Starting to play together

Well since Gracie is pulling herself up and exploring the world from a different level, it has given her a chance to play along side Ethan. Even though, he still needs reminding that she can play with his toys just like he plays with hers, they have been doing fairly well together. I still sometimes hear, "Mom can you come and get Gracie". Poor kid has yet to realize that this is only the beginning of having a sibling. Although I have to watch her because if she feels he is closing in on a toy she will lunge onto him with a open mouth like she is trying to bite him and start wailing away on him. Poor Ethan just sits there screaming for me to help get her off of him. I have no idea where she gets it from because Ethan was never a bitter and has never even bit her but when you are seeing it happen it looks like she has a short fuse just waiting to be lit. I think can already tell from this age their personalities. Ethan is more of a follower, he is the type that would probably blend with the crowd and kind of do what everyone else is doing. NOT Gracie, she is more of the child that would think of an idea good or bad and try it out. She will be the child to provide me with gray hairs. She is one feisty little girl!! It must be in the blood lines.


Ethan was at the kitchen table playing with this play-do and gadgets and out of nowhere ask me this:

Ethan: Mom, does Ty have play-do?
Me: I am sure he does. Do you remember where he lives?
Ethan: Yes, in Hawaii
Me: Thats right, I can't believe you remembered that.
Ethan: Looking down with a sad face "I really miss him"

Doesn't that just break your heart!!!

Gracie and Ethan playing

Gracie getting into things she shouldn't be getting into.

Ethan building his Lego Gun

He is aiming his Lego gun

Goofing around

One of my favorites

Gracie and Gabrielle = BFF

Well Gracie is barely 11 months old and already has a BFF. Our next door neighbors have a little girl who is 4 months younger than Gracie. Of course Gracie just wants to hug her till she can't breathe but thats only because she doesn't know her own strength yet. Gracie just loves when she comes over and loves when they are both on the floor together. I have been watching Gabrielle to help our neighbors out until they can get stuff squared away between their family and the day care. It has been easier than I expected and she is on our schedule so thats a breeze. Heck, throwing one more in the mix plus Jager who is my most difficult child sometimes doesn't seem too big of a difference. Plus it keeps Gracie occupied because she treats Gabrielle as her own personal doll. I catch her giving her hugs and kisses, which is too cute! They have been really great neighbors so I am just glad I get to help them out. Also toting one more kid around should be helping me in the arms department. I am still working my butt off or at least trying to work it off but I think I hit a plateau. No matter how many squats or ball crunches I do, I am not getting sore. I think I need to try something else.

If Gracie sees a blanket or a pillow on the floor she
automatically lays her head on it but I think she thought Gabrielle was the best choice.

Waving

Girly Girls

Oh sh*t!

Yes, I do have a bad mouth and my most favorite word is 'oh sh*t'. You can use it with everything. I think that is why I like it so much because it works for when you drop an egg on a newly mopped kitchen floor or when you see your child running towards the street and you need to get there fast. It has to be the most versatile phrase in my vocabulary. However, the other day after realizing Gracie was pulling the little thing that takes the dvd's right out of the DVD player, I said it while trying to stop her. Next thing I noticed my little mimic, Ethan repeats my special phrase. I promptly correct him saying that he must not say that word and must use Darn't or Shoot instead. I also told him that Mommy is no longer allowed to say that word anymore. Well it must of not been 5 minutes later, I slipped. Ethan runs up to me with the most serious face and with a stern voice, "MOM, you cannot say oh sh*t Mom, That is a bad word so do not say oh sh*t. You can say darn't or shoot but not oh sh*t Mom!!!!!" Of course I thought it was hilarious but I didn't dare show it. Needless to say we both needed a time out.

The Chef and Drama Queen

We had some friends over on Wednesday and Ethan and Kaylee just couldn't get enough of each other. She even had him pushing the baby carriage. Oh what boys will do for pretty girls. Gracie was looking at another kid.

Ethan’s look on the life as a spoiled grandchild!

For many of you that don’t know, Eric’s grandparents always spend a lot of time with Ethan and Gracie when we are in Alamo and they are called by their nicknames which are Germ and Lapiz. The following takes place in Ethan’s closet after I found him and his sister hiding there again.

Ethan: Mommy, I am Lapiz and Gracie is Germ.

Me: Really, what are you doing?

Ethan: (standing on a box) I am fixing the house!

Me:… and what is Gracie doing?

Ethan: She is making papa(food) ,because Germ makes really good papa, like Oreo’s .

I rest my case!

Ethan's 3 year check-up

Ethan now weighs 31.8 lbs. and is 3 feet and 1 inches tall. On the way to the hospital I told Ethan that he was going to see the doctor for his three year check up. Then he tells me that he doesn't want to see the doctor and that Gracie can go instead. I told him it was his turn and that it was going to be fun. That is when the truth came out and he ask, "Am I going to get shots?" . I told him that he wasn't going to get shots, they were just going to weigh him and see how big he has gotten. However, once our name is finally called, Ethan is crying and not wanting to follow the nurse. He is saying over and over he doesn't want shots. That is when the delightful nurse turns and ask me If I told him he was going to get shots. Ummmm, Let me think, in between letting him watch a bloody horror flick on crazy doctors and telling him in detail about all of the shots I have been given, I thought heck why not ruin his little world and tell him that he was going to get a shot. NOOOO, I did not tell him he was getting shots, maybe he got it in his head from seeing how many times you have pricked his little sister. He does come with me when we go to Gracie's appointments so I am sure the blood curtailing screams coming out of Gracie made Ethan realize that going to the doctor sometimes is not all that fun. Well, he did survive the appointment and there were no shots. Hopefully this experience will help out with any future resistance on going to the doctor.

