Birthday Week

Ethan's had a pretty busy week. We were at my parent's house last Sunday for a Father's Day/Lisa and Malia Birthday celebration. My dad's brother, Scott, and his wife Connie, were in town and staying with my parents. It was a yummy rib dinner and a fun time.

Later in the week, Will, Ethan, and I went to the Shedd Aquarium. Will and I were thrilled to find out we get in for free as teachers. We weren't sure, but all we needed was proof that we teach, and we didn't have to pay. We were prepared to buy a membership, but we didn't have to, so that was nice. It costs almost $50 for two adults to go to the aquarium, so free is quite a discount! Lisa and the boys met us there, too, but I actually ended up losing Will and Ethan for almost 45 minutes, so I was a little disappointed to not spend as much time with them as I wanted. We still had fun, and Ethan really liked the sting rays that are under his feet in one section of the aquarium. He also liked the little penguin play area with the slide.

On Thursday, we had Ethan's little playgroup birthday party. Only a few kids were there (in summer, everybody's schedules fill up with camps, etc.), but it was a lot of fun. It was super hot, so I had the pool out and the sprinkler going. The moms (and Will) sat in the shade by our garage. I made cupcakes and we sang to Ethan. He ate two cupcakes and made a royal mess. Later that day, we decided to go to my Uncle Johnny's house to go swimming in his awesome pool. We had Ethan nap in the car and then spent the rest of the afternoon there. Ethan is fearless when it comes to the water, which can be a bit unnerving as a parent. He would get out and then run along the side and make like he was going to jump in without us. Will and I kept rushing along the edge to make sure we caught him. He'd never actually jump until we were ready to catch him but just loved to keep us on our toes.

The next day was his actual birthday, and it was a very busy day. We decided to take the train to Downers Grove, where there was a festival going on. Ethan has never been on the train, so we thought he'd get a big kick out of it. The plan was to get to DG about 9:30, stay for a little over an hour, and then come home. We walked around a bit, played at a park, and then Ethan and his friend Derek rode on a car carnival ride a couple times. (We invited Derek and his mom, Catherine, on our adventure.) Then we headed for the train platform, which was right there. Our train arrived shortly. Once on, we were discussing how we had had just enough time in Downers Grove. It was pretty hot, and we were glad to be heading home. Well, as we were talking, we noticed that the train was not making any of the stops between DG and LaGrange. Catherine said, "Uh, oh, I hope we didn't get on an express." I assured her that Will had checked the schedule and that the train would stop at LaGrange. Well, I was wrong. We blew right past the LaGrange stop, and we realized that we had boarded the wrong train and were headed to Union Station in Chicago. Oops. Ethan, who hadn't had a snack and was mighty cranky, was not too pleasant on the ride. He kept wanting to go up and down the stairs and would not sit still. We finally made it to Union Station and learned that we could get a train back to LG at 12:30, meaning we had about an hour to kill. Catherine's husband, who works in the loop, met us at the station for lunch, so it ended up being fun for them, which is good because I felt bad that we had let them astray. The ride home was better since Ethan ate his hot dog while on my lap and then chatted randomly. He seemed a bit delirious - I couldn't blame him. Since we had walked to the train station, we had to still walk back, and it was nap time. Ethan promptly fell asleep since he was exhausted. Luckily, we were able to transfer him easily to his crib when we got home and he took a nice, long birthday nap. Our plan for dinner was originally to go to Pilot Pete's in Schaumburg, a restaurant near a local airport where you can see planes land and take off. But after our morning adventure, I was pretty tired and didn't want to brave the northbound traffic on a Friday night. Instead, we had pizza, one of Ethan's favorites, and went to downtown Western Springs, where they had a little carnival. Ethan rode on the carousel and also went on a blow up bouncy obstacle course. My parents and Uncle Scott and Aunt Connie drove out and met us there for a little while so that they could see Ethan on his birthday. It was a long day, but a fun one.

The celebration continued today when we had another adventure to the city, but this one was planned. We went to 31st street beach this morning, which is a great little beach downtown. It only takes us about 20 minutes to get there from our house, which is nice. It's great to go there and play in the water with Ethan with the beautiful Chicago skyline just to the north of us. Ethan had a great time playing in the sand and wading out as far as he could in the water. He just walked in until he was floating from Will holding on to him. Again, no fear.

