Everyone has their moment

Ethan is going through a phase (I hope) of not listening to Mommy. Doesn't seem to matter how I ask or what I say, he will either totaly ignore me or say "NO!" Needless to say, after a few days of this my patience has worn fairly thin.

A few days ago, Ethan was in the shower and I was trying to get him to stand under the water to get his hair wet.

Mommy: Ethan, you need to get your hair wet, please

Ethan (while playing with his rolly soap): In THREE minutes.

Mommy: No, now, please.

Ethan: I need to wash my body first (he's been playing and rolling the soap for 5)

Mommy: Ethan, put down the soap and get your hair wet so I can wash it.

Ethan: I said in a minute.

In walks Daddy

Daddy: Come on buddy, get your hair wet.

Ethan: Ok!

Really? Do you see how frustrating this is??!! I can't win!! After the shower was over, Marc was still in the bathroom. I wrapped Ethan up in a towel and lay down on the floor. Ethan came over and snuggled on top of me, putting his head on my shoulder. Marc looks over and says, “He might listen to me more, but I don’t get that right there.”

So now when he doesn’t listen and I want to yell, I just try to remember those little moments…and they make it all worth it.

Happy Birthday Harrison!

This past weekend we loaded up the car and headed out to Madison, Alabama for Harrison's birthday party. Harrison is the son of my oldest and dearest friend, Cindy. We met in 6th grade and while most of our friendship has been long distance, we are still as close as we were back then.


Harrison turned 2 on Saturday and we were excited to be able to go this year to celebrate! Cindy and Kacey had this awesome water-fun setup in their backyard. The kids had a blast and the weather was perfect! I was having so much fun taking pictures of the kids that I forgot to take any of the adults.

After a day of water-fun, pizza, cake, and presents, the kiddos sacked out and we got to have some much needed adult time before we headed home on Sunday morning.

Ethan
Harrison

Olivia (Harrison's older sister)

Happy Birthday Harrison! We love you!!!

Movin on up!

It's Friday afternoon and I am so happy that the weekend is here! I leave work and hop in the car to go pick up Ethan and enjoy the next two days with my boys. Well, imagine my surprise to walk into Discovery Point and have one of the managers tell me she needs me to sign something. Uh-oh...what has he done? Bite? Hit? Throw? Usually the only time we have to sign anything is if he gets hurt or if he does the hurting to someone else.

Much to my relief Ms. Bettina tells me that I need to sign a release form that will allow Ethan to move on up to the Preschool-2 class!! They need our permission since he isn't 3 yet and we have to approve for him to be in a class with 3-year olds. I have to say that I was a little sad because we love his teacher Ms. Tina, but I am glad that he will be in a class with other boys again (right now he is the only boy in a class of 10).

Starting today, he will visit Ms. Carolina's class for a few hours each day and hopefully he will move in there full time next Monday.

Way to go, buddy! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of our smart boy!!!

Roam the Dome

This past Saturday Marc, Uncle Jimmy, Ethan, and Hailey went to the Georgia Dome for the Falcons pre-season "Roam the Dome" event. The newspaper describes this event as "...a very family friendly affair that allowed the kids to run around and enjoy themselves, concessions were open, and there were games and activities after the scrimmage." Unfortunately, they never made it down to the field, but here are some of the pictures Marc took from the day.

Thanks to Marc and Jimmy for taking the kiddos! Hilary and I got a TON of scrapping done and the kids had a great time!!

We Are Not Above Bribery

Someone asked me the other day if there was ever a time in my life when I had to throw out everything I thought about the way it should be and realize that I was wrong. The answer is simply...Of course...I have a child!!

I swore that I would never bribe my child. There will never be a need I told myself. Commence your giggling now. I know I was WRONG!!!

When we started potty training, we rewarded (bribed) with stickers. Then we moved to matchbox cars, then onto candy we went. Once Ethan got the hang of it, we removed the reward. Easy enough, right? Yeah, ok, sure.

