2 Slide shows!

After the birthday party, Ethan was sitting on pins waiting on Jake to arrive. I captured his arrival and Ethan's excitement. He was so very happy to see him...LOL he calls Jake "brother"....It's so cute!

Fayth's Birthday Party

Tiffany's daughter Fayth is turning 3!!! Today we went in to Huntsville to her party, they had it at Mr. Gatti's and he had a blast. We played skeet ball, air hockey and rode a motorcycle to name a few...enjoy the pics.

A Few Random Pictures

OK so I pulled these off of my camera a little while ago. The this one is of Ethan passing out Halloween candy and of him being mad that I was taking pictures of him...lol (You can click on them to make them bigger).







The next ones were just of him playing on the chair and I snapped some pics..

Pictures as Promised!

OK the first set were from the weekend before last (October 20th). The second part is from the zoo last weekend (October 27), and the last skeleton set is from tonight! Enjoy.

Weekend Fun

Well, I can't say it was ALL fun but we had a good weekend. Saturday we took Ethan to the zoo. Parking was a disaster and we had to park at a hospital and walk it was so bad. With it being Halloween weekend, there were SO many people there that it made it a little difficult to totally enjoy it. However, after we were there for about half an hour...and Ethan got to see some monkeys, he finally started to enjoy himself. He was downright fascinated with the giraffes, bears, and the lions and tigers. He told me later that the bear was his favorite.

Sunday it was such a pretty day that we went to breakfast and also spent time at the park. He got to play and run to his hearts content. Then afterwards, we went to Target to buy Halloween supplies for his party. We ended up getting candy, individual play dough's, and a little tiny game. We then bought some Halloween treat bags and Ethan got to stuff them with the presents we bought for his classmates. He loved making the goody bags! So, tomorrow is his Halloween party at school and he gets to dress up for his it. I'm pretty sure that he is going to be Spiderman! He will get to give out his goody bags to his classmates.

I still have some pictures from the weekend before last and last weekend still on my camera. My goal tonight is to get them loaded and post them on the blog. Here's to hoping!

A Cold Day in Texas!

A cold front moved in yesterday and man it got cold! It went from low 90's to 50 degrees in a day. We went over the weekend and got Ethan some winter clothes and boy are we glad that we did. We hit JC Penny's, Old Navy, and Target. Would you believe that Target was the most expensive!? We got him some jeans from there and it's just ridiculous how much jeans cost for a 3 year old. We got some really good deals at Old Navy and JC Penny's, so we were thrilled.

Ethan got his school pictures in and they turned out cute. He took some antique ones about a week and a half later, so we didn't order any of the regular ones. We will probably just take him to JC Penny's instead. It's been so long since we did that. We wanted to go get family photos over the summer but Jake didn't come.

I still need to download the pictures from over the weekend from my camera. School has been hectic and taking up most of my free time.

Other than that, there isn't much else going on. It's been pretty quiet on the home front.

Welcome Saturday, Welcome!

Wow! This has been a really long week! I am so happy that it's the weekend. We are getting ready for Halloween and Ethan is beside himself with excitement. We went out on Thursday and got him a skeleton costume per his request. Why you ask? He saw his very first skeleton at the ortho's office when he broke his arm and was fascinated. For some reason he loves them. We then found a Spiderman costume today and it was such a good deal that we picked it up too. He ran around in both costumes and is adorable. I got some pictures of him in Spiderman and I will post them later.

We went to moms today to celebrate her birthday. Barry made enchiladas. We didn't stay long though because needed to get back and do things around the house. Barry still has this sadness about him. I know he misses Josh a lot. He's been going to see Shere every day. I wanted to go today but I just couldn't. I don't know why, I just couldn't. I didn't know what I would say to her. What can you say? It upset me a lot that I didn't go but I just couldn't. Maybe next week.

Anniversary

Today marks the 5th year that Jerry and I have been married. I just can't believe how time flies when you are with someone you love. It was also a bittersweet day because we buried Josh today. It was a nice but very difficult service. I have never seen so many people at one funeral before. It really said a lot about what kind of person Josh was. Barry isn't so great but he'll get better with each passing day. TJ too. After the funeral several (SEVERAL) of us went back to Shere's house. Tiffany and I went together as we always do.

Jerry and I didn't do much today, but saying goodbye to someone just makes you realize that you have to cherish each moment that you have with your loved ones. We are all still having a very tough time trying to rationalize what happened or why. I don't think we will ever fully understand. I saw Dougies mom today. It was the first time that I have seen her since we buried Dougie. That has been 13 years. I can't believe how time gets away from us. I saw people today that I haven't seen since we graduated but we picked up like it was just yesterday. Grief does that.

