NKOTBSB - Oh What a Night!

So as most of you are probably already well aware, I love New Kids on the Block. I mean, I LOVE them! When I turned 10, my birthday cake read "Happy Birthday to a New 10 Year Old Kid on the Block" and when my family threw me a surprise 30th birthday party the cake read "Happy Birthday to a New 30 Year Old Kid on the Block" (complete with Joey McIntyre's face screened on the cake - now I personally wouldn't have gone that far, but it was hilarious!) I had a Joey poster in my room that I said goodnight to every night, I wrote out pretend wedding invitations (hey, I was 9!) and my sister, neighbor and I even started our own fan club. My mom even saved some of the Bop (yes, the magazine was called Bop!) magazines that we bought because of all the NKOTB coverage. And let me tell you, those magazines are HILARIOUS to read back through now. Do you know that kids used to write in looking for pen pals and use their home addresses...in a national publication?!?! Yes, I think times have changed just a bit! But I digress....

Two years ago when New Kids finally reunited after a very long 20 year wait, Carolyn and I had the best time finally getting to go to their concert. We were not allowed to go when we were younger because my mom said that there might be teenagers there, and they might be (gasp) smoking cigarettes. Maybe my mom knew what she was doing because I have never once so much as tried a cigarette, but not being able to see our idols left two little girls extremely heartbroken. Seeing them in concert two years ago was literally one of the best nights of my life! I never thought we would get to see them again, so when we heard they were touring again (this time with the Backstreet Boys...my youngest sister was a huge BSB fan but I was a little past the boy band stage by the time they came around. I did take her to a BSB concert one summer when I was in college as her birthday present though) of course we had to be there. It was awesome!!!! The highlight of this show was the guys actually walking through the audience several times. Jordan Knight was literally just a few rows over from us at one point. I tried to film it on my camera, and I might share some of my video clips when I actually get the time to upload them all, but it is so funny because you can tell that I am jumping up and down screaming the video is so shaky! One of the Backstreet Boys was right by us at one point too, and I have great footage of him (we think it was Nick, but we weren't 100 percent sure on that point) because I guess I was calm enough to not jump around like a little girl when we saw him. Anyway, here are just a few pics from our fabulous night with our guys:

Who knew that over twenty years later we would still love them this much?!

The finale...Hangin Tough, of course!

You can't see it in this picture, but I was wearing my "Property of Joey" shirt and Carolyn was wearing her "Property of Jordan" shirt...yes, we own such shirts! When Jordan was walking through our section, Carolyn jumped up and down pointing to her shirt and I was pointing to her shirt, and I swear I made eye contact with him. I'm so ready to go again...I sure hope there's another tour in our future!

Ethan's Very First Birthday Party

There has been so much going on here lately…it is going to take me forever to catch this blog up! I guess I’ll start with the biggest event (and yes, this tops the New Kids concert which I promise to update you on because it rocked my socks off…ha!) Ethan had his very first birthday party!!! We just did a cookout in the backyard, thinking that would keep things simple and low-key. Ummm…not so much, but it was a great time! I was shocked at how many people traveled to be with Ethan as he celebrated this very special milestone. It meant so very much to us to have Ethan surrounded by the family and friends that love him, and that so many people really made the effort to be there.

The weekend festivities began with the arrival of Ethan’s Aunt Jeannie (Patrick’s sister) from Boston, followed by the arrival of Patrick’s Aunt Elizabeth (Ethan’s great aunt!) from Orlando the following day. Our dear friends Jennifer and Patrick Tenney, along with my absolutely precious goddaughter Morgan…more on her coming soon, I just love that little girl to pieces!...arrived on Friday as well, and we all went out for some Italian food that evening. Ethan proceeded to fling food everywhere, but I was distracted playing with Morgan and her playdough and didn’t stress it too much. I did clean up his mess before we left though! When we got back to the house I went to work setting up everything inside. I think it all turned out okay, but I was running around so much I’m not sure how many pictures I actually got of the decorations, food table, etc. I know I have several pictures of the cake though…a delicious Edible Art creation. I love their pound cake, and decided that at least for Ethan’s first birthday he needed some yummy goodness!
Getting ready to go out to dinner...Jen and I have been friends since we were 10!

