Because I'm Two

I need to continue with the last post because of course, there is more to add.

Ethan insists on having Peanut Butter on a spoon before he and Daddy mow...EVERY time.

I completely forgot to mention the Olympics. Ethan had such a great time watching them. He liked swimming best. Followed by gymnastics and running events. For a kid who doesn't sit and watch tv, he sure liked to sit and watch the events. He'd get excited if you had on the radio and they'd mention the Olympics. He'd shout "OLYMPICS!" One morning in the car he told me that he wanted to go swimming, that he'd swim faster than Daddy. We would go to be easily watching them every night...sure missed them when they ended, although we're occasionally watching baseball or Little League World Series or football now. Or we're back to Sprout, and that's ok too. 

He loves to make up words...because he thinks it's funny. The one that really stuck is "nin-ya." It all started one day when I asked him to give me a high-five and he said "That's not a high-five, that's a ninya" Ok, I'm still not sure what a ninya is, but it makes him crack up if you ask "What's a ninya?" For awhile I thought it was when he pushes his face into your hand instead of actually giving the high-five, but I'm not sure! It's a bit of an inconsistency, but it's quite funny! He likes to make jokes, and sometimes, he's quite good at it. It's fantastic. Sometimes he makes up songs to go with the made up words. Other times, he just makes up songs. I think I mentioned in the last post...he sings a lot.

Another big word that's making a presence this week is "because." "I don't want this one because it's too big." Yup. I love it. Hearing toddler rational is fascinating. Similarly, he's using "so that." "...so that Ethan can do it." The other thing I love hearing is when Ethan calls people "silly." He says it more like SIL-ly. Like when I work Charlie's flip flops he says "Silly Mommy, those are Daddy's shoes!" Really, it's the best. Having a hard time getting it on video though. Nothing like getting out the camera to halt an activity.

Having fun at Little Gym

Ethan's working hard on jumping. He has in endearing "ho-down" type of one leg, then the other leg. My favorite is when he stomps like a dinosaur (especially when he's wearing his "dinosaur shoes." Each step is so giant and deliberate. Speaking of jumping, in July we broke Ethan's fear of air bounces. They use what they call the Air Track at Little Gym, it's basically a moon bounce base where they practice skills. He's always been terrified of it. Well, maybe not always. It didn't bother him as in infant, but more around the one year mark when he realized it might be something to be fearful of. Right before we moved I took him to That Bounce Place and we faced the fear once and for all. It took about an hour, but now he's one heck of a bouncer and LOVES it. You'd never know that it ever bugged him. In fact, he jumps and runs and has such a great time. The other day he threw a ball and it bounced and he said "It's bouncing..just like the bounce place." Yup, what a connection!
This month or so he's really mastered skipping. Now he skips just about everywhere. It's awesome and fun to watch. He looks so happy to be flying through the air like that. And fast.

His favorite color is blue. It's evident that he favors blue (he downright refuses to drink chocolate milk from anything but a blue sippy cup with a blue lid). And of course, that's what he'll tell you if you ask him. He'll also tell you that he likes purple. He also seems to favor green. The artist in me thinks it's quite interesting how they're all cool colors.

HAD to have one of EVERY drink in the fridge. If you're wondering if I taught him that...I did not. (I made the same request as a toddler) He even sips them on after the next the same way.

Speaking of favorites. He tells me almost every day that "Yellow Submarine is my favorite song." I'll tell you what, it's been loudly requested to be on repeat in the car for the three weeks...so I had a suspicion. He'll also say "Make it louder!" The Buggies sing it-- if you were wondering. He likes to repeat the line "is all we need." He also thinks the part with the echo-y dialog "full steam ahead..." is really funny. When it's on, he says "He's in a submarine!" He has a little yellow submarine toy that makes his day, and he'll let you know that he has two red submarines at his Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Not so favorite? Buttons. Not sure why, but he's got quite the aversion to buttons. For days he refused to wear a pair of carpenter shorts because they had buttons on them. I have to unbutton the flap to hide the button or he won't wear them. I took him cloths shopping with me and he starts very firmly telling me "I DON"T LIKE those button pants!" I wasn't even looking at the pants...I guess they were breathing his air? He even reiterated it to Charlie when we got home and we told him that we'd been shopping for cloths.  I'll tell you what...it's been a challenge to find clothing for the cooler weather with out buttons. I sure hope this phase is over soon! Wonder what he'd do if we crafted with buttons.

Ethan and Lilly (and some random guy)

We went to Knoebles recently and he now knows who Kosmo is. He saw him riding in a golf cart with another staff member. Now one of the verses in Ethan's version of "Farmer in the Dell" is "Kosmo in the golf cart with the peoples gets the cheese." Funny stuff! We met his bestie Baby Lilly that day. He loves her. Face lights up whenever he sees her or we talk about her. Amazing.

