Broiler Fest

Ethan had a fun time with daddy, grandma and grandpa, Andrew and Camryn today at the Broiler Fest. This is a local, small town festival that includes parades, rides, and lots of fun!

Here is a close-up of Ethan enjoying the Kiddie Parade. Daddy said he liked the horses the best!

Cousins Andrew and Camryn loved collecting the candy.
Grandpa Les even took Ethan on a Carousal ride. What a fun day!

Books

Mom, please don't bother me while I'm trying to read!
Here, mama, you can read this book to me now.

Welcome to our world :)

Happy Memorial Day!

Ethan had his first of many summer visits up North yesterday. We stopped to buy some food for a picnic and met the rest of the family at the camper. Unfortunately, due to bad weather, we had to move the festivities to Grandma and Grandpa's house later in the day. Here are some shots of Ethan and his cousins enjoying the great outdoors at the campsite.


Can you spot Ben in the tree? Cousin Victor chilling out in the grass.
This morning Ethan must have known it was a holiday, because he slept until 9:30 which is completely unheard of, and meant that mom and dad slept until then also! What a treat! Here is Ethan modeling his new hat at breakfast.
Mom got to enjoy some time alone shopping for clothes, and then we all went out for lunch and for a nice family walk. All in all, a perfect way to spend a day off of work!

16 Months Old Today!

At the Park with cousin Victor . . . .

Mom and Aunt Michelle took the boys on a walk to the park after supper tonight. The kids really had a lot of fun! The swing was the favorite for both of them. In fact, EJC had a difficult time sharing . . .

Victor squealed with delight!
He also LOVED the slide!Addicted?

Our little problem with Ethan's yelling continues. We have exhausted every avenue of trying to remedy the problem, so I figured maybe he just has an addiction to yelling.

According to wikipedia, "the term addiction is used to describe a recurring compulsion by an individual to engage in some specific activity (yelling in this case), despite harmful consequences to the individual's health, mental state or social life."

Bingo! Ethan's yelling is causing harmful consequences to him (time-outs), to his health (the kid's got to be ruining his vocal chords), his social life (who wants to be around a yelling toddler??), and to his PARENTS' mental state.

I think we are on to something here - now, what to do about it??? I'll have to see if there is a 12 step program available!

Life with a 16 month Old

How would I describe life with my toddler?

*LOUD - (see above)

*FUN - He is really developing a little personality. He can be quite the comedian, and is a social butterfly!

*BUSY - Let's just say it's nice to have a break when he is in bed. He is pretty demanding and wants what he wants, NOW! But it's super fun to spend time with him and watch him enjoy the things he loves, like going outside and swinging, reading books, and playing with cars and trucks.

*WONDERFUL! - I can't wait to be home with him this summer!

Night Night

Ethan went to bed at his normal time tonight- around 7:00. We heard him turning his light switch off and on through the monitor after we put him down. Just now (10:15) I went up to take his picture in his new jammies (hoping to get a shot of his butt-in-the-air sleeping position - no such luck) and his light was on! It was totally bright in his room, yet he was sound asleep. It was kind of funny to see.

I love how it looks like he's giving his bunny "Eskimo Kisses"!

Happy Birthday, Grandpa Mike and Aunt Jenny!

Ethan helped celebrate Grandpa and Aunt Jenny's birthdays yesterday. We went out to eat with Victor, Oliver, Ben, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Michelle, and Aunt Jenny. We were causing quite a ruckus at the restaurant with 3 toddlers and a 4 year old, so we decided to move the party to our house after we were done with our meals. (On a side note, Ethan had to have a time-out in the car at the restaurant for YELLING very loudly, and then hitting mommy in the face! I REALLY hope this phase passes quickly!!!)
Unfortunately Ethan had to go to bed as soon as we got home, so I have no pictures of him celebrating, but here are the birthday boy and girl (above) and a cute pic of Oliver and his mommy below.

Fun Saturday . . .

We had a great day today! This morning Ethan slept in until 8:30, which was awesome! Then we all hung out in our P.J.s and ate cinnamon pancakes. Yum!

Later this afternoon, mom and Ethan headed over to Grandma and Grandpa's house to play with cousins Ben and Oliver. Here are the big boys playing with trucks! Ben was such a wonderful big cousin to Ethan! He even got the trucks all ready for this photo shoot.
Playing in the big dirt pile was the best!

Later this evening we all headed McDonald's for supper and to play in the play land. Ethan was filthy from his day of fun, so he had a nice bubble bath and is tucked in for the night.

going for a drive

Whenever we are outside, Ethan is most interested in checking out the cars and the garage. His new favorite thing to do is pretend to drive daddy's car . . .

Better buckle up! He's a crazy driver!

Living on the Edge

Last night, we really lived on the edge - we took Ethan out to eat with no diaper bag. Now, this may not sound like a big deal to some, but it was quite a challenge - it meant no bib, no sippy cup, no toys to keep him entertained, none of his own food to eat, and no wipes - all things that make dining out with a toddler bearable.

How did we fair? Well, Ethan did well with his restaurant mac and cheese. However, the boxed milk with a straw was a whole other story. On 2 separate occasions, he squeezed the box which sent a large amount of milk up to spray him in the face, and it got all over his shirt. Overall, though, you can see from the above picture that he survived, and so did mom and dad.

Ethan woke up extra early - and extra cranky - this morning to spend some quality time with his bowls before daycare . . .

Happy Mother's Day!

Ethan and mom had a great day together today! We had breakfast with Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Les and then we both took LONG afternoon naps. Ethan and Daddy picked out a special present for mom, too, and Daddy has been wonderful about doing housework and laundry all weekend! What more could a mom ask for?

Here is a picture taken out on the deck today - what a beautiful day! Here are Ethan and mom last mother's day. So fun to see how much he's grown!

This evening, mom met Grandma Mary, Aunt Michelle, and Aunt Jenny out at Olive Garden for a little mom's evening out. It was very fun!

Auntie Lizzy's Shower

Yesterday Ethan, mom, and Grandma Mary all took a trip down to Milwaukee for Auntie Lizzy's (mom's Cousin) wedding shower. That meant a long (8 hour) car ride for Ethan. He did very well, but by the end of the trip was definitely ready to curl up in his crib and go to sleep, and was SICK of riding in the car seat!

Here is Great Grandma Betty helping Grandma Mary with one of the shower games - design your own wedding dress. Great Grandma worked to make a lovely veil for grandma!


The beautiful bride-to-be with her Aunt Mary . . .

Lizzy, mom, and Grandma Mary . . . .
And this is pretty much how Ethan felt about the shower . . . He was so tired and ready to go by the end, it was impossible to get a good picture of him.
Luckily, Aunt Carol played with him outside for most of the time, which was a HUGE help to mom!

Crazy Bowl-Face

Ethan was enjoying running around the house this evening with this blue bowl (his favorite bowl, I might add) over his face.
That's about all that's new around here . . . .

Happy Birthday, Uncle Luke!

Yesterday, mom and her friend went shopping at Thrift Sales in our hometown. We found lots of great deals for our kids! We both purchased mostly clothes, but I did find this train that I thought Ethan would enjoy. I was excited to learn that it was even remote control. Unfortunately, the remote control part doesn't work. Ethan still has fun running around with the different parts of the train, though!
In the evening, daddy put up Ethan's new swing! Here he is trying it out.
Today mom, Grandma Mary, and Ethan took a trip down to see Uncle Luke for his birthday. We ate at his favorite restaurant, and then had his birthday cake (vegan chocolate - yum!) at a nearby state park. It was fun to visit, and Ethan also got to go exploring and play on the swings and slide. What a fun weekend!