Patrick manning the grill getting the burgers and hot dogs ready

The tent with some tables and chairs for outdoor seating (and Panthers flags, of course!)
The food table...I somehow completely missed the other table that had all the plates, cups, napkins, etc. Oh well!

Ethan's cake...it was sooo good!
Ethan making a silly face as we got ready to sing to him!
Eating took place in the kitchen and living room since it was super hot outside in the afternoon

Ethan with his great aunts...my Aunt Susie and Patrick's Aunt Elizabeth (and his green ball...he loves this toy and carries it around the house all the time now!)

Saturday morning was spent getting the backyard set up. We had a canopy tent with several tables and chairs for seating set up (although we didn’t really start using that area until 6 or so that night because it was so hot in the afternoon. Oh, and did I mention that the party started at 12? We were done with the birthday festivities by about 1:30 or so, but the party kept going until around 10:00 that night. Yes, this first birthday party was definitely adult-friendly!) We had Ethan’s pirate ship water table set up for the kids…it was his birthday present from mommy and daddy and so far he loves it! We also had two corn hole boards set up so that games could be going on simultaneously and ladder golf on the far side of the yard. A few people walked over to the pool since our neighborhood pool is literally a stone’s throw from our backyard and so all in all, I think (hope, anyway!) we had a little something for everyone.
Games in the backyard went well into the night
The early crowd braving the afternoon heat

Some of the pool crowd hanging out during adult swim time

A little before the start of the party, my mom (Ethan’s Nana), my sister (aka Aunt Carolyn) and her husband (the godfather) arrived from Cary, and completing the representation from my side of the family, my aunt Susie (another of Ethan’s great aunts!) and my cousin Suzanne arrived from Blacksburg, VA. Even my father made the drive from Raleigh. I’m so glad that he decided to come (he’s not around a whole lot) and it means a lot that he thought enough of building a relationship with his grandson to make sure he was there. My friend Lindsay, her husband Casey, and their little boy Graham (Ethan’s BFF – they are only 7 weeks apart and are destined to be great friends…they don’t have a choice!) made the drive from Raleigh and it was awesome finally getting to see our little boys play together. Ethan and Graham both loved his new truck, and Ethan may just have to get one to bring to Graham on one of our upcoming trips to Raleigh (if we can find one, that is. Graham loves it almost more than Ethan did!) You may recall Lindsay and I posing together throughout our pregnancies, and I think that when the time comes for number two we better do this thing together again because everybody needs a pregnant buddy to go through it all with and Lindsay was awesome! One of my closest friends, Alli, and her husband Steve made the trek from the exact opposite side of Charlotte, and I so appreciated the effort that they made to be there. Alli and I used to work together and she is one of the most thoughtful people in this world.

Our neighbors all helped us out so much (whether it was helping get the yard ready, setting up games out back, the list seems endless!) We are so very blessed that our cul-de-sac is full of people that are not just neighbors, but dear friends. Cliff and Lisa, Patrick and Amy along with their two boys, Dominic and Jacob, Bart and Kim, and Jennifer with two of her four kids, Danny and Caitlin, all came out to help Ethan celebrate. All in all, I think we had around 30 people or so…Ethan was in absolute heaven! I will never forget the first week that we were home from the hospital because all our family that was with us at the time of Ethan’s birth had gone home and nobody came back for a full five days. Now that may not sound like a lot, but ask anybody with a brand new baby, and they will tell you just how long five days with absolutely no help actually is. Without our neighbors I’m not sure how we would have made it through. They brought us meals each night (we also had meals brought in over the course of the next several weeks from some wonderful friends…so incredibly helpful!), checked in on us, and helped us keep our sanity. Their kindness during those overwhelming, exhausting days is something for which I am forever grateful. By the time our reinforcements finally arrived, Patrick and I were already getting the hang of having a newborn at home!

