Calling God...

Let me recount for you a discussion Josh and Jacob had walking out of Meijer yesterday.

Jacob: I need to call God and tell him something.
Josh: Oh yeah? What's that?
Jacob: I need to call him and tell him I want to go to Bob Heavens.

How precious.

Who IS that masked man?

It's DANGER BOY, the superhero.

Family Update

No pictures, but an update.

Josh is in the midst of his ER rotation, interview season, and the Clinical Skills board exam. He spent the past few days in Atlanta to take the exam. I'd say the highlight of his trip was flying out of the new Indianapolis Airport. It was a smooth transition from the old airport except for the empty ATM machines. He's pretty sure he passed the exam, and that's the most important piece here. He met up with another IU student and they were able to eat dinner together at the airport in Atlanta, so Josh wasn't completely alone. He has several interviews coming up next month at Cincinnati, Vanderbilt, Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and Florida, and St. Vincent in Indianapolis. It's prudent to interview at other places just in case something were to happen and to see what other programs have to offer. It's fun to look at other places and imagine our lives there. Minnesota would be a great opportunity for Josh, but very cold for the family. Of course, we would miss our wonderful, helpful families.

I am settled into my new role as an IT team leader for the sales and distribution team. I really like my team, and they make my job much easier. It's the end of the year, so we are ramping up into end of year performance reviews. Now begins the tedious job of remembering everything we did all year and putting it down on paper. I also have eleven vacation days to use before the end of the year. This means that I only have ten working days until 2009. So much to do, so little time!

Jacob is enjoying being four. His favorite time of day is after Tyler goes to bed. That means we can get out the toys and games with little pieces that Tyler would find and swallow. With Josh being gone in the evening, Jacob and I have enjoyed countless games of Hi Ho Cherrio and Candyland. He's also enjoyed making crafts with Josh. There's nothing like art with crepe paper, mountains of glue, clothespins, and felt angel wings. Jacob has graduated to only using his pacifier in his bedroom. The transition was rough at first, but didn't take long. He has informed us that when he's five, he'll give it up forever.

Tyler is so much fun right now. He loves to sing songs with hand motions. We sing the songs, and he does the motions. Most of the time, he is using sign language, and he's built quite a vocabulary. Because he doesn't talk much, it's very handy and eases all of our frustration. We're up to food, drink, book, banana, more, please, all done, and various signals for his favorite songs. Last night, I figured out that he can race. He backs up across the room, I say "ready, set, go" and he runs to me for a big hug...over and over and over.

We are all doing well, and we can't wait for Christmas vacation when nobody has plans to travel or work.

Brown County

On Sunday, we packed up lunch and car entertainment and headed down to Brown County. I figured the leaves would be mostly down by now, but the weather was nice, and I was in the mood to hike around.We got to the north entrance which has a covered bridge, and Jacob was very excited. He could hardly talk. Once we got into the park, he said "This is so awesome I don't even know what words to say." He really wanted to go hiking, but we needed to drive around and get our bearings a bit.

First we found a vista with a great view. Then, we drove to the Nature Center which has the "Friends Trail", a paved path. It has an orignal gate house which you can go into, an observation deck, and some benches. I think Jacob lapped us a few times, but it was a nice easy walk that Tyler could enjoy.After the Nature Center, we went to the Discovery Train. It has 27 markers on the trail pointing out various tidbits of nature trivia. Surprisingly, Jacob was very interested. He was great at finding the next number on the trail, and wanted to know what the next question or task was. Since Tyler took ownership of the map early on, we had to make up a few. One of the first ones on the list was "What made this hole?" The answer was a man made well. After Tyler took the map, the questions became, "Count five leaves falling before moving to the next number." or "Feel the beech tree. Doesn't it feel like sand? Feel more trees and count three more beech trees." We impressed ourselves with this one. Jacob ran around to five different trees and was able to identify which ones were and weren't beech based on the texture of the bark.

After the Discovery Trail, we found a picnic table for lunch. We were swarmed by ladybugs, which was surprisingly okay until the boys went to the outdoor potty which was even worse. They came out covered in over twenty ladybugs. The bugs even got in our car.

Then, we went to the campground playground to play on the swings, four person bouncy thing, the sandbox, and the wooden house. The boys both enjoyed climbing to the top of the house. By then, we were all dirty and exhausted, so we got back in the car and came home. It was a great day had by all on one of the last warm days of the year.

