Lucy's Baltimore Birthday Party

Last weekend Kim and I hosted a Going Away/Early 2nd Birthday Party for Lucy. We had it in the Canton Tot-Lot, which is a gated area with toys and play areas. We also rented a Moon-bounce, which turned into a huge hit. Overall, we had 35 Adults and 19 Kids attend. Since Lucy was the center of attention, here are the pictures of our little princess on her big day in Baltimore.

Here she is in her tiara. We still can't keep these things on her for more than 2 minutes.

I think it looks better on Kim. Good thing no one caught me on camera when I had it on.

Here is Lucy and her friend Abby on the Moon-bounce. They attend daydare together and are the best of friends. Lucy followed her around most of the day.

Here I am with some of my guy friends.

Kim did a great job designing Lucy's Cake. As you can see, Lucy is a girl after my own heart for frosting.

Nice driving, Lu.

Kim and Lucy were all smiles at the end of the party.

Stay tuned for more pictures of our friends, all of whom we will miss dearly.

Lucy's First Swim of the Season

It FINALLY Arrived!!

OK so it has been forever since I have done a blog post and LOTS has happened in the Vander Griend household. Here's an update on what has happened since the last post:
#1.We passed our home inspection and our house appraised at sale price which essentially means that the sale of our home should go through without a hitch. Our settlement date is July 1st. This was a huge blessing because we were concerned that the appraisal might not go through.
#2. My dad had prostate cancer surgery. We were in town to help out and support him through it. The good news is that not only did his surgery go well, but we just got back the pathology results which indicated that the cancer was confined to the prostate and did not spread. He has a very good prognosis for a full recovery!!
#3. We found a townhome to rent in Oak Park. It is has three bedrooms, three full baths, with living room, dining room and family room. The best part is it is located in a wonderful location right in the heart of downtown Oak Park. We are within walking distance to lovely boutiques, restaurants, great parks, and an amazing library. Oak Park seems like such a wonderful neighborhood with so much to offer. Also it is only a block and a half from the train so Don's commute to work will be shorter.
#4.One year and 7 months later, after three interviews, numerous correspondences, and the most lengthy negotiation process ever; Don finally received his "official" contract for his position at University of Chicago. He is going to be an Assistant Professor of Surgery doing prostate cancer research. He was also given the title of Director of Urological Stem Cell Research. It has been incredible to see his tenacity as he endured through this arduous process (which is why I had to take pictures of him signing his contract-see below). I recently came across a note of encouragement dated 10-23-2007 that I wrote to Don before he went on his first interview at U of C. I have to share an exerpt from it because looking back it is incredible to see God's provision in our lives:

"Dear Don, Remember that God is in control and it isn't yours to win-if we are meant to be at U of C, God will provide that opportunity. Your only job is to do your best. Really be in the moment and appreciate how all those years of hard work have led to this! I am so proud of you!"

I continue to be so proud of him and just had to take time to acknowledge this "moment" in our lives (even though he is going to be so embarrassed when he reads this blog post)

Frolicking around DC

When my dad was in town we took a day trip to DC. We walked along the mall and saw a number of the memorials, had a picnic, and took Lucy on a carousel ride. We love going to DC and realized that this will probably be our last trip before we move-how sad.
Don and my dad at the Vietnam Memorial.
My grandpa is a WWII veteran from Minnesota so we had to this a picture at the WWII memorial.

The spring flowers outside this Smithsonian were gorgeous!

Lucy loved the carousel that was located on the mall near the Washington Monument. She continues to talk about it, saying "round and round" and "horsey goes up and down."

Playing in the Park

Last weekend Puppy came to visit Lucy in Baltimore, but unfortunately Grammy wasn't feeling well enough to travel. The weather was gorgeous so we tried to spend as much time as possible outdoors. We went to the playground several times, took Lucy on wagon rides, went to brunch, went shopping, and took a day trip to DC (pics of that are upcoming). We also went out to dinner for my birthday at a lovely restaurant called Woodbury Kitchen. It was a great weekend!

The picture above is of Lucy at her Hoppin Tots class. We have been taking this class for 2 "semesters" now. She loves to jump on the trampoline, walk the balance beam, do barrel rolls, and forward and backward rolls. She even swings on the uneven bars! Although she avoids the rope swing at all costs calling it the "scary swing."