Funnies

While reading Lilo and Stitch to Ethan there was a page that had a black man on it who was a social worker. Ethan points at him and said, "Is that Oprah?" I had a good laugh.

Ethan: Are you a bad guy or good guy?
me: I'm a good guy.
Ethan: I'm going to shoot you then.
me: What if I'm a bad guy?
Ethan: Then I will give you a sword.
me: What for?
Ethan: So you can be on my side.

Ethan doesn't quite understand the whole bad guy, good guy thing yet. He thinks if you have any kind of weapon you are a bad guy. I told him nice guys have weapons like policemen, Superman, and Batman. They all help people, but he's not too sure about that. He is slowly learning about superheroes, just the little we have told him. Grammy gave him the reversible cape (pictured above) that Ethan insists must be worn in front. There is no convincing him to flip it around because then you can see the red side from in front. If he wears the Batman side, or as he says the "black" side, he is bad, but if it's on the Superman side then he is good. But he never wears it on that side. Funny boy!

Easter Weekend

It's been such a busy but fun week. We started out by celebrating Tanner's birthday with Grammy and Grandpa before they left for Utah. We played at their house, opened presents and had Cafe Rio for dinner.

Heather and Doug came into town for the many family events this weekend. We decorated eggs and made sugar cookies. Ethan has been swimming in the spa at least once or twice a day.

We celebrated Tanner's birthday on Wednesday and then Mom's birthday was Thursday. We went to the park to have a little birthday party for Tanner on Saturday. We had pizza and cake and the cousins played on the playground. Tanner loves puppies so I made a puppy cake with paw print cupcakes. He was actually more into the candy on the cake than the actual cake, so he never really got into it much.  

 Before the baptism we took Fisher family pictures.

The Goodman family

It was a neat experience watching Clayton be baptized by John. Clayton was excited to be the newest member of the church and it was a spiritual experience for all. It is quite a miracle that John has recovered so quickly and was able to baptize Clayton three weeks after being home. After the baptism we went back to the Brooks' house for a nice dinner and dessert.

 This is a picture of the boys this morning seeing what the Easter Bunny left them. He left fun-filled baskets with goodies and also hid little candies throughout the house for them to find.

We have had a great week! Happy Easter!

The Golden Tooth

Ethan went to the dentist for the first time today and actually had a happy experience. He was perfect while they x-rayed his tooth and then saw the dentist with no problems. I didn't prepare him all that much before going because I felt he would be fine. I told him we were going to the dentist so he could take pictures of his teeth, and he wasn't hesitant in the slightest. As a baby, Ethan's front tooth came in brown and as a result it's got a cavity so we will be going back to have it fixed next month. This time we left with a toy in hand from their treasure chest saying, "That was fun mommy, let's do that again."  Next time when they are filling his cavity I hope he is saying the same thing. Wish us luck!

Happy 1st Birthday Tanner!

Happy Birthday Baby Tanner! It has been such a joy this year seeing Tanner grow into the little boy he is becoming. Tanner is such a sweet little guy that brings so much joy into our lives. He has an easy going personality and a happy demeanor. We are grateful he is a part of our family. We love you Tanner!

 At one Tanner is:
-saying: uh oh, mama, dada, ball, that, this, baba (bottle), woof woof, Papa, Nana
-waves hi and bye to people
-claps his hands
-has taken several steps towards us but is not quite walking yet
-sleeps through the night
-takes two excellent naps
-likes blueberries, oranges, bananas, carrots, squash, apple sauce, yogurt, and anything he can get his hands on
-likes going on the swings at the park
-has eight teeth with a ninth coming in

Some Updates

The last few weeks have been pretty low key. We have been hanging around the house a lot. Last week I signed Ethan up for a preschool starting this fall. It is a state-run preschool through a local public elementary school. I heard about it through some girls in my ward that have had their children attend and have loved it. It sounds great but I've been apprehensive about it because it's five days a week every morning from 8-11am. We were thinking of putting Ethan in preschool three mornings a week but not five. It's essentially like having him in kindergarten a year early which I didn't know if I wanted that for him yet. After the meeting though I loved the school - way better than the one he is at now. The teacher won teacher of the year for the LA school district and is very experienced. They have three aides for the 24 children, so one adult to eight children. I like the way the preschool is run and I think it's a good mix of play and learning. I had to drop the paperwork off one morning so Ethan got to see the classroom and as we were leaving he said, "I want to play there all day!" I think he will thrive there, especially since Ethan loves learning!! He used to ask to watch TV first thing in the morning, but lately he wants to do flashcards or workbooks within the first ten minutes of waking up. He amazes me with his abilities. We are still waiting on the preschool to officially accept us but I'm pretty sure he is in.

The reading lessons for Ethan are going well. We have done eight lessons which have pretty much been a review for him with a few new concepts. I am excited he enjoys it and is able to do it so well. I hope as it gets harder he is still willing to do them because it will require some pacience even though he is definitely capable. On a different note, Ethan gave his first talk in primary this Sunday (he stood there but was too shy so I said it for him). The topic was "Jesus is the perfect example for me". He got his sticker and that's all that matters.

We have been swinging in our backyard a lot. Ethan loves swinging up to the branches and playing chase around the lawn. We have been riding bikes, playing legos, reading books and really anything and everything Ethan wants. I am ready for Orange County tomorrow so Ethan will have lots of other people to play with. :) Doug and Heather are coming down on Thursday to go with Adam to the temple for the first time before his mission. It will be fun having them around for the weekend too. It should be busy with Tanner's birthday party, Clayton's baptism and Easter. Bring on the fun!

