Ethan currently has a runny nose. He came up to me and said, "Mom, I have issues." [Don't we all?!!!] I laughed and asked him if he meant he needed a tissue. He said no. I asked him if he meant boogers. He said no. I then asked him if he knew what issues are. He said no. I said issues are like problems. He then said, "Okay mom, my nose has problems." I know it doesn't quite make sense and you kind of had to be there, but I just thought it was a cute exchange.
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We flew to Utah recently and before we landed Ethan said, "Mom, I don't like the runway." [meaning 'I don't like the part where we land.'] I told him it was okay and that he could hold my hand. After we landed, he said, "Mom, do you know why I don't like the runway?" I asked him why to which he responded, "Because it makes my heart pound." That response made my heart melt.
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By the way, sorry if I've already written these things before ... I can't remember what I've already written or not.
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About three or four months ago I was putting Ethan to bed. I was telling him all about his wonderful qualities. He stopped me midway through and said, "Mom, I have to go potty ... but when I am done I'm gonna come back to bed and I want you to keep telling me how good I am." Hilarious ... but especially because I used to do the same thing when I was a little girl. Hey, everyone likes a good compliment every now and again, right?!
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I've started making my own yogurt and it is fab. I sometimes eat it twice a day. My mother-in-law taught me how to make it in a crockpot, of all things last time she was here. While I was doing something upstairs, she asked Ethan where his mother's crockpot was. He abruptly replied, "A crockpot? What's a crockpot?" She then said, "Ya know, some people call them slow cookers." He immediately responded, "Oh no, my mom's a fast cooker."
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I think I've mentioned before how Ethan has to say goodbye about a million times when someone leaves or if he is leaving. Well, the same is true with saying goodnight. When we put him to bed he says, "Love you, night night ... Don't bite the bed bugs ... see you in the morning ... have a good sleep" ... and our personal favorite that he learned from us: "NEVER EVER GET UP - EVER EVER!" Classic. He says each one about five times each.
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I don't know if I've mentioned that Ethan learned to ride his bike without training wheels about a week before the fourth of July. (Pics later - and yes, mom and dad are so proud.) We thought for sure we were going to need to buy a bunch of padding because Ethan is sometimes more safe than we are, but no. Our little OCD son showed us who is boss. One day, he just said he wanted to try it. We went to the church parking lot let go of his seat, and off he went without a hitch. He hasn't stopped since, except for when he occasionally runs into a parked car or stationary bush. Anyway, yesterday Tegan was napping and Ethan and I were outside. He was riding his bike FAST up and down the road. On one run, he got off the bike and ran to me to give me a hug. He then said, "I just wanted to give you a hug and a kiss." Magical moment.
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Like I said, we went to Utah recently, particularly for my dad's 60th birthday and my grandparents' 60 wedding anniversary. While there, we visited a lot with my grandparents. I just wanted to mention how sweet Ethan was with Grammy. Some kids are shy around older people or family they don't see often. But Ethan went up to Grammy, gave her a hug, kissed her on the cheek and said I love you Grammy Great without any prompting when it was time for us to go. It was something I just wanted to remember.
Like I said in the previous post, spring in the NW was lousy this year, so we spent a lot of time inside. We like to play on the bed in the morning, waiting for the day to begin.
In June, Tegan really started to slober a lot!!! He also spit up alot. (Ethan didn't do this, so it was new for me.) He has had rashy neck issues because of it, but we do the best we can! He probably goes through about 2-3 onesies a day. He also loved to start standing, with support, in June. He really LOVES to stand. Sometimes he will only let me get him dressed if he is standing while I do it. Funny. He hates tummy time still.
In June, we did get to watch "Momma bird" build her nest on top of a column outside our front door. She sat on those eggs for a good three weeks, faithfully. One day, two baby birdies "appeared." The birds were as quiet as mouse unless momma bird came back with food. As soon as she came back the babies chirped and chirped LOUDLY. The minute she would leave they would immediately stop chirping. I found it to be quite interesting. A day after I took this picture, all the birds were gone. I guess the babies learned to fly!
Garage sales in the NW are the best - things aren't too used and abused, AND ... there are sales and neighborhood sales every weekend. I bought this beauty at a sale for $100. I wasn't sure I like it so I decided to post it on Craigslist for $225. Someone bought it that night for $200. I made a $100 and bought one I liked for $75. WOW! I'm awesome! Some other great finds were: Le Creusset heart pot/lid $7, 12 gold chargers $6, Geotrax airport $5, thomas trains/tracks $12, lawn trimmer $20, almost new eliptical $40. Gotta love it.
We also had a HUGE patch of strawberries this year. I made at least four batches of strawberry jam and we enjoyed strawberries every night for dinner in June. It was fabulous. 
There's his eyes. Most of the time they are gray-blue. Sometimes they have a little green in them. I don't think they have decided what color they are yet even still today. Regardless, they are definitely NOT brown.
Us on said canoe trip. Hey, is that "two-ton tilly" next to Steve? Anyway, we had a great time in "the woods." I love the mountains, I love the rolling hills ... One of the highlights of the trip was when Ethan randomly came flying down on his bike at the campground during the family talent show. He did not use the breaks and thankfully did not hit a tree. He even commented on how fun it was.
Four-month photo shoot.
Ethan had his last day at "Joyful Learning" preschool in May. He was there for five months and had a pretty good experience.
But as you can see in this picture, I'm not sure this environment was his cup of tea. Doesn't he look happy? wink wink.
Ethan has really gotten into building things out of Legos and he's good at it too! He decided one day he was going to build this truck all by himself and he did it from start to finish. Problem is - once something is built, he does not like to take it apart, thereby making it difficult to make other things.
What do you think? A self-photographer in the making for sure. Glamour shots by Ethan!
The spring in the NW was dreadful this year ... I'll be the first to complain!! I almost went nuts. In fact, people who have lived here for years and like this weather almost went nuts. Everyone kept saying it was the worst spring ever. On the bright side, I live in a more spacious house than we did in Seattle and we at least had room to think and move. And ... there were rainbows and double rainbows regularly. This one was outside Ethan's window right before bed. He said he stayed up watching it.
