New Shoes

You know your son loves his new shoes when he wears them to bed and sleeps all night with them on!
Ethan was whimpering this morning off and on so I decided to go in and check on him. I changed his diaper and when I was taking his Pj's off to change him I noticed that he had 1 shoe on over his pajama's! SO he had slept the whole night with a shoe on over his fleece footie pj's. Of course daddy watched him last night while I was at bible study, so he didn't catch the fact he had a shoe on when he put him to bed.
Ethan LOVES these new shoes. They are a simple slip-on tennis shoe with one velcro strap. We got them at Payless on Monday. His shoes had been fitting snug and whenever I put them on he would whine. I thought he was just being a normal toddler fighting me on getting dressed. However when I got him measured at Stride Rite over the holidays, I realized he was really a size 8 Wide when I had him in size 6's!!!! No wonder! So ever since we got the shoes he has been wearing them ALL the time. I had to finally hide them yesterday because he kept putting them on himself and sometimes on the wrong feet. He LOVES them. I don't know if he really just loves having shoes that fit or if we pumped up the excitement when we were buying them. Here's a picture of his beloved shoe!

Christmas Re-cap

Now that the craziness of Christmas has subsided, I took down the Christmas tree and all the decorations, actually cleaned the house and put ALL of Ethan's new toys away and I feel somewhat organized again. Our apartment has been an absolute wreck. We had 4 separate celebrations and each time we got home I would chuck the gifts on the floor and you literally couldn't walk from one end of the apartment to the other without fear of stepping on a toy and breaking your ankle. Tonight I was in cleaning mode and didn't stop until I felt like everything was somewhat in its right place. The next big project to be completed in the next few days is to transition Ethan's room to a big boy room. We were blessed by some friends of ours with a twin bed and box springs so we are going to attempt to put Ethan in the big boy bed. Which means I need to completely make sure E's room is clean and toddler proofed. Because Lord knows he will be out of that bed and messing with things and right now that would not be good. It makes me excited to see him in this new stage. He seems to be growing so fast. He is now saying small sentences on a daily basis. Like when we say, "Ethan are you my cute boy?!" He replies, "No, I not." Which is his reply for a lot of questions like that. He has also perfected the reply, "No, I don't want it" which usually comes after the question, "Ethan would you like some more vegetables?" He has an excellent memory and can recall people's names and certain events. He is increasing his vocabulary daily. Tonight I was telling him how his Grammy wasn't feeling good and I said her tummy hurt and he repeated everything I said and looked like he genuinely understood. His new thing that I ADORE is him trying to sing 'Jesus loves me' as well as his 'ABC'S'. SOOOO cute. Melts my heart. He is Obsessed with playing basketball. EVERYTHING is basketball right now. Sometimes I want to take the ball and throw it out the window because that is all I hear about. This morning he was shooting baskets with his "b-ball" and he yelled "TOUCHDOWN"! It was so cute! Although of course we had to tell him the proper sport terminology. There is no way that Matt's son won't be properly educated when it comes to sports. He really is a hoot to be around. Now that Christmas craziness has settled down his tantrums have subsided and he is getting back into a routine. Matt and I discovered some pretty important stuff about our son through the holidays that will affect our parenting. We realized that Ethan really doesn't do well with being reprimanded in front of other people. He really gets embarrassed and the situation escalates when we do so. So we will try our best to reprimand him in private. Of course there is a time and a place for discipline, but we want to try to meet him halfway and if we can do so by not making a public spectacle out of him then I feel that will be valuable in the long run. I am glad we noticed this because we truly felt it had an impact on him during all our Christmas gatherings. We knew he didn't like being in trouble, but this tender hearted side of him really opened our eyes. We also realized how shy he really is at first. It takes him a while to warm up to someone but then once he does he is full throttle and the life of the party.
So anyhow, there is a re-cap. I hope to post some pictures soon, I got some cute ones. Next thing i'm looking forward to is New Years Eve with some great friends and GREAT fun!

Family Pictures

Our family has had a great Christmas! We have celebrated with 4 different sets of family. It is always fun to see each other and spend time with everyone. Ethan got stocked up on some great toys! His favorite has to be the small basketball goal my parents got him. He has had a huge obsession with basketball ever since Matt played on a city league and we would go watch his games. We might have a basketball player on our hands. My favorite part of the holiday was having my dad read the Christmas story out of the bible. What an sweet time it was for us all to be still and quiet and listen about how Jesus came to this world!
The day after Christmas we went with my whole family to get some portraits done. Ethan did not cooperate at all! He screamed and did not want to sit. Somehow the girl (who was referred to us by a friend) got the few times Ethan cracked a smile. I was amazed to see that some actually turned out! Here is one of my favorite pictures out of the bunch! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from my family to yours! I won't be posting again before Christmas unless it is urgent. Urgent meaning an adorable picture or funny story to tell. So until next time... Love you all!!!

Photo Tag

*Open the fourth picture folder on your computer
*Post the fourth picture in that folder
*Explain the picture
*Tag four more people

Aw, I love this picture! This picture was taken at Camp Willow Run this past Summer when Matt was the camp speaker. This was the first day we were there. What a fun picture, because these are my boys that I LOVE so much!
I tag Jen Joyner, Erin, Grammy, and Amanda

Kisser

Our little one has to kiss EVERYTHING...including the vacuum when we are putting it away. So of course he thought the Christmas tree needed some love! MUAH!

Christmas Tag

I've been tagged by my mom to do this Christmas Questionnaire.

Favorite Tree: Has to be this year since it is our first real tree!
Favorite Ornament: "Our first Christmas" ornament when Matt and I got married.
Favorite Christmas Song: "O Holy Night" Martina McBride version
Favorite Tradition: Opening one gift on Christmas eve
Favorite Gift: Too hard of a question to answer...but I love how my mom always buys everyone underwear to open on Christmas, what a fun gift to open in front of EVERYONE!
Favorite Christmas Meal: Biscuits & Sausage gravy by Dad
Favorite Cookie: Oreo Balls or a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies
Favorite Place to be: My parents house on Christmas morning
Favorite Christmas Memory: One year I put our stockings on my feet which were red and white striped and they were long and skinny and I passed out the gifts to everyone Christmas morning
Favorite Christmas Movie: ELF

I tag: Courtney, Sheila, and Erin

Recent funnies

This morning during breakfast I asked Ethan if he wanted more bananas, this was his response... "No, I don't want it". Where in the world did that 5 word sentence come from?!! Matt was just saying that he feels that Ethan's talking has really grown the past two weeks. Now I believe it. Then this morning when I was getting ready for work I couldn't find my hairbrush. So I asked the only person who would know. Ethan. I said, "Ethan, where is mommy's hairbrush?!" He looked at me puzzled then looked in our bathroom closet and sang, "Haaaaairbrush, where arrrrre you?!" SO cute! Now that he is feeling better and sleeping better (Praise the LORD!) his little personality is coming back. He has been so happy and funny today. We went and ate lunch with my mom after work this morning and in the car on the way to see her Ethan started clapping and saying "Yay, mammy!" then of course proceeds to ask where Papa, Woof woof, and Ashlyn are. All his favorite people. It is so nice to have my son back. Sickness had overtaken him and I am thrilled to see him his happy loving self again. Last night was our first normal night sleep in almost 3 weeks! He went to bed at 8:30 without a peep and did not wake until 7:00a.m. and when he got up he wasn't crying like he has been, he actually was talking and happy. Yay!
I'm looking forward to our church's Christmas party tomorrow night and more celebrations and gatherings coming as Christmas draws near. I just hope my whole family is healthy so that we can spend it together!!

