I know that I am not going to have the chance, or I'll just forget, to write this post tomorrow, so I am doing it today.
I've been watching my friends (on facebook) list something daily that they are grateful for. What an awesome way to count up to Thanksgiving! And I love it for me because it makes me think about all the things I am grateful for as well. I had the brief idea of doing the same at the beginning of the month, but instead putting each item in a jar and then reading over some of them at Thanksgiving. But time got away from me, so I am going to have to file that idea away for next year.
But I do want to take a moment to express that I am so grateful for so much. (This was a lot easier to write in my head, when I my biys werent asking me a million questions.) I am grateful for all that I have now- more than I can list. My family- my boys, husband, the family I grew up with, and the family I married into. I am grateful for our home (and yard) and for the friends, neighbors, and ward that came with it. I am grateful that Dave and I are both employed, and that I love the people I work with and for. I love the mission of Volunteers of America and I am proud of my small piece in that work.
I am grateful for my health and this pregnancy- I am so looking forward to meeting this new little man in a month. I am grateful for the health of my family and friends. I am grateful for all of the people that have passed through my life. They all have helped round out the person I have become. You may no longer be an active part of my life, but you're still part of it. I am grateful, this may sound weird, for the difficult choices, and their consequences, that I have made as I grew up, and frankly well into my adulthood. Those hard times and poor actions have led me to where I am now and, I believe, allow me to feel that much more grateful for all of the blessings I do have. Those hard times helped me to learn to rely on family and close friends, to learn and grow, and to get to know myself. I am grateful that I know what I am made of and how strong I really am. Those hard times have helped me focus on what is important (although that takes constant effort).
I am deeply grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I have many friends and family of different faiths, religions, spiritualities (whatever they would like to call it). I am grateful that they all can feel the love of our Lord and share that love with the people around them. And for those that don't feel that love, or don't know that they feel it, it's still there and I am grateful you're still good people. :) I am grateful that I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and for the change that that conversion has brought to my life.
And most importantly, I am grateful for where all the experiences in my life have led me- to this moment and this place, and the people I share it with.
I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, surrounded by loved ones, and that it segues into a wonderful, joyful Christmas season. Remember to count your blessings and remember those around you that dont have those same blessings. Thank YOU for being who you are and for being a part of my life.
And thanks for all of the birthday wishes as well!
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Almost Thanksgiving!
Every time I sit down to write an entry I seriously kick myself for not writing down what we do during the week. It's been a busy week for us- it seems like we were running around constantly. But maybe that's just me. Thankfully this has been a drama free week, just busy.
My friend Katie came into town on Wednesday and the boys and I picked her up from the airport. It was fun to see her again- as it always is when she comes into town. Katie is one of my oldest/closest friends. We went to some of high school together and then came out to Utah together. We've had lots of ups and downs. It is sometimes amazing to me to see how far we each have come, despite taking radically different paths. :) And it helps reinforce to me (and probably to her) how content we are with our lives. It's nice to have that kind of touch stone in my life. :) Plus, she doesn't have kids so it's always fun to watch her have a conversation with Ethan and see her try to figure out what to do with Emery. :) (Katie, if you're reading this, you're great- you should think about getting some of your own.)
Friday Night was a first for some of us G's... We actually got together as adults and went out to eat! It was a lot of fun- and such good company. Dave and I have been married for over 4 years now, I don't know why we didn't think about doing something like this before. Hopefully we can all get together and do it again- sooner than 4 years from now.
And then Saturday, my friend Brittany and I went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2. Okay, stop laughing. It was great. The first movie (Twilight) was painful, so it was so nice to see the series end on a high note (as far as movies go). I'd actually go back and see it again- and drag Dave with me- I think he might actually like it. It was nice to have "girl" time. To talk to another adult about adult things and just hang out. I have been seriously spoiled this past month in getting in some serious adult time. Maybe I'm like a bear and I'm trying to stock up before I have this little baby and have to go into "hibernation."
As for the boys. It's been a grand week for them as well. Ethan went to my last doctor's appointment with me. He was so excited. Ethan has really been in doctor mode lately (probably ever since Em broke his arm). Ethan gives daddy a check up at least 2-3 times a week (with his tools- the hammer, screwdriver, etc). And Ethan has been expressing a lot of interest in his soon to be baby brother (he was carrying the ultrasound pictures around for a while). Anyway, I thought it would be a fun treat to bring Ethan to listen to the heartbeat. Well, the doctor one upped me- she actually let Ethan hold the Sonogram tool to listen to the baby's heartbeat. Ethan stood next to the doctor on a stool during the exam (just listened to the hearbeat and measured the growth). Ethan really can't wait for the baby to arrive. :) At least I can say now there's only about a month to go! I am so ready to be done being pregnant. The first pregnancy was magical, the second one was tiring, this one is just hard. Kudos to people that have more than 3 kids. Before I started having kids I thought I wanted four and now I hope I can keep it together for three. :) We have been working with Ethan on his reading and writing as well. Ethan can now write all of the letters of his name on his own. Soon maybe he'll write them in order. :) I'm still so proud of him! Three years old and he can write his name. :)
Emery, our little daredevil, is doing great. He's getting teeth in left and right now. He has a molar coming in and it looks like a front tooth that should be breaking through soon. Emery also seems to be heading towards the no nap zone. It gets harder and harder to get him to fall asleep and if he doesn nap, it takes forever to get him to go to sleep at night. This is always the worst transition phase for me- I'm still so used to nap time and it always means grumpy afternoons for everyone.
Friday, the boys and I went swimming at our Rec Center. There's an open swim time from 12-2 that I like taking the boys to. Ethan has his little floaty so he gets to run all over the pool (well, close to me) but Em just hates his floaty (he wore it for all of 2 minutes and you'd have thought I was pinching him or someother abusive thing the whole time). He really wants to run around free like Ethan but isn't big enough yet. One thing I love about the pool is that it gradually slopes to get deeper and the bottom is really soft. Em likes to sit down and scootch on his bum until the water gets to deep for him. I really have to watch him. :) I'm proud that I got over my fear of taking the boys swimming by myself (I was worried about the boys running two different directions and not being able to take care of them). I want to try to take the boys swimming one more time before I have this next little boy. Because then it will be a long wait until we go back.
And this upcoming week is Thanksgiving! I love this holiday and the official (it seems) start of the Christmas season. We're going to be eating dinner with my sister- she making the turkey (she did such an awesome job last year), and I'll be making my favorite side dishes. It's a great combination. :) I love that the holiday traditions for Dave and I have lined up the way they have- we do Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with my family and get together with Dave's family on Christmas Day for dinner. There's never a conflict and it's always just right. :)
I'm not going to complain about it, because everyone else already does, but I do find it odd that the very holiday we celebrate all of our blessings and think of what we are thankful for is slowly being consumed by retailers as another day to go out and buy more, more, more! It kind of makes it hard to focus on what we have. It's just kind of sad that Black Friday has turned into Black Thursday.
And I just down loaded all of the pictures I have taken from this past week... and it's just a few pictures of Emery getting all sloppy eating an open faced peanut butter sandwich. Woo me! Way to track my kids growing and changing!
My friend Katie came into town on Wednesday and the boys and I picked her up from the airport. It was fun to see her again- as it always is when she comes into town. Katie is one of my oldest/closest friends. We went to some of high school together and then came out to Utah together. We've had lots of ups and downs. It is sometimes amazing to me to see how far we each have come, despite taking radically different paths. :) And it helps reinforce to me (and probably to her) how content we are with our lives. It's nice to have that kind of touch stone in my life. :) Plus, she doesn't have kids so it's always fun to watch her have a conversation with Ethan and see her try to figure out what to do with Emery. :) (Katie, if you're reading this, you're great- you should think about getting some of your own.)
Friday Night was a first for some of us G's... We actually got together as adults and went out to eat! It was a lot of fun- and such good company. Dave and I have been married for over 4 years now, I don't know why we didn't think about doing something like this before. Hopefully we can all get together and do it again- sooner than 4 years from now.
And then Saturday, my friend Brittany and I went to see Breaking Dawn Part 2. Okay, stop laughing. It was great. The first movie (Twilight) was painful, so it was so nice to see the series end on a high note (as far as movies go). I'd actually go back and see it again- and drag Dave with me- I think he might actually like it. It was nice to have "girl" time. To talk to another adult about adult things and just hang out. I have been seriously spoiled this past month in getting in some serious adult time. Maybe I'm like a bear and I'm trying to stock up before I have this little baby and have to go into "hibernation."
