Hello, blog.

Hello, blog. How are you? I've been too busy to hang out with you lately. Plus, I've been feeling lazy about posting. A lot has been going on in my life. Many things worthy of a post, but many things that have gone unsaid.

I could use a lot of excuses, like how I went to go post today and had to search through the Google features to find Blogger...yeah, it's been that long that I couldn't just easily click on Blogger. I am going to place some blame on the fact that I've started using the Google Reader feature. I decided that I was spending WAY too much time mindlessly blog-surfing, so I linked the RSS feeds from the blogs that I frequent the most to the Reader. Now I can know who updates with one click instead of clicking from blog to blog to blog looking for updates. So, I spend less time blogging as a whole...hence my lack of posts.

I may as well get to the "newsy" portion of my post. AKA "the month of March".

We enjoyed celebrating Easter with our families this past weekend. Once again this year we went through the Resurrection Eggs with the kids. They enjoyed opening all of the eggs this to see what was inside. I love this unique way to present the wonderful Easter story to the kids! We also enjoyed our church services and the reminders of the Hope that we have because of our risen Savior!

The boys continue to enjoy their newest cousin. Ethan loves to hold Colin and Micah likes to look at him (sometimes he identifies his facial features and I'm scared he'll poke his eye).



We don't often have much success in getting Micah to sit by Ethan and Colin for a picture.


I think Ethan would sit and hold Colin for a long time if we let him.

I've been at my new job for about six weeks now. I'm feeling pretty settled and am having lots of fun. It's great to have a job that I look forward to, and one that I have fun at! It definitely keeps me busy at home on my days off. I'm still working on fine-tuning the balance of my husband, kids, laundry, cooking, and cleaning. Some weeks it goes well...other weeks I just hope no one comes over unannounced (and if they do, I hope they don't mind stepping through a maze of toys and other "stuff" that accumulates on busy days!).

Micah has developed a new bad habit (one that I probably didn't help). As many moms know, sometimes it's difficult to get yourself ready quickly in the morning. In order to speed up the process at my house (translate--keep people within an arms reach and where I can see them), I encouraged Micah to stand on the step stool by me while I got ready. My hope was that he'd brush his teeth, play with the comb and, I don't know, lovingly chatter to his mother. Apparently he watched me too closely, because now I have to fight him for my makeup.


I know it looks like he's sucking on the lip gloss, but he's actually trying to put it on his lips (for once, usually he puts it on his cheeks). You can notice that he has carefully wet his hair in the front to get it to lay down nicely.


He tries to put on my blush with his fingertips. He's surprisingly adept at getting the makeup open.


I'm trying to break this habit, especially after he figured out how to open my mascara when I wasn't looking. Not a "pretty" sight that time. I think I'll try to get him to brush his teeth a little longer.

Ethan had a fun idea the other day. We have a big thing of butcher paper (I think that's what it's called!). He decided he was going to make a life-size tent. He cut all kinds of pieces out and drew a door and windows for me to cut out. I helped him tape it up, but he was definitely the architect.

He was very proud of his final result, though I think he had more fun building it than playing in it.

I had to put this picture on because he was being really goofy about me taking his picture. I just loved the naughty/mischief/silly look that he has.

And, since boys will be boys, this is what happened to the tent when Ethan and Micah were tired of it. Thankfully we could just shove it all in a bag to recycle it.

I guess that's enough for now...I'll try to be more regular in my posting again!

Edit to add...I'll admit to being a little obsessive compulsive (but only a little). I have all of my thoughts nicely separated into paragraphs in my post. However, when I view my blog it's not all nicely separated. It drives me nuts and I can't fix it. So, know that I don't tend to just have random thoughts all smashed in one paragraph.

Something to watch out for

I was waiting to pick Ethan up from school today and Micah and I were standing by the wall while we waited for Ethan's class to finish. As usual, Micah was chatting to me about his surroundings. He looked at the wall, reached over and pointed. "Light" he said. No, Micah, that is not a lightswitch. That is the fire alarm. Why do I feel like he'll pull it someday?

Incentive

I overheard a conversation this morning between Jason and Ethan. From what I understood from the other room, there was a story on the news about someone going to jail for six months. I believe Ethan asked Jason about that. Here's what I heard:

(Jason) "Six months is April, May, June, July, August, and September. He doesn't get a summer vacation."
(Ethan) "Does he get to eat in jail?"
(Jason) "Yes, but he has to eat broccoli and mushrooms"

Wow, that's incentive for me to never go to jail! No summer vacation AND you have to eat vegetables! :)

Cookie Thief

I took this video a while ago and have been meaning to post it (but being sick for three weeks sort of took away my motivation for a lot of things!). The video is a little dark, but hopefully you can still enjoy it. We were playing in the living room when I realized that Micah had disappeared and that it was quiet. When I found him, I realized that I need to let my cookies cool a little farther back on the counter. He was being so funny that I couldn't help but let him continue.

Birthday Celebrations

We had a busy week of birthday celebrations for Ethan. He had lots of fun and is already talking about how next he'll be six (sigh).

Since I had to work on Ethan's birthday, we started our celebrations on Monday night. He had a coupon for a free birthday ice cream at Coldstone Creamery, so we took him there. We let him choose his flavor and mix-ins, and the result was blue cotton candy ice cream with gummy bears and sprinkles in it.



We took the ice cream home and he ate almost all of it (he shared some with Micah). I think his stomach was a little upset when he finished. Do you wonder why?!



