The Great Book Exchange

Ethan had his first visit to the dentist on Tuesday. He and mom ventured out in a big snow storm for 30 seconds of getting his teeth examined. The picture above is from the very cool kid's waiting room they have there. Of course, it was hard to get him to leave the waiting room to see the actual dentist. He did lay still for about a minute and let the dentist examine his teeth - The dentist warned us that he will probably need braces in the future because his teeth are "crowded"!!! WHAT??? I guess we have to start saving our pennies now!

Later that day, Isaac, Lily, and Evan made the trip to our house for our Christmas book exchange! Here is Isaac enjoying his new book . . .
and Lily seemed to like hers too . . .
Evan was bit indifferent to the whole thing, but I'm sure he will grow to love "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?"!

Another Christmas celebration!

We had another Christmas at the nursing home yesterday with Great Grandma Lue and Great Grandpa Glenn (Ethan's Grandpa Steve's side of the family). Great Grandpa made a big roaster of Chicken and Dumplings which was mom's favorite meal as a kid - it was yummy!

Ethan had fun running around with his cousin Lauren. Here, Grandma Mary is making him laugh!
Mom and Dad with Grandma and Grandpa
Mom with her Uncle Tim
Today Ethan and mom are kicking back and relaxing - Well, Ethan is anyway - mom is trying to get the house back in order after all the festivities, do laundry, grocery shop, etc. Ethan thought it would be relaxing to hang out in the laundry basket with his blankies and watch Sesame Street!

Christmas at Grandma And Grandpa's House

Saturday we had Christmas and Grandma and Grandpa's house with Ethan's cousins and Aunts and Uncles. Jenny, Oliver, and Ben were here from CO. and Aunt Kerry was here from CA.! Uncle Luke and Aunt Michelle were also there! Very fun!

As you can see from the picture above, Ethan started out gift opening in not a very good mood. He had just gotten sick from eating too much candy - but that's not why he was mad - he was upset that we wouldn't give him MORE candy, even though he had just gotten sick all over grandma's coffee table . . .

However, once he got into opening his gifts he was excited about what he got - especially this cool new bus!

And here's cousin Ben with his new blue truck!
The classic cousin picture. Ethan was being camera shy!

It was a really fun day and Ethan had a blast spending time with his cousins!

Merry Christmas!

Ethan has had a wonderful Christmas! Christmas Eve was spent with Trav's side of the family at the nursing home, so Grandma Sandy could be there. Above is cousin Camryn helping Ethan open a present! He loves his big cousins!

Ethan had a very late night and didn't get to bed until 9:00!

He insisted on going to bed with his new football!
Christmas morning he awoke to find this cool new car garage! It was a hit! Since we had to get ready to head to church by 9:30, we only got through about 1/2 of our gifts. It was fun to see Ethan enjoy Christmas so much!
When he opened this Barney book, he was so overcome by joy that he ran around to the back of mommy and kissed the back of her neck to show his gratitude!
We headed to mom's hometown to go to church with Great Grandpa Glenn. It was great to spend time with him, but Ethan wanted NOTHING to do with sitting quietly in church, so mom and dad took turns trying to entertain him in the freezing cold entry way of the building. We had gone to our own church Christmas Eve, and within about 2 minutes he was in the nursery there. He's really not a big fan of sitting still . . .

After church we headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a delicious brunch and a day of relaxation. Ethan napped from 1-5 which was awesome, and mom and dad just laid on the couch and watched A Christmas Story all afternoon. When we got home tonight we opened more gifts, but Ethan still has a few more to go . . . he apparently likes to spread out the joy for a few days!

We still have 3 Christmas celebrations left . . . .We'll keep you posted on the festivities!

surprise!

When I went to get Ethan out of his crib this morning he had taken off his zipper-up footie sleeper! I had no idea he knew how to do that! Luckily his diaper was still on and in tact!

Cookies and Spaghetti

Yesterday was cookie baking day at our house. Mommy, Daddy, and Ethan all helped! Here is Ethan trying to entertain us during the venture by sticking his finger up his nose . . .
TAKE NOTE COOKIE EATERS: Any dough that was touched by Ethan was immediately thrown away, and the cookie cutters thoroughly cleaned . . .not to worry . . .
Here is Ethan being a better helper . . .


Tonight was spaghetti night. Ethan got to try his hand at eating with a big boy fork. He loved "slurping" the noodles!

Santa!

Well, it has been a crazy week around here - one of the more stressful that we've had. I'll quickly list the stresses, and then move on to the more fun things!

1.) Mom and her co-workers planned a big "Celebrations Around the World" open house at school. It took a lot of time and energy. (See picture above - we are all frazzled!). However, it went off very well and I think the parents of our 3rd graders loved it!

2.) Our sewer clogged and overflowed in our basement. Enough said. Not fun.

3.) Our computer crashed and we thought we lost everything (including pics and videos!) but luckily Trav found a great guy who fixed it for us and all is well.

4.) Ethan's daycare sitter had 2 sick kids this week and we didn't want him to get sick from them . . . this could have been very stressful if it weren't for Grandma who THANKFULLY helped us out all week!!

So, now that everything is pretty much back to normal around here, and mom is off for TWO WHOLE WEEKS of VACATION!!!!!!!! we decided to take a trip to visit Santa with Grandma Mary, Cousin Victor, and Aunt Michelle.

Of course Ethan was a total stinker waiting in line. I think he has a rug burn on his face from trying to escape. I'm not sure if his expression is one of being stunned, scared, ticked off, or bored.