OBSESSED with Matchbox Cars. He calls them just that, "Matchbox cars." Obsessed. He always liked them, but since we got a bunch more at the yard sales on Labor Day he has to take them everywhere. He loads them into his "Ethan bag" (the one that came with last years school photos--Ethan's big smile on the front), and lugs them around the house, in the car, next to the bathtub, outside, on the bed. Wherever Ethan goes. They fill the bag, and he will tell you that it is to heavy for him to carry. It really is--just about pulls him over. He especially likes to play with them on the other yard sale find, a Fisher Price garage. You have to be very careful though, he'll tell you "No, those are mine. I got them at the yard sale." Very protective. Oh yeah, and he "zooms" them. Not drive, "zooms." It's a much more fun adverb anyway.

Oh, and don't try to peel his banana for him. He can do it...he is two you know!

Growing up so fast!

It's been a wild summer, but we've officially crossed the two year old mark! Amazing. Some days it feels like the time went so fast, and other times it feels like he's actually 3. Definitely not a baby anymore.

The biggest most obvious thing to report is that Ethan is one heck of a talker. That's really par for the course for him, but his speech is definitely a notable quality of his. At his two year check-up, the pediatrician almost fell off his stool when he heard Ethan start talking. All Ethan said was "Where are we going?" You know, typical Ethan speak. The pediatrician said that sentence structure and clarity of speech is more that of a three year old (yup, knew that). I have a theory that he has always slept so little that he's probably had the equivalent awake time of a 3 year old...making his total language exposure that of a three. I laugh about it..but there may be some truth there? Of course, I know that there are many other things at play here. I used to dream before Ethan was born that I had a talking infant. Funny how that's not too far from the truth. 

Common Ethan phrases lately? "I'm sorry but..." As in "I'm sorry Mommy but we're going to Aldi first THEN we're going to Panera." If he doesn't like what you're doing he'll say "Mommy, STOP!" (I hear that a lot) or "Walk away!" (I think that's a daycare thing). "I do it like a big boy" is one I hear a lot too. He frequently says "Can we...?" using the "we" even if he means "I." He says "excuse me" if you or any of your items are in his way. And "I dunno" which sounds more like "I duhn-no" is the response to everything, know it or not. He says it a lot!

It's typical for Ethan to speak in 8-9 word sentences. Often one sentence is followed by another that continues his thought. He has a good grasp on chronology: First, I'll do this. Next, I'll do that. Then I'll do that. He asks questions and asks you to define words that he doesn't know. He narrates his play (which is very cute). This week I picked him up at daycare and he was sitting with two younger kids around as he "read" them a story...pointing out objects that were on the page and telling the boys about them. He knows a lot of songs and rhymes in completion...occasionally teaching me some that I don't know. Last week he sang the whole "Ba Ba Black Sheep" for his whole class and yesterday he went over to the infant room for a visit and sang it for the babies.

Ethan's birthday

Speaking of daycare, Ethan is back to being the oldest kid in his class again. Not sure when he'll change classes again, but he is definitely ready. I'm still getting feedback from his teachers about how absolutely interested he is in everything they do. That's been the story since he's been in the infant room, but it really describes Ethan's attention. There were two projects in the classroom yesterday that sparked his teacher to comment on it again. First, they were making "duck feet" prints using a spatula. He was totally into the project, and on his own he decided to quack every time he hit the paper with the spatula. She said he had a blast. Then when I got there, they were putting stickers on paper. He was on his second sheet and he was so into it. His friends all barely finished a sheet of stickers before they got bored and were on to the next. She pegged it when she said "he's just so curious about everything."

We're happy to report that Ethan is both eating and sleeping better lately. We had some bumps in the sleeping road between the move and cutting that last set of molars (yup, last set done at 24 months. Pure crazyness, but a happy end), but things have been better--most nights. Still have our share of nights where we're up a few times between 1:30 and 3:30. Bedtime is later now pushed back about an hour to between 9 and 9:30. That's been nice for everyone and makes the evening so much less rushed. It helped back up wake up time from 5:30am to 6 or 6:30 am, although lately he sometimes even makes it until 7!!!  OMG that is pure heaven. Naps are longer although it's still a juggling act to get him to fall sleep. He's eating better. Possibly his favorite thing right now are mandarin oranges. I think he could turn into one. He loves beef and chicken nuggets. Sometimes he loves fries. He's hit or miss really. Loves it one minute, doesn't want anything to do with it the next. What he doesn't like is anything with a skin (like blueberries or grapes). He picks his food apart and pulls off pieces saying "that's yucky." He's growing taller and gaining weight, but he's still wearing those 12 month shorts, 2T shirts, and size 7 shoes. We've also successfully stopped his acid reflux medication which is pretty cool. Definitely makes travel easier when we don't have medication that needs refrigerated (and remembered)! And although he exercises his two year old right to push buttons and boundaries, he really is well behaved. I hear it from strangers in public all the time. He really does try hard and knows how to behave.  Also in two year old style, many many times a day I have to undo what I did to let Ethan do it. Close the door I just opened so that Ethan can open it. It's the way of the world. Pushing the garage door button (both in the garage and in the car) is a real big deal. Seriously, it's a big deal. Don't forget that it's Ethan's job. In fact, he was sleep talking/yelling about it the other day. It's that important.