Ethan was able to celebrate his birthday with his class. He took a favorite book, pictures, and a birthday treat to share with the class. After much discussion, he decided that he wanted cutout cookies for his treat. I let him look through my box of cookie cutters and he settled on the number five ("because I'm five, mom") and the hand shape ("because I'm a whole hand now"). He helped me cut out the cookies and picked blue and green frosting. He had a great time taking all the treats for his class.


Once I came home from work on Tuesday, his birthday, we let him open his present before bed. He loves Legos and cars, so we got him a Lego race car. He was thrilled and had to put it together that night.



He so expressive, so he was funny to listen to as he opened his present. He thankfully exclaimed "just what I wanted!". At least we knew he was happy with his present!


Since it was already past his bedtime, we figured we might as well have his "cake", too. I asked him before his birthday what he wanted for dessert...and he told me he wanted pumpkin pie instead of cake. I tried to talk him out of it (since I don't like pumpkin pie), but he was the birthday boy, so I make pumpkin pie and we put candles in that. He loved having "Happy Birthday" sung to him.


He also spent time celebrating with grandparents, aunts, and uncles. He thought it was great that he had messages on the answering machine, and was thrilled to receive mail. Stacy, tell Caleb that Ethan has all kinds of sports stuff that they'll have to play together! We'll be busy in the backyard this summer with all of his fun new toys. We had a fun week!

My son

Dear Ethan,

Today you turn 5. Five. One whole hand. I can hardly believe it. You seem to be growing as I blink. I can't help but think back to the day you were born (as I tend to do every year). I smile when I think about how I turned down going out for lunch with your grandma because I was going to the hospital to be induced. Since your grandma is smart, she suspected where we were going (especially since when I was pregnant I never turned down an opportunity to have lunch). I replay all the stages of labor and delivery at the hospital, and I usually tear up when I think about how when you were born the doctor immediately placed you on my stomach and I was able to pick you up and declare "It's a boy!". What a joy it was to introduce you to everyone! You're not a baby anymore, but you always will be in my heart.



This past year you went off to school. You love it, and your dad and I love to sit and listen to you tell about your day, and your friends, and all that you learned. You remember the facts you learn in school with incredible accuracy (which sometimes leads your mom and dad to look up your facts...just because they are things we don't always know ourselves). You're already talking about going to Kindergarten.



You've developed a love of all things NASCAR. We have no idea where this love came from since your dad and I don't watch NASCAR, nor do any of our family members. The first time you saw a race, you were hooked, and now you tell us all about the drivers you know and you love to drive your NASCAR matchbox cars in pretend races. This past weekend you watched the Daytona 500. You were so excited about it that you were literally bouncing.



Some days, your dad and I feel like all we do is "nag". You've learned to push limits and will try hard to get dad and I to change our mind when we decide something you don't like. We're having a hard time deciding what type of discipline works best for your stage in life...so for now you've spent a lot of time sitting in a chair waiting for the timer to run out. One of these days we hope to find something that works better. You also don't like that your dad and I have made you eat more foods, even just trying one bite. We've been known to beg, plead, threaten, joke, tease, and send you to your room. However, you're like me, so you will only take that one bite when you decide to...if ever. You were happier the other day when I told you that you could take corn from the dish yourself (until I told you that you had to take a least five kernels...a gigantic spoonful to you). I was shocked that you took out six kernels and promptly ate them. I'm hoping it was progress, but I also remember that you did it at grandpa and grandma's house, so it could have been a show.




For a while, I've questioned if we taught you any manners. The constant burping noises are enough to drive me crazy, which is probably why you do it so often. I say "don't spit" on a regular basis because you seem to think that spitting noises are all the rage. All boy you are. Then, when I figured I'd work on manners in a year or five, you suddenly are chivalrous. Yesterday, we pulled in the driveway, and you noticed that the path to the van had filled in with snow. "Wait here in the van, mom" you said. "I'll shovel you a path and you can stay where it's warm". You then shoveled a path all the way around the van...and gave me a "thumbs-up" when you went by my window to let me know it was clear. I don't know whether to laugh because you're silly, or cry happy tears about how sweet you are.



You love your brother like crazy. I know you think it's fun to provoke him, and it's not always happy noises exchanged between the two of you, but you're starting to enjoy him as a playmate. You're great at cheering Micah up when he's fussing, and you both like to race around the house after each other.



My dear boy, I pray that your sweetness and caring about others stays with you all your life. I pray that you continue to ask questions about God, and that you keep appreciating the beauty of the world He created. You are a wonderful child, and an awesome gift to your dad and I.



Happy 5th birthday little man.

Love,

Mom

Valentine's Day

It's been a while since I've posted again (I have a nasty "cold" that I just can't seem to kick...it's made me lazy!). I'll probably do a catch-up post soon!

We spent part of this Valentine's day morning decorating cookies. The boys and their friend, Ava, had a great time putting the frosting mostly on the cookies. There was a lot of knife and finger licking...as well as a liberal use of sprinkles. I doubt we'll be sharing many of the cookies since I think they were licked as well. They really enjoyed decorating a cookie for their snack and it was a great way to pass the morning! I think we may have to work off a sugar buzz outside later in the day!



If you look closely at this picture of Micah, you can see that each of the cookies has bite marks. He was eating the cookies with and without frosting.



This last picture is of our Valentine for Jason. It has become our tradition to use up the last of the frosting in the bowl on a cookie for Jason. He enjoys seeing how high the frosting is (and his sweet tooth loves a whole bunch of frosting with a little bit of cookie!). The cookie is supposed to be two hearts next to each other, it's just hard to see with all the frosting!



Come on...admit it. Looking at the picture of that cookie makes you a little sick to the stomach and a lot jealous of the fact that Jason gets to eat that cookie!