IBM Fun 5K Walk

This morning we all got up at the crack of dawn to go walk a 5k and have a little fun with our friends at work. We met Tracey and Nina at 8:15 and started our walk with kids and strollers at 9. We did the 5k in 54 minutes and then got back and had some great fun at the rec center. They did it up great for the kids with soccer kicks, fun races, bouncing houses, dragon tunnels, miniature golf and a huge slide (which Jeff and Ethan almost came down backwards). Nina and Ethan had such a great time! Ethan's favorite was the dragon and the snow cone and cotton candy. He remembers events in terms of the food eaten so I am sure this one will go down in history. I think he also loved the bus ride over to the rec center and back.

The chasing game

We can now upload video to our blog...how cool if only I could figure it out. We took this high adventure clip with our camera though so no guarantees on overall quality. It does come with an express warning that it may cause sudden spells of dizziness. See, Ethan absolutely loves to have Daddy chase him around the house and just laughs and laughs. The problem is that our house has 2 complete loops you can make on the first floor. What smarty designed that knowing we would have toddlers in the house? Uh...nevermind. Anyway, Ethan likes it more when you hide and jump out and scare him. Go figure!

http://www.radiantweb.com/movies/thechase.mov if the video doesn't work for you!

Christopher leaves us

The last few days have been bittersweet. We have packed a great amount of fun things in but it all leads to one end...the summer is over and Christopher goes back to Oregon. Ethan won't take off Christopher's hand me down golf glove and Christopher put him to bed tonight and read him his stories. It was really sweet.

We had a great day today with a nice family breakfast and then bowling again this afternoon. Jeff and I then took Christopher to a special Thai dinner and we had a great time trying sushi and new dishes. Grandma watched the younger two boys and when we came home, we all played a few hands of poker. Ethan wouldn't let Grandma part with any of her coins and would cry if she tried to use them. Jason was a great dealer but appeared to get bored near the end (see the photos). All the coins went back into the community poker bag since we don't really gamble with our kids. It would take more money to buy a poker set than the 6 dollars in spare change we keep around for the game. :-)

Going to the park

One of Ethan's most favoritie things to do is go the Kelly Road Park in Apex. The schoolchildren of Apex helped to plan and design it and it is called Kidstowne. The place was built by community volunteers in 1999 and has one side dedicated to 2-4 year olds and the other for 5 and up. It has all the traditional playground features -- swings (which Ethan hates all of a sudden), slides, tunnels -- but also includes structures specific to Apex: trains, boats, bridges and castles. There are even some musical elements and sandboxes, walking trails, tennis courts, picnic tables and a basketball court for the older "kids" like Jeff and Christopher. Jason and I hang out at the shelter and watch as Daddy becomes a slide monster and chases Ethan down the slides (much to his delight as you can see below). There is also a picture of Daddy helping him use the backhoe in the sand pit.

Bowling

Another scorcher here...although the week of 100s is over the 95s are feeling just as bad by late afternoon. This morning we had a nice breeze though so Ethan and I went "golfing" in the back yard. I put the word in quotes because you can't really call what he does golf but he really tries and managed to hit one 30 feet or so. Ken, Serena, Jordan and Logan started him on this passion and here are a few pics of him with his first putter. Notice the stance is not what you would expect when using a putter.



While Jeff painted our new shed and Christopher pretended to help, I took the two little ones inside for lunch and a nap. Lunch went okay with Ethan having some fun with a PB&J and wearing most of it while singing the PB&J song with me. He couldn't stop talking about the party. Jason ate his “hormula” as Ethan says it. Nap time was a bit harder. I thought it would be great to all lay down in our bed so I could monitor them both. They, however had other ideas and it took about an hour to get everyone settled in. And let me tell you, I passed out as soon as they did. It was 90 minutes of pure bliss. Jeff found us just as I was starting to stir and took a pic. Thanks honey.



