Learning his manners

Ethan has been getting much better at automatically saying, "please" after making a request, which is a relief. It is something we've been drilling into him for awhile now. Our usual conversation will go something like this . . .
Ethan: "More pancakes!"
Mom: "More pancakes, PLEASE."
Ethan: "Good job!"

Macie's 6 month pics

We got Macie's 6 month pictures done at Target today. We are happy with them! To see them, click the link on the right and enter mom's first and last name.

6 months old today!

My baby girl is 1/2 a year old already! She's sitting up by herself for short periods of time . . .
and she's also becoming quite adept at rolling over! Today I laid her down on a blanket, left the room for a second, came back, and she was pretty far from where I had left her (off the blanket.) I guess we'll have to start baby-proofing again!

This morning we took a visit to Dr. Plewa (big brother came with as well, which did not go as well as I had hoped it would . . . before we even entered the hospital I said, "Say 'hi' to Dr. Plewa when you see him." and Ethan responded, "NO! NO say 'hi' to Dr. Plewa!").

Anyway, the Dr. gave Macie a great report! She's very healthy, and staying with the growth curve at 97th percentile for height and weight. She got her shots, which made her cry, but only briefly . . . she's so brave, and I was really proud of her.

We have 6 month pictures scheduled at Target on Monday. It should be fun.

Ethan and Macie had a great time spending the night with Grandma and Grandpa while mom and dad went away for the night. Trav and I stayed at the Depot Hotel in Downtown Minneapolis, and went shopping today at Mall of America. It was so fun to reconnect as a couple, but guess what we talked about the whole time . . . the kids, of course!

We've spent a lot of time in the pool this summer!
Mommy and her precious baby girl . . .

Soaking up some sun . . .
We had a fun play date with Lily and Isaac. Lily is sweetly kissing Macie here. . . .
Isaac had fun swinging!

We LOVE daddy!!
Mommy got the day off to go to Carrie's baby shower! Super fun!

Some Recent Pictures . . .

Reading with Mommy.
Macie's 5 1/2 month photo shoot!



Ethan LOVES eating apples lately
Gorgeous flowers from daddy to mommy - just because.
Our awesome find on Craig's List. We drove to Mondovi to pick up this new "tractor with a scoop!" for Ethan. It needed a little TLC so we got out some soapy water to wash it. . . .
which led to Ethan washing all of his toys, and himself!
Macie just kicked back and enjoyed the scenery.

You Know You're the Mother of a 2-year-old When . . .

• while putting make-up on in the bathroom, you have to move so the sink can be used for a car wash.
• while laying down with your child for night-night nap time, getting kicked in the back with his little feet actually feels good, and is the closest thing to a massage you've had in a long time.
• you look forward to driving around aimlessly, looking for trucks and listening to Raffi, because - at least he's quiet.
• you have to secretly get your laughs and smiles out before disciplining, because - he looks so darn cute when he's naughty (sometimes).
• by 11:00 on a Saturday you've been awake for 5 1/2 hours, and (among other activities) have watched Barney Goes to the Fire Station 3 times.

chatting on the phone

Today I chatted with two of my friends who also have young kids at home. Here are some snippets of our conversations:
Conversation #1
(Kristen to Theresa) "Uh-oh - can I call you back? Ethan just took off running down the alley, pushing his dump truck, wearing only a diaper."

(Theresa to Kristen) "ugh . . . the kids just overturned a potted plant."

(Theresa to Kristen) "I just walked into the living room and the twins were standing on the couch, swinging my framed picture back and forth between them on the wall."

(Ethan to Mommy right after hanging up with Theresa) "Pee-pee on the floor! Mommy WASH!!"

Conversation #2
(Jennifer to Kristen) - "Um, can I call you back? The neighbor kids are over and one of them is up to his shoulders in a hole and can't get out." (The kids had dug a hole and put the 5 year old in it! - He got out safely, no worries :)

And, my personal favorite . . .
(Kristen to Jennifer) "I need to call you back - I have poop all over my arm!" (I had been holding Macie and she pooped through her diaper all over my arm and shirt. Not sure how long I'd been holding her like that before I noticed! Yikes!)

Yay! We're on our way to the zoo! All the way there we heard, "Zoo, it's coming!"
Ethan LOVED riding in the cars! He also loved seeing the lions, zebras, and giraffes. We had a really fun day! On the way home we stopped at Teddy Bear Park in Stillwater, which Ethan also loved!
Here are Macie and Grandma hanging out at Teddy Bear Park.
We've spent lots of time in the sandbox this summer. Mom recently showed Ethan how to make sand castles, so now I am frequently requested to make the castles for Ethan while he plays. He loves to count them as I make them, and then smash them when I'm done.
Trav and I find this picture of Macie absolutely hilarious. She is definitely our happy girl :)