Conner's 5th birthday... Ethan had a blast playing with the kids!

Weekend project... Just pulled out the bushes and installed some paver bricks to extend our patio! I love it and have spent more time out here in the last two days than total living here!

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I know this is hard to see, but Ethan is obsessed with tape. We find pieces everywhere, on the banister, dressers, clothes. He taped this pretend doctors mask to the funnel.

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Today's project. How many sets of tracks does one child need? We have Polar Express, lego trains, several Thomas tracks including wooden, Dinosaur Train, Chuggington, and several GeoTrax.

Happy Easter!

Ethan had a blast hunting for eggs at Grandma's. He really didn't care too much about what was inside the eggs, just finding them. And then making his train. Grandma and Grandpa really came through on the supplies. Dad made the train shape. Ethan spent most of the afternoon chugging and "cuppling" up to things trying to pull them.

Thomas Live!

Ethan dressed himself today. He picked out his own outfit and got dressed. Take note of the coordinating layer? It's not a turtle neck, it's actually a polo shirt, backwards... innovative. He's a genius. LOL. Apparently, we were late for the East Egg Festival which you must get dressed in a costume for. Obviously, you hide your own eggs, pretend you don't know where they are, and then find them. Ethan has such an active imagination - it's so much fun watching him.

We're all sick today, and the weather's not so great. We gotta keep it low-key, so we're decorating Easter Eggs!

Since the trip to see Santa went so well, I thought we'd try the Easter Bunny. Not as great as I had hoped, but successful nonetheless. Initially, Ethan told me "I am not happy about this". But we chatted while waiting in line about how awesome the Easter Bunny is. By the time we got to the Bunny himself, Ethan was trepidatious. After a couple of high-five's, Ethan climbed up next to him, but wouldn't take his eyes off of him. He wouldn't look at the camera and he wouldn't smile. He told the Easter Bunny that he was "kind of ridiculous" and when the Bunny tried to help him up and put his arm around him Ethan warned "don't even think about it". Finally, I had to bribe him with an Auntie Anne's giant pretzel... the following is the result. Kind of creepy, and totally fake, but it was a smile regardless.

Monkey Joe's! Great place for a Dare Devil...

Just got this from my Mom! This is so true - both metaphorically and literally! I LOVE shoes!

This is what we do when cooped up on snow or rain days!

Making cupcakes

Here they come, just in time...

Recently, Ethan has developed a fascination with the Boomerang channel from Cartoon Network - it houses the classics, like Thundarr the Barbarian, Smurfs, Yogi Bear, Quick Draw McGraw, Hong Kong Phooey, Dino Boy, Tom and Jerry, Scooby Doo, and now the Powerpuff Girls. I understand a 4 year-old getting into Tom and Jerry and Scooby Doo, but not really getting the Powerpuff thing. This cartoon doesn't bother me as much because there is always a good lesson to learn and the girls are good forces. I usually watch TV with him, so I know what is going on and what influences he has. There is one character, which I find interesting and eery. "Him". He's a character sketched much like the devil. He can morph from his original to very big and scary. In every episode he is in, his voice is very calm and he conducts evil in very subtle ways... for example, one episode, he gave the children candy. He was mocked by the other villains but he said "why not give them a lifetime of pain in cavities". This is a concept, the devil, that I think is not so obvious in other shows. It kind of creeps me out, but at the same time... don't our kids need to know that evil can be everywhere or anywhere and even in the little things? And that you can be easily tricked or influenced by the wrong examples? I mean, I'm just saying.

Christmas 2010

This year we drove out to Ohio. Rhonda and the kids live in a small town outside of Cincinnati. It's very quaint and very Christmas-y with the snow. Initially, the drive was treacherous thru Indiana, but we persevered. It was so worth it because Santa via Grandma Nancy got Ethan the Polar Express train and it has not gone untouched since. This was also the first time in, I-don't-know-how-long, the whole family has been together. We ceased the opportunity and snapped some family photos - SOME chose not to cooperate ;) Regardless, we had such a great time, and Ethan bonded with Matt because he took us sledding.