Pizza Picnic

The weather has been so beautiful here in the evenings lately! Last night, we got a take and bake pizza from Papa Murphy's and had a picnic outside! Ethan sat in a chair like a big boy!

One of Ethan's favorite things to do outside is go for a walk around the block- like not in the stroller, but he actually walks, and leads mom or dad around the block. It's super cute! Sometimes he runs in his cute little toddler way - I keep meaning to get a video of this and post it, but I haven't yet . . . Anyway, he took mom and dad on 5 walks around the block tonight! By the time he was done with the 5th he was visibly worn out!

Mom was back to school this week for inservice and working in her room. Finally, after about 4 full days this summer in my room, I feel ready to teach on Tuesday! One of the things I love about being a teacher is getting a fresh start each fall. I'm looking forward to meeting my new kiddos!

As for Ethan, he will be dividing his time between the in-home daycare he goes to, and Grandma Mary. I think this is a good mixture for him, so he can socialize with the other boy that goes to daycare and also have that precious grandma time as well!

Roofers and a Petting Zoo

Yesterday was a very exciting day because we had a huge truck in our driveway and people on our roof! Mom's cousin Jeremy, Uncle Bob, along with Grandpa Mike and Daddy put a new roof on our garage! Ethan was highly entertained by all the activity in our yard. The downfall was that we couldn't play outside much because there were lots of big tools for Ethan to get into trouble with.

Today, Ethan and the whole family went to Festival in the Pines which included great food, a craft sale, bouncy toys, and a petting zoo. Ethan enjoyed petting the goats and looking at this little pig. We also went to the park so he got to go down the slides and on the swings. What an eventful weekend!

going swimming

Ethan and mom went to a really cool water park on Wednesday with Theresa, Isaac, Lily, and some of their friends. Ethan absolutely LOVED the water - maybe a little bit too much. He was so brave that he would walk into deeper water that was all the way up to his chin and did NOT want mommy to help him. He wanted to explore by himself! At 19 months, he definitely has a mind of his own! I was too busy chasing EJC around to get a picture, so I'll include a couple from the website of the pool so you can get an idea of what it was like - We will definitely be back!

This picture is a little deceiving because there is actually water shooting out of the slides and spraying everywhere! Very fun!

This is the adjoined park which Ethan also enjoyed!

Weekend at Grandma and Grandpa's

Ethan had a fun sleep-over at grandma and grandpa's house on Sunday night while mom and dad got a much-needed vacation! We headed to the cities to eat at Chino Latino and do some shopping at MOA and IKEA.

Ethan had a blast with grandma and grandpa playing with cars, going up and down the stairs, playing outside, and being introduced to their famous (for the grandchildren) Skittles jar.

Hey, if any of you toddlers out there are in need of a haircut, we highly recommend Grandpa Mike! He gave Ethan a super-cute cut this weekend, and we really think he should go into business!!

A Play Date!

This afternoon Isaac and Lily stopped by for a little play date with Ethan. The kids had fun together, and of course mom had a great time chatting with their mommy!

It's amazing to see both boys sitting still and concentrating so intently on this very interesting toy.
I love Lily's expression here!

A Busy Day

This morning Ethan and mom made the trip to the cities to visit our good friends, Katherine and Grant. It was a great visit, especially since we got the boys to nap at the same time and we could sit and chat! How great for mom to catch up with a good friend!

It was difficult to get a picture of the boys together. Here's Grant and his mommy . . . .
And here's a fun train that Ethan found to play with . . . Grant had lots of great toys!
After we got home, mom laid down for a nap and Ethan engaged in his favorite pastime- climbing on the furniture. Daddy took these pics of him on the kitchen chair (Daddy, this is supposed to be a "no-no"!)

For supper tonight we met Grandma Sandy, Grandpa Les, Uncle Jason, Aunt Shelley, and Camryn and Andrew at a fun restaurant. (Unfortunately mom forgot her camera!) Ethan made us happy by pointing to grandma's nose on command (usually he only points to his own, not other people's!). What a fun day!

Uncle Tim's Wedding

Ethan's Great Uncle Tim got married to Rose this weekend! Here is the happy couple at the ceremony on Friday night.
Great Grandma Lue and Great Grandpa Glenn are all dressed up and look wonderful!
Last night (Saturday) was the reception and dance. Daddy and his band played at the dance and it was very fun! The reception was outdoors and it was a beautiful day, so Ethan had fun playing with his cousins.

Congrats to the happy couple!

Poll

Well, my good friend, Theresa and I were talking and she encouraged me to add some new features to the blog . . . hence, the slide show, and the other slide show, and now the poll. Don't worry, faithful readers, I will be heading back to school soon and then I'm sure the time spent posting and spending time on this site will dwindle considerably! So, enjoy while you can!

Slide Show

So, I noticed there was a new feature on Blogspot where you could add a slide show! So . . . for the past 2 hours I've been creating a slide show of pictures from Ethan's first 18 months . . . However, I couldn't get it to actually come up on the blog, so I put a link to it on the right . . . check it out - It's probably far more interesting to me as his mother, but perhaps you will enjoy it too :) It is hard to believe how fast he grew up!

PS I found it difficult to figure out how to crop the pics so they were centered correctly on the slide show . . . .

The Zoo, The Mueseum, and a Play Date

Ethan has been busy this week! On Tuesday we went to a little zoo nearby with Grandma Mary. The best part was the petting zoo where we got to feed the goats, and see a cow, horse, and donkeys. Ethan, however, was more interested in watching what the "farmhand" was up to, and running around of course.

Here's Ethan "riding" a bear statue!

Near the zoo was this fun park where Ethan could swing and slide!

On Wed. we went to the local Children's Museum. It's smaller than the one in The Cities, but it is perfect for Ethan. We met Ethan's cousins Ben and Oliver there, and his Aunie Jenny. Ethan's favorite activities there were going up the stairs and down the slide, driving the car, and playing with the trains.

Yesterday we had some friends over for a play date (Sofia and Miriam). It was very fun having them over and Ethan played well with them while mom and their mom got to chat. In the afternoon mom headed for her classroom to start tackling the job of getting her room put together, while Ethan had a blast staying at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike's house!

A Couple Days in the Life of . . . . Mom

I have had a rough weekend. Morning sickness has taken its grip on me once again. Yesterday I was so sick I basically stayed in bed, let Trav run the house, and ate my Preggie Pops. (They really do help, by the way!) I couldn't keep anything down. Sooo frustrating when I have a cute little toddler running around who I really want to keep up with! Today I felt better, but still took a couple long naps. I tried eating a meal for the first time this evening and it went so-so. Eating is one of my favorite things, so when I can't do it I get very bummed out!!!! Let's hope tomorrow is better . . . .

Ethan's Big Announcement . . .

Ethan is going to be a big brother!

Mom is 11 weeks pregnant, and we had an ultrasound yesterday to confirm a due date of Feb. 20.

It was amazing to see that little person in my tummy! His/Her little arms and legs were moving around really quickly - very cool! We also saw/heard the heartbeat - 167 beats per minute. I asked if this could be any indication of the gender and the ultrasound tech. said that was an old wives tale. Bummer :) We are very much looking forward to finding out the sex in early October.

Notice we have purchased a baby doll to have around the house so Ethan can get used to the idea of what a baby is all about (although not completely, since daddy and I removed the little box inside her that makes her cry . . . .we're not ready for that quite yet!). We're trying to get Ethan to help feed the baby. He will do it, but the bottle is usually upside down and put to her eye instead of her mouth. We have a little work to do yet :)

As you can see, this blog is the first of many things that Ethan will now be forced to share . . .