Waters Family Tidbits: 2010

Monday, November 8, 2010

Spare Time

I have been, as you've probably noticed, very lax in blogging and it's really been bugging me. I do have a valid reason though. Anyone with young children, active children, knows how little spare time you have left at the end of the day. I had been using that little bit of spare time to keep you updated on the cute little stories and events of the boys' lives. Somehow though, that little bit of spare time seems to have evaporated lately and I can't wait for it to come back. I have a little bit right now and the energy to put it to use so here's a few stories for the past few days/weeks.

First, most of you know by now (or are finding out as you read this) that Ethan & Alex are going to have a new brother or sister next June (maybe that's why I've had no energy in the little spare time I've had to blog lately). Trying to gauge Ethan's reaction to this news, I've talked to him lately at bedtime about how much we love him and Alex and how wonderful they are. Then talking about how much he likes his brother and asking him if he wants another brother or maybe a sister one day - to have even more fun with. He agreed that might be a good thing. He's apparently pretty perceptive though or a really good guesser.

He's in children's choir at church on Wednesday nights. The teacher doesn't have a helper right now so the parents take turns helping out. It was my turn to be the teacher's helper the night after this discussion. After they sang, the kids each got to go up and sit with Miss Anne and tell something they wanted to share. One little girl got up and said that she was going to have a new brother or sister. Ethan got up next and said, "My mama is going to have another baby, too and I want it to be a brother. That would be pretty cool." I was shocked. I said, "Ethan, who said that?" Miss Anne looked at me as Ethan said with a grin and a shrug, "well isn't that what you said at bedtime that night?" I just laughed it off and said, that wasn't exactly what I had said (which is true and yet not a denial). Miss Anne just laughed and put me out of my misery by going to the next child. I didn't discuss it with Ethan again until we were ready for him to really know.

That was this past weekend as we planned to tell our parents and then everyone else on Sunday. Ethan was super excited. Alex didn't know what to really think but followed his brother's lead on getting excited. I asked Ethan if he remembered when Alex was a baby in my stomach and he used to give the baby kisses. He didn't and wanted to kiss this baby so he & Alex both kissed my belly. That night at prayers, we got to the end and Ethan added "and make the baby in Mama's tummy healthy, too." So sweet.

Tonight was even cuter. I got home from work and the boys came down to see me. Alex had Ethan's toy tweezers from his medical kit and Ethan had the shot dispenser (whatever that's called) - both of them naked except diaper and underwear. Alex came over to me and showed me his tweezers and then put it to his leg and giggled. I said, "don't pinch my baby." He looked right at me and pointed to my belly with the tweezer and said "baby" and giggled again. Then Ethan came up and said, "can we kiss the baby again?" They both did and Alex giggled again. Alex now is fascinated with my stomach, pointing at it all night tonight and coming over to kiss it. So cute. This is a good sign.

So that's my update for tonight. Hopefully I'll get the energy back soon to blog more because I really do miss it and now that Alex is talking more, there are even more things to share each day.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Anecdotes from Vacation

Since I didn't write this stuff down as it happened, I don't remember exactly how some of this happened and what the context was in full. So rather than blogging about full stories from our vacation, I'll post some highlights that I can remember.

The trip to the beach
Alex started talking a lot more beginning on the trip down to the beach. We left the house right around 5:00am that Monday morning after actually getting the boys up and giving them baths and everything. Of course, giving them baths meant they didn't go immediately to sleep so Alex started talking our ears off. Pretty much everything his says is the first syllable of the word - tiger = tig (long i). He babbled through the first movie Ethan had picked to watch on the dvd (G-Force I think) and told us each animal & ball and "THAT" in the movie. Thankfully, he fell asleep sometime before the 2nd movie.

We stopped for a pit stop at a rest area when Alex woke up and starting patting his groin - that's his signal that he has peed or needs to go potty (he has pooped and peed in the potty several times now but not consistently day to day - one day he does it, next day he won't). On the way to the bathroom, Alex, who hadn't quite had enough sleep yet, fell while holding my hand so didn't get all the way down and yet somehow managed to scrape his knee well enough to get a "boo boo." [He is so my child, poor kid - scraped the front of his right knee on the way to the beach and the back of his right calf on the way home from the beach - both well enough to cause bleeding.] Ethan went to get a bandaid from Steve and we were back in business and then back on the road where Alex talked for the first 20 minutes about his boo boo and then thankfully passed out again.

We stopped for lunch & gas in Columbia, SC - Steve dropped me and the boys at McDonald's with a play area while he got gas. Ethan helped me by holding Alex's hand to keep him there with me while I paid and then we went outside to the play area to eat. Steve got there just as we sat down to eat. The stipulation was that they had to eat before they could play. Ethan negotiated: he would eat his hamburger but he didn't want his french fries. He had snacked in the van so I agreed and he ate that burger quicker than he ever has before. Alex thought this was his cue to play as well. When he realized that Ethan was playing and he was still trapped in the high chair, he pretended to "drop" his chicken nuggets on the ground knowing he wouldn't then have to eat them. Pretty sly - but sadly for him, mama had more money and went to get him apples instead. A couple of apples later, Alex got to play some, too. This play area was different than any we'd seen before - it had tubes everywhere that you climbed through to get to slides, etc (not the normal square type areas you climb up but actual tubes). Alex got in to follow Ethan up and quickly turned around with one hand outstretched saying "Hup?" [help]. Ethan came back down and helped him up and they were gone - about 6 trips up and down this long slide and it was time to go again.

On the road this time, both boys (& Mama) took a nap. When they woke up, we watched 1 more movie and then arrived happily at our lovely hotel: Longbay Resort. Normally when we go places, I check in and Steve starts unpacking. This time, I was in the very back working on putting shoes on and Steve said he would go check in. That didn't last - he came back a few minutes later with the news that they were upgrading us from an ocean view efficiency (small stove & fridge) to an ocean front queen suite with full sized kitchen area & living room. Why did he come back? We wanted to pay with one card but they hold a deposit above that and we wanted that held on another card. He didn't know how to do that. I went in and told the woman exactly that and she had no problem with it - I'll chalk it up to I had a nap on the way down and he didn't. By the time I was done though, he had the car unloaded and the boys ready to go to the elevator.

Actual Vacation Notes
As soon as we got to the room, we immediately got swim suits on and headed to the beach. It was only 3:00 so there was plenty of time to get some sand & surf under our belts before dinner. As we left the room, I said the boys had to hold someone's hand - this was the rule for the whole week. When we walked anywhere, they had to hold someone's hand and in most cases, it couldn't just be each other's hand. Most of the time, including this time, the boys opted for Mama's hand. They have both become Daddy's boys lately because they are with him all day and the three of them are "the boys" - they hang out and do fun stuff so he's the fun one while Mama works. This week, though, they took full advantage of having Mama there and I loved it - they wanted ME! It was awesome.

As we walked onto the beach, we found a spot to take our shoes off and put life jackets on the boys. Then hand in hand all 4 of us walked into the ocean. The boys actually giggled and laughed and squealed with delight as the first waves hit their little feet. They absolutely loved it - we went a little further in, with the water about mid-calf on me and let them feel a couple of actual waves. Steve had one of the boys and I had the other and then we switched.

