Funny Ethan

While laying on the couch with Ethan tonight I randomly asked him a church related question and his response was so funny and cute I continued to ask him questions. Here's the conversation:

Me: Ethan, why do we go to the temple?
E: To get married after our mission

Me: Why do we take the bread and water in sacrament?
E: It reminds us of Jesus and Heavenly Father.

Me: What do missionaries do?
E: They sit by me. (This Sunday we sat by the missionaries in sacrament and Ethan thought that was so cool. We sing I hope they call me on a mission every night and talk about missions often)

Me: What's Moroni holding on top of the temple?
E: A trumpet

Me: What church do you go to?
E: The new one
Me: What's its name?
E: I don't know.
Me: I'll help you - "The Church of Jesus Christ..."
E: "...amen!"

Noah's Ark exhibit at Skirball

Saturday was National Museum Day so we were able to go to Skirball for free. Skirball is just a few freeway exits from us and we've heard a lot about their Noah's Ark exhibit. Ethan really enjoyed it but I don't think we would go back again if we had to pay.

They have a huge ark with all kinds of neat animals throughout the boat made out of everything you can think of: metal, gardening gloves, a violin box, a bike seat, car tires and so on. It's totally hands-on for the kids. They had different activities throughout the ship including a climbing area, an activity to load the animals onto the ark, contraptions to make music, and tools to create thunder and lightning.

They even had an area where you could clean up the animal poo with a broom. This was the real deal! Ethan enjoyed climbing around the ark with Daddy and Mommy but there were some small quarters we had to climb through.  

The rest of the museum has exhibits that feature Jewish life, history, and culture. It was a hot day so after naps we enjoyed Yogurtland. Ethan likes to quickly eat his so he can help Mommy with hers - how nice of him!

In other news, Tanner is sleeping so much better with our schedule and new-found techniques, thanks mainly to Mary-Anne (whom we call the baby wisperer). We are also getting excited for the upcoming holidays. We bought our first pumpkin this weekend and need to get out our decorations. Ethan is going to be a train conductor for Halloween and I just bought Tanner a puppy costume.

We went to the pediatric cardiologist last week regarding Ethan's heart murmur and everything looks fine. The doctor said it's not even a concern and will likely not be an issue. That is great news! We are in the middle of a heat wave. Today it's 109 degrees! I'm excited for some fall weather and hope it comes soon. We have had an abnormally mild summer which I am always grateful for. I am ready to wear shoes and socks, jackets and jeans.

3 year check & 5 months old

Ethan had his 3 year check-up at the doctor's office today and did great! He didn't have any scheduled shots but we opted to have him get the flu shot for prevention. He was so brave and didn't even cry. It's amazing what a year can do, since last year we couldn't even get his height or weight without him freaking out. He is in the 95% for height at 40.5 inches tall. He weighs 36 pounds and is growing like a weed. Let's hope that keeps up! :) While we were there I watched the doctor listen to Ethan's heart over and over. Ethan has a heart murmur which I forget to tell doctors about until they are checking it multiple times. As she was listening I was going to pipe in and tell her about it but I let her listen for herself. She of course asked about it and wondered if we have had it checked out, which we have not. She felt it was a little louder than the usual murmurs she comes across so she is sending us to a Cardiologist at Kaiser Sunset. He will decide what he thinks and depending on that we might need to do an EKG and/or an Echocardiogram. She said it's probably nothing but wants to be sure. So we will do that this Wednesday. I'm not worried about it and have learned not to worry about things until you actually have proof and results because half the time it's totally fine. 

Little Tanner is five months old today. He now reaches for everything and wants every object that he can get his hands on to end up in his mouth. You can find him with his hands in his mouth or he will even chew on his feet from time to time. He can roll over now and is much more content on his stomach than before. He is eating solids as of last month and thinks they are ok. He loves Ethan and always lights up around him. As of this week I am giving him more formula bottles than breast milk since my milk is so watery and he is doing well with that. He enjoys taking a bath and is an overall happy baby who is cute as can be! 

This week...

We are finally feeling like normal people. Ethan is back to sleeping through the night but still wakes at his early hour of 5:30-6am, but lets face it - that will probably never change! As long as he sleeps through the night we can do that. Tanner has become a sleeper!! That's right people, he is finally sleeping consistently. He takes a morning nap that is around 1.5-2 hours long and then an afternoon nap that has been around three hours long. He goes to bed around 6-7pm, then at night he only wakes once at 12:30am to eat, and then starts to stir right around the time Ethan is getting up between 5-6am. We hope to break those nighttime feedings but know we are on our way! We have also found that if we feed him right before we go to bed (known as a "Dream Feed" since he eats without really waking up) he will go until about 4am. I attribute his sleeping to two things: putting him on his stomach to sleep and giving him more formula rather than breast milk. He has a great schedule now and we are all loving it.

