Work Party

Earlier in the month we attended a Christmas party for Sam's work. The theme was 70's. I've never been to a themed Christmas party before; Halloween yes, Christmas no. Thanks to Ellie, Alma, and Jake, Sam was able to put together a killer outfit, albeit a bit tight. I dressed up as well, but no one really noticed. I have some clothes my mother wore in the 70's, but they aren't eccentric, in fact I wear them all the time.

When we first arrived, no one recognized Sam. A couple of people figured it out because they recognized me. We didn't take any pictures of me, so you will just have to look closely at Sam's glasses to see my outfit.

Raking Leaves

I have never raked leaves in December before, but this year (thanks to some big wind storms) we did in hopes that we would soon be making a snowman. No snowman yet, but we sure had a lot of fun with the leaves.

You may be wondering why Sam and Ethan are in the garbage can. Sam was jumping on the leaves to squish them down and Ethan thought it looked liked lots of fun so he asked to join in.

October

I can't believe October is already over! It was a pretty eventful month for us, we found out we are having a girl, Ethan turned 2, and we celebrated Halloween.

Birthday:
Unfortunately we forgot to take our camera when we celebrated Ethan's birthday. We had pizza and cupcakes at my parents' house in Preston. Ethan loves pizza and for several weeks leading up to his birthday whenever someone would say "birthday" Ethan would say "cupcake." But he got scared by the crazy birthday song so he wouldn't blow out his candles, so the next morning we put candles in his pancakes and he blew those out instead. He was spoiled with lots of new clothes, toys, and books.

Halloween:

These are some festive pajamas Grandma and Grandpa gave Ethan which he's been wearing since September, the bones glow in the dark. When we would put Ethan to bed he would lift up his arms and legs to inspect the glowing bones.


Our little Police Officer. Ethan would throw a fit everytime we tried to put his costume on, so finally Sam had to put on his "work" shirt so Ethan could also wear his "work" shirt.

For the past month we have been teaching Ethan to say "Trick or Treat" so of course we had to take him. We only planned on going to 3 or 5 houses because we didn't think he would really like it, but once he realized we got to go on a walk and people gave him candy, he was totally into it. We walked around the neighborhood for almost an hour.

We hope everyone had a fun filled October. So far we are enjoying our sugar-filled November.

It's a Girl!

Finally! I haven't been able to get our pictures to upload to blogger for the longest time, so here are a few in random order.

Ethan doesn't really like regular swimming pools, but he loves playing in the water when he can be in control. He is really good at splashing anyone standing within 5 feet of the water.

Ethan loves to vacuum! We bought this at the DI for $2 and he uses it almost every day. He likes to follow me around while I vacuum and run into my feet and say "Move!" He also likes to try to vacuum up spiders. So helpful!

For anyone who doesn't know, or maybe just didn't want to ask, I am pregnant. The baby is due February 28th.

I keep telling myself that I need to be better about updating the blog, but it never happens. Plus, we are so bad about taking pictures, and posts are better with pictures. That being said, I couldn't get the pictures or video to upload, so I will have to add them later.

To help battle the heat, and boredom, I finally broke down and bought a kiddie pool for the backyard. Ethan loves the blow-up sides and slide and that they bounce when you jump on them. Having the pool has been great for Ethan. Every time we have taken him swimming he has hated it. The pool lets him play in the water at his own pace.

In an attempt at embracing summer, I have grilled on a couple of occasions. We have had a grill for a couple of years, but I've never used it. The first time I made ranch turkey burgers and then later I made chicken kabobs. The kabobs were delicious and I've considered doing more, but just keep forgetting because I prefer cooking indoors where I have access to everything.

Sam has been working like crazy; the city keeps him pretty busy in the summer, what with fireworks and festivals. Also, I've learned that criminals are more active during warm weather. In the meantime, I struggle to not die of boredom. It's been too hot to play at the park (no shade makes for extremely hot toys) and I don't feel like playing in the water every day. I have tried taking Ethan to McDonald's, which for those of you who know me well is a huge effort because I hate McDonald's (thank you childhood family trip), but Ethan won't play on the toys. He just stays close to me and occasionally runs by the toys.

So, if you have any suggestions of things to do, I'd love to hear them. Preferably nothing that costs money (or at list very little) and things that will entertain both of us. Being completely honest, I hate staying home. I've stayed home with Ethan ever since I finished school last year and every day I feel like a waste of space. I need something mentally stimulating and something that doesn't involve just sitting. Keep in mind Ethan is very active and requires lots of attention.

Lastly, a video (hopefully to come soon) of Ethan's new favorite thing, gargling. One day he saw Sam gargling with mouthwash and thought it was quite funny. Now Ethan gargles all the time, with water, milk, yogurt, and even food.

Update

I have been so bad about posting, but here is an update of what we've been up to lately.

Sam and I celebrated our birthdays on March 28. Sam's mom watched Ethan while we went to lunch and a movie (The Adjustment Bureau - good, but different than what I expected. Sam was disappointed it turned out to be a love story). Then Sam surprised me by having dinner reservations at The Roof and reservations at Anniversary Inn. It was a blast! This was the first time I had been away from Ethan over night and it was a bit hard but much needed.


Ethan had his 18 month check-up: 33 1/4 inches (75 %) and 26 lbs 12 oz (70%). I don't know how accurate these measurements are because he wouldn't hold still. When we have measured him at home he has been almost 34 inches (but still not holding still) and anywhere between 26.5 and 27.5 lbs (depending on when he last pooped). Overall it was a nice appointment because Ethan didn't have to get any shots so he only cried a bit.

Ethan now has 12 teeth with all 4 canines on the way and another molar pushing through.

For anyone who was curious about Ethan's eating (I posted a while ago about how frustrating it has been). He is still very picky and will only rarely eat vegetables, noodles, or meat. The doctor told us to give him a vitamin and he will eat when he is ready.

6 Years

Today is our 6th Anniversary

Some highlights from the past 6 years:

March 2005: we got married in the Salt Lake Temple
April 2006: Sam graduated from LDSBC in Accounting
April 2008: Sam graduated from BYU in Geospatial Intelligence
July 2008: Sam started working for SLCPD
March 2009: we bought a house in Salt Lake City
October 2009: Ethan was born
May-July 2010: Sam had eye surgery
August 2010: I graduated from the U in Anthropology and Political Science



6 things I love about Sam:

1. He makes me laugh
2. He thinks I'm funny
3. He works hard
4. He keeps me warm and lets me put my cold feet on him
5. He kills spiders
6. He loves me, Ethan, and chocolate

Help!

We have been having the hardest time trying to transition Ethan to table food. We have been trying for the past 4 months but feel like we have had very little success. We have tried letting Ethan feed himself with his fingers and/or a spoon or fork but he just plays. I understand that is part of the learning process but he just plays and doesn't eat and is still hungry. Sometimes we can get him to eat what we are eating, but not very often. He loves fresh fruit, but hates meat and vegetables. He used to love homemade pizza, but now he won't eat it. Right now he loves black beans, but I'm afraid that he will just stop eating them one day, just like everything else. I have even tried mashing food to see if he just likes the mushy texture, but he won't take it. He has 12 teeth, 4 of which are molars, so it's not like he doesn't have the teeth to chew. And I don't have the heart to just let him go hungry.

I talked to our pediatrition at Ethan's 15 month check-up, and he said to just keep trying. That was a month ago. I'm getting so frustrated and I'm so tired of getting stressed out at meal times. If you have any suggestions please help me!