Things Ethan loves right now. Puzzles or any toy he can play pretend with. Everyday on the way to daycare he talks about how he's going to do puzzles. We get home and he wants to do puzzles. He loves to pretend in his playhouse outside. He climbs on his castle climber and pretends the ship wheel is a car steering wheel. He drives to the "chicken nugget store" and takes the chicken back to his playhouse. He makes dinner on his play grill and picnics inside with his play food. He really likes to read. He easily sits through reading a whole book...even long ones like Corduroy. There are lots of books that he "reads" to us because he knows them so well. Possibly one of his favorite things is mowing with the bubble mower. It's not about the bubbles. If the bubbles run out it doesn't matter. It's about the mowing. He mows with a pattern. Straight lines along the edge of the fence and up and down the lawn. Last night he mowed right along side Daddy for an entire hour. It's big business for him. Also, he can't stop talking about Knoebels. He loved it there. He likes to watch the episode of Kipper where he goes to a fair. He calls it "Knoebles Kipper." He also likes to watch Bob the Builder and Driver Dan right now. Likes Wheel of Fortune too if I can remember it's on. He likes to hear the letters called out and will repeat "Two R's!" with excitement.

He's able to peddle his trike a little bit (although steering is hard). He's getting better at putting on his pants and shirt by himself. He told his teacher last week that he wants to be a teacher. So I asked him "Why do you want to be a teacher?" He said "So I can open doors." (Because only teachers are allowed to open the classroom door at school). Well, he's honest...and tricky! He's working on coming down the stairs "like a big boy." He holds the railing and comes down very carefully on his feet. Last night he did it for the first time and was so proud of himself. OH, and he does crazy things like climb playground climbers (5 years and up playground rating--ha!)

Oh yeah, and did I mention that we moved. ;) New grown up house. Lots of play space inside and out. Big back yard with a fence. Of course, within a week Ethan had figured out how to work the gate latch. #gatefail. We're loving our place in suburbia. Sidewalks, driveway, shed, two car garage, finished basement elementary school playground down the street. And did I mention there's no HOA? :) Compared to our old place it always seem so quiet! 

So that's "lately" in a big nutshell

Yikes- It's not June anymore!

I started this post in June (23months)...it's no longer June, but here it is anyway (a bit dated). Working on a new update, but still want to get this recorded because there's some cute stuff here.

More things Ethan says:

"Animals get haircut sometimes too Mommy"

"Good job folds pants Mommy!"

"What are you building (with MegaBlocks)?" "I build chicken nugget"

"Ethan, you have the best little voice" "THANKS!"

"Ethan, are you a fruit snack." "No, fruit snack boy!"

In the car the day after my birthday, Ethan randomly says "Happy Birthday Mommy" in care-filled tone. I say "thank you" and say to Charlie "Aww, that was sweet enough to make me cry." Ethan replies "Are you ok, Mommy?"

"Turn off DreamLights (a commercial)--It's Kipper's turn!" (Kipper is a cartoon Ethan watches before bed)

Ethan got a new friend at school recently. His teacher told us that he was especially good at welcoming him and that he was very good at helping him learn the rules. She also has been telling us stories about some things that he will do during the day that she finds especially "neat." This week he spent a half hour on the playground putting little objects (stones, leaves, etc) on the wheel of a flipped over bicycle. He arrange them, spin the wheel, watch them fall off, repeat. She said his friends thought it was a cool thing to do, but they would mimic him for a few minutes and leave. But not Ethan, he stuck with it for the duration of the time on the playground. He's also known there for really being interested in any task or lesson plan that they do. He's always interested and he always sticks with it until they're done. It's funny--his infant room teacher used to say the same thing when he was there.

Ethan started in the "Beasts" class at Little Gym. He's actually well over due to move up (by about 7 months), but we liked the group of kids and the small class that he was in before, so we were reluctant to move him up. Now that the semester is over and the smaller summer classes are starting, it seemed like a perfect time.

The Things He Says

I swear that Ethan's speech has improved ten-fold in the last week or two. Incredible the things he's talking about. And asking so many questions--"Where are the cars going?" "Where is Daddy?" "What is the doggy doing?"

