Tractor Time

We went to Domino's Farms today, where they have a petting zoo. David was enthralled by the tractor, so we got a couple of pictures of him with the tractors. His cousin, Parker, also liked the tractor, as you can see him climbing into the driver's seat.

Water Slide

David's breathing treatments for croup appear to be paying off as he is feeling much better now. He just couldn't resist going out to play on the water slide set up in grandma and grandpa's backyard with his cousins, Parker and Makenna. Apparently none of them actually knows how to use a water slide properly... but at least they're having fun.

David's Third Birthday Celebration

David's birthday began by opening presents in the morning before church (which is in the afternoon).

Here is a video of him opening presents.



As you can see, he had quite a haul this year with farm and train toys.



One of the things that was cut off in the video was David opening a wooden train set he got from IKEA (courtesy of grandma and grandpa). He had a blast playing with it as you can see from the pictures and video below:





Finally, after church (and after dinner), David got to have his cake. Since the theme of his and Parker's birthdays was "Bob the Builder," Liz worked very hard to make the following cake. David was very pleased with his dump truck cake.



David enjoyed being sung to, but shrank from the pressure of blowing out the candles. It probably had something to do with not feeling completely well from the croup. Yes, he does know how to blow - he just didn't want to do it on demand. In fact, as we watch this video now, David is blowing air at the computer in an effort to redeem himself. Anyway, here is the video:

The Ross Counsins

Actually, the only grandchildren on the Ross side have come from the daughters (Elizabeth and Megan). Therefore, it is more truthful to describe them as the Draper cousins and the Lattin cousins. But since we wanted a short title, we're calling them the Ross cousins.

Ugh

Last night David woke up coughing and wheezing. Concerned because his breathing was labored and made him sound like a seal, Liz and Grandma took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with croup. We didn't think to bring a camera to the hospital, so here is a picture of his medical bracelet.

Meanwhile... Back in Kansas

About once a month Ben goes to the home of a family in the ward for Game Night. Since he was alone in Kansas, with the rest of the family in Michigan, he was free to go once more (mostly he just relly wanted to get out of a very quiet and empty house). Tonight he went to the Enfield's home. The Hudson family brought a Nintendo Wii their son won recently. So Ben got a taste of Wii Sports (the game that comes with the system) by playing boxing, tennis, baseball, and bowling. Overall it was a lot of fun - even though Ben wasn't very good at it.

Look Who's Walking!

David, who's birthday is tomorrow, and his cousin Parker, who's birthday was yesterday, shared a birthday party at the park today. And for some reason, Analeigh decided to start walking today too!

The battery for our camera was dead, so we borrowed Liz's sister Megan's camera. It appears she records video at a lower resolution than we do. But, even though the video is a tad more grainy, we still love her for letting us use her camera. Thanks Megan!

Fine Dining

Analeigh is enjoying having another girl around - specifically her cousin Makenna. As they were playing in the sandbox together, Analeigh decided to show Makenna how delicious sand can be. Makenna must have already tried this at some point in her past, because she did not join in today.

Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum

Today the kids all went to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. Here are some of the things they got to play with.

The Separation

Ben had to fly back to Kansas today to return to work for a couple of weeks. Liz, David, and Analeigh are staying behind to allow the kids to spend more time with their grandparents, and aunt, uncle, and cousins (who will be arriving in a couple of days). We anticipate that there will be many exciting adventures and pictures to share in the near future.

Until then, enjoy a picture of something David enjoys: airplanes.

Congratulations Barb & Jason

Liz's high school friend, Barb got married tonight - which is actually the major reason for us coming out to Michigan this week. Her wedding was held at the Gene Davis & Sons Banquet and Convention Center in Jackson, MI.



David enjoyed drinking out of a glass goblet (though he had to use two hands, since it was heavy). Since he wasn't too excited about the ice water already on the table, Ben found some fruit punch and brought a pitcher over to the table. David liked it so much, he grew a mustache:



Analeigh also enjoyed a spin on the dance floor:



Congratulations Barb and Jason!

Sneaking Candy

David learned that he can use the chairs at Grandma's kitchen table to climb up on the counter. The counter has left over Easter candy. Clever.

Grandma's Sandbox

It turns out that Grandma has a sandbox just like ours in her backyard. So David and Analeigh made themselves at home:

Montibeller Park

We went to a nearby park this evening and had a great time. Analeigh enjoyed swinging through the air in a swing:



David got to experiment with all different sorts of slides. By the end of the night, the tall, yellow one was his favorite.



David also found an interesting plexiglas window to stare down on top of us all.



David also found a jungle gym he decided to climb up. Impressively, he was able to do it all by himself (though he did need a little help with his foot placement on the way back down).



When the sun was near the horizon, we decided it was time to go. David disagreed:

The Hand that Feeds...

Ben finally succeeded in getting a squirrel to eat a peanut out of his hand. It took time, patience, and the luck of Analeigh not scaring the squirrel away by squealing loudly or hitting the window.

The Buttermilk Gang

A majority of Ben's family grew up drinking buttermilk. Yes, buttermilk. With the exception of Ben's youngest brother, Tom, before each Draper child got married, their spouse-to-be had to be initiated by drinking buttermilk. Alas, not one of them liked it (including Liz). When David was still 1 year old, Ben shared some buttermilk with him and David gulped it right down. Thus, Ben wanted to see if David still felt the same way about buttermilk as he once did.



After drinking that second sip, and being distracted by carrots (which he loves), David never drank any more buttermilk. Additionally, David refused any offers for regular milk the rest of the day (which he normally loves). This leads us to believe that David does not currently like buttermilk. We will have to run the test again in a year-or-so, in order to ascertain the truth (as he is still rather non-verbal).

IKEA

This morning we went to IKEA in Canton, MI. It is two stories of home furnishings at ridiculously good prices (since you assemble the items at home). It is also one of the coolest stores ever - so cool, in fact, that people like Jonathan Coulton sing songs about it. Click here for lyrics and to download it. Ideally though, you can also play it below:



Anyway, we ended up getting a wooded train set for David's upcoming birthday, along with the most ingenious baby bibs we've ever seen, and some other less interesting, yet necessary, home items.

By the way, the photo below shows Ben, David and Analeigh standing in front of the store. See if you can find them (kind of like Where's Waldo, but without the ridiculous wardrobe).

Feeding the Squirrels

Liz's parents (and some of their neighbors) have managed to somewhat tame the local squirrel population. They can feed squirrels peanuts, right out of their hands. David, however, is neither patient enough nor quiet enough to do such a thing. So we've just been throwing peanuts out on the back porch. David enjoys watching the squirrels come and take a peanut then run away with it to eat it in private.