Family Outing at Mall of America

Today mom, dad, and Ethan had a family outing to the Mall of America and IKEA. It was a super fun day and Ethan was such a good boy all day long, even though he only got a 1/2 hour nap during the day.

This shark from Underwater World was walking around the mall, and Ethan loved him!
Ethan found this little puppy to visit at Old Navy.
Auntie Kyra came to hang out with us at MOA. Of course Ethan LOVED that! (and mom did too!)

Happy Birthday, Cousin Victor!

It was Victor's 1st Birthday today, and boy does he know how to throw a party! Look at this amazing cake his mama made for him!!
Cousin Oliver is enjoying a cupcake!
Here is Ethan with Auntie Jenny . . . And here is the birthday boy with his mama, Auntie Michelle.
Ethan thought he'd give Victor a little ear tug for birthday luck . . .
We had so much fun at the party!

Out for Pizza!

Mama, Daddy, Grandma, and Ethan decided to go out for pizza to celebrate the beginning of the weekend. Also, mom and dad wanted to treat Grandma Mary to dinner since Grandpa Mike is out in California - and we also wanted to thank her for all she does for us - so we thought pizza would be the perfect way to do it!
Ethan was a very good boy, and jabbered a lot during the meal, while he dined on applesauce, milk and crackers (sorry, buddy - no pizza yet!) He made friends with the people sitting behind us by saying, "Hi-ya!" (think Karate Kid).
Grandma and daddy realized they don't have many pics together. I think this is a "frameable!"

Terrible (I mean challenging) twos - already???

Ethan has been exhibiting some symptoms that he may be entering the terrible twos. For example, he throws his toys and hits when he doesn't get his way, or when he is upset about something. He will hold the toy up in throwing position and look at mom and dad and smile, waiting for us to react. We've tried ignoring, we've tried saying "no" and we've tried time-outs. We are really trying to be consistent with the time-outs in the play pen, but it gets to be exhausting!

I think sometimes it is a problem with knowing what he wants but not having the language to express himself. For example, I have figured out that when he gets a book out of the basket, looks at me, and throws it, he just wants me to read to him. He just doesn't know how to express that appropriately - so I model for him, "mama, please read me my book" and he just gets annoyed with me.

Luckily, he is still adorable and lots of fun. I think you need to wish us luck through the next few months, though!

Swinging at the Park

Between rain showers today, mom, dad, and Ethan took a walk to the park.

Ethan liked swinging the best!

Mud Puddles

It was a beautiful spring day today (notice daddy in shorts in the background!). So Ethan put on his giraffe rain boots and headed out to look for some puddles to jump in!

First, we just explored the yard. Ethan and daddy had been out earlier playing with the neighbor's dog and meeting the mail lady. Ahh, what fun!
Yes, it is definitely family fun day at our house. Ethan fished this old container out of the recycling bin in the garage and loved holding and shaking it while walking back and forth through this long mud puddle. We definitely know how to have a good time around here!

It is even more ridiculous that mom and dad were chasing him the whole time with a camera!
Notice his dirty seat! He fell twice in the puddle, once forward and once backward (still a bit unsteady in the big boots!) so he was quite a sight by the time we were done.
When we said it was time to say "bye-bye" to the mud puddle, Ethan threw a fit and sat down on the ground in protest. Luckily, daddy and mama made him giggle by picking him up between us and "swinging" him back home again.

Full of Smiles

Ethan has been so FUN and CUTE lately!!! By cute, I mean his personality! (well, and his cute little face too!) Tonight he just ran around with a smile on his face all evening.

He is just full of life, giggles, and tricks! He loves playing "So Big!", "Peek-a-boo," "This Little Piggy," and "I'm gonna get you!!!" He loves to watch his cars go down the big ramp, and will kiss pretty much anything on command (stuffed animals, pictures in books, mom or dad, etc.). He is also getting better at knowing what he wants and trying to communicate that to us, which is fun.
How can anyone be in a bad mood with this little guy around? Mom and dad feel SO lucky and blessed to have him in our lives!!