But some things he's saying lately really stick out. Here's a collection:

• In the car with Daddy on the way to get ice cream Ethan exclaims: "No poopies in the ice cream store! Now sing Farmer in the Dell!"
• On where my Mother's Day flowers came from: "The flower store. Daddy said. Ethan get them."
• Getting ready to leave in the morning: "Bye Daddy! I'm going to get breakfast!" "Where?" "School!"
• After I bring over a try of french fries: "Is that ketchup!?!"
• Pointing at a drive-thru: "This car is paying!"

Helping with the guacamole

Yesterday morning Ethan was wearing a Super Grover t-shirt. I don't know why it came up, probably something with Sprout and how they show birthdays, but we were talking about birthdays. And I offhandedly asked Ethan if today was Grover's birthday. He said it was. So when I dropped him off at daycare and he was not wanting me to leave, I suggested that he tell Jen about Grover's birthday. I didn't anything of it. Last night in the tub, he was singing Happy Birthday over and over again, substituting different names of people. It seemed a bit random to us, but Ethan often sings random songs. This morning when I dropped him off, somehow it came up and it turns out that all day yesterday he was talking about how it was Grover's birthday. So the teacher ran with it, and they sang Happy Birthday all day. Sure explains a lot! He's a funny guy :)

Another story: I had commented in the last post about Ethan's crazy memory. Here's a good example: Maybe two weekends ago Ethan and I were outside and he wanted some strawberries. When I came out with them, he said he wanted to have a picnic. Ok, in I go for a blanket to spread on the grass. As soon as I walk out the door with it he yells "NO! Cow blanket." Cow blanket? We have a cow blanket? Hmmmm... Think, think think. Only thing I can think of is the old "Lions and Tigers and Bears- oh my!" blanket. Only animal blanket we have (besides baby blankets). I have no idea where it is either--we haven't used it since last FALL. Maybe 7 months ago? I go in and start searching the house. The whole time Ethan keeps repeating "Cow blanket! Cow blanket!" I finally find it. The animal blanket. Low and behold, it was the blanket he had so intently in his mind. It doesn't have cows on it, but it does have a whole bunch of different jungle animals on it. I have no idea how he remembered it existed...but he did. And now it's back to being the "Lions, Tigers, and Bears" blanket and all is right with the world.

One last thing: I love when Ethan reads to us. He's been doing that a lot lately. He was starting to stall out in the video (by the time I got the camera)...but it's pretty typical of Ethan's storytelling.

Mother's Day

Yesterday was Mother's day, and it was fantastic enough to get it's own blog post. I actually have to start with Saturday when Ethan was chatting on and on in the car on the way to Little Gym (as he often does in the car). He says to me "I your cutie pie Mommy....Mommy my cutie pie too." Awww!!

Mother's Day--The plan was that I was going to be able to sleep in. I was excited for the prospect, but last Mother's day I was gifted the same luxury and it was a bust. I seem to remember that I couldn't sleep. But this year, it all went according to plan. Ethan slept straight through the night and came over with us in the morning around 5:30 (as he normally does). When he woke up at 6, Charlie took him downstairs to get his "chocolate milk" and they cuddled in on the couch. Turns out, they both fell back asleep too. So I continued to sleep, in quiet, until I heard Ethan around 9 (about 5 minutes after they had woken up). 

Shortly there after, the boys headed out to the grocery store and I had just enough time to do a few quick garden tasks (a few things that I have been itching to do and can't do with a little person around) and shower at my own pace. When I went downstairs, Ethan was standing proudly holding some flowers (I apparently didn't hear him yell "Mommy, flowers!" when he came in the door). Ethan picked out these flowers for me because he told Charlie that "Mommy likes purple." Ethan had carried the flowers to the car from the flower shop, and into the house from the car. Charlie said he carried them like a "man on a mission." He was taking "Mommy's special day" very seriously. Cute back-story: While they were at the grocery store, Charlie told Ethan they were getting stuff to make a special breakfast for Mommy. While they were in the baking isle, Ethan went up to the box of blueberry pancakes and said "Mommy would like these." He's always so thoughtful--and I do really enjoy blueberry pancakes.

Charlie made me special berry baked oatmeal (Yum!!) while Ethan spent a good 20 minutes just reading books to me. "This one is a tow truck." "This one is white." "Pig over there." He read me dozens of books. 

After everyone was done and cleaned up, we headed out to the Make-A-Wish Truck Convoy. I couldn't think of anything better to do for Mother's Day than to watch Ethan have a good time. The weather was beautiful (bordering a bit on the too warm side actually) and sunny. Ethan got to ride a school bus for the first time. He was so overwhelmed by all the trucks, and he was all business. Seeing all the trucks was serious work! We walked around and checked out some of the trucks (there were 336 total--a little boy's dream), and watched the convoy leave. He sat up on our shoulders and described the trucks as they went by. Sometimes he'd say "Goodbye fire truck!" and wave emphatically. 

