Ja!

Ethan has been saying "no" for awhile now but is just now learning how to answer to the affirmative. He says, "Ja!" It's my German coming out in him. On Sunday, I called him my little german boy after he said, "Ja" and then asked him to say, "Nein" (No in German). Ethan replied, "TEN!" very excitedly.

I'm Not a Morning Person

I used to be one of those people that was both a morning and a night person. I would wake up refreshed, keep my energy for the whole day, stay up late and then wake up refreshed again. Now I am neither a morning person or a night person. If I'm going to get something done, it has to be between 11:00 AM and 6:00 PM.

So, this morning I sat down on the couch to start my work at about 9:00 AM. I figured I could get it out of the way and then use my afternoon energy to do some chores. Then I discovered that Daisy had apparently stepped in her own poo this morning and was getting it all over the couch cushion next to me! I tied her up in the kitchen while Joshua (armed with Folex) and I (armed with paper towels) cleaned the poop off of our couch.

Next I started cleaning the poop off of Daisy's back paw which she did not appreciate at all. She didn't like me cleaning between her toes but it needed to be done. As I was doing this, Ethan apparently dropped the syrup bottle on the floor and it broke open. Somehow Ethan got a big pile of syrup on the kitchen floor whether by accident or on purpose, I'll never know. Then he decided this was a good time to have a little snack and I found him sticking his little finger in the syrup pile and licking the syrup off his finger. Yum! Syrup mixed with a little dog hair-- don't knock it until you try it. While cleaning Ethan up I noticed a strong stinky smell that needed to be dealt with right away. One diaper and three wipes later he was smelling fresh again.

So, now I once again sit down on the couch to start my work (and blog a little) at 10:15 AM. My couch is about 20% clean, my kitchen floor is about 3% clean, Daisy is 25% clean, and Ethan's bottom is 100% clean. It's a start!

Yoga with a Twist

Here is another item to add to my "Things I'm Grateful For" list. When my back is aching, this Yoga video keeps me from being a cripple. These days my lower back has been hurting so much that I have to do Yoga first if I plan to get any chores done. What a difference it makes!

What's the twist you ask? Yoga with a one year old and a three year old! Joshua often asks me, "Want to do yogo?" Here's how it works:

1. While doing any standing position with your legs spread out, have your little ones crawl back and forth between your legs. Beware: They might accidentally bump into you.

2. Let your little ones play with your yogo bricks when you are not using them. When you need them, just ask your little ones to bring your bricks back and maybe they will.

3. Be sure to share your yoga mat. Adjust your poses accordingly.

4. When you are preparing for locust pose, don't worry about lifting up your head. Your little ones will do that for you by pulling on your hair to lift your head.

5. When you are using your brick, let your little ones try to knock the brick out from under your hands. This is a fun game for them and will count as quality time with your children.

Well, there you have it! I hope you try out Yoga with a Twist! Let me know how it goes!

Hide and Seek

I sat down on my bed after picking the children up from school and thought about how tired I was. So, I said to myself, "You should listen to your body and just lay down for a minute."

Those who really know me know that I do not take naps. I wake up from naps feeling absolutely horrible-- tired, grumpy, nauseous and like I have the flu. My children's doctor asked me when Joshua was born if I was taking naps while Joshua slept and was surprised that I never take naps. I told her how I feel when I wake up and she said, "You know what that means don't you?" I didn't. She said, "It means that you are very sleep deprived." Who knew?

I have been sleep deprived for years even when I'm sleeping 8-9 hours a night due to lack of restorative sleep that my doctor is now trying to remedy, but I never knew that's why I can't take naps.

Anyway, Joshua came in my room looking for me a minute or so after I laid down. I couldn't see him because I was laying on my side facing the other way but I heard him go right past me to my bathroom door and then head back out of my room. I thought, "Wow. He's going to let me rest."

Then I hear, "He's (Translation: She's) got to be here somewhere." Enjoying this little game, I of course remained still. Ethan found me about 30 seconds later followed by Joshua and well, so much for my rest but I did have a laugh and for some reason, laughing seems to have restorative powers too!

Dunkin' Donuts Surprise!

Daddy surprised us with a dozen Dunkin' Donuts last Saturday. Thank you Daddy! The Dunkin' Donuts store just opened and we do not have a Krispy Kreme around here. Ethan LOVED the donuts as you can see. I think the fillings and frostings were a bit off so if you are thinking about getting a dozen, you should wait a couple of weeks for them to perfect their donuts. In the meantime, check out the Angel Cake Bakery next to the Ruckersville Food Lion. They have the best donuts for about the same price.

Looking Out My Window

Dear Window,

Thank you for letting me see through you. I love to watch for my daddy to come home so I can wave and wave and wave to him. Good Girl Da loves to watch with me. She likes to communicate with her friends across the lake while we look out of the window. If she talks too much, Mommy sends her outside and I look out of the window by myself and wonder what she is saying in her own funny language.

When Daddy pulls up in his trusty car with over 180,o00 miles on it, I giggle and giggle while calling out, "Da-da! Da-da!" in my loudest voice. Mommy doesn't shoo me outside though. She smiles and comes to the window to wave to Daddy too. She looks so happy to see him!

Thank you Window for bringing us joy!

Love,

Ethan

Carter Mountain Orchard

Joshua, Ethan and I went to Carter Mountain last month for a field trip organized for preschool mothers in the ward. We had a great time! We went on a wagon ride, enjoyed delicious apple donuts and apple peach cider, and picked apples right off of the trees! I had to lift Joshua above my head for him to reach the apples so my T-shirt got all muddy and I had to stop at the grocery store with mud on my chest. I figured, "Oh well, they'll know I'm a mother."