As for the boys. It's been a grand week for them as well. Ethan went to my last doctor's appointment with me. He was so excited. Ethan has really been in doctor mode lately (probably ever since Em broke his arm). Ethan gives daddy a check up at least 2-3 times a week (with his tools- the hammer, screwdriver, etc). And Ethan has been expressing a lot of interest in his soon to be baby brother (he was carrying the ultrasound pictures around for a while). Anyway, I thought it would be a fun treat to bring Ethan to listen to the heartbeat. Well, the doctor one upped me- she actually let Ethan hold the Sonogram tool to listen to the baby's heartbeat. Ethan stood next to the doctor on a stool during the exam (just listened to the hearbeat and measured the growth). Ethan really can't wait for the baby to arrive. :) At least I can say now there's only about a month to go! I am so ready to be done being pregnant. The first pregnancy was magical, the second one was tiring, this one is just hard. Kudos to people that have more than 3 kids. Before I started having kids I thought I wanted four and now I hope I can keep it together for three. :) We have been working with Ethan on his reading and writing as well. Ethan can now write all of the letters of his name on his own. Soon maybe he'll write them in order. :) I'm still so proud of him! Three years old and he can write his name. :)
Emery, our little daredevil, is doing great. He's getting teeth in left and right now. He has a molar coming in and it looks like a front tooth that should be breaking through soon. Emery also seems to be heading towards the no nap zone. It gets harder and harder to get him to fall asleep and if he doesn nap, it takes forever to get him to go to sleep at night. This is always the worst transition phase for me- I'm still so used to nap time and it always means grumpy afternoons for everyone.
Friday, the boys and I went swimming at our Rec Center. There's an open swim time from 12-2 that I like taking the boys to. Ethan has his little floaty so he gets to run all over the pool (well, close to me) but Em just hates his floaty (he wore it for all of 2 minutes and you'd have thought I was pinching him or someother abusive thing the whole time). He really wants to run around free like Ethan but isn't big enough yet. One thing I love about the pool is that it gradually slopes to get deeper and the bottom is really soft. Em likes to sit down and scootch on his bum until the water gets to deep for him. I really have to watch him. :) I'm proud that I got over my fear of taking the boys swimming by myself (I was worried about the boys running two different directions and not being able to take care of them). I want to try to take the boys swimming one more time before I have this next little boy. Because then it will be a long wait until we go back.
And this upcoming week is Thanksgiving! I love this holiday and the official (it seems) start of the Christmas season. We're going to be eating dinner with my sister- she making the turkey (she did such an awesome job last year), and I'll be making my favorite side dishes. It's a great combination. :) I love that the holiday traditions for Dave and I have lined up the way they have- we do Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with my family and get together with Dave's family on Christmas Day for dinner. There's never a conflict and it's always just right. :)
I'm not going to complain about it, because everyone else already does, but I do find it odd that the very holiday we celebrate all of our blessings and think of what we are thankful for is slowly being consumed by retailers as another day to go out and buy more, more, more! It kind of makes it hard to focus on what we have. It's just kind of sad that Black Friday has turned into Black Thursday.
And I just down loaded all of the pictures I have taken from this past week... and it's just a few pictures of Emery getting all sloppy eating an open faced peanut butter sandwich. Woo me! Way to track my kids growing and changing!
And just for fun- here's the boys trying Pop Rocks for the first time: Sunday, November 11, 2012
Already well into November...
Time certainly seems to go by quickly- especially when I am summarizing each week. Only 4 posts and a whole month is over! And here we are- already a third of the way through November.
Well, it's been a crazy/busy week. Monday was drama, drama, drama. I am so glad Monday is over. All I'm really going to say about Monday is that it could have been much worse and that it left me counting my blessings. Silver lining to every cloud I guess?
What all have we done this past week? Well, we saw Wreck It Ralph (in the theaters!) with the boys. We had 70 degree weather so we spent a lot of time outside- we even raked the leaves at our house and across the street at Auntie's house into big piles so that the boys could run through them and kick them around (what kid doesn't love a big pile of leaves), and Friday-Sunday we had a big snow storm! Dave & I also celebrated my birthday a little bit early.
So back to the beginning- we saw Wreck It Ralph. This was the second time that we have taken the boys to the movie theater (we took the boys to Brave for Ethan's birthday). It was a really fun movie- Dave loved all of the video game references and Ethan just loved the "big tv." It was a great experience for everyone. Emery just cuddled in Daddy or my lap, until about the last 10 or 15 minutes. Then he wanted to get up and run around (to be fair, Ethan wasn't doing much sitting by that point either). It is so much fun to be able to take the boys to the theater, but so much more expensive now too (matinees only for us). We're going to be watching out for more movies to take the boys to- it seems like kid movies are getting better at entertaining adults and kids at the same time? Or maybe my taste in movies has changed?
And then, Hello! only one of the biggest days that happens only once every 4 years. Election Day! Dave and I decided early on we wanted to take the boys with us to vote- introduce them early to the voting process. So Tuesday rolled around, Dave got off of work a little early to vote (Thanks to his boss!), and we met up at City Hall to vote. We tried to be informed voters and then choose the best we could. And then of course there was watching the results roll in that night (I felt like such an adult).
Most of this past week the weather has been 70 degrees. Seriously, our windows were open almost all day and we were going to the park down the street and running around the backyard. It has been great (aside from being November and that was just kind of weird). And then Friday morning- BAM! Snow. (It's a good thing we got our snow tires on Thursday afternoon- nothing like the last minute!). When Ethan & Emery came downstairs I pointed out the window and told them to look. Both of the boys went running up to the window to stare out and Emery, in his little voice, was like "Wow." Last winter, Em was still to small to play in the snow (unless we were carrying him around). So this was really his first taste of snow. I got the boys all bundled up to play in the backyard- Em was more like the kid from Christmas Story that looked like a marshmallow and couldn't move. Ethan was a pro at the snow already, so he was doing fine in his snow clothes. The only down side was the Emery kept falling down and couldn't get back up, so he'd just be laying in the snow as Ethan walked by him (and ignored him). Finally I just had to pick Em up and bring him back inside and Ethan followed a few minutes later.
Then for Friday & Saturday, Dave surprised me by having the whole weekend planned out (he's so good about spoiling me for my birthday). Friday night Dave arranged to have me stay up at my mom's condo (alone) while he took care of the boys. I was able to pack up whatever I wanted to do and have the whole night and Saturday morning to myself. I was able to work on some Christmas presents and catch up on some TV and stay up late reading. And then I was able to spread out in bed and not have to share my space or pillow with anyone. Ahhhh. It was delightful. Saturday morning I was actually able to read in bed a little bit as well. And I'm slightly lame- I worked for a few hours (working uninterrupted, by myself, is actually a small delight, so whatever). Then Saturday afternoon, Dave arrange for me to go get a Prenatal massage. Oh man. I could have done that for hours. I was in that perfectly relaxed zone where I wasn't asleep, but I also couldn't have a coherent conversation with another person. It was awesome. After the prenatal massage I came home to two sleeping boys (thank goodness cause I was so not in a place to deal with rowdy boys) and was able to get ready for dinner and a movie that night with Dave (another treat!). Dave and I went to Texas Roadhouse and then to see Skyfall. It was so great to have time with just Dave and come home to the boys asleep. I told Dave he's probably ruined me for having me pull my weight around the house. It was just so awesome to have a break. :)
And now we're here to Sunday, again. We have just over 5 weeks until this little baby is born. I am so ready. I am so amazingly tired, I just can't believe it. It's like all will to do anything has left my body. Dave has been awesome at trying to let me sleep as much as possible at night (he handles the boys as much as he can), and I have been sneaking in naps during the day, but it just never feels like I can get enough sleep. I am just exhausted. Everything takes so much effort to do anything. I told Dave just 5 more weeks, and then a few weeks after that and maybe I'll be back up to speed. :) Dave is definitely picking up my slack (not that I am giving him much choice).
The boys are doing great. Emery is turning into a daddy's boy. He has moments where he just prefers Dave's company and cuddles. I'm fine with that (unless Dave isn't around and he's all that Emery wants). Em also seems to be heading out of the nap zone. That depresses me greatly. Em wakes up at the butt crack of dawn (or earlier) and then he's up and running all day long. And he just gets crankier and crankier and crankier as the day progresses. Yikes. I try to put him down for a nap 2 or 3 times and it never takes. Until like 4 PM, then Em is like "Okay, yeah I'm ready for a nap now" which is, of course, too late for a nap. Gah. It's so frustrating. Emery likes being up with Dave (special time with daddy?) in the mornings. Dave is up at 5 AM to start getting ready for work and Em tries to get up and run around with Dave as he showers and makes lunch. I know Em is just excited for that extra time with Dave, but man it is early in the morning.