More good news and praises: Little baby Ava that I told you about that was in the NICU is doing so much better. Her lung that was collapsed is now re-inflated and she is doing well!

He cares

Our family has been consumed lately by lack of sleep and sickness. A couple at our church just had a baby girl. The baby has been in the NICU since she's been born and it has been touch and go. People are losing their jobs at a rapid rate. Some of these are way bigger issues than others. But, we have a God who cares about them all. This morning when a prayer request was sent out about Roxanne and Keith's new baby girl who isn't doing well, all our sleeping problems and sickness seemed so small in the grand scheme. And while yes it is small, it is comforting that God knows and cares about all our needs. I am praying for little Ava Grace that she will gain strength and will come home soon.
We took Ethan to the doctor again this morning because of his sleeping issues. We weren't sure if had an ear infection or what the deal was. He was up for 2 hours straight last night crying and then woke up several times afterwards. Matt and I are just exhausted because of being sick ourselves and then not knowing what to do about Ethan. Well he didn't have an ear infection, but his throat is red and his voice is still hoarse because of all the congestion. She gave us some sample medicine's that are decongestants that also have an antihistamine in it. So hopefully it will help him sleep better and we can knock this sickness out and the sleeping issues too. It's amazing how something so small as this can be so consuming to us. He's been way worse with sickness before, but this has really taken a toll on us. When he was crying for so long last night, Matt finally just got up and sat on the couch with the laptop. I came out into the living room as well and just sat on the couch and prayed and cried. When nothing you seem to do will console your child, it is SO draining. Emotionally, physically, and mentally.
It is so comforting to know that God is there and He does care and love us so much. So many people blame God for things in this world. While I don't understand the reasons behind it all, I trust and know that bad things can be used for good. There are people in my life that reflect this. How can a couple I know who lost their daughter at a young age say that they knew it was God's plan and while yes it was very hard and they will never forget the day she passed. They know that people's lives are being affected and that they have a peace that surpasses all understanding. They trust that what seems to be such a dark situation has a silver lining and can be used for good. While losing a child and being sick and tired are such opposite side of the spectrum, my point is that God loves you and cares about anything that is going on in your life. No matter how big or how small. What is huge in your life may be small to someone else's eyes and vise verso. Cast your burdens on Him, for He cares for you!

12 Things I love about Christmas time

1. Spending extended time with family & friends
2. Eating a lot of yummy food
3. Giving gifts
4. Getting gifts (I would be lying if I said I didn't like it)
5. Snuggling in a warm bed
6. An excuse to get Starbucks
7. All the pretty lights and decorations
8. Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ
9. Christmas parties where you partake in #1 and #2 on this list
10. Possible snow to play in
11. Reflecting on life and its meaning
12. All the smells- food baking, Christmas trees, crisp air

HUGE Victory!

So I just wrote the last post earlier today and tonight we had a HUGE victory! Praise the Lord! I took Ethan into his room for bedtime. He asked to sit in the chair, thinking I would hold him and rock him. I said, Ok, we'll sit in the chair for prayers. So we said our night prayer and I stood up to put him in his crib. He started whining and asking for his daddy, which he had just said goodnight to. I sang him 2 songs and laid him down and he laid right down and didn't make a peep!!!!! The whole past week anytime I would lay him down he would jump right back up and start screaming. This is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!! Even if he wakes up tonight or struggles some more, I am so glad for this tonight. That means we are heading in the right direction and doing something right! YAY! Matt's exams are over and we are starting to feel better, so hooray!

My life with a newborn

I have a 22 month old boy, but it feels like I have a newborn all over again. His sickness is mostly gone, however because I had to hold him when he had the croup so bad, all he wants to do is be held in the night. That has been making for very long and sleepless nights. It has been very very hard. Especially since Matt and I now have the cold that Ethan had. Add in the fact that Matt has 3 final exams today for Seminary, and we are just exhausted. When my sweet friend Jen Joyner asked me how I was on Sunday I just started bawling. I was not intending to cry, but the emotions and sleepless nights all caught up to me. Thankfully we have great parents and my mom offered to take Ethan for the afternoon so we could rest. We literally walked in the door after church and went straight to bed. I slept from 12:15 until 4:00! Last night was a little better. Ethan cried for an hour when we put him to bed, slept through the night and woke up at 6:00a.m. crying again. Whenever we walk in there he asks, "hold you" or "chair" and points to the glider. Whenever I walk to the crib he starts screaming. He just wants to sleep in our arms. Today's nap got a little better. He only cried for 15 minutes when we put him down. However he woke up after an hour with a poopy and now has spent the past 40 minutes crying. I just could not even imagine having another child while going through this all, especially since unless our living situation drastically changes, our other hypothetical child would be sharing a room with Ethan. So these thoughts of having baby #2 are being put on hold for a bit. PLEASE pray for us. I know this may seem silly and in the grand scheme of things isn't a big deal, but it has been very hard to hear your child cry and scream for hours and know that they just need to get through this phase. I'm sure our neighbors aren't loving it either. But it has to be done. Yay.

Too cute

Now that we have a real Christmas tree, I am so paranoid that it is going to dry out so I am constantly adding water to it. After I watered the tree this morning I went to return the pitcher to the kitchen and when I walked into the living room I saw Ethan had gotten our empty milk jug that was sitting beside the trash can and was trying to water the tree himself. How cute is that?! What a smart little boy!

Little booger

So in one day Ethan shoved my hair clip and his toothbrush down our sink drain. They had to take the pipes apart and remove those items. What a booger! He is definitely a boy in toddler stage!

Victory

We've had 2 major victories in the past 24 hours, I am just so excited! Last night Ethan threw a huge tantrum. While we were reprimanding him for one misbehavior, he blatantly did another and then hit us when we were trying to discipline him. So he went in time out. Well, to make a very long story short, he was in time out for 1 hour and 15 minutes because he was refusing to say sorry for the previous misbehavior's. Now, I know that may seem a little much but we were staying consistent for a couple of reasons. Number 1 even though he isn't feeling well, that is not an excuse for disobedience. We want to instill him that no matter how you're feeling, you still need to obey. Number 2, he was outright refusing to say sorry or say yes ma'am. We kept telling him what he was in time out for and asking him to apologize and with attitude he was refusing. So we know for a fact that he knew exactly what he was doing. At this point it was a power struggle and there was no way he was going to get by with it. Because if we let him get by with it this one time, that sends him the green light that it is ok to do it again in the future. We have a very strong willed child, so we have to be as consistent as possible. So let me tell you, it made for a very fun night. But he eventually in a small little voice said, "sossy" and gave me a hug. It was a very sweet time and we just hugged him and told him how much we love him.
Second victory, Ethan slept completely through the night last night without making a peep! I went to sleep at 10:00p.m. and woke up at 7:00a.m. Can I tell you how much I needed that and how much he needed that?!! I even woke up around 4:00a.m. in a jump and practically ran in his room to see if he was ok. So I feel rejuvenated this morning, however i'm a little stuffy and congested. So i'm hoping i'm not coming down with anything, I needed that tremendously! So i'm hoping that our family gets healthy soon!!

O Christmas Tree!