Ethan has been having troubles realizing when he needs to poopy in enough time to make it to the potty. This has been especially problematic at school since they are always playing, not to mention there are 9 other kids in his class. We finally gave up control this past weekend and let him know that it was totally his decision...to potty or not to potty...to wear a diaper or BBUs. It was all up to him. I took a lesson in reverse psychology, and boy did it work!! He decided he was going to use the potty on Sunday...YAHOO!!!!

Monday after work, I went by WalMart and picked up the Fisher Price digital camera that Ethan's been wanting for quite a while. That night, we showed it to him and said that when he decided it was time to use the potty completely at school, the camera would be his! Until that time, it sat out in plain view in the see-thru package just tempting him. I told his teacher about our little bribe and she was on board!

On Tuesday, when I picked him up, he had an accident. He told me "Mommy, I had an accident in my pants. I don't get my camera today." Same goes for Wednesday. Then the glorious day finally came. On Thursday, when I arrived to pick him up, he was sitting in a chair holding a bag of ice. Oh lovely. Turns out he had fallen right before I got there and hit his nose and it had bled a little. Once he told me all of that, he says "MOMMY! Guess what? I just went poopy on the potty at school and I get to have my camera!!!" Oh happy day!!

As soon as we walked thru the door he was itching for that camera to come out of the package. I felt bad because we really needed to get him cleaned up and his clothes changed. He was a trooper and held patient until it was time. I made sure we had batteries on hand, but who knew getting the batteries INTO the camera would be such a challenge. I had to keep repeating "Be smarter than the toy" over and over as to not chuck the camera across the room. The camera is waterproof, so the battery compartment is on lock-down...literally.

After many long minutes of struggles, we were in business. Ethan started happily snapping away and chanting "Mommy, say cheese!" Sabo, however, would not say cheese, much to Ethan's disliking. And I am happy to report (and now feverishly looking for wood to knock on since I am probably jinxing myself) that we have not had an accident since!! YIPPY!!!!!

Stay tuned for some of Ethan pictures to be posted soon. That camera sucks batteries like I have never seen before and they are already dead!!

It's a Strike...It's a Spare...It's Ethan's First Bowling Trip!

Thank the heavens above that my child takes after Marc when it comes to athleticism. He can hit a baseball, throw a football, shoot a basketball, and kick a soccer ball. He has all but mastered the Wii Sports (with the small exception of tennis) and his coordination surpasses mine. Yes, the child has been blessed with all of the athletic bones that passed me by. YAHOO!!


We decided on Saturday that it was time. Time to throw him into the world of REAL bowling...not just bowling on TV (the Wii). And I must say, to no surprise, he did great! Once Marc showed him the fine art of the granny-role, he was in business! And we were not allowed to help. He would let us stand with him, but we could NOT touch the ball. Oh no.


Game 1, he bowled a respectable 45. Of course we had the bumpers up, but we quickly learned that this does not mean that you are guaranteed to knock down pins every time. The bumpers stop short about 2 feet from the pins...just enough room for the ball to squeeze by. Nice. Game 2, he rose up to a 71!!! I know it doesn't really count, but in the 8th frame, he missed all the pins on the first ball and then got them all with the second...so that's kind-of a strike, right? Well, at least it is for a 2 1/2 year old!


We were also lucky to have a nice family in the lane next to us. They were taking their time and didn't mind that we were taking our time as well. They even cheered for Ethan when he did well. Ethan did keep trying to bowl on their lane though...he'd put the ball down and we'd all yell out "NO!! Not that one!" and one of us would run up there to point him in the right direction.


After we finished, we had dinner at where else but Chick-a-lay! All day Sunday he kept telling me "Mommy, I so had fun real bowling with Daddy and with you Mommy!"

Kitty's New Do

I know it's supposed to be all about Ethan, but I couldn't help sharing these pictures of our cat, Samantha. As most of you know, she is quite the fluffy little beast (or "Fat-Rat" as we affectionately call her) so once or twice a year we have her shaved. I have to say that while she does look a little silly, we can tell that she feels so much better. She hates being brushed and her fur can get completely unmanageable, so the vet suggested the "lion shave." They leave the hair on her head, bottom half of her legs, and the tip of her tail. Ethan didn't seem phased by it at first but now wants to pet her more often.