FAMILY PICS

In March we headed out for our way overdue family pictures.  I have been horrible at getting our "official" pictures taken over the years, but my goal is to make sure we get it done at least once a year - my goal is to get another set (at least of just Ethan) done this fall. Honestly, it's something I don't look forward too because Ethan just doesn't sit still and doesn't like to be told to sit down and be still to get his picture taken.  Thankfully, the posed family pictures aren't a necessity these days!  We went out and played around and the photographer grabbed some posed photos but mostly just candid and made them look cool.  Lemon Tree Photography has done some really great work for some friends of ours, so we knew she could make us photogenic!  Here are some of our favorites.......

SLUGS, SNAILS, AND PUPPY DOG TAILS

Introducing...Landon Peter!  Our friends Matt & Melissa had their first born child last week.  We went to visit the family and Ethan was really excited to hold the baby.  He thought he was pretty cool sitting there holding him.  And, as usual, this was the only 5 minutes of calm, cool, and collected, until Ethan turned into hell on wheels once again - running, tripping, yelling, crashing, climbing, not listening, being naughty.  I suppose Matt and Melissa got a quick glimpse into their future!

Ethan (3 yrs) & Landon (1 week)

WINTER BUCKET LIST - FINAL FRONTIER

Remember our Winter Bucket List posts...well, there were a couple things we didn't get to do because of our wonderful mild winter (we Iowans were overdue for a break this year). We didn't get a chance to go sledding - Ethan had gotten a new sled and everything!  In opening up the garage on a very beautiful day in early April, he sees his sled and drags it out.  It was such a nice day, that Mike was treating the yard and pulled out the sprinklers.  Ethan had also just gotten a new Spiderman sprinkler.  Might as well kill two birds with one stone - sledding and running through the sprinkler all at once.  Not sure that I would have put the two together, but it provided enough entertainment for the afternoon!

On a side note - we don't have squirrels where we live...we have ducks.  So instead of building a snowman this winter, we fed the ducks in our yard!

THINGS MY KID SAYS

My friend Kelly has been keeping a blog of her family and I always look forward to her posts "Things My Kid Says".  Her little guy, Miles, is the same age as Ethan, so it's fun to hear what she is going through as we are going through some of the same things.  I just have to follow in her footsteps and start documenting more of what Ethan says these days - it's pure entertainment and it will be fun to look back at someday!

Setup: Driving home from daycare...
Ethan: Knock Knock
Mom: Who's there?
Ethan: Ethan Dean
Mom: Ethan Dean Who?
Ethan: (annoyed) Ethan Dean!

Setup: The 3 of us relaxing in the living room one weeknight
Ethan: Look! I'm Daddy! (putting on Mike's shoes)
Mom: Oh, did you put on Daddy's shoes?  Are you going somewhere?
Ethan: I go present shopping
Mom: Oh, is that what Daddy does? That sounds great!
Dad: (rolling eyes and snickering)
Ethan: Bye! (pretends to leave by standing by the door and putting his back to us)
Mom & Dad: Bye, see you later!
Ethan: I Back!  Here, presents! (trying to walk in Mike's size 12 dress shoes)

Setup: Saturday morning, all 3 of us lounging in bed
Ethan: I wanna watch cars-toons
Mom: Ok, go get me the remote
Dad: (sleeping)
Mom: Ugh, why isn't this working? (trying to get the TV & satellite turned on)
Mom: Ethan, I don't know why this isn't turning...
Ethan: (interrupts Mom) MIKE!!!!!!
Mom: (bursts into laughter) Oh Ethan, you make me laugh
Dad: (still sleeping)
Ethan:  MIKE!  The TD (translation: TV) need batteries!
Dad: (still sleeping)
Mom: Shh...his name is Daddy and he's sleeping
Ethan: Oh

Setup: Just a random day at home
Ethan: I want hop-corn (translation: popcorn)
Dad: Ok, what do you say?
Ethan: Pweeze! (translation: please)
Dad: What kind of please?
Ethan: Retty pheez! (translation: Pretty please)
Dad: With???
Ethan: Sure on top (translation: sugar)
Dad: And...
Ethan: a Cherry!
Dad: And...
Ethan: Kinkles! (translation: Sprinkles)
Dad: And...
Ethan: Tisses on top!!! (translation: kisses)
(Ethan gives kisses, and gets his popcorn)

TYPICAL DAY

Here is just a look at a typical day in the life right now.....

Potty training is going well, except for the #2 part.  Don't ask...

Ethan's homemade rainbow out of torn up paint chips - idea from Pinterest, of course!