The Getty

Last night we went to the Getty and had a great time. The boys were SO good and we couldn't have had a better time. We were there for over 2 hours and spent most of our time outside looking at the gardens, seeing the skyline of downtown LA, playing tag on the lawns, and getting an overall feel for the layout of the museum. We took a very quick look through the various museums knowing there was so much to see, but we wanted to get a taste of everything. The Getty is incredibly beautiful, and definitely somewhere we will visit again.

Santa Monica Pier

This week we braved the weather and ventured out to the Santa Monica pier. It was our first time and we really enjoyed it. As we walked to the beach there were quaint shops with restaurants scattered throughout. The beach was well kept which was nice to see but there were still lots of homeless guys hanging around.

Our plan was to go on the ferris wheel but Ethan wasn't big enough. The price was a little too steep anyways so we were happy to let the boys ride on a few 50 cent rides. We walked through the arcade where Ethan thought he was playing the games so that worked out great. They are still easy to please at this age! If we go to a beach this summer in LA, Santa Monica will most likely be it.



Monster Baby

Little Tanner baby (aka "monster baby" as Ethan often says) has become quite proud of his new skills this week. He loves to climb  on the couch and does it with such ease now. He can be found relaxing on the couch or about to jump ship. He gets so excited when we see him up there that he almost jumps over the edge with excitement. He definitely can't be left alone for even a minute! Tanner is quite the opposite of a monster baby, but this has become his nickname when Ethan is playing with a toy on the ground and Tanner comes along to snatch the toy away or otherwise destroy anything in his path. Instead of Ethan getting upset we have turned it into a game where Ethan pretends that "monster baby" is coming to attack and we must flee. It's cute to see the boys interact this way. Tanner thinks it's great fun and Ethan sees it as Tanner playing with him so everyone is happy. Our little boys are growing too fast!



Monday Fun day

We enjoyed a relaxing General Conference weekend. It worked out nicely that the sessions were during Tanner's naps and Ethan was good to listen and play quietly. I enjoy hearing inspiring messages from our Prophet and the Apostles. It always gives me a new desire to be a better wife, mother, daughter and friend.  

 This week I have been thinking a lot about my Grandma Jack. She was an amazing woman! She was so faithful and such an uplifting person, always teaching her grandchildren life lessons when the opportunity presented itself; she was thoughtful, kind, loving, never spoke a mean word, spiritual, amazing cook, and really just an all-around wonderful woman. One thing that really amazes me is the fact that she had a third child after she had polio. I don't know how you would chase after a baby while watching over two other children all while in a wheelchair. Amazing! That really goes to show you nothing slowed her down. My dad and I were talking about her the other night and we both agreed we don't know anyone quite like her. She was a spiritual giant. I hope to be half the woman she was some day.  

This week Jared is working the evening shift (4pm-12am). It's nice to have him home in the day but I really prefer having him home at night. Before Jared went to work we went to the park for a little bit. The weather has been going back and forth from hot to cool but today is a warmer day. Ethan and I played trains on the slide - he was the engineer and I was the caboose. I love my little family and the blessing I have to stay home to raise my children. I am truly blessed!

It's hot!

The cousins after Clayton's baseball game

The weather yesterday was a beast and unfortunately just a slight taste of what we will experience from now until September! Yesterday was 93 and today the high will be 85 degrees. The thing that makes it so unbearable is it's almost always cooler outside than in our house even with our air on. In the summer the average day is at least 100 so we are in for it! Our house doesn't seem to cool off until 3am just in time for it to heat up again, being 80 degrees by 9am. Luckily, we have made several friends in our ward who have swimming pools so we will be spending lots of time at their house this summer. I just bought two new suits for the summer season. I need to get Tanner a floating device and then we are ready!

Nana and the boys

On Thursday I took Tanner for his long overdue renal ultrasound for his hydronephrosis. The nurse called today and said everything looks normal which is great! I didn't get any more details so maybe this means everything is totally fine and he outgrew this problem. I take Tanner to the doctor for his one year appt next month so we will find out then.

Ethan is really growing up!

I am really excited about this book Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons - I've known about it for over a year now and finally feel it's time to get it and teach Ethan how to read. I'm SO excited to teach him and have heard amazing reviews on this book. I know several people personally who have taught their children (all around Ethan's age) with this book and have had good success. I hope Ethan will be receptive and take advantage of this head start.

Papa and Ethan at the Science Center

Our little Tanner baby has become quite the climber and explorer in the last few days. He can now climb on our couch with no assistance. He has been able to climb on it if a pillow or toy was close enough to give him that extra step up, but now he is a pro. This makes it even more difficult to leave him alone for a minute since he can climb and fall off it so fast. Tanner is also starting to give us cheesy grins throughout the day. Both boys are starting to sleep in - at least to our standard of sleeping in to about 6:30 or 7:00 - so that is great!

One of the many areas we played in that the boys love.

Now for a John update, he is finally free of any hospital or rehab center and home for good! This morning he got to leave to come to my parents house (since the Brooks have stairs) at least for a few days so he can build up enough strength to climb stairs at home. The doctors thought he wouldn't be home for at least 6 months but now 8 weeks later he is home and doing so well. He will go to a physical therapy everyday but at least he can be home to continue his recovery. What a blessing that he has come so far in so little time!