A Daddy Day

Ethan had a great day with daddy today while mom went to her good friend, Kyra's baby shower. It was so great to see all my friends and spend the day with them! I drove up with grandma Mary and we stopped at Motherhood Maternity on the way which was also very fun!

Here's mom with lots of friends at the shower. All the people in this picture worked at Luther Park Bible Camp at some point!

20 Months Old Today!

Things Ethan LOVES at 20 months

• His 2 blue blankets! He loves cuddling with them at night-night time. We can just see the delight in his face when he gets to see them again!
• Music! We listen to music a lot around here! We definitely have to listen to it whenever we are in the car, and also when we are playing at home. However, he is usually so into listening intently to the music, he can't concentrate on playing or reading at the same time.
• Food! Our child loves to eat. He loves peas, string cheese, apples, mac and cheese, cereal, toast with jelly, you name it he will probably devour it!
• Going Outside! The first thing in the morning that Ethan wants to do is go outside - even when it is still dark at 6 am! He stands by the door and really has begging down to a science. He's hard to resist, but we at least wait until the sun comes up!
• Playing "I'm Gonna Get You!" That game just never gets old. Just tonight we were playing and he was squealing with delight the entire time! Gotta love that sound!

Things Ethan HATES at 20 months

• Holding Mom's Hand and Being Directed to Walk Somewhere Specific - he has a mind of his own and when we try to direct him he lets us know he is NOT happy. He definitely has his OWN agenda and places he needs to be!
• Following Directions - This kind of goes along with the first item, but Ethan really has a stubborn streak to him . . . Hmmm . . . Which parent does he REALLY take after?
• Sitting Still - Church = disaster - even when he is watching his movies he is usually standing up or walking around - Although I do have to say he will sit in his high chair if he has plenty of food available!

We love our little guy and can't believe he will be 2 soon! We just delight in him and love his little personality! He can be quite the comedian!

A New Movie

Grandma Mary bought Ethan a new movie recently and he loves it! It is a Sesame Street Sing Along DVD, straight out of the late 70's. Mom and Dad love it also, as it has all the classics like "Rubber Ducky" and "Sing, Sing a Song." With Grover, Big Bird, Ernie, Bob, Maria, and all the other old friends we miss so much from our childhood!

Here is Ethan, captivated by his show!
And here's a not-very-good picture of the TV as he was watching - but you get the idea, Bid Bird's huge beak wide open in song. How fun!
I'm glad he's balancing his TV watching with book reading. We really need to invest in a chair for this kid . . .

IS THIS NORMAL????

Sometimes I am convinced that our child turns into a beaver at night. Most of his crib rails look like this one! How can we stop this from happening and the crib being completely destroyed??

A Gorgeous Fall Day

This morning Ethan and mom got up early and baked banana bread and muffins! Yum. Then we all headed to the Farmer's Market. I love it there!

Of course our family didn't buy any vegetables, but instead got some cheese curds, fresh bread, and delicious kettle corn. Yummy!

Oh, and we also bought 4 HUGE bouquets of flowers - one for mom and one for each of the grandmas. As we were walking around we heard people comment, "Wow, those people have lots of flowers!" At $5 a bouquet, who can resist??

After a nice morning nap, mom, Ethan, Grandma, Aunt Michelle and Victor headed to the apple orchard. Unfortunately, Ethan was a total stinker most of the time. . . . . .

Granted, it was really hot - notice the sweat in the picture below - and I think he was still not feeling himself (runny nose). We went on a big wagon pulled by a tractor through the orchard (which everyone else thought was totally fun!) and Ethan was whiny and fussy the whole ride, which was pretty frustrating for mom.

Ethan was fine petting this cute little donkey, but other than that, nothing seemed to please him. Finally, we headed home and both of us took a long nap!

Under the Weather

Poor Ethan has a fever and a cold. He was up quite a few times the last couple nights (as was mama). It's hard for the little guy to breath when his nose is so stuffy.

Today he was with Grandma Mary which was great so she could give him some extra TLC. Later in the evening when I picked him up to hug him and he was so hot! I took his shirt off and it felt like his armpits were on fire! He was just not himself - very quiet and not wanting to eat.

Also, mom's cousin Lauren came over for awhile after school today, as he will be on Wednesdays for awhile. It was great to have Ethan's big cousin over to play with him. He was very good with Ethan - gentle and patient - a wonderful big cousin!

Here are the boys chillin' out . . . .
After Lauren left we gave Ethan a cool vapor bath and put him down. He looked miserable and was shivering! That is so hard for mom and dad to see. Hopefully he will be better in the morning!

Good-bye, Cousins and Auntie Jenny!

Yesterday we all got together at Grandma and Grandpa's house to say goodbye to Auntie Jenny, Oliver, and Ben. They are moving out to Colorado, and we are so sad to see them go. They had to leave for the airport yesterday afternoon, so we all gathered for lunch to have some time together.

Here is the classic cousin picture. Poor Victor is having a rough time . . .
This morning the family finally made it to church . . . to be instantly reminded why we have been staying away! Ethan cannot sit for 2 minutes in the service. It did not help matters that mom completely forgot a diaper bag so had nothing to entertain him with. So . . . off to the nursery he went. I just don't like going to church and having to put him in the nursery because I want it to be family time! It was very frustrating. At least he made it up for communion and got to say Hi to some people during coffee hour . . .

Here are some pics of us getting ready this morning . . .


After church, we had a nice big breakfast at a local restaurant. Ethan was much better behaved at the restaurant and we kept asking him, "Why can't you behave like this in church?" Daddy insisted it is because there is no food in church!

Grandma Turns 80!

Ethan's Great Grandma Betty turned 80 on Saturday! To celebrate, Grandma Mary's whole family gathered for a picnic in Milwaukee.

It was super fun getting together with the whole family! Ethan has 2 2nd cousins on this side of the family that are very close to his age, and this is the first time they have all gotten together, so that was fun for mom and her cousins to see.

Here is Parker who will be 2 in November, eating cake . . .
And here's Leah, who will be 2 just 6 days before Ethan in January also enjoying some birthday cake . . .
And here's our little Ethan, eating sand and LOVING it! He probably ate about 5 fistfuls in the volleyball court near our picnic site. Hey - whatever satisfies your craving, right?
Today on our way home we stopped at mom's friend, Lynn's new house in Madison. It is a beautiful house and she even served us donuts, which Ethan loved. He also loved the cool park almost right in her backyard!

Back to Daycare Outfit

Who says you have to go to school to get a new fall outfit? Here is Ethan sporting his, along with his new shoes!

A New Wagon!

Look at this snazzy new wagon that Ethan got from Grandma Sandy! He loves it, and so do mom and dad!
We tested it out by taking it on a walk to the park. Ethan had fun playing there with the other kids.
Heading home . . .
It was such a hot day today that I thought I'd give Ethan his first Popsicle! He really liked it. He's not a big ice cream fan, so apparently we've found his cold treat of choice . . .

Tomorrow is back to school for mom (wish me luck)- and a day with Grandma for Ethan (lucky guy!).