Ethan is doing awesome as well. We have been working with him on early reading and his letters. I'm trying to make homework and craft time a part of our day after dinner- with the hopes of letting Dave have a little bit more time to work on homework and also to work with the boys on whatever they need? So far I kinda suck at it, but we're heading in the right direction, I think.
And for me... well I have been thinking about all the blessings and all the things I am grateful for. (Does anyone notice their FB friends listing something they are grateful for each day?). I was actually writing a blog posting in my head about all the things I had to be grateful for. It was pretty sappy (in my head) and I'm pretty sure hormones had a lot to do with that. But I've since forgotten most of what I wanted to say. Anyway, I'm grateful for so many different things- my family, friends, my neighborhood and the people that fill it, my job, my boys, my health, etc. Maybe I'll actually post something about being grateful before Thanksgiving (which is only a few weeks away now).
Anyway, now off to the rest of my day with the boys and Young Women's tonight. I hope you all have a fantastic (and warm) week planned.
Well, it's been a crazy/busy week. Monday was drama, drama, drama. I am so glad Monday is over. All I'm really going to say about Monday is that it could have been much worse and that it left me counting my blessings. Silver lining to every cloud I guess?
What all have we done this past week? Well, we saw Wreck It Ralph (in the theaters!) with the boys. We had 70 degree weather so we spent a lot of time outside- we even raked the leaves at our house and across the street at Auntie's house into big piles so that the boys could run through them and kick them around (what kid doesn't love a big pile of leaves), and Friday-Sunday we had a big snow storm! Dave & I also celebrated my birthday a little bit early.
So back to the beginning- we saw Wreck It Ralph. This was the second time that we have taken the boys to the movie theater (we took the boys to Brave for Ethan's birthday). It was a really fun movie- Dave loved all of the video game references and Ethan just loved the "big tv." It was a great experience for everyone. Emery just cuddled in Daddy or my lap, until about the last 10 or 15 minutes. Then he wanted to get up and run around (to be fair, Ethan wasn't doing much sitting by that point either). It is so much fun to be able to take the boys to the theater, but so much more expensive now too (matinees only for us). We're going to be watching out for more movies to take the boys to- it seems like kid movies are getting better at entertaining adults and kids at the same time? Or maybe my taste in movies has changed?
And then, Hello! only one of the biggest days that happens only once every 4 years. Election Day! Dave and I decided early on we wanted to take the boys with us to vote- introduce them early to the voting process. So Tuesday rolled around, Dave got off of work a little early to vote (Thanks to his boss!), and we met up at City Hall to vote. We tried to be informed voters and then choose the best we could. And then of course there was watching the results roll in that night (I felt like such an adult).
Most of this past week the weather has been 70 degrees. Seriously, our windows were open almost all day and we were going to the park down the street and running around the backyard. It has been great (aside from being November and that was just kind of weird). And then Friday morning- BAM! Snow. (It's a good thing we got our snow tires on Thursday afternoon- nothing like the last minute!). When Ethan & Emery came downstairs I pointed out the window and told them to look. Both of the boys went running up to the window to stare out and Emery, in his little voice, was like "Wow." Last winter, Em was still to small to play in the snow (unless we were carrying him around). So this was really his first taste of snow. I got the boys all bundled up to play in the backyard- Em was more like the kid from Christmas Story that looked like a marshmallow and couldn't move. Ethan was a pro at the snow already, so he was doing fine in his snow clothes. The only down side was the Emery kept falling down and couldn't get back up, so he'd just be laying in the snow as Ethan walked by him (and ignored him). Finally I just had to pick Em up and bring him back inside and Ethan followed a few minutes later.
Then for Friday & Saturday, Dave surprised me by having the whole weekend planned out (he's so good about spoiling me for my birthday). Friday night Dave arranged to have me stay up at my mom's condo (alone) while he took care of the boys. I was able to pack up whatever I wanted to do and have the whole night and Saturday morning to myself. I was able to work on some Christmas presents and catch up on some TV and stay up late reading. And then I was able to spread out in bed and not have to share my space or pillow with anyone. Ahhhh. It was delightful. Saturday morning I was actually able to read in bed a little bit as well. And I'm slightly lame- I worked for a few hours (working uninterrupted, by myself, is actually a small delight, so whatever). Then Saturday afternoon, Dave arrange for me to go get a Prenatal massage. Oh man. I could have done that for hours. I was in that perfectly relaxed zone where I wasn't asleep, but I also couldn't have a coherent conversation with another person. It was awesome. After the prenatal massage I came home to two sleeping boys (thank goodness cause I was so not in a place to deal with rowdy boys) and was able to get ready for dinner and a movie that night with Dave (another treat!). Dave and I went to Texas Roadhouse and then to see Skyfall. It was so great to have time with just Dave and come home to the boys asleep. I told Dave he's probably ruined me for having me pull my weight around the house. It was just so awesome to have a break. :)
And now we're here to Sunday, again. We have just over 5 weeks until this little baby is born. I am so ready. I am so amazingly tired, I just can't believe it. It's like all will to do anything has left my body. Dave has been awesome at trying to let me sleep as much as possible at night (he handles the boys as much as he can), and I have been sneaking in naps during the day, but it just never feels like I can get enough sleep. I am just exhausted. Everything takes so much effort to do anything. I told Dave just 5 more weeks, and then a few weeks after that and maybe I'll be back up to speed. :) Dave is definitely picking up my slack (not that I am giving him much choice).
The boys are doing great. Emery is turning into a daddy's boy. He has moments where he just prefers Dave's company and cuddles. I'm fine with that (unless Dave isn't around and he's all that Emery wants). Em also seems to be heading out of the nap zone. That depresses me greatly. Em wakes up at the butt crack of dawn (or earlier) and then he's up and running all day long. And he just gets crankier and crankier and crankier as the day progresses. Yikes. I try to put him down for a nap 2 or 3 times and it never takes. Until like 4 PM, then Em is like "Okay, yeah I'm ready for a nap now" which is, of course, too late for a nap. Gah. It's so frustrating. Emery likes being up with Dave (special time with daddy?) in the mornings. Dave is up at 5 AM to start getting ready for work and Em tries to get up and run around with Dave as he showers and makes lunch. I know Em is just excited for that extra time with Dave, but man it is early in the morning.
Ethan is doing awesome as well. We have been working with him on early reading and his letters. I'm trying to make homework and craft time a part of our day after dinner- with the hopes of letting Dave have a little bit more time to work on homework and also to work with the boys on whatever they need? So far I kinda suck at it, but we're heading in the right direction, I think.
And for me... well I have been thinking about all the blessings and all the things I am grateful for. (Does anyone notice their FB friends listing something they are grateful for each day?). I was actually writing a blog posting in my head about all the things I had to be grateful for. It was pretty sappy (in my head) and I'm pretty sure hormones had a lot to do with that. But I've since forgotten most of what I wanted to say. Anyway, I'm grateful for so many different things- my family, friends, my neighborhood and the people that fill it, my job, my boys, my health, etc. Maybe I'll actually post something about being grateful before Thanksgiving (which is only a few weeks away now).
Anyway, now off to the rest of my day with the boys and Young Women's tonight. I hope you all have a fantastic (and warm) week planned.
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| Emery Voted. We took the boys with us to the polls. |
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| Ethan running through a pile of leaves. |
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| Snow on Friday morning. |
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| Ethan halfway to being dressed for the snow. |
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| Emery posing for me (he's turning into a ham like Ethan). With his snow pants on. |
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| Playing in the snow together for the first time. |
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| Marshmallow Man. |
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| Snow Sunday afternoon. Seriously so deep! I think we got more snow this one snow storm than we did all of last winter. |
Sunday, November 4, 2012
And the rest of the week....
Well, it's been an odd kind of week for me/us. Halloween took up a good portion of the beginning of the week. And then personal drama took up the rest of the week. Yay! So it has been a fast week. But at least I haven't been as sick this week. I was actually up and functioning like a normal adult. Monday I had another doctor appointment for the baby- 32 weeks! So I am officially in the countdown zone. Ethan says that he wants to go to the next doctor appointment so he can hear the baby's heartbeat as well. (Ethan has been carrying around the ultrasound pictures and one of them shows the heartbeat). Did I mention that we set an official date for the induction? So only 7 weeks to go! I know that will go so quickly. Ethan is so ready for his little brother to get here. He keeps drawing him pictures and the other day he found some old felt from a project I did a million years ago and he made baby "Zetolo" a blanket. Ethan now gives the baby hugs every day and asks what he is doing, if he is hungry, or sleeping, Ethan is such an awesome big brother. Emery doesn't care, at least not that he lets on.
