I am rolling!!

Eric's sister Danielle had this posted and it is so funny I had to share it. This is not the whole list, I had to cut it down. You Know You Grew Up In the 80's if:

You can sing the rap to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and can do the Carlton Eric and I can

Girls wore biker shorts under their skirts and felt stylishly sexy. What was I thinking?

Two words: Hammer Pants Eric has a pair from his younger days and someone else who is his best buddy. I will let you confess in due time.

If you ever watched "Fraggle Rock" We have fragile rock on DVD, true art!

You had plastic streamers on your handle bars... and spokey-dokes or playing cards on your spokes for that incredible sound effect It wasn’t a bike without them

You wore a ponytail on the side of your head. I actually have embarrassing photos showing this, my mom could whip up a sideways ponytail faster than you can say sideways ponytail.

You saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen and still know the turtles names. , Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, & Donatello

You got super-excited when it was Oregon Trail day in computer class at school. I am such a dork, I loved that game. I wonder if you can buy that now, hmmm.

You made your mom buy one of those clips that would hold your shirt in a knot on the side. Once again, there are photos that can be used for blackmail

You played the game "MASH"(Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House) If I remember correctly it told you the place you would live at, husband, kids, car and it is killing me not knowing the last one…….UUGGGH

You wore stonewashed Jordache jean jackets and were proud of it. I always felt good in my jacket!!!

L.A. Gear....need I say more? Hello! They had the best sneakers!! Mine were purple and white

You wanted to be a Goonie. Who doesn’t?

You even wore fluorescent clothing. (Some of us...head-to-toe) My mother was afraid of me getting run over in the middle of the day. Well that is what she told me…..

You took lunch boxes to school...and traded Garbage Pailkids in the schoolyard. Eric still has his Garbage kids and will not part with them.

You remember the CRAZE, then the BANNING of slap bracelets. Those are still cool

You have owned a pair of Jelly-Shoes. Really!!! What was I thinking?

You have got seriously injured on a Slip and Slide. Those suckers can burn your skin off.

You wore like, EIGHT pairs of socks over tights with high top Reeboks. They had to be a multicolored sock, now I think about it and it was the only way to make a fashion disaster worse

You know what it meant to say "Care Bear Stare!!" yes and you point your belly out to do it

You remember watching Rainbow Bright and & My Little Pony Tales. I still have not forgiven my mother for giving away my rainbow bright collection. I had the bed set, and all the dolls. It still hurts :(

You remember New Kids on the Block when they were cool...and don't even flinch when people refer to them as "NKOTB" Enough said there

You knew all the characters names and their life stories on "Saved By The Bell," The ORIGINAL class. Of course, who didn’t?

You know all the words to Bon Jovi - SHOT THROUGH THE HEART.

You just sang those words to yourself. Yes, I too was singing. It is timeless, how can you not sing it.

You remember when mullets were cool! As Eric puts it, “Business in the front, party in the rear!”

You tight rolled your jeans. Eric actually showed me how he did you do it. One more thing about my husband I did not know about

You owned a banana clip. I had more than one and they were different colors.

You're still singing shot through the heart in your head, aren't you! YUP!

Christmas Spirit

Even though we will not be home for Christmas, I still wanted to put up the tree and all of the decorations. It will be Ethan’s 1^st Christmas and ours as a family. Therefore, since it is a special holiday we are planning on having our own tiny Christmas right before we leave. Ethan has done real well on not touching the tree and hasn’t shown that much interest in it. The only time it catches his eye is when the lights are on.

On the other hand, Eric decided that since we weren’t going to be home he wasn’t going to put any lights up. That was until about every person on our block had their lights up. He gave in and embraced the Christmas tradition of decorating. As he says it, “I don’t want to be the only scrooge on the block”.

** 18 more days till when we will be in Alamo** I am so excited because I have missed our families and our friends, they are going to freak when they see how much Ethan has grown.

Movin' Along

Here is another video of Ethan taking some steps. Click here.

What do you mean he is not a baby?