We are taking Ethan to get his cast off tomorrow. He is so excited that he can't stand it. He's really done so well and has been such a trooper. The arm still has some healing to do, but the doctor says he doesn't need his cast anymore. We just have to be extra careful for a while. To be honest, I'm really nervous about taking it off while his arm is still fractured....but....I wasn't the one that went to medical school, so I am trusting what the doctor says. Wish us luck.

On a side note, Jerry and I will get to go out next Friday night to celebrate. It's a little late but hey...late is better than never!

Saying Goodbye

This week has been very difficult. We lost a dear friend on Barrys birthday. One of Barry's best friends. Sunday Josh and TJ were duck hunting and riding 4-wheelers. Lightening struck a tree and hit Josh. I'm not going to go into details because it's to painful to re-live. The anniversary of his and Shere's loss of their child was just on October 3rd. They just found out that she is pregnant again.

The viewing is tomorrow and the funeral is on Thursday. Barry and TJ both will be pall bearers. It has been hard on everyone that knew him but we can only imagine what Shere is going through. We will just try and be there for her when she needs us.

Idiot Box

1. What TV show have you seen every episode of?
Veronica Mars, Gilmore Girls, Bones, House, Grey's Anatomy...the list could go on and on!

2. What show makes you laugh until you cry?
Hands down, Friends! That show cracks me up every time!

3. What show do you wish had not been cancelled?
Veronica Mars

4. What show do you wish WOULD be cancelled?
That dumb caveman show. Who was the idiot that thought it would make a good show?

5. Who is your favorite TV character, either past or present?
The characters on Bones...I LOVE them!!!

OK....Now I'm tagging Erin and CJen!

I Love my Son

Ethan is doing so well with his cast. He's such a trooper. He isn't asking us constantly to remove his cast. He did tell us that his favorite color wasn't green anymore! LOL Jerry got home on Monday night and I was SOOOOOO glad to see him.

Work is going really well and it looks like I will have my promotion sometime in November. YAYYYY

All in all things are great around here. I just wanted to check in!

Hanging out at Nee's

I finally got some pictures of Ethan with his cast. He's doing much better with it today, and is finally using his hand. Enjoy the pics!

Lost Wallets and Broken Bones

Today has been over the top exahusting. It started out with Jerry leaving for the airport at about 5am. He then had to take a taxi home because he couldn't find his wallet. We had to hurry up and get Ethan dressed, because I had to take him back to the airport. Oh and I forgot to mention that he didn't find his wallet at home, it was in his truck AT THE AIRPORT. His flight was at 7:40 (or so we thought) come to find out, he wasn't scheduled to leave until 7:40 pm. He was able to fly standby at around 11:00 and finally made it to MN to see his grandfather.

Now an update on Ethan:

He fell last evening but didn't really complain about his arm after the tears were dried up. Something told me to call his daycare and tell them that if he complains to call me. Sure enough at about 10am I got a call saying that he kept crying about his arm. I was able to get a peds appt for 11am (had to FLY from the medical center to the daycare- that alone is normally an hour drive). We got to the peds at 11am and the doctor examined him. He thought that it wa just bruised because Ethan didn't complain one time. But, he sent us for an xray at a nearby hospital. We finally finished there at 2:30pm.

He had been such a trooper that I took him to Walmart to pick out a toy (milk and a pizza). Right when I was pulling into the driveway at home, I got the call from the peds that indeed....his wrist was fractured. I then had to BEG an orthopedic office to see him...we made it there by 3:30. Luckily, they were able to view the xrays via the computer so they didn't have to take more. I forgot to mention that earlier at the peds, they tried to put a splint on him and he was hysterical.

EE picked out a (waterproof) green colored cast. He did so well while they were wrapping it. Finally at 5:15pm we were DONE!!!!!!!!!! On the way home he realized that his cast was not coming off and the hysterics started all over again. He was in complete meltdown mode for 30 minutes. He hadn't had his nap so sleepiness played a part in it. I laid him down at 7pm for bed and he was OUT. 6 hours in a doctors office with a 3 year old is not easy. He's doing fine so far but kept asking me to take the cast off. Thank God today is over.

