Back Again :)

Okay, I've come back out to blog yet again. I can't believe I've been falling so behind lately. I suppose we've had a bit on our plate. So, since we last posted, I finished my final course work, ended my most recent clinical position, and began working full force (when Will was at his sitters in the afternoon) on my dissertation. Although it was difficult to finish, I knew it would only be that much harder to write/analyze/etc if I waited until I began working full-time on internship. I'm really hoping to preserve my evenings and weekends with my family as much as possible... as I'm anticipating it may be quite difficult to be away from Will so much. So, yes, I finished collecting my data, analyzing it, and writing it up for my committee. They have agreed on a defense date of August 28th and may yet still give me some revisions to do before then. Otherwise, in preparation for the defense, I simply need to work on a powerpoint presentation of the study... as I've heard that the more I explain in my presentation the less they will be able to ask me during the official 'defense' portion of the oral exam.


Okay, enough talk about academics. :) We move to Nebraska in ONE WEEK!! We are pretty far in our packing and I'm taking a break now while Will sits on Christian's lap. We are experiencing everything you might imagine in this type of situation... excitement, anticipation, anxiety, hesitation, and maybe a bit of mourning for leaving this area we've lived in for so long. We keep taking little opportunities to eat at some of our favorite restaurants that are local to this area and arranging little outings with our close friends whom we will miss intensely. And yet, we are also very excited to start 'anew' and experience an entirely new city (... or rather, town?... not sure what Norfolk would be considered...). It'll also be refreshing to be so close to most of my siblings and my parents again. We may not be able to live by them for long, so it'll be nice to have at least this opportunity.


Okay, on to the pictures! This first batch is from the zoo in Columbus, OH. My sister, Ruth, had her second child, Brianna (or Bree), in February and we were trying to figure out a way for us to visit and meet this new niece of mine when we finally came upon the idea of meeting in the middle for Memorial Day weekend. We had a blast staying at adjacent hotel rooms and allowing the older cousins (Will and Aidan) to socalize while we took turns holding precious Bree. Here are some of the pics (although I can't believe I didn't manage to get a picture of the baby!!!... someone really needs to examine my brain one of these days).







Next, this was a little pic I took in July, during one of my packing days. Will found his 'leash'/backpack thing and decided he wanted to wear it around the apartment. We haven't been successful in the past at getting him to be okay with wearing it so I thought a little playtime with it might enhance some positive associations. :) ... that and he looked a bit like a little camper to me.



Alright, now we come to a good-bye party that Christian's lab threw for him. His boss hosted the party and here was the cake that they had:



His boss, George, also honored Christian with an engraved clock to commemorate Christian's time with the lab. George gave a little speech about Christian too, it was really special.


...and Will, of course, had a blast running around the party as the only child in the house. :)


And it wouldn't be a true blog posting from us if we didn't include on of Will getting messy, right? This was from July 4th, were we gave him a cupcake to enjoy. :)


Of course, he had to attempt to cover himself in the process...


This is a jacket we got from his cousin, Aidan. It's so adorable... but maybe a bit too small for him already. I couldn't resist a little pic of it.


While I was packing up Will's closet I came across his infant car seat and to my surprise Will thought it would be fun to pretend and sit in it. :)


Haha... so, this is funny. Will's been 'experimenting' with this new look. He does this thing that his father does when he's discipling where he looks stern... and it's so hard to take him seriously, but here he is with it. I don't know why he did it at this point since he was in a good mood... again, I think he's experimenting with it. ... gauging our reactions. :)


Here he is outside. We're going to deeply miss these grounds at our apartment complex. During the summer we go on at least 1-2 walks with him a day and he LOVES it. He's going to be an outdoor sorta guy.


And, :( I couldn't get my video of him playing outside to load, so you can't hear him say "hello" and "b-bye," but maybe another time.

B-bye for now! Next time... our new place!