Last week Emery had a doctor's appointment (did I mention that? I'm too lazy to go look). Em is in the mid 70 percentiles for his height and weight but in the mid 90s for his head (that would probably explain why he keeps falling on his head). Em weighs in at a whopping 27 pounds. Between those two boys I am getting a work out!
And Ethan is back on asking when the holidays are. I was hoping that now that Halloween had come and gone he'd move on. But no such luck. Hopefully as Christmas draws near (and passes) Ethan will move on? Who knows. Ethan is getting very good with his letters- he can write E, T, and H very well. Almost his full name! He is going to be broken hearted when he figures out what his last name looks like. mwahahahahaha.
Friday I took the boys out swimming by myself. I'm quite proud of that as I have not attempted that before. The local rec center has a swim time open from 12-2 for moms and kids so we took advantage of that. We had the pool to ourselves for pretty much the whole time (aside from people doing laps). As we were leaving a big group of kids showed up- perfect timing in my mind. The only bummer was that I forgot Ethan's floaties so I had to keep reminding Ethan he couldn't run all over the place like he would normally. And that night we had a family party so the boys were able to run and play with their cousins, which is always a treat for them. Emery is now at the age where he was more interested in playing than hanging out with us, so Dave and I were actually able to sit back and chat for a while (and as a bonus for me, Dave took over supervision duties so I was able to just sit and talk for a change).
Saturday we went to the Living Planet Aquarium. It's a bit of a drive for us so we don't go there very often. We ended up buying a membership for Dave, myself, and Ethan (Emery is still free). We calculated it out that we only have to go twice for the membership to pay for itself, so we plan on going like once every 3 months or something, for Family Home Evening or some way to get out of the house. Have I mentioned how much I like having a membership to places for the boys? It's just nice to have a plan for if we need to get out and do something. It was fun to go out the Aquarium with Dave as well. Usually it's just me and the boys while Dave is at work. There was a touch pool so Dave was able to "pet" a shark and a sting ray. Dave says that that was his favorite part- he says he was surprised at how they actually felt. The boys weren't that interested in touching the animals as much as they were interested in dangling their fingers in the water. I think the Jellyfish were Ethan's favorite part- he spent a lot of his time in front of their tank. And the Octopus was also a hit. It freaked out Emery a little bit. It was at the bottom of the tank right where Emery and Ethan could get a good look at it. Ethan had run off to look at sea horses and Em was left standing in front of the Octopus by himself when the Octopus started moving. I think it freaked Em out a little bit because I came back and Emery ran up to me and held on to me tight. We watched the Octopus climb to the top of the tank and back down. It was so cool! I was definitely fascinated. Emery was a bit of a grump because he hadn't had much of a nap before the aquarium- he just wanted to be held most of the time so I can't tell you what he liked the best, maybe the octopus as well? There was also a gigantic lobster over 100 years old. Super awesome.
We ended the day with a movie night in our bed. We have a tv that we are temporarily storing in our bedroom. Dave and I have never had a tv in our room before so it's kind of exciting- for now. We made popcorn and chocolate milk and we all cuddled together to watch "Monsters vs Aliens." It was a lot of fun. We then followed that up by the worst night of sleep ever. Ethan was awake most of the night with a stomach ache and Emery just wanted to cuddle with someone, so between both of the boys we got maybe an hour of sleep straight? And we had to change the stupid clocks, so it feels like that boys were up even earlier than usual... I used to love the fall back part of changing the clocks because it felt like we got an extra hour. Not so much with kids.
Anyway, that's our week. And here are some pictures:
Last week Emery had a doctor's appointment (did I mention that? I'm too lazy to go look). Em is in the mid 70 percentiles for his height and weight but in the mid 90s for his head (that would probably explain why he keeps falling on his head). Em weighs in at a whopping 27 pounds. Between those two boys I am getting a work out!
And Ethan is back on asking when the holidays are. I was hoping that now that Halloween had come and gone he'd move on. But no such luck. Hopefully as Christmas draws near (and passes) Ethan will move on? Who knows. Ethan is getting very good with his letters- he can write E, T, and H very well. Almost his full name! He is going to be broken hearted when he figures out what his last name looks like. mwahahahahaha.
Friday I took the boys out swimming by myself. I'm quite proud of that as I have not attempted that before. The local rec center has a swim time open from 12-2 for moms and kids so we took advantage of that. We had the pool to ourselves for pretty much the whole time (aside from people doing laps). As we were leaving a big group of kids showed up- perfect timing in my mind. The only bummer was that I forgot Ethan's floaties so I had to keep reminding Ethan he couldn't run all over the place like he would normally. And that night we had a family party so the boys were able to run and play with their cousins, which is always a treat for them. Emery is now at the age where he was more interested in playing than hanging out with us, so Dave and I were actually able to sit back and chat for a while (and as a bonus for me, Dave took over supervision duties so I was able to just sit and talk for a change).
Saturday we went to the Living Planet Aquarium. It's a bit of a drive for us so we don't go there very often. We ended up buying a membership for Dave, myself, and Ethan (Emery is still free). We calculated it out that we only have to go twice for the membership to pay for itself, so we plan on going like once every 3 months or something, for Family Home Evening or some way to get out of the house. Have I mentioned how much I like having a membership to places for the boys? It's just nice to have a plan for if we need to get out and do something. It was fun to go out the Aquarium with Dave as well. Usually it's just me and the boys while Dave is at work. There was a touch pool so Dave was able to "pet" a shark and a sting ray. Dave says that that was his favorite part- he says he was surprised at how they actually felt. The boys weren't that interested in touching the animals as much as they were interested in dangling their fingers in the water. I think the Jellyfish were Ethan's favorite part- he spent a lot of his time in front of their tank. And the Octopus was also a hit. It freaked out Emery a little bit. It was at the bottom of the tank right where Emery and Ethan could get a good look at it. Ethan had run off to look at sea horses and Em was left standing in front of the Octopus by himself when the Octopus started moving. I think it freaked Em out a little bit because I came back and Emery ran up to me and held on to me tight. We watched the Octopus climb to the top of the tank and back down. It was so cool! I was definitely fascinated. Emery was a bit of a grump because he hadn't had much of a nap before the aquarium- he just wanted to be held most of the time so I can't tell you what he liked the best, maybe the octopus as well? There was also a gigantic lobster over 100 years old. Super awesome.
We ended the day with a movie night in our bed. We have a tv that we are temporarily storing in our bedroom. Dave and I have never had a tv in our room before so it's kind of exciting- for now. We made popcorn and chocolate milk and we all cuddled together to watch "Monsters vs Aliens." It was a lot of fun. We then followed that up by the worst night of sleep ever. Ethan was awake most of the night with a stomach ache and Emery just wanted to cuddle with someone, so between both of the boys we got maybe an hour of sleep straight? And we had to change the stupid clocks, so it feels like that boys were up even earlier than usual... I used to love the fall back part of changing the clocks because it felt like we got an extra hour. Not so much with kids.
Anyway, that's our week. And here are some pictures:
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| Ethan passed out in our bed in the position. It just cracked me up. |
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| At H&M- Ethan looked really good in this jacket and he just loved that hat. |
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| Em in a cute hat- couldn't resist a picture. |
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| I said I'd take a pic of the boy's "new room." Here are the lights and Em's big boy bed. We used to have a big bed for Ethan but he always wanted to sleep on the floor. So we ended up buying 2 of the same kind of mattresses for the boys to make it feel like they were sleeping on the floor. |
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| Ethan's own little shelf and some stickers. He likes having a place for his water and books and toys. |
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| At the family party on Friday. Notice Em sitting at the table like the big kids. |
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| Ethan looking at some frogs- he loved watching them jump. |
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| Em riding a frog |
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| Otters |
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| Jellyfish- and Em just wants to be held. |
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| Gigantic Lobster (Ethan kept calling it a Monster) |
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| Movie night in Mom & Dad's Room |
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| Em looked so comfortable curled with up Daddy. It was so cute. |
Halloween, 2012
Figured Halloween deserved its own post.
Monday, for Family Home Evening, we carved our pumpkins. We learned our lesson from prior years- if you carve the pumpkins too early, they will melt and look horrifying (not in a good way) by Halloween. This year we grew our own pumpkins, so no trip to the pumpkin patch for us. Our pumpkins were the perfect size for the boys- not super large. Ethan grabbed his pumpkin and drew a face on the pumpkin all by himself. I turned out really cute. Dave helped Em with his pumpkin, and I did a quick job on mine. It wasn't too messy and was just the right amount of fun. I had to laugh because everyone else in our neighborhood had the same idea- I saw all the newly carved pumpkins out that night and the next morning.