Tonight we decorated our tree! Like I said before it is our first real tree as a married couple! We've always had my artificial tree from college that looked like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was so pathetic looking. So we were excited when we found out that we were going to be given a real tree! The apartment smells so good and we think it is BEAUTIFUL! Decorating went well. Ethan helped throw on some ornaments... literally. I guess the round silver ball ornaments and a plastic nerf ball are hard to tell apart by a toddler. I got some cute video of him helping us decorate. He is also attempting to say Merry Christmas. SO cute! He did real well despite not feeling well. We debated on waiting until he went to bed to decorate, but we wanted him to be a part of it, crankyness and all! Thanks for all your prayers for his health, I sure hope he gets better soon! Merry Christmas!!! This picture was the best we could do on our own in front of the tree. It took several attempts and Ethan's head still got cut off, ha ha! Now i'm off to bed early in case this night goes anything like it did last night.

Update

Last night was not good. I didn't get any sleep. Ethan was up all night. We tried sleeping anywhere we could sit... the couch, his glider, his crib, our bed. Not fun. The good news is he is breathing better but still has no voice. Today he had diahrea but that is because he hasn't eaten anything the past 2 days, only drinks milk & water. Today is a real turning point because he actually ate some of his lunch. I am hoping and praying that last night was the worst of it and now we are on the way up! I would really like to sleep tonight.

There's nothing like it

There is nothing like hearing your baby make a noise in his sleep then cry, then when you walk in his room you immediately smell the acidic smell of vomit...when you turn on the light finding him covered in vomit...when you pick him up he vomits on you...when you take him in the bathroom to clean him up he vomits on you and the towel you're holding... Nope, nothing like it. Well at least we're all cleaned up now and he's back in bed. Here's hoping for a good night...

The Croup

Ethan has the croup. We had a rough night last night. Almost took him to the ER because of his breathing but decided to wait until morning when he could go to his pediatrician's office. We knew it wasn't life or death, but knew that he wasn't doing well. This morning I called his pediatrician's office phone line to listen to the business hours. I thought that they opened at 8:00. So I get the voicemail confirming that "hours of operation are from 8:00a.m. until 5:00 p.m."! I pull up to the Dr. and i'm about 15 minutes early. So I sit in the car with Ethan until 5 minutes til' 8:00. I decided to go up and see if the door was unlocked. It was! The receptionist however gives me a look like, "what the heck are you doing here?!" and I told her that I didn't have an appointment so I wanted to get there early to see if they could work him in their schedule. Well, they don't "open" until 8:30! She gets there at 8:00 to start answering phones, but they didn't even have doctors there yet!! So why in the world do they say that the hours of operation are from 8:00 until 5:00! (Granted I know in the big scheme of things that really isn't a big deal, but when you are up all night with your sick child who is having trouble breathing and you find out that you need to go waste 30 minutes, it doesn't really make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!) SO, I decided to drive to Starbucks. This one didn't have a drive through, so I had to take Ethan out and go inside. I ordered and the barista was trying to say hi to Ethan and get him to smile, but he just lay his head on my shoulder. He must have looked real pathetic because when I was walking away they gave him a big chocolate chip cookie! So anyhow, back to the pediatrician's office we went. I wanted to make sure that his lungs were ok, that was my main reason for taking him in. Well he has the croup which resides in your voice box and larynx. Which explains the fact that he has completely lost his voice and his cough makes a real bad barking sound. She said he sounded pretty bad and was concerned about his breathing so she gave him a dose of steroids in the office to get him started to reduce the inflammation and make it easier to breath. She wrote him a 5 day prescription which they normally give a 3 to 4 day prescription for. We really have to watch him in the night because that is when it gets worse and he could wind up in the ER if his breathing becomes bad. He has had the croup before but not near this bad. So baby boy is taking it easy. He is completely of "schedule" because he is sleeping a lot. I am taking advantage of his napping and have completely cleaned the apartment, mopped, vacuumed and everything! I moved our big chair into his play area because we are going to put our Christmas tree up by our front window. So it has been a productive day despite my poor sickie. I just pray our family gets healthy because my brother and his wife and girls are all sick too! We didn't even get to see them for Thanksgiving because they are so sick. I guess we can hope they all get it out of their system so we are all happy and healthy for CHRISTMAS!
p.s. A little blessing hidden in all of this is that Ethan's doctor visit was free because of a credit to his account! I love how the Lord orchestrates a blessing in the midst of a trial to show you His love and let you know that you are not alone!

Sick

Well my precious baby boy is sick! He's had a relatively high fever the past 2 days and has lost his voice. He doesn't cough much but when he does it is the horrible croup cough that makes him sound like a sea lion. No fun. He just wants his mama to hold him and he is sleeping a lot. It's always so hard when you see your child so sick and acting pathetic. Pray he gets better soon!
I'm in Christmas mode and can't wait to get our tree up! I just bought a tree stand today. This is our first real tree as a married couple. A couple from our church is selling trees to help fund their adoption from Russia. Someone bought a tree from them and told them to give it to someone and they asked us if we wanted it! How awesome! Matt and I were talking about how we wanted to get a real tree but couldn't afford one, what a blessing! Another blessing is that I am COMPLETELY done with all my Christmas shopping. I have been shopping Friday, Saturday, and today. Taking advantage of sales and reward bucks I earned! Most of it is already wrapped, so i'm on my game! Maybe now i'll actually get my Christmas cards out this year. I have never sent out Christmas cards before, but have bought them the past 2 years, ha. I have no excuse now, I need to get them out this year! Off to cuddle my youngin'!

Black Friday and an interesting gift idea!

So my mom and I were amongst the crazy's out shopping this morning. Although we didn't arrive at Kohls when they opened at 4:00, we made it there by 4:30a.m.! Every Thanksgiving mom and I go out shopping. Although we think we are insane for waking up so early and are exhausted by 10:00 a.m. (yes, I said 10:00 A.M!) we thoroughly enjoy this time together. This morning we hit up Kohl's then headed to Target and of course got some Starbucks in between. We then went home to eat breakfast with Matt, Ethan and my niece Ashlyn who is here for the weekend. Mom and I took the kids to the mall and we were done by 10:30! I got some great gifts and can't wait to see people's faces when they open them! I LOVE seeing excitement and giving people gifts! Speaking of interesting gifts. Here is a craft idea for those of you who claim to be crafty. Let me know if you end up making one of these ORNAMENTS!

Baby's 1st Hair Cut

Today my precious baby boy got his first hair cut! Ethan is 21 months old and got his first trim. He was practically bald the first year of life and now his hair is really starting to grow. We decided to get a little trim before we get family pictures done this Saturday at the mall. Silly me thought he would sit there just fine and let her cut his hair. Nope. Not even with a lollipop in hand. He cried big ol' crocodile tears and did not want her touching his head. It was a very quick cut and I didn't think she cut much until I looked down on my fleece. Because I was holding him I got his little blonde hair all over me. It pretty much looked like I held a cat and it shed all on the front of me. Ethan cracked me up because he was scowling at everyone in the place. As soon as he got down from the chair he walked over to a man who was sitting with is son and Ethan said, "SHOO!" I told him that we don't shoo people. It just cracked me up. Within 2 minutes he was over it and hamming it up with everyone saying "thank you" and "bye bye"! I am definitely not emotional about it at all, it was just neat to see my little boy growing up and passing another stage in life. I love being a mom.
Now Matt took a few pictures (4 to be exact) but if I would have had the camera I would have taken 100. No exaggeration. So here is a picture of my baby crying as he is getting his first hair cut! I don't know how I managed to get his hair all over me because we both had capes on!

