Arkansas Car Riding

I have given up trying to keep somewhat clean clothes on Ethan. If it's not food, it's dirt from outside or who knows what else. I think I could change him 15 times a day if I wanted to... My friend Sarah manages to always have clean little boys. I cannot for the life of me figure out she does that. Anyway, one day last week I had given up on clothes altogether and just let him run around in his diaper. He's much easier to wipe down that way. Chris got home and we needed to run a quick errand, so we put Ethan in the car as-is - graham cracker in hand. When I looked back at him telling us a very serious story, I couldn't help but crack up seeing him in just a diaper and no shoes. Ah, we've adjusted to AR life w/o any problems...

Sweet Innocence

We were at the mall a few days ago and we let Ethan out of his stroller to walk with us. As soon as we put him down, he started dancing to music that was playing on the outdoor speakers. He got his one arm flapping, his feet stomping up and down, bouncing and turning in circles. (you really have to see it to get the full picture...) He danced for at 3-4 minutes. People started stopping to watch and laugh. I couldn't decide if he was oblivious to the attention or was relishing in it (probably the latter), but I couldn't help but marvel at the innocence of it all. He doesn't care what people think! He's free to move as the music inspires...oh, to be that uninhibited. I wish I could be that carefree.

Oh, and we've decided to bring a hat next time we go. We'll start collecting money for his college fund...

(this picture doesn't have anything to do with dancing at the mall - it just makes me laugh)

Branson 0-8, Baby

We took our first family trip that was "kid oriented" to Silver Dollar City last weekend. Honestly, it was a little surreal for me because I still feel like the kid that should be going on trips with my parents! And I had a hard time not going on the "big people's" ride, but that has more to do with me being selfish. :) We went with our friends the Crawfords and their two fabulous little guys, Xander and Chaucer. We stayed at this amazing cabin that Xander called the "tree house". I honestly think the boys would have been completely content staying at the tree house and playing with the vacuum cleaner they had there. Seriously. But we managed to tear them away long enough to hit an outlet mall, see some of Branson, and then the following day go to SDC. Ethan wasn't too sure what to think about the balloon ride, but he loved exploring "Huck's Tree House" with his dad, and there was a water area that he managed to get soaked in. Ethan also experienced the Veggie Tales for the first time, and he was enamored. We were all worn on by the end of the weekend, but we all had a great time.

The Many Faces of Ethan

Ethan woke up in rare form the other day from his nap. He didn't want to get out of his crib. He just wanted to jump up and down, laugh and make faces at me. Of course I had to get my camera and attempt to capture the entertainment. I couldn't stop laughing at him which only encouraged him more. We're a pretty good pair - an entertainer and a thoroughly biased audience.

Little Chef

Ethan likes sitting on the counter top and helping me cook. If anything tastes bad I say that he must have added something while I wasn't looking. Lately, he's enjoyed holding a spoon, dipping it in the flour, and eating it. Yum. It keeps him quite content, so I don't complain. But I may need to get a separate thing of flour to actually cook with...

Oklahoma Trip

We went to Oklahoma a few days ago for my new niece, Claire's, baptism. It was a perfect weekend. We spent one night at Papi and Mimi's house. Ethan played in their huge backyard and ended the night with Papi spraying him down with a hose. (he LOVED it) Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the spraying. Saturday we went to a cookout with my mom's side of the family where Ethan and Jack spent forever in the pool. The rest of the day, the boys played together and ate up being the center of attention to cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents. I think Jack ate his weight in ice. I can still hear his sweet little voice saying, "ICE?!" Claire's baptism on Sunday was very special to be a part of, and of course she looked beautiful. Ethan was also able to see his Grandma Debbie briefly for lunch. He crashed on the way back home to AR...poor little guy was worn out!

Buddies

Ethan loves playing with his buddy, Xander. Every time I ask him if he wants to play with Xander, he clinches his fists next to his chest, smiles and nods his head rapidly. Needless to say, he was thrilled when he got to play with Xander at a pool. They had fun splashing in the pool, but the hose was much more fun. They took turns getting sprayed, and it involved a lot of screaming and laughing. I think us moms laughed just as much.