Update on Me

These last few weeks have been hectic. I've been in and out of my doctors office about 3 times and have gotten a ton of blood taken. I went in because I was over the top exhausted (so bad that sometimes I can't function) and because I've been nauseous and vomiting for a while. We did the blood work and found that 7 blood tests came back really low. Many of them my iron. One test showed that I wasn't metabolizing iron in my body at all.

The next step was more blood work and she was also convinced that I was losing blood somehow (hence the severe anemia). When I went back to see her on Friday, more blood results and UGHHH I have an ulcer. Great. Weird thing is, my anemia has nothing to do with my ulcer. I'm not losing blood in anyway. She put me on an iron supplement (that makes me horribly sick when I take it) and I'm on a 3 meds for my ulcer. She said that if my iron does not come up, I have to see a hematologist to figure it out. At least I know why I'm so tired, cold, and my blood pressure is so low...

Anyway, the ulcer meds only last 14 days thank god, because it's 8 pills a day just for that. Then I will just go on Pepcid for good. She seems to think that these meds are going to help heal the ulcer. Also, it has to be new because when I was in the hospital in May, I just had a scope and there was nothing there.

I'm just glad to know that the getting sick will go away soon and that hopefully I wont be so tired. I really REALLY don't want to see a hematologist. She said he may want to do a transfusion on me....YECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We spent today at my moms and Boo came over. I forgot my camera so no pics this week. I PROMISE I'll try and get some up next week.

Just Random Babbling...

So, I have decided that I don't blog enough and I'm making an effort to change that. We'll see how well that goes.

Jerry and I are both in the same program at school and we're both about done with the term....THANK GOODNESS! I'm really glad that we are doing this, but man! I need a break. I must admit though that as soon as I went back to school, things changed at work. Doors tend to open when you are either in college or are a college graduate. I'm not sure exactly what this degree will help me with at work but they seem to like it. I'm up for a promotion in the next couple of months (hopefully before the end of the year) and I can't wait! It's just funny, my degree will be in business but I will be in the same field that I've always been in....research. The only difference is that I will be in management now. I hope. That's the plan, anyway.

Ethan is going through an "I'm scared" phase. Really he just wants me to lay down with him while he falls asleep. It's my fault really....a few months ago, I was out of town and missed him so much that when I came back into town I laid down with him for a couple of nights. Well that was enough to start a horrible habit. To tell you the truth though, I don't mind it...I know he's only going to be little for a little while and it's just more bonding time.

Jerry has had a stomach virus for the past 2 days and has been feeling pretty bleck. I was nauseous today so I'm praying I don't get what he has....or that Ethan doesn't get it.

My mom had surgery to replace her medication pump that is implanted in her. We had no idea how badly it was working until she got her new one. She's doing so much better now! It's like night and day.

Oh, and I'm re-addicted to Friends in a bad way.....I'm HOPING to get the series for my birthday next month. It's funny now that show just never gets old. I still watch it and laugh out loud every time. I have so many "favorite" episodes that I lose count. Don't you just love that show?

OK it's bedtime and I have patients at the crack of dawn. If you made it this far then thank you for listening to me gab.. I'll try and get some new pics of Ethan up by next week. G'nite!

Love Your kids

Love your kids. Don't humiliate them or make them feel small in any way. Lift them up and promote their spirits. Never think that it is OK to laugh at their pain, even if it does seem funny at the time. Remember that you were once that age and try to empathize with them. Love them equally and without favor. And last but not least, remember that no matter how old they are....they do have fragile feelings and what you do to them stays with them for life...good or bad. Love your kids.

I've Been Tagged! (Five Friday)

5 things you want your kids to know before they grow up

1. that people (no matter color, status, or culture) are to be treated with respect and kindness.

2. I want them to know that it's OK to fail every once in a while. Just pick yourself up and try again.

3. That God loves everyone the same, even during the tough times.

4. That college really IS a good idea and they should GO.

5. Love their siblings. Really love them. Because some day, they will need someone to lean on...and their brothers or sister will be the only ones to understand.

OK CJen! Now I'm tagging you!

Hello From the Quiet Side!

There has not been a whole lot going on to talk about....hence the "no posting" binge that I have been on. EE is still growing like weed but is now also going through a pretty sassy phase, so we are working on that. Jerry says that he gets that from me...I tend to agree. BUT we are going to nip the "sassy" in the bud now. He is still sweet though and that is important. He loves his friends and is very into spiderman at the moment. Well, spiderman, Bob the Builder, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. He's such a boy.

Jerry and I are doing great. He loves his new job and I'm facing a promotion at my current job. I'm not going to say anything more about it, as I don't want to jinx myself.