Thanksgiving

I have a busy week ahead of me with eating food, visiting with family, and shopping! I'm not sure if I will get a chance to blog, so I wanted to go ahead and check that off my "to do" list! I pray that you will find a chance to stop and be still in the midst of all the holiday hustle and bustle. Take time reflect and note what you are thankful for. I know I have SO much to be thankful for. I never want to take anyone or anything for granted, although I know I do. I am just so thankful for my husband and son! I pray that we are able to add more children to our family one day. I am so thankful that we have everything that is "essential" to living and so much more. We have a great family, church and work place. Although there is a lot of hurt and pain going on in our world right now, I know that everyone can find at least one thing (if not, more) to be thankful for! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Simple Pleasures

I guess it doesn't take much to make me happy, because I am delighted about a few things that most people would see as "simple". Tonight we have arranged a date night. Well my parents agreed to take Ethan earlier so we could have some of the day to ourselves as well. So I dropped Ethan off at their house around 10:00a.m. Matt and I headed to Sams Club to buy some sweetner for our church coffee. Sams is apparently having a special day where they are serving foods for ideas for Thanksgiving. They had 3 or 4 huge tables set up with free foods like ribs, lamb, quiches, hot wings, meatballs, and more to try. So we went through several lines to snack on some food. We were seriously giddy with excitement. HA! We then proceeded to get our hair cut and buy our digital cable converter box. Matt sent off for the $40 coupon for the converter box and we heard friends of ours already set theirs up and got GREAT channels. We've never had cable as a married couple so we were happy to get some better channels with our rabbit ear antennas! So we picked up our box and headed to get our hair cut. Now, I will try not to sound snobbish, but I just never have liked places like Great Clips. I've always preferred forking out the dough and going to a salon. I just trust them with my hair more. Well because we are trying to save money Matt convinced me to try Great Clips because a hair cut is $13.00 as opposed to my $35! Well to make a long story short, the lady cut my hair and barely dried it and it looked AWFUL! I about had a break down in the parking lot. She cut WAY MORE layers than I wanted. I was so upset. But I kept telling myself, stay calm...wait until you get home and style it again. So we got home, I wet it, dried it and straightened it and IT LOOKS GREAT! I cannot believe the difference. It definitely restored my trust in Great Clips. You can get a decent hair cut for low cost! To finish off our morning we plugged up our converter box and were practically jumping up and down with excitement! We not only have a few more channels than before but they are ALL perfectly clear!! Now Ethan can watch Sesame Street and not be confused as to whether he is seeing cookie monster or elmo because of all the static on the channel! We have just had the best day so far and it's only 2:30!!! HA! Simple pleasures! Tonight we are using a gift card Matt received for his birthday and we are heading to TGIFridays! Then we are stopping by the dollar store and maybe the movies! I'm practically giggling right now, how goofy am I?!
p.s. Tip, the dollar store has wrapping paper and gift bags for only a $1!!! They are super cute and look like ones you would buy at Target. I highly recommend going there to save some money! Also, I stopped by there (the new store that opened in Apex by the Beaver Creek movie theater) a few days ago and bought all my Christmas cards. They were SOOOO cute and a box of 6 cards for only $1, who can beat that?! Check out the Dollar Tree, they have some great stuff!

Happy 400th post!

WOW, Have I really blogged 400 times in the past 3 years?! Crazy!! In honor of my 400th post I thought I would give you the easiest recipe for the yummiest treat! My friend Natalie gave me this recipe almost 2 years ago and I bring it to almost every occasion. I have yet to meet a person that doesn't rave about them!

OREO BALLS

1 8 ounce tub of plain cream cheese (you can use low fat and you cannot tell the difference)
1 package of the original oreos
Chocolate flavored bark coating (Found in the baking section)

* Crush the entire package of oreos. We put them all into a ziploc and use the flat side of a meat mallet to crush them. Some people throw them in a food processor. Doesn't matter how you do it, but you want to crush them into almost a fine powder. (Cream and all!)
* Mix your crushed oreos with 8 oz. of cream cheese. (It will mix up like a thick cake batter) I use my hands to do this. It is so fun to make with children, I make them with my niece and she loves it!
* Melt your baking chocolate, then roll your oreo mixture into balls.
* Dip the oreo balls into the melted chocolate and then place them on a cookie sheet. I cover my cookie sheet with wax paper to keep them from sticking and also it is one less pan to clean.
* Put all the oreo balls into the fridge and let them harden and cool.
*YOU'RE DONE! SOOOOOO easy and SOOOOOO yummy!

Tips: I have used dark chocolate and it is VERY good but milk chocolate will do. You can put the oreo balls into the freezer for a quick freeze and they come out just as good. Also, store them in the fridge after they harden. I usually put mine into a tupperware container for easy access :)
When Natalie gave them to me for the first time she had them in cute inexpensive cellophane Christmas gift bags. Great for gifts at the office for people and for your child's teacher! ENJOY! I know i'll be making a ton over Thanksgiving and Christmas!

Bath time!

Ethan has recently discovered that he can lay on his stomach and "swim" in the bath tub! He loves to do this. Except he has a bad habit of sticking his face down into the water and trying to eat the soap bubbles. He is at such a fun age right now! Minus the temper tanrums. We had to explain to our neighbor that we aren't beating our child, he is just screaming and throwing a tanrum! I can't wait for this phase to pass!

Disappointing, yet trusting

We just found out that a nanny position I was looking into has been retracted. The couple decided to let their parents watch the baby. So we are out the $800 we thought we would be getting every month. It's so hard to understand why things happen. We were looking forward to this money so that we could add maternity coverage and think about adding another baby to our family. While it was hard to hear this today. I was strangely calm and comforted. Matt and I have been praying about this nanny position and ways that our financial needs will be met. Obviously it's not going to happen in the way we thought, so we are going to look expectantly at the way God will choose to provide. We are choosing to trust although sometimes things look bleak and we get discouraged. We know our needs will be met!

Ham

No, I am not blogging and sharing a recipe for cooking a ham. Those of you who know me, understand that cooking is not a skill that I have! I am referring to my precious son who was hamming it up ALL morning. It started at the bank. We went through the "drive through" at the bank and Ethan was waving and yelling "HI" to the woman who was inside helping us. She was in love with how friendly Ethan was being and even called a coworker over to point out my ham. Then as if that wasn't enough, he flashed a big smile and blew her a kiss. I think that probably made her morning! Then in Target he was saying "HI" to EVERYONE. More like yelling it. Everyone that passed got a loving greeting from my son. If they didn't say hello back he would say it even louder. He just made me smile this morning. I think i'll keep my ham and remind myself of these times when he's throwing a tantrum that he has just perfected the art of. We are definitely in the "terrible two's"!

Redesign

So sad. I was messing around with my blog look and I lost my background. I can't find it on the website anymore. So now I definitely HAVE to redesign. If anyone finds the polka dotted background I had, please let me know. I want it back! HA!

