 days. I have another 3 meets this weekend and next week before Zoe and leave to MN!!!! Life is pretty crazy and I feel like I hardly see Zoe, but I was able to take her to one of the meets and to a few practices. Tony is planning on taking her to my Saturday meet this weekend so that will be fun!
Tony only has 2 weeks left of work here at Malone and he is excited to see campus a little less busy:)Zoe and I fly out Wednesday afternoon and I can hardly wait.
Here is a funny video of Zoe, she entertains herself in the most interesting ways sometimes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZOE!

2010-04-14T12:44:00.005-06:00

One year ago today:

There are not words to describe the last year. I know this is what every parents says, but we cannot imagine our lives without Zoe. What did we do with all our time? Zoe has had a very interesting first year of life. If the rest of her years keep with the pattern of her first she will be a well traveled and well known young lady in no time:)We are hoping for a little traveling in the next year, but also for a few less changes.
We had a nice little birthday party for her tonight. Tony's fellow RD's came over to watch Zoe open a couple presents and then dig into her cake!
Zoe is already in bed after all the excitement. I hope the sugar doesn't catch up with her in the middle of the night or it could be ugly:/
Thanks you to everyone for the birthday wishes for Zoe. I was sad I could not spend more time with her today, but she doesn't know the difference anyway:)She is such a blessing and we thank God for her!
Check out the birthday party pics on shutterfly.

Summer is on the way!

2010-04-06T15:11:00.006-06:00

Zoe loves being outside. It has been in the 70s the last few days and is over 80 today! I think she would walk around the whole campus if we would let her. She just keeps going and going and never wants to turn around. I usually end up carrying her back home because she is so upset I am trying to get her to turn around.
We had a fabulous Easter Sunday. After church our small group spent the day at our pastors house. The weather was amazing and the entire afternoon was spent in fellowship outside!
I have had a very productive and fun week thus far. I am really enjoying this week off and being able to be with Zoe all day. I am also getting alot of school work done! Tony leaves Saturday night with Scott for Minneapolis. For Christmas they got tickets to the Twins opening game in Target field. Their tickets are not great, but they are so excited to be able to be there. They will be joining their father and the TenHakens, fun stuff! I am in the process of trying to find a place for Zoe on Monday and Tuesday as Tony will be gone.

Zoe's favorite thing to play with are her cups. It is so funny to watch her because she grunts the whole time, like it is the hardest thing to get them apart.
A new April Album has been started!
It it only a week from Zoe's first birthday - wow - I am speechless. I have so many things I want to say about the last year I don't know where to start. I started with birthday background and we'll see what happens next. We are planning a little birthday party for the evening of her special day, it should be a good time!

Spring Break!

2010-04-01T12:44:00.002-06:00

I am sitting in my last class period for 10 days! I have tomorrow and all of next week off for spring break. Tony has tomorrow and Monday off and we are taking advantage of it! We are going to a beautiful hotel on lake Erie tonight and tomorrow night. We found a great deal and are very excited to get off of campus for a bit and have some time with just the three of us!!
My first two weeks of full time teaching went great. I am really enjoying the classes and students. It is a lot of work, as I am not the most comfortable with high school literature, but it was been a rewarding experience thus far. The toughest part has been being away from Zoe so much. On track meet days I am gone for over 12 hours and only see her for a couple hours if that. Every other day I see her for about 4 hours, which are great, but I really miss spending the afternoons with her. Summer will be here soon!
She is so entertaining right now. Since she finally decided to use her walking skills, she has not stopped. She wants to walk constantly. Weather we are in the grocery store, in the caf eating or outside, she wants to walk. It is really fun, but she does have a few bumps on her head. We are still struggling to get her to use a sippy cup, she hates it and much prefers her bottle. She LOVES bananas, I think she would eat 5 a day if we would let her.
The day is almost over... I need to pack up all my books because I am planning on doing a ton of school work over break so it will not be quite as crazy the rest remaining 8 weeks of school. But, that work is not going to be looked at until Monday, after our nice relaxing weekend!
Happy Easter!

She's a Pro!

2010-03-25T19:38:00.002-06:00

A changing little girl

2010-03-22T16:12:00.002-06:00

We now have an almost one year old that can clap, do "so big" and wave bye bye whenever she wants! She is also taking more and more steps on her own without us forcing her to:) We have not been able to get many of these tricks on video because as soon as she sees the camera she wants to play with it, but we have caught a few short moments!
A few new pictures have been added to the March album!

I know... I know..