After all the trucks had left, we sat in the grass and ate french fries before riding the bus back to the parking lot. Ethan was delightful. He was so good the whole time we were there, despite not napping. I still can't help but thinking how amazing it is that he ate all those fries with ketchup on them and didn't get a drop of ketchup on himself or his daddy (whose lap he was sitting in)...but that's my Ethan. 

It was now around 3pm and he fell asleep right away in the car, and took a good nap when we got home. Ethan was smiling in his sleep--knowing Ethan, he was dreaming about trucks. In the meantime, I had time to eat a bit and read. 

When Ethan woke up, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for dinner and he played with his cousins. My favorite moment was when he went to see three month old baby Seth. Seth was sad and crying and Ethan instinctively started gently patting him on the back. He always knows just what to do and acts with such compassion. Then to home and to bed.

Good day. Thanks to my boys for making it so special :)

Mr. Chatterbox

Having a toddler who is rapidly approaching two and is very verbal is a crazy thing. Sometimes I think we're practicing for the teenage years...We also just got off what seemed like a very long week and a half battling Rosiola. Of course, Rosiola is one of those illnesses that you don't know that you have until it's almost over. And of course, Ethan's weak tummy is evident every time he gets any kind of illness. We peaked fevers of 104.7 with medication. Crazy! Also got his third chest x-ray of his lifetime. If there's one thing we do know, it's that he has good looking lungs!

But that aside, Ethan impresses us on an almost daily basis. His memory amazes us. He remembers everything. Seriously, everything. The littlest or oddest  details. I can't even begin...and the things that come out of his mouth crazy too. 

Last week he turns to me and says "I have two Grandmas. *thinking pause* And two Grandpas." He was pretty proud that he'd figured that out. Heck, I was proud. He repeated it a few times last week. It broke down a bit though when he said "I have two Grandmas. And two Grandpas. And two Keiths." No buddy, one Uncle Keith. ;)

He's working really hard to describe things. He'll say "There are three grey birds."  "I want the green one." His quick descriptions like that are correct maybe half of the time. Sometimes the color is wrong. Sometimes the number is wrong. But he sure does try! A truck can't just be a truck. It has to be a "tanker truck" or a "flatbed truck." He wears his "blue shoes" or his "brown shoes."  (When we went to replace his blue shoes last week, he saw the same pair on the shelf and we just had to get a new pair of blue shoes...no other shoes would do). He'll tell you "I saw an airplane" or "I hear an airplane. Far away." When we park in a parking spot he'll say "We're next to blue pickup and red car. Right there!" Last week I asked him to do something and he said "Chocolate milk first." My favorite thing he says is still "Carry you" when he wants carried. I also think it's really cute that he starts sentences with "I wonder." "I wonder the race car is." The other day it rained and the first thing he told me when I got to daycare to pick him up was "No outside today!" (like he was telling on them for not taking him outside!)

He likes to make up words too. He sometimes calls his Nuk "Nukie." He got a stuffed frog/dinosaur thing from our photo session the other night and he randomly named it "Frogga." He loves that thing now.

I've been working really hard to teach Ethan that he's not allowed in the road. Now he says "Mommies (or Daddies) in the road. NO babies in the road!" The other day there was a dog on our road and he said "No doggies on the road!"

Last night Ethan had spaghetti for dinner. That doesn't sound like a big deal, but we have had the only toddler in the world that doesn't like noodles. Recently he's just picked at them, but in the last week he's been really digging noodles.  I had initially cut his noodles, but he made it very clear that he had to have big noodles (just like Daddy had to open a new bag of tortilla chips last week because he needed a "big chip").He had spaghetti, and then he switched to the noodles without sauce. My favorite part was when his imagination took over. He held up one of his noodles and it had a bit of an S-curve to it. He says to me "A SEAHORSE!" Right on buddy--sure does look like a seahorse! He was pulling the noodles around on his place mat making shapes and he said "A sun!" I showed him how to put a noodle under his nose to make a mustache like Grandpa. Oh, good times! 

And as always, he's such a good friend. I've been told that he is the kid who is friends with everyone at daycare, and who everyone wants to play with. He is, as always, also really good with the younger kids. The one younger girl didn't want to come in from the playground and Ethan went and took her hand and brought her in. I'm also told that he likes when they are out on the playground with the Young Preschool group because "There are a lot more girls in that class." Apparently he likes to run after them. I'm not surprised. The same thing happens at Little Gym. Watch out ladies! He's also really good with the younger kids at Little Gym. He likes to try and make them laugh and smile. :)

Philadelphia Weekend

We just recently got back for a weekend trip to Philadelphia. We always try to get away this time of year for our anniversary. There are two rules for the trip: we have to stay somewhere nice (a bit of a step out of reality) and we have to go somewhere that has a lot of fun stuff to do! This year was no exception.

