Catching up! November and December pics

Sam and Ethan- playing with Thomas is serious stuff!

Molly and Ethan

Ethan's first "train ride."  We rode the subway in Boston with Sam, Andrea, and Joel

Sharing noodles at one of my favorite restaurants called Wagamama

Thanksgiving- eating Thomas cake

Grandpa George's trains were a big hit with the kids at Thanksgiving

"The big city"  Riding the ferris wheel in Toys R Us- Time Square

FAO Schwartz

Shockingly enough, Ethan loved the trains at Schwartz!

Ethan takes the "Big Piano" for a spin

Thanksgiving Day Parade with Grandma and Papa

Ethan's first movie- he loved being one of the big kids with his cousins

Ethan and Daddy found the perfect tree

Ethan helps Auntie cut down the tree

A successful trip!

5 months pregnant- for those who haven't heard, we're having a BOY!

Ethan loved decorating the tree

Daddy and Ethan set up the trolley under the tree

Murphy the puppy pays us a visit- now Ethan says he,"Would love to have a puppy!"  Poor Barley!!

Ethan has graduated to a big boy bed!

Checking out his new Thomas blanket

Here are pictures from the month of November and a few from the past week.  As you can see, we've had lots of adventures!  Enjoy the pics!

Halloween and Snow!

Checking out the pumpkins at Beans

More pumpkins (notice the nasty scrapes on Ethan's nose- he fell of a chair face first at a family reunion the weekend before)

These pumpkins lined the streets of Freeport

Hard at work carving those pumpkins

Ethan loved the "guts"  so much that once we had scraped out his pumpkin, he put them all back in it again!

The finished products- Ethan really wanted a kitty pumpkin this year-

Saturday night the snow begins to fall- we're outside of LL Bean in this pic and Ethan continues to tell us that he loves the snow.  Here he is trying to catch snowflakes in his mouth.

Sunday morning!

We got outside and explored our yard- I think Ethan is going to much more enthusiastic about playing in the snow this year.

What's better than a big bowl of "home popped" popcorn and a Thomas show after playing in the snow?!

Our little skunk

Ethan got the hang of trick or treating very quickly!

check out the tail!

Daddy and Ethan on the hunt for more sweets

  We couldn't believe how much stamina Ethan had!  We trick or treated in downtown Freeport for almost 2 hours, went out for pizza, and he still wanted to walk to the car by himself afterwards!

What an exciting weekend we had!  We started off by heading to LL Bean on Saturday night.  They have a big pumpkin festival every year with over 5,000 Jack O' Lanterns.  Initially Ethan was completely fascinated by the pumpkins, but then it began to snow and the pumpkins were no competition!  He was so excited that he kept telling us that he loved the snow and didn't want to go home because he needed to stay in the snow.  We promised that there would still be snow in the morning when he woke up, but I'm not sure he was convinced!

Obviously, Sunday morning the snow was indeed still here (but the power wasn't and Pete was away- I was slightly freaked out about the idea of being stuck here in snow with no power and a two year old, but happily it came back on around 10 am!)  Ethan was eager to get out and explore.  He was so eager to get out that he didn't even protest wearing snow pants and mittens.  We tromped around the yard, eating snow, and looking at our footprints.  Ethan loved every second!

Once we were inside and had shed our gear, I decided to take out the popcorn maker and show Ethan how we make popcorn.  He was totally into it!  I'm realizing that as he gets older, I like hanging out with him.  That's not to say that I didn't like being with him before, but it was super fun to pop popcorn with him, and snuggle on the couch under a blanket watching cartoons and have him understand that what we were doing was something special and out of the ordinary.

Monday was Halloween and we talked all day about how when Daddy came home, we were going to get our costume on and go trick or treating.  Downtown Freeport hosts a really fun Halloween.  All of the stores hand out candy, which is great for little ones like Ethan because it's not a hugely long walk from store to store.  Anyway, Ethan was soooooo excited when he saw all of the kids dressed up, and got right into the trick or treating spirit.  I'm not sure who had more fun in the end- Pete and I getting to experience Halloween through Ethan's eyes, or Ethan himself!

October visits with Friends and Family

Grayson and Ethan making music in the kitchen

A walk on the beach

Grandma got Ethan this huge elephant...

Clearly, Ethan is in love

G Ma and Grandpa George took Ethan to the Childrens' Museum- he loved every exhibit- especially the big legos

An important lesson!

We visited the zoo with Grandma and Papa- Ethan had a visitor in the butterfly garden

I couldn't believe how gentle Ethan was with this butterfly- he was in awe!

Ethan has not been a "rider" as of yet, but he LOVED the Merry Go Round and rode it four times! He was very specific about wanting to ride the "blue beatle"

A day at the zoo wouldn't be complete without a souvenir!

As you can see, we've just returned from visit to see our friends Ben, Lauren, and their little guy, Grayson in Cape Cod, and then down to CT for the week to visit with the grandparents.  As you can probably also tell, Ethan had a great time and was kept super entertained all week long! 

