Thankful
Thanksgiving is such a great holiday. We spent a great weekend together and were able to focus on the things that we are most thankful for. (Family, Friends, Food, Fun!)
Started off with the Turkey Trot and Tot Trot. Cadie was excited to run the 100 yard tot trot and practiced running beforehand but as soon as the air horn went off and kids were running en masse she sat down in the middle of the road and needed to be carried. She was very pleased with her finisher's medal, however.
Eric had better luck with the turkey trot - he met his goal of being one of the first 1000 men to cross the finish line (there were close to 5000 participants!) and qualify for a free pumpkin pie!
We ate a large and yummy Thanksgiving dinner with friends Jeremy and Liz and Cadie was able to chase their cat around all night and wrestle with Baxter. We found a tree farm not too far outside of town and cut a Christmas tree. Cadie had a great time chasing the cats...

Birthday on the Toman Farm
We had a crazy kid party to celebrate Cadie's b-day. We wanted to keep it small but with with parents and siblings we packed in 30 people (including newborns). We had a farm theme and I'll spare all the details but here are the cute cupcakes.

Cadie was so excited to have her favorite people in the same place together. Every time I saw her she was dragging someone new around by the hand. When everyone left she totally crashed, here she is in the collapsed tent gripping her balloons.

It took a few days to decompress from the craziness so for her actual birthday we were pretty mellow. I had to go into campus and so Cadie and Eric got to hang out. We made Cadie's day by riding the campus bus - seriously this smile didn't leave the entire time we were riding.

She's 2! "Deedee two!"
[Cadie about to take a worm that she dug up down the slide with her and then push it on the swing]

Happy birthday my sweet girl.

Great Weather and Good Friends
I think I have said this before but I love all of the hardwood trees here in Ohio and all the color! We have been spending as much time as possible outside. This week the spectacular weather made it even better to enjoy the outdoors. Someday I will take a basic photography class and learn how to take amazing pictures but in the meantime my photos may have either great colors in the background or good detail up close but probably not both.


My good friend and advisor from Oregon State, Arne, was in Ann Arbor Michigan for the weekend. Cadie wasn't feeling great so I drove up (about 3.5 hours) on my own to meet Arne and his family for dinner. I was able to hang out with my friend Amy from high school as well - I was planning on staying at her home but her family was wiped out with a flu so I ended up crashing at Amy's sister's home. It was so fun to see everyone and nice to be on my own for a night. This was the first time that I have ever been away from Cadie a full 24 hours! Between caring for sick kids and husband Amy still managed to make me a fine apple crisp and peach french toast. YUM.

I drove home just in time to attend the "rally in the ally" on the next block. Our neighbors invited us to their block party where they had closed off the ally, rented a bounce house for the kids, pulled out a big screen with the OSU game for the adults, and were grilling up some grub. We have really great neighbors!

Halloween Adventures
We have had a week+ of dressing up crazy and eating lots of junk. "Beggar's night" on our street was my favorite although we don't have many pictures. Friends Liz, Jeremy and Baxter (tigger) came over for dinner and joined us out on the front porch with all of the rest of the neighborhood (plus some!). Liz is faculty in public health and was a sick person "should have got my flu shot!" We had over 200 kids at our home in 2 hours and nearly ran out of candy. Luckily Read's stopped by with a cute princess and pea pod and some backup candy.


Cadie actually had 2 costumes and wanted to be a lion for playgroup.

And the full Toman getup:

Unplugged
We took an extended weekend trip to explore a little bit of Northern Ohio. The area was beautiful! There are so many different hardwood species around here and the autumn colors are gorgeous.
We started off in Kirtland Ohio, a small town with historical significance for our church. Here is a picture in front of a home that my great-great-great-grandfather (got that?) lived in during the 1830's. Crazy that it is still a home!

Then we headed to Holmes County - Amish capital. We stayed at a B&B and definitely need to head back again. We took a buggy ride, toured a cheese factory, ate lots of good food, and shopped for furniture. My favorite part (besides the buggy ride) was sitting out on the porch watching and listening to the buggies go up and down the road. I could seriously adapt to the Amish way of life - horse and bike transportation, no TV or internet, and living local.

On the way home we passed the Longaberger Basket building. Yes this is a functioning office building. Sorry for the quality of the picture, Cadie was cranky in the car and we were not stopping.

Fun!
Enjoying crisp weather at the park


Friends over for playschool (learning about eyes and ears).

Camping
Our next-door neighbors invited us to their family tree farm an hour south of Columbus to join 70ish of their other best friends for a night of fun and camping. I'm ashamed to say that this was Cadie's first experience in a tent. But happy to report that she slept well - better than her mom who was awake checking on her every hour. The 20+ baby kittens were a hit as was the pumpkin carving and running around crazy with her BFF Kelsey. Now that we pulled off one night in a tent we are trying to squeeze in another adventure before the weather turns really cold.

Fall Festivities - Let's go!