Ethan was very clingy in the ocean- he loved it but he's scared a little bit at the same time. Sadly, what he's scared of seems to be that this is the ocean and a shark might get him. I tried to explain that a shark can't come in water 3 inches deep but he wasn't buying it and wanted to make sure he stayed close. Not that this was a problem - that's sort of the point, stay with Mama & Daddy in the water. That was the rule before we even saw water - you do not go in the water without Mama & Daddy with you at all times. Unfortunately, Alex goes to the water and then looks around to see if you are coming. But hey, at least he looks for us. But he was totally loving all parts of the ocean - until sometime on Friday when he went to the water without us and Steve went to get him and then a rogue wave came (we're talking 6 inches deep, not like Alex walked into the middle of the ocean before we got to him) which wasn't really a bad wave but it was just enough to catch Steve mid-stride with Alex's hand in his on the edge of a little section where the previous day's rough waves & rip tides had caused a small shelf to form and Steve went down and had Alex sputtering by the end. Never in any danger but salt water in the mouth & nose is no fun. He didn't go back in the ocean without Mama's hand after that (Daddy wasn't acceptible after this) and even made Mama hold him when we were past the point where the water hit his knees (so basically anything from where he & Steve tripped was "hold me" level).

We played in the sand and thankfully had enough beach toys that each boy could have a bucket (of some sort) and a shovel at all times as sharing these items wasn't in the cards. Sharing only came in the form of "you can have this shovel now and I'm taking that one" .... "if I can't have any shovel though, I am going to take yours." Oh fun - but it was fun as Ethan was interested in making wet sand wetter by getting buckets of water and dumping it on the already wet sand (which seconds later would get even wetter by the next wave) and then piling that really wet sand in his bucket and then trying to dump it out. Alex wanted to hold his bucket and dig in the sand and throw the sand off the end of the shovel - a game I was not fond of and tried several times to stop. Alex also thoroughly enjoyed chasing the sea gulls and would happily have chased them all over the beach and well out of my line of sight and my warnings of "Alex come back" or "Alexander - STOP" had no weight. The one phrase that brought him back every single time though was "Alex, he's faster than you, you can't catch him." Somehow he bought that and came back each time. Unlike the accident prone trait of mine, if I was told that, I'd be even more determined to catch the bird but not Alex - he'd come back each time and yet forget when he went after the next bird, until I told him again. Quite funny actually.

Another hysterical bit was the "Alex, NO!" saga ... This was when Daddy (poor Daddy) tried to build a sand castle. He apparently forgot that a sandcastle is a pile of sand and piles of sand are good for stomping and/or knocking down. He got one good bucket of sand dumped out to form the perfect tower and then tried to put a castle shaped bucket on top of that to make the center section of his castle. Alex was about to chase a bird when he saw the first part of this tower that Daddy had just erected. Alex stopped in his tracks, which made Ethan stop and look over, too, and started towards the tower. Ethan then started towards it as well (& seemed to be giggling the giggle you hear from the evil genius in cartoons) while I sat by in the chair with the camera and Daddy said "Alex, NO!"...and blocked him. Alex stopped and Steve went back to filling his castle bucket for the next phase - Alex took full advantage and almost had the tower when Daddy caught him and said "No"...picture a game of red light / green light when someone is almost done and the time between the "IT" person saying red light or green light is mere milliseconds ... "NO" .... "NOOO" ... "NO!!!" .... too late, part of the tower came down. Poor Daddy - he set about putting the sand back in the bucket to reshape it. At this point, Ethan just stood by watching and giggling (mostly because I was laughing hysterically knowing Steve's attempt was going to be futile). Alex lost interest as Daddy took his time refilling the bucket. Daddy dumped the original bucket and again perfectly shaped it. As he set about trying to get the castle on top of the tower though Ethan started after the tower thus began the "Ethan, NO" saga....Daddy did get the castle on top of the bucket shape to make his perfect center but alas the next small wave hit the base of the tower and started the whole mess to crumble at which point both Ethan & Alex seized the opportunity to finish off the demolition.....end of the sandcastle for our trip unfortunately for Daddy but the boys still fully enjoyed playing with their toys.

One more little cute bit on Alex and then I'll write some more notes from the beach over the weekend.

Holding Hands
I mentioned that the boys had to hold hands when we went anywhere. On the way back from the elevator to our room though, they were allowed to run along the carpet to our door until I said "stop." They actually obeyed these rules really well. However, having the freedom to run along the carpet gave Alex an idea....as we left the room and I said to hold hands, Alex put both hands in front of himself and proceeded to hold his own hand. I again told him to hold hands and he shook his hands in front of him and said "UHH" as if saying, I'm already holding my own hand, Mama. So I asked him, "are you holding your own hand?" - he said he was. I had to break it to him that he had to hold my hand or Daddy's - holding his own hand wasn't an option. He did this several more times through the week and would even say "walk...walk" as he held his own hands in front of himself to indicate he wanted to walk holding his own hand - it was really hard not to just let him hold his own hand because the idea was so cute and the whole shaking his hands in front of him so I could see he was holding his own hand was just priceless.

Monday, August 16, 2010

Cute and Not so much...

So Ethan has begun to say some really cute things lately about his "boy," Alex. We keep telling him that Alex is our child, his brother; our baby, his brother; our little boy, his borther. He still insists that Alex is HIS baby - his child - his boy. Tonight, for example, Alex was loving on Steve and Ethan decided to get in on it a little. He went over and said to Alex, "do you know how much I love you?" Alex continued grunting and laughing and playing. Ethan answered his own question by saying, "because God makes me love you so much because you are dust my child." It was really just too cute. Steve tried to explain again that Alex is our child - Mama & Daddy's child just like Ethan is - Alex is Ethan's brother. Ethan didn't agree - "noooo, he'd dust my child cause God said." Well, ok - if God said, who are we to argue? Too cute....

On to the not so cute....that would be the one totally into the terrible two's and yet several months shy of 2 still. Alex has developed this nasty little habit; it goes something like this: Alex is laughing and smiling and doing something he's not supposed to be doing and pretending we are all ok with it. Mama (or Daddy, but usually Mama) says "Alexander David, stop it right now" or "Alexander David!" or "Alexander David, come here right now!" Alex turns to look at Mama (or Daddy if this happened to be the one time he's being the "heavy") and SCREAMS with a look very similar to the one I was giving him very much like a teenager who is vehemently making his/her point known by screaming "I hate you!" Yeah, this is so NOT cute and sadly for Alex, tends to create one of only a couple of different punishments: 1) Mama swats his hiney and puts him in the corner to time out or 2) Mama smacks his mouth and puts him in time out. This of course creates more screaming but in the form of crying with the world's worst fake pout turned real tears but eventually he will learn that screaming at Mama (again, or Daddy) is not acceptible behavior. Yes, that's right - he's not quite 2 years old yet and already getting spanked but nothing else seems to break the dimpled exterior to make him realize I'm serious - if anyone has other ideas on breaking that nasty habit of his, I'm all ears but before I'll actually try them, I want to see you make them work on this particular child who thinks everything is funny - even getting in trouble - unless his hiney or mouth gets smacked that is.

Back to the cute....tonight I took my sandals off and asked Alex (yes, same angelic demon child mentioned above) to put them in the shoe box by the door for me. He happily picked them up and ran to the front room to put them away. He came back to me grunting like Lassie while carrying one shoe - obviously, it was the grunt of "help, come with me please." I followed him and the panic left the grunt but not the emphasis - he took me to the trash can by the front door which is directly beside the shoe box. He's holding one shoe and reaching in the trash. I looked and sure enough, the other shoe was in the trash just out of his reach. He had accidentally put the shoe in the wrong "box" and couldn't get it out. Since I threw 3 pee-pee diapers in that can during the course of the rest of the night, I'm extremely happy that he told me about this as soon as it happened so as not to steep my shoes in pee all night. We got it out of the trash and I had to give it to him for him to put it in the right box as it wasn't acceptable to him for me to put the shoe away. When both shoes were finally in the "shoe box" rather than the trash at his hands, Alex happily walked away and then turned to look at me saying "hug...hug." Yeah, you're right kiddo - that ordeal deserves a hug. [Note: it's this type of cuteness that makes it really difficult to smack his mouth or hiney when he exhibits the above screaming behavior.]

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

What a day!