Nap time

Well on this rainy cold Friday afternoon you would think I would be relaxed that it is the weekend and ready to spend time with my family and unwind. Well, that is not the case. It is 4:00 and I am just now sitting down and that is because it took my son 2.5 hours to fall asleep for his nap! He was just talking, laughing, playing, jumping, throwing everything out of his crib. I try to ignore him, but I just can't fully relax or breathe until I know he is asleep. He hasn't gone #2 in 2 days so I was constantly running in there to see if he messed his diaper, thinking maybe that is the reason for his wakefulness. There was no such luck. He apparently just got a second wind and was ready to play. I am texting my husband during all this and he isn't answering his calls. I text a friend who is supposed to be with my husband and he isn't answering. I e-mail my husband at his work e-mail and I am hearing nothing from him. So the whole time this thing is going on with Ethan, I am wondering if something is wrong with my husband. Did he get in a wreck on his way to work after lunch out in all this rain.
No wonder women get gray hair early. It's not easy being a mom or a wife. Taking care of your kids and husband. Making sure they are comfortable, all their needs are met and well loved. Moms, and women in general, do a whole lot more than they will ever get credit for. It's not about the credit though, is it. (Although a little is nice sometimes) Because as soon as my precious son wakes from his nap and gives me that smile that melts my heart, all those 2.5 hours of frustration will diminish. As soon as I heard from my husband and knew he was safe, the worry went away. I love and adore my family. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I am ready to add to our family and I pray that the Lord will bless us with more children. More children will cause more worry, but the joy and love that it brings will far outweigh any stress that is added.
I am just so thankful that I am able to stay-at-home with my babies. Believe me, if we can do it, anyone can do it. If you have the desire to stay home and aren't sure how ends will be met please pray about it and trust that God will provide your needs. You may not have a house or a new nice car or other material possessions that you desire. You will have to sacrifice some things and time, but it can be done. Sometimes I complain that we don't have a house. Get envious of other's possessions. But then I am quickly reminded of God's faithfulness to meet our needs. Quickly reminded of that desperate plea of a prayer that I said when Ethan was born, "Lord, if you just meet our needs, I will be happy with wherever we live. I will live in an apartment the rest of my life if I can stay home with my son!" All that matters to me is taking care of my family. Some people ask about my college degree and if I will go back to work. Yes, I plan on it. I love teaching and have a passion for kids. But my first priority right now is my son and any other children that we may have. My career can wait, but I only get one shot at spending time and raising my children.
So for all you women out there who are mom's or not. Who stay at home with your children or work, know that you are loved and appreciated. Know that even when things seem to go unnoticed or you are stressed and barely making ends meet, financially or in other ways, you are beautiful. The Lord sees you and your efforts and the desires of your heart. If you commit to Him your plans, you will succeed.

Fall Photos & date update

I just got a CD full of CUTE pictures that my friend Amanda took. I LOVE them, they turned out really good! Of course I can't post them all on here, but I will put some on Facebook for those of you that have it. This one is one of my favorites. Amanda is very talented so I highly recommend her if you want some pictures of your kiddos! I'm in heaven. Thinking of all the ones I want to print and some I want to get blown up to put up as art in our apartment. It's like it's Christmas for me. HA! THANKS AMANDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
p.s. I forgot to mention my daddy date that I had this past Monday. We had a great time with my dad (Papa). He of course spoiled Ethan and me. It was fun to have some time with my dad one on one. We did a lot of Christmas shopping at ToysRUs, Target, and the mall. He even treated me to a Starbucks! The way my dad shows his love is by either making yummy food or buying toys. You know we are loved because my whole family is chunky and has a lot of toys, HA! It's a good thing my mom has a budget for him because there is no limit when it comes to spoiling his kids and grandkids. My dad is a very special man who would do anything for his family. I am so glad that Ethan gets to see him so much and have a good relationship with him. We love you, Papa!!!

I feel like so much has been happening lately. Our lives are constantly on the go. But when I sit down to write about it, my mind goes blank.

Ethan is making us laugh on a daily basis. He is so funny! He is also testing us on a daily basis which is so hard. Sometimes we just want to ignore him and let him get away with misbehavior, but we are standing firm! A couple of weekends ago I had a 15 minute stand off with him at church. I was setting up the kid's rooms at church and Ethan hit me for some reason. So I sat him in timeout. I simply asked him to say sorry when he was getting up and with attitude he looked at me and said, "NO!" so we had a stand off with him refusing to say sorry. It wasn't that I wanted him to say it so badly, it was the fact that he had such bad attitude and knowingly was resisting. It became a power struggle to him. So I knew if I backed down then he would feel he could get away with something similar in the future. So he was SCREAMING and it was echoing throughout the halls of our church. Fun times. I know there will be many more of those, but I was happy that I was consistent even though it was hard.

His latest obsession is "dip dip". He wants to put ketchup on EVERYTHING. He dipped his strawberries and oranges in it the other day. Every time he has chicken nuggets he asks for "dip dip"! He will also just dip his fingers in it and licks it off. It makes for a real messy meal!

Another latest and greatest from him is his daily request for people. He runs through a list of people, sometimes multiple times a day. He is even remembering his buddies from church, like "Ry Ry" and "Nate"! Of course the list always includes his favorites, "Papa, Mammy, Memaw, Granddaddy, Dee, Jacks, Michael, Ki Ki (Courtney), Ben, Abby, and Brat (Brad)" It's so funny how he picks certain people and names out and remembers them and asks about them. And they are all at "work" according to him. So funny. Matt and I are absolutely loving being parents and wouldn't trade it for the world. We love snuggling with our boy and love sitting on the couch together and watch him dance and jump around the living room. We have even gotten Ethan in on some of our silly games we play. It is also fun to see him love going to church and asking to pray. He loves to pray and it so precious. He bows his head, jibber jabbers for a minute and then says, "MEN" for AMEN! SO cute!

Well I could bore you with other stories, but I won't for now. I am trying to get back into running but it has been so hard with self discipline. Matt is so busy with school, work, and church. Thankfully flag football is over but he still has several more basketball games. I enjoy it when things slow down, but then I get bored and wish we were more active. I can tell you one thing, I am VERY ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. These next few months are such a fun time of year.

My cute dates

Last night Matt and I had a date night out. He was able to get Carolina Hurricanes tickets for REAL cheap through where he works. Granddaddy and Dee were able to come over and watch our little one. We had a great time together and the Canes even won. We almost saw a fight, not between hockey players though, but 2 guys behind us almost got into it because one knocked the others' beer over. Yikes. Other than that it was a great night with my hubby!

This morning we had a family date for breakfast. I made M&M pancakes and bacon for breakfast, as well as orange juice. Ethan ate all his pancake and bacon. He loves dipping both into his syrup. We even gave him a sippy cup with orange juice in it and he LOVED that. It was a great family time around the table.

This weekend is actually a low key weekend for our family. We'll be watching football all day today and Matt has a huge Hebrew exam on Monday so he'll be studying a lot. Ethan and I are looking forward to a date with my daddy (Papa) on Monday. He is taking the day off from work to do some early Christmas shopping with my mom but Ethan and I get to spend the morning with him and we are excited!

Hoping to get my fall pictures soon from Amanda (hint hint). She really has a gift of taking pictures and I can't wait to see them and share.

MIA

I've sorta been MIA the past few days. I haven't been feeling well at all and i've been laying low. I realized that i've barely taken any pictures the past few months compared to this past summer. I was uploading pictures like it was my job in June and July and I haven't had near as many the past few months because things have sort of slowed down. We had a fall photo shoot with Ethan and my friend Amanda took all the pictures the other day. She said they turned out great, I can't wait to see them. Of course i'll be posting some of those soon. I just can't believe that Thanksgiving is this month and Christmas is just around the corner. I feel like this past year just flew by. I really cannot believe that my baby boy will be turning 2 years old in a few months. That just doesn't even seem possible. I am thinking of transitioning him to a big boy bed here soon. Some great friends of our are giving us a twin mattress and box springs. (What a blessing!) He isn't crawling out of his crib yet, but he's definitely out growing it. If he knew how to crawl out, he could do it in a heart beat. Well I don't have anything all that exciting to post about. Just that with the holiday season coming up and winter blowing in, I am sure we'll be taking more pictures. I am praying that we get snow this winter. I cannot wait for Ethan to use a little sled I bought him at a consignment sale a year ago! (We didn't have snow last winter to use it!)

Election Night

Most television stations are filled with the news of polls and election results coming in. My hubby has been glued to his laptop for the past few hours, awaiting the results of this years' presidential election. We both voted and appreciate those who did so as well. Most blogs and news stories have been about the election the past several weeks and even months. I feel that so many people over-give their opinion, that I didn't want to post mine. But here are a few of my thoughts. Most of my decision on the presidential election I am basing on moral grounds. I know both candidates are not perfect and I trust and know that God already knows the outcome. I just pray that no matter who is in office that they will seek the council of God. One thing I am very passionate about is that I am extremely against the name calling and bashing of people. I am frustrated with what this process has done to people. It is amazing that something so small like our tongue can be so powerful in the words we say. So I just hope that no matter who "wins" tonight that everyone will have respect for whoever is next in office. Our world is in very scary and unstable times. It's easy to cast blame on others. But we all need to take responsibility for our actions and how they influence others as well. I know this sounds so cheesy and cliche, but we need to BE the change that we want. How are we ever going to influence others in a positive way if we aren't living it out ourselves. We also need to PRAY. Pray for our nation, its leaders and the responsibility of us as citizens. We have been a VERY blessed nation, but we don't need to take ANY credit ourselves. Praise GOD for our blessings and just hope that He continues to bless our country so that we can be a blessing to others. Hope this all made sense.

Potty training

I've never been so confused about something in parenting YET as potty training. My child is so hard to read. We have tried (when I say tried, I mean it was no more than a day worth of "trying") potty training. This morning Ethan randomly came into the bathroom and said, "pee pee" then he grabbed his potty seat and he went pee pee. Then he proceeded to do that 2 more times today. What in the world?!! I just don't know when to officially start and if he's ready and whatnot. IF we do it, do we just take a week or more or less (I know nothing about this process) and try it hard core? I still don't think we can reason with him about making a goal to keep his pull up dry. But everything else shows that he's ready. So I don't know. More confusion. Any thoughts, tips, advice, warnings, comments, questions, concerns... you get the hint... are more than welcome. I know he's "early and still young" but Ethan has done most things earlier in his life than his peers so maybe i'm just making an excuse for him. Potty woes. I know it won't stop here.

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween! The pictures posted in reverse order, but you get the idea! Here is a picture adventure of my little frog.

Trick or Treating in style with cousin Jackson
"Hello pumpkin!"

Fun games at "school"

So cute.

He just makes me smile

Today Ethan and I ventured to Target. I stopped by the restrooms before our shopping adventure. He was in the stall with me and after I finished he waved to the toilet and yelled, "bye bye pee pee" and blew a kiss. I just had to laugh. What a silly boy. Thankfully he didn't try to kiss the actual toilet because I would have had to baptize him in a bottle of sanitizer!

Melting pot of thoughts

This is a melting pot post because there are so many different things I wanted to write about.
First one being that I LOVE being a mommy. Ethan is just at a really fun stage right now. He is so cute! His favorite thing right now is to listen to "Wheels on the bus" on a toddler veggie tales cd. He will ask to listen to it at least 50 times a day. (No exaggeration!)
He has also developed a love/lust for peas. He will eat all of them first out of his mixed veggies. Then he eats the carrots, then all the green beans and saves the corn for last. What a goober. I started making him peas only because he loves them so much! I will always capitalize on a vegetable obsession from him!
Another recent thing that cracks me up is that he has started coupling the words "thank you" and "your welcome". So now when he asks for juice he will say, "thank you welcome!" He also says "please" with such passion. The more he wants something, the more passion he puts into saying it. He has really started putting words together to form small sentences. "Daddy work". He runs through a list of people he loves on a daily basis asking me where they are. "where... granddaddy, dee, mike, jacks, ki ki (courtney), papa, mammy, woof woof (papa's dog)" then he ends with "work". Because all of those people must be at work if they aren't with him! He's so silly.
Ever since I was out of town for our women's retreat he has been in love with his daddy. Yesterday he fell and started crying and asked for daddy. Matt is loving this because Ethan has always been a mama's boy.
Ethan's not-so-fun recent obsessions are hitting and saying "no". This morning in his class where I work he said, "hit" then hit someone. I talked with them about this behavior and told them to not tolerate it at all. So they sat him in time out. He didn't do it the rest of the morning. He doesn't hit hard or maliciously he just informs you that he's going to hit and then does it. I really cannot wait for this phase to pass! We are being as consistent as we can with him. Saying "no" has gotten a little bit better but my little smart alec will say "no" then when I tell him that "we do not tell mommy no" he will look at me and then mouth the word and not actually say it! Can you believe that??!!! Wow, he is just like his mama. Matt and I know that we have to keep a tight rein on our precious little boy because he is a stubborn one!
Anyhow, in other fun news I just started a new bible study. It is Beth Moore's most recent called Stepping Up. So far I just did day 1, but I am already SO excited about learning about the Psalms of Ascent and growing closer to the Lord. I do not want to idolize Beth Moore herself in any way. But I am so encouraged by her passion and love for God and His word. She has a way of writing studies for women that just challenge and strengthen us. I hope I walk away from this changed. If you have any questions about what it means to follow Christ and live for God, PLEASE leave me a comment and I would love to talk to you about it. If you are a woman in the Raleigh area and are interested in joining this study, PLEASE let me know. You do not need to go to my church just to do this study. It is open to you!
Anyhow, I hope to post a cute picture soon that I took. I took it last week before we were leaving for "school" and he actually looked at the camera and with a big smile said, "cheese"! So I snapped one. I'll post it soon. Happy Fall!!!

I'm back!

I am back from the women's retreat and I had a blast! It was so great to be away from distractions of the world where we can come together as women and study God's word and have fun! This morning when I woke up I barely had a voice, not because I am sick but because I laughed and talked so much that I actually almost lost my voice! Although I had a great time, it was definitely nice to be back home with my family. I missed my little boy and hubby so much and boy did I sleep good last night! There's just something about your own bed that is so comforting and peaceful!
Here's the answer to the trivia question from the post before. How many monitors make up the entire Wheel of Fortune puzzle board. 52! My friend Elizabeth got it right! The rows go 12, 14, 14, and 12. Go ahead and write it down in your notebook of random useless information, ha!

Trivia

Here is a little trivia question to tide you over while I am out of town for our churchs' women's retreat. Maybe this will produce some comments on my blog, because I haven't been feeling the love lately. (sniff, sniff)
In the TV show Wheel of Fortune, how many letter spaces make up the huge display puzzle? Phrased another way, how many monitors could Vanna potentially touch to reveal a puzzle. (If you watched the show the other night, then you know the answer to this!) Just leave a comment with your guess and i'll reveal the answer Sunday night!

I won!

So remember that race I blogged about that was a few weekends ago. The 5K that I came in 3rd in (3rd from last place)! Well everyone that entered the race got put into a drawing to win a 4 month free membership to the Aquatics and Fitness Center. Guess who won?! ME!!!! I never win anything! Who'da thought that you could come in almost last place, but end up winning! YAY! I'm going to run/walk in races more often.

Recent fun

Before I reminisce on the past few days of fun, let me tell you a quick story. So, I went to use our video camera a few months ago and it was completely dead. I tried to charge it but I was getting nothing. I was very upset thinking that the camera was broke. Today I was telling Matt that I would like to get the camera fixed before the holidays. Matt decided to take one last look at it before we took it to a store and boy am I glad he did. He discovered that I had a complete blonde moment (no offense to my blondie friends)! I was putting the charger into the wrong outlet in the camera, I was plugging it into the AV/Output hole. What a dope! Of course it was dead and won't charge if you're not plugging it into the right place. DUH!
Anyhow, off to my recent fun.
Matt's old college roomate and his wife and daughter all came up to spend Monday night with us because Tuesday Danny and his wife were going to a conference all day. So I would be watching their daughter, Rhyan. (Boy did that give me insight into having 2 kids- but i'll save that for another post!) So I watched Rhyan all day Tuesday and boy did Ethan and her have a BLAST! They are less than a month apart and Ethan was following her everywhere. Sharing his toys and food and even his beloved puppies! For those of you that don't know he sleeps with 2 puppies and they are his loveys. He kept calling Rhyan, Ashlyn which is his cousins name. Even thought I corrected him many many times, he insisted that she was "Ash-in".
Tuesday night before they went home we decided to hit up the NC State Fair. We were given admission and ride tickets as a gift, so all we were going to spend money on was the yummy food! It was also the first time I got to try out my new double stroller. Definitely handy to have but is a lot bigger than our standard stroller. We all enjoyed the animals and we even went on a carousel with the kids. It was a great evening minus the fact that Rhyan got so tired and over stimulated that she had a screaming fit and ended up vomiting in my new stroller and all over herself. Yikes. Overall we had a blast and always enjoy hanging out with Danny & Jess!
Today my little one has been in such a great mood and so much fun. He and his daddy had a blast rolling a toy car across the dining table as I was fixing our lunch. A great American classic : chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. We had a great night as a family being silly and loving on each other. I cherish these times together as I know some weeks are way more hectic than others and with new bible studies starting up soon we won't have any week nights together.
This weekend is our women's retreat and despite the forecasted rain, it will be a BLAST. I am really looking forward to it and i'm so happy my mom will be able to come! More pictures to come I am sure.

Daddy & Ethan having some pre-lunch fun!
Riding the carousel

Ethan and Rhyan having a lunch date!

Candy?!

So, I kinda am doing a little tricking with my son. We call his multi-vitamin "candy". So now when he sees the bottle he begs for "candy"! At his age we can call anything candy and he'll eat it. Is that bad?! HA! I mean honestly, they do look like a sweet tart and taste berry flavored. So what is the definition of candy? Maybe we'll just buy him a couple bottles for halloween! Trick or Treat.

Sentencing (Is that even a real word in itself?)

Ethan is learning to piece words together to form sentences. Today at lunch he was just mr. talkative at our dining table. "Milk...please...more!" and "All gone...pizza." It is so fun to hear him talking more and knowing that he definitely understands us. We are reasoning more with him during discipline. We have officially begun the use of time-out. His spot is near our front door. He knows whats going on when he gets put there. Then we always "talk" about why he was there and hug and kiss before he gets up. I want him to associate discipline with love because that is why we are doing it. Anyhow, he really is growing up before our eyes. It's amazing being a Mommy!

$2.98!!!!

Today I got gas for $2.98! All of you Morrisville, Cary, and Apex readers: the gas station that is in front of Lowes Foods near High House and Davis Drive had cheap cheap gas today! There was a huge line. I just happened to stumble upon it while driving home from Target. So go fill up! I topped off at this same station 2 days ago for $3.14! YAY for cheap gas.

"Uh oh, pop-carn!"

Ethan eating his favorite snack
This is what happens when you walk away for a second! As Ethan said, "Uh oh, pop-carn!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

...27th birthday to my wonderful husband!! We love you so much and are so proud of the man, husband, father, friend, lover, pastor, student, employee, and more that you are!

...20 month birthday to my little boy who is growing up TOO fast!

On the up side

Ethan is finally getting better. After 4 days straight of a pretty high fever he is now feeling better. This morning was the first morning since last Friday that he woke up without a fever. He slept in until 8:30 this morning. I actually had to go in and wake him up because I wanted to make sure he was ok because he was sleeping so late. He woke up smiling and happy. The past few mornings he has just cried and wanted to be held and wouldn't even eat breakfast. This morning was a different story. He was jabbering away while eating cheerios and bananas. While this sickness was far from life threatening, I am so glad to see him feeling better. It is so hard to see your child sick and just whining and crying and wanting to be held 24-7. It's also hard to understand that they are sick, but not letting them get away with misbehavior just because they are sick. He is definitely one that acts out when he isn't feeling well, so that was a bit of a challenge. Anyhow, I hope to post some pictures soon but I need Matt's computer for that since this one is a bit ancient. I'll be posting again soon.

You know your child is sick...

...when they fall asleep while having their temperature taken rectally! Wowsers. Ethan not only fell asleep but he also slept without eating any lunch and took a 4 hour nap! I decided to take him to the doctor because he's had a snotty nose for about a week then developed a fever (102). He is now on an anti-biotic for a sinus infection. So i'll be staying home from church tomorrow. Bummer. I LOVE going to my church every Sunday so i'll definitely be missing out. Say a prayer for Ethan that he will get well quickly!

Great Pumpkin 5K Road Race

Who knew I could finish a race in 3rd place!!! 3rd from LAST person to cross the finish line. HA!
This morning I participated in our community's 5K race. My neighbor, who lives below us, asked me if I would walk it with her. She isn't much of a runner so I said I would walk it with her but we were going to run some of it. WELL, little did we know out of the 60 some people that were in it, we were the ONLY ones walking it. I mean there were some serious runners out there. Marathoners and some tri-athletes. There was 1 other man who finished last and he was 80 years old! I was going to feel like such a loser if even HE lapped us! HA HA! It was a fun morning, but we certainly thought we weren't going to be the only walkers. People were cheering as we were crossing the finish line, "way to go, you did it!" I just wanted to yell out, "We don't need your pity cheers, we were WALKING!" I mean we saw people walking HOME because they finished the race as we were about half way through. It was so funny. Matt decided to come work the race so he was stationed mid-way through and was just laughing as we were walking by. They practically were cleaning up the cones as we were finishing. HA! What a comical morning. After that my neighbor and I decided that we were going to start running together on a weekly basis. I am excited because my running partner is out of commission the next 9 months! So now I have someone to run with and she is a beginner so I don't feel like i'm running with someone who would leave me in the dust.
Another short story about the race...after you finish there are fruit and bagels and stuff for you to eat. I went to get a half of a bagel and was cutting it with a plastic knife. The knife slipped and cut open my finger. I thought it was deep at first because it started bleeding a lot. I was like, If I finished 3rd from last in a race AND need to get stitched because I cut myself with a plastic knife I can officially tatoo the word loser across my forehead. What a morning!

Misbehavior

This morning I spent time with my mom and my niece. We went to a park and then to chick-fil-a for lunch. After we ate lunch we went into the play area so Ashlyn and Ethan could play. This is the first time I let Ethan go up into the play area all by himself. He did so great! He LOVED playing like a big kid. When we first got in there Ethan went way up into the play area and was getting ready to go down the slide. When I saw a little girl (about 5 years old) and her younger sister go barreling through the play zone. I saw this girl go up to Ethan and say, "GO!" and pushed him down near the entrance of the slide. I yelled up there, "Excuse me, please do not push!" She said ok and it was over. I was apalled that some older girl who clearly knows how to interact with younger kids would push a small child. Especially when he could have fallen down the slide. I was livid. Her parents weren't in the play area, of course, but I sure didn't mind reprimanding her. Then towards the end of our time playing I saw Ethan push another little boy. You better believe I climbed up in that play place and yanked him out. I DO NOT tolerate misbehavior like that. I believe that Matt and I have been pretty consistent, but today made me want to buckle down on him even more. I know "kids will be kids" and "he's an active boy", and "he's still young." But that is NO excuse, we will do our best to raise a child that is respectful and knows right from wrong and will hopefully choose right. Although I am not expecting perfection. Sometimes I get overwhelmed with the task of shaping my child into who he will be as an adult. Praise the Lord I don't have to go through it alone... I have my wonderful husband who is a tremendous father and I have the Lord. I just pray my friends and family will support us in raising a child who respects and loves others, and most of all who will grow up loving God!