Ethan and Mommy enjoying the fort we built one night

Our new grill - burgers and eggs!  The removable gadgets are pretty awesome 

LITTLE SISTER

I dedicate this posting to my little sister, Jessi.  Turns out, family are the only ones that call her Jessi, while her whole life friends, teachers, coworkers have called her Jessica (or maybe Jess), and my Dad has always spelled her name wrong - Jessie.  Who knew it would be such a complicated name?  I suppose it's on me - when she was born, my parents had a few names picked out and let me pick out of the list.  Yep, I picked Jessica, whether she likes it or not.  And, I will always call her Jessi, whether she likes it or not.  Being the older sister, it's my job to tease her.  It wouldn't be natural if I didn't continue this teasing for the rest of her life.  She is getting married soon, and I hosted a bridal shower for her this spring.  Here are a few pictures from the Pampered Chef party we had for her....yep, I picked the funny ones!

Chew a piece of bubble gum for each question she answers wrong about her fiance!

Friends and family  - @ Northwest Bank Service Center facility

Click to see a larger picture - it's worth it to see the look on Jessi's face!

Chocolate Raspberry Trifle was on the menu - not beautiful, but tasty!

And the post wouldn't be complete without introducing my new brother-in-law, Jon!  I can't take credit for this poster - this is from her "other" bridal shower.  I'll spare you the pictures of her new undergarments as well as the festivities of the bachelorette party. See, I know how to be nice!

GO STATE

It's always on our to-do list to hit up an ISU Cyclone Basketball game each season.  This year, we didn't think we were going to make it to one.  The team was really good this year, and the games were selling out left and right!  We were fortunate enough to get tickets to the very last home game this season!  It was a great game, the Cyclones won, and the student section even stormed the court.  Mike and I were more than thrilled, Ethan on the other hand, was Crabby McCrabberson that day.  Knowing he was probably going to be difficult, we planned a variety of activities to keep him entertained.  Popcorn lasted most of the 1st half.  Then he had to go potty, we were in the upper level and the bathrooms are way down on the lower level, then we get there and he doesn't have to go *sigh*.  Then the iPad did the trick for most of the 2nd half, but towards the end, just needed to be held by mom (who needs to buff up a bit, this kid is 40lbs!).

GOT THE GIGGLES

One hobby that has developed in our house the past few years is watching funny video clips on YouTube.  I suppose there is no reason Ethan can't join in the fun!  He thoroughly enjoys the movie "Despicable Me" and the little yellow guys - the minions.  If you have never seen this movie, try to make time to watch it, it's quite humorous.  So humorous, that Ethan just gets the belly laughs watching those minions.  Mike found several little clips featuring the minions and they spent some quality giggle time together.  It's been awhile since I have been able to post a video since he was a baby, here is the latest in documenting these precious giggles!

And for fun- here is what those giggles sounded like 3 years ago!

http://heathermdean.blogspot.com/2009/05/blog-post.html

SKYWALK GOLF

Each winter there is a golf tournament in downtown Des Moines - it just happens to be mini golf within the skywalks.  We have played the past few years, and this year, Ethan was an official member of the team -we even went out to get SpongeBob golf balls!  Mommy participated as the "cart lady".  That stroller still comes in handy to haul coats, food, drinks, purses, bags, extra clubs, toys...not sure if I will be able to give it up! I received several comments about the handiness of the stroller - and yes, people asked (jokingly) if there was a child underneath all that stuff.  Needless to say, another entertaining day!  Ethan is still working on his skills - but he got the 1st hole-in-one of the group!  Ok, with Mike's help, but hey, getting a hole-in-one with a squirming toddler at your feet is true talent!

BIG GAMES

Back in February, we had the chance to head to downtown Des Moines to see Mike's nephew in a state tournament.  Well, right next to the arena happens to be an "arcade".  Not sure if you can really call it that, but it's has every game you can think of.  Mike's favorite - the claw.  Heather's favorite - skeeball. Ethan's favorite - whack-a-mole!  This particular game was Batman themed, so a variety of characters would pop up to whack - Ethan would yell 'BAD GUYS, BAD GUYS!' every time they popped up.  Ethan also gravitated towards any game involving a ball - the kiddie basketball game was a perfect fit for him.  Quite entertaining for all - I can see many father/son moments ahead of us involving arcade type games!

I'M TIRED

It seems these days that I only find myself having time to grab a picture of Ethan when he is sleeping.  This 3 year old is always on the go, and then just crashes!

Remember the Daddy pile?  Here is what 3 years difference looks like!