And we came home with two whole bags of Golden Delicious apples. Yummy! Fresh apples really do taste best! We even made some apple fritters one Sunday morning.

My Dancing Boys

In this house we love to listen to music and dance and be silly! Ethan has figured out how to add arm movements to his dancing. Here is a video of Joshua and Ethan dancing. Enjoy!

Ethan's New Trick!

Ethan has decided that he is tired of showing us tricks we've seen our other children do.

So, he came up with a new trick!

I had to snap this photo fast because Daddy was VERY nervous!

Feeling Loved

I love having my school-aged children home for the summer! I eagerly look forward to it every year. I like the relaxed schedule that summer brings-- not worrying if a family outing puts us home after bedtime, being able to sleep in a little extra, more time for family games, no homework, etc.

One thing has been hard though-- NAPTIME! My school-aged children seem to no longer KNOW how to be quiet during this precious time of day. Ethan, who is the only one lucky enough to still take naps, has been having trouble staying asleep with the extra noise in this home.

On Thursday, Ethan was awakened about half way into his nap. I got him up but after only a few minutes it was obvious from his fussiness that he needed to go back to bed. I took him back to his room and rocked him in my arms. He immediately relaxed and looked up at me while we listened to his music play. I thought about how comfortable he seemed in my arms which reminded me about how comfortable I feel in my husband's arms. I feel so loved when he holds me. And even though Ethan might not understand the words "I love you" yet, I know that he feels my love when he is in my arms. I love you Ethan!

Ethan Discovers New Territory!

This was Ethan's first time climbing on the table. I was snapping a few pictures while thinking about how I was only encouraging this risky behavior when he dropped that Ragu bottle on the floor. Thankfully it didn't pop open and spill everywhere like one did when Jack dropped it on the carpet a few weeks ago. Remember?

My new kitchen chair cushions were spared for another day. They have already experienced chocolate, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, RED paint and various crumbs. Luckily, all of these happened AFTER I treated them with Scotchguard (Thanks Jacquie!) and I was able to get all of the stains out. I was scared when I saw the red paint but the hardest one to clean out of the cushions was the definitely the chocolate!

Doesn't my boy look so proud of himself for discovering new territory? He is such a cutie!

Family Fun at its Finest!

Ethan Shows Joshua How It's Done!

I changed Ethan's stinky diaper and then dressed Joshua for the day. When I went to pick Ethan up, he was stinky again! "I just changed you little stinker!" I checked his diaper and it was clean but he REALLY was stinky so I knew more was coming. I put him on Joshua's potty and sure enough HE POOPED!

No, I don't actually believe he is ready to be potty-trained... but, I saved myself a diaper!

Later that day when I was telling someone about it, Joshua (who was right there in the bathroom when it happened and hasn't pooped on the potty for months) said, "I go poop in the potty." Yeah, right! :)

These Shoes Were Made For Walking!

When I tried to put shoes on Ethan before, he would always just pull them off. Now that he is walking, I knew he needed some good shoes to wear when we go out. He loves his new shoes so much that he asks for us to put them on by saying "shoes, shoes..."

He looks so cute in his Stride Rites!

Just So Tired

I gave Ethan some lunch and then proceeded to wash dishes while talking to my mom on the phone. When Ethan was done eating, he threw his plate and cup on the floor and fell asleep. (It was nap time after lunch.) I gave up on washing dishes while holding a phone and sat on the couch and then thought, "Something is weird...it's too quiet...where's Ethan?" It was then that I remembered the poor little guy!

Apparently this has happened to John recently too.

It's Official!

Ethan had been taking steps here and there but on June 14, 2008 he started officially walking. Isn't he cute?

Mother May I?

Isn't it interesting that children often demand to take over the tasks that they are developmentally ready to learn?

Ethan has been feeding himself for a long time but I have tried to continue to feed him the messiest foods like oatmeal, applesauce, yogurt, etc. On this day, Ethan decided enough was enough and refused to let me feed him his oatmeal. I must say he did pretty well!

When he got down to the bottom of the bowl, he decided it would be easier to get the rest with his fingers.

Can you blame him?

Ethan Wants a Sandwich

Ethan is not allowed to have peanut butter yet because of his soy/dairy baby allergy that he has grown out of-- YEAH! The rest of my children eat sandwiches for lunch almost everyday. One day Ethan was fussing and kept pointing at their sandwiches. I made him a sandwich with jelly and margarine and then realized that the jelly was contaminated with peanut butter and had to throw that sandwich away and open a new jelly and make a new sandwich. I hate to put margarine on a sandwich like this . I'm sure there are other spread choices I'm not thinking about-- could you give me ideas of sandwiches for Ethan with no nut spreads? He loves grilled cheese. Thanks for your help!

Ethan Loves His Mema!

Ethan still doesn't really like other people to hold him but he does let Mema hold him. Here she fed him a bottle and he took a nap in her lap. Mema is his great-grandmother, my maternal grandmother. My children are lucky to have 4 great-grandparents still alive (3 on my side).

Mema is the youngest of 16 children (no multiple births). Can you imagine being pregnant and giving birth 16 times?

Good Girl!

Ethan used to call Daisy by her name but now he only calls her "Good Girl." I guess this shows how much Daisy's behavior has improved since Joshua started talking. His first word was not Mommy or Daddy-- No, it was Daisy! He also quickly learned how to say "No, Daisy. Bad Girl." This is when I realized I was calling her a "Bad Girl" too much.

Ethan loves to feed Daisy his food! I often have to send her outside while he eats or else he will give almost all of it to Daisy. John gets mad at Daisy for taking the food from Ethan but hey, if he is handing it to her or throwing it on the floor, how can we expect her, a Beagle, to stay away!