Things this year fell together rather nicely. Ethan (with help of his grandparents) had got us tickets for Adventure Aquarium. On top of it, we had reward points built up from our extended hotel stay last year to pay for the hotel. Sweet :) I was really looking forward to seeing how this animal based tripped would go. I've said it before, if there's one thing Ethan knows it's animals and trucks!

Saturday morning we got up and went to "the egg store" as per usual. We also went to Little Gym. It worked out perfectly because we were able to travel over nap time! Hurray! We had beautiful, sunny 70 degree weather. Going to the zoo in that type of weather is always awesome- the people are happy, and the animals are happy and active. Win-win. Ethan loved the zoo! We started at the big cats exhibit. He was a little intimidated the first time that a jaguar walked right next to him at the glass window, but even got over that rather quickly. He really enjoyed watching the jaguars and the tigers especially. As a kid who really knows his animals, he was most excited to see the hippos. "Hippos, Zebras, Giraffes!" He was quite excited to see the penguins and flamingos too. Sometimes he got so excited that I'm not sure his feet were hitting the ground when he ran. He had such a good time that we actually went back and did another loop of the zoo, hitting all the highlights a second time. 

Then we checked into the hotel. We stayed at The Inn a Penn, a beautiful four star hotel. You know, the kind where you're tipping people every time you turn around. Real nice place. We ate dinner at an Italian place that had been recommended to us. Best part is that it was attached right to the hotel. I had thought ahead this time, and brought stickers with us, so we were able to finish a nice dinner in a good eating establishment. The food wasn't amazing, but it was good, and different, and we enjoyed our time out. It is had to go too wrong with homemade noodles. Ethan's favorite part was the "bubble water" (sparkling water) that we had with dinner. I also loved that our kid with a noodle aversion ate a good deal of spaghetti noodles off his daddy's plate. After dinner we got cleaned up for bed. To our surprise, Ethan went to bed easily and slept through the night in his pack and play. Awesome. 

Sunday morning we had an awesome continental breakfast at the hotel. We were a big shy about the idea of another hotel continental breakfast. I think we've had enough of those to last a lifetime, but this breakfast was truly awesome. Cook to order omelets and real oatmeal with any topping you could think of. Lots of other things too, but those were my favorites. Yummo. 

We headed across the Ben Franklin bridge to Adventure Aquarium. We got there right as they opened, so we did a good bit of the aquarium without any crowds. The aquarium still seemed so nice and new, and the exhibits were very well done. The highlight for me was the hammerhead sharks- Adventure Aquarium is one of two aquariums in the country to have hammerheads. Cool, right?!  I also really liked the shark tunnel. Ethan enjoyed the kids play area a lot. He was very excited to see the seals, penguins, and hippos. He really like the sharks too! At one point he was so pleased to point out that he was wearing sharks on his shirt too!! Just like the zoo, we had to do a second lap of the aquarium to re-do some of the highlights!

We headed home Sunday afternoon. Ethan napped in the car on the way home--a blessing, although Mommy and Daddy sure could have used a nap when we got home too :)

Bottom line- we had a fantastic trip! What a great weekend :)

20-21

The first thing people notice about Ethan is that he talks like crazy, and very clearly. Often 3-6 words strung together at a time. Sentences with pronouns and verbs. He says stuff like: "That's my mommy's chair." "There are flowers on the tree, Daddy." "Chicken Nuggets for lunch today."  "I saw a hippo, giraffe, zebra, Mommy" This morning he told me I was supposed to do something "first." I'm still astonished every time! I love that he calls a single person "people" and people "peoples."
He can hold a little conversation, recall information and answer questions. He'll keep repeating things until you acknowledge what he has said. It's pretty neat actually to hear his impression of his day, or of his friends. Even more fun is to hear what he recalls about the world around him. "Water under the bridge. Boats in the water. No cars in the water."  When he's thinking, Ethan says "ummmm"  He says it quite often...

For the longest time, ABC song was a favorite. He can pretty much make it the whole way through, although he occasionally misses one or two letters (usually JK- probably out of excitement to hit that great LMNOP stretch!) He did it, now he's bored with it. He went through a BaBa Black Sheep phase. He sings a lot. Often he just sings made up songs to the tune of the ABC song/Twinkle Twinkle. 

He likes to sing the last verse of Farmer in the Dell. "The mouse gets the cheese." I sing it, and he calls out a name of someone he knows and then we sing that they get the cheese. "Ethan gets the cheese, Daddy gets the cheese, etc." He thinks it's very funny and he likes to call out the names. It's a good trick to use when we're doing diaper.

