Let's see, Jamie applied for a Resident Manager position and was accepted, but then turned it down. We decided that moving less than a year after we moved here (into an even smaller space) was not something we were interested in after all. So, plan B - Jamie gets elected onto Resident Council and gets a summer job as a nanny in Longmont (about 20 min from Boulder) for a six year old boy about 15 hours a week, and Aviella comes with her. Worked out well, but probably won't do that again. Now Jamie is babysitter/nanny for a neighbor and that is going swimmingly! The first two weeks were a bit rough, before Aviella was walking. She didn't really like Mommy holding another baby (Hunter is currently 9 months). Now the two enjoy playing together and always seem excited to see each other (at least the squeals and grabbing faces seems to mean excitement). Jamie is still leading an English conversation group and has also become involved in two Bible studies - one for international and American women and the other is a couple's study with some international families as well.
Ryan finished his first year of classes and then took a May-mester course (3 1/2 hour class everyday for three weeks of May plus homework, hence the name May-mester). During the summer he worked on a research project and neither of us really had time for a vacation. :( Ryan did, however, attend a conference at Berkeley and was able to spend a short period of time with his brother Anthony and family. We were all sad that Aviella and Jamie were not able to join them, but we are excited that Anthony, Sandi and the girls will be coming to Boulder for Thanksgiving! :) Ryan has since started his fall semester and been recommended for a fellowship, which funding is to begin mid-October - woo hoo!! Consequently, Ryan's schedule has gotten busier than he had anticipated. He had to add a math class for the fellowship, had already agreed to a contract job, takes his preliminary exam at the beginning of November and has a weekly and bi-weekly meeting with his advisors for thesis credits and fellowship stuff. Until the end of November he will continue to be a bit stressed, once he takes the prelims he has much catch-up work to do in the math course.
We received somewhat of a surprise visit from Ryan's sister Nicki and her husband Page, because of some last minute changes in plans due to Nicki's pregnancy. We enjoyed dinner and breakfast with them before they flew out of Denver. Unfortunately Ryan was in CA at his conference when they returned, but Jamie and Aviella were able to enjoy a picnic lunch with them before they headed back to CA via Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. We were all joyously shocked to learn that Nicki is pregnant with twins!! Sadly, Page will be in Iraq when the babies are born. Maybe he will be able to be present at the birth via satellite.
Aviella turned one in September and was walking at her first birthday. She took her first steps after we returned from our only summer vacation (the week before Ryan's classes began again). For awhile she was crawling more than walking, but now she is always walking and she is getting pretty good - although we think she kind of looks like a drunken sailor. Aviella's first birthday party was a hit! Grandpa Jim and Lulu came out for the occasion and we had lots of neighbors and friends around to help us celebrate this milestone. Aviella has a few words: mommy, daddy, baby/bobby, and doggie (sometimes sounds very similar to her word for daddy). She loves animals, especially dogs. When she sees them she squeals and shakes with sheer delight.
Oh, one more minor thing. We are glad that she has already learned the word for baby (although everything seems to be a "baby") since she will have a sibling in the very near future. That's right, we are expecting our second child - sometime at the end of April. Well, that should get us caught up to date. Now we need to update the Shutterfly account with recent pictures.
