Our Advent Calendar

I've just recently learned about an Advent Calendar, Jesse Tree, What Jesus Wants for Christmas, and other traditions. I distinctly remember my Chemistry teacher from Germany giving us an Advent calendar with little chocolates inside, which we opened immediately and devoured all the candies. Not a thought came to my mind about what that thing really was. Until now.

Homemade by Jill started a challenge of crafting along with her to make an Advent Calendar. I was intrigued and Phil had contract work to do in the evenings, so I thought I'd give it a go. It helped too that I was reading, Treasuring God in our Traditions by Noel Piper, and that was giving me all kinds of inspiration to really think about what message we are sending Ethan (and the world) with how we celebrate and prepare for Christmas Day. Here's our calendar. I've since added ornaments to the pockets, though I'm still making some for the latter dates. A huge thank you to my creative husband for helping with the tree! Ethan loves the numbers and colors, and enjoys helping put the ornament on after we read that part of the Christmas story. A friend just gave me an even more detailed way to share both stories of Christ birth through a short (preschool size) daily reading and songs we can incorporate (if you'd like a copy of this devotional gem, let me know). Ethan is going to be thrilled there will be singing!

This has been such a special time for us after dinner. It is such a new way for me to experience this wonderful month - fully anticipating with great excitement Christ's birth. Just making the Advent calendar has been an act of worship for me, and I can't wait to share it with our sons for many many years to come.

October

Halloween weekend we visited Sweet Berry Farms in Marble Falls with the New Parent's Class. It was a really great time! It will definitely become a fall family tradition. Ethan is still talking about it, especially his ride on the horse.

When we bought the ticket, they said if he cries and refuses to get on, they'd refund our money. Ethan was the only kid in line crying because it wasn't his turn fast enough. He was sad that I forgot to bring his cowboy hat. He'd been pretending with it all week.


Sharing pumpkin ice cream with Daddy. That stuff is addicting. Can't wait to try the fruity flavors in the spring when it's Strawberry picking season.
For Halloween, Ethan dressed up like he was going on safari in "Acica". He loves pretending to look for elephants, rhinos, hippos when we play outside, so it was a natural choice for a costume.

We went on Ethan's first trick or treating experience with some friends. It was sweet to see him learn how the process works. At first, when people would open their doors, he would walk right in. Such a friendly little guy! On a much more solemn note, I must mention on Oct. 8 my sweet G-ma went to Heaven. Even as I type this I'm tearing up. She and my Pa-pa were like parents to me and my sisters since my mom was a single mom. She was always smiling, always laughing, always cooking, very direct (that's where I get it from :), and always warm and friendly. We knew this day was coming, but had hope that bringing her home from her 2 1/2 month stay in the hospital would help her recover. God was so gracious in allowing me and Phil to see her for a few hours before she went to Jesus. I had the privilege of praying over her with family around, and saying good-bye. I can't wait to see her again in Heaven. (We had hospice there and I cannot say enough great things about that organization. They brought our family so much peace during those hours.)

Happy Fall!

We have been having such fun in this fall weather! We spend most of our days outdoors, visiting at least one park a day. Here Ethan is showing what he likes to do best, climb the slides. Frustrated crying using follows, and I'll say, "Ethan sometimes it is too hard to climb the slide. Go up the stairs", to which Ethan replies, "But Ehan can try." He is so quick witted!
We have been exploring nature trails around town. Ethan frequently asks for us to go on hikes. This one is at McKinney Falls State Park. Yes, he is typically running that far ahead of me. Since learning to walk, he is either running or standing still.
Picnics at the capitol with daddy. Ethan loves running the grounds afterward and seeing all the big kids on field trip there. He likes to comment, loudly, that they are being too loud. :) I'm about 14 weeks pregnant in this picture...
We've also enjoyed some local farms, which I'll post pictures of next!

Galveston Vacation

We just returned from a really really great vacation! Phil had only 5 vacation days left for the year, so we knew we couldn't go far. This way too - we had grandparents stay the night and family come play during the day. It was the perfect toddler vacation! Ethan is still saying, "Ehan fun beach house."Phil and I were able to leave Ethan with Phil's parents (Gram and Pa) for two days while we spent the day in Houston and a day at the beach by ourselves. That was such a treat. It was the longest we had spent away from E together.

While in Galveston, we attended the production of Barefoot in the Park. Excellent play! We haven't seen the Robert Redford movie, but it's in our Netflix que now. Here I am wondering where all the people are. This theatre was so awesome. Love the exposed brick and there ended up being only 15 of us that night. The actors were spittin' close, to use my grandma's phrase.