Back to the party…now we had already given Ethan a cake to taste during his one year photo shoot with my friend Erin (pictures coming soon, and I have to say, from the proofs I’ve already seen Erin has once again done an AMAZING job capturing this very special time) and Patrick and I gave him a cupcake on his actual birthday, so we were kind of prepared for the lack of cake smashing that was in store on party day. Ethan is a very deliberate cake eater…fingers placed in the frosting and will then lick them, picks up a piece of the actual cake and eats it….there just isn’t much smashing in this kid. Oh well! He did at least end up with frosting all over his hands, face and legs at his photo shoot so I guess that’s as close as we got this year to the “typical” cake face.

All in all, we had a great time and I know I’ve already said this, but it really meant so very much to be able to share this special day with everybody who traveled to share in Ethan’s very first birthday celebration. As the years go by I’m sure that the parties will become much more kid-centric and include his little friends and classmates, but for this year it was awesome to be surrounded by the people who have helped to make this first year of Ethan’s life so special for us.

Ethan got so many great presents, and it’s hard to determine what his actual favorite new item actually is…he has played with his music table almost every morning, he bangs on his drum and musical instruments from Graham each day, his Caterpillar truck is used ALL the time. His gerbil toy from his great aunt Elizabeth gets hugs every day...I'm not sure he knows what to do with all his newfound fun! He is soooo excited about having so many great new things to play with. I think Patrick and I decided that it is time to break down and buy a full fledged toy box to house all of his goodies.

Oh, and I guess I should update you on the events of Ethan’s actual birthday as well. Since we knew that we were going to be having Ethan’s party just a few days later we kept it pretty low key. Patrick and I stayed up pretty late the night before his birthday so that we would have the water table all set up so Ethan would see it first thing in the morning. We set it up in the kitchen, and brought him to it right after he woke up. This child LOVES, LOVES, LOVES his water table! I’ll have to post the video of him dumping water onto our kitchen floor. It was pretty funny. (This will primarily be an outside toy going forward, but we wanted him to be able to play with it right away and since it's been so hot out we sacrificed our kitchen floor for the day. Totally worth it!) Patrick and I got Ethan a special cupcake and give it to him and sang happy birthday at exactly 4:29 pm (the time he was born.) It was a pretty special moment for the three of us.
Checking out his new toy right after waking up...there wasn't even any water in it yet

He started playing with the water table immediately!

Patrick and I got cupcakes for ourselves too!

Ethan loved his cupcake...he liked the cake part more than the frosting (how is he my son?!?!)

Well, I owe you a bunch more updates (and pictures!) but I’m almost caught up on all things Ethan turns one (tear!) Coming soon…Ethan’s official one year pictures, NKOTB update, Morgan and Ethan playing – this deserves a post all its own, and Ethan’s very first beach trip. Whew! I’m exhausted just thinking about it all. Until next time...

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, ETHAN!

Happy first birthday, my precious boy! I will have Ethan's official one year pictures to share soon, pictures from his very first birthday party this weekend, and some milestone pics as well, but for now here are a few pictures of Ethan at only a few hours (yes, HOURS!) old:




And here are just a few of my favorites from his newborn photo shoot (8 days old):

Dear Ethan,

Well, baby boy, today is your very first birthday. As you grow older and celebrate each year of your life with parties and cake and friends and family, your mommy will always take a moment to remember the events that brought you into our lives on this very special day. July 26 was a day that changed all of our lives forever. This day will always be so very special to me because it was on this day that I became your mommy. What a wonderful gift that you have given me.

