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.