Birthday Boy

It's hard to believe that 12 short months ago, our baby boy started out here...

and now is here...
We celebrated with a triple party at the Hickory Ridge Spray Park joined by 2 other birthday buddies in our Sunday School class, Reid and Keller. Cupcakes were had by all!

The guests of honor started out in a little pool that Keller's Mom and Dad were smart enough to bring. Keller and Reid are in the pool with Ethan and little Claire is helping Reid as he attempts to escape.

Soon our little man got adventurous and started rambling about through the sprinklers and fountains. Needless to say, Mommy, Daddy, and Ms. Kristin got soaked chasing after him. He had an absolute blast splashing through the puddles and getting sprayed!

After splashing around, it was time to sing Happy Birthday and dig into some special cupcakes for the birthday babies!

Yummy!

We love you, Birthday Boy! You have made Mommy and Daddy's dreams come true!

I'm THAT Mom

Several years ago, I was sitting in a parent-teacher conference discussing my concerns about one of my students while the child's mother entertained her 9 month old with a piece of notebook paper. As the baby in her arms proceeded to EAT the piece of notebook paper while she paid no attention to him, I couldn't help but think, "Oh my goodness, I will never be so inattentive as a parent that I would let my child do that!" I let the mom know what was happening and she, of course, did the finger sweep and looked appropriately embarrassed. That event made a lasting impression on me and I still think back on it to this day. Well, at least up until today...

I'm that mom! Since Ethan has been born, I have always tried to do our big grocery shopping after Ben is home from work and Ethan is in bed. Today, I decided that we would venture out and attempt this feat together. I was prepared with toys, sippy cup, and snacks. He did GREAT, I am so proud of him! He only tried to crawl out of the cart once and even started talking about the time we got to aisle 14. That was also the point that he decided he had had enough of his distractions and started throwing everything that I attempted to give him on the floor. Even so, he was a terrific shopper and I was finished. As I was unloading the cart to quickly get checked out, I placed the notepad that had my grocery list on it beside Ethan. The next thing I hear is the nice lady behind me say to him, "Does that taste good?" I then look up to see that he has a wad of paper in his mouth! As I was doing the finger sweep at that very instant all I could think was "I'm THAT mom from the parent conference!"

As a mom, I now realize there are going to be times in my life when I am going to wish that the only thing I have to worry about is paper in my child's mouth. As a mom, I also now have a very hard time judging other moms for I do not know their character nor their circumstances. It's amazing how God uses events in your life to teach you lessons even years after it has made an impression. I am so thankful that he is a forgiving God.

First Birthday

Even though Ethan's official birthday isn't for a few more days, we had a small birthday party on July 4th when family was in town. I can't believe it has almost been a year! It seems like it was just yesterday we were welcoming him home from the hospital!

I'm not sure why, but this picture is turned. I promise it wasn't like that when I uploaded it! Anyway, this is the cute cake that my friend, Paige, made for him.

He did NOT like the birthday hat!



Although he didn't know what to think of his little smash cake at first, he quickly figured it out!

And Uncle Chad's Cozy Coupe was a complete hit! We ride in it every day!

My great uncle, Jim, was in town for the birthday celebration and Ethan was absolutely fascinated with him! I think Uncle Jim was a bit smitten as well. They were thick as thieves! That says a lot for a little boy that truly accepts only a handful of people into his world.

This weekend, we will have a triple birthday celebration with 2 other friends, Reid and Keller. Reid is 3 hours older than Ethan and Keller is 1 week younger than he is. Fun times ahead!!

Hawaii

Ben and I just returned from a wonderful week in Hawaii with great friends! This was our first venture away from Ethan. Prior to this trip, we had never been away from him for even one night. So we were both worried about how not only he would adjust but also how we would handle being away from him. After hearing his giggles on the phone, we knew we had nothing to worry about and Mimi had it all under control. So, we sat back and enjoyed our trip...here are a few of the more than 400 pictures we took.

The awesome view from our balcony

A 5 a.m. sunrise at 30,000 feet atop Haleakala. It was a toasty 40 degrees.

Our group after biking down a volcano. I made it half-way, then decided to relax and ride the rest of the way down.

A sunset dinner at fabulous Mama's Seafood!

Ben playing a Kapalua's PGA course

Snorkeling on the Pride of Maui

Ben learning to surf

The Diesch's and the Le's learning the Hula

A gorgeous view from our sunset dinner cruise

A visit to the 7 sacred pools




While there was a small twinge that we hoped that Ethan was home missing us, we soon realized that he was having the time of his life with Mimi and Ms. Kristin...As evidenced by the numerous picture messages we received of our baby boy having a blast at home.

He spent his week...

Playing in his water table

Playing with his push toys outside

Playing in the tunnel at the park

Swinging at the park

And playing in his pool (Thanks Kara!!)

It was great to know that he was so entertained while we were gone. I'm not sure if he even knew that we weren't there! He has been in great spirits ever since we got home and only Mommy and Daddy know how much they missed him! Not to mention how much he grew while we were gone! Before we left he was walking 4-5 steps at a time and now he's walking across the house. Before we left, we were working on waving bye-bye and now he's clapping and playing Pat-A-Cake. All in 1 week!! That will show Mommy and Daddy!