Although it has been an entire year, the events of this day are still so vivid in my mind. I remember waking up at 3 am and thinking that I would put a few extra items in the hospital bag, just in case the mild pain I was starting to feel was actually labor. I remember your daddy jumping out of bed and me telling him to go back to sleep because I wasn’t sure that it was really time. I remember calling the doctor’s office to let them know I thought I was having contractions, and turning around to see that your daddy had already packed up the whole car and was ready to take us to the hospital. I remember being so excited on that special day. In the days leading up to the day of your birth, mommy was really scared and nervous, but from the moment I woke up thinking that this could be it I was not scared once. I remember how quickly the time passed once we were in the hospital, and being shocked when I realized how many hours had actually passed. I remember our very first encounter – I was resting in between pushes and had no idea that you had actually come out (you never were much of a crier!) and my hand brushing something wet on my stomach. I had no idea that you had arrived! I remember the very first moments that I got to cradle you in my arms and you looked up at me with your trusting eyes and all I could think was that life could not ever get any better than it was at that exact moment in time. I remember looking over at you in your hospital bassinet the next day in complete awe of how tiny and perfect you were. That night we got some very special cuddle time, just you and me Mr. Bug, and with you all squished up in your little tree frog pose sleeping on my chest I knew that being your mommy was exactly what I was meant to do in life.

This first year together has been so wonderful. You are such a happy baby, and have been pretty easy on your daddy and I so far. You rarely cry, although as you are approaching toddlerhood you will definitely break out the tears if mommy takes something away from you that you think you need to have! You are finding your little personality more and more each day, and it is such a joy to watch you learn and discover new things. You get so excited, clap your little hands against your legs and grin from ear to ear when you want to celebrate an accomplishment.


Your very first favorite toy was your elephant rattle we named “Mo” in honor of your godsister, Morgan, who gave it to you. As a newborn, you really enjoyed spending time laying on your activity gym and staring at yourself in the mirror. You still enjoy watching yourself in the mirror, although now that you’re so active you don’t really sit still from the moment you wake up until you’re ready to go back to sleep again! Your favorite toy now is your Cars bouncy ball…you are learning to say the word “ball” and when we ask you where your ball is you will crawl all around until you are able to find where we’ve hidden it. You are learning so much so fast and it’s truly amazing to watch you figure out new things each day.

You have never really liked being held like a baby. From day one, you always wanted to be cuddled in the upright position, with your little head resting on my shoulder. You napped like this for the first six months of your life. Yes, you were cuddled for almost every nap for almost six months. I realize I established this “bad” habit, but I don’t regret one second of time that we spent cuddling like that because even now you are already too big to do that all the time. I’m so glad that we had so much bonding time together, and I hope that you will always take just a minute to give your mommy (well, I guess by the time you’re old enough to ready this I’ll just be mom…tear!) a hug. I love when you are playing and will all of a sudden reach your little arms up to me for a hug. There is nothing better than snuggles from my little gentleman!

You love splashing, and we’ve taken several trips to the pool together this summer. Bath time is lots of fun, and you’ve figured out that you can splash water over the sides of your baby tub into the big bath tub which you think is hilarious. Daddy definitely gives better baths than mommy (I think I’m all business and daddy has bath games and playing figured out!)

You are a great eater and we haven’t found a food yet that you won’t eat. Prunes were your very first favorite food (you read that correctly…prunes!) and lately you’ve taken to begging for whatever food is on my plate. I will indulge you and give you a bite or two of my food, and we’ve discovered that your favorite adult food is bread. You have some strange food tastes 

Mommy’s special nickname for you is Mr. Bug. I’m not exactly sure where it came from, but I’ve been calling you that pretty much since the day we left the hospital. I guess it encompasses all the cute little nicknames for you – cuddlebug, doodlebug, lovebug, etc. You have plenty of other nicknames already, and I’m sure you will get plenty more as the years go by, but Mr. Bug will always be your mommy’s special name for you.