I honestly can't put my finger on exactly what made today suck so badly; but it definitely did. I think it was just the overall attitude of pretty much 95% of the people I spoke to today - Negative Nelly is the best description. It didn't help that an automatic payment I had set up to go through this Friday was sent through in error yesterday which then caused other items I had set to pay today to overdraw my account. It's the first of the month when 2/3 of the bills are all due so we're budgeted to the penny. After this week, everything is smooth again but with paying for a few things for our anniversary and for Ethan's upcoming birthday & our vacation, this week was really tight. But had it not been for the moron who posted the one payment too soon by 4 days, we'd have been fine. So I got to spend a lovely 30 minutes on the phone with them to get my money and my overdraft fees refunded (which they did) and then another 15 minutes with another payment postponing it for 2 days until the money that was erroneously charged is back in my account. All because someone can't read a calendar.

Then back to my real job. For those I work with who may read this, I would like to thank all those who called with system questions (no sarcasm intended). That was the highlight of my day because for the most part, I understand what I'm doing on that and actually felt like I accomplished something by helping you all work through it as well. Beyond helping out a few people with this issue, I can't tell you anything at all that I accomplished today. I can tell you that I was extremely busy all day and even left work late eventhough my boss was gone already and boarded a plane before I even left for the day. I can tell you that I could have stayed for another hour and still not been done - but I can't for the life of me think of anything I actually accomplished today. That and the negativity all day from every corner and I was completely drained when I got home.

What sight greeted me? Alex walking towards me with paci & blankie in tow grinning a huge dimpled smile with twinkling eyes and saying "Mama!" around the paci. That should make it all better, right? We're not done yet. I went to the restroom (I have a 4 year old (almost) and a 1 1/2 year old, I have no privacy) and Alex follows me in and sits right in front of me on the foot stool (he somehow thinks if Mama is going potty, he should sit down in the bathroom, too, and just smile at me). I asked if he could leave the bathroom and give Mama a minute and he very clearly said "no" while he stood up and gave me a kiss and sat right back down to wait. OK - some may think this is gross but I'm way over the privacy thing and it was really quite cute. I finished my business and he followed me out and helped shut the door. Then I went in the kitchen for something to drink and heard Ethan (who had still been napping - they took late naps today) come down and ask why his daddy hadn't awakened him. Steve told him that he & Alex had just come down a few minutes before and that I was home. He immediately came in the kitchen to give me a hug and kiss. Yeah, the negativity is definitely starting to melt at this point.

I head back into the living room and Steve went next door to try to help our neighbor whose AC had gone out (he was looking to see if they have a reset switch - they didn't so he couldn't help but the AC did come back on but not at full force - at least it's SOME air though). I sit in "Mama's chair" and Ethan is on the couch and Alex is sitting on the steps (I assume waiting for Steve to come back in). I asked Alex if he could come sit with me and give me some "loves." He happily obliged and sat with me cuddling for a good 10 minutes at which time Steve returned so Alex went to give Steve a turn and Ethan came over to cuddle some, too.

Seriously guys, for anyone out there who has had a bad day and feels totally drained, I highly recommend a cuddle session with one or both of my boys who have recently had a nap so are nice and cuddly and not whiney (NOTE: if they have not napped at all, run the other direction as your day will not improve by cuddling with my sleep deprived children). While I was still drained and tired after the cuddle-fest, kisses & hugs; I did have a happier outlook - the world wasn't so bleak anymore.

So a huge thank you to Alex & Ethan for being good this evening, cuddling with me and eating dinner & dessert without making a mess and without making me beg. I totally needed that. Love you, boys!

Monday, August 9, 2010

A wonderful anniversary weekend

Friday was our 5th anniversary - 5 wonderful years and 2 wonderful children. You can't just celebrate that one day - so we celebrated all weekend. Friday night we went out to eat (with the boys) to start our celebration with good quality time. On the way home, we rented a movie then put the boys to bed and watched a movie together for the first time in a long time without the boys. That was great - the movie was pretty good, too, The Bounty Hunter.

Saturday morning we lazed around then went to pick up lunches to deliver to the Habitat for Humanity build that Lexmark is sponsoring. The off to get my haircut before going to Aunt Eileen's house for a few hours yard saling (during which time, we made more money with only 5 items in that sale than we made in the yard sale at our house a few weeks ago in which we had 20 pairs of shoes, mass amounts of clothing and several other items). The boys got some quality time running around then Ethan got some quality learning time helping Jonah with the lemonade stand while Alex napped. Then homeward bound with a short stop for ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery where we were treated to ice cream by the employee whose paycheck Steve & the boys had found lying on the ground when they were feeding the ducks on Friday. That's right, being a good samaritan and returning the guy's paycheck and he rewarded the whole family. Steve tried to pay (I mean, the guy was a college student and we knew how much his check was, not much) but he said no and then rang us up and paid the bill himself. Class act really. I was impressed. After dessert, we got dinner and headed home (well, I told you we celebrated all weekend - Saturday's celebration was in the form of dessert first, dinner later).

However, that dessert first dinner later thing haunted me a bit as I went to bed with a slight stomach ache but thankfully the boys slept in a bit Sunday. That, of course, meant we didn't quite make it to church. Steve then had a great idea. "Want to take a ride?" "Where?" "Well, I've never been to Lake Cumberland." "OK, let's go." Yeah, lots of planning goes into our adventures. I was confused though when Steve gave the boys baths first and yelled down to me to get underwear for Ethan. I asked why when he could just put on his swimming trunks. Going to the lake to me means going swimming. Apparently, Steve just meant to go take a ride to the lake and come home - no, thank you - let's swim instead. Alex has my mindset on it.

We had, of course, told the boys we were going to play in the water. We found a place to swim and got suited up (aka lifejackets on) much to Alex's chagrin as he wanted in the water right then and had no time to wait for a life jacket. Poor kid, we won out on that one. This spot wasn't ideal though as the rocks were pretty harsh as the waves from passing boats rocked us into them so we decided to find another spot. To say Alex wasn't thrilled is an understatement. We assured him though that we would find a better spot and play some more and he calmed down. We went around the lake about 30 minutes really to a better spot and found the dock but no place to get out there so started to pull away and you'd have thought I took Alex's favorite blankie and paci and sippy all at once at bedtime - he FREAKED. Steve then told him if he didn't stop, we were going home. He empathically said "uh-uh!" and then started saying "NO NO, BAD BOY, Bad, Bad, Bad, No NO!" Ethan then told him, "Owix, you betta hush or we have to go home. We can pway if you stop" and oddly, Alex mellowed out a little. Long enough for us to make it around the corner to a perfect spot to swim. This time Alex couldn't wait to get his life jacket on as he knew the quicker he did, the quicker he'd get in the water. My favorite part of this was when Steve, Alex & I were in the water and Alex was saying "Mon" (as in "come on") to Ethan telling him to get in with us. While Alex loves the water and everything about it, his brother isn't so sold. When he realied though that he could walk about 10 feet out and still only be at his knees, he, too, warmed up. Not enough for me to take him any further though as each time I tried he whigged, Alex laughed and Ethan went back to shore. Oh well, at least we have one water baby. When it was time to go though, this water baby had a total meltdown. I conned (aka - lied to) Alex to get him to come to me in the van so I could strip him and diaper & change him. He then pouted and didn't talk to me for a while on the way home. We've promised him more water fun at the end of the month and promised Ethan he can play in the sand at the water's edge as much as he wants (at the beach of course) and both have been appeased for the time being.

