Saturday, February 19, 2011

Ethan Turns 5 ... and some other happenings

I recently went to Utah because my baby sister, Meag, decided to go on a mission! Holy cow! She went into the MTC on Wednesday and we all hope she'll survive. I took TeeGee with me to Utah and he grew up while we were there. I think he loved getting all the attention and not having to share said attention with a certain bigger brother. He started doing tricks - sometimes done at the same time. He was clicking his tongue before but now he'll do it on command. You click at him and he'll click at you. If you go in his room to wake him from a long slumber, he'll sit up in his crib and instantly click his tongue. We sound like we're speaking an african dialect! His second trick is "So big!" You say it and he'll raise his arms hi up in the sky - sometimes clicking at the same time. His last trick is clapping for himself. He'll clap every time after he does his tricks so you'll praise him. Funny boy. He also loves to go up stairs and we're working on getting down on the belly. He doesn't cry during diaper changes, but he wriggles and wriggles to get away and crawls fast. Lastly, he also started to wave and say bye bye - but he whispers the words. The FUNNIEST thing he does is that he crawls on his hands and feet, not his hands and knees. Yes, it is evolution before our eyes! We have yet to get a photo of it, but it is hilarious.
My E-Man turned five right under my nose!!! This year, he wanted a "Star Wars - All-chocolate" cake. Well, New Beginnings was the same day as his birthday and I was in charge of it, so we had to improvise some. I went to the store, bought Yoda, and put him on top with the words, "Jedi Ethan." Works, right?? We decorated the night before at the church for New Beginnings and had his big cake. Then on his actual birthday, he got to blow out the candles on what was left of his cake.
We made our yearly pilgrammage to McDonald's and met daddy for lunch on Ethan's birthday. Yes, we only go there on his birthday. Sorry if any of you like McDonald's!! Ethan loves to play there in the play area.
Swedish pancakes for breakfast. Ethan got a scooter, some Lightning McQueen stuff, some Star Wars legos, a pillow pet, and some other legos. Sounds like a good birthday to me!
Here he is with his sub-par cake at the church with some cuzzies and buddies.

These two looked alike at birth, not alike during the first year, and are now starting to look alike again. Love their faces.
TeeGee can drool with the best of them. He now says, Ball - but he whispers it.
Love this kid ... he is so funny. He recently told his teacher that "Prophet's Day" was coming up. (aka: President's Day)
TeeGee's first time in his forward-facing carseat. He loves it and shines his famous grin when you look at him in the rear view mirror.
Here is TeeGee on his birthday. He took his cupcake in one hand and literally stuffed the whole thing in at once. We thought he would be a mess, but there was no mess left to make because all of it was in his mouth. Miraculously, he didn't choke.
Okay, I guess it was half the cupcake. He stuffed half of it in, then the other half.
He got a little car to sit in. He loves it.
I just like this picture ... the ghetto wrapping job is the best. Well, his legs and hanging onesie might be better.
In front of his present.

Some things I've done lately ...

So we love our house and we're very grateful for it. However, we have wanted to do a few inexpensive things to update it and enjoy it even more. I don't think we'll do much more than this, and I can tell you we really love the kitchen now.
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Before: Not bad, but not our favorite either ...
Another BEFORE:
AFTER: Steve and I picked out the granite ourselves and put up the backsplash ourselves. (We had someone else install the granite.) I would love to do something with the cabinets - like paint - but I'm a wimp. I think we'll at least add some hardware to them.
AFTER: Complete with fresh, homemade cookies. :)
I'd love to get that microwave off the counter, but ... maybe someday.
All the houses around here have this {space} on top of the door. I didn't know what to do with it and it looks so bare when it's empty. So ... I found these cool vases that are made of recycled glass. I love the color they bring into my dark, NW house and they make me happy every time I look at them. Ethan says they "are soooooo coooool!"
I am now the Beehive counselor and I was in charge of New Beginnings. We decided to ask each parent to pick a flower that best described his/her daughter. So we got one flower for each girl and I had the task of trying to put them all in a vase. They are all different -- but I don't think it looks too bad. Not bad at all. My sister wanted to see a pic.
Gotta love this dollar store hurricane. I love to put seasonal things in it. It was super easy to make and it looks pretty good too. I can't get the pic to stay rotated for some reason.