We've really been enjoying our summer so far and trying to have as many adventures as we can. Next week, we'll head to the lake, and we are excited to see Ethan there this summer when he's even more mobile. He's going to love it!

Snuggle Ethan!
Ethan naps and sleeps well these days but he is not going to bed easily lately. He goes to bed later now, closer to 8:30, and the last few days he is crying at bedtime. He seems to be fine if we stay in the room with him, but he doesn't like if we leave. It's been a bit trying, and we're hoping the phase ends soon.

Ethan had a fun time naming all his foam letters at bath time.

Will took this one. Not sure why it's upside down. Still cute.

This is Derek and Ethan playing with Ethan's "Jah" (Garbage) truck.

They play pretty well together, and it can be pretty funny.

Dinner at mom's on Father's Day.

Relaxing in the hammock.

Matthew, who is constantly attached to Lisa, has a big smile! (Aunt Connie is not picking her nose...I don't think.)

Brian and the boys.

Uncle Scott, my dad's older brother.

Ethan with a great big "cheeeeese" smile.

Close up on Matthew.

Dad, Malia, and Cameron, who's playing peek-a-boo with Matthew.

Ethan, our little scholar, found a quiet place to read.

Daddy and Ethan at the Shedd aquarium.

Ben and Drew dressed as penguins.

Ethan's trying to get to the penguin eggs.

Down the slide!

Cupcakes and a Dots/cookie bouquet (idea from bf Sarah!) for Ethan's playgroup.

The cute display was likely lost on all the two year olds.

From left: JJ, Derek, and Erin.

The moms (and Will) relax in the shade while the kids play. Everyone's jealous of me that I have a husband home all the time. :)

Ethan comes in to see the camera.

Cupcake time!

Yummy!

Jumping in at the pool.

Waiting for the train.

Hooray! Ethan's first train ride!

Ethan loved to point out everything he saw from the train.

Riding the ride at the carnival.

Fire truck ride with Derek (he switched from the Jeep).

Finally, cake and candles for his real birthday! Even after the candles were blown out, he kept putting them back in and pretending to blow.

On the carousel with daddy.

Ethan is really good at these!

Climbing.

On the way down. Not a bad way to end a birthday.

Yesterday, we had Ethan's 2nd birthday party. It was a little early (his b-day is the 26th), but it was the only time both sides of the family could be together. Lisa had Matthew's first birthday party on Saturday, so it was a party weekend for us!

We did a Curious George theme, which was really cute. I made Ethan a shirt with George on it that says Birthday Boy. My mom made a fabulous cake that took over 2 hours to do. She's a perfectionist. It's so cute! (see below) I froze all that was left, which is the George's head, so we can have it on Ethan's actual birthday.

Our fence came in on time, too, so it was very nice to have all the kids corralled in the back without worrying about them making a break down the driveway. Good times!

Ethan got a lot of great presents, too, including a Tonka garbage truck, a puzzle with all different kinds of latches, a tackle box for his growing collection of Matchbox cars (Will's gone slightly insane), and his very own tricycle!

Life is Beautiful

I’m sad that my blogging has become less frequent because I really did mean for this to be my record of Ethan and life. My backside is slowly getting better, though, so I hope to start blogging more frequently. Plus, I’m teaching the same course again so the teaching gig is a lot smoother now and not as time consuming.

I find that I have a hard time not kissing Ethan a lot. The other day, we were in downtown LaGrange, picking up a Chai Tea Latte from Starbucks (don’t tell Will!), and when we left, we walked across the street, where we met a beautiful golden retriever. Ethan pet the dog for a while while I chatted with the owner, and then Santa came up on a bike and told me, “Now, he is really cute. And that’s an expert opinion.” He then proceeded to tell me not to let his “summer cut” fool me, but he is Santa all winter. In fact, Ethan visited him at our library this past December. Bike riding Santa has told me many times how cute Ethan is. And although I imagine he tells a lot of mothers how cute their children are, I love to hear it just the same. Back the kissing. So, when we walked back to the car on this bright, beautiful day, I picked Ethan up and just kissed him and kissed him on the head. I find myself doing it all the time in moments like this because I’m just so happy to be with him. He’s darn cute, folks, and I just feel so lucky sometimes to be home with him. And, lately, I’ve had many moments just like this one where I’ve thought, How awesome is this? I big factor is the weather no doubt, since we’re able to be outside a lot more now. (Although it’s been raining here on and off for days!)