What do you think about my snazzy new blog layout? Nice huh? These are my favorite colors!!!!

Eunice, my sister in law found this cool "Look-a-like meter" HA! see who EE looks alike!!!! :P

Yesterday was a Tough Day....

Well, it was time to say goodbye to Joey yesterday. We knew the time was coming, but it did not make it any easier on any of us. Jerry said his goodbyes the night before since he had to work. Then Joey went with me to take EE to daycare. That in itself was hard on everyone except EE since he wasn't quiet sure what to make of it.

Joey and I had an hour to kill, so we went swimming. Then it was time to do some last minute packing and off to get something to eat we went. We drove 45 minutes to Hobby airport and checked in. As we waited we talked. When it was time to leave we both got emotional. He hurried onto the plane and I started bawling. When I finally left the airport I was still crying. I had no idea that it was going to affect me as hard as it did. I mean. I knew it was going to be tough, but we get closer every time he comes. This time especially we bonded.

When it was time to pick EE up, it broke my heart. EE cried like he lost his best friend. He sobbed for 30 minutes straight and there was no consoling him. I cried right along with him. It broke both mine and Jerrys hearts to see him that way. Jerry has been very upset and has pretty much been sad and withdrawn. It always hits him hard when his boys leave.

We miss Joey. :( He is such a good kid.

Fun in the Sun

This morning we woke up and went to the beach! Eunice and Boo went along with us. We spent the day swimming and digging in the dirt. Joey and I even came out of it with battle wounds. We both got attacked by crabs. That doesn't sound good does it! LOL Mine got me on the bottom of my foot and broke the skin. I totally freaked out and wouldn't go back in the water for about half an hour. Joey's crab got him on the leg. He handled it a whole lot better than I did. Joey also spent time trying to catch tiny fish that were getting washed up with the tide and swimming back into the water. It was a riot to watch him. You can see the pictures below. He was even using a bucket. He was so determined. Of course, I was right out there with him trying to out do him! LOL. All in all, we had a really fun day...and all 3 boys had a blast.

2 Brothers

Joey came in on Saturday and Ethan was beside himself with Joy. He ran around the room, smiled, screemed, and hugged Joey like there was no tomorrow. He has really REALLY enjoyed having him here. They have bonded as brothers do and Joey is so good with them. We have spent time at the pool, played in the yard, Jerry and Jo have gone to the movies, and today we went to a resort to have a dad of fun. Here are some pictures.

Birthday Party Fun!

Boo Boo's party is next weekend but Eunice and Barry had his party today. They got a huge water slide, ordered pizza, had cupcakes, and we just had a blast. Thunderstorms were in the forecast but luckily they held off while the kids played. As I type, we are having a horrible thunderstorm with major lightening.

Boo Boo got lots of great presents and the boys played until they were exhausted. My brother Josh and niece Jayden came over too. I'm posting a few pics so that you can enjoy too!

A Random Picture Day at Nee Nee's

So the boys where watching "Everyone's Hero" today and were totally enjoying themselves. Although they were not doing a whole lot, I got some cute pictures. I love my boys! Hope you enjoy!

Happy 4th!

I had plans today to take Ethan to the pool while Jerry worked....that was a washout...Literally. It has been raining for 2 weeks straight. Everyday. Today was no different! They even cancelled the fireworks shows. So, we made today a movie and coloring day. We danced, sang, and just tried to make the day enjoyable without going out in the weather. There is a really cute movie out now called "Everyone's Hero". It was the last project that Christopher Reeve worked on. Ethan LOVES it! Of course, he got it for his birthday and wouldn't watch it before today. He's stubborn like that.

This weekend we have plans for Chas and Ethan to get together again. Ethan is so excited to see his cousin. It's amazing to me that 2 three year olds can be so close and have so much fun together.

As you can see, I'm babbling tonight. Cabin fever must do that!

I Love These

I can't tell which ones I like better!



OR



ORRRRRR

Cousins Having Fun

EE and Chas (Boo Boo) spent the day together today and had a blast. Here is a few pictures! :)

Two in One Day? Who am I and What did I do With Me?

I realized that while I am having fun doing the survey, I haven't posted any updates lately. Ethan Charles O'Neal (yes that's what his name is and he reminds me all of the time) now thinks he is grown. Daily he surprises me with some on-dit that he comes up with. His latest thing is to holler at the top of his lungs "I'm talking first" if we are trying to talk over him.

