Merry Christmas!

Books

Ethan has really started to love being read to. He loves sitting in our lap and listening to his stories. Chris couldn't get him out of his lap the other day and ended up reading "The Fire Truck" about 15 times. "Go Dog, Go" and "Llamas in Pajamas" are other favorites. We find ourselves quoting these books in conversations now... The other day Ethan was playing in his room and got really quiet, (usually a bad sign) but much to my delight, he was looking at his books by himself. I hope that his love of "reading" continues the rest of his life.

The "Bad Ball"

It is the strangest thing...Ethan is scared to death of this OSU ball. If you hit or drop the ball it plays an OSU song and says "Go Cowboys"...nothing too crazy. But even the sight of it causes him to start crying. (I swear Chris must be showing him the ball and pinching him when I am not around.) At first I was hiding the ball under the couch to keep the meltdowns at a minimum. But then I had a stroke of genius (or child abuse)...I put it in front of our dvd player. We have been working on "no touch" - to no avail. However, with the "bad ball" in front of the dvd player, I have not had to say "no touch" in two weeks! It's hilarious to watch Ethan weigh the pros and cons out. He'll stand a safe distance away, look at the ball, take a step or two towards it, shake his head, and walk away. I love it. Does this make me a bad mom?!?

A Saturday on the Square

Last Saturday there was a Christmas parade and events in our downtown square. There were carolers, lights, pony and camel rides, hot chocolate, people dressed as penguins (we're not sure why) and a nice chill in the air. Ethan hung out with baby Jesus for awhile (the glass covering the manger scene apparently tasted really good), and he loved watching the camel walk by. The afternoon only got better when his dad let him "walk" around and talk to people.

And we're off...

It's official: the E-Train is walking. He's been walking with assistance for about two months now, but last week he realized he could take a few steps on his own. This week he's gotten more confident and is taking several steps. The only problem is once he's realized he's on his own, he lunges forward to grab something. Yesterday it was the dishwasher door that was down. He's got a little battle wound to show for it, but he seems pretty unfazed. And my life is continuing to change... (I tried to capture his walking several times with a camera, but he kept lunging for it causing me to get some really good "mid-air" shots. I will keep trying and post when I get a good one.)

Thanksgiving '07

We spent Thanksgiving "down South" with Chris' side of the family. We ate very well and enjoyed time relaxing with the fam. Unfortunately the weekend took a sour turn as our Cowboys lost (again) to the Sooners. I don't know why the game has to be on a holiday weekend...especially since I married into a Sooner-heavy family. I still wore my orange proudly.

10 Months

(I apologize ahead of time for the hat...) It's hard to believe that our little man is getting closer to the one year mark. He's started pulling up on everything so he can stand up, so our house decorations are slowly inching up. Walking isn't too far around the corner either... He's continuing to be a social little guy - he absolutely loves going places and talking to anyone who will pay attention to him. I have a feeling he's going to have the same issue as his dad in school..."He's such a sweet, smart kid. He just talks a lot."

The Entertainer

Ethan has now realized that his "frustrated face" (the pursing of lips and blowing air out of his nose) is funny to his mom and dad. So, with the entertainer blood in him, he's doing it all the time to see what reaction he can get. I am not sure it will ever stop being hilarious...

A little gentleman...

Rockin' Hair

I always thought having a little girl would be fun so that I could play with her hair. I had no idea a little boy's hair could be so fun!

A Family Pic

A picture with all three of us seem to be few and far between these days. We took matters into our own hands this weekend as we headed to a church hayride. We couldn't get Ethan to smile for the camera, but I thought it was cute anyway. As I look at this picture I have to laugh - I (AGAIN) didn't realize that Ethan had food on his face. Poor kid.

Leaves

I am continually amazed at the fall here in NWA. The past two weeks I have wandered our neighborhood drooling over the incredible colors splashed everywhere. It's a little sad how a camera doesn't come close to capturing what the trees look like in person, but I couldn't help but try...

A Cute Dragon

Ethan was a vegetarian dragon for Halloween. (I say this b/c I didn't notice how much squash he had on his face till after we got him home that night) He wasn't overly happy about putting his costume on until he saw Tate the Bumblebee and Wonder Bread Kate. As the three kids took turn having meltdowns towards the end of the evening, we parents finally admitted that the night was more about us and the pictures. If our poor children survive us...

Chris & His Boss "Hard at Work"

Troy "the Boss" pre-race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FeUgRBUBB4
Chris pre-race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLzqav61G20
THE Race:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rTuyHt80MI

This race has been planned for a couple weeks now. Bragging rights and $25 were at stake. It started out close in the beginning, but my speedy baby tore through the finish line first. We're going out celebrating tonight! Thanks for dinner, Troy. :)

a Cowner...a Soonboy...a Cooner?

With rival schools (and families), this poor kid is going to be so confused. He'll probably end up going to Texas...

The Pumpkin Patch

We took Ethan to buy a pumpkin and to get the standard "baby in the pumpkin patch" picture this week. I don't think he was nearly as excited as were were. As soon as we sat him down, the straw took up all his attention. And even with Chris' best song and dance routine, we still couldn't get him to smile. Oh, well..."pensive in the pumpkins" works too.

Bath Time

Ethan's new favorite bedtime activity is bath time. He gets so excited when he sees that water running that he tries to push out of my arms into the water...he's getting rather strong, so I could be in trouble soon. He enjoys laying on his back and kicking as fast as his little legs will go - splashing water EVERYWHERE. He just giggles and sticks his tongue out as we attempt to dodge the waves.

How you doin'?

This picture just makes me laugh... It's a mix of Joey-meets-Senior-pictures.

Crawling

It's been hilarious watching Ethan's personality come out while he's been learning to crawl. The poor little guy gets so frustrated that he can't quite make it all work. For awhile he would just scream because he was so mad, but just yesterday he started breathing heavily out of his nose and pursing his lips. (you can click on the picture to get a better view of his new "I am mad" look) I am sure seeing me laughing and snapping pictures while he was hard at work didn't help things...

Another fun month.

September was another fun month in Ethan's life. He was in Oklahoma 3 out of 5 weekends, he watched his Uncle Josh get married, he developed an unknown food allergy, he learned that he can climb out of his swing, that he can scream and get people's attention while shopping with mom, that walking (with assistance) is much more fun than "tummy time", and that a little scooting/crawling across the floor will cause parents and grandparents to do very funny and strange things (like victory dances and weird cheers).