So what makes Ethan so cute? Well, he’s talking a lot more now and he’s become a little parrot. I really can’t get away with swearing anymore, that’s for sure. Not that I ever did, Mom. He says, “I love Mama and Dadda.” And he communicates so much more in the last few weeks. He has started using three or four word phrases, typically something like, “Hold this milk, Mama” or “Ee-Ee go downstairs.” Ee-Ee is something new, too. It’s his name. He can’t quite say Ethan, so he says Ee-Ee. And he speaks in the third person. I’m hoping this is normal and that he won’t grow up to be very pompous. Besides his real words, Ethan is still holding on to a lot of nonsense words, but more on that later. Oh, and he also abbreviates everything. The other morning I said to him, “Guess who’s coming over today? Kristin Spooner!” He responded with “No Kis Spoo!” (Another thing to mention is that in the morning, Ethan says no to EVERYTHING. “No milk! No wawa (waffle)! No cake!” - the last one shows you how unreasonable it is.)

One of the most fun things lately is watching him play, alone and with his best friend Derek. We recently got a giant train table and all kinds of Thomas the Train accessories. Ethan really likes it and plays a lot more independently now, which is awesome for me. I can fold laundry, do school work, etc. while he plays. And he also plays really well with Derek. (Derek is my friend Catherine’s son, and they live 4 blocks east of us. Since Catherine and I both only have one child, we hang out a lot. By a lot, I mean pretty much every day. Catherine is a phenomenal friend, by the way, and she, along with the other moms of my playgroup, have made this year so fun. I heart Catherine. And so does Ethan. He talks about her ALL the time (Derek Mama) and every time I say we’re going anywhere, Ethan asks if Derek Mama will be there.) It is hilarious being around when Ethan and Derek are together. Their most favorite pastime is playing chase. Due to the circular floor plans of both our homes, this game can last a loooong time. Catherine and I will try to carry on a conversation while our two rambunctious boys chase each other around, oftentimes while pushing or pulling some kind of toy. They also like to yell out nonsense words to each other and laugh maniacally. Derek is a great talker. I like to joke that Ethan is making Derek less smart by making him use all these non-words. They are just so funny together. Today, Ethan was feeding Derek his snack. They’ve been caught making out, too. We don’t judge. It’s fun for us to think that they will grow up together and be in school together since they’re just two months apart.

There’s so much more I could say about Ethan and his recent antics (including tonight’s naked run around the house that culminated in peeing on our chair which then led to lots of tears after both Will and I yelled out in shock, thus scaring naked peeing Ethan and likely traumatizing him for life…he’ll be potty trained by 4 maybe), but I have to get off this chair. I hope to be better about keeping up from now on.

Ethan's holding our first strawberry! I've decided to keep track of all produce that comes from our garden this year. On the board so far - Strawberry: 1

Grandma Mary gave Ethan this great wagon as an early birthday present. He loves it. Here are his cousins taking a ride. Little Matthew turns 1 on the 17th of June.
Drew's pushing Matthew.

Ethan being a goof at dinner.

This is Ethan before Will's big hula dance in front of his students and some faculty.

Will during his hula, which was the result of a bet his students made. They asked Will if he'd do a hula dance for him if they raised $1,000.00 for Doctors Without Borders. Will said sure, thinking they wouldn't do it. Guess what?

They did. And this got to be a pretty serious bet. The father of a student (the same man who gave $500 of the $1000) drew up a contract for Will to sign, basically saying he would make good on the bet. And, oh, he did. There was a live band, props, and a little peep show even when the hula skirt fell off my skinny husband.

Here we are after the dance.

Will's sister Laura, and her new husband Chris, bought a beautiful home in Palatine. This is at their first bbq. Yummy...pie.

The sisters-in-law love to pose with food.