Shrek is a daily visitor at our house. Shrek 2 to be exact. It's amazing that he can now quote the entire movie. And here I thought it was excessive! LOL He sleeps with his Shrek plush, his talking Donkey, his Shrek backpack (yes, he really does), and lets not forget Ducky. Poor Ducky. He's so old and tired but just as loved as the day EE got him.

The boys will be coming to see us next month. Not nearly a long enough visit, but that is for another day. Ethan is so excited. He will tell me that he is putting me in time-out when his brothers get here....what?

Most of you probably know that I've been back in school since April. Wow, time flies. I'm slated to graduate with my BSBA in May 2009. I seriously can't believe I'm really doing it this time.

On a side note....I PASSED MY RESEARCH BOARD EXAM!!! (I've been giddy for a week). I took the exam May 19th and just got the results June 23rd. Can you say "sheer torture"? I would run to the mail box every single day to no avail. FINALLY. It came. Joy!

Jerry is also back in school working on his BS. He's really enjoying it and wow, he's doing great. Go Jerry! Oh, and he just got glasses! Dead sexy glasses! He looks so studious when he wears them. Reeooowww!

Ummm ummmm ummmmm what else? Oh! Janet Evanovich's new book is out!!! WHOOT! "Lean Mean Thirteen". I read it in a day. It's so depressing when you have a good book and it ends. Bleh!

I may be going to Vegas (baby) in October and just found out one of my best friends is due at that exact time! She has been given working orders to NOT deliver while I'm in my meetings. hmmmppphhhh The nerve!

Hopefully in about 5 months I will have some good news of my own. Knocking on wood as I type.

Joy!

I've been Tagged!

By my friend Erin:

My roommate and I once: were home at the same time!

Never in my life have I: liked getting shots.

High school was : so fun!

When I'm nervous : have an anxiety attack.

My hair : is in bad need for a haircut!

When I was 5 : I lived with my biological father

When I turn my head left : I see I see another hospital.

I should be : less assertive.

By this time next year : I hope to be just about ready to give birth.

I have a hard time understanding : why people can be so 2-faced.

You know I like you if : I can open up to you.

My ideal breakfast is : sometimes bacon and sometimes blueberry waffles!

If you visit my home town : would think it was a one-horse town!

If you spend the night at my house : you will wake up at 5am with EE!

My favorite blonde is : Jerry and EE.

My favorite brunette is : my mom.

The animal I would like to see flying besides birds : a monkey.

I shouldn't have been : so trusting a few years ago.

Last night I: played on my laptop and watched Hell's Kitchen.

A better name for me would be : Hard Head.

I've been told I look like : a girl I used to go to school with.

If I could have any car, it would be: a Mustang.

Ok, now I'm tagging Jennifer (My Blog Buddy)!

I'm on some kind of roll!

This set is right before his birthday and right after. The ones of him hanging out with his cousin Chas was taken June 17th, 07. The rest are right before his birthday. In the green shirt, he is showing off the squirrel feeder that Tamara and Lagrand sent him for his birthday.

I am remiss, I know

A little birdie told me that I have been remiss in updating my blog. EE is doing wonderful and developing more and more every day. He has been putting sentences together for a while and will hold a conversation with you. Just today, he told me he didn't believe me! It amazes me every day at how fast he is growing up. I'm going to post 2 slide shows. This slideshow is of his 3rd birthday party! I LOVE MY LITTLE GUY! I

hope you enjoy!

"I'm Shrek Mommy"!

EE has been into a major Shrek mode here lately! One day he decided that he was going to adore Shrek...and he did. The other day he came up to me and said..."Mommy...I'm handsome like Shrek. I'm Shrek, and you're Fiona. Daddy is Donkey". I just said OK. It was to sweet not to smile.

But, sometimes it doesn't feel so sweet after you have watched it 697049382872 times when it is rainy outside. It makes him happy though!

On a different note....he decided to help me with the laundry last night. Mainly it was my work scrubs and his Ducky. While I had my back turned, he slipped in an ENTIRE bottle of garlic powder that he snagged off of the counter (he's tall like that) into the laundry. He first emptied the contents into the water and THEN put the bottle in for good measure. We, of course, didn't find this out until we were putting them into the dryer. Needless to say, we had to wash the clothes again about 4- times. Never turn your back on a soon to be 3 year old! :)

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Today we decided to take EE to meet the Easter Bunny. He's been singing Easter Bunny songs at school, yesterday they had an Easter Party and egg hunt; so I thought it would be fun. I started off talking about it before we got to the mall. He was very excited to be meeting the Easter Bunny! We got to the Mall and stood in line for about 45 minutes. By the time we got to Mr. Bunny, EE was about jumping out of his skin! He hopped into his lap and poked him! LOL He did so great. Actually, he didn't even want to get off of Mr. Bunny's lap when it was time to go, I had to carry him. Here is his Easter Bunny picture! You can click on it to make it larger.