We really had a wonderful weekend. Quality family time all weekend - no chores of any kind. That, of course, meant that Steve did lots of work at home today so thank you, honey, for playing catch up today while I was work so I didn't have to help when I got home :)

Grandparents

My boys are quite lucky to have some pretty wonderful grandparents. I base this on the fact that I had some pretty great ones growing up so I can spot them pretty well. There's Nana (my mom) who always sends books and clothes and candy and cards just because but also remembers every event to make them feel special as well. There Amma (Steve's mom) who calls just about daily, not to ask us what they've been doing but to talk directly to them about what they've been doing. There's Paga (my dad) who builds them awesome mobiles and toy boxes and goes bowling with them even when he shouldn't because of his hernia. All 3 of them commemorate every birthday and Christmas and overall special event by spoiling the boys rotten (but the good rotten). I've realized though, that Ethan & Alex have some other honorary Grandparents in their lives as well:

Teddy Butler - Nana's husband so really that makes him Grandpa Butler; he's always been Teddy to me so that's what the boys call him, too. He puts notes on most of the boys cards as well, asks about the boys regularly and keeps up to date on all our goings on.

Mickey - Known as Grandma by most of the cousins; she's always been Mickey to me and "Grandma" is "Amma" (and the boys like Mickey Mouse so it's a nice connection for them) so they boys call her Mickey, too. She, too, asks about the boys and keeps up to date with them.

Richard & Jewel Bethel - they were like second parents to Steve growing up. They always ask about the boys and even talk to them occassionally on the phone. It's gotten to the point that when we go to Amma's house or call her on the phone, Ethan will often ask where "Wichad & Dewel" are.

Gloria Becker - One of Amma's best friends - she sends the boys cards for every occassion as well - birthday, Christmas, Valentine's day; the cards often have money in them, too.

Yes, my boys are very lucky - they have 3 biological grandparents and 5 honorary and step-grandparents. Anyone who has ever had great grandparents knows that 8 such grandparents who love my boys this much makes these boys truly blessed.

Friday, July 16, 2010

Wet Fun in the Summertime

Here at the Waters household, our summer is off to a great start. Some of you are probably thinking "but the summer is half over, why are you just starting?" It's not that we are just starting; it's more that we are planning to make it last a long time. We loved the cold weather or more specifically snow but we love the warm weather just as much.

Most of our fun has involved playing in water is some form or another so far. I think I already mentioned how the boys played in the water at the Memorial Day picnic in order to rinse all the sand off. That was only the first of many water adventures for this summer. The next one was playing in the sprinklers in the backyard. It's been so hot & humid out that the boys don't get to play outside much during the day without water at some point so sprinklers are our friend.

Alex is fearless when it comes to water of any kind. Ethan is older and more methodical in his actions - he requires more convincing. No problem, Mama can handle that. I went in to change clothes and came out, took both boys by the hand and we ran full force directly into the fountain. Oh yeah, that was fun; a little brisk maybe but a welcome relief from the heat. Alex had been checking the fountain out before but now that I'd gone through it once, that's the only way he wanted to do it after that. I'd go back to the porch and Alex would come over and grab my hand for another run. Ethan saw how much fun that was and despite how much he says he didn't like it, he kept coming back for more as well. It was great fun.

Alex checking out the fountain, while Ethan runs the other direction.

Just after we ran through the sprinkler Ethan took off but Alex held on to my hand to run around. I'm pretty sure he fell on his butt right after this was taken.

Mama decided Ethan wasn't getting wet enough, so I held him in the sprinklers - he's laughing, not crying, I promise.

Finally, we stopped running through the sprinkler long enough to slide down the now wet slide. It's MUCH faster that way.

Our next big water adventure was on the 3rd of July when Lexington had our big Independence Day festival. You are right, there isn't much water in Lexington. But knowing how hot it would be and how Alex doesn't handle heat all that well, we had plenty of water bottle along for the day. When both boys seemed to be about at the heat breaking point, I poured a little water over their heads. This was an insult to Ethan; Alex, however, decided it was the most fun game ever.

Here you can see Ethan is considering doing the same thing. Notice his shirt is much more dry than Alex's at this point. It soon got just as wet.

Our next big water adventure was on the 4th of July and this was BIG water fun. We went to my cousin Andy & Laura's house for a get together to see my Aunt Audrey who was in town. They had a huge inflatable pool with water slide in the backyard. The perfect way to make the boys eat? Show them the pool and tell them they have to eat first...maybe cruel but it worked. This day had 2 of the boys' favorite things - water (even though Ethan is skeptical, he still loves it) and other kids. Several hours of playing here and they were exhausted.

So we left the pool party exhausted but not too tired to go wait for some fireworks.

I just wish Ethan liked his brother more - you know? Alex just wants to sit and relax, but Ethan just wants to hug him. Love that kid!

And here's big brother make sure little brother doesn't miss anything.

This pretty much says it all - don't worry, he was awake for the big show.

Our latest water adventures have been at the area pools. We've tried a couple of them out and Alex is again proving he is fearless when it comes to water. Ethan wades in to about his belly button, beyond that he is not happy about and he'd actually prefer to stay within 3 feet of the side of the pool. Alex, on the other hand, walks till he's past his belly button and then plops down to sit going all the way under the water. We'll pull him immediately up and he's sputtering and laughing at the same time. Ethan freaks when his head is under the water but Alex may break him of that. A few times of seeing how happy Alex was going under water and Ethan was asking me, "Mama, can I go under water?" Me: "Sure, babe. Go ahead." Ethan then proceeds to stand stoically still and then bends rigidly at the waste and puts his face in the water and immediately jerks back upright. He smiles and says, "I did it!" and then does it again, a little less rigidly this time.

At the pool we went to last weekend, there was a very small kids slide that both boys could do without going all the way under the water. We'd still help Alex back up but Ethan was thrilled that he could do it all alone without going under water.

As you can see, after the first pool experience where Alex kept going under water, we got him a new bathsuit with the built in life jacket. This may seem like a good idea but not so much for this particular kid in this kiddie pool environment. It actually proved to be more difficult for him to get around and easier for him to get under water. When he would go under or more to the point, lose his footing so his feet came out from under him, he'd spin & spin at the top of the water so basically under water because he couldn't go down to get his feet back on the ground. Thankfully, I was standing right there close enough to grab him. What upset him most about that whole experience? That I moved him farther away from the slide to make sure he was ok - as soon as I let him go back to the slide, he calmed down. Fearless. This was on the slightly bigger slide in the slightly deeper part of the pool - 1.5-2 feet instead of just 1 foot. Ethan slid down once with me at the bottom to catch him and the next time he told me not to catch him and was so excited when he stopped himself from going all the way under all by himself. "I did it all by mesef, Mom! I did it!" So excited.

So that's it so far. What's next for us? We've got another pool we've heard about that we want to try out this weekend if the weather permits. All this fun in the sun time is getting us ready for the biggest water adventure of all...Myrtle Beach at the end of August. We can't wait! Since that will be the end of our summer, this really is only the middle and we're just getting started. I promise to give you more updates before we make it all the way to the end.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

All About Alex

Most of the blogs have been about Ethan so I thought we'd focus on Alex this time. I've discussed before how Alex is completely rotten and Alex thinks everything is funny. But let's get a little more background.

Most of you know that when Alex was 3 months old, he was diagnosed with Acid Reflux after spitting up blood all over me - he immediately laughed and smiled at me even then. Throughout our hospital observation stay (overnight) to make sure there wasn't something more serious going on, he was happy as can be (except when they tried unsuccessfully to get an IV going). He laughed and smiled for everyone about everything. He was just happy - it's his nature.