Tuesday, Ethan's preschool had a Halloween Party/Program. The kids recited their abcs, colors, and numbers, and sang a bunch of halloween songs. It was so much fun to watch. I recorded it for Dave & the rest of my family. Ethan is such a smart boy. :) I love his preschool. I appreciate people who have the motivation and patience to be teachers. I am not a teacher, so I am grateful for those who are.
That night my mom and sister came over to hang out to hand out candy. It was fun having some company while Dave was out with the boys. When Dave took Ethan over to the Woodburys I was able to put Emery down to sleep early and actually have a little bit of time to myself before the boys got home. That was probably my favorite part of the night. :) Anyway, Halloween was a success, aside from the surplus of candy. I had a friend once suggest hiding some of the candy and using it as stocking stuffers come Christmas and I fully plan on doing that.
Monday, for Family Home Evening, we carved our pumpkins. We learned our lesson from prior years- if you carve the pumpkins too early, they will melt and look horrifying (not in a good way) by Halloween. This year we grew our own pumpkins, so no trip to the pumpkin patch for us. Our pumpkins were the perfect size for the boys- not super large. Ethan grabbed his pumpkin and drew a face on the pumpkin all by himself. I turned out really cute. Dave helped Em with his pumpkin, and I did a quick job on mine. It wasn't too messy and was just the right amount of fun. I had to laugh because everyone else in our neighborhood had the same idea- I saw all the newly carved pumpkins out that night and the next morning.
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| If you look closely you can see Ethan's precarved drawing on his pumpkin. |
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| Ethan loves his pumpkin. |
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| Emery contemplating his pumpkin |
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| Emery & Daddy hard at work on Em's pumpkin |
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| My pumpkin is on the left and Ethan's is on the right. Ethan's is adorable. |
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| Ethan sitting and waiting for the program to start. He loves his dino costume. |
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| Ethan handing out candy to his classmates. |
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| Ethan getting some candy from one of his classmates. |
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| Decorating cupcakes at the end of the program. |
I used to love Halloween. I love the whole time period of Halloween to Christmas. It used to be my favorite my favorite time of the year. Then my kids started Trick or Treating and Halloween dropped to very low on my list of favorite holidays. Dave took Ethan & Emery out trick or treating around our block. Dave was carrying Emery by the 2nd house. Ethan brought back a big bucket of candy. Emery brought back about half as much candy. Dave and Ethan went to visit some of our family friends, the Woodburys, and Ethan went out trick or treating for the second time with "Grandma Woodbury." Ethan was flush with candy. So the part that drives me nuts? The next day Ethan seriously woke up and his first words were "Can I have a treat?" and he asked me literally every 5 minutes for the entire day, and the day after, and every 10 minutes on Friday. Joy. He wanted candy bars for breakfast and lunch. And before he would go to bed, Ethan would give me a look and tell me "don't touch my candy." He is very protective of his candy. So far today he hasn't asked for a treat, so I'm really hoping that maybe he's starting to forget about the big bucket of candy on the fridge (out of sight, out of mind)?
Anyway, Ethan went as a dinosaur. At first I was worried he wanted to go as a Pirate Riding a Dinosaur, but he seemed to be just fine with the dinosaur part (perhaps all the compliments helped?). Emery went as a dragon. I felt a little bad for Em- his costume was one of those nice ones with fleece and long sleeves and a hood. And you want to know what the weather was like? Yeah, upper 70's. It was the warmest Halloween I can remember. No need for jackets this year. I take the boys "reverse trick or treating" to our workplaces- we bring some candy for Ethan & Emery to hand out to our coworkers. And Dave loves the opportunity to show off the boys to his coworkers. This year we stopped and had lunch with Daddy too (sorta). The boys & I had pizza at Daddy's work before walking around. Then we headed off to my work to visit my coworkers and show off how big the boys were getting. That night my mom and sister came over to hang out to hand out candy. It was fun having some company while Dave was out with the boys. When Dave took Ethan over to the Woodburys I was able to put Emery down to sleep early and actually have a little bit of time to myself before the boys got home. That was probably my favorite part of the night. :) Anyway, Halloween was a success, aside from the surplus of candy. I had a friend once suggest hiding some of the candy and using it as stocking stuffers come Christmas and I fully plan on doing that.
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| Emery likes wearing his candy bucket more than he liked carrying it around. |
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| The boys at my work- hanging around the water cooler. |
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| This is one of my favorite pre Trick or Treating photos- this is Ethan coughing in Dave's face. :) |
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| And my other favorite Halloween photo- Emery contemplating how much candy he's going to get. |
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Sick (And Very Grateful for my Husband)
Well guys, this is going to be an extremely boring entry. What have we done this week? Pretty much as close to nothing as possible. Okay, that's a little bit of lie- we've had spots of fun throughout the week, but it's been pretty limited. I've been sick with the plague (cold) most of the week. Dave stayed home Wednesday to rescue me from the kids (or the kids from me?) and I stayed in bed or on the couch most of the day. Thursday morning Dave stayed home from work again and got Ethan off to school (and picked him up) again before going to work in the afternoon. Friday Dave went to work but by 10 AM I was calling my mom and Dave and begging someone- anyone- to save me from the boys (or, again the boys from me). The boys had actually reached the point where they were bored with TV (yes, TV was a big crutch for me this week). So Friday was another day spent in bed for me. Man, that would have been a fantastic week if I'd been a) on a beach b) on a cruise ship c) able to take any sort of sleep inducing cough medicine. Oh well. I'm starting to feel a little bit better by now. But now Em is Mr Coughy and Snotty and Ethan has that pre-plague look on his face. If only kids were calmer when they were sick. Mine still run and jump, but when they're sick they manage to wipe snot and boogers all over the place (sorry).
Some high notes of the week are: I can finally tell Ethan that Halloween is next week- that's gotten him to stop asking when the holidays are- and we went to a Halloween Carnival at church put on by our Young Women and Young Men. The Halloween Carnival was great. The boys were able to wear their Halloween Costumes (Ethan went as a dinosaur rider) and Emery went has a dragon. The Young Women & Men put together a variety of activities for the kids to do- face painting, a haunted room, a cupcake walk, pumpkin bowling, paper jack o' lantern making, and pin the nose on the witch. We invited Sophie, Ethan & Emery's cousin, to the Carnival with us and she brought her mom & brothers. So we all had a good time. :) Mom was there to take care of Em who lost interest (and energy) about halfway through.
We've also started working on getting the new room set up for Baby #3. The room used to be Dave's Man Cave, so it was filled with all of his toys. In order to turn it into a baby bedroom, we had to rearrange the stuff in our already packed basement (the part that isn't being finished) so that we could move Dave's stuff down there and the baby stuff up from there into the bedroom. It was craziness for a little bit. It also means committing to taking Em out of the crib and into a bed. I think Ethan was out of the crib around 16 months (I remember that he was in a bed before we moved, and he was 18 months when we moved), but we've been keeping Em in a crib as long as possible because he really just likes to crawl in bed with us and cuddle. We made the trek down to Ikea to pick up Em (and it turns out Ethan) a bed and we also picked up some shelves and a light for each of the boys. Ethan loves his little moon light. I'll have to take pictures once it is all set up.
Anyway, I haven't really taken pictures this week because there's not been anything to take a picture of...
Some high notes of the week are: I can finally tell Ethan that Halloween is next week- that's gotten him to stop asking when the holidays are- and we went to a Halloween Carnival at church put on by our Young Women and Young Men. The Halloween Carnival was great. The boys were able to wear their Halloween Costumes (Ethan went as a dinosaur rider) and Emery went has a dragon. The Young Women & Men put together a variety of activities for the kids to do- face painting, a haunted room, a cupcake walk, pumpkin bowling, paper jack o' lantern making, and pin the nose on the witch. We invited Sophie, Ethan & Emery's cousin, to the Carnival with us and she brought her mom & brothers. So we all had a good time. :) Mom was there to take care of Em who lost interest (and energy) about halfway through.
We've also started working on getting the new room set up for Baby #3. The room used to be Dave's Man Cave, so it was filled with all of his toys. In order to turn it into a baby bedroom, we had to rearrange the stuff in our already packed basement (the part that isn't being finished) so that we could move Dave's stuff down there and the baby stuff up from there into the bedroom. It was craziness for a little bit. It also means committing to taking Em out of the crib and into a bed. I think Ethan was out of the crib around 16 months (I remember that he was in a bed before we moved, and he was 18 months when we moved), but we've been keeping Em in a crib as long as possible because he really just likes to crawl in bed with us and cuddle. We made the trek down to Ikea to pick up Em (and it turns out Ethan) a bed and we also picked up some shelves and a light for each of the boys. Ethan loves his little moon light. I'll have to take pictures once it is all set up.