Just a Small Update

Actually I just wanted to post a few pictures since I haven't in a while. EE is getting so big and so mature! These aren't the greatest, but they are what I have on hand. I'll try and get some new ones very soon.

Big Boy Beds and Spider Man Undies

OK, so I've been remiss in blogging (or so my friends inform me)! But I must say....alot has been going on! EE decided all in one day that he was done with his crib and that he wanted to be in big boy underwear.

Jerry and I had (somewhat jokingly) decided that we were going to let him stay in his crib until one of three things happened...either he learned how to climb out of it, grew out of it, or graduated college! HA! Well....3 weeks ago, Jan 27th to be exact, he decided he wasn't ready to take a nap. He was so mad that he climbed out of his crib quite by accident. Actually he was as surprised as we were! But that was all she wrote...he did it 3 more times before he finally fell asleep. Hey, just because he could climb out didn't mean he wasn't going to take a nap!

After he woke up he also decided he wanted some big boy undies...so we went out and picked out "Cars", "SpiderMan", Elmo, and "Nemo". Of course, we had to try them all on! LOL

That night for a short fix, we took a mattress and put it down on his floor. You could see the look of freedom in his eyes....the pure joy. HE COULD GET OUT OF HIS ROOM and he knew it! All in all, he got up about 15 times that night for various reasons....UGH. Oh, then got us up at about 4:30am for the day!

He has been getting much better at bed time. He only gets up 1-3 times (I think it's just to prove to us that he can). We finally got him a twin bed. We wanted to give him a little time to get used to sleeping on a bigger bed and not falling off before we switched him.

As for his big boy undies, he's doing great!!!!! He still sleeps in a pull up but during the day he's in his underwear!!!!!! We are so proud of him!

No, I Don't Have a Horse...

This winter has been a doozy of a roller coaster when it comes to changing temperatures. It seems that every time the weather changes, EE gets a horrible cough! Luckily for the past 2 months though, we've been in a cough free zone. Then comes this week. This lovely week. It snuck up on us really. The cough that is. At first I though that maybe it would come and go as a scratchy throat. Nope, right now it sounds like some kind of horse is in the other room... :( He was feeling fine earlier, but now I think he's starting to feel a little "yucky". He didn't eat his dinner tonight and before bed he told said "Mommy, I'm sick". It's not so great when the doctor can't treat your child...when you just have to wait for nature to run its course. There's a lot of this going around though. Just ask my friend Erin!

"Good Job Mommy"

Ethan and I spend an enormous amount of time building Lego's together. Sometimes he calls it "building blocks" and other times he decides that we are "building castles". I'm not sure what makes him to decide to make a castle rather than just regular old blocks but hey, I'm just along for the ride. One thing I've noticed is that he likes to build blocks by himself, but doesn't get the same pleasure unless we are doing it together.

He loves to plop down in my lap and we brainstorm where the next piece will go. Or, another route we like to take is we will each build our own until he's ready to add them together. The reason I love to build blocks with him is the bonding time. We have a great time building our castles and then he loves to knock it down so that we can begin again.

So- last night I asked him where he thought I should place the next piece to our "castle". He told me and I must have put it "just so", because he looked up at me with a huge grin on his face and as he was beaming at me he said "Good job Mommy"! I felt like I had been given a HUGE pat on the back.

It's those little things that amaze me.

Time Flies When You're having Fun!

I was getting Ethan dressed yesterday morning and started to REALLY look at him. He's only 2 1/2 years old and he just looks so much older. It seems like yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and I was trying to figure out what to do next. He's growing into such a young man! Everyday he's coming up with something new and he's showing us a new way to do things. He makes life so much more fun!

What are some of his favorite things to do? He loves to go outside. He loves to sing. He loves to play with trains, cars, trucks, etc. He loves to read. He LOVE the Wiggles. He loves his Ducky. He loves to play make believe. He loves to be tickled. He loves to tell secrets. He loves to cook with us.

Here are a few other pics that I took....Isn't he handsome!? (Click on them to make them bigger)