He has been to the doctor many times in his 19 month life. If not for the acid reflux and follow-ups or for standard check-ups, it was for numerous ear infections. We often know he has an ear infection before he has a fever or a runny nose or anything. How? Because his normal sunny disposition is replaced with a clingy little boy. He's still happy & smiling but he is much less independent and just wants to cuddle. Don't get me wrong, I love to cuddle with this little guy - he's so cuddly I could eat him up; I just wish he didn't have to be sick to get in the mood. He takes his medicine well and after a day or two of meds, he's generally a happy boy, ready to take on the world again. Until the last time that is. The last time he had an ear infection and took Augmentin (the wonder drug for ear infections), he got horrible, horrible diaper rash. His poor hiney was severely red and hot constantly and there was no ointment good enough to help it. I felt like the worst mother in the world that I couldn't do anything to make it stop hurting and make it go away. Poor guy has never cried like that consistently before and it was heart breaking. That was 2 months ago and he's been in fairly good health ever since. However, we know that if he gets another ear infection he'll get another round of Augmentin which will suck again due to diaper rash but he'll also be going to the specialist to get tubes which I've heard aren't that bad but still, it's surgery for my baby - not something I'm looking forward to.

That brings us to today and the best news I've ever heard at the doctor's office. Today was Alex's 18 month check up (yes, at 19 months - but we're a little behind). He is in the 97th percentile for his height at 36.25" and in the 90th for weight at 30lbs 9.4ozs. He's definitely a sturdy little boy. But the best part was when she checked his ears. We actually think he had a slight ear infection about a month ago but it cleared up on it's own. Had it lasted longer, we'd have taken him to the doctor but he never got a fever and we've been told sometimes they do go away on their own so waited it out and after a few days, he seemed happy as a lark again. The doctor looked first in his left ear and said, "oh, that's pretty" and then checked the right ear (which is typically the one Alex doesn't like touched which makes me always wonder if it's bothering him) and said, "oh, wow! that's beautiful." I heaved a major sigh of relief and Steve & I both cheered for Alex. Yeah - that's the first check up in a long time where he's been completely healthy. What was his prize? Shots....poor guy, can't catch a break.

Steve took Ethan out to the lobby to watch TV - we always have him leave so he doesn't even realize that Alex gets the shots; we don't want him to be afraid of going to the doctor after all. Alex and I played peek-a-boo in the mirror and then turned the lights off and on while we waited. Finally the nurse came in and I braced myself and Alex. The thing is, while Ethan doesn't realize Alex is getting shots, Alex definitely does. He's had more than his share - one of the ear infections was stubborn and required two separate sets of two shots of antibiots to cure. When he sees a new person enter the doctor's office that isn't the doctor after he's already seen the doctor - he knows. He immediately looked at her with a look that was definitely not a dimpled-smile and started squirming on the table. I gave him his paci & blanket and leaned over him blocking his view of the nurse and told him it would be ok. Then the first shot came and the scream with it. I talked sweetly to him telling him how sorry I was as she gave him the second shot. He started screaming with the first shot but only the initial sound came out as he built up the rest. About 30 seconds after the second shot concluded and the bandaids were applied, and as I started to pick him up, telling him to breathe, the rest of it came out. I consoled him for a minute or two as I carried him out to the lobby. By the time we got to the lobby, he'd almost stopped crying completely though the tears were still streaming down his face. I gave him to his daddy who helped me put his shoes & shorts back on (he had a onesie already on but had to leave shorts off till after shots). By the time shorts & shoes were on, he had pulled himself together. He even held my hand and walked out with me rather that being carried. Such a trooper. Steve says he was basically his normal self the rest of the day.

Flash to this evening after work - my little munchkin was all smiles when he saw me. He & his brother went outside to play as Steve fixed dinner. I took their big wagon out back and Alex immediately started asking for help getting in it. When the wagon was inside, he could hold the wall and get in - he didn't have anything to hold on to so needed the extra help. I held his hand and he climbed in and big brother Ethan pulled him around the yard as he smiled and laughed and babbled cutely. When that got boring, he wanted to swing. I'm trying hard to make him say swing and some other things that he chooses to just grunt about. I was again, unsuccessful. I helped him into the swing while Ethan climbed on the tire swing and both boys were in their element enjoying the evening. Then Alex's swing stopped and Mama was mean and made him do more than grunt to get another push. I won out and he finally said, "weeeee" which is a step above "uh uh" so he got more pushes. When that was no longer enough excitement (it wasn't as much fun I guess when he had to remember to say "weee" to get a push), he put his arms up signaling "I'm done" and I let him out and he and Ethan took turns trying to hit balls with the bats they have. With me as the pitcher, the fact that they weren't successful can most assuredly not be blamed on them.

Finally, it was time for dinner. Ethan ran immediately inside. Alex, however, was focused on the ball and the bat. As soon as I got his attention and mentioned that it was time to eat when he could actually hear me over the focus of ball & bat, he looked at me like "oh yeah, food, that sounds good." Food is really the only thing better than balls in the eyes of Alex. Unfortunately, dinner wasn't quite on the table when the boys had their hands washed and Alex wasn't keen on sitting there with nothing. He was quite vocal in his grunts and "num-num"s requesting food until finally he got his plate. Tonight was something new - a taco like dinner on a tostada so it's a big flat taco basically. Alex checked out Mama & Daddy & then put down his fork and picked up the tostada and started chowing down. It was really cute but the poor kid could only get a little bit in his tiny mouth at once. Mama broke it into a few pieces for him and he was all over it.

He's gotten much better at eating these days but we're thrilled to realize there are few things he won't eat. Steve had salsa on his dinner and Alex thought he wanted some of that, too. Steve gave him a little bit which he did NOT like but that didn't stop him from going back to his original food and eating it now that he was content in the knowledge that Daddy didn't have something better to eat after all. It's funny to watch him. He will completely focus on his own food until he gets a few bites in then he looks around to see what else there might be. After he tries that out, he'll either demand your food (if it was, in fact, better than what he had) or go back to his own. One thing is certain though, he will eat his dinner. Unless, of course, he starts throwing his food and then Mama declares he is done. If he's eaten enough that he thinks it's playtime, he's done eating. That, to Alex, is punishment - removing his food. Oh well, I'll guess he'll learn soon enough not to play and/or throw food at the table.

So that's the update on Alex. A very happy boy almost all of the time and a very healthy 19 month old boy with a very healthy appetite for food as well as play.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Transformers Rise Again

When we take long rides in the car (to a 3 year old, even 30 minutes is long), Ethan gets to watch movies in the car. As you can imagine, we've watched many, many cartoon movies over the past year. So when we went to Illinois a few weeks ago, I made sure we had a couple of "real" movies as well and when we couldn't stand the sound of cartoon characters anymore (and Ethan went to sleep), I put Tranformers in. We've had it for a while but I'd only seen it once until that weekend.

Ethan woke up when the "action" was in full swing and was instantly hooked. The cars talked and moved and turned into people. This was awesome. E: "Who's that one, Mama?" M: "Bumblebee." E: "It's Bumblebee? He's cool. Oh, who's that one?" M: "Optimus Prime." E: "Optimus Pwime? He's a cool twuck. I wike him.".....and so it went until the movie ended at which time he instantly said, "can we watch Twansfoahmahs again?" Oddly, I'm not yet sick of the movie but then it's longer than the cartoon movies so he can't watch it as many times in one sitting.

Since then, every yellow car we've seen has been "Bumblebee" to the point that even Alex is now pointing them out and saying "OH! Buh buh!" Yellow trucks are sometimes referred to as "Rachet" (the medical officer who was a yellow/red emergency vehicle) if Ethan can remember Rachet exists; otherwise, they are all Bumblebee. After two weeks of this, last week when Ethan and I were shopping for Steve's father's day present (a weedeater), Ethan got a present, too. He finally got his own Bumblebee Transformer. He took it to bed the first night and then everywhere he went for the next 4 days - including to Aunt Megan's house for Father's Day. Unfortunately, he left Bumblebee there and we didn't realize this until we were almost home so no chance to go back for it.

