a look back on the past two years

My baby's growing up!

So today was officially Ethan's 2nd birthday. I can't believe that two years ago today, I was laying in a hospital bed exhausted from 12 hours of labor, and 2 hours of pushing. I can't believe he was just a tiny 8lbs, 15 oz, and 21" long. Now looking at him, it seems so long ago because now he's getting so grown up!!! Anyways, today was just a typical day with him. Didn't do anything to special because of last nights party. But he got to have his favorite dinner (mac n Cheese. go figure) and then open one last present from Rory's family. We opened it, he had some cake, and ate some of the candy grandma sent him. So here's a couple pics, of my little boy taken today.

Ethan's 2nd Birthday Party

Ethan was so silly at his birthday party. We actually celebrated a day early because we wanted Ethan's cousins to come and they couldn't today. The birthday party was a big hit with Ethan. I had been trying to pump him up about it the whole day. I don't think he really understood, but I told him his cousins were coming, as well and grandpa and grandma, and that there was going to be cake. He kept trying to say birthday party, but it really came out more like birdy potty. It's cute. After everyone got there, we ate some pizza, and then got out the cake. It was a seahawks cake and was pretty cool. Ethan's big on football. We ended up singing happy birthday to him twice because the first time, Rory ran out of batteries in the camera. So the second time we sang to him, he loved it, and he knew what to expect. But he was pointing at me, like we were singing to me. He loved the attention, and after he blew out the candles, he grabbed the lighter for me to do it again! After the cake and ice cream (which that night he only wanted ice cream) we started on the gifts. He was super spoiled and got a bunch of toys. Lots of motorbikes, and books, and he got some bath toys and a backhoe toy. We decided to save at least one gift for his real birthday today. His gift from grammy and grandpa A. After everyone left, it took a little bit for him to wind down, but he was loving all the attention and treats he got. Thanks to my family for coming, giving ethan gifts, and sharing the special day with us!

Blessings

Today I was looking through some family pictures, and felt so much love and happiness that I had to share. I am such a lucky girl. I have such a wonderful husband, who is so loving and hard working. I think I take him for granted a lot. Don't all wives and husbands? Thinking back the last couple days, I just have to smile. Yesterday when Rory got home from work, he snuck in really quiet and hid in the laundry room so I couldn't see him...then he called my phone, (which was in the laundry room too) I had a sneaky suspicion that he was in there, but just walked in singing along with the ringtone, and looked to the side where Rory was standing in the corner on top of his lunch box... I said hey baby, and that was it. He was a little disappointed that I didn't get scared, but he put a smile on my face. Today just picturing him in the corner on that small lunch box makes me laugh. He's so goofy, and I LOVE IT! I don't think very many people know the real Rory. These last few days Rory's talked me into playing Halo2 with him on the xbox. I'm not that big on war/alien games, but I have loved playing with Rory. It takes me back to carefree days when we had all the time in the world together, and didn't worry about dishes, and dirty diapers. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Ethan to death, but sometimes it's nice to just spend some time with my husband and remember back to how it all started. So Rory, if you're reading this, I love you SO much, and I hope you know just how much I appreciate all you do for me and Ethan. You are a great Father, friend, and husband and I will love you forever!

Random pics

I think these pics are pretty cute. The pics on top are silly because Ethan NEVER would take a pacifyer when he was a baby. He hated them. Just recently though, he's found an old one, and loves to suck on it. It's not a comfort thing or anything, and he doesn't care when it's taken away. But what the heck?
Below are some more bath pics. I can't resist. Ethan hates getting his hair washed, but I managed to get a smile out of him. I think it's about time for another haircut.

Our halloween Horror

Okay, so that title sounds a lot horrible than it actually was. It was a pretty fun night, except when we were getting Ethan ready, and then when we were trying to get him to wind down for bed. Then we just dealt with some over the top tantrums. It's amazing how he can throw his body around! Anyways, Ethan decided that he wanted to be a football player. We tried to get him to be a dog, and some other animals, but he kept saying 'ball' and showing me a football costume. Because I didn't want to spent $30 on a costume he probably wouldn't wear again, we bought a seahawks jersey (I know they're not doing good this year, but they're still our team!) and it's like 2 sizes to big so Ethan can wear it for a long time.
There's a picture where Rory is trying to put some pads in Ethan's Jersey. We couldn't really find anything, that would work, and rory mentioned 'old bra's' while looking around in our underwear drawer. Well, he found some old nursing pads, and they were the perfect fit! The next picture is when Rory was trying to put the black lines on Ethans face. We had to hold him down to do it!

After Ethan was all ready, I tried to get a picture of him, but he just wasn't having it. He didn't like all the attention, and us telling him he looked awesome. I tried to tell him to say cheese, and instead, I got a picture of a little football player that's about to go down in an all out tantrum.

It wasn't until we were out of the house that Ethan started behaving better. We went to our local mall, where the kids go and show off costumes, and trick or treat to all the different stores. There's also games set up along the middle, so you can win prizes, and extra candy. After the mall, we met up with grandma and papa and went to a barn party, where we ate hot dogs, played more games, got more candy, and went for a hay ride. By time we got home, Ethan was wound up soooooo much. He was just on this sugar high, and didn't know how to handle it. He just kept throwing fits. We couldn't figure out what his deal was! Hopefully next year he'll be a little more into it, and understand what's going on!