I love this time of year - besides the great weather there are so many festivals and activities. We already have something planned every weekend through November!
Last weekend we hit the local Ox Roast and Eric ran a 20K in the Hocking Hills area just south of us. This weekend is all work/back to school parties but I'm also trying to squeeze in Oktoberfest.
Hocking Hills is the closest we get to mountains around here but it is beautiful. Lots of trees, even some coniferous! I thought there would be lots of hiking trails for Cadie and me to explore while Eric was running but we only found a short one to a playground area. I'd like to head back to Hocking Hills sometime when we can stay longer.
The Ox Roast is a local tradition and fund-raiser for the high school. It was fine but I think we'll enjoy it more when Cadie is big enough to ride some of the carnival rides. She did enjoy the bounce house and I won a 2-Liter by tossing a ring!

Virtual Pat on the Back
I'm giving myself a virtual pat on the back for my amazing shopping skills. A friend here in Columbus taught me a little about Couponing and my life has changed. A couple of weeks ago I made my biggest get yet. Here is all the stuff I brought home for a measly $3.72. (For those of you that don't know - one bottle of juice by itself is normally close to $5)

I was able to do this with coupons on top of sale items and "bucks back" from previous shopping trips. Then, at the register I got $3 in bucks back and $5 off $25. I used both of those register coupons this week with manufacture's coupons and sales to get 3 jumbo packs of Huggies for $5 each. CRAZY! Now what to do with all this money I'm saving...

Toman Blogging
I finally blurbed our blog for 2007 and 2008 into a book. It has been fun to look through the past entries and remember what we did, especially in the months leading up to Cadie's birth and just after. That seems so long ago! It reminded me of why I keep up this blog. It is a great way to share our activities with family and friends but it is also the best way for me to journal our family memories and activities. One day I'll be a witty blogger that has hundreds of followers but for now I'm happy with the boring day to days of the Toman Blah Blah Blog.
That said, here is what we have been up to. Cadie and the playgroup visited a firestation and had an awesome time with the firefighters and their gear. Fireman Smith put on all his clothing and gear including oxygen mask and worked with the kids to not be afraid of him in case they are ever in an emergency and need his help.

When we walked through our home for the first time I stood by the front door and said "that would be the perfect place for my baby grand." Ha ha. I didn't have a baby grand and Eric thought I was nuts. But... a vigilant eye on Craig's list brought about my dream. Eric's mom visited us for a week just after we got it and Cadie would lead us all into the front room and have us clap for her piano performances.

Eric was away for a week at the end of August for a conference and then had a major deadline so we didn't see much of him. We have been busy this last week making up for it! We watched wild turtles and frogs at a local metro park, ate gyros at a greek festival, played at the science museum, and caught the last Clippers baseball game of the season. Here is a picture of Cadie and Eric in front of the large lilly pads at Goodale park.

And here is Cadie eating a hot dot at the ball game (it was dime a dog night!)

Nauvoo

Independence
I'm a little late for an Independence Day blog but we had a good one here in middle america. We have actually had an independence month. Cadie's favorite word, "no," has morphed into a favorite phrase, "no, Deedee!" With "Deedee" the term that she uses to refer to herself, this new phrase roughly translates into, "no thank you, I will do it myself" without all of the polite parts. This new independence has caused some difficulty (especially trying to get out the door in a hurry) but it is pretty cute. Here is Miss Independence with piggies and borrowed "eyes."

On the Move
We can sum up the last month with three words, "go, go, go!" Feels a little like a Dr. Suess book.

Cadie and I spent a few days in Utah with family while Eric worked in central Oregon. Cadie and Aunt Paige on the piano:Then we joined Eric in Oregon and were able to visit friends, family and the coast. On the day we went to the coast, it was a beautiful day inland but a bit blustery on the beach. The weather didn't stop Cadie from testing the water and tasting the sand.

It was fun to see how much all the kids had grown. Eric, Cadie, June, and Duncan.

We stayed with the Hale family in Corvallis. They are so great! Cadie wrestling with the Hale boys.

My cousin Heidi and her family were in the middle of a move but still kind enough to let us crash at their place in Portland. Cadie and second-cousins Sam, Rachel, and Anna in Portland.

We all got home (luckily on the same flight - had a bit of bad luck and missed the first flight) just in time. The next day was the start of the Tour de Grandview, a professional bike race that rode circuits around our neighborhood. We witnessed a crash - Cadie yelled "uh oh!" but the riders were alright.

 
There are days when I really miss Oregon but there are great things about Ohio. Our garden just about doubled its size while we were away. Anyone like any kale? 

I can just about taste Summer
If we make it through this final week of classes with our sanity it will truly be something to celebrate. Helping us cope... The pool opened and weather today was nice enough to enjoy it!

Bike ride into downtown to feed the Canada geese (and crash a wedding party that was hanging out along the bike path).

First fruits of our labor. Our garden plot at the community gardens is in full lettuce and turnip greens production. Yummmm

A little lady
Miss. Cadie is growing up so fast! I see it best with pictures - she looks so old! She will be 18 months next week. Most of our pictures of late have an open-mouth little girl. This is her reaction when we ask her to smile. Breakfast on the front porch.

Making cookies with Mom.

Cadie made a chili pepper pinata filled with Kix while I was at work on Cinco de Mayo. This picture was taken seconds before she destroyed it. (Thanks Laura! what I cute idea!)

Finally, one real smile. Her first bike! We are all so excited about this one.

A little decorating
Finally did something to Cadie's room. Thanks to Paige for the tree.
More house/yard projects to come!


Our neighbor has an amazing tulip garden - I had to take pictures.