Ethan's been a little mopey this week and then it came out last night. He was flipping through the brochure of Transformers that came with his car last night and then he looked at me with tears gleaming in his eyes and said, "Mama, I miss Bumblebee." He wasn't even playing me for the toy - he had been talking to Bumblebee like an imaginary friend last week and then he was just gone and he really, really missed his buddy. Yes, it broke my heart.

So, today after work, I went to Walmart and got a new Bumblebee - not the same one we had before because the Walmart by my work didn't have that one. This one was a little different (read: more difficult to transform) and came with another Transformer - a Decepticon - that was impossible to transform. I finally got Bumblebee from robot to car form and then we ate dinner. Following dinner, Steve tried for 20 minutes to transform the Decepticon into a vehicle while I tried to make Bumblebee back into the Robot as Ethan now wanted. Then, both of us unsuccessful, we traded and 5 minutes later, we'd both managed to find the pieces that weren't quite attached correctly (yeah, we totally broke them). If 2 adults can't work them, no way the boys could. So we started putting them back in the box to take them back to Walmart.

Ethan wigged out - he did NOT want to take them back. He didn't care that Bumblebee was broken - he wanted THAT Bumblebee - NOT another one - NOT the one he had last week that looked just the same but had a shooter (plastic missile) that he missed on this one - he didn't CARE that it didn't have the shooter anymore - no no no.....I told him he could go with me and pick out his own Bumblebee but we were not keeping the broken one. Steve told him these were too hard to do, they wouldn't transform like they were supposed to and they kept breaking apart. He totally didn't care - he just wanted that one. But then I distracted him with ice cream and he calmed down enough to get a shirt on and shoes and head to Walmart with me. Excellent idea because our Walmart did still have the Bumblebee we had originally purchased and we bought that one and another Transformer ("Mudflap" for Alex of course) and a bag of ice all for less than the cost of the first two I'd bought after work. The best part is, we can actually transform these ourselves.

Ethan was so excited - Bumblebee went upstairs with him to bed tonight as did Mudflap for Alex. The cars went in there room and they both took a bath. Neither of them were thrilled with the idea of leaving the cars on the shelf until morning. Alex asked repeatedly for his but finally relented and laid down to sleep. Ethan agreed to stay in bed and go to sleep and he could play with it in the morning....or so he said. For the next hour, we kept hearing Ethan talking quietly to himself. I called upstairs several times for him to go to sleep (Alex was clearly asleep as we didn't hear him at all) and Ethan replied each time "ok."

Finally, I called upstairs and told Ethan to come down and bring the transformers with him. He said "ok" and came downstairs saying "what?" (like "what did I do - I didn't do anything") with a huge grin. Steve was basically laughing quietly at the expression so this was totally up to me. I had him bring me the cars and told him to back to bed and stop playing. He agreed and up the stairs he went.

Was that the end? Oh, no. We still heard him talking. I called him back to the steps and asked him what he was doing. He said nothing. I asked who he was talking to. He said no one. I asked what he was talking about - he said, "I'm dust talking about myselth." Me: "you're talking about yourself?" E: "Uh-huh. ..." the ... here refers to something he said which was completely indecipherable. I asked Steve what language that was - Steve was now laughing hysterically but quietly so Ethan wouldn't notice and he responded with a shrug. I asked Ethan what he'd said and he said the same indecipherable thing...3 more times. Steve was just as clueless as I was and Ethan was now on to his laughter. I asked Ethan to come downstairs so I could read his lips as he said it. He chose not to and just said it again so I told him to look right at me and he said it again and I guessed at what he said and asked "I'm just too logical?" He said yes, that's what he'd said. The little smartie was telling me I was just being too logical in asking him who he was talking to etc - apparently it was no one and I should just butt out. Talk about a rotten child. I explained again (while trying not to laugh) that he was supposed to be going to sleep and he couldn't do that if he was playing or talking to or about himself. He agreed with me and went upstairs. He has now talked his daddy into letting him sleep in my bed which means I'm sleeping downstairs tonight.

I have no idea how I bought 3 separate Bumblebee toys in the course of a week and yet I get to sleep downstairs on the couch but at least it's cooler downstairs than it is upstairs. How's that for being "too logical"?

Prayers....

I've mentioned before that we say prayers (or "God Bless" as Ethan calls it) before bed and before meals. Alex is even into this now. When we sit down to eat, we all hold hands and he really likes that part. Ethan or Alex will typically even reach for hands to say "God Bless" if we're eating out. It's really pretty sweet.

Steve & I apparently said different forms of Grace growing up as depending on which of us started grace at our house, we'd use a different blessing. This, as you can imagine, was difficult for Ethan to grasp. He wanted to say "God Bless" but which version - what is he supposed to say exactly. Nana sent a book of children's prayers several months ago and the perfect solution was in that book. A version of Grace made specially for children that Ethan really likes and is easy to remember:

Thank You for the world so sweet.
Thank You for the food we eat.
Thank You for the birds that sing.
Thank You, Lord, for everything!
Amen.

Ethan can do this entirely by himself now and having seen how his daddy & I pray (typically with our heads bowed and sometimes with eyes closed), he is now mimicking this behavior as well. Last night he was very proud of himself for putting his head down and closing his eyes AND saying Grace and getting it all right. He even added "and for Baby Pete [his pet bunny]". He really likes saying Grace and this one is really cute.

He likes bedtime prayers even more I think and constantly adds to it. Alex now usually watches Ethan & me as we say prayers and THEN lays down to go to sleep (or gets a kiss first and then lays down, but he won't ask for the kiss before the prayer which is cute, too). Bedtime prayers go something like this:

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
Angels watch me through the night.
Till I wake with morning light.
God bless Ethan & Owix; Mama & Daddy; Amma, Paga & Nana; all my aunts & uncles; all my cousins; everybody I love; & my fish & baby Pete.
Amen.

The cutest part is when he throws in a little additional prayer like "and let us go to Paga's house" or "and thank you for the snow" [in winter of course] or "and for Bumblebee" [toy Transformer he is currently infatuated with].

Last night though I think he summed up what all of us are thinking right about now:

... God bwess Efan & Owix, Mama & Daddy, Amma, Paga & Nana, all my aunts & uncles, all my cousins, everybody I love & Baby Pete & my fish and let us go to the BEACH, too!

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

The Spitting Image

Everyone knows that Ethan is the spitting image of Steve. Strangers have stopped us (most recently at a local fair we went to) to tell Steve he'd never be able to deny Ethan is his (not that he would anyway) cause there is no doubt - he looks just like his daddy. However, he has several of my mannerisms - not all of them good. He's the worrier - the thinker - the one who wants to make sure everyone is ok with what he's doing. He'll ask his daddy if he can do something and when Steve answers him, he'll then ask me. Poor kid this tends to bite him in the butt; half the time I say no to what Steve thought was ok to do so by asking twice, he doesn't get to do it - but he continues to ask anyway to make sure everyone is ok with what he's going to do. If he's in trouble, he is more worried about apologizing and you not being mad at him anymore than about what his punishment is and how long he'll have to sit there. He'll sit there as long as necessary as soon as he confirms you won't be mad at him anymore. Yeah, I have several of those traits and they aren't really "bad" - but the one that I hate that he got from me is the stubborn attitude and lack of patience. I always used to say, "I don't need patients, I'm not going to be a doctor"....yeah, that's biting me in the butt today as apparently Ethan has no plans to be a doctor either.