Once we were all awake, we took on the huge task of getting everyone out the door. We went bowling. We played 2 games and had some pizza and lemonade at the alley before going food shopping, and returning home to clean the barn, feed horses, do laundry etc. I still haven’t decided when we actually get to sit down. Bath time, bed times, and it is now 11 pm and I am just done with all my Sunday tasks. I wouldn’t have changed a minute of today though. Ethan adored golfing and bowling and we got to spend so much of our day together doing fun things. Jason was a perfect angel just taking it all in. The perfect cap to our weekend. I feel like the days go so fast and there just isn’t enough time to make those little mental notes about the funny things he says, our special night time routine, and all the things that make having him so incredible. He loves butterfly kisses (must be given on both ears), Twinkle Twinkle (he shouts “like a diamond in the sky”), he repeats saying “no more talkin” when I tell him to shhh in bed at night. We make tents out of the sheet to try and encourage him to keep the covers on. It doesn’t really work. He ends up laying across the pillows with all his babies stuffed under him, his classical music playing softly in the background. I want to file all these little things away…cherish the smiles he brings and the laughter in his big blue eyes. Good night my son, my love. Sleep well.

Emerson's First Birthday

Today Mommy and Ethan went over to our friend's house the Maldari's, in Chapel Hill for a b-day party. We dropped Jason off at Grandma's but that was a little tramatic. See, Ethan and I sang our usual songs in the car...BumbleBee, Bus song, ABC, Twinkle, and then he fell asleep. Grandma met me outside of her house to get Jason so E could continue his nap and we got back on our way. Ethan woke right before we arrived and started screaming. When I asked him what was wrong he said "Baby Jason...Baby Jason gone". I tried to explain to him what happened but it took a few minutes to calm him down. He is so very attached to his baby brother that the other night I found him sleeping with all his babies and a piece of Jason's clothing. When I picked them up and laughed, Ethan said "Jason's jammies" with a sheepish grin. There are days he just melts my heart.

Ethan and I had such a nice time and Mario and Shannon made us feel very welcome. They had some really nice friends and there were lots of kids for Ethan to play with. He took turns with the lawn mower and on the indoor slide, ate happy cake and was a perfect gentleman. I was so thrilled. He got to play with their dog AnnaBelle for a few minutes and as Emerson was eating her cake, Ethan announced “Happy Birthday Emerson”. We bought Emerson some of our favorite board books. The ones Ethan can't live without...Dr Seuss ABC, the Hippo Going to Bed Book among others. We had a fabulous time and Ethan still says "Happy Birthday Emerson" every once in a while. He adores the lady bug stickers he got in his goody bag and we use them to reward him for being a good boy. He likes one on each arm. Here is a pic of him at the party with Shannon and Emerson:



We had to leave after a few hours to go get baby Jason and relieve Mom. It is hard since she keeps him all week so I feel guilty about being away from him and about asking her to help on the weekends. After we picked up Jason at Grandma’s, we went to get the other two boys and later met Grandma and Pepa at...where else but Red Robin. :-)

Family Days

This weekend has been full of family and fun. It was Jason's christening on Saturday so Jean and Ryan are here as well as Jeff's parents. Ethan loved playing with them and Grandaddy Ed was a special hit with the kids. The hardest part was when folks started to leave.


One activity we planned while everyone was in town was to go to a Durham Bulls baseball game on family night. Jason sat this one out but Aunt Susan and Michael joined the troops and we actually won the game this time.






Ethan got his new baseball hat signed by Wool E Bull - the mascot for the Durham Bulls. Uncle Mikey and Daddy took him down to meet him. Ethan also enjoyed popcorn, lemonade and half of Mommy's Goodberry's ice cream. We really had a blast and thanks to Christopher, we all got to try some cotton candy. Wow...does that bring back memories from NY State Fairs.