Anyway, I haven't really taken pictures this week because there's not been anything to take a picture of...
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Wish I had more to say...
Well, it's another Sunday. I really wish I had something to say, but it's just been that kind of week. The stay inside and just survive kind of week. Not that it has been hard, just that I just haven't had any energy. Seriously, the third trimester is hitting me hard. I am tired! I just don't have the energy to keep up with the kids, clean the house, and work. So really my house is pretty messy, until Dave gets home and cleans up after me/us.
About the most outstanding thing from this past week was the fact that our little red car is done for. Friday morning Dave called me at 7 AM. He never does that. I knew right away that something was wrong. Dave was on his way to work on Friday when he noticed the red car was acting funny. He made it past the Capital and was heading down State Street when he decided he needed to turn around and get home. He was headed up Main Street, just across from the conference center, when the red car stopped. Dave had enough time to pull over as far as he could and that was it. My mom met him and got the car towed back to our house (and she bought us a Triple A membership- for Christmas- thanks mom!). The alternator was dead, which is funny because we replaced it last November. So we're going to get it replaced (under warranty) and try to sell the red car. It's not like we're selling a junker- it's got a new radiator (and hoses), windshield, brakes, and now alternator. :) It would be a great car for like a high school or college kid, just not a daddy trying to commute uphill to work. Anyone interested? :) Looks like we'll be a one car family for a while. It's a good thing it's winter and we don't go out much and I'll be on maternity leave.
Saturday Dave had a midterm in the morning and then that afternoon I took the boys and went to the Zoo with some of my friends from work. I hardly saw Dave all day Saturday. The boys and I had such a fun day at the Zoo- it was a beautiful day- so warm! We met up with my boss, Lynn, and her daughter Sydney, and my friend Sue, that Lynn & I also work with. It was a lot of fun for me to have someone to walk around and talk to and Ethan loved having another kid there with him- he kept talking about his new friend Sydney.
And that folks is our week. I didn't even take very many pictures. We did get Ethan's Halloween Costume. Mom & I went to Walmart & Target to try to find a pirate costume for Ethan. We had atrocious luck with that- nothing in his size. While at Target we did find this super cute costume of a dinosaur (the kind where it looks like he is riding one). Ethan loved it. Well now Ethan is back to wanting to be a pirate. So Dave says that Ethan should be a pirate riding a dinosaur (and Dave says that is the coolest costume ever, I'm not quite sold). So Ethan is going to have a crazy costume this year.
I had another doctor appointment on Monday. Did I mention I passed my 3 hour glucose test? I'm seeing the doctor every 3 weeks and last Monday the Doc and I sat down and picked a date for my induction! Yay! December 20- Thursday. Only a little over 8 weeks now! Crazy huh? It will go so quickly. Especially when Dave & I look at the calendar and try to figure out when we're going to do the stuff we need to do (like paint, buy a new bed, etc). Time will fly. My sister will get in Wednesday night, we'll try to cram in some girl night activities and then hopefully off to the hospital on Thursday. :)
Also, Dave & I got our Christmas shopping done! We've known for a while what we were going to get the boys, and this past week I was just messing around online, looking at various websites at the toys we were going to buy. I figured the toys we had picked out weren't the type of toys that would be going on sale and we found some pretty good deals. Toys R Us (which I usually hate), was offering a free Entertainment Walker with the purchase of Em's toy, so we went ahead and ordered. I figured while we had done that, we might as well get Ethan's too. So we're done. :) Now just stocking stuffers.
This upcoming week should be pretty hectic with my calling and the Halloween Carnival on Thursday. We also have a Halloween Party next week. So I guess it was good that this past week was quiet.
Here are our very few pix from this past week:
About the most outstanding thing from this past week was the fact that our little red car is done for. Friday morning Dave called me at 7 AM. He never does that. I knew right away that something was wrong. Dave was on his way to work on Friday when he noticed the red car was acting funny. He made it past the Capital and was heading down State Street when he decided he needed to turn around and get home. He was headed up Main Street, just across from the conference center, when the red car stopped. Dave had enough time to pull over as far as he could and that was it. My mom met him and got the car towed back to our house (and she bought us a Triple A membership- for Christmas- thanks mom!). The alternator was dead, which is funny because we replaced it last November. So we're going to get it replaced (under warranty) and try to sell the red car. It's not like we're selling a junker- it's got a new radiator (and hoses), windshield, brakes, and now alternator. :) It would be a great car for like a high school or college kid, just not a daddy trying to commute uphill to work. Anyone interested? :) Looks like we'll be a one car family for a while. It's a good thing it's winter and we don't go out much and I'll be on maternity leave.
Saturday Dave had a midterm in the morning and then that afternoon I took the boys and went to the Zoo with some of my friends from work. I hardly saw Dave all day Saturday. The boys and I had such a fun day at the Zoo- it was a beautiful day- so warm! We met up with my boss, Lynn, and her daughter Sydney, and my friend Sue, that Lynn & I also work with. It was a lot of fun for me to have someone to walk around and talk to and Ethan loved having another kid there with him- he kept talking about his new friend Sydney.
And that folks is our week. I didn't even take very many pictures. We did get Ethan's Halloween Costume. Mom & I went to Walmart & Target to try to find a pirate costume for Ethan. We had atrocious luck with that- nothing in his size. While at Target we did find this super cute costume of a dinosaur (the kind where it looks like he is riding one). Ethan loved it. Well now Ethan is back to wanting to be a pirate. So Dave says that Ethan should be a pirate riding a dinosaur (and Dave says that is the coolest costume ever, I'm not quite sold). So Ethan is going to have a crazy costume this year.
I had another doctor appointment on Monday. Did I mention I passed my 3 hour glucose test? I'm seeing the doctor every 3 weeks and last Monday the Doc and I sat down and picked a date for my induction! Yay! December 20- Thursday. Only a little over 8 weeks now! Crazy huh? It will go so quickly. Especially when Dave & I look at the calendar and try to figure out when we're going to do the stuff we need to do (like paint, buy a new bed, etc). Time will fly. My sister will get in Wednesday night, we'll try to cram in some girl night activities and then hopefully off to the hospital on Thursday. :)
Also, Dave & I got our Christmas shopping done! We've known for a while what we were going to get the boys, and this past week I was just messing around online, looking at various websites at the toys we were going to buy. I figured the toys we had picked out weren't the type of toys that would be going on sale and we found some pretty good deals. Toys R Us (which I usually hate), was offering a free Entertainment Walker with the purchase of Em's toy, so we went ahead and ordered. I figured while we had done that, we might as well get Ethan's too. So we're done. :) Now just stocking stuffers.
This upcoming week should be pretty hectic with my calling and the Halloween Carnival on Thursday. We also have a Halloween Party next week. So I guess it was good that this past week was quiet.
Here are our very few pix from this past week:
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| Ethan's Pirate Captain Outfit |
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| Ethan's Ghost from Preschool |
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| The Zoo (at the Elephants Exhibit) |
Sunday, October 14, 2012
The Holiday Count Down...
I really only title it that because, no joking, Ethan asks me every morning (sometimes in the afternoon as well), "Mom, When are the Holidays?" I'm still struggling with how to explain that to Ethan so that it makes sense to him. I've told him he has to go to sleep x amount of times and then it will be Halloween. I've shown him a calendar and pointed out today and then pointed at Halloween. I've tried to say when it gets cooler it will be halloween. And when he asks about Christmas, I just say it when it starts snowing (we'll deal with that hurdle when we get there). Mainly I just remind him, soon. Ethan is just excited for the holidays- especially the decorating I think? We'll see what he talks about most.
But Ethan's enthusiasm is pretty contagious. I am already looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. Especially Christmas. Having a kid in the house that looks forward to the holidays just makes it that much more exciting- brings back the feeling of the season when I was a kid. October 1 through about January 5 is about my favorite time of the year, so I'm already in a good mood- Ethan just helps. :)
I've been trying to plan ahead for the holidays. I really like having all of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving. I'll shop the post Thanksgiving sales for small things and for extra bonus presents if there is something especially on a good sale, but really, I'm done with shopping pretty early in the year. I've already started planning out what we are doing for the boys this year. And it is just so much fun! Dave and I have been researching toys to figure out what would be best for Ethan & Emery and honestly? Dave and I have been playing with a lot of toys lately. :) Just last night Dave and I snuck out to Smiths (all by ourselves!) and we wandered through the toy aisle to get ideas for what to do for Emery (Ethan seems pretty easy). Dave and I had so much fun playing with some dinosaurs and dragons and imagining what the boys would think. It was almost better than if I were a little kid and someone let me run free in a toy store. :) Almost. :)
To be honest, my real difficulty is stockings. My mom was/is the master of stocking stuffers. I can remember almost looking forward to the stockings alone as much as everything else. Seriously, my mom turned stockings into an art. And I'm still trying to pick that skill up. I've been getting tips & hints from friends that I think will help, but if you have some ideas- let me know!