I feel like I have chunks of free time now with Tanner sleeping and Ethan in preschool twice a week. What am I going to do with myself? I haven't felt like I have had much free time since Ethan was born - or at least when I did, I was too tired to do anything. Now I feel like I could work on a project or read a book during the day. I am not a reader but would like to improve my reading abilities. I would like to read The Hunger Games but I'm waiting to get my hands on those books. I would like to make a morning routine that includes reading scriptures, eating breakfast and figuring out lunch and dinner (I eat most meals but it is hard for me to find things I want to eat). I am going to make a quilt all by myself with my sewing machine Nanny gave me, start to make more complex and interesting dinners, learn to make fabulous rolls and bread, and maybe even exercise a few times a week. I am excited to do some self improving during my spurts of new-found time.

It was nice having Jared at church with us today. The bishopric jumps on him everytime he's able to come to church to talk about giving him a calling or giving a talk. I think they are finally starting to see that he doesn't have too much spare time and his church attendance can be very sparce from rotation to rotation. I know they have had callings they have wanted to ask him to do but I think they have had to rethink some of them. We are going to be speaking in three weeks and I'm not nervous at all. Normally I would be, but our ward is very laid back and anything I say will be just fine! It feels like people speak as if they are just talking to a friend in the room. I will not make my talk any more casual of course but I feel a sense of weight lifted off. I find this more laid back atmosphere in every auxiliary in our ward. I don't know if it's because we don't have the numbers or if it's just the culture, but it's different than any other ward I've been in. The ward has its pros and cons but it's the most welcoming and warm ward I have ever been in.

Ethan is doing well in preschool although he has cried the last few times. I know he likes it because he is happy when I pick him up and he says he had fun. I know he misses playing with me and everytime I pick him up he says, "Want to play Candy Land Mommy?!" I'm so glad he has preschool twice a week to get him out of the house and to interact with other kids again. He has become so content playing at home with me which I am grateful for but he's such a home-body now. I have a hard time getting him to go anywhere even if it's somewhere fun. We have come a long way from when we first moved to LA because I always felt like we had to be on the go. Now we are both content just laying low and playing around the house for the most part. I think he is more content because we have more space to play.

Father/Son outing

This morning Jared took Ethan on a daddy/son outing to ride the bus and then the subway (metro) to the Universal City Walk. The bus station is down the street from us so we see it every time we go somewhere. We thought it would be fun to take Ethan on a little trip and today was the day. Jared just started riding the bus and metro to work so he is becoming a frequent rider.

   They took a 30 minute bus ride to the metro station, and then a two minute subway ride to Universal Studios.When Ethan came home he was excited to tell me they went on two things: "1 subway and 1 bus" as he held up his fingers. Jared said he had lots of fun.

 Waiting for the subway to come. This was a lot more exciting than the Subway we went to last night for dinner! Ethan was getting them confused last night when we told him he would go on the subway today.

They walked around the Universal Studios entrance, went up and down the City Walk, rode every escalator Ethan could find, went through the water fountain play area, and ate lunch together.

Needless to say it was a fun adventure for the two of them (next time Tanner and I will go too). This is hopefully the first of many trips to Universal Studios and other locations around Los Angeles using the Metro.

Ethan's Party

We had a party on Saturday for Ethan's birthday with family and friends. For weeks I had been asking him what kind of cake he wanted and we finally decided on a Curious George cake. Some days he requested up to three cakes - George, baseball, and a train - but we were finally able to decide on just one.

It was super easy and although it doesn't really look like Curious George (even though this is what the "George" cake looked like online) Ethan really liked it.  It was one of the cutest and easiest cakes I could find so I was happy with it.

We went swimming, had a BBQ, did a pinata, opened presents, and ate cake. Ethan still doesn't really get the whole opening presents thing yet. He was more into the pinata candy Clayton and Jack were eating than opening his presents. He loved them all but wasn't quite into opening all of them at once. He seems to be content with the first one and wants to play with it and then continue on later. It's understandable at his age.

Grammy gave Ethan these cute Woody pajamas and a monkey (who we call "George") that he loves and has been attached to ever since. We have been playing with all his toys from his birthday which has been so nice to have more things to do in the house. We have spent lots of time playing Candy Land, Zingo, drawing letters on his new drawing pads and much more. He had a great day and we are grateful for our family and friends who we could spend the day with.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan!