2010-03-18T14:55:00.004-06:00

This may have been the longest break from blogging I have ever taken, and it was not intentional, we have just been super busy. Here is a quick recap of the last couple weeks:
My mom has here for a few days and spent a lot of time with Zoe. Tony and I were able to go to a few activities without her and we greatly enjoyed that! Zoe's early birthday present from my mom was getting her ears pierces(fun, right?) She only cried for a few seconds, she did great. The earrings are still in and looking at cute as ever, she doesn't touch them at all thank goodness!My mom got a few great videos on her camera while she was here so hopefully she can put those up soon (hint, hint)She got one of Zoe taking about 5 steps all on her own! Zoe could totally walk if she wanted too but she has no desire and is perfectly happy with crawling for now, which is fine.
Next, Tony's mom here. She was here for 6 days and was such a big help. Tony was gone for half of those days to the Big 10 Tourny so Sheila did alot of babysitting as I put in a few full days at school. She also spoiled Christina and me with a pedicure and eating out a few times, we had a fabulous time!
As I mentioned Tony was able to attend the Big 10 Tourney this year! He was so excited and would have had a great time no matter what, but the fact that the Gophers made it to the final was icing on the cake. He came back with a very scratching voice but many great memories!
This week was my last week of my part time teaching job. Track did start last week though, so I am still busy every afternoon. Next week it is on to full-time high school teacher and track coach...wow, I am not sure what I was thinking. The next two weeks the pregnant teacher who I am stepping in for will be there to help me transition so that will be great. I will not be all by myself until after a week long spring break! I am really enjoying my evenings with Zoe, I know it will be really hard to leave her all day everyday, but I also know summer is only a couple months away and I can't pass up this great teaching opportunity.
Tony has decided to not go back to MN the end of a May! Partly because he just wants to hang out with Zoe during the days and because it would be too much for me working so much.
Sadly I do not have any new pictures to put up, but I will try to take a few in the next few days. It was been absolutely gorgeous weather here and we have been spending some time outside. I will get some pics the next time we are out!

Randomness

2010-03-03T20:12:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the lack of blogs lately, I just seem to be busy with other things all the time. Zoe and I have been suffering from a nasty cold the last week or so. We were both completely congested and pretty miserable but I think it has finally ended. We both have been sleeping really well so that was great.
It is Tony's birthday tomorrow, a whopping 27! I do not have anything special planned as he is going to the Big Ten tournament next week and that is his present. Tonight we celebrated his birthday on date night (every Wednesday night) with another couple. We went bowling and actually both bowled pretty well, it was a good time.
We have a very busy couple of weeks coming up. My mom flies in Saturday for a little visit. She leaves on Tuesday evening just in time for Tony's mom to come in for the rest of the week. It will be great to have both of them here, especially to help babysit when I am at work and Tony is gone!
We are still working on our plans for the summer we are planning on being in MN for most of June and July to work, but Tony is done the second week of May and I am not done until June 4, so he may be going to MN a few weeks without his two ladies, we will see how that goes :\
Last but not least, a few more videos of Zoe. She is developing into quite a funny little lady and we laugh all the time. In both these videos she is showing great resemblance to her father - scary.

Where has the time gone?

2010-02-21T18:52:00.007-06:00

The first video ever taken of Zoe
I cannot believe our baby girl is 10 months old already. It some ways I feel like it was just yesterday that I was trying to understand what the doctors were saying in the operating room while bringing Zoe into the world. But at the same time it feels like much more than 10 months when I think of all the transitions we have gone through during that time. As you can see from the above videos she is growing and changing by the day. She is so entertaining and we are constantly laughing at her (in between the "No Zoe"s).
Tony is finally done with all his RA interviews for next year, so hopefully this week will be back to normal. Last week was great for me as I only had 2 school days. Monday we had off for Presidents day and Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days! I am beginning to get a bit anxious about April and May. Not only will I be full time teaching high school literature, not exactly my comfort zone, but I am also coaching track. I will be the field events coach. I am very excited about that and it will be good experience, but I cannot even imagine how busy I am going to be, oh well, it will only be for about 8 weeks.
I do have a piece of sad news. We got word today that Tony's Grandpa Galland's continued struggle with health appears to be coming to an end. Sheila bought a ticket and flew out tonight to be with him and her mother. We knew this was possibly coming for awhile, but that doesn't make it any easier. Please keep the family in your prayers.
That is all for now, I have added a few pics to the Feb. album and there is also a new album of some fun I had with Zoe on one of my snow days!

catching up

2010-02-12T10:46:00.005-06:00

It has been awhile since I wrote anything of significance, so here is what we have been up to lately. Last weekend we had a pretty big snow storm, we got 13 inches. I was disappointed that this happened on the weekend rather than getting a day off of school, but the snow was beautiful. Sunday night Scott and Christina hosted a great Super Bowl party. There was way to much good food there, but fun was had by all. Tuesday night I went to Pilates as I do every Tuesday and Thursday, I just love it. Malone men's basketball team hosted their rival Walsh that night, so Tony was at the game for most of the night. We got some more snow Tuesday and Wednesday and I finally got a snow day on Wednesday! Wednesday night the intramural volleyball team that I play on was in the A league championship game. We did not have a great season, but had a couple great games to advance to the championship. I love being able to play volleyball once or twice a week, I really miss playing competitive sports. Unfortunetly we lost to the reigning champs in 3 games, but we had a blast.
Thursday night Tony and I participated in the campus event, the "Not so newlywed game." It was very entertaining, but we finished 2nd out of 5 couples, so no big prize, but it sure was fun. Today it was my turn to do chapel at school. I have been thinking about this for weeks and working hard this week so put it all together. I did a "house of prayer". My bible class worked all week making stations for different things to pray for. They made posters and activities for all stations. I started chapel with sharing a few words about prayer and what a great example of a pray-filled life Jesus was. We then had about 20 for everyone to take time and visit the station and pray. It was very different from most chapels but it went well. It is a great feeling to have that over with.
I took Zoe out in the snow for a bit today. She does not have snow gear that fits her, so we couldn't be out for too long, she wasn't really a fan anyway.