Sunday we all packed up for another great day at Michael's. Mom made Italian sausage sandwiches and I brought lemon meringue pie and we all relaxed with lots of hands to help with the active boys. Ethan and Daddy were a one man volleyball phenomenon and Jason even put his feet in for a few minutes. Ethan of course loved the trains and the "sma-moke" from the steam engine. Christopher was off with Maw Maw and Paw Paw to Charleston and we already miss him. Ethan asks about him every 5 minutes but I imagine Christopher is glad for the break from the little ones. I shudder to think how hard it will be on Ethan when he says good-bye to his big brother next week. Here are some pics from the pool volleyball game:

Bigger brothers

Ever since Jason was born, Ethan has really enjoyed being a big brother. Now that Christopher is here (pronounced Kiss-tow-her by Ethan), he is even more excited to have brothers. Here are some pics of our boys playing together. We are going to try and get a nice family pic while we have CJA but we can't even manage to get out of the house in the morning without hours of prep. A picture with everyone behaving and dressed sharp seems like an impossible feat. So my candids when I get the chance will have to do. I can safely say these will not make the Christmas card.

Our first baseball game

Aunt Susan got Durham Bulls tickets and we all went. Ethan's favorite part was the popcorn and the play area. He really behaved well and had a blast with Susan and her friend Amanda. Jason slept through most of it in his sling. We didn't stay until the fireworks since it was tied and heading into extra innings (they later lost) but we had a great time. Ethan even got to see Nina and play with her on the slides. Here is a pic of the boys (totally pooped) once we got home. Ethan is wearing his baseball hat that Daddy bought him at the ballpark. He has not let go of it since and keeps asking to go to a baseball game.



Earlier today, E had his first PB&J (one of my personal favorites) and he ended up wearing more than he ate as usual but seemed to love it.

July 4th Celebraton

Today we all packed up and went over to Michael's to swim and cook out. Do you have any idea how much gear and stuff you need to pack for a 2 year old and a 1 month old? I needed a wheelbarrow to get it all to the car.

Getting ready to go:

Susan met us there and we had a fabulous day. Jason pretty much slept through it and Ethan enjoyed the pool and the trains. Jeff said it felt like a resort as he floated on his raft and drank rum lemonade. We had cheeseburgers, chicken, and ice cream cake for desert. It had blue icing and Ethan wore most of it but had a great time.

Here is a lovely pic of Aunt Susan with the sleeping baby Jason:


Here is Ethan wearing Uncle Mikey's shoes.

Birthday week continues

Today we had the family over for "Happy Cake" (as Ethan calls it) and a nice lunch. Ethan received more presents and was so happy to see everyone and to have a party in his honor. Here are a few pics of the cake and the lunch spread. Some funny things.... I wouldn't let him drink out of the Elmo cups we had since they didn't have a lid so he put his sippy cup in the Elmo cup.

Ethan turns 2

So this b-day is all about Bob the Builder and Elmo. We have a book he insists we read at least 3 times every night to him. It is "one more time" he says when you get to the last page. And if you hesitate for just a second on any page, he can tell you what it says. So we got him some books, Barney and Elmo videos and a Bob the Builder remote bulldozer. We are having a very special cake on Saturday with construction equipment on it.

To celebrate the day, Mommy brought cupackes, cheese cubes and colored fish crackers to daycare. For each child, we made up great goodie bags with Sesame street characters, Cars stickers, playdoh, bubbles and more.







After the party at daycare, we went sandal shopping and for a haircut. Ethan had been saying all week that he wanted one. He is too funny how much he hates mess. For dinner, we went to Red Robin with Chad, Tracey and Nina. Ethan had a corn dog and melon and an ice cream sundae for desert. He loved his tractor and dump truck from Nina and I had the hardest time getting him to go to bed. We gave up and let him play until 9:30 after his bath.







He has started climbing the gate to his room so Daddy used his Bob the Builder tools to screw in plexigless panels to the wooden gate so he can no longer scale it. They are ingeneous at this age. And terrible for sure. He has some incredible temper tantrums and it was getting dangerous to even put him in time out in his room since he could climb out. Now Mommy and Daddy can get a time out. :-)