Eric, Ethan and I were in line standing behind this mother and her 2 or 3 year old daughter. The little girl kept pointing at Ethan yelling “Baby, Baby”!!! Trying to get her mothers attention she kept yelling it louder. Finally her mother turns around and says, “Sweetie that is not a baby, he is a little boy”. I was surprised by that response because he is still a baby, well to us he is. He can’t walk, still eats baby food, and is not even 1 yet! However, the more I thought of it, the more I realized that he is growing and will be leaving his baby year behind to step into his toddler years. He has become so much more independent and enjoys doing things on his own without needing me like a newborn would. It hits me even more when I see newborn babies and hear that newborn cry. The funny part is when we left the line and were walking away. Eric turns to me and says in all seriousness, “Did you hear that woman say that Ethan is not a baby. When did he go from being a baby to a little boy?”

Happy Thanksgiving...From Our Little Turkey

Learning to walk

Here is a video of Ethan learning to walk with the help of his toy.

So big!

Bath Time

Here are some pics of Ethan playing in the bath. You can see his two new front teeth if you look carefully.

Truly blessed

Men have always left the child raising their wives, but nowadays fathers have become so involved and have really accepted the role of co-parents. Sometimes I forget how much Eric means to me especially when it comes to Ethan. He is such a wonderful dad and helps out so much more than I expected. Ethan enjoys seeing his dad walk through the door at the end of the day and just wants him and only him. Eric feeds him dinner and they have their own special playtime together. I thought it was really to give me a break (“break” meaning house work and dinner) but then I realized that it is a chance for Eric to catch up with Ethan and spend some quality time together. The other day Eric said that it breaks his heart when Ethan is standing by the front door in his pajamas waving goodbye to him in the morning. I had always known that Eric has cherished Ethan but when he said that, it nearly broke my heart that he felt the importance of being involved and that a little thing as a wave meant so much to him. Eric has often said that he has no idea how single mothers pull it off and has so much respect for them. It is great when a man understands the role of a mother.

“All I want for Christmas is my two……”

Ethan has two more teeth, his front teeth have started to come in. His gummy smile will be leaving me for good. It is so sad.

Today Ethan took three steps by himself. He pulled himself up along side the coffee table and went to the couch. Eric and I started clapping and wailing acting like he took those three steps on the moon. Little things like this make our day.

On another note, Ethan has been going through some crazy tantrums. I will take something away from him that he is not supposed to have in his mouth or hands and he acts as if I took away his very need for survival. He goes into this silent open mouth cry where you just see that he is about to wail a huge scream once he runs out of breath, then he throws himself back onto the floor either hitting his head on the furniture or the floor, then once I go to grab him he rolls away from me. Eric didn’t believe me till it was done to him. We just try to ignore it so he won’t think that kind of behavior gets our attention.

Hibernating

Ethan and I have decided that if we need to leave the house, it is on an as needed basis only. It takes me so long just to get him ready to go outside. This includes putting his socks, shoes and hat back on after him taking them off for the 20^th time. Therefore I would rather wait till Eric’s gets home and I go and run the errands by myself. Plus, it seems too cold to be taking a baby outside especially because Ethan is almost 10 months and hasn’t had a cold or an ear infection yet (knocking on wood).

I can’t believe that in about 2 months I am going to be the mother of a one year old!! Where has the time gone? I remember bringing home this teeny weenie baby from the hospital and how whenever he was being held he would bring his legs in and pucker out that cute little tushy.

Now I have a destructive, mischievous little boy tormenting the dog and using the big screen as his drum. He has just learned that he can open cabinet doors but with the crashing of a pot and him crawling away in fear. I hope that will be last time he tries that. He is speed walking across the furniture but has figured out going from the sitting position to the standing position without the help from the furniture. Although once he gets there he looks around and just stands without pushing his luck to move. The once adorable open mouthed slobbery kisses have been replaced with closed kisses since he has learned to pucker his lips. He is a big fan of mashed potatoes and still eyes my coke from time to time. Whenever we go out I get him his own glass of water and a straw. He absolutely loves it. One of his favorite things to do is to play ball with his Daddy; they roll the ball back and forth to each other. It is so cute to see him chasing after the ball and then trying to throw to Eric.