I just made a huge order of diapers at diapers.com. It is a great website with good prices and free shipping with an order of over $49. If you have never used this site before and would like to save me and you some money try this. Go to diapers.com and make an order over $49 and put in the referral code DANI8301 and you will save $10 and I will save $5 on my next purchase! It's an easy way to save on diapers which are not very cheap.
Zoe loves her books, this video is a little long and boring, but this is how she entertains herself for minutes at a time.

Zoe is really starting to make noises that sound like real words. I was lucky enough to catch a few of those noises this afternoon.

I do not have school Monday because of Presidents Day. I am looking forward to a long weekend.
Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Always moving

2010-02-07T14:37:00.002-06:00

This is Zoe's favorite activity, she could do it for hours although we could never last that long.
I don't have time to write much more now, but there are a few new pictures you can take a look at.

2010-01-31T19:02:00.008-06:00

What a great week I had. I only subbed 1 day which was a nice break. I greatly appreciate the extra sub hours that I have been getting, but I also love my afternoons at home with Zoe. I can't tell you all how much I love that I get to get up and go to work every morning and yet spend the afternoons with Zoe! I don't have any days lined up yet this week to sub, but that will probably change. I am going to make the most of my remaining afternoons at home because starting April I will be full time. I am taking the maternity leave of one of the high school English teachers. Not exactly my area, but she is a great teacher and I am sure she will leave me well prepared. Speaking of full time, I received GREAT news this week. I had planned on having a talk with the Principal about the opportunities for next year. Well, she came to me on Tuesday and asked what I wanted to do. I told her I wanted to be full time in the Middle School (thinking this was a slim chance). She told me she was 99% sure she can make that happen!!! She presented a few different possibilities, all of which may or may not happen depending on if teachers leave and if things are restructured. All of the options were positions I would be excited about. I am so excited that I have a job for next school year in a school that I love and in a position where I can use my degree!
Here are a few videos of what Zoe and I spend some of our time doing.
She definitely knows what "no" means and usually stops touching the object she is or doing whatever she is doing, but there are also times where she gets frustrated and just screams at us, I happen to catch one of those moments in the video below.

Zoe's new favorite games is making my hands clap. She grabs my hands and claps them together. I of course do most of the clapping motion, but she laughs every time we do this:)

Birthday weekend!

2010-01-26T11:07:00.005-06:00

I had a wonderfully relaxing birthday weekend, as it was my golden birthday:) A relaxing weekend was needed as I subbed three full days last week and it was a busy week with a sick child. Randi arrived Friday evening and it was great to see her. It was a little strange seeing her in the States, as all our time with her has been in Guatemala. Friday night we went to the Heritage Christian Homecoming game which was played at Malone. The boys came through in the end with a 2 point victory! Saturday we didn't do much. We played a few games of Hand and Foot, which only makes sense, because that was the basis of our social life in Guatemala:) Saturday night we celebrated my birthday at Applebees! Randi joined us for church Sunday morning and then she was on her way.

Sunday evening, as most of you know is when the heartache began, although it was such a fun four hours. Yes I am talking about the Vikings. We had a few of Tony's residence enjoy the game with us. It was a thriller, but not the result we were hoping for. I actually had a hard time falling asleep after the game after all the excitement. Zoe started my birthday off right Sunday night by finally sleeping for 10 hours with no issues. Her cold is finally gone and she is back to her very happy self.
Yesterday Tony took me to Olive Garden for dinner and it was amazing. I tell ya, the endless bread-sticks and salad are just to die for. Christina was nice enough to watch Zoe so we could have a little time to ourselves! Zoe again slept through the night last and woke up very happy this morning with NO snot dried all over her face, haha.
Tony very rarely gives Zoe a bath, but I asked him to last night for me and this is what I heard most of the time.

There are a few more pictures added to the January album.

a tooth, a cold and a friend!

2010-01-21T19:42:00.003-06:00

Zoe popped her third tooth, it was a tough couple days for all three of us, but it is finally through. Even though her tooth is through she hasn't been much happier, she has the first cold of her life. She cannot breath through her nose and she is miserable. We have not had much sleep this week. For much better news, our good friend Randi is coming to visit us this weekend! We taught with her for the two year in Guatemala and she even lived with us for a but down there. She is a great friend and we are so excited to spend some time with her. It will be a great birthday weekend for me.
That's all the time I have for now, I will be sure to write later about the weekend!