Riding in the Neighborhood

Happy Third Birthday Ethan!!!

Today my baby turned THREE and I still can't believe it. He is a such character and a busy body. He loves to talk and can sometimes be a little bossy. He loves learning about new things and is really big into pretend play. You never know if he is a pirate, doctor, or acting like daddy. He loves being outdoors and still gets a kick out of Jager. He is probably a little too conceited for his own good but I think that is our fault. He loves looking in the mirror and calls himself 'cute'. He is a wonderful big bother to his sister Gracie and is always looking out for her. He is quick to tell her when she is throwing a fit or won't share a toy where time out is. He is defiantly a cuddlier and loves it when I call him 'my baby'. He will probably make more trips to the ER than any other kid because he is a huge risk taker and loves pushing the limits. He is a morning person like his mother. You know when Ethan is awake because he jumps out of bed, shuts his door every time, runs into our room and promptly says "Good Morning" in such a chipper voice. He is looking more and more like his Daddy everyday. He loves being told that because that is his best buddy. He gets such a thrill when only Eric and him hang out all day. I know he enjoys that one on one time very much. His laughter is contagious. He is such a great kid with a big heart but of course I would say that, I am his Mom!

Since we were home around Ethan's birthday and we knew we would probably never have the chance again, we decided to have his birthday there. This is the first birthday he got to share with them and he loved having his cousins there to play with. It was held at Putt-Putt so they all enjoyed miniature golf and games. We pigged out on pizza and cake, I forgot the ice cream. Normally, Eric reminds me! Ethan had a great time and was spoiled rotten.

Found the cord! I swear without Eric I probably wouldn't own a computer,
heck I barely learned how to text last week.

Getting ready to blow!

Yummy!

Opening Presents

On his first shot he got a hole in one! Pure Luck

His cousin Aiden showing him how to ride his new bike

The happy birthday boy

Our 5th Wedding Anniversary too!

May the best Woman win!

Eric and I have a little race going on and it is kicking my butt. Whoever reaches their desired weight/body tone wins the grand prize money. It first was whoever wins picks the vacation spot but seeing how we both agreed on that one, we changed it to cold hard cash. I would like to buy a new wardrobe for our vacation and Eric being so predictable chose a gun. It is kind of like Biggest Loser. However, the problem I am facing is that I don’t want to lose anymore weight, I know how weird that sounds but I like the weight I am at and it is around the weight I was in high school. But, as we all know after two kids, the weight has redistributed itself in places that it was never there. Therefore, my issue is more with toning than building muscle. I run about 2 1/2 miles and walk 1 mile MWF and then on T-TH I head on over to the YMCA for an hour and do core strength training at night. Knowing how competitive Eric is, he is going all out. I could care less about the prize but just finally beating Eric at something other than Rummy would make it all worth it. I have always said that baby weight should be left in the boobs. Don’t you think after putting us through the 9 months plus birth God could have at least left us with the extra lbs. in our boobs instead of on our butts and mid section? Heck, Eric and I would of both made out on that deal. Well wish me luck, I got till mid April.

Learning to ride a skateboard

There's no place like home, but some come pretty close!

Yes, we have finally made it back home! I knew we were going to be gone for awhile and was planning on updating the blog but it kept being pushed aside because we were too busy having fun with our family. Of course, we had a great Christmas and New Year. Ethan and Gracie had fun playing with all of their cousins and hanging out with their grandparents and great grandparents. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and enjoyed our annual seafood dinner, and then we spent Christmas morning with Eric’s family and enjoyed Belgian Waffles. If you know me, you know my passion for food and eating!!! Needless to say the kids were spoiled rotten and in the words of Ethan after me telling him no, “Where’s Grandma?” Yes, my child has realized the power of grandparents. Now my other child, Gracie, decided that she was going to jump back in time and wake up between 2-3 times a night. At first she would just want to play, then after getting too tired she wanted me to hold her all night long. Once I realized she was making a habit out of it we decided that it was best to come home early. Last night was our first night being back and I was worried that she was going to continue with the torture but she slept perfectly fine all night. When I went to put her to sleep she sat up looked around her room, laid back down rolled over and was out! In fact we all must have missed our house and beds because everyone crashed out really fast. We hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Sitting on Santa's lap at Grandma Teresa's Christmas Party.
Doesn't Gracie look huge!

He wanted his hand painted instead of his face. He got a black paw print.

Ethan and Grandma Teresa doing the cake walk.
They won three times!

Gracie playing with her ladybug balloon.

Looking so cute.

As soon as your done taking this picture and turn away
I am going to gab all these snow globes.

Ethan wearing a funny Santa Hat

Sitting on Santa's Lap AKA Grandpa Dan

Ethan watching Grandpa wave and hand out Candy canes.
The flash cut out most of the lights out but trust me it lights up the block.

Opening presents Christmas Eve

Opening presents Christmas morning
He is so proud of his underwear.

"Wow that girl looks like me"

Such a great Uncle!
Uncle Dave helped Ethan put together all of his presents.