Halloween

For Halloween, Ethan was Scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz. Lorelai was Dorothy, so they were a cousin pair from the movie. My Mom made the costumes for Ethan and both my nieces Emma and Lorelai. I don't think she'll keep that tradition when there are more than 3 grandkids.

Here's Ethan with Michael at our Ward's Trunk-or-Treat party the day before Halloween. Ethan never acted scared at the spooky trunks. But he never smiled either. He just sat in Michael's arms lifeless the whole time. But I guess that's better than fussy the whole time.
Here's Ethan eating his first apple whole. He decided to take a single bite about every 2 inches around the top . . .

I was surprised Ethan kept the hood and hat on the whole time without trying to rip them off, but I think the model train set that was at the activity helped. He kept staring at the trains and saying "choo choo". When we tried the costume on him at home the day before, he hated it and cried the whole time and kept waving his hands around. He mostly hated the fringe around the wrists. But he didn't seem to even notice it at the Halloween Party.

For Halloween, we had a get together at my Grandma's house. Here is Ethan and Lorelai (Scarecrow and Dorothy)

We couldn't get better pictures since Ethan kept trying to run away and wouldn't stay put for a single picture. Below is Charlie (my cousin's son) and Emma (my other niece) as characters from a cartoon called Avatar. I think their character names were Ang and Kitara (I've never seen the show, but that's what I remember them calling eachother all night.)

Nap Time Mischief

Ethan has been fighting his nap the last couple days, and I heard a strange noise a few minutes ago, so I peeked in his room. This is what I found . . .

He threw his mattress and blankets out of the crib and was stomping on the wood base. His poor penguin was also a casualty.

Now I'm worried he'll figure out that he can bunch the mattress up in the crib and use it as a stool to get out. Maybe there's a way to tie the mattress down to the crib - there are holes in the base board, so that might work if he keeps doing this.

Walking in Daddy's Shoes

Michael was getting dressed to go to a Priesthood Leadership Meeting tonight, and he sat his shoes on the chair while he put his socks on. Ethan ran up and put the shoes on his hands and then ran down the hall. It was cute, but . . .

then he put them down and put his feet in them. They are heavy, heavy shoes, so Ethan couldn't walk in them, but he looked adorable wearing them.

Pumpkin Carving

I carved Ethan's pumpkin, and then I handed it to him to try and get pictures . . . he thought he was funny sticking the carving knife in the stem of the pumpkin. Don't worry - these knives are duller than a spoon.

After looking inside the pumpkin, Ethan tried to re-carve the areas I had already carved. It made for cute pictures.

Michael found an idea online that he was eager to try. But I don't think his mom will appreciate it. She bought us a tiny pumpkin for the "baby-to-be" . . . and this is what Michael did to it.

And that wasn't the end. After he drilled the eye holes and cut a frown, it's final resting place was inside the mouth of his giant pumpkin. Sorry Debbie. He's your son, so you're probably not surprised.
Mine was a white pumpkin with the bat. I carved the same face in Ethan's pumpkin as I did last year . . . I think it's cute, and it's fast - since I had to carve 2 pumpkins.

Next year, I may try something different for Ethan's. I found an idea online where someone spraypainted their kid's pumpkin with chalkboard paint so the kid could draw different faces on it and wipe it off and keep going. I think as a 2 year old (almost 3 year old), he may enjoy that.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to Spooner Farms this year to pick our pumpkins. It was raining all day, but luckily it stopped right when we pulled in the parking lot. So we didn't get rained on. But the ground was super muddy. The car almost got stuck trying to pull in and out of the parking spot, and there was mud everywhere.

Luckily, Becky and her family were just leaving when we were starting, so we switched shoes (she had rain boots on) we don't wear the same size, but it was close enough.

There are so many to choose from . . . which one should I get?
I was off looking for my perfect white pumpkin, and Ethan apparently picked out this pumpkin that looks like a bum - but I suspect that Michael had some influence in that pumpkin choice. But I had already found a good one that I was going to carve for Ethan, so I put the bum back.

Pushing the wheelbarrow

Holding the mini-pumpkin that is for the baby on the way . . .

Early start at gaming

Last night, Michael was playing XBox online with my brothers, dad, and cousin. He usually starts after Ethan is in bed, but this time they started the game early. Of course, Ethan wanted the headphones. So I grabbed the camera quickly . . .

He's not normally "without shirt" (especially in this chilly weather we've been having), but I was in the middle of putting his pajamas on when he ran for the headphones. And since I'm monstrously pregnant, he can out run me . . . and he knows it too. He runs from me whenever I try to grab something from him that he shouldn't have or when I'm trying to get his jacket on to go out.

Trains, Trains and more Trains

Ethan loves anything with wheels, but trains are definately his vehicle/toy of choice. We were over at the Gerke's house yesterday and came home with a wooden train set that was Michael's when he was a baby. They look like they are handmade and the person who made them wrote his name and "1978" on the bottom. They have dowels on the ends that connect them together, so Ethan is actually able to connect them on his own.
For some reason, this week he keeps laying on the floor to play with his toys, but he keeps putting his feet under the couch each time. It's a tight fit, so he has to squeeze his little ankles in there, but for some reason, he likes it.

Green Rocker

We picked up Lorelai from school last week, so she got to play with Ethan for a while. They both kept climbing on this green rocker together - it was so cute!And then Ethan doesn't like it when someone goes in a room and closes the door without him in there too. My mom was in the bathroom and Ethan kept knocking and then when she didn't open the door, he decided to peep under the door to see what was going on.

"My Girls"

Michael was in the kitchen the other day and I went to give him a hug and he said "how are my girls?" I thought that was cute! I still don't think it's really hit me that due in a couple months. I don't forget I'm pregnant - can't sleep, can't breathe, can't get comfortable . . . the list goes on. But it still doesn't feel real yet. I don't know why. Maybe because Ethan keeps me busy or because I'm scared to have a 2nd baby; who knows.

Anyway, I just thought it was cute that he said "my girls."

Ethan's First Trip to the Zoo

We went with the Whaley's to the Point Defiance Zoo on Labor Day. This was Ethan's first trip to the zoo. He loved watching the animals. And we took a few rides on the carousel. He's never been on a ride before, but he held on to the pole tightly and didn't try to wiggle off the horse (or the pig on the 2nd ride). Emma and Lorelai rode on it too (same with Michael and Allen) but all the pictures of them turned out blurry.

Next, we went to the kid zone and let them play on the toys and look at the animals there. Ethan loved the goat petting zoo area. He wasn't shy of them at all. He actually laughed every time they poked forward at him. He even pet them.

This was the only picture I let Michael take of me (I love my Veto power over cameras :) so if he does take a pic I don't like of me, I get to delete it). We let Ethan out to plat at the water spout area. He was walking so cautiously since he saw water shooting up from the holes. And then he bent down to look closer. Too bad that spout wasn't working - other wise that would have made a great picture of him soaked.

Emma and Lorelai fed the Budgies a seed stick. They were both really serious the whole time. Emma was holding so still cause she didn't want the budgie to fly away. And Lorelai was a bit nervous about holding the seed stick, so Allen held it for her while she held his wrist - but wouldn't smile for the camera.