Now let's discuss Alex. I've been told Alex looks like me and Steve says it frequently and I've even seen it sometimes sort of. This past Sunday on the way home from Eastern KY, Alex's ears started hurting going through the mountains so I ended up getting in the back of the van with him. In trying to distract him from crying, I started to play keep-away with his ball keeping it just out of his reach. He then stopped crying and just looked at me - almost a "you're so not funny Mama" look. I stopped in my tracks - for the first time ever I got it - he looked exactly like me. See, Alex is almost always smiling - he has huge dimples and I don't so I don't see it. He was deadpan and I could immediately picture some of the photos of me when I was little and he looked JUST like me. I was amazed and in being so shocked and telling Steve about it, I managed to get Alex tickled and the dimples came out and blew the image, but having seen it once, I could still see it. I now understand why people say he looks like me. But just as Ethan looks like Steve & acts like me; Alex acts just like his daddy. Alex thinks EVERYTHING is funny. Nothing in life is serious (ok, except severe diaper rash brought on by Augmentin but who can blame him). Steve even admits it himself - we are going to be called to the school often for Alex cause he's going to be totally rotten stirring stuff up just to make his classmates laugh. Steve follows this by saying that I am going to be going to the office, he can't cause he'd just laugh and make it worse.

So there's no denying either of these boys belong to either of us. Ethan acts like me, Alex looks like me; Ethan looks like Steve; Alex acts like Steve. Life is definitely interesting in the Waters house.

I'll close with a glimpse of tonight's dinner. I finished eating and rather than sit at the table and get extremely irritated with both boys not eating, I let Steve stay with them and I went to clean up the chaos that was the living room. I heard from the kitchen Steve telling Ethan not to do something. This was immediately followed by Alex saying "No No" and pointing at Ethan repeatedly. Steve is laughing telling Alex to eat, too. Alex (because Steve is laughing) continues the "no no" - obviously, this is getting nowhere. I took some glasses from the front room into the kitchen and when I did, I hear Alex saying again "NO NO" and turn to see him pointing at Ethan who at this moment was actually taking a bite. Since Steve had told Alex to stop 3 times now, I said in my very firm "do what I say" voice "Alexander David" - that is quite frequently the only way to get his attention. He whipped his head around to look at me saying "huh?" I said "stop it right now and eat." He looked back Ethan and started to do it again (the boys are sitting across from each other and Steve is sitting at the end of the table and I'm now standing at the corner sort of between Alex & Steve). I said sternly, "don't you do it." And he said again, "huh?" I said, "you heard me. Eat your dinner and leave Ethan alone. ... Ethan [who was now just staring] you eat, too." Alex looked at his brother again and raised his finger half way up. I said "ALEX" ... he just stopped. At this point Steve was sitting there trying not to laugh and starting to shake because he could see Alex looking at Ethan and then turning just his eyes to look at me to see if I was looking and then back to his brother thinking about doing it again and raising that finger little by little and then backing down each time I said "don't do it" or said his name. Alex was totally testing me here and was looking from me to Ethan without moving his head just his eyes and Steve was so not helping. I then lightly flicked the back of his head when he pushed a little bit further towards the "no" statement to his brother and said "eat" and he looked at Steve saying "huh?" - Steve busted out laughing. He was looking at Steve like "do I really have to eat, Daddy" and Steve's response was to laugh. You guessed it, that had Alex cackling and totally negated my stern directions. Ethan started to laugh too but when I looked at him he stopped and said "I'm full Mom." I gave up - everyone was done with dinner. For those keeping score, that's 1 for the boys and 0 for the parents or possibly a -1 since it wasn't really a united front given the sheer laughter from Steve which created my downfall. Oh well, we'll try again next time.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

So far behind...let's catch up a little

I’ve been very neglectful in my blogging obviously.

You didn’t get to hear about Easter when I asked Ethan what he thought the Easter bunny would bring him and reminded him last year, he got “Baby Pete” his pet bunny rabbit as a gift. His response was that he thought the Easter Bunny would bring him a gorilla. Thinking he meant a REAL gorilla (since we were in fact talking about a REAL bunny from last year), I told him I thought a gorilla may be too big to bring. Ethan replied in a “well duh” tone – “not a REAL gorilla, dust a toy one.” Oh ok – that the Easter Bunny could probably do and a race car, too, Ethan thought. But what about Alex? “He’s going to bwing Owix a race car, too.” Smart bunny – bringing them the same thing. The Easter Bunny did in fact bring Ethan a gorilla & a race car and a race car for Alex as well and a stuffed animal for Alex as well though I can’t quite remember which one. The Easter Bunny also came INSIDE our house and took the eggs that Ethan & I had colored (and sadly, Ethan’s were all way better than mine) and hid them in the YARD where Ethan & Alex were surprised to find a new tire swing from the Easter Bunny as well.

You also missed hearing about our visit with Nana in Cincinnati. Nana came on the train – super cool. She came in at like 1 in the morning or later and Ethan & I went to pick her up. That was super exciting for Ethan – especially the part where Mama missed the exit and so we went to the next exit, ran into a very sketchy looking gas station so Ethan could pee and then made it back to the train station in plenty of time to wait for Nana – the train whistle had him giddy. He pretended to be shy at first with Nana at the train station but soon perked right up to start talking her ear off. Alex wasn't shy at all - went right to Nana when we got back to the "ho-ta-el" (3 syllables as spoken by Ethan) and woke him up. Nana was then shocked when we put him back in the pack & play and told him "lay down and go to sleep" and he did it. She continued to be shocked when we did this for naps, etc and he really did it. I agree, that's not normal behavior for a child but what can I say, he likes sleep and as long as you don't make him sleep WITH someone, he'll go down when you tell him, too. We had a great time with Nana & the cousins, going to the “Quah-wee-um” (you know, where they have fish and stuff), bowling & to the park. Nana read stories in our room and we went swimming with the cousins. The one downside was Alex's nightterror as that had to be what it was. I thought he'd wake everyone in the hotel - couldn't get him to calm down and go back to sleep which freaked Nana a little just because I said I didn't know what to do. But honestly, anyone who has had a child with a nighttterror will tell you, there's nothing you CAN do. I ended up walking with him and singing softly to him and took him in the hall where it was well lit and did this for about 30 minutes or so and he finally calmed down enough that I could lay him down without starting it back up again. Other than that, a good time was had by all the kiddos, that’s for sure - especially swinging & kite flying at the park and drawing with sidewalk chalk. Fun times but not long enough with Nana.

You missed hearing about Mother’s Day and how we spent a good 30 minutes recording 10 seconds of “Happy Mother’s Day, Nana! I wuv you and Owix does, too” and then “Happy Mother’s Day, Amma! We wuv you”…..in cards with sound to send for the grand occasion. You’ve never REALLY tried your patience until you’ve attempted this process. Mama got more wonder charms for my Pandora bracelet from the munchkins and we went to Red Lobster for dinner. THAT was a really yummy present right there. You also missed how Mother's Day weekend started with Ethan & Mama going on another date to see the Musical "Beauty & the Beast" Friday night - we had a GREAT time there as well. To make sure we didn't forget, we got up Saturday morning and watched the Disney movie of Beauty & the Beast as well. I swear I love that kid - especially when he says "sing it wiff me, Mom" or "kill da beast, right Mom?" ... good times.

You’ve missed hearing about how much Alex is progressing on talking. Most words are just 1 syllabel or the first letter or 2 of a word – Horse comes out more like “ha” and bat as in baseball bat is “ball”….if he has a ball already and is still asking for “ball”, he’s really asking for the bat. If he wants something and you don’t know what it is from the grunt or syllable he murmurs, just give him a second, he’ll either bring it to you or gesture to you to come to it.

