Week of jumping, playing and baths!

This week we continued our habit of wearing Rohan out at the Scottsdale Sports Complex across the street. It REALLY gets him running and working on his coordination by kicking the soccer ball. His stamina has been increasing every time, and now he's running 3 and 4 lengths of the field, all while dribbling the soccer ball, as well as falling and being generally distracted by almost everything...:)
Mara has been working hard in the Pediatric ICU, and I have been hitting a crunch at work trying to get lots of experiments done at work before we go to Germany. I can't believe it's only 5 1/2 weeks away!!! We are insanely excited, an have already started planning and working out logistical issues. We can't wait to to meet our newest nephew, Lucas too! One thing I do want to accomplish is finding out where my Syring family came from. I haven't had too much luck tracking down a town of origin. Sadly, many of people who knew the genealogy have passed away. Hopefully I'll be able to get some info so I can take advantage of the 19 days we'll have in Europe.
The weekends have pretty much revolved around watching the Hawkeyes, followed by finding a park or area for Rohan to run. He's gotten a TON of baths recently since he usually finds an area that has been recently watered, or picks up grass or sand/dirt and dumps it on his head...:) We've been adding bubble bath to the mix, and he loves bathtime even more now!
One thing we realized this week is how much Rohan's daycare has been incorporating music and dancing into his curriculum. Mara found a channel on Pandora Radio called "Toddler Radio" and Rohan knew almost all the songs, and even had a couple of dance moves within the songs. We had no idea he knew so much. It was a great way to get him tired for bed, and by the end, he was just staring at the computer and listening to the songs.
We've also been letting him jump off almost everything. He's been piling the pillows up by the couch and jumping on his own. As you can see from the photos and video, his form is coming along well also. We've even started tossing the football to him mid-air for an added measure of difficulty. He'll have the best hands on his Pop Warner team...:)
Sunday we took some time in the morning to check out a new coffee shop called Dazbog.  Their slogan is "I like my coffee tall, dark and Russian"...:)  We loved the coffee, and it was a lot less like Starbucks than...well...Starbucks.  Afterwards we caught Tim, Allison, & Cameron on webcam.  Cam was adorable, and he kept saying "Hi Rohan!".  Rohan was completely speechless and really just stared at the TV screen.  I think he recognized everyone, but wasn't sure how they were interacting with him.  It was great to catch up with them and see how much Cam has grown and become a big boy rather than just a big baby.  I think we'll find more time to catch up that way, especially since they are no longer just a short drive away!
Not much else to report. We've scaled back our running a tad to adjust to our busier schedules as well as the small fact we won't be running much while we are in Germany, then have the full marathon less than 2 weeks later...should be a lot of walking, but we'll still have fun with it...:)
We hope everyone back in the Midwest is enjoying the last throws of Fall. Mara said it snowed in Amherst today...it was 75°F and beautiful here. We don't mind if people live vicariously through us...:)
Enjoy the pics and tons of video!


ShapeShifter Fun!:


Rohan Explores The Webcam Before Our Visit With Tim & Allison:


Stifling The Screams:


Jumping & Catching:


Dad's Sandals Are Better Than Mom's Heels...:):


Airplane Soccer


Rohan Runs The Pitch & Scores A Goal:


Jumping Practice:


Testing The Cookie Dough:


Pandora Toddler Channel: