New Adventures!

We finally arrived in Kansas, where Ethan, Inca, and I are going to spend most of the summer.  Chris drove out here with us, but is leaving Friday for Virginia, so I seized the opportunity to visit my family!  Ethan absolutely loves being around Uncle "T" and Uncle "Vinnet."  Inca loves the backyard, and my parents' puppies love it when she's outside!  (They're not thrilled about sharing the inside of the house with her.)  

Tomorrow Chris, Ethan, and I are heading to the Omaha Doorly Zoo, which is supposed to be really cool!  It's one of the largest in the nation.  I'll be sure to post pictures!    

Fun Party....

Ethan got to go to a really neat birthday party last Friday.  It was a Princess party for Teya, a little girl that he goes to the park with all the time.  (Literally, if we go to a park without Teya, he'll ask the whole time, "Teya coming?  Teya at park today?")  I just had to post the pictures of the cake her mom made (yes, MADE), because it is awesome.  She also had a friend dress up as Cinderella, which all the girls at the party loved!!!  

Isn't that cake amazing?  It definitely tasted as good as it looked, too.

Cinderella was a hit with all the girls, who were all dressed up like princesses.  

Ethan, like the other boys there, weren't quite sure who Cinderella was, but enjoyed attacking the tennis court fence with the magic wands!  

Teya's mom, Happy, also had a great project for the kiddos when they all arrived---they each got to make their own prince or princess crown.  

Ethan was thrilled that Dada was able to come, and insisted on going over to check on the turtles and ducks in the pond every couple of minutes.  

More Easter Egg Hunt Photos

Okay, so I know I just posted pictures from the Easter Egg Hunt, but I just got these and couldn't resist!  There was a photographer there who was sweet enough to take over 300 pictures that morning and then let us all download them free!  How generous!  Anyway, I just had to post these super cute ones! 

All the happy kiddos!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Okay, so it seems to be feast or famine with this blog!  Either I post a lot, or I go months without even remembering about it.  This must be a time of feasting. 

So, today, we went to an Easter egg hunt for playgroup.  One of the girls generously volunteered her backyard for the festivities (thank you, Kyrsten!).  The kids had so much fun finding the eggs filled with candy and toys.  Then, the kiddie pool was filled with water and the kids stripped down to their diapers for some water fun.  We had a great day! 

Ethan finding his first egg; he wasn't quite sure what to do with it.  

Ethan sort of lost interest early when he saw the slide.  There's not much that can compete with his love of slides, not even candy!  

All the kiddos were climbing in the pool when it was empty, so why not fill it up? 

 

Water!! Yeah!!  Ethan felt like the luckiest little boy in the world.  He kept running back and forth laughing and screaming "Water!  Play in water!"

The perfect way to end the morning! 

Caught the Sewing Bug

When I first moved from Hawaii, a year ago, I started making a quilt.  I finished about 3/4 of the quilt in the first month or so, then got busy with other projects and it sat unfinished from February '08 until March '09.  I am proud to say that it is finally finished!  Here's the result: 

Finishing that quilt gave me the sewing bug, so I decided to make Ethan some pajamas.  I got a pattern from the store, but didn't really like the top.  So I decided to make 3 pair of pj shorts and just pair them with a plain white t-shirt.  Ethan got to pick out his favorite material at the store: Thomas the Tank Engine.  

I think he likes them!  

Now I'm wondering what my next sewing project will be.  I'm going to make a quilt for the new baby when I am visiting my mom this summer, but have an itch to make something else before we leave.  Hmm.....

Baby Brother? Baby Sister?

We are so happy to let everyone know Ethan is going to be a big brother in about 7 months!  It'll still be awhile before we know if it's a girl or a boy, as I'm only 8 weeks pregnant, but we're still very excited!

The first time Chris told Ethan that he was going to be a big brother, here's how the conversation went:

Chris: Do you want a baby brother or baby sister?

Ethan: (Emphatically shakes head no) NO.  No Baby.  Baby cries.

Chris: (Blank stare, then bursts out laughing).

I am glad to say that now Ethan has warmed up some to the idea, and will respond that he does want a baby brother or baby sister.  In fact I have figured out how his preference works.  If I ask him if he wants a "baby brother or baby sister," he will say "baby sister."  If I ask him if he wants a "baby sister or baby brother," he will say "baby brother."  Whichever option I give him last is the one he wants at that moment.  For me, I just want a healthy, happy kiddo!  (And preferably a pregnancy with less sickness than last time!)

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Ethan turned 2 years old on March 22nd!  Since his actual birthday was on a Sunday, we celebrated at the park with his friends on Saturday.  Unfortunately, Chris got called out the Wednesday before his party, but luckily his two uncles and my mom were able to be in town for the party.  He had so much fun playing with his friends.  We are fortunate to have made so many great friends during our short stay here in Florida. 

Ethan showing me how he does the hokey-pokey dance.  

Ethan and his Uncle "T" (Tristin), the older of my two younger brothers.  

Ethan opening up all the wonderful gifts he received from his friends. 

Just playing around and enjoying the sun!

The Pinata!  The kiddos all hit it really hard. One of his friends even broke it off of the string, but the pinata wasn't even dented!  Luckily, my good friend Johanna was there.  She ripped the pinata open and all the kids got the goodies inside.  

Thank you so much to everyone who came and shared his special day with us.  

Fire!! Or at least a Fire Station!

We had a super play group last week!  Our good friend from the ward set up a tour of the fire station!  What could be better for a little boy?  Ethan was so excited!  

Our play group in front of the fire engine at Fire Station 50 here in Jacksonville, FL.  

Stand back!  I'm putting out a dangerous fire!  

I'm off to the rescue again!  A little boy's work is never done!  

We're all off to save the day!

 

This was an awesome play group activity!  Thanks so much for putting this together for us all, Happy!  

Kids Say the Darnest Things!

Whenever Chris comes home from being gone for a couple of days, Ethan's new thing is to hug him and say "Love you much," and "Miss you much."  

Well, he has never yet said those words to me, but I just assumed that's because I never leave him (except for the 45 minutes at the gym every morning).

Here's the conversation that happened at dinner the other night---when it was just the two of us:

Ethan:  "Love you much."

Me:  "I love you very much too, Ethan."

Ethan pauses to think, then shakes his head.

Ethan: "No, Dada!  Love Dada much."

Me:  "I know you love Dada and Mommy, huh?"

Ethan: (very emphatically) "Dada!  Love Dada much!"  

I'm still waiting on the "love mommy much," but so glad he loves his dad!!

Now I found the perfect diaper bag....

Okay, as most of you know, I have diaper bag hunting since Ethan was born, and now that he's getting past that stage, I've found the perfect place for the cutest diaper bags and diaper bag backpacks! 

 www.diaperbagsinc.com. 

Right now, they're even having a diaper bag giveaway!  Seriously!  Guess I'll just have to sign up and have it ready for the next munchkin that comes along...no this does not mean one's on the way though!