I have so many favorite memories of our first year together. I’ve recorded a lot of the stories in your baby book, on my blog (which I’m going to have put into a book to have a written “journal” of the first year of your life as well), in your calendar, in countless photos and videos, but I feel so sad that so many of our everyday moments are lost in time. I don’t want to forget one single second of this year because it has truly been the most amazing year of our lives. You are such a gift to your daddy and me. I am struggling to find the right words to convey just how very much you mean to us, and how blessed we are to have you in our lives. I don’t want you to ever doubt, not for one single second, just how very loved you are. You are special, important, and you matter more to us than you will probably ever know.

As you enter your toddler years I am looking forward to seeing you grow into a little boy, although I am sad to be saying goodbye to your babyhood. I pray that you keep your easygoing nature and enjoy learning and growing all the new things that this year will bring. By the time that I write this letter next year, you will be walking and talking and I’ll probably find it hard to imagine that you were ever as small as you are right now (although at this very moment in time you seem so very grown up to me.) Your words right now consist of: mama, dada, daddy, baby and ball. You are crawling and cruising like a champion, but no independent steps yet.

As you continue to grow, I pray that you will always act with integrity, treat others with respect, put forth your best effort and maybe, just maybe, keep your cuddly, affectionate nature. I pray that you are always confident in the love that your parents have for you. Most of all, I pray that you develop a strong faith and relationship with God. I will never forget the Saturday night I sat in church praying specifically for you. (Daddy and I went to church together on Saturday nights back in those days since Daddy worked on Sunday mornings and we wanted to attend Mass together.) I prayed that if it was God’s will for me to be a mommy that it would happen and that if it was not for me to find acceptance with that as well. I was very at peace with leaving it completely in His hands (which was very hard for your control freak mommy) and just a few short days later we found out that mommy was pregnant with you. What an absolute miracle! I remember the specifics of that conversation with God and I have no doubt in my mind that you truly are a special gift from God and that He has big plans for you. I’m so blessed and honored that I get to be part of your journey.

On this, your very first birthday my tiny little love, I hope that you know how special you are. I look forward to all that the coming years will bring us as a family, and I want to thank you for being such a wonderful and incredible son. How truly wonderful life is, now that you’re in the world. I love you, my sweet Mr. Bug.

Love,
Mommy

Ethan - 11 Month Catch Up

So it looks as though I've taken a bit of a blogging hiatus, huh? I have been slammed with projects with my job, so the second I've gotten Ethan settled in for a nap or put to bed in the evening I have been working away and I haven't had much time for anything else. Don't feel too sorry for me though, because when Ethan is awake I get plenty of time to play, take him to the pool, we run errands together, etc. But the second his little eyes close and I stop being full-time mommy is when I start working at a frantic pace to try to catch up on all the assignments that are piling up. I love the work that I do, but it has been crazy busy lately. There are definitely worse problems to have though, so I'm not complaining.

I'm going to have to do a separate post with all the pictures I've been taking this month because I don't have the camera up here with me right now and since I decided to take a break from my work edits for a few minutes I think I should use this time wisely.

Ethan is into everything these days! I'm trying to think of all the cute stories I want to write down before I forget them forever and I know I'm going to leave things out. (This is so why I need to make myself do updates at least once a week, regardless of how busy I am!) Ethan still loves pointing to the ceiling fan, any overhead lights and the big clock in our dining room. He gets so proud of himself when you ask him where the fan is and he can point up at it. When we clap for him, he grins from ear to ear and claps his little hands on his legs (but not together in a traditional clap...I'm starting to figure out that Ethan likes to do things his own way for awhile before doing them like everybody else!)

His favorite toy by far is his ball that Daddy got him when they took a man trip to Target one day. If you ask him where the ball is, he will crawl around and look for it, and will even dump out his toy baskets until he locates the ball. He has starting trying to say ball, but it comes out more like "baaa." I use the sign for ball as well, but this child (so far) has absolutely no interest in learning to sign. I got him the Baby Einstein first signs DVD, and (so far) he has absolutely no interest in it either. Sigh! After hearing my friends talk about how their child can communicate with them, I got kind of excited about starting this process up with Ethan (I wasn't too sure of it myself initially) but Ethan may just decide to wait until he can talk to tell me what's up. I'm not going to rush it though, because he is already growing up way too fast and if it was up to me I would keep him as a little baby forever!