Halloween

The night before Halloween, Jacob, Tyler and I carved pumpkins. Jacob had picked a design, but I soon realized it was not worth agonizing over the design, and I let the kids take over. I cut off the top, and that's where I lost control. Jacob scooped out some seeds, and I got the rest. Tyler put the seeds back in. In typical Tyler fashion, he also ate a few. At least it kept him busy while Jacob and I carved. Jacob started in the most convenient place - the top. We had already started cutting for the lid, right? Why not continue from there? He had a great time cutting his rectangle bigger and bigger. Then moved to the other side and did much the same. I gave up on our design, and made triangle eyes, circle nose, and a smile. It was simple, and beautiful. The three of us had a great time doing it, and we were very proud of our creation.

Halloween was on a Friday this year, so for some reason that makes it seem even more fun. After a quick dinner, we got the kids dressed. Jacob was a worker bee (really, no different than a regular bee, just works harder), and Tyler was Winnie the Pooh. The weather was great - not too warm for their costumes, but nobody needed an extra jacket.

We visited my parents quickly for photo opportunities and to drop off my mom's birthday gift (two cases of shop towels that can't be bought in stores anymore). When we came home, we loaded up the Radio Flyer wagon and headed off to the neighbors. Jacob has this down pat. Trick or treat, get candy, say thank you, move on. Tyler is still learning. Trick or treat, get candy, walk into the house, get grabbed by parents, kick and scream. Eventually, we'd just tell Jacob to grab one for his brother. Tyler was just as happy with leaves as he was candy. We made it about 12 houses when Jacob announced he had to go potty. We offered to go back to a friend's house which was nearby, but he was done for the night and just wanted to go home. (We were perfectly fine with that because it means less candy to get rid of later.) We came home, ate candy, watched some Halloween cartoons, and went to bed.

Jacob's Fourth Birthday

Jacob's actual birthday was Monday, October 27th. Josh took the day off to spend with Jacob. They hung out in the morning and played with all his new toys. At lunchtime, they came downtown, picked me up at work, and we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory. We got a seat in the trolley, which reminded Jacob of the Polar Express. He kept running from end to end looking for the brakes and periodically he's lose his ticket out the window.

Afterwards, they went to the Children's Museum, which was unfortunately closed on Mondays. Never fear, the Downtown Central Library is just as good. They played in the room of dry erase walls and got lots of books about germs.

That night, we ate dinner at Loon Lake Lodge with the animatronic animals. Tyler learned how to roar and ended up roaring at the fish tanks.

Finally, it was time for Jacob to open his presents from us. We got him small legos, a motorcycle, a care bear, a lobster, an Incredibles shirt and sweatband, and yes, the barbie. He's been making us watch every barbie commercial, so we'd know exactly what to get him. We did it, and he thinks she's magic. He really just likes the songs that she sings when you press her hand. We all know both of them by heart now.

It was a good birthday, and Jacob had a great time. Happy Birthday Jacob!

Jacob's Birthday Party

We had Jacob's birthday party at BounceZone. What a great, exhausting time.

His guests were:
Grandma and Grandpa Hunter

Gram Neucks

Gavin and Natalie Scherer and Uncle Chet

Jack and Claire Charlton and their parents

Ethan and Keira Hines and their mom

Lauren Landis and her dad

Rocky and his mom

Joe and his dad

We spent an hour in the bounce room going down big, tall slides, bouncing in rooms, and falling all over ourselves. The kids had a great time, and got very sweaty. Then, we went to the party room for cake and presents. Jacob wanted a Nemo cake with toys on it. Thankfully, my mom trekked over town and found some sea animals we could put on the cake. We had Nemo, Dory, Mr. Ray, Bruce the shark, and Crush the sea turtle. Jacob was very happy to have the toys on his cake. All was good.

Jacob remembered his manners that he learned at his practice party and thanked everyone for their presents. A wonderful time was had by all, and a wonderful nap was enjoyed that afternoon.

Practice Birthday Party

Jacob's 4th birthday party is on Saturday. Because past birthdays have been a zoo at present time, we decided to practice tonight focusing on manners. Many of Jacob's favorite "puppets" joined the party and brought him gifts. Guests included Snakey-Five, Share Bear, the Halloween Teddy Bear, the big dog, and other smaller friends.

Each friend gave their present, and Jacob was very polite in letting everyone know who the current gift was from. After opening, he would tell what it was and thank the gift giver (even if he didn't like the present). Surprisingly, Jacob's favorite present was a block of wood from the Big Dog. He also got a serving spoon from Snakey-Five, a library book from the Hippo, and a gourd (or Omen, as Jacob calls them) from the cabbage patch doll.