Anyway, enough about Christmas... We still have to get through Halloween. I love that I am so eager to complain about retailers pushing up Christmas into October (Smiths has Halloween Candy & Christmas lights right next to each other) and yet I am totally already getting into Christmas mode and we haven't even picked up Ethan's Halloween Costume! Speaking of Halloween- I think we've decided that Ethan is going to be a Pirate. There's a pirate movie that Ethan just loves (it's pretty cute if you haven't seen it yet, I recommend it), and at the dollar store there were some pirate accessories that I bought for Ethan. So now Ethan runs around saying he's Pirate Captain (from the movie). And Emery gets to be a dinosaur this year. Next year Em can tell me what he wants to be and we'll get him his own costume. I can remember having to wait until I was old enough to go trick or treating for the first time. I was probably like 4 maybe 5? Basically, as soon as Ethan was old enough to express interest in Halloween, we've taken him out trick or treating (we take him in to our works to show off his costume, so walking around the neighborhood was an extension of that). And here Em is, only 18 months old and we'll be taking him out to at least a few houses for trick or treating (maybe? who knows, maybe I'll make him hand out candy?). Emery really likes to do anything that Ethan is doing, so it might be hard to keep Em at home while Ethan goes out. Our Young Women & Young Men are putting together a Halloween Carnival this year. I am looking forward to taking Ethan & Emery again- they had so much fun last year. Well, at least Ethan did. I think Emery just slept the whole time.
Anyway. So our week has just been another week. It was general conference last weekend and it's just been kind of a quiet week since then. I took my 3 hour glucose test on Tuesday morning. The clinic I use shares a building with a Zions Bank and the lab for the clinic is downstairs across the hall from the bank. I was standing in the hallway at 9 AM talking to Dave, waiting for the lab to open and being impatient to get the test started. Then I noticed a bunch of cops walking through the building. That was interesting. It turns out that while I was literally standing outside the bank, someone was inside robbing it! Crazy huh?! Made for a really interesting morning. I passed the glucose test (I was pretty sure I would) so everything has been peachy since then. Tuesday evening Dave had an early soccer game. When they are early enough I like to take the boys to watch Dave play. Ethan brings along his soccer ball and usually he and Em will kick it back and forth for a few minutes. Ethan was pretty cute at this last game because he climbed to the top of the bleachers and actually cheered for Daddy and watched the game (for a minute). "Go Daddy Go!" and Ethan was oohing and aahing and grumping at different points. It was hilarious to watch him, mainly because I knew he was just copying what Daddy and his uncles do when they watch soccer (Or I could be wrong and Ethan totally knows what is going on).
Friday was a rough morning for me... the boys didn't sleep well and woke up early so I was a little grumpy to start. Then Em knocked over my hot chocolate (on my newly ish cleaned carpets). Then, I was thinking that maybe I'd just work early and get a lot done that day, when our server crashed at work. Crashed hard (like for the rest of the day). So work wasn't an option either. I was just grumpy. The turning point was that- miracle of all miracles- I actually got both boys to fall asleep at the same time (Ethan never naps) and I was able to sneak in a little nap of my own. I can tell the 3rd trimester is starting to hit me harder- I hate napping, but I've been sneaking in as many as i can get lately. Friday night Dave had a game night with one of his friends so I was left to my own devices! yay! Bonus me time on a Friday night! I rented Snow White & the Huntsman and worked on a baby blanket for Baby 3. The movie was visually very pretty, so it was enjoyable in that way. But it was mildly tainted by Kirsten Stewart. Oh well, I still liked it. I'd watch it again if Dave wanted to see it. It helped that Chris Hemsworth (Thor) was in it- yummy. I'm not above saying that sometimes I rent movies just because the main actor is good looking, and Chris Hemsworth definitely fits that bill (btw, I bought Dave The Avengers for Christmas and I'm looking forward to that just as much as he is, but for different reasons).
Saturday I got it into my head that I wanted to see the new Scheels store (Scheels is an outdoor/sport/everything kind of store). We've watched it get built (kinda- we saw this gigantic building go up if we happened to be in that area) and I had heard some awesome things- like the fact there were was a gigantic fish tank and a 65 foot tall Ferris Wheel in the middle of the store. I figured it would be worth the adventure to go down there and check it out. I was hoping with the store having opened in September that it would be calmer. I was wrong. It was a mess to try to get into the parking lot (making a left turn across a busy street was the hardest part), but there was plenty of parking once we were in the parking lot (I think I'd rather have that situation than spending forever looking for a parking spot). Anyway, Scheels turned out to be a bigger adventure than I thought it would be. The ferris wheel was awesome. Emery was too short to ride it, so Daddy took Ethan while Em and I wandered around. The line for the Ferris Wheel took forever though. The boys liked the fish tank as well and there were plenty of opportunities to take silly photos around the store (which we did). Dave and I were amazed at how much there was at the store. It was seriously the size of a small mall and it was all one store. There were plenty of areas to test out equipment (a golfing range area, a rollerball alley, and I didn't see what else there was). Yeah, we're the kind of family that going to a new store was an adventure. Go us! But I'm going to maintain that my real desire was to have Ethan ride the Ferris wheel for the first time. Which he loved. He got a little bit scared near the top (no surprise there). Dave was grumpy about having to wait in the line for the ride, but afterward agreed that it was totally worth it to take Ethan on the ride. Saturday night Dave and I rented the awesome movie Battleship. If you have absolutely no expectations regarding the movie, it is okay. We laughed at a few of the parts that we were supposed to laugh at and plenty of places we weren't. And at least the movie kind of makes fun of itself? Just being from Hawaii I had major issues with locations and the timeline. Dave told me to give up the reality part and I had to agree. There was a part where there were three wildly different areas of the island where either one group could see up over the top of a mountain range to other side of the island, or where a group of guys in a lifeboat managed to make it a heck of distance in like 3 minutes (their time line, not ours). So yeah, it was dumb, but whatever, I wanted to see Honolulu get torn up and it did (a little bit).
And really that just sums up our week. The boys are doing well and getting bigger. We bought Ethan a stool from Ikea a few weeks ago and since then he's become my super kitchen helper. Ethan really likes cooking. He loves watching cooking shows and helping me when I cook. I've been trying to teach him small things about cooking and finding ways to have him help me. He seems to enjoy it. I figure if I can teach him to be safe about it now, then it will help later. And who knows, maybe I'll have an honest to goodness Chef someday. :) Em is my big cuddler. He's just happy to hold hands and be around people. This kid has no stranger danger (we'll have to work on that). I wonder if he is maybe getting another tooth in? He has not been sleeping well at all. Emery continues to be the good eater. I can give him whatever we are eating for dinner and he downs it. Ethan is still in his picky stage, but we've finally got him on board with having to eat 1 bite of whatever we are eating before he can have an alternative. Sometimes he'll eat a little bit more of our dinner, sometimes all we can get is the one bite. Before Ethan got picky, I was so proud of myself because Ethan would eat anything we ate. And in my first time parenting I thought to myself "I'm only going to make one dinner- my kids will eat what we eat or they wont eat dinner." Yeah, that lasted until I realized that going to bed hungry makes for angry kids who just don't sleep. So Ethan won that battle and now I feel like it's a victory just to get Ethan to try dinner at all.
Dave had a week off from school (kind of) for Fall Break. This week he has a midterm for one of his classes (he had the other midterm a few weeks ago). So keep Dave in your thoughts.
And me? Well, just chugging along- taking naps when I can and over doing it when I have a burst of energy.
And that's us for another week.
But Ethan's enthusiasm is pretty contagious. I am already looking forward to Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas as well. Especially Christmas. Having a kid in the house that looks forward to the holidays just makes it that much more exciting- brings back the feeling of the season when I was a kid. October 1 through about January 5 is about my favorite time of the year, so I'm already in a good mood- Ethan just helps. :)
I've been trying to plan ahead for the holidays. I really like having all of my Christmas shopping done by Thanksgiving. I'll shop the post Thanksgiving sales for small things and for extra bonus presents if there is something especially on a good sale, but really, I'm done with shopping pretty early in the year. I've already started planning out what we are doing for the boys this year. And it is just so much fun! Dave and I have been researching toys to figure out what would be best for Ethan & Emery and honestly? Dave and I have been playing with a lot of toys lately. :) Just last night Dave and I snuck out to Smiths (all by ourselves!) and we wandered through the toy aisle to get ideas for what to do for Emery (Ethan seems pretty easy). Dave and I had so much fun playing with some dinosaurs and dragons and imagining what the boys would think. It was almost better than if I were a little kid and someone let me run free in a toy store. :) Almost. :)
To be honest, my real difficulty is stockings. My mom was/is the master of stocking stuffers. I can remember almost looking forward to the stockings alone as much as everything else. Seriously, my mom turned stockings into an art. And I'm still trying to pick that skill up. I've been getting tips & hints from friends that I think will help, but if you have some ideas- let me know!