The funniest thing happened the other night. Patrick was holding Ethan and he kept holding his arms out for me to hold him. I gave in and took him for a minute and when I handed him back to Patrick (alas, I had to go get some editing done) he looked up at me and said "help." Now I'm sure that he had absolutely no idea what he was saying, but Patrick and I both clearly heard "help" and have been laughing about it ever since.

Ethan has started showing an interest in his blankets and pretty much anything that is soft. If he's sitting down, he'll pull a blanket into his lap and collapse forward so that he is nuzzling the blanket. It is so cute! He is showing some mild interest in some of his lovies, but no serious attachments have been made yet. We'll see if this child is ever attached to anything besides his pacifiers! (He is only allowed his pacis in the crib or his car seat, but he sleeps with a pacifier in his mouth and one in each hand...we call him the paci king when he is asleep!)

I took Ethan to Raleigh last weekend to visit with my mom and sister, and head to a massive consignment sale with my good friend Lindsay. We hit the jack pot on good deals! For $100, I came away with a ride on bouncing turtle toy, a bouncing pony toy that hooks into the TV so he'll be able to play games as he gets older (I haven't given him that toy yet), a Pooh talking telephone, three Baby Einstein DVDs (alas, he has zero interest in them yet, so I'm going wait and try to introduce them again in a month or so to see if I have any better luck then), a winter coat, 5 sweaters and some jeans (all in great shape and good brands - I won't buy any junk!), a music table and a few other small items. I was going to get him the music table for his birthday, and in the store it was $45, so finding all this for $100 made it worth the time spent waiting in line!

On Monday we met with my friend Erin to do Ethan's one year photo shoot. I am in denial that my baby is almost one. He had a great time and even got to smash a cake at the very end. He was very deliberate about sticking his fingers in the icing and then licking them...there was no crazy smashing going on like I expected. He did manage to get his heel stuck in the cake as he was attempting to crawl away from it so that was pretty funny. I am so looking forward to seeing how the pics turned out...Ethan kept crawling all around instead of posing so I'm crossing my fingers that he gave Erin something to work with. He's a crazy man these days!

Last night Patrick and I installed Ethan's big boy carseat in the car. No more baby bucket! I had really been looking forward to switching the seats since I thought it would be a lot easier to get Ethan in and out of the car, but since we are following the recommendation to keep him rear facing until age 2 (he can face forward at 1, but since it is recommended to face backwards for another year I'm going to keep his seat facing the back of the car for the time being...we may not make it all the way to 2 though before we turn it around) there's not a whole lot of difference in the process of strapping Ethan into the seat. He is in heaven being able to look all around in his new seat though! If he loves it this much now, I can only imagine what he'll think when he is actually able to face forward like a normal person. Of course I was emotional about putting away his baby carseat...we brought him home from the hospital in that seat!

Well, like I said, I have tons of Ethan updates to add and I am out of time since I only allowed myself a small break right now to start catching up. I will have lots more to add, and I'm working on Ethan's one year post as well. I decided that each year on his birthday I want to write Ethan a letter. I'll probably share this year's here (since this is kind of like my journal anyway) but my plan is to keep all his letters together with his baby book so that one day he will have not only a record of his milestones and achievements, but words from his parents to know just how very loved he is each day of his life. I really want my son to grow up feeling safe, secure and confident in his parent's love for him. I think that is the best gift I can give him. So on that note, until Tuesday....(tears, tears!)

Ethan - 11 Months

My baby is growing up...FAST! Patrick and I were just talking the other night about how in the course of just a week Ethan seemed to grow up. He is less and less like a baby and more and more like a toddler each day. While I am loving this stage (he is so interactive and has such a funny little personality) it is extremely bittersweet because I just want to hang on to these last bits of his babydom for as long as possible. Please can't I just keep him just like this forever?!