9 months

2010-01-16T09:59:00.004-06:00

Stats
21 lbs - 90th percentile
29 inches - 95th percentile
I can't remember the head circumference, but it was in the 80th percentile.

Doctor said everything looks great. She only had to get one shot this time, which of course she hated, but better than getting 4.
These pictures are for all our other Super Chivo friends :)

She is very excited to be a Super Chiva. "Rojos y Cremas, la misma mierda" (That was Tony's doing for those of you who know what that means.)

2010-01-12T11:52:00.002-06:00

There is also a January album started.
Zoe is almost nine months old, we cannot believe it. She is so fun right now and we are loving this stage, but of course sometimes I miss my little baby too.

Growing up too fast.

2010-01-08T12:39:00.003-06:00

Her two new favorite things: dancing and climbing.

Back to life

2010-01-06T08:22:00.003-06:00

After a fantastic two weeks in Minnesota, it is back to work and school and all that our life is here. I started school on Monday, and although it was hard to get out of bed at 6:30 after sleeping in for the past two weeks, it was good to get back to school. It is such a blessing to have a job that I enjoy and look forward to everyday. I already have quite a few days in January that I will be staying at school all day to sub, so that is exciting!
Tony left for his RD retreat this morning. Uncle Scott is babysitting Zoe for the two mornings that Tony is gone, I am sure Zoe will have a wonderful time with him! Tony's RA's return on Friday for a weekend of training and then all student return on Sunday. That's when the real craziness starts again:)
Zoe is still as cute and entertaining as always. She did not sleep well at all over break, she slept almost every night with us which is not fun for any of us. Since we have been home she has been sleeping 10 hours straight in her crib, and taking a couple long naps, I think she had some catching up to do. Her sounds have really been developing and sounding more like words, we love it.
It has been snowing non stop for 3 days now. It is heavy at times, but nothing significant enough to get a snow day:( There is more on the way Friday and all my students are praying for a snow day, I would be ok with that.
That's all for now. There is a new album from Christmas break. I realized I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures, they are almost all of Zoe and only Zoe. She is really fun to take pictures of, but I need to get better at taking pictures of everyone when we are all together.

Snow, snow and more snow.

2009-12-26T15:42:00.002-06:00

We have had a very uneventful week becuase of all the snow. We decided to leave Friday night and drive through the night, which was a great decision. Zoe slept the first 10 hours and we made it in a total of 15 with no problems! I really don't even have that much to write about becuase we have just been hanging out in Chandler. Lot's of games, puzzles and eatin - a great vacation is you ask me. We were able to make it to Deidra's basketball game Tuesday night which was a great time. Church was cancelled yesterday morning because of the blizzard so we spent the day and Grandpa and Grandma's house with all the Vander Woude's in town instead of going to the hotel with everyone. We are sad we didn't get to see everyone but there is just too much snow. This week we plan on spending a day or two in sioux falls and then a few days in Worthington before we head back. We are not sure when we are driving back yet, but it will be through the night again. Zoe has really developed in the last few days. There is so much more room in my parents house and she is loving it:)

E.R.

2009-12-15T12:29:00.003-06:00

I woke up about 3:00 am this morning with bad abdominal pains. I spent some time in the bathroom and tried to go back to sleep. I just could not get comfortable and finally woke up Tony and told him I was really hurting. He went to the internet to look up my symptoms (severe abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, swollen stomach, and gas) Sorry for the details. The reason I was concerned that it was not just the flu is the pains were really high and felt similar to my c-section recovery. Also many of my symptoms matched up with appendicitis. After a couple hours of pain we decided at 5:00 to go to the E.R. We called Christina to stay with Zoe, who was wide awake by now:( Christina had to leave Scott who was also not feeling well. We got to the E.R. and they gave me morphine, something for the nausea and something else for the inflammation. Within 10 minutes I was feeling really good and ready to go home- haha. I then had an ultrasound. Results ruled out stones, appendicitis and a few other things I don't remember. Doctor said I had a gall bladder attack. She prescribed Prilosec and said to not eat any spicy or fatting food for a couple weeks. (guess I will have to watch all the Christmas treats)So we were home by 8:30 and I just woke up from a great nap. The pain is pretty much gone, I am just really weak. I am planning on going to school tomorrow, hopefully tonight goes better. I hope this is the last post before we are in MN:)

