Our Weekend

Adam's parents (Beth and Jon) visited us in Michigan this weekend and we had a great time. On Friday evening we picked strawberries. Eleanor tasted just about every strawberry in the field. She has never liked strawberries before, but apparently the direct plant-to-mouth experience has given her a new appreciation for this fruit. Her little hands and mouth were stained red by the end of the farm visit.

On Saturday we went to the Detroit Zoo. Adam and I have lived here for 4 years now and have never made it to the zoo-- but we knew we just had to visit before we move away. Going to the zoo with Eleanor was so much fun. She L.O.V.E.D. it! Eleanor knows (in person and in books) doggies, bears, ducks, and geese. So she loved pointing out the bears and penguins (she called them ducks). And to a lot of the other animals, she waved to them and said "hi doggie." So cute.

I am convinced that the peacocks run the zoo. They roam freely-- in and out of animal habitats, on the walkways, and in the food pavilions.

We were not separated from the kangaroos and wallabies by a fence either!

The Arctic Circle exhibit was my absolute favorite. Despite the heat, the polar bears were quite active.

You can walk underneath their swimming pool, and there was one particular bear that was hanging out over the glass tunnel.

Eleanor loved seeing the bears swim. It is amazing to watch this child discover and appreciate the world around her. I hope she grows up with a deep appreciation for animals and nature, and even though I realize a zoo is not the best place to learn about animals in nature, I still like the introduction it gives.

One of things I liked best about the Detroit Zoo is that many of the animals are rescues, and their stories were told at each habitat. For example, the lions: one was found it an abandoned basement in downtown Detroit (weird!), two others were found at a Kansas dump. The horses at the farm exhibit were retired thoroughbred racehorses that were saved from euthanasia upon retirement. The three grizzly bears are brothers whose mother was killed by a native Alaskan when they were cubs and would have died in the wild because of the coming winter and their age.

Anyway, it was a wonderful experience to be had by all.

 Happy day, happy girl.

Eleanor's teachers write a note to me every day about what she did during school. Friday's note said this:

On our walk, Eleanor sang “Twinkle Twinkle” while her friends listened and they all applauded her performance which put a big smile on her face.
Where on earth did I get a performer? I dread the spot light, but apparently she puts on performances. Her singing is so cute right now- she likes to walk around singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" which sounds like "Tinkle Tinkle."

Do you see what I see?

I love you, sister.

I love you, doggie.

Can you believe all three of them fit on this little bench together?

It's amazing the excitement that happens in our house when the blinds go up -- 

You would think that they had never seen the out of doors before! So cute.

I love how much my sweet dogs and my sweet baby girl love one another.

Yesterday Eleanor and I had a blast at Splash-n-Blast, a mini water park with toddler-sized bubblers. She loved playing in the water and then taking a snack break-- and we did this play-then-snack set three times!

Look at my little bathing beauty, soaking up the sun under 3 layers of SPF 60 sunscreen, and a hat and bathing suit both rated at SPF 50:

And this might just be the greatest picture me or anyone else has ever taken:

the water, the girl... the sheer FUN and JOY of it all.

It makes my heart so happy!



This Week

We have been enjoying quite a bit of time outside lately. Eleanor plays outside at her school every day on the baby playground, and then we usually go outside in the afternoons.

She loved coloring with her sidewalk chalk last week! Honey sent it to her for Easter (I think) and I was impressed that she knew what to do with it...until she started eating it, of course. :)

We also went to a little outdoor party to celebrate our dear friends the Brace's. Adam and Jeff went to med school together in Texas, and then Jeff and Angela moved up here a year before we did. We have valued their friendship for the last 4 years and saying "I will miss them dearly" is an understatement. But they (and every one else at the party!) had about a billion kids, so Eleanor liked playing with all the other kiddos.



Eleanor and I received a wonderful surprise in the mail this week too. Honey (my mom) found this gorgeous old frame, painted it white, and glued vertical strips of ribbon on it.

Look at the detail! Isn't it delightfully chunky??



I hung it on the wall behind Eleanor's door in her room. Then, I clipped all of Eleanor's hair bows on the ribbons. It is a nice way to store the bows so they don't get squashed, and they become a beautiful piece of art inside the frame.

I L.O.V.E. it! Thank you so much, mom.

Do you ever worry about making friends?

I do.

As children, we naturally have classmates, playmates, neighbors. But as adults, all of those things are complicated by geography, schedules, competition.

As I was moving to Waco to start my first year of college in 2000, I suddenly realized that I didn't know or couldn't remember how to make friends. I had friends from high school, but I couldn't exactly remember how we met or became friends....they were just always there.

And then, miraculously, the first person I met during Baylor Welcome Week became one of my dearest lifelong friends. I felt so lucky to have made a friend!

And then, before I started the MPH program, I had the same moment of panic again: How do I make friends? Lo and behold, at orientation, again I made a close friend.

And finally, moving to Michigan to start my PhD in 2008, again: How do I make friends?

(You would think by then that I would have understood that I am capable of giving and receiving friendship, that I had never been alone, and that I would find a kindred spirit. But no, I still worried.)

Once again- the first person I met during orientation became my closest friend. I don't think I would have survived my first year in the doctoral program without her.

And last weekend, she got married!

I had never been to an Indian wedding or a Hindu temple. And it was so special to experience such a beautiful culture that is both quite different and similar to our own.

There were many days of celebrations.  

Of Friday there was a mehndi luncheon where I had henna done on my hand. It looks like black puff paint when it is applied...

...and then after a few hours you scrape it off to reveal this reddish orange colored design.

There was also a welcome dinner Saturday night and a cocktail party Sunday night.

Eleanor wore a special Indian outfit for the wedding ceremony and reception on Sunday morning.

And so did I! I felt so beautiful with all the sparkles. :)

Me and my dear friend Yamini (her new husband is in the background behind me).

Isn't she beautiful? I feel so plain next to her. :)
I have never seen her so happy. 

Yamini has been such an amazing friend to me, and I am so happy for her. I am just sad (selfishly!)she now lives in San Francisco. But I guess that will be a great excuse for me to visit northern California for the first time!