He has finally mastered the art of real crawling (in addition to his love affair with the army crawl.) I was starting to think that he was never going to do the real crawl (since evidently I was content to just army crawl until I walked) but this past week Ethan decided that real crawling was a pretty good way to get around. He'll switch between real and army crawling, but I have to say that the real crawl is a lot cuter than the army crawl. That one looks painful at times (and he has gotten the bruises on his forearms to prove it!)

Ethan insists on standing whenever possible. He will pull up on anything! That being said, he doesn't like to practice walking with us holding his hands. He is just not at all interested. He'll cruise all around the furniture and can crawl at a pretty fast pace, but walking with mommy or daddy is evidently just not cool. When I hold his little hands he will either try to get me to let go or he'll go limp so he can sit down and then he's off again. If he didn't cruise all the time I would be worried about this, but he "walks" all the time holding onto furniture so I'm not going to push it. Alas, he has already started trying to be independent. Doesn't he realize that he will be my baby forever?!

His favorite game right now is to pull everything off a shelf, out of a drawer, out of a basket, etc. and then start giving the items to Patrick or I. He will hand us an item and then get this huge smile on his face and start clapping and yelling excitedly...he is so proud of himself! Of course, we induldge him and clap and give him lots of "great job!" and "thank yous!" to encourage him. I wasn't paying attention one time and he handed me a stuffed animal and when I didn't immediately join in the excitement poor little guy looked confused. I made up for it with a big reaction and all was forgiven. If only it could stay this easy forever...ha!

Ethan still insists on trying to get into the crawl position while on his changing table. I keep waiting for him to grow out of this, but unfortunately, this is one bad habit that is still around. Trying to get a diaper back on him is nearly impossible at times! I was starting to think it was the actual process of changing the diaper (which he has never minded, even as an infant) so I laid him up there fully clothed to see what happened. You guessed it, he tried to flip over immediately and was so upset when I wouldn't let him try crawling around up there. Mercy! I can distract him with a toy (momentarily) or funny faces (for a second) but he will go right back to it the second I don't have him fully engaged. The only thing that seems to give me any sort of reprieve is our clothes game. When I take off his shorts I'll hold them up and look through the leg hole at his face...he thinks this game is hilarious! After I do this a few times I will change his diaper at breakneck speed while he is busy holding the shorts over his face and peeking through the leg hole to find me.

He is so active...I don't know how I'm going to be able to keep up as he gets older! Just today he emptied the contents of the bottom shelf of the pantry (primarily canned goods), scattered the entire tupperware drawer over the kitchen, dumped the cats water bowl all over himself, in addition to all of our regular playtime activities.

We've been keeping busy this past week, and here are a few pictures from Ethan's first time at the lake:

Aunt Carolyn (he loves her so much!)
Warming up with Daddy

Uncle Brian holding Ethan (poor Uncle Brian still hasn't quite figured out how to hold a baby...but he has gotten a lot better since Ethan's baptism if you want to revisit that post for comparison!) Ethan loves Uncle Brian, but he wasn't too thrilled to be held by him.

The Strain family - we have so few pics of the three of us together!

This past Thursday Patrick, Ethan and I drove to his dad's house to spend the day. Ethan's cousins were in town too, so we FINALLY got a picture of all four boys together:

Bailey (the oldest) was so attentive to Ethan and made sure that he was well taken care of. Bradley gave Ethan a high five but was otherwise pretty content to watch his Disney channel show and play with his Nintendo (well, some sort of handheld electronic device...I am not up on what is hip in the gaming world) and Ben (the youngest) was very sweet trying to play with Ethan. He even put away all his cars so Ethan wouldn't try to eat them and choke. Patrick gave the older boys a golf lesson with his dad while Chris, Ethan, Ben and I went to the pool. Here are a few pics from the day:

Cuddling with Daddy once the boys made it down to the pool after their golf lesson

Ethan showing off his tummy!