8 months

2009-12-14T16:18:00.005-06:00

Today is Zoe's 8 month birthday and we can hardly believe it. I wanted to make a list of her current developmental stages, so here it is.
* two teeth.
* crawling everywhere and at very good speed.
* pulls herself up on anything she can and usually takes a tumble from there, but keeps going anyway.
* feeding herself crackers and bread.
* favorite foods are still carrots, squash and apple sauce, although she has been eating beans and peas pretty well.
* Sleeping has been an issue lately: She cries herself to sleep every nap and night no matter how tired she is. She just wants to play ALL the time.
* loves bath time.
* attachment issues: She wants to see mommy or daddy at all times. She does fine soon after we leave, but still prefers to have us around.
* HATES shoes.
* I don't know what we would do without her blanky, it is a great comfort to her.
* sleeps with her pacifier and has it at other times during the day, but is not really too attached to it.
* mouth is constantly making different noises, the favorite and vibrating her lips together/spraying anyone who is near.
* wearing 12 month clothes
I am sure there is more, but that is all I can think of for now.
In other news, we had a very busy but fun weekend. Friday night we went to the Heritage Christian k-12 Christmas program, it was entertaining and uplifting! We then returned to campus to attend another Christmas bash in another dorm. Next was a late night movie for us. Malone had a special for any staff or student to see the movie, The Blind Side for only $2. We actually got to go for free, the only bad part is that the movie didn't start until 11:30, which meant we didn't get home until 2:00am. This is not a big deal for Tony as he usually doesn't go to bed much before that, but it was tough for me, but well worth it. It is a great movie.
We got a few things done around the apartment/office Saturday morning. That afternoon we had the Heritage Christian Staff Christmas party. Tony locked our only set of keys in the jeep when we got there, not a good start. Thank-goodness one of the men there was a fireman and just called a friend who quickly got in, what a blessing. There was a white-elephant gift exchange, it was a fun game and we actually came away with gifts that we will use - can't complain about that. Saturday night we went to the Malone vs. Akron University mens basketball game with Scott and Christina. They are a D1 school and not surprisingly we lost by 30, but it was still fun. Scott thought it was a great night, as Zoe fell asleep in his arms at the game, something he has wanted to experience since we have been here:)
Sunday was church of course, we are still really enjoy our new church home. It's just makes for a long morning as it is a 30 minutes drive one way. Sunday night we had our home group with a breakfast themed meal, so Tony was happy.
Wow, that was alot of rambling, sorry. We are very excited to leave for MN Saturday morning. The plan is to spend the night in Milwaukee at my cousins and then arrive in Chandler sometime Sunday evening. We have no real big plans for the week, it will be nice to just relax.
That's all for now, and we will see some of you soon!

Bath Time

2009-12-09T19:10:00.003-06:00

As you can tell, Zoe loves bath time. She also refuses to sit and is always pulling herself up. It's a lot of work, but so fun:)

On the move.

2009-12-03T15:17:00.004-06:00

Because she can now go where she wants, she is getting into many fun things.
All this moving and playing is hard work and apparently she needed a little rest in the middle of it.

Christmas countdown has begun!

2009-12-01T20:22:00.003-06:00

First a recap on our great weekend. As I said before, we had a very nice thanksgiving. Friday we just hung out and played many games! I went to bed very happy as I had not played Hand and Foot in awhile and it was so much fun:)Friday night we opened gifts for the Schnyders Christmas. Not surprisingly Zoe came away with the most stuff. She got a few very cute outfits for this winter and few winter PJ's. She also got a very fun new toy that she is a little to young to use yet as she cannot walk, but she very much enjoys sitting by it (check out the pictures) Tony and I of course for a few things too. Thanks Mom and Dad for the gifts. Saturday we headed to Amish country for some fun shopping and eating.
Sunday was Baptism and it was a wonderful day. It was a very nice service. Because it was the first Sunday of advent and we had communion it was quite a long service and Zoe was tired before the baptism started. She did a little complaining, but not too bad. She fell asleep on my lap before the service was over. This is very uncommon as Zoe will not fall asleep if she can see people as she is such an extrovert. We feel very blessed to have Zoe baptized into a church that we already feel so supported and encouraged in. There is also a new album from baptism.
We have another busy week on our hands, so far I am subbing 2 afternoons and of course the normal two afternoons of tutoring that I always so. That means Tony will have Zoe alot, which he is fine with and he does a great job. But this also means she is completely mine by the time I get home:)
Zoe has started crawling a little. I don't think she is really aware of what she is doing, she just sees something and goes and gets it. We have only seen it a few time and only for a short distance, but I am sure very soon she will be all over the place...scary
Two weeks from Thursday we are both done with school!!! We are very excited to spend a couple weeks in the MN/SD/IA area!

A Tooth!

2009-11-27T11:24:00.003-06:00

After three almost sleepless night, a few doses of motrin and tylenol, Zoe finally has a her first tooth. She had a temp of 101 wednesday night before it finally broke through thursday morning. We are very tired but she is feeling great and back to her old self!
The Schnyders all arrived Wednsday afternoon. We had a great thankgiving meal yesterday afternoon and then went to the shelter where scott works to help serve a meal. It was a good holiday with family and we are just realxing with games and food today!
Don't have much else, I will be sure to put up pictures on Monday.