He counts a lot. Just randomly counts out loud. Usually skips 1 & 2. Sometimes remembers 11 & 12, but usually it's 3-10. Although I'll admit, this is starting to lose favor, just like the ABC's

Ethan's shins are just one black and blue mark over another. He probably has about 10-15 bruises on each shin. He doesn't mind the bruises, but it drives him crazy if he gets a boo-boo. Not really that it hurts as much as it's a mark that's not supposed to be there. Until it's gone, he asks for ice and band-aids constantly. "Hurtz, Hurtz."

The early spring weather has taken us outside- a lot. Ethan would spend every minute outside if he could. I've really got to dig deep and start coming up with some activities to keep him busy out there this spring/summer. I do like that our outside time often buys me a few moments to work outside--something I haven't really had the opportunity to do for quite some times. He's a good helper too. Helps plant or weed. He likes to go to the park too. LOVES to slide. The bigger the slide the better. He likes to swing, but he has to swing HIGH or he's bored. He can climb up the playground rung ladder without any help.

Ethan can be a bit bossy with his friends. He's a rule follower for sure, and he's quick to tell his friends when he thinks that they are doing something wrong.

I've been calling Ethan "Bugaboo." He likes it and thinks it's very funny.

Ethan loves to see trucks and he knows all sorts of names for them. Some of his favorites include: pickup truck, tanker truck, backhoe, bulldozer, van, jeep, bus, school bus, car carrier truck, and tractor. He is getting familiar with a good 1 mile radius of the house, and he knows when we're near the truck car wash where all the tanker trucks are parked as well as when we're near the small tractor/bulldozer/backhoe store. He asks to drive by the tanker trucks almost every time that we're in the car.

Our Saturday morning routine has grown from going to Little Gym to include going to "The egg store" (S. Clyde Weaver) before Little Gym. Ethan gets egg on a plate. He loves it. 

This week, Ethan did a forward roll off of the couch. Crazy baby!

Lastly, I am happy to report that some of the picky eating is coming to an end and his appetite is picking up again. He's getting better at trying things, or asking to try things. He's even starting to like noodles. I thought we were going to have the only toddler who didn't like noodles or mac-and-cheese! Right now he's on a peanut butter kick. I think he may turn into a peanut. Yesterday I got him some PB on a spoon and he asked for goldfish crackers and dipped them in it. I asked him how he knew to do that. "Daddy teach me."

We also just got home from a weekend trip to Philadelphia, but this post is long, and that's a fun time in and of itself!

Eighteen!

Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. - A. A. Milne

18 month special day cupcakes!

18 months old! Holy cow! Last night as a special treat we got mini-cupcakes. He loves cake.He eats it so cleanly- can't miss a bite!

On his first morning of 18 months I asked Ethan if he is old now. He said "No, Grandpa old." So there we have it folks (keep in mind, it was in fact Grandpa who taught Ethan that Grandpa is old- he is just repeating a reliable source!)

Ethan's favorite nusery rhyme is "Hey Diddle Diddle." His teachers tell me that all they have to do is say the title and he lights up and goes and gets the nursery rhyme book.

He really likes "Ring around the Rosie" too. He walks around and says "As-this, As-this"

In the car the other day he made up a song for me to the tune of "Twinkle Twinkle." It goes "Mommmy Mommy Mommy Mom, Daddy Daddy Daddy Da" I'm partial, but I think the lyrics are fantastic.

I cannot believe how big his heart is. He is so loving to everyone. He still has to hug all his friends before we can leave daycare at the end of the day. And we have to hug any staff members that we see along the way. If someone gets hurt, he's right there to give a hug and a smile- and he clearly shows signs of concern until everything is ok. When he's really truly enjoying your time together, he gets this awesome look of loving admiration in his eyes. It's fantastic.

If there's a bright light- sun, or kitchen light in the morning, Ethan will say "eyes, eyes." Ditto for when he's tired.

Speaking of when he's tired, for as long as I can remember, he wants you to cover his face with your hand. It started when he was a baby, as soon as he could control my hand placement. He buries in, to the point where I have to cup my hand to make sure that he's got enough air! He also rubs the side of his face or pulls on his ears when he's tired. And as long as we're talking about sleep- he's finally doing that better too- but I don't jinx those kinds of things talking about them in a blog...

Loves to play games on Mommy's phone!

No more going up the stairs on his knees. That's baby stuff. Feet only. Sometimes it's hands and feet. Sometimes he holds on to the railing or holding hands. Either way, he's big. Also within the last month he's started going down the stairs by himself on his tummy. He's a brave kid, but he's very cautious. And that's ok by us!