GETTIN' CREATIVE

I have a new found love - Pinterest.  I find myself lost for hours on in this wonderful world of pin boards with all sorts of ideas - the types of ideas that you think "why didn't I think of that!"  The only issue is, stumbling across these creative ideas and recipes are easy to "pin" to your own board, but actually completing a project is a different story.  I have made a commitment to myself to make sure I use these helpful pins - um....someday.

Recently, I had an opportunity to do a crafty project!  I hosted a bridal shower for my sister and we needed decorations.  My mother-in-law was kind enough to gather some old mason jars for me.  I bought a small sample of semi-gloss paint and painted the inside of the jars.  I never would have thought to paint the inside! I then displayed these as centerpieces with daisies. I just didn't get the creative gene - but that's ok, I have Pinterest to help me now!

Another Pinterest project - mini fruit pizzas.  There is a bigger story to go with these, but I'll save that for another time.  Let's just say it involves a HUGE mess, smoke alarms, and Mike Dean.  For these, I just bought sugar cookies at the bakery, then Mike made a cool whip/cream cheese mixture for the frosting and just placed blueberries, strawberries, and kiwi on top.  They were delicious and were a big hit at Mike's work for breakfast!

And, no post is complete without this little guy.  Ethan helped Grandma Marie bake a cake back in January for his birthday.  He definitely likes to help pour everything into the bowl, and more recently when helping me with a batch of brownies, we threw in a whole egg - literally, shell and all.  Hopefully I will be able to teach him the basics - like crack the egg, then pour it in!

HOLD THE PHONE...

2 weeks after Ethan's birthday, we headed to the Doctor for his 3-year checkup. He checked in at 39 pounds & 40 inches tall, and GROWING! He wears size 11 shoes and some 3T, but mostly 4T clothes. AND, still in size 5-6 diapers. :( I talked with the doctor to get more tips on how to get him moving on the potty training. We randomly talk to him about it and ask him if he needs to go and he just hasn't shown interest - as you have read in my previous posts. She wasn't too concerned, but got the run down of the typical - every kid is different, boys take longer, he's too smart for his own good, yadda, yadda, yadda. This was a Tuesday.

On Friday, I randomly asked him if he needed to go potty - as I expected, he said, NO! As usual, I follow it up with, if you go potty, you can have a sucker (the sucker bowl has been in the bathroom for about 6 months). He looks at me, his eyes light up, and he says 'OK!' We run to the bathroom, I set him on the potty, and the excitement of 'making the water yellow' has begun! Ever since, he has been wearing big boy underwear during the day - we haven't tackled night time training yet. While I haven't had an opportunity to get fun pictures of him in his undies or on the potty, here are some snapshots of the sucker bowl and the 'empties' pile!

The record was 8 suckers in one day. I would like to thank the makers of Dum-Dum suckers and the value bag that is available at Target. :)

HAPPY 3RD BIRTHDAY

January 3rd marks Ethan's 3rd birthday this year. His GOLDEN birthday! We ventured out for a special birthday outing a couple days before his actual birthday - out to the mall to visit the 'Build-A-Bear Workshop'! Ethan picked out a brown puppy named 'Fudge Pup' - but at the Build-A Bear Workshop, you have to pick out a special name for your new friend. After trying to get Ethan to say 'Fudge Pup', he would say 'Pudge'. A-ha - a puppy named Pudge is born! We had him stuffed, picked out a satin heart and gave it a kiss before we put it inside, had him stitched up, gave him a 'bath', picked out some clothes (and a football), and filled out his birth certificate! Ethan is very proud of Pudge and has become his #2 go-to stuffed animal (hippo is still #1!).

Ethan's birthday was on a Tuesday, and unfortunately, it was not a day that mom & dad could take off of work. So, I whipped up some Dirt & Worms for him to take to his friends at daycare. He was so excited for the gummy worms, in fact, I thought I was going to run out because he kept stealing them from the counter as I was putting these fun treats together.

Presents!!! After successfully mastering Christmas, opening more presents just a week later was a real treat for Ethan. He got a soccer ball, baseball glove & ball, and a football helmet & uniform from mom and dad. And, the official card, $2, and stickers from Great Grandma Hoyt. After opening everything, he puts the helmet on and the glove on his hand and says "Ok, Dad! Time to play ace-ball" (translated - baseball). Mike tried to explain that the helmet & uniform was for football, but Ethan just loves wearing that baseball glove. So, we just play "ball" in our house!  We then headed to Spencer for a party with the whole family later in January for round 2.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!