We've had a busy two weeks since the laptop broke and I have to say I really missed this blog. It's one of the highlights of my day and I'm glad to be back! In some ways it was a good thing that the laptop broke because I think I spend too much time on the laptop in general and it was good to pursue other hobbies and get some other things done that really needed to be done. You know, things like making 64 name tags and 8 centerpieces for MOPS and reading 6 books. It's amazing how productive I can be when I'm not seduced into spending time online!
Here's a quick run down of what you all missed.
We drove out to Lincoln City on August 30th for David's Aunt Diane and Uncle Ed's 40th Wedding Anniversary party and it was a TON of fun! We really had a blast and I'm so glad we were able to go. We got there early so we could spend some time on the beach before the party and I'm so glad I pushed David into doing that because it was a beautiful day at the beach and we had a fantastic time.
The weather was perfect, warm enough to not need a coat and not too windy which is a rarity. I was absolutely shocked Ethan didn't try to eat the sand since he puts everything else in his mouth, but I certainly won't complain! He was fascinated by the sand and loved to run it through his fingers and move it into the bucket and out again.
Grace was happy to use her shovel and running to and from the waves. I was happy just to sit on the blanket and soak in the beach! I love the sound of the waves and the warm sun and happy sounds of children playing. It's just so peaceful.
We didn't do much else during Labor Day weekend but did go to the park on both Sunday and Monday as a family which was a lot of fun. David doesn't get as many chances as I do to spend quality time chasing Grace through the park with Ethan in tow so I'm glad he got that opportunity.
Grace showed him the swings, the teeter totter, merry go round, slides, monkey bars, and her favorite tree that has a "drive through window" where she likes to take our order. Ethan had a good time walking through the park with Daddy and watching Grace play.
Indoor Park started up again a week ago and I've volunteered to be the park opener on Wednesday mornings. I figure it's my turn to take on that job since I haven't opened or closed in the two years I've been a member and I'm there most of the time anyways. Indoor Park is on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and we'll try to make it there on most days since it's a great social outlet for all of us. Grace loves to dress up in the dress up clothes and climb to the top of the fort which she calls her "castle tower" where she waits to be rescued. Yes she's definitely a girly girl. Ethan loves the balls and chasing after Grace when she drives the cars around. He also loves the slides and would happily go down the slides over and over and over again...
Ethan turned 11 months old on Sunday (which was also my Dad's birthday. Happy Birthday Dad!) and is a super busy little boy. He is 100% walking now and doesn't crawl at all anymore. He loves to haul heavy things with him when he walks which must be a boy thing. He picks up his Tap a Tune piano and walks with it for heavens sakes! He wants to be a part of whatever everyone else is doing and hates to be left out of anything. He wants to eat what we're eating too and is self feeding for the most part now. He'll let me feed him a little bit but I haven't been brave enough to turn the spoon over to him quite yet. Maybe next month. He smells like a boy now which is hard to describe. It's not a bad smell, just a
boyish smell. Like fresh cut grass. I kind of like it.
He's really interested in toilets which I think is a byproduct from having a recently toilet trained big sister. When Grace was a baby she never bothered toilets but Ethan is forever trying to get his hand in them, drop toys in them, or play with them. It's really pretty gross and I'm starting a new policy of leaving the toilet seat down. If he was a little bit older I'd let him attempt toilet training since he's clearly interested in the whole process and even lifts up the lid on the toddler potty we have and checks it all out. Can we all pray he toilet trains faster and easier then his big sister?!? He's an expert sippy cup user and has stolen sips from Grace's milk cups several times so hopefully when we transition him to cow's milk next month that will go well. Grace didn't take that transition very well and it took her until she was around 15 months to drink it. I think Ethan just wants to be like Grace so maybe if he sees her drinking milk he'll want to drink it too.
I've been busy preparing for MOPS since the first meeting was yesterday and I was in charge of the table centerpieces and name tags that needed to be created. I spent a lot of time in the garage sanding and painting. The name tags turned out really cute (I really should take a picture of them!) and the centerpieces turned out ok. I painted them fairly messily but made it look on purpose and spatter painted them a bit. Much easier then going for perfection which I just don't have the time or patience for! I set up for the first meeting on Monday with help from Grace and Ethan. I found all the tablecloths I needed, put out the above mentioned centerpieces, and got all the cups/silverware/plates/napkins ready. Yesterday I did my best to get there as early as I could (7:50am which has to be a record for arriving somewhere with all three of us clean/dressed/fed) so I could figure out all the kitchen stuff. I recruited a Mentor Mom to help me figure out the complicated church coffee maker and I'm glad I did because the instructions I had were not quite complete. I filled 11 pitchers with ice water, 3 carafes with hot water, and 3 carafes with coffee. Next time I think I won't need to be there quite as early now that I know where all the crafes/water pitchers/serving spoons are located! The MOPS meeting went very well and it was fun to meet some new moms and got to chat with the moms at my table. I'm excited for the rest of the MOPS meetings! Grace had a good time at her MOPPETS classroom. She brought home a coloring sheet that said she learned that God made the world and had some questions we could ask her and talk about. One suggestion was to ask her what her favorite thing is that God made and Grace's response was bananas. Of course.
Yesterday was also Grace's first ballet class which was absolutely adorable! If you've never had the chance to watch 3-5 year old girls do ballet you're really missing out. There's about 14 girls in the class and Grace is definitely one of the youngest but she did a pretty good job listening.
At the beginning the teacher said she'd definitely know Grace's name by the end of the class but by the end she was doing better. They did roll call at the beginning and then got in a big circle. They held hands and walked around in a circle on their tip toes before they got to stand on big blue dots spaced out strategically on the floor.
They danced on their dots to familiar tunes like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" before they got to dance with ribbon sticks. They galloped, skipped, jumped, and did a few other dance moves with their ribbon sticks. Afterwards they stretched like rainbows and got a sticker. When I asked Grace what her favorite part about dance class was she said it was "dancing" which I suppose was a no brainer. She fell asleep on the way home and can't wait to go back next week.
Tonight is the first night of AWANAS and I'm excited to see how that goes for Grace. I think she'll like it and she'll know a few kids from MOPS most likely. I'm trying to find a good mixture of activities for her to do since we've not doing preschool and I think this will work out pretty well. It involves a uniform, learning bible verses, singing songs, and playing games. I don't see any reason why Grace won't think it's a ton of fun!
Sorry for the long update but it could have been longer!