Anyway, enough about Christmas... We still have to get through Halloween. I love that I am so eager to complain about retailers pushing up Christmas into October (Smiths has Halloween Candy & Christmas lights right next to each other) and yet I am totally already getting into Christmas mode and we haven't even picked up Ethan's Halloween Costume! Speaking of Halloween- I think we've decided that Ethan is going to be a Pirate. There's a pirate movie that Ethan just loves (it's pretty cute if you haven't seen it yet, I recommend it), and at the dollar store there were some pirate accessories that I bought for Ethan. So now Ethan runs around saying he's Pirate Captain (from the movie). And Emery gets to be a dinosaur this year. Next year Em can tell me what he wants to be and we'll get him his own costume. I can remember having to wait until I was old enough to go trick or treating for the first time. I was probably like 4 maybe 5? Basically, as soon as Ethan was old enough to express interest in Halloween, we've taken him out trick or treating (we take him in to our works to show off his costume, so walking around the neighborhood was an extension of that). And here Em is, only 18 months old and we'll be taking him out to at least a few houses for trick or treating (maybe? who knows, maybe I'll make him hand out candy?). Emery really likes to do anything that Ethan is doing, so it might be hard to keep Em at home while Ethan goes out. Our Young Women & Young Men are putting together a Halloween Carnival this year. I am looking forward to taking Ethan & Emery again- they had so much fun last year. Well, at least Ethan did. I think Emery just slept the whole time.
Anyway. So our week has just been another week. It was general conference last weekend and it's just been kind of a quiet week since then. I took my 3 hour glucose test on Tuesday morning. The clinic I use shares a building with a Zions Bank and the lab for the clinic is downstairs across the hall from the bank. I was standing in the hallway at 9 AM talking to Dave, waiting for the lab to open and being impatient to get the test started. Then I noticed a bunch of cops walking through the building. That was interesting. It turns out that while I was literally standing outside the bank, someone was inside robbing it! Crazy huh?! Made for a really interesting morning. I passed the glucose test (I was pretty sure I would) so everything has been peachy since then. Tuesday evening Dave had an early soccer game. When they are early enough I like to take the boys to watch Dave play. Ethan brings along his soccer ball and usually he and Em will kick it back and forth for a few minutes. Ethan was pretty cute at this last game because he climbed to the top of the bleachers and actually cheered for Daddy and watched the game (for a minute). "Go Daddy Go!" and Ethan was oohing and aahing and grumping at different points. It was hilarious to watch him, mainly because I knew he was just copying what Daddy and his uncles do when they watch soccer (Or I could be wrong and Ethan totally knows what is going on).
Friday was a rough morning for me... the boys didn't sleep well and woke up early so I was a little grumpy to start. Then Em knocked over my hot chocolate (on my newly ish cleaned carpets). Then, I was thinking that maybe I'd just work early and get a lot done that day, when our server crashed at work. Crashed hard (like for the rest of the day). So work wasn't an option either. I was just grumpy. The turning point was that- miracle of all miracles- I actually got both boys to fall asleep at the same time (Ethan never naps) and I was able to sneak in a little nap of my own. I can tell the 3rd trimester is starting to hit me harder- I hate napping, but I've been sneaking in as many as i can get lately. Friday night Dave had a game night with one of his friends so I was left to my own devices! yay! Bonus me time on a Friday night! I rented Snow White & the Huntsman and worked on a baby blanket for Baby 3. The movie was visually very pretty, so it was enjoyable in that way. But it was mildly tainted by Kirsten Stewart. Oh well, I still liked it. I'd watch it again if Dave wanted to see it. It helped that Chris Hemsworth (Thor) was in it- yummy. I'm not above saying that sometimes I rent movies just because the main actor is good looking, and Chris Hemsworth definitely fits that bill (btw, I bought Dave The Avengers for Christmas and I'm looking forward to that just as much as he is, but for different reasons).
Saturday I got it into my head that I wanted to see the new Scheels store (Scheels is an outdoor/sport/everything kind of store). We've watched it get built (kinda- we saw this gigantic building go up if we happened to be in that area) and I had heard some awesome things- like the fact there were was a gigantic fish tank and a 65 foot tall Ferris Wheel in the middle of the store. I figured it would be worth the adventure to go down there and check it out. I was hoping with the store having opened in September that it would be calmer. I was wrong. It was a mess to try to get into the parking lot (making a left turn across a busy street was the hardest part), but there was plenty of parking once we were in the parking lot (I think I'd rather have that situation than spending forever looking for a parking spot). Anyway, Scheels turned out to be a bigger adventure than I thought it would be. The ferris wheel was awesome. Emery was too short to ride it, so Daddy took Ethan while Em and I wandered around. The line for the Ferris Wheel took forever though. The boys liked the fish tank as well and there were plenty of opportunities to take silly photos around the store (which we did). Dave and I were amazed at how much there was at the store. It was seriously the size of a small mall and it was all one store. There were plenty of areas to test out equipment (a golfing range area, a rollerball alley, and I didn't see what else there was). Yeah, we're the kind of family that going to a new store was an adventure. Go us! But I'm going to maintain that my real desire was to have Ethan ride the Ferris wheel for the first time. Which he loved. He got a little bit scared near the top (no surprise there). Dave was grumpy about having to wait in the line for the ride, but afterward agreed that it was totally worth it to take Ethan on the ride. Saturday night Dave and I rented the awesome movie Battleship. If you have absolutely no expectations regarding the movie, it is okay. We laughed at a few of the parts that we were supposed to laugh at and plenty of places we weren't. And at least the movie kind of makes fun of itself? Just being from Hawaii I had major issues with locations and the timeline. Dave told me to give up the reality part and I had to agree. There was a part where there were three wildly different areas of the island where either one group could see up over the top of a mountain range to other side of the island, or where a group of guys in a lifeboat managed to make it a heck of distance in like 3 minutes (their time line, not ours). So yeah, it was dumb, but whatever, I wanted to see Honolulu get torn up and it did (a little bit).
And really that just sums up our week. The boys are doing well and getting bigger. We bought Ethan a stool from Ikea a few weeks ago and since then he's become my super kitchen helper. Ethan really likes cooking. He loves watching cooking shows and helping me when I cook. I've been trying to teach him small things about cooking and finding ways to have him help me. He seems to enjoy it. I figure if I can teach him to be safe about it now, then it will help later. And who knows, maybe I'll have an honest to goodness Chef someday. :) Em is my big cuddler. He's just happy to hold hands and be around people. This kid has no stranger danger (we'll have to work on that). I wonder if he is maybe getting another tooth in? He has not been sleeping well at all. Emery continues to be the good eater. I can give him whatever we are eating for dinner and he downs it. Ethan is still in his picky stage, but we've finally got him on board with having to eat 1 bite of whatever we are eating before he can have an alternative. Sometimes he'll eat a little bit more of our dinner, sometimes all we can get is the one bite. Before Ethan got picky, I was so proud of myself because Ethan would eat anything we ate. And in my first time parenting I thought to myself "I'm only going to make one dinner- my kids will eat what we eat or they wont eat dinner." Yeah, that lasted until I realized that going to bed hungry makes for angry kids who just don't sleep. So Ethan won that battle and now I feel like it's a victory just to get Ethan to try dinner at all.
Dave had a week off from school (kind of) for Fall Break. This week he has a midterm for one of his classes (he had the other midterm a few weeks ago). So keep Dave in your thoughts.
And me? Well, just chugging along- taking naps when I can and over doing it when I have a burst of energy.
And that's us for another week.
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| Emery the fireman (he put the hat on himself, and is sitting on the firetruck) |
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| Ethan's Halloween Sign from Preschool |
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| Wrestling on the Couch with Daddy |
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| Ethan took this picture of me. It's about the best/only picture I have of me in forever. I almost look skinny (good thing it's out of focus?) |
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| Emery learned how to give hugs and was sharing them generously. It was soooo cute. |
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| About to get on the Ferris Wheel |
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| Halfway up! (Emery & I went to the second story of the store so that we could wave at Ethan & Daddy) |
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| Ethan was holding on to Daddy pretty tight. |
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| Bears- there was a big mountain of stuffed animals to look at (at Scheels) |
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