E had so much fun at Gram's, and told me all about it, much to her blushing, when they brought him to us Friday. "Chockie milk for dinner and breakfast, ice cream...." "Ehan fun." Ah, grandparents. He paid them back for their getting off-schedule fun by waking up at 5:30am every morning.

Ethan loved the water. What simple fun. Waves, sand, bucket, shovel and family.
We took the Bolivar Ferry to see the dolphins for free. We saw plenty of them, but Ethan wasn't too keen on being held most of the time, "Ehan down, Ehan run" is what we kept hearing. I hope our next one is a snuggler and will let us hold him or her!The next day my mom and sister and her family joined us. Here is my mom and Avery (it was her first trip to the beach!) and Ethan proudly showing all the letters they had been writing in the sand. Ethan is obsessed with zoo animals and letters. "Letters all around" he says while we are driving. He then proceeds to find all the "e's".

I have to mention the townhouse we stayed in. We found it on Home Away. Awesome website. Have you been there? Their headquarters are in Austin and Phil has become good friends with a designer there, which is how we learned about it. It's perfect if you are looking for somewhere other than a hotel to stay. Our townhouse was fully equipped with absolutely everything we needed to vacation with a toddler, including all chairs, umbrellas, toys for both inside and outside. We will definitely stay there again. The beach was a 2 min. walk, though I'm not sure why we didn't take a photo looking straight out from the balcony. We had a perfect view of the ocean. We are beyond thankful for this vacation. We didn't realize how much we needed the time away. We plan on making this a family tradition!

14 weeks along...

Today I had my first doctor appt. with my new ob/gyn. And, an answer to prayer - I like her! We will be having this next bundle of joy at a nearby hospital. While I loved the Birthing Center experience, it was expensive and there was absolutely no rest or aftercare after the baby is born. I know now I need that extra time to recover a bit.

We visited Seton Northwest Hospital a few weeks ago and instantly knew it was the place. Its maternity ward is older, small, super quiet (there was only one laboring mom on the whole floor) and there is no nursery - so the baby has to room in with you. Yes, yes, yes! Everyone was super kind and friendly and the rooms are simple with a huge wall of windows looking out over trees. It was so serene. Not that I'd be birthing with the blinds open, but afterward, it would be nice to not feel like I'm cooped up 'in' a hospital.

I probably read way too much before Ethan was born about the pros and cons of birthing center vs. hospital. I'm probably going to spend the duration of this pregnancy praying against any preconceived notions and have faith that I will have a beautiful natural birth, no matter the setting.

On the pregnancy side, I've been craving the craziest things so far....
* home cookin' - anything country fried and good homemade overly seasoned veggies on the side
* anything but water - usually it's half lemonade half water or half gatorade half water (I have a problem with becoming dehydrated)
* Mexican - mexican has always been my favorite, but Migas tacos from El Jardin call my name every Saturday morning.
* hot milk tea mid-morning
* iced tea whenever it's freshly brewed

Very different than with Ethan. I craved salads with him. Poor second kid.

First Day of Mother's Day Out

It was a super wet, dreary morning for Ethan's first day of school this Tuesday. No worries, though, he was a champ! He reminded me before we left that we needed an "umbrewa" for school and he wanted to wear his new big boy shoes, which until that day he would not touch. I walked him to his class and there was no looking back, literally. He hesitated for all of a second until he spotted the kitchen and that was that. He's such a big boy! He wants to learn all the other kids names - he points at them in pictures and says, "name? name?" - and loves to tell me all about his day ("Ehan, no eat bubbles. Ehan watch Thomas da train. Ehan play playdough."). His teachers reported today that he is a great listener, has no problems with sharing (yet!), and is an absolute joy to have in class. I give all the credit to God and am so grateful for his mercies and grace with our parenting! We're so proud of our little boy!

Goodwill + Maternity

Today was a beautiful day! We headed to Town Lake after Ethan's nap for a long long long walk. We were hoping to feed the ducks some crackers, but they were no where around. Maybe they'll be back in the fall. It was so fun for all of us to see all the people enjoying the lake and boating (along with their dogs of course). Ethan loved splashing in the water.

On the way down there, we stopped at what is known as the best Goodwill in town to find name brand clothes. And boy DID I!! I found these Citizen of Humanity maternity jeans for $10!Now while they already look cool in themselves (and they are in perfect condition), please gasp with me as I came home and found out their retail value!
Oh My! I will definitely be returning to that Goodwill! I guess that means I'll have to walk that trail again too while I'm down there...I'm so sore!