It was a great party, and hopefully a good practice for the real thing this weekend. Then, we all celebrated by putting together Nemo gift bags to give to his real, human friends this weekend.

Jacob's Red House

Some kids have imaginery friends. My son has an imaginery house. It's been around now for over a year. He calls it his Red House. Every day, something happens there, and he tells us all about it. The mommy there is Katie, and the daddy is Daddy Dunko. Just recently, Daddy Dunko had to leave because another family needed a daddy. (How sad is that?) But Daddy Dunko still makes appearances. He helped Katie paint the Red House blue. Which made it purple. But we still call it the Red House, even though it is blue and red and purple. All the toys there are antique and fragile. (Two words that Jacob likes to use to make him feel important)

So, last night at 7:30, Jacob tells us that it's time to drive to his Red House. Until now, the house has been pretty elusive, being in places such as corn fields and France. But Jacob was pretty persistent that if we followed his directions, he'd take us there. I stayed home with Tyler, and DH loaded him into the car. DH turned when Jacob said to turn, and after about 15 minutes they ended up at a radio tower with a fence around it. Jacob declared that the fence was locked, and they would have to take a detour to the other entrance. Jacob directed him to the detour, but he couldn't really find it. He finally decided it was time to go back home and told DH "Maybe my Red House is very far away after all." DH said that Jacob didn't cry on the ride home, but sounded very down.

I was afraid this episode might show Jacob that his Red House isn't real but, he's just as committed as ever. This morning he told me that it IS far away, between France and the forest.

I love Jacob and his Red House.

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday, we went to Waterman's Farm on the southeast side for their pumpkin patch. After three years of the Pumpkin Train, Jacob wanted something different.

We all had lots of fun! They had a sand pit with big tractor tires to play in. Jacob, Tyler, and I went down a big, bouncy slide. We took a hayride out to the patch and selected our pumpkins. Josh and I weren't even off the trailer before Jacob had already picked out his pumpkin. It's a small, green pumpkin, and was exactly what he wanted. We wandered around the patch looking for a small pumpkin for Tyler. Unfortunately, Tyler only wanted to stomp in the smashed and rotten pumpkins. Have you ever smelled a rotten pumpkin? That's what Tyler's shoes smelled like. And after I tried to wipe them with pumpkin leaves that brokes apart, that's what my hand smelled like. In the end, we found a good Tyler-sized pumpkin (small - not the size of Tyler) and got back on the hay ride to go back to the party.

They also had a hay pile which was several bales of hay all piled up for the kids to climb up and tumble down. Our brave Jacob lead both of us through the hay bale maze, which touts a warning at the beginning of "Dark/Dead Ends". When they said dark, they weren't kidding. Once you got about 10 feet in, you couldn't see a thing. Imagine Josh and I on our hands and knees crawling through this hay maze. The hole was about three feet wide and tall. We were definitely more scared that Jacob. Then, we found the corn mazes. We went in the easiest and intermediate. After getting lost a few times, we decided we weren't ready for the hardest yet.

After all this, it was time for a (late) dinner at Bob Evans. We used our free kids coupons given to us at the pumpkin patch. Because we played so hard at the pumpkin patch, we all ate quite a bit, even Tyler.

Tyler tells me all about his pumpkin.

They also had a pumpkin eating dinosaur. The boys both loved looking at it before they knew what it was. When it starting eating, Tyler decided he didn't like it as much, and Jacob wanted it to eat all the pumkins possible. You can see Jacob on Josh's shoulders in the video.

Elephant Painting

Many thanks to generous Gram who treated the whole family to an Elephant Painting experience at the zoo! Gram, Grandpa, Uncle Wade, Uncle Arin, Spencer, Brady, Uncle Chet, Aunt Amanda, Gavin, Natalie, Josh, Jacob, and I all got to watch an elephant paint a picture for us. We got to select three paint colors. Then, the elephant keeper took us through the elephant barn to see Tombi who was painting for us today. First, Tombi put on a show for us performing tricks. Then, she grabbed the paintbrush with her trunk and painted away. After the painting, we all were able to get up close and pet her. She had surprisingly rough skin once you were able to get past her wiry hairs. Her ears were rough on the outside, but softer underneath.

After visiting with the elephants, Josh, Jacob, and I stayed to enjoy more of the zoo. Jacob got to feed a giraffe, jump on the rhino bridge, and ride on the train. We always enjoy the Desert building and the snakes. Afterwards, we all joined up at Gram's again for a cookout. Jacob and Tyler had so much fun playing with all their cousins.