He remembers details about his day. Sometimes he tells me what he did at school on the way home in the car. Sometimes I can confirm that's actually what he did, other times I can't- But they are always possibilities. He especially likes to tell me about when the go outside! 

At school he's learning to take turns. It's catching on. He'll tell us "Ethan's turn" when he wants to do something. He's working on it...

Yesterday when he was outside at school the kids were playing on the tricycles. The kids are supposed to push them under their own power- the teachers don't push for them. Well, a few crafty kiddos (which included Ethan) realized that they could talk their friends into helping out and taking turns pushing each other. "Lincoln, come push." Pretty neat. This from Ethan who a week or so ago talked his friends into giving him some of their goldfish crackers because he'd finished all of his. His teacher said "And of course, he's so cute, they actually gave them to him!" That's our Ethan!

So one last story. This morning I was unloading the dishwasher and Ethan was playing in the Living room. He had been asking for his daddy who was up showering, but had settled in to playing trains. But then there was that "too quiet" kind of quiet, and a small thud from upstairs. So I go to the stairway, and there is Ethan standing at the top with the gate closed between us. He was standing waiting for me- knowing he wasn't supposed to be there, he laughed at the sight of me, and then yelled "Noooo!"- knowing that I would now be going to fetch him. Apparently in the meantime he'd gone in to see Charlie in the shower. When Charlie asked where Mommy was, he said "I don't know." Well played Ethan, well played.

If you missed it, here's the 17 month update from last week.

Ethan Lately (17 months!)

What's Ethan up to lately??

• Love love when Ethan says "Awwww mannnn" when he drops something, something spills or is knocked over. Last night when we were watching Thomas, some cargo fell off of Thomas's car and Ethan said "Awww mannn"

• Ethan is a parrot. He repeats EVERYTHING you say- even when you think he's not listening. Even more is that he remembers those words and repeats them later. 

• He speaks in short phrases (3-4 words) and can hold a small conversation like this one: "Can you please choose another place to play trains?"" Uh-huh. Over there?" "Sure, if you want to."

• He thinks it's very funny to peek though an object and say "I see you!!"

• He's pointed out to us very clearly that Mommy over uses the phrase "Let's see here" and Daddy says a lot of "ummm." He also answers "o-kay" pretty often.

• He's good at imagining and playing pretend, especially with his play food. He also pretends to find bugs and will either bring them over for you to hold, or he will pretend to throw them outside. He's very good at playing.

• 16 teeth! Enough said!

• Ethan is officially in the young toddler room at school. The move happened a few months late due to space limitations. He's a big boy now!

• The alphabet song is Ethan's favorite song right now. He starts singing it all the time (and I seem to think he sings it when he's in trouble in an attempt to save himself, and I think it works) He can sing A-G, and if you help him, he can fill in some other letter patterns (L,M,N,O,P) sometimes. He can also count 1-10 (although he prefers to start counting at the number 2 or 3)

• Colors. He knows most of his colors. Sometimes he can get on a roll with them, and other times he likes to be silly and just say "green" all the time.

• He's testing his boundaries, giving demands like "Move. Come. No. Sit. Read it."

• He still loves to paint, draw, and color. He's getting very thoughtful about his lines and strokes. He likes to use crayons (especially to draw on cardboard boxes), his magnetic drawing tablet (think MagnaDoodle), bathtub crayons, and finger paints. He likes to tell you what he's drawing.

• Ethan is very good at using his manners, especially please and thank you. Two women at a cash register tonight commented to me how polite he is. *Proud*

• We could play trains (Thomas) forever. And trucks. He knows all the names of his Thomas trains- I have to cheat and look on the bottoms sometimes, but he doesn't!

• I swear that Sprout is on our TV 24/7.

• Last week I asked Ethan what an apple says. He said "Eat it." :)

• I love that a shark says "Arrr Arrr Arrrrrrh" (Like Finbar on the Rubbadubbers)

• They decided that Ethan is the official door greeter in his room at school. He's picked up on the parent's names, and greets them by name when they pick up/drop off. Friendly guy!

• According to Ethan, James Taylor singing "JellyMan Kelly" on Sesame Street = Best song ever. Never gets old. I love when he says "toast."

• I can't believe how big his new shoes are. And his shirts. Look like something a toddler should be wearing. Yikes!!

• When we go to the mall to walk, we have to walk around the arcade. Then either sit on the Safari truck ride (with the animals) or the Ice Cream Truck ride upstairs. 

• Ernie (and maybe Bert too) have replaced Elmo as the favorite Sesame Street characters. He likes Oscar a lot too.

• Loves "Chocolate milk" (Chocolate Pediasure)

• He makes a great "fish face"

• He likes to be helpful. Anytime you ask for help, he's right there. One of his favorite things to help with is putting things in the recycling.