He definitely enjoyed the mall play area much more!

Victor and Ethan had fun eating in the cafe court at the mall. It was a really fun morning!
Now Ethan is down for a nap and I have the house to myself - ahh, peace and quiet! Daddy is working today and there is a snow storm outside so it is the perfect afternoon for wrapping presents and baking cookies. I always feel like a terrible parent when I say this, but I hope Ethan takes a LONG nap!!!

UNDER THE WEATHER

On Thursday night we decided to have a quick supper at the mall Cafe Court and then go pick out our Christmas tree. While we were eating, Ethan surprised us and threw up all over himself! He was so calm about it - it didn't even bother him, and afterwards he just continued eating hungrily! Mom went to Children's Place to buy him a new outfit, changed him, and we decided he seemed well enough to venture to the Christmas Tree lot to pick out our tree with us. When we got there, we were looking around at the trees, mom handed Ethan over to daddy for carrying, and immediately he threw up again - all over himself - and daddy! He really got daddy's leather coat! Needless to say, we gave up on finding a tree and headed home.

The next day mom took him to the Dr. and found out he has an ear infection - his first one. Poor guy! So, hopefully, he is now on the mend . . .

ST. NICK CAME!

Most of you know we have a long standing tradition in my family of celebrating St. Nick's Day on Dec. 5. Unfortunately, since mom and dad are a bit disorganized and busy this year, St. Nick had to make his journey here a week late . . . oh well! Ethan was delighted with his new treasures - especially his new truck book and Curious George.

Friends

Here's a picture of mom with all of her "Luther Park Friends" from Jane's baby shower yesterday.

L-R Jane M., Kyra, Carrie, Jane H., Me, Theresa, Liz

We had so much fun together!

Moving Man

Ethan and daddy had a fun day together at home while mom went to a baby shower in the cities (picture will be posted later . . .). Before I left this morning, I watched Ethan figure out how to move the couch! Yes, that's right, he can literally slide the couch and move it to where he wants it. This happened this morning when his ball went under it and he was determined to find it.

When I returned home this evening, I was debriefing the day with Trav and asked if Ethan moved the couches anymore. He replied that he hadn't, but is now skilled at moving the end tables around. So, if a toy gets stuck behind a table, he can just slide it over and retrieve the lost toy.

Good to know our two year old can rearrange our furniture for us if we so request!

Is it over already?

The wonderful, long Thanksgiving weekend began with Isaac and Lily coming over to play with Ethan on Wednesday evening. The three kiddos had a blast together! It was so fun to hang out with the twins and their mommy!

Here's Lily entertaining us with a trick . . .
Ethan and Isaac played pretty well together. All three of the kids were very interested in Ethan's books, as well as his toys. I guess that's what you get when both moms are teachers!

Yesterday we celebrated Thanksgiving with daddy's family at the nursing home. Aunt Shelley and Uncle Jason brought pumpkin pie, which was super yummy! Ethan had a blast playing with his cousins, Andrew and Camryn. Of course it was impossible to get a pic with the 3 of them together, but here's the two older cousins . . .Today we just hung out and played at home. Ethan thought it would be fun to try on mommy's shoes and walk around the house. . .
So, that brings us to the close of the weekend - On the bright side, I have the day off tomorrow for some appointments, including an ultrasound, so that will be fun to see baby girl again!

Black Friday!

I LOVE the Friday after Thanksgiving!!! It is a long-standing tradition (we figured about 20 years - since I was about 10 years old) that my mom, Aunt Cathi, Cousin Lizzy, Grandma Betty, and I would get up super early and hit the sales. This year was no different . . .I was up at 4:30 and at Younkers by 5:30. Daddy took a vacation day and spent some quality time with Ethan while mom was shopping.

I now have most of my shopping done, which is a great feeling. Here's evidence of our spending . . .

We all met for lunch at Panera. Here is Cousin Lizzy and Aunt Cathi . . .

Me and Luke . . .
And then we went to a movie together - 4 Christmases. It was pretty funny. Sticking with tradition, Grandma Betty smuggled in baggies of snacks for each of us to enjoy during the movie. How thoughtful :)

After the movie, I picked up Ethan and headed back out to mom and Mike's. The family gathered again for leftovers. Uncle Bill had fun playing with Ethan . . .
And so did Grandma Mary! Ethan, Victor, and Grandma were all chasing each other around the house, laughing, and playing peek-a-boo. She is such a wonderful grandma.

Ethan would run into her arms for a hug and squeal with delight!

The night ended with Ethan going down for the night, and mom playing Balderdash with the adults. Very fun! And we still have the whole weekend ahead of us! We are going to spend some time with Trav's family at the nursing home this afternoon . . .

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year! Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday - or at least it is a very close second to Christmas. I just love getting together with my family. We laugh so much and it is just good bonding time!

We all went over to Grandma and Grandpa Mike and Mary's house, and my mom's family came up from the Milwaukee area. We had a delicious meal - probably the best we've ever had!

Ethan loved playing with - and in - grandma's big toy bin.

Here is Grandma with Ethan and Victor.

A rare picture of mom and dad together looking somewhat put together.

Aunt Michelle and Cousin Victor . . .

Great - Great Aunt Geri, and Great Grandpa Bob . . .

Above is Grandma Mary with Great Grandma Betty, and Ethan's Great Uncle Bob, Great Aunt Carol, and Great Aunt Cathi . . .

We are so blessed with a wonderful family!