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.
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."
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.
. . . we eat a PB&J sandwich. For anything that's not bite-sized, Ethan holds the food in place with both hands while he chews/gums away at it. I think he's afraid of losing a single crumb, so he keeps it all close.
I had Michael hammer in the wall hooks on the back of a wood board I was taking to someone, and when Ethan saw what Daddy was doing, he instantly ran to his toy bucket and pulled out his hammer. He was trying to hammer with him. Isn't that adorable!
We took our annual Family trip to Mt. Rainier this past weekend. We've gone every year since I was a baby (except when we lived in Nebraska during my high school years). Our group has grown from a family of 6 to a family of 12 (with 2 more on the way). And this year we had some other family members join us . . . Spenser (my cousin), and Zach (my cousin), his wife Alyson, and their son Jacen. So our group picture on the log was a big one this year. We've always sat in age order on the log (but the kids bounce around depending on whose lap their sitting on that year). Mom and Dad aren't usually in the picture, but they joined in this year (I think they were confused on where their place in the age order line went :) . . . click on the picture to see it larger.
We put Ethan in a leash thing so he wouldn't jump off the cliff at the top. It was also helpful since it was the most crowded I've ever seen it there. They waived the park entry fee of $15/vehicle this weekend, so I think that made a lot more people come. So the leash helped me not worry about Ethan darting in between other people and since I'm huge pregnant, I don't move very fast right now.
Once we get to the top of our baby hike (I think it's less than a mile), we always take a group picture on that log too. For some reason, we look like a smaller group bunched up this way instead of spread out in a line on the first log.
And here are the couple/family shots that we do . . .
1. Mom and Dad
2. The Whaley's (Lorelai was cold from the wind and wouldn't look up for their family shot)
3. The Gerke's
4. The Otto's (Alex & Jasmine)
5. The Otto's (Nathan & Kari)
A couple random pics . . .
I use the post-it flags to mark pages in magazines or books that I want to come back to for scanning or something else. I happened to leave the pack of them on the back of the couch and my little helper found them.
So, my finger crossing worked!! We're having a GIRL. Ethan's going to have a little sister. So now all those crafts I've either already made or hoped to make and the boxes of girl clothes I already have (i know, i'm crazy) will get to be used now!! I don't have to settle for making things for other people's girls - I'll have one of my own.
My favorite ultrasound pictures are always of the spine - It's fun to see the spine and all the bones moving when it's being done, but the pics are cool. I didn't get a good body or face shot again. Why do they keep giving me men to do the ultrasounds. Women would know how important those pictures are to a mom.
Here's a profile shot of the baby looking to the left.
While we were visiting Michael's parents this weekend, Michael got tricked into doing some yard work - he had to dig holes for 3 trees. While he was working on the hole, Ethan grabbed the shovel and tried to help.
And then we got home - which meant Ethan woke up while trying to get him out of the carseat. I sat him on the floor while I went into the kitchen, and when I came back not even 15 seconds later, he was out cold on the boppy. He never falls asleep anywhere besides his crib or his carseat - no matter how tired he is. 
So we changed his diaper and he went out again . . .