Every day with you is a joy. Your daddy and I are so happy to be your parents. 
There is never a dull moment with you. We are always playing and having fun.
Handsome blonde boy who I've always been pleased to say, "That's my little boy!"
Always saying "please" and "thank you" and very grateful.
Not much of an eater but we can usually get you to eat a yogurt, peanut butter sandwich or oatmeal .

Milk man - you have always loved milk and to this day you ask for it multiple times a day.
Athletic and adventurous, you are very coordinated with an amazing athletic ability.
Things you enjoy: family/friends, reading, riding bikes, playing trains, trash trucks, Curious George
The sweet spirit you have is contagious. You are a happy, fun-loving boy.
Hugs and kisses - I love when you randomly tell me you love me and give me a hug and kiss.
Everything comes pretty natural to you - you're very smart and enjoy learning.

We are grateful for our sweet little boy. It's such a joy to have you as part of our family. We love you! Happy Birthday!

Got Sleep?

Last night we went to Yogurtland which is always a treat. Ethan was very happy with his own cup of pink and brown ice cream (strawberry and chocolate) with sprinkles. The fun shortly ended as we entered into our neighborhood the "wrong way", aka the back way via a different street. Ethan was tired so it went downhill from there. He has to open and close the garage door when we come and go so I gave him the remote to open it. He was slow to do it so I ended up doing it which of course just lead to more of a meltdown. Once in the house Jared took off his shoes and he fell to the ground in dismay because he wanted to do it himself. After several minutes of him moaning on the floor in front of the toilet because he didn't "have to go pee", we finally got him to get ready for bed. We were able to end the night on a happier note and get into bed ourselves around 9:30. At 11pm Ethan woke upset for some unknown reason and Jared was able to get him back in bed without waking Tanner. Phew, back to sleep. At 12am Tanner wakes and wants to eat. At 2am Ethan woke asking to watch a show, and promptly went and turned on the TV. Again Jared convinced him to go back to bed with some milk. We got back to bed, and on schedule Tanner woke at 3am to eat again. As soon as he finished, and we put him back to bed, he proceeded to totally mess his diaper, so we got up again to change him. Then sure enough, at 4am, Ethan woke having wet the bed which we expected would happen since he had too much to drink too late. We changed the sheets and his clothes, and after calming him down, we all got back to bed and slept for a bit until our day officially started with both boys waking at 6am. Maybe once they're teenagers we will get back to a normal sleep routine!   

Tanner's Stats

Went to the doctor yesterday for Tanner's 4 month check up.

Weight: 14 lbs, 4 oz

Height: 26.5 inches

Ethan's first day of preschool

This morning was Ethan's first day of preschool and he did great! When we pulled into the parking lot I handed him his new Buzz Lightyear lunch box and he walked right in. There was only one other girl there when we arrived, which surprised me. It starts at 8am but class time doesn't start until 8:45am so maybe people slowly bring their children closer to that time? I forgot to ask if that is the case but they told me it starts at 8am so that is what we did. It was weird not having Ethan with us this morning and we missed him. I was anxious to hear about his day (but knew he wouldn't tell me much) and a little nervous for him while we were apart. I knew he would be fine since he is very independent but this is such a new experience for all of us. He will always be one of the youngest in his class throughout his school years due to his Fall birthday. He is an old spirit so we won't keep him back. When I picked him up they said he did great and he had a big smile on his face when he saw me. I told him to say bye and he waved bye and said, "see you tomorrow!" He seemed very happy but I wasn't able to get too many details out of him. I could tell they had colored because he had marker on his hands. Our boy is growing up!

Sea World and Chuck-E-Cheese

 We had a great Labor Day weekend down in Orange County with the Goodmans. Joel and Carly came down for the long weekend so we headed down for a fun day at Sea World on Saturday. Unfortunately, Jared had to work so he was unable to go. It was Ethan's first Sea World experience and he enjoyed it. I think his favorite part were the two shows we went to: Shamu and Blue Horizons. He clapped with the audience and seemed to get into it. My favorite show was Blue Horizons: it was quite entertaining with the divers. Tanner was an angel and hung out in the stroller most of the day. Ethan got to play in the kids' area for a while and see a few Sesame Street characters. He was very well behaved all day, especially without a nap and having been up since 5:45am. He is quite the energizer bunny that keeps on going!

On Sunday after Jared's shift, he came down and met up with us. We had dinner and played a round of Polyanna with the Goodmans. Jared had Monday off so we hung out and were treated to Chuck-E-Cheese by the Goodmans in the evening. Ethan was content sitting on the rides and arcades pretending to play them. We had tokens but at his age he didn't know the difference. Between Jared, Joy and I we got enough tickets to get Ethan a prize at the end. He is one lucky boy to have such great Grandparents! We had a great weekend and can't wait to party it up again next weekend for his third birthday.