You’ve missed hearing about the new pet(s) Ethan & Alex have. A fish tank with originally 6 fish, 3 died, we bought 1 more and now still have the 4. The tank is on Ethan’s dresser and they both love to talk to and feed the fish. Alex doesn’t feel right going to bed at night if he doesn’t say goodnight to the fish. One night I put him to bed shortly after we got the tank and was unaware of this requirement. Alex immediately screamed his head off – not something he usually does – and Daddy yelled from downstairs “he wants to see the fish first.” He was totally right. I got Alex out of the crib, took him over to the tank, he dropped 1 flake of food in, took his paci out and said “ni-ni” (night night) and then happily got back in his bed. Seriously, if that’s all it takes, we can totally do that. Ethan wants to feed them all the time but the rule we’ve quickly established is twice a day and Mama & Daddy say how much food. Ethan pinches some out, shows us and we tell him if it’s ok or too much – he’s good to put some back if it’s too much – and then after getting approval will drop it in. I usually pinch out 1 or 2 flakes for Alex and he’ll take them from me to drop them in as I’d hate to see how many fish flakes “one small pinch” would be from Alex.

You’ve also missed hearing how accident prone Alex is – just like his Mama. The night before we left to see Nana in Cinci, Alex tripped in the backyard and landed face first on the concrete patio so Nana got to see him all bloodied with a big scratched up forehead and nose. Then the same night we got the fish tank, Ethan had the “tall stool” by his dresser so they could both check out the fish. Alex had on jeans in which he can’t really bend his knees anyway. I was moving a toy away from the crib so I could turn around to get Alex and put him in the crib. As I turned around, I saw Alex fall – not sure if he was getting on the stool and missed or if he was getting off the stool but either way, he hit his forehead on the bottom corner of Ethan’s dresser. I immediately yelled for Steve to get ice not yet knowing the extend of the damage as I picked up Alex to run to our room with him where we have better lighting. Mid-run, I realized Alex was bleeding profusely and yelled for Steve just to “come now” as I couldn’t leave Alex but couldn’t see where he was bleeding yet either and he was SCREAMING bloody murder. Steve finally got there and got me a wet cloth and a dry one so I could staunch the flow and clean him up at the same time. Turns out he gashed his forehead pretty good and covered both of us in blood. Steve got the first aid kit and I put a guaze pressure bandage on his head. The proceeded to check on him every couple of hours through the night. The next morning it appeared to have clotted off as the bandage wasn’t soaked through at all so we replaced it with a bandaid and went to church – bad idea. We stayed in the cry room so I could watch Alex – the first time he & Ethan accidentally bumped heads while playing, the gusher started gushing again. Immediately replaced the bandaid and staunched the flow again and texted Katie for instructions which included not going to the ER (by then it was too late for that anyway) but getting liquid band aid and keep a pressure bandage on for a few days. That did work and the gash that I thought was right between his eyes is actually a little higher up so may 1 day be more in his hair line than in the middle of his forehead. No sooner did that one heal than he bashed his head on the AC intake in the living room and scraped up the side of his head. That one has healed now so I’m sure he’s plotting his next “accident” as I type.

You’ve missed hearing about our new “big car” – the minivan. We had 2 cars – a Camry that was finally paid for 2 years ago and a Corolla that my dad had graciously given us when we needed another car. The camry when packed with stroller was pretty limited on other luggage space when traveling and the Corolla had no space inside for anything other than the 4 of us so putting the stroller in that trunk meant not having anything else (even groceries) in the car unless it was on someone’s lap. So the Corolla was great for driving me or Steve to work or for taking the family around town if the Camry was being worked on but not good for travel and with the limit on luggage in the Camry we always rented cars for long trips. We decided it was time to have a reliable vehicle of our own (both Toyota’s have 200K+ miles) and went in search of a “Soccer Mom” vehicle. We test drove a few vans and then someone loaned us 1 for the weekend to see if we liked it because it was too late on a Saturday to try for financing. The van was a total lemon – several warning lights came on each time you turned it on; the “automatically” sliding door was malfunctioning and would close 3 times before it stayed shut; the built in DVD player starting clicking and making noise after 90 minutes of use; the smoke smell was REALLY bad from a previous owner; the passenger side mirror was broken in half – it was awful. Then the guy KEPT trying to sell it to me – they’d drop the price and fix the problems, etc. Sorry not interested…end of story. We then went to Car Town Kia and test drove a Sedona – we loved it. I knew what we could pay, what the vehicle was worth and what my trade in (Steve’s Harley) was worth before we went in. Steve left all financial discussions to me. The sales guy, Robert Harris (who really was pretty good), came with a number and I told him no deal – this is all I can do. He went back and forth with the finance guys and never pressured me really but definitely worked with me and we walked out that day with the keys & signed papers in hand. It was awesome. Anyone in this area looking for a car – after 1 month, Steve and I really like our Sedona so I’d recommend a Kia for that reason. Car Town Kia does have several non-Kia used cars as well and Robert really was great so give him a call if you are in the market – make sure you tell him I sent you of course. Funny Ethan story related to the Van: We had the “test” van for roughly 24 hours and then took it back Sunday evening. Monday evening we bought the Sedona. Tuesday morning, I took the Sedona to work. Ethan came down stairs and quickly asked Steve, almost in a panic “Daddy, where’s our big car?” S: “The van.” E: “Yeah, the van.” S: “Mommy took it to work today.” E: “Well she wasn’t posed to. That’s our car.” …. 2 days later I was again planning to take the van to work but this time Ethan & Alex woke up so I was taking them downstairs with me and Ethan looks up the stairs at me (having seen the van behind the Camry in the driveway – yes, he’s that bright) and said, “don’t take the big car today, Mama.” I told him I was going to take the van. He said “No. Don’t. I don’t want you to. I dust need it.” I told him we could take a ride when I got home from work. He was still worried about it when Steve got downstairs so Steve laid his worries to rest telling him this van was ours and no one was going to take it from us. We were going to keep it and some days they’d have it and some days I’d have it but it would still be ours. Turns out he likes being in the van so much cause he can see out better and he was afraid we’d take it back like we had with the “test” van. He’s been fine ever since the reassurance from Daddy.

You missed stories about our visit to Illinois and Amma’s return to Kentucky with us. A couple bits that are prevalent in my mind are when we arrived around midnight our time, 11:00pm Illinois time at Amma’s house and Ethan’s first question when seeing her was “where’s Richard & Jewel.” Sorry kid, they don’t live WITH Amma, we’ll have to see them tomorrow. At the Bethel family picnic on Memorial Day there was a swing in a sandy area and the boys were covered in sand which was unacceptable for our van so Steve did what any normal parent would do (ok, maybe not normal but it’s what I would have done as well)….he took the boys over to the water pump and proceeded to strip and rinse them off thoroughly.

Not realizing how much fun they’d have in the water, he got their discarded clothes soaked as well so I had to dig out clean stuff from the packed van while I dug out the camera to get a couple of good pictures. Then when Amma came to the house Ethan was going to sleep on his air mattress downstairs with her but somehow decided it would be better to sleep in his room on the air mattress and have Amma sleep in his bed…sorry Amma, it’s hotter upstairs but that’s what he wants and she caved (honestly, it doesn’t take much prodding from him for her to say yes to something). The first night she went downstairs in the morning before Ethan woke up and he came down and asked why she didn’t sleep with him. She had to explain that she did, she’d just come down. The last morning, she got up after I took a shower and so that the boys could have additional time with her, I got them up….oops, she was planning to go back to sleep. I kind of messed that up but hey, they got more quality time that way . The best was when Amma finally got it – she told Steve she now understands why we constantly say how rotten Alex is…because he IS. He is SUCH an imp – if you tell him not to do something and then turn away from him, he’ll wait till you turn back towards him so you can see him and THEN he’ll do it and then grin at you like – see, did you see? I did it anyway. Rotten I tell you, just rotten.

I’ve fallen WAY behind on blogging as you can see and this is only a smidgen of what you’ve missed as I can’t possibly remember it all (that’s the point of the blog and then I got behind, an endless cycle). Anyway, I promise I will try to get back to reporting at least every couple of days. I definitely have plenty of material from the constant antics of our house. I hope you’ve enjoyed this flash of a catch up and I’ll see you again soon.

Waters Family Tidbits