Oh my spicy little meatball!

Ethan is such an emotional little guy. He has big outbursts of anger and objection all the way to an outpouring of love and tenderness. And when he laughs, he laughs with his whole self. I've never heard a better laugh. He is so sweet too, when I tell him I love him he says, "No..." and shakes his little curly head, but then smiles in a way that I know he knows I love him. It's his game. He loves to play any sport involving a ball, loves to dance and loves to play chase. His best time is when you sneak up on him and scare him with a "boo." I think he likes the thrill and the game. He jumps and then laughs his belly laugh and then tries to get you to do it again, and again...

He has also been really great at brushing his teeth by himself (with mommy following up after). He has gotten to where he'll tell me what's next, "Bath time?" or he'll get out of the bath and say, "Teeth!" and of course, at all times of the day he is asking for food. I've never seen anyone pack away as much food as this little booger.

I'm so glad that he's MY little boy.

Snow Days... in TEXAS!

Snow! Ice and snow and more ice and snow! We've had three straight days of ice and snow and temperatures under 30 degrees, so no school, no work and no going anywhere in general. The boys have been troopers though, I really thought we would drive each other nuts being holed up. And there have been a few moments... but over all it has really been a nice little snuggle fest.

The boys had an excellent time in the snow though. On Friday, I had a conference call and Adam thought he might have to drive to work, so the boys went to school for a few hours. Aden had just enough time to show off his medal at show and tell.



As soon as we picked them up though, it was straight into the snow we went.

 Ethan actually liked the snow this year, unlike last year.

 The boys attempted to make a snowman, but this was not the sticking kind of snow. We even tried mashing it into a bucket first, and that did work a little (but was no match for Ethan's swinging arms... he couldn't stand it, he had to push it all over.)

It didn't actually feel very cold being out in the snow, but we aren't prepared with boots and such, so the real concern was all this snow soaking into the boys' clothes and getting them sick. So we went back in and warmed up with dry clothes and hot chocolate (with whipped cream!).

Later that night after baths, the boys enjoyed Scooby Doo movie time in bed. Ethan has discovered that he likes Scooby Doo and Little Einsteins. This is the first time he'll actually sit and watch TV at all. Usually he acts like he doesn't even see the TV, which has been fine with us. He's much more into toys and balls and stuffed fuzzies.

Aden surprised us at dinner by announcing that he can read. Of course we had to see this in person, so I pulled out a little first reader and sure enough, that kid read it! It's like all of a sudden, one day he is sounding out what letter things start with and the next day he's reading a book! I can't get over how much the mind of a child can hold. And I'm SO proud of my little reader!

Cows, Pigs, Horses... Oh My!

Yee haw to the Fort Worth Stock Show! Aden put his boots on, Ethan grabbed his flannel and we headed down to see some fuzzies. Bring on the livestock!

We started with a little bean bag game, which Ethan also played, and then made our way to as many cows, horses, pigs, goats, rabbits, chickens, ducks, turkeys and other such animals as we could find.

But on the way, we found TRACTORS! All three boys decided we need one.

A&E got to hold and pet a baby goat... and it only cost $12. (Seriously highway robbery, but they giggled and cooed the whole time).

Ethan was pretty impressed and  intrigued by the fact that cows also take baths.

(Watching cows get shampooed)

There's also quite a bit of purchase opportunities as well, from hats to boots to trailers to barbecue supplies. Endless amounts of goods! And food of course, which was really what Ethan was concerned about. He saw a corn dog stand and begged "please? Pleeeaaase?" until I gave in. Which didn't take too long. I can't say no to that sweet face.

After all the petting and shopping and eating, we ended the night at the carnival section of rides. They actually have a large amount that both boys could ride.

While Aden was on the motorcycles, Ethan saw the swings and threw a fit trying to get to them. We're still trying to teach him the concept of "just a minute." He remembers these from Six Flags though and wanted on immediately.

When we finally got there though, he sort of froze. I couldn't tell if he was scared or not, but I think he might have thought about being scared for a few seconds. Then he was fine though and had a great time on the ride.

The winner for the evening though, for both boys, was the boats. They loved these. Ethan cried and kicked me when the ride was over and I had to take them off. That kid has quite a temper... and quite a leg muscle.

He got over it though and after a quick talking to about not kicking, we were friends again.

Taekwon-Do

Aden has been working really hard at Taekwon Do with the Poteets and has been learning a lot. He still has a tendancy to try to get silly and be the comedian of the group, but not as much lately so I know he's really starting to take it seriously. In a couple of days he is going to be taking his first belt test - going for a yellow stripe. We are very excited! There's actually a little group of kids about his age that he'll be testing with and they are all adorable.

This past weekend though, Aden had an opportunity to compete in his first ever tournament. It was very exciting! He trained all week with his group and was over the moon the morning of the tournament.

We got there though, and he got a little overwhelmed by all the people and the fear of competing got to him. He sat on the floor with his face in my legs and I was sure he wasn't going to move the rest of the day. We nearly left. I pleaded with him to just practice a little with Mr. Poteet on the mat, or to sit with the group. He wanted nowhere near it. So I resigned just to make him sit and watch his class and cheer them on.

After a bit though, he sat on the mat with Mrs. Poteet and watched. As a few of the groups competed, he paid close attention to how it all went down. And then Mrs. Poteet asked him, "When they call your name, are you going to go up?" And he said he was going to.

When they called his name, he did go up, and bowed and said, "Yes Sir," just like he was supposed to do. He didn't win his first round, but did win the second and walked away with bronze and a medal!

More than anything though, I was really proud of my little 4-year old who was brave enough to overcome his fears and get up there and compete. He's shy, emotional and cautious as well as really non-aggressive. This tournament pushed him in so many ways and yet he found the inner strength anyway. I don't know many adults who can find that inside themselves. And yes, this momma cried.

And the greatest of all was seeing how wonderful and proud it made Aden feel to be able to overcome those fears. He was on cloud 9, as he should have been.

We declared it "Aden's Day" and he got several celebrations - starting with an ice cream party.

January recap

Well Happy New Year!

It's already been a pretty busy one at Casa d'Elwell, obviously. I haven't even had a chance to stop and post a blog update. But now that we've been snowed in for two days, I have found some time.

The boys have discovered bubble baths again. It breaks my heart because they love them SO much, but both of them break out when they have one.

What's really been keeping us busy though, is taekwon-do. I'll save a whole post just for that.

The weather has been pretty up and down. We have enjoyed really, really nice Spring-like weather (in the mid-70s with a nice clear sky) and have been able to go for walks and bike rides.

And then the next day we've got freezing weather and ice storms. It's amazing we are all only fighting sinus infections and not the flu.

We did manage to pick a really nice weekend and go to the Fort Worth Stock Show (also another blog post). That was fun and the boys had a blast.

February is already full of excitement, with Aden's first belt test coming this week, Valentine's Day, Bailey's birthday party and hopefully some play time with Aden and Ethan's friends Tia and Kendall.