Hanging out with Grandpa

It was impossible to get him to smile at this point...he was so ready for a nap!

Ethan has really enjoyed the pool and loves playing in his float. His favorite activity (surprise, surprise) is splashing like crazy and kicking himself around. I'm so glad he loves the water, because I've really enjoyed being able to walk over to our neighborhood pool during the week with him. We'll take him to the beach for the first time in about a month, and I cannot wait!

My next door neighbor had the tumor in his brain removed this past Tuesday and he is already home from the hospital. That is such a huge praise!!!! He did not have stroke while the doctors were operating which they were prepared for. The doctors were also able to remove more of the tumor than they had anticipated. Again, a huge praise! The tumor is being analyzed now and that will determine the next steps. Please keep praying. If the tumor is benign that would be the best news possible. I am so thankful that everything is going so well right now, and pray that this family continues to receive good news...they need it!

An awful week...

This past week has brought such a mix of emotions. It seems that every time I turn around there is more bad news being delivered.

My next door neighbors need to be lifted up in prayer right now. In the course of a week this family has faced more hardship than most do over the course of several years. The husband has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, the wife's grandmother suffered two heart attacks, and her mother passed away. All in one week. They have four children and how they are managing to keep it together is beyond me. I know that God blesses us with strength and provides us with the comfort and grace we need to face any situation, and I am so thankful that they have a strong faith and support system right now. Today is the visitation at the funeral home for her mother, tomorrow the doctors are operating on her husband's brain tumor and Thursday is her mother's funeral. Please pray for this family. Pray that the surgery goes well, that the doctors are able to remove the tumor, that there is a good prognosis and that the children are doing okay as well. We started a meal sign up for them and the response has been overwhelming. They have meals coming every single day for the next several weeks. Every. Single. Day. I get emails when people sign up and it has brought me to tears to see the responses. Please just pray for this family...they were such a blessing to us when Ethan was born and did so much to help make that period of transition easier on us. We had no family in town at all that first week we were home from the hospital and our neighbors took care of us as though we were family. Our cul-de-sac is full of so many special people and I am so grateful that we are all so close. This family needs everybody praying right now.

These issues seem like nothing compared to what this family is facing, but our air conditioning unit broke down this past weekend and $800 later the leak is fixed. Bah humbug! My other neighbor lost his job this past week and the situation sounds pretty ugly. Please pray for them to find some resolution and a new job quickly. They are wonderful people (again, good friends who are like family to us) and it's scary when you are facing such uncertainty. I have two other friends who are both having a very difficult time right now and need our prayers. I don't want to go into any specifics, but if you could just pray for them they are both facing difficult situations right now and are in need of comfort.

In light of all the struggles that those around me are facing right now, I want to take a moment to really reflect on all the blessings that I have in my life. I have a loving husband who for better or for worse, is truly my partner in life. We have our ups and downs (let's keep it real) but I truly love him more today than I did in those early lovey-dovey days and our relationship continues to grow and strengthen. We have been blessed with a wonderful son who is the light of our lives. Ethan is such a gift and I sometimes find myself looking at him, in awe of the fact that I get to be his mommy. Despite all of my flaws and shortcomings, this little boy loves me unconditionally. We have an entourage of kitties that make us laugh and smile on a daily basis. The things that these cats do...they're nuts and I love every minute of it. I love our home. While there are times that I wish it was bigger, fancier, had this or that, etc. we have a roof over our heads, fantastic neighbors, and our home is truly a place of comfort for us. I didn't grow up in a peaceful home and I remember wishing from a very young age that I could hurry up and be old enough to move out because it was so miserable. I am blessed that now home is where I am happiest. I could keep going for all the things in my life for which I am thankful (and I might have to continue this at a later date, because putting it all in perspective like this is really helpful) but for now I'm going to run. I hope that this week brings some good news to those around me because last week was one for the record books.