Health Intervention

We need to pull a health intervention for my husband. I forgot to mention that on the way to the zoo yesterday Matt pulls out his "breakfast" that he grabbed from the apartment. It consisted of a Sunkist and a rice crispy treat. What in the world?! He may be thin and athletic but I know his arteries are probably screaming!

Zoo

Today our family got to go to the zoo! (It pays to do your parent's yard work...literally!) It was a gorgeous day and Matt was out of class for the day because of Fall break. The zoo was practically empty and it was SO nice to not have to fight millions of kids and people to see the animals. Ethan is getting to where he really looks and enjoys the animals...however he protested to being put in the stroller. Mr. Independent wanted to walk everywhere and at his rate we would still be at the zoo! We enjoyed our family date, now on to some of the highlights.

Sitting in a helicopter at the new Elephant exhibit
Riding the tram, or "choo choo"!
Looking at the sea lions...he actually kissed the glass trying to kiss them!
Sliding down the slide in the kids play zone
Watching the otters sleep
Daddy & E looking at the bison or "doggies" as Ethan called them
We saw the grizzly up close and personal...he was taking a bath, look at those massive claws!

Bridge Family Fun Day

Saturday afternoon we had our event and the park. It was a huge success. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, Rita's Italian ice, mini-golf, and an inflatable bounce house. Tons of people came out because it was such a beautiful day. I do have to say my husband did a great job planning it. And we also have wonderful people at our church that love to serve and are very family oriented. We are blessed to be in such a great community.
Ethan had a blast yesterday. At first he wasn't sure about the bounce house. But by the end of the day we couldn't keep him out of it. He loved going through the obstacle course with Granddaddy. I also realized yesterday how much my son has a love for running. He was running all over the soccer field and I must say he is fast too! I took a lot of pictures, but I didn't realize until the end that most of them are blurry because I had a finger print on the lens of my camera. So here are some good ones...

Obstacle course with Granddaddy
Getting ready to go down the slide with Riley
Ethan really wanted to hold Keegan
Playing golf...or should I say stealing people's balls and putting them in the holes.
Bouncin'!
Me and Ethan getting ready to go down the slide
Peek-a-boo!

Saturday morning

All growing up my dad would make a big breakfast for our family on the weekends. We would have pancakes & bacon or biscuits & gravy. Every now and then when we have a free morning I will try to make pancakes & bacon for Matt and I, to pass on the family tradition. This morning was the first time Ethan actually ate with us and ate what we ate. Matt always likes his pancakes plain but I like to throw a few chocolate chips in mine. This morning all we had were M&M's, but they did just fine! Ethan was a bit confused as to why the M&M's were IN the pancakes, but as soon as he figured it out, he chowed down. While we were eating Ethan decided that his favorite part of breakfast was dipping his bacon into syrup and eating it! He ate more bacon and syrup than pancakes! It was a great morning in our household! (Ethan didn't wake up until 7:15 too!) This afternoon we have a huge family event with our church at a local community park. It is GORGEOUS outside, so it should be a great day. More pictures of that to come!

"WHY are the M&M's IN the pancakes?!"
"Yummy, this is good!" OR maybe he's thinking "Mom, are you REALLY going to take a picture of me eating breakfast?!"
Dippin' bacon in the syrup.

p.s. "Check out my cousin's website with cool pictures and a video of us having so much fun together."

Sleeping woes

This week has been such an abnormal week for my wee little one. He has been waking up at 5:00a.m. and 6:00 and has been wide awake. Ethan usually wakes up around 8:00, so this is a little out of character. Today has been HORRIBLE as far as sleep goes. This morning he decided to wake up before Matt (4:50a.m.) and stayed awake for 2 hours, jabbering and fussing towards the end of his wakefulness. Eventually he fell back asleep around 7:15 and slept until 8:15. I am such a light sleeper that I basically laid in bed for 2 hours listening to him. WELL, this afternoon I put him down a little before 1:00p.m. for his afternoon nap. It is now 3:20 and he has yet to fall asleep. I shouldn't be stressed or bothered too badly because he hasn't cried or fussed but he is WIDE awake. Just jabbering, playing, talking, and laughing. He almost took off his whole bumper. Normal people could maybe just ignore him, but I can't. I just sit here thinking, "why isn't he falling asleep...when will he fall asleep....will he fall asleep....we have a birthday thing to go to tonight, will he be cranky now...how will this affect his night sleep!" As I am sitting here typing, this is what I hear: "night, night....b-ball....mee maw....puppy....pass.....juice....milk.....hi...
....b-ball....shoo shoo, buggy.....night night....mommy....night night....mommy....b-ball ....meeee maw...." and on and on and ON. I guess I am going to get him up. I mean he has been in his crib almost 3 hours, if he hasn't fallen asleep by now, I guess he isn't going to. And even if he were, then that might affect how he sleeps tonight. Good gracious. I thought I was done with sleeping issues when he first started sleeping through the night at 9 weeks old. Why is it that the little things in life stress me out the most?! Maybe because I can't control it and that bothers me, who knows. Off to go get him up...

"go pee pee"

So I know I am posting twice in one day, but this is too good to pass up. You may know I posted a week or so ago about us trying potty training with Ethan. He kept telling us when he would "poo poo". While we thought he was too young we went ahead and tried it. He did great, but wasn't telling us he had to go at all. We assumed he was too young and cognitively wasn't ready so we stopped after 2 days. Well guess what the little booger did today out of no where? After his nap he walked up to me and said, "go pee pee". I looked at him in shock and said, "pee, pee you need to go pee pee". And he proceeded to walk to the bathroom. So I went in there and sat him on it and he went pee pee and had a dry diaper. About an hour or so later he said, "pee pee". So we went in again, his diaper was still dry and he went pee pee. What in the world?!!! Is he ready now? I am so at loss as to what to do because he is still pretty young. He turns 20 months on the 16th of this month. So any ideas or suggestions?! Should we really do this afterall?

"School"

Today was Ethan's first day coming with me to the Y. I now work there 3 mornings a week. I worked it out so that I could be in the same room with him in the beginning because I wasn't sure how he would do since he has been home with me from birth. We walked in this morning and he acted like he owned the place. No worries at all. I walked out of the room several times and he didn't care one bit. So I told them I was going to work in another room with the babies because he was doing so well. He did great the whole morning! I was so relieved. When we were driving home I said "yay for school!" and told him we would be there tomorrow and was asking him how his day was. (Even though I know he can't fully carry on a conversation with me) A few minutes later he started clapping and was going "yay 'cool, yay 'cool"! I am so glad he loved his first day at "school"!

"Pop-carn"

Ethan has a love for popcorn (pop-carn)! It is a snack that he and daddy sit together and share and he eats it almost as fast as Matt. Today he kept saying "popcarn, popcarn, popcarn"! He saw our Carolina bowl that we specifically use for eating the buttery snack on the counter. I dumped out the left over kernels in the trash can and showed him the empty bowl and said, "Ethan, all gone!" Hoping this would end his demand for "popcarn" I sat down to check my e-mail. Within a few seconds he had gone over to the trash can, popped open the lid, and reached inside and pulled out some and ate it! YUCK!!! As I was reprimanding him for eating out of the trash he looked up at me and just smiled and said "mmmm....popcarn"! He is obsessed.