We're still here

2009-11-20T12:24:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the long delay in posts, things have just been really busy. After a great weekend last weekend with my family, I had a busy week at school, staying three afternoons to sub! I am actually writing this in study hall right now:)I love that I am working so much, but I do miss time with Zoe. Tony has claimed the title of "primary care giver" He is pretty proud of this even though I do not agree it is completely deserving.
Zoe is doing great. Her favorite thing to do is walk, with our help of course. She moves all over the floor by rolling and creeping, but still no crawling. She now has baby food 1 time a day, cereal for 1 meal and then the rest are bottles. She LOVES eating. We have no tight schedule for her, when she is hungry we feed her. So far carrots, squash and apple sauce are her favorite. She doesn't mind green beans, but hates peas. She also has really gotten better at eating crackers on her own and she enjoys it greatly. She sleeps 10 hours and night and wakes up as happy as ever:) We are so thankful for her health. She has been a picture of health since her exciting birth in Guatemala. She had a runny nose for a few days, but that has been it, what a blessing. Thanks you God!
We don't really have any plans for this weekend, it will be nice to get some things done and relax. Tony's parents and grandparents will be arriving Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas as they will be in Germany over Christmas vising Ryan and Laura. I cannot believe how fast the holiday season is coming upon us. I have been listening to Christmas music for a few weeks and loving it. I have to say it is a bit different preparing for Christmas living in the states again, I am not so sure I like it.
I will try and take a few videos or pictures of Zoe this weekend to share.

Weekend without the man of the house

2009-11-07T09:02:00.003-06:00

Tony left Friday afternoon for his RA retreat and will return Sunday afternoon. I had no real plans for the weekend, just hanging out with Zoe, cleaning and school work. Zoe woke up at 6:00 this morning full of energy, so I didn't exactly get to sleep in, but I did get a ton done today. Zoe and I went to the mall for a bit to walk around. She loves her stroller and especially with some much to look at in the mall. I didn't buy much, but it was fun to get out and walk around a little. We spent a little time at Scott and Christina's before I went thrifting with a couple girls while Zoe stayed with Scott and Christina. It is now 8:00 and she is sound asleep in bed, I couldn't keep her up any longer, so it could be an early morning again..oh well.
I loved my first week of work. I love having my own classroom and I feel that I am already starting a few great relationships with some students. I also am really enjoying a routine and knowing where and when I am going everyday. My classroom is coming around, I am still waiting for the janitors to move my white board and put up my screen, but it is feeling comfortable.
Tone had a crazy busy week with work. Many disciple issues and therefore lots of meetings and paper work. He is doing a fabulous job with all the guys. He is still really liking his job, just a little tired and frustrated after a week like this.
My parents and sister are coming to town this week! They are planning on being here thur-sun! Tony and I of course have to work Thursday and Friday and I am actually proctoring the Praxis exam here on campus Saturday, so I will not see my family that much. They are really only coming for Zoe anyway, so it's ok :)
The weather was so warm and sunny today, it was amazing. Tomorrow is suppose to be the same. I am going to try and enjoy the last day of decent weather before winter sets in. Although I have started listening to Christmas music and I love it!

Afternoon Fun

2009-11-03T14:16:00.002-06:00

I was finally home with Zoe for an afternoon, and we had soo much fun.

There is also a new album of the pictures I took this afternoon.

Love the job

2009-11-02T09:57:00.000-06:00

So it is only the first day, but it was awesome. My students were great and excited about clases with me and I had a blast teaching my own lessons again:) I am so thankful that I am in a career that I love and God has given me an opurtunity to do it again! I am now enjoying my off period, but am staying for the rest of the day to sub in the high school! Right after school I am going to my tutoring job, so I am busy, but loving every minute of it. Althought spending tomorrow afternoon home with Zoe will be just as fantastic:) I will post pictures of my classroom once it is looking the way I want it to. I am stilling waiting for my white board to be moved and for the projector and screen to be installed. That's right I have a projector, I can finally teach the way I have always wanted to!!!!
We had a very fun weekend, Zoe was able to wear her bumble bee costume to the football game friday night and the trick-or-treating event on campus: she was soo adroable. Sadly i didn't get any pictures, I don't know what I was thinking.
I worked on posters and plans for school the whole weekend, but I got a ton done and of course had fun doing it.
That is all for now, time to get back to work:)

Officially Employed!!!!!!!!

