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.