What We've Been Up To...

So far, it's been quite a busy fall...I thought things would slow down once summer was over, but we've somehow managed to keep our busy-every-weekend summer schedule up this far. In fact, this weekend is the first in while that we don't have a major event scheduled. Here's what's been keeping us busy...in a good, fun way:

Juan Pablo started swimming lessons in September. The 35 minute class consists of parents and their babies/toddlers walking around in a circle in the pool singing songs and nursery rhymes. Juan Pablo LOVES it. We knew he was a water baby, and knew that he like music, but I don't think we quite realized how much he would love combining the two. He gets so excited every Monday when I tell him that we have swimming lessons that night. In fact, last Monday, shortly after we put him to bed, we heard him singing "The Wheels on the Bus". Jeff ran in to check on him, but he was fast asleep. A while later he started singing B-I-N-G-O, also in his sleep. He even dreams about swimming lessons! Jeff and I love his swimming lessons too, because it gives us a little bit of close cuddle time with our ever more independent toddler.

My brother Sebastian returned from more than two years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin at the end of September. He and Juan Pablo have quickly become good friends. So much so that when Juan Pablo woke up from his nap a couple weeks ago, he looked at me and said, "No mama, solo quieres Tio Sebas." (No mama, I just want Tio Sebas). We're all very happy to have him home. And yes, we do know how to spell "Welcome". While he was in Benin, Sebastian lived in a town called Ousse, and among other things, he helped his postmate start a softball team to give the girls in the town an opportunity to learn to play a sport and have some fun. They named the team the Ousse Ouildcats, so making a "Ouelcome Back" sign seemed like a good idea...Sebastian appreciated it, but we did get a lot of stares and puzzled looks in the airport while we were waiting for him.

At the beginning of October, I ran the Big House Big Heart 10K. Though running through the tunnel onto the 50-yard line in the Big House to finish the race was definitely fun, the best part was seeing Jeff and Juan Pablo there waiting for me. Juan Pablo, however, wasn't too sure what to make of the whole situation. He had been very excited, cheering for all the runners, yelling "Go Blue" at the top of his lungs, thoroughly enjoying his first time in the stadium, when all of the sudden...wait a minute, what is mama doing there with all those runners? She's my mom, for crying out loud, not a runner like these other people! He got over it once I shared my post-race M&M cookie though.

We also enjoyed our first trip of the season to Jenny's Market. Pumpkin donuts and horses...does it get any better than that?This past weekend we went to visit Jeff's siblings in Chicago. We stopped in Kalamazoo on the way, to give Juan Pablo a break from being in the car and visit the Kalamazoo Valley Museum. He napped while we drove the rest of the way there, and woke up just as we were getting into the city. He saw the skyline, and immediately declared the Sears Tower to be a "big baby bottle". Friday afternoon we walked downtown from Tia Jana and Tio Chad's apartment in the South Loop. After a long walk down Michigan Ave, the obligatory stop at the bean, and a little break at the Disney store, we enjoyed a great dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe. Saturday morning we used our Hands on Museum membership to get into the Field Museum for free. Juan Pablo's latest interest is dinosaurs, so he loved checking out all the dinosaur exhibits with Tia Jana...and even climbing on one (don't worry, it's allowed!). Saturday afternoon we drove out to Naperville to visit Jeff's brother and his family. Juan Pablo in particular enjoyed getting to go to the children's museum with Tio Karl and his cousin Seth, and playing with his cousins in their awesome newly refinished basement. Sunday we took things a little easier, just going to Mass and hanging out at the playground before driving home in the evening. We all had a great time, but were happy to come home and we're looking forward to enjoying a relaxing fall weekend in Ann Arbor!