A few cute stories from the weekend- we haven't mentioned much to Ethan about Santa Claus, figuring he was still a little too young to really get it yet.  One day last week, we were looking at Thomas trains and Ethan was pointing out the ones that he really liked.  I mentioned that maybe Santa Claus would bring him one of those toys and explained that Santa brings toys to little girls and boys.  We didn't mention it again, but apparently this really stuck with him.  The next day, he was looking at a book with cars, and looked up at me and said, "Mama, maybe Santa will bring me this car!"  He is too funny!  He knows the exact trains that he would like Santa to bring.  I told him we were going to a friend's house, and he replied, "I don't want to go to that house, I want to go to Santa's house!"  This Christmas is going to be so much fun!  I love that we'll get to make it magical for him, just like our parents did for us.

Yesterday we visited our midwife for a regular baby check (this is a new practice for us and our first official visit and we loved it!)  Anyway, Ethan came along and the midwife was so great with him.  We've talked a little to Ethan about the idea that there is a baby in my belly, so lots of times, he'll lift my shirt and put his pacifier on my belly (so cute!)  Yesterday, the midwife had a special stool for him to stand on and he got to squeeze the gel that they use when they listen to the heartbeat, and push the button to start the doppler. Once we heard the ,"thump, thump, thump"  Ethan stood back, with his hands in his pockets, and got the biggest smile on his face!  It was really great to be able to involve him in the visit, and see his reaction!  Now he tells us that he too has a baby in his belly!!

We are looking forward to lots of fun Halloween festivities this weekend!  More pictures next week- though I don't know if they'll be pictures of trick or treating, or of sledding!!

Friends and Funny Toddler Talk

Ethan's "babies" consist of steamrollers, diggers, and dump trucks- by the way, this is his face when he says, "cheese" these days!

Ethan and Sam open their birthday presents

The boys on the search for pumpkins in the patch

Tractor ride- apparently very serious stuff!

For some reason, Ethan loves bales of hay- he was super excited to see one up close

He claimed it for his own!

Lately, Ethan has been setting up his stuffed animals on the couch under the blanket with him.  He discusses the current episode of "Thomas the Train" that they are watching- maybe he'll be happy to have a brother or sister to chat with!

We had a great weekend with our Boston friends, Andrea, Joel, Sam, and Otis (the dog).  We did tons of playing, and visited a local farm to ride a tractor and pick out pumpkins.  The boys had lots of fun, and little by little, they are playing together, rather than just next to each other.  So much fun to watch them grow and develop together!

Ethan continues to be a little character.  This week, he has begun to correct us if we read something in a book that he considers to be wrong.  For example, when we read his truck book, and I point out an excavator, he'll reply, "No Mama, that's NOT an excavator, that's a digger!"  He is very clear that he knows what he is talking about, and that I clearly don't!

I've also realized this week, that he takes our directions to heart.  He has a crane toy that goes with his Thomas set.  When he first got it, he would carry it around by the string, and we would tell him to hold it differently so that it wouldn't break.  The other day, I was holding the crane, apparently the wrong way.  Ethan looked at me and said, "Mama, please hold Cranky by the neck, not the string!"  I guess I can't fault him for correcting me!  He's too funny!

Ethan's sleep habits (unfortunately) are just like mine.  The minute he wakes up he is wide awake.  This morning at 4:30 am he sat up in our bed and said, "Mama, I need my nuk please"  As I fumbled around in the dark, feeling for his pacifier, he said, "It's probably in the nuk bowl" (our nuk bowl is where the nuks are stored when it's not bedtime)  Hearing him use words like "probably" and "maybe" sound so adult to me and it's amusing to hear Ethan use these words appropriately and with such ease!  If his vocabulary sounds like this at two, I can't even fathom what he'll be saying at three- I may have to carry a dictionary around to keep up with him!

Finally, I love observing the way that Ethan's two-year-old mind works.  Once he was awake this morning (at 4:30) it took him a looooong time to fall back to sleep. I kept telling him it was still dark and time to sleep.  After chatting away about his cousins, his aunt, swimming, and various toys, he finally drifted back off to sleep.  When he woke up this morning, he looked at the ceiling and said, "The house is big, it's not dark anymore"  I'm guessing that in his mind, when it's dark things are small, but once it's light out, everything feels big again.  These little toddlers are amazing!!

Shelling beans at The Common Ground Fair

My little cabbage

Bare foot and happy playing with hula hoops at the fair

Hay!

Ethan loved running through the fields at the apple orchard with Aunt Mookie and me

Apple sling shot- way cool!

Ethan took a load off while apple picking

He loved driving the tractor- we had to bribe him off with kettle corn!

This is how Fowlers camp- rain or shine- Ethan was completely oblivious to the weather!

The boys tend the fire

A little entertainment with Uncle Bob

Jack, Ethan, and Marshall are making "stew"

Grandma and her babies

Here are some shots from the last couple of weeks.  We're staying busy and Ethan enjoys even the most mundane things- going to the grocery store or the library is a huge adventure in his world.  So our annual VT camping trip in the rain was the best thing ever!  He loved being with his cousins and wanted to do everything that they were doing.  He wanted to break sticks and put them in the fire, help set up tents, and spread out tarps.  He was a great little camper and I'm sure we have a lot of trips in our future- hopefully ones that have a little more sun!

Ethan has always been a snuggler, but as his language develops, it's really cute to hear him express his affection.  Lately he has been saying, "I wuv you Mama" without being prompted.  Or he'll tell Pete, "I need a kiss" and will say, "Thanks" after we oblige him.  It's so nice to hear him express his feelings for us- makes those tantrums a little more bearable!

Thanks for reading!