2009-10-28T09:23:00.001-06:00

That's right, the position was accepted and I am starting Monday! This is a little overwhelming as I have subbed every day this week and only have tomorrow and friday to prepare three classes for the quarter, but I could not be more excited. I will be teaching 7th grade bible, reading and language. That will be the first three periods of the day, the fourth will be my prep and then I am done, unless a sub is needed and I will be at school all day! The other teachers are excited for me to join the team and I am hoping the students will be just as exctied when we tell them on Friday.
Thats all the time I have for now. Thanks for your prayers and support:)

Busy times

2009-10-26T09:31:00.000-06:00

I have been working alot the last week and that is great! I am acutally writing this at school on my off period. I was called into work Thursday and Friday so that meant we didn't leave for PA until Saturday morning, which was just fine. The 2.5 hour drive to the very small and quaint town of Clarinton PA was a beautiful drive. The colors were breath taking. We had a wonderful time in the small town. We went for a walk in the woods, and just did lots of catching up and talking. We also were able to go 4 wheeling for a few hours. It was my first experience and wow was it fun. The boys were a little more daring and crazy than I would have been without them, but it was quite the adrenaline rush and it was a blast! We went to a great restaurant Saturday night and then came back to the house to find a surprise. Another one of Tony's and the other guys friends from college had flown in! We spent the night smoking the hookah and of course great conversation. We left at 9:00 sunday morning, much before everyone else because Zoe had been wide awake for a couple hours already and we wanted a little time at home. I spent some of the afternoon trying to take some 6 month photos of Zoe(two weeks late:()She was happy, but not super smiley, but I got some good shots. Check out the new album. Last night we had small group again, which was a good time. We were sad about the Vikings loss, especially being surrounded by so many steelers fans, but Zoe sported her new Vikings hoody, none the less:)
I know I had previsouly written that the part time job I was hoping for fell threw, but that is not totally true anymore. The board is meeting tomorrow night to vote on the position again. The education committee rewrote the plans and they are all for it, so please join me in praying that the board accepts the proposal and I will have a part-time position starting Monday!! The proposal is for me to be part time for the second and third quarters while subbing in the afternoon when needed. I would then go to full-time the last quarter as I am taking a maternity leave for antoher teacher! I am very excited about this position, I feel it would be the perfect fit for right now. I will post as soon as I hear from the Principal:)

Weekend plans

2009-10-22T19:45:00.003-06:00

We are off to PA for a night. A lady that Scott works with has a cabin in PA that Scott and Christina are at for the long weekend(it is fall break for Malone) They are with some of their NWC friends, and our acquaintances, so we are joining them for a couple days! I'm sure the colors will be beautiful, they are in Canton, I will try and take some pictures.
Also, go to the following link for more pictures of the NM trip!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/album.php?aid=2020910&id=110801228&ref=mf

6 month appointment

2009-10-20T20:21:00.002-06:00

We had nothing but good news again at the doc. Zoe weighed in at 18 lbs 6 oz, which is in the 90th percentile. She is 26.5 inches and her head is 18 cm which are both also in the 90th percentile. She is a big girl. She is very close to crawling and that is a bit scary, I don't know if we are ready for her to be mobile. She had three shots and cried only for a minute or so and that was it. We will be going back in a few weeks when the clinic has the H1N1 vaccine in. She is perfecting healthy and we thank God for that!

New Mexico

2009-10-19T08:11:00.014-06:00

Zoe and I got back at about 6:00 last night after an amazing 4 days away. We flew out at 6:00 Thursday morning and were in Albuquerque about 1:00 local time. Zoe did quite well on the flights. The first flight from Akron to Denver she slept 2 of the 3 hours! The second flight which was only an hour long wasn't quite as pleasant as she screamed for about 20 minutes, but we survived. It is amazing how helpful everyone is when she they see a mother alone with a baby. I took the stroller along and was a little worried about how that would all work, but everyone was so helpful and it went great. An older man even offered to tie my shoe in the plane, how cute is that:)
Once in ALQ. we met up with Amanda, my friends from NWC who was flying in from Seattle and Michelle a friend of Liz's. We got a car rented and drove the beautiful 3.5 hours drive to Red River, NM. Zoe slept the entire ride, she was loving the car seat:) Of course we were very warmly and excitedly welcomed by Liz to the condos where we stayed for the weekend. All the out of town guests stayed at the condos that the groom's parents manage, it was also the location for the preception(they had a party before the wedding instead of after).
Friday morning Amanda and I got up early and went for a very chilly walk with Zoe. it was only 25 degrees when we left, but warmed up to 60 by mid day. Red River is a beautiful tourist town in the mountains.
The weather was amazing and the scenes were gorgeous. We even got sun burnt because of the high elevation. Friday afternoon we just hang out and relaxed. Friday night we enjoyed the Mexican Sundance restaurant that Liz's works at, the food was delicious and a really good time with friends and Liz's family. Friday night all of Liz's friends got together to make 6 egg bakes for everyone the next morning, it was a great team effort and they made a good breakfast.
Saturday morning we all ate breakfast together and then began setting up for the preception and wedding. at 1:00 people started showing up and we enjoyed a great meal and a warm afternoon outside! Amanda and I were in charge of setting up the guest book table, the "keep warm and cozy table"(hot drinks and gloves) and also directing people in the right direction. We were at the park at about 5:00 and the wedding began around 6:30. It was an amazing outdoor wedding. A little chilling, and Zoe was a little loud, but a very meaningful and sincere ceremony. After the ceremony we all walked back to the lobby to share cake and ice cream. Liz looked incredible and Tim is one lucky man:) I wish them nothing but the best.

