Visit to Museum

Last weekend proved to be another busy one for us. Dave and I actually went out with some friends on Friday night and Uncle Patrick came to hang with Ethan...well, stay at the house while he slept. :) But, the cutest thing was that Ethan wanted Uncle Patrick to rock him to sleep...not Mommy or Daddy!!

Saturday morning we woke up early and got to the Children's Museum when it opened (always a good tactic, because a half hour after the place opens - it's packed!!). We ended up getting a membership, because I figured with winter keeping us indoors and Dave about to start studying for another test, it would be a good investment for us. Ethan's favorite part was the boat, but I was also proud of him for going upstairs into a glass tunnel area basically all by himself - very brave.

Playing a little music for us

Sometimes I think Daddy enjoyed the museum a bit more than Ethan! :)

Just like Daddy...Junior engineer putting together some piping

Up in the glass tunnel looking down on us

We also had the opportunity to visit with Dave's sister and our niece (Uncle Robin was busy with a conference in Chicago) while they were in town from Pittsburgh for the long weekend. Rowan and Ethan are almost exactly a year apart, so it's always interesting to see the differences. It's too bad that we live so far, because it would be nice for them to get to know each other a little better. But, they do just fine the little time we do see them.

Ethan playing tea party with Rowan...kind of. :) This picture cracks me up because Rowan is 'all girl' with her pretty skirt and pink hat on and Ethan is 'all boy' with his camo hat and football shirt! :)

Rowan immediately put ont he ballerina outfit we got her for her birthday..very cute!!

Playing a little play-doh together at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

We look forward to seeing the family again at Christmas!!

9-1-1

No, Ethan didn't dial it on the phone...but he might know how, if he knew what numbers looked like. :)

Last week was 'Fire Prevention' week at Lauren's house, complete with a visit to the local fire department. Ethan loves fire trucks, so that might be why the topic is near and dear to his heart, but either way, the stuff that Lauren taught him has definitely stuck with him. Randomly, he'll start talking about fires and rolling around on the floor and then he'll duck down his head and say walk, walk (as if to get low under the smoke). Then he says, 'go outside, see fire truck'. So, he knows to walk low to the ground, roll on the floor and then get outside to the firetruck. He also talks about "Emergency 1-1-1" (I repeat the '9' for clarification so he knows, but he gets the point).

Anyway, just something I thought was pretty cute and like I said, he's started the discussion multiple times, so he definitely remembers.

Ethan's (John Deere) Birthday Weekend

Things for Ethan's birthday pretty much started Friday evening. We had dinner at home as a family and then headed out to get last minute groceries for the party. Ethan likes to go grocery shopping because we get to see the fish in the pet aisle of Wal-Mart. :) When we got back from the store, Dave took care of bedtime with Ethan while I started multi-tasking. I was able to start laundry while I made the pasta, baked, shaped and frosted the cake, and clean up the mound of dishes! Pictures below of my creation of a tractor cake for Ethan. (Note: I did this while he slept Friday night and I debated about waiting to unveil the masterpiece at his party for a surprise, but my excitement got the better of me and I showed him Saturday morning when he woke up. As soon as I tried to put the cake back in the fridge, he freaked on me and instantly started crying that he wanted it!! Luckily I assured him that we WOULD in fact see the cake again and he calmed down after a few minutes).

Saturday morning he decided to sleep in until almost 7:45!! When he wakes up I usually give him a few options for breakfast; we talk about these while we have our diaper change and then he tells me which item he wants. Well, he declared that he wanted banana bread and he wanted to share with Doggy. After breakfast, we took Daddy with us to story time at the Oswego Library and then checked out a few new books. Once back at home, Ethan decided that he wanted to ride his bike and low & behold, he can now pedal a bike on his own!!! So, we bundled up to ride our bike around the block a few times before lunch. So proud of our little man, big boy bike is on the list for next summer for sure now!! After lunch was his usual nap while I did final preparation on food/decorations. As you'll see below, Ethan had a great time at his party. We had all grandparents and uncles as well as some good friends over to help us celebrate. Ethan got some great new clothes, tractor items, puzzles, snow gear, etc.

Riding the bike around the house

Opening presents

Time to sing Happy Birthday!

A few funny pictures before bedtime..

Uncle Patrick hung around a little longer..

Bedtime story from Uncle Patrick

Sunday was his actual birthday. I originally had big plans to take him to the Children's Museum, but didn't realize they had shortened hours, so we'll save that for another weekend. We ended up bundling up for the cold weather and going to a Pumpkin Farm in Aurora. We each picked out a pumpkin, saw some of the farm animals and then took a tractor ride thru the corn maze. Sunday afternoon was spent getting his pictures taken (post below) and shopping at Target for a few extra birthday gifts courtesy of the Great-grandparents who sent money for Ethan to pick out his own gifts (play-doh was the theme - a good indoor, winter activity that should entertain him!)

On the tractor ride

That's the birthday weekend wrap-up!! 2 years of many great memories, and MANY, MANY more to make!

2 Year Pictures

A more detailed post to follow with the entire birthday weekend happenings...but for now, a quick turn around on Ethan's JCP 2 year pics, so hopefully this will satisfy the regular blog followers for a day (Sunday Night football calls..).

I wasn't as impressed with the photo shoot this time, but there were a few keepers. I should've known we were off to a poor start when we showed up for our 4pm appt and they told us they were an hour behind!! I questioned why they wouldn't at least call us and tell us, but it was more of a rhetorical question it seemed. Luckily Target was just down the road and we had a few items to get...so, here goes

Family Visit

This past weekend I took Ethan up to Wisconsin to visit my Mom's side of the family. He doesn't get to see them very much, so I thought he might be shy, but he warmed right up and chatted with everyone! The cutest part was when my Grandma handed him a cracker for a before dinner snack and without ANY promptin at all...he said, "Thank you, Grandma". My polite little boy!!! :)

Playing with Great-Grandma

Sitting with Uncle Eli on the couch

Sittin with Grandma and chomping on a cookie!!

Strawberry Picking

We attempted to go apple picking a few weeks ago, to a place in Newark, IL. Unfortunately, they didn't have apples to pick due to the cold winter. Our other option was last of the season strawberries. We only ended up with about a pound and a half in total, but what can you expect at the end of September? Ethan seemed to like the animals that were roaming about more than the actual picking, but I did get a few action shots.

Look at my prize, Mommy!!

Little black kitty cat liked to play with Ethan

We also went to my Dad's picnic for his karate school, where Ethan met a little girl to flirt with (Emily). He was such a good boy, playing catch with her and drawing chalk with her. I don't think he really ate a meal at the picnic, as the cookies and chips tasted much better than the chicken! I guess you can't always be health conscious! :)

Petting Sabre with Emily and Grandpa

Playing catch with Emily

Nice family shot...it's been a while since we got one of these!!

Mommy with her giggly little boy