FIRST STEPS!

MY BABY BOY TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS YESTERDAY!

Ethan has been standing on his own for a little while now and has really been confident about it the past few days so on Sunday I was thinking wow, I bet he takes his first steps in the next couple of weeks. Then yesterday, I was sitting near the fireplace and E had crawled over to it, pulled himself up and then stood facing me and took three steps right to my lap! I was amazed! Of course I spent the next hour trying to get him to do it again but I think all the excitement made him a little nervous about it.

He sure was proud of himself though. He had this huge grin from ear to ear just beaming and looking from me to Aden like, "Did you SEE that? Did you see me??"

He's taken a couple steps since then, but I think it may be a few days before he's really confident about it. Aden took his first steps the week he turned 11 months and pretty much picked it right up. Ethan will be 11 months in a little over a week.

The picture above makes me smile. Ethan thinks the world of Aden and follows him everywhere around the house. Aden has started closing the door when he goes to the bathroom (just started this week) because otherwise Ethan crawls up to him on the potty and wants to hang out. It's really sad to see my "baby" closing the door for privacy like a big boy, but I can't help but laugh when I see Ethan camped out in front of the door just waiting for Aden to come back out. If Aden takes too long, I get to hear Ethan yell, "Inden! Inden!!" Sooo sweet.

Happy Mother's Adam's Day!

What a weekend! Adam's birthday fell on Mother's Day this year, so we celebrated it the day before by having dinner on the patio at El Arroyo. It was a beautiful night. Aden liked helping his daddy open his presents too.

And Ethan provided entertainment, complete with wiggles, dancing, noises and expressions like these:

(His trademark expessions, he's got a whole repertoire of these)

Also this night, Ethan ate his body weight in food. I can not believe how much food this child can pack into his face! He ate a whole container of green beans, a dish of oranges, a dish of applesauce and parts of my, Gigi's and Aden's meals. Then followed all that up with a brownie and ice cream! And probably would have eaten more if we didn't cut off his supply.

I am A) freaking out about my future grocery bills and B) wondering how tall this child will get. I think both he and my grocery bill are going to be outlandishly large.

Finally, Mother's Day was very special. Adam and I are blessed with three really fantastic mom's. And although one is many miles away, we are fortunate to get to see the other two often and our lives are better because of it.

We made reservations a month ago for the Mother's Day Brunch Buffet at Blue Mesa. Adam, the boys and I went a little early in case there might still be a wait. Boy was there! I had heard this brunch was popular but WHOA! They had a tent and chairs out in the parking lot for people waiting on tables. We were told they were running behind and there would be an additional 45 minute wait. So we headed over to Barnes and Noble to look at books for a while. Adam went to the kids section with the boys while I looked for a new book and before I could even pick one up I got a call. Adam told me to get to the kids section asap.

Apparently, Aden was having too much fun to stop and go to the bathroom, so he peed on the floor right there at the train table. I couldn't believe it - a puddle and everything! My son who has been potty trained for a year! I grabbed Aden and left Adam to figure out how to clean the floor, and we ran out to find a shop that sold kids clothes. Of course there was everything BUT kids clothing stores. Lola had arrived and had underwear in her car for him, no shorts. So I called my mom, who was still on her way, and she ran to a nearby Target to get shorts.

All the while, I am in the back of Lola's SUV trying to get Aden's pants off and I look up to find Lola taking pictures of the ordeal. It provided a much needed comic relief to a stressful situation. Happy Mother's Day to me.

My mom finally used her charm and finesse and got us in ahead of time and the food was so worth the wait! All the talk about Blue Mesa is true - that place is amazing. I am going to dream about perfectly prepared flan tonight. And perfectly wonderful kids.

Beeball - Round Two

Did I mention that Ethan went to his first baseball game?

We got some tickets with our Six Flags passes, so we decided to go. I am loving this spring weather! It was such a pretty night! And... it was dollar dog night. SCORE!

Ethan got to go to his first game just a little younger than Aden was at his first baseball game, but he really enjoyed it. He danced in the stands and ate hot dogs.

Aden had a good time too, and got to play a few of the games. I hope we get to enjoy many more games together!

Treats!

Just a few "bites..."

Aden has figured out the schedule for the ice cream truck, who annoyingly comes an hour before dinner everyday. But I have been rewarding good behavior with ice cream and the other day Aden was exceptionally good. He had ice cream money in his pocket and as we were playing in the driveway, he heard the song. We got excited, he sat by the curb and waited... and waited... and waited...

We kept hearing the song, but it didn't sound like he was moving. Aden was beside himself with worry that he wouldn't get his treat. So I stuck Ethan in his car and off we went in search of the ice cream truck. We found him a couple blocks away with a long line of people who didn't appear to be making up their mind quickly. (Mystery solved.)

Aden picked out Batman - of course!

In other food news, Ethan had his first very own corn on the cob. And he LIKED it! Which isn't surprising, he likes all food. But an added bonus is that corn on the cob also feels really good on sore teething gums.

It's getting warmer!

These lucky, lucky kids

My kids are so fortunate to live so closely to a theme park. They are able to grow up with roller coasters in their backyard! We have season passes, so they get to spend loads of time playing here. On this last trip, Aden conquered a fear of the swings. He never really wanted to try these, but then Mia ran over to them so Aden decided to try it out. Turns out he LOVES the swings! They rode this twice and then had to run back to ride one more time before we left for the day.

We went on the first Friday that Six Flags was open during the week and there were zero lines. It was amazing. This doesn't happen often, so we really enjoyed not having to explain to two toddlers that they had to stand still in a line for 20 minutes before each ride.

Also, it was a gorgeous day. Just perfect! In the high seventies and clear skies.

Ethan enjoys rides that he can go on too. He already has a few favorites, and he was the only one of the three kids that wasn't afraid of the Yosemite Sam cave ride. (Which is strange because both of the other kids have been on that ride about 15 times and rode it just fine). I know he can't wait until next year when he gets to go on all the rides that Aden goes on.

Ethan really loved the giant sized stuffed animals. When Wylie Coyote held his hand, Ethan stuck his thumb in hismouth like he does when he has a stuffed animal. So cute!