We had to leave by 4:00 am Sunday morning to make our flights, so it was an early morning, but so worth it. The flights back went well, Zoe again did great. She was awake for the entire 3 hors flight, which was exhausting to entertain and hold a very squirmy and strong 6 month old. Thank-goodness I had a very nice couple sitting next to me and they helped out a little:) Zoe and I both slept until 10:00 this morning, I think we were a little behind. Zoe did not sleep well any of the night we were gone, which meant I didn't sleep much, so this morning was much needed. There is a new album of the pics I took, Amanda has some really great pictures that I will hopefully be getting soon and adding as well.
This afternoon we have Zoe's 6 month appointment, I cannot believe she is this old already. She has quite the personality and is so entertaining. I will blog her stats later tonight.

Connections

2009-10-12T20:42:00.002-06:00

As I sit on the steps of our apartment I am listening to about 15 college men share pizza rolls and soda in our apartment and I am so thankful that God provided this amazing opportunity for us. Tony is ministry to these guys in a very unique way and loving every minute. The best part of tonight is that there are two Guatemalans in our room who live in this building. We are sharing many stories and aspects of Guatemala that all 4 of us miss. What an amazing thing that we are sitting here in Ohio with two young men from the country we fell in love with and miss. Tony now has a very strong connection with these men and who knows where that will lead. I am feeling a great sense of gratitude and awe of God's timing and placement, He is good. I just wanted to get this down while I was thinking, take it or leave it.

Good weekend!

2009-10-10T09:56:00.006-06:00

We had a really fun and relaxing weekend. Friday night we watched the miserable Twins game at Scott and Christina's place. Our friends Chad and Kim from MI made it to Canton just after the game, so they got to hear more than they probably wanted about the game and then we had some more good conversation. Saturday I tutored in the morning and Tony participated in a beanbag toss tourny at the tailgating event for the Malone Homecoming football game. We then went to the first half of the game. We came home to watch the second half of the gophers game. Next on the agenda was a round of disc golf with Kat and Dave. (Kat is a RD on campus also) We spent Saturday night at Scott and Christina's with Chad and Kim again. Tony and Christina had to take a little break to chaperon the dance on campus, which they were not too excited about, but Tony came back saying he had a good time:)
Sunday we had a nice church service. Zoe and I got a nice nap in this afternoon while Tony watched football with a friend. We met at a home of some members of our small group from church for a meal celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving. The meal was followed by group discussion on our plan for the year. We are excited to get to know this group better and be challenged and encouraged in our faith through this unique group.
I am very much looking forward to this week as Zoe and I are flying to New Mexico on Thursday for my friend Liz's wedding. We are leaving early Thursday morning and returning Sunday night.
Zoe can now roll over whenever she wants, which mean she spends even less time on her belly.
There is a new October album as well.

The many emotions of Zoe

2009-10-05T18:24:00.002-06:00

Enjoy

Just Kidding

2009-10-03T12:53:00.006-06:00

A job?.... I wish. That's right after months of waiting and talking and hoping and then finally thinking I have a job, no such luck. The principal informed me Thur. that she is "not encouraged that the board will approve the amount of money you need to make this possible." I was very sad to learn this but also thankful that she is being honest with me and understands our situation. They still want me to sub there as much as possible and are figuring on me for the maternity leave the last two months of the year, which is great. I have turned in my application to start subbing in the public school system. I am not pumped about this, but glad that I will be able to work more often. I am just soooo sick of going round and round with this work thing. I am ready to just know where I am going and get to it, although with subbing I don't think this is ever the case, but it will be ok.
We are having a very nice weekend. Last night we went to the Malone VB game for a bit. Of course Zoe loved it because there is so much to look at. Afterward we played a game with some other RDs! We still love our games. Today we slept in, really Tony got up with Zoe so I could sleep in, it was wonderful. This evening we are going to the Malone football game. It is quite cold out, so we have to go and buy Zoe some mittens and a stocking hat before the game:) Monday night we are having a few packers fans from the dorm over so we can laugh at them when the Vikings kick butt:)(fingers crossed)
Zoe has been so happy and laughing all the time, I will try and get another video!
Thanks for the comments:)

Giggles

2009-09-30T19:23:00.005-06:00

Zoe has been laughing at me so much the last few days, I love it. Pretty much anything I do focused at her results in giggles:)
It is cold here. I really missed the fall season the last two years in Guatemala, but now I am not sure why. It has been rainy and in the 50s and its not been fun. Having to bundle Zoe up every time we go to the caf to eat will get annoying, but the free food is still fantastic!
One more thing: I don't know why you are all so afraid of commenting, I love reading comments on the blog, so please do so:) Thanks to those of you who do leave nice little notes!