Thursday, January 16, 2014

Oh, to be 3!

Ethan is in full-swing of 3 year old antics....which at our house means non-stop shenanigans and almost-can't-stand-it-cuteness! Yes, he's a handful, but I am not wishing him to grow up too fast, because this age is so much fun. He's still got enough baby softness and sweetness to snuggle, but says the funniest things and is so independent! Here is a few of his latest antics:

Instead of saying, "I don't know" to a question, he says, "I can't think about it"

Everything, and I mean EVERYthing that needs to be done, he says, "I do it by my OWN self!! He is so independent!!

Instead of saying he's "still hungry" after eating a snack or meal, he says, "I'm hungry again!"

Speaking of eating, he does a lot of it! Fortunately he loves fruit so I pretty much let him eat fruit all day long. It's not unusual for him to eat a whole carton of strawberries in one day! He also loves bananas and apples, cheese, yogurt, and  ham sandwiches. He has gotten a little pickier at dinner time and sometimes just has fruit for dinner. Needless to say , he is quite "regular" lol!

When you tell him not to do something, he says, "well......" And goes into all the reasons he is going to do it anyway. He is always pushing the limit with us--every single day!

The other day he actually ROLLED his eyes and said "whatever" to me, with a sly little grin. I was speechless! Where on earth did he learn that?! His big brother has never dreamed of doing such a thing!!

When he does get in trouble, he says, "oooooo, are you maaaad at meee??"

We inadvertently nicknamed Ayden "A", and now Ethan pretty much only calls him A. It's so cute!

At least once a day, he crawls in my lap, kisses my cheek, and says "you look like a beautiful princess". Such a little charmer!!

His favorite toys are his toy guns. He carries them around all day shooting squirrels, which he pronounces "squeals". He also loves Dino's and trucks.

He is trying to stop napping, but I am fighting it with every fiber of my being. He is an absolute bear without his nap! Hoping we have at least another year of naps but I'm not sure that's gonna happen!

Some of the many expressions of Ethan!







Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Our 2013!!


Here is our annual year in review post!!
 
January
We had a mild winter in NWA, which was great because it meant we could spend plenty of time outside! If there's anything I have learned in the past year, it's that my boys need to be allowed to run, climb, swing, dig, drive/ride, bounce, scream, and get dirty at LEAST 30 minutes a day. Anything less than that means something inside the house will probably be broken before the day is out;)
 
 
 
 
February
  My little Valentine cuties!
 
 
March 
We had an early and very unseasonably warm Easter! After attending church, we had a little egg hunt in our backyard, followed by water play and a picnic! 

April
Ayden started his 2nd year of t-ball! I finally got my boss to let me cut 
back to part time hours at work & we took our camper on our first family camping trip and went to Silver Dollar City!



May
I had a wonderful Mother's Day with my mom and sweet boys AND we joined our church! Ayden graduated from preschool! He played t-ball games every Saturday and we saw lots of improvement each week! We visited my parents in Mena and spent some time at their campground just one week before it was hit by a devastating flood.
  


June
We kicked off our summer with lots of splash park time and grilling out! We traded in our Suburban for a gas efficient Equinox. My brother & I got to see Elton John in concert at the Walmart shareholders concert! My family came to visit Father's Day weekend. And we ended the month with a road trip to Houston for a fun few days with my best friend and her family!


July
We had a mild 4th of July (seriously, this was a weird year- we played in water at Easter and covered up with blankets while watching fireworks!). The boys and I spent a week in Mena and we savored the last few weeks of summer before Ayden started kindergarten!! Ethan graduated out of diapers & into big boy undies!!

August
The very first day of the month our big boy started kindergarten! A few weeks later he turned 6, and the boys had their first double birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Chris and I were baptized and rededicated our lives and family to Christ! 

September
Ethan turned 3! Ayden started his first season of flag football under Coach Daddy! He also started Awana's. Chris and I felt a strong calling to become foster parents and started the (lengthy!) process to become licensed! We traded the Equinox for a minivan to make room for more kiddos! :)

  

October

We had a fun month! I turned 32! Mom, Brandy & I enjoyed our annual craft fair weekend & Chris camped out in the backyard with the boys!  I helped chaperone Ayden's first field trip to a pumpkin patch & we went as a family to Silver Dollar City again during Ayden's fall break. The leaves started changing and our neighborhood became breathtaking! We had a super fun Halloween!!




November
It got cold! We spent the whole week of Thanksgiving in Mena and Ayden spent his first night at deer camp with the guys!

December 
We got EIGHT inches of snow and ice the first weekend of December! Ayden missed 5 days of school and we got a little hint of the crazy winter ahead of us! Chris turned 32 and we celebrated 12 wonderful years of marriage! We had a magical Christmas with our sweet boys!

2013 was a year of wonderful memories, changed-for-the-better perspectives, and rich blessings for our family. We are overwhelmingly excited to see God's work in our lives in 2014!
Happy New Year!!!!!!!