Summer has Begun!!

Ethan and his friend Mia

Our bedtime routine includes Duck, Bear, and a book

Ethan has learned to smile for the camera- here he's "helping" Pete put together our new deck furniture- helping meaning crawling in and out of the various pieces!

Last week we put the high chair away and Ethan is officially sitting at the table with us.  You can't see it very well, but my mom got him a bee towel that goes over his head and he insists on wearing it for every meal.

Ethan was very excited to wake up and find the deck chairs all put together.  He asked that one of the chairs be brought into the T.V room so that he could use it to watch his morning Sesame Street.

Summer has officially begun for us!  We have visited our local beach most days since we returned from our stay in CT.  Ethan is definitely a beach baby.  He is completely unphased by the frigid water temperatures and runs right into the water.  His favorite thing to do at the beach is push his dump truck into the water, fill it up, and dump it out on the sand.  We do this over and over again.  The other thing that he likes to do is check out (and by "check out" I mean knock over) other kids sand creations- hills, castles, holes, whatever it is, he likes to run over and destroy!  I know that he's just a little guy and that this so normal, but I spend a lot of our beach time steering him away from sand creations.  I am certain that by next year he'll be the one building and there will be plenty of little ones knocking down his castles! 

My other favorite thing that Ethan is doing these days is singing along with music.  He doesn't really sing the words.  He either hums, which is too adorable for words, or he sings, "do, do, do" along with the music.  The other night Pete, Ethan, and I were hanging out getting ready for dinner and we had The Beatles playing.  The song Good Day Sunshine came on and clear as anything Ethan sang, "Day, Sunshine!!"  Pete and I looked at each other and smiled.  If we do nothing else right as parents, at least we know our kid can sing The Beatles!

Ethan is still talking up a storm.  His language is so clear and he knows SO many words.  I'm impressed every time I ask what something is and he knows the answer.  I'm so thankful that he has such great language skills because I think it really cuts down on temper tantrums.  He can ask for help when he's having trouble, he kisses his own boo boos when he gets "pinched" (his word, not mine!) and he tells us when he wants to go "night night."  I know that I say I have loved every age and stage, but this one is so cool.  It's amazing to hear what he is thinking and what he knows, and it's only going to get better!

I promise to get some beach pictures up next week.  Hopefully we'll have some good beach weather this weekend and I'll have an extra set of hands (Pete) to help out with Ethan so I can snap a few pics.  After an hour of running around the beach with Ethan alone I am exhausted and have realized that there is no hope of me actually taking my eyes off of him to grab my camera- he's a busy little guy!

Thanks for reading and enjoy the 4th of July weekend!

Beating the Heat!

Ethan and Kelly (my cousin's daughter)

Hanging out on the beach

Here is the difference between girls and boys.  My cousin sits her little girl down and Kelly stays there playing with sand.  Ethan however, pops up and runs directly into the water and is soaked from head to toe!  I think he was just as surprised as I was!

First time having cotton candy... "what is this stuff?"

"Not too bad"

"How much of this stuff can I get in my mouth at one time??!!"

Dada, Ethan, and Barley check out the planes at Waveny Park

New dump truck!

It's been so hot in CT, that Ethan decided that standing and playing at his water table wasn't cool enough- why not climb in and take a dip?

We've continued to enjoy our stay in Connecticut.  Ethan loves getting to see all of his grandparents regularly and has been loving the freedom of the warm weather to run, swim, and play.  I've been having a great time bringing Ethan to places that I remember going to as a kid. 

Ethan has been talking up a storm.  His speech is pretty clear and he is really good at expressing his wants and needs without too many tantrums (I know that we're not out of the woods yet!)  He is beginning to understand so much and is getting to the point where I can talk to him, and he gets it.  For example, there is a local dairy store near my parents house called Stew Leonards.  We took Ethan there last year, and he was terrified of a (fake) cow that mooed really loudly. Ever since then, when we pulled into the parking lot he would scream and scream, and wouldn't stop until we left the store.  The other day, we had to go there to pick up a few things, so I started to prep him by telling him the cow was all gone and there was nothing to worry about. We talked about it a lot.  When we got to the store, he was a little nervous but proceeded to tell anyone who would listen to him that, "Moo, all gone"  We got through the store happily, avoiding the cow, and now we can go back and he just reassures himself that the cow is gone.  I just think it's so cool that he understands so much and trusts me when I tell him it's okay.

We've been trying to stay cool in this crazy heat.  We've spent a lot of time playing with the hose, splashing in the water table, and most recently, swimming in the pool.  Ethan has been taking the heat in stride and actually doesn't seem to be too bothered by it.  This is a good thing, as the season just beginning to heat up!

Thanks for reading!

Catching Up! Ethan 21 Months

Ethan is beginning to understand that crayons are for coloring- not for eating!

Ethan loves helping us in the kitchen- here he's helping Dada make pad thai

Visiting the museum with Grandma and Grandpa Y

Big kid, helping to peel the corn

He takes his job very seriously!

Trying out our new car from Uncle Ken and Auntie Melissa

Helping Dada and Papa build the deck around the pool

Ethan loved the Memorial Day parade

So very patriotic!

Keeping cool at the water table

Dada and Ethan watch the giraffes at the Bronx Zoo

Butterfly House at the zoo

Everyone got in on the act of flattening out the liner in the pool while it filled

Ethan was wet from head to toe and couldn't get enough "pool" time!

We're back!   I know it's been a long while since I posted- thus the large numbers of pictures this week!  We have been in CT for the past two weeks.  Ethan has been loving the summer like weather!  We've been loving it as well because Ethan is so active during the days, he is taking long naps, and sleeping like a log at night! 

As you can see from the pics, we've been staying very busy.  We are having a blast with Ethan.  He has the greatest personality- able to go with the flow, but can also express what he wants and needs.  Now that he is getting older, I'm finding it more difficult to find words to sum him up in a blog.  When he was a baby, it was easy to post a picture, and say he's gotten two more teeth or he took his first steps.  But now, Ethan is so much more than a photo.  He is this incredible little person, who is funny, and thoughtful, and sweet.  He loves to snuggle and give kisses.   He loves to push his trucks all over the yard.  He really gets a kick out of helping out- especially in the kitchen.  He is just so much fun to be around!

Enjoy the pics, and when life slows down a bit (does it ever?) I'll be back to blogging regularly. 

Thanks for reading!