Happy Birthday Ethan

Could someone please tell me how it is possible that Ethan is 4. It seems like just yesterday we were watching him learn to walk and run and talk.

Ethan is:

- My sweetheart -he has the kindest heart. He takes the time to make sure Isaac is okay and will get him anything he thinks he needs. When I am sick he comes to take care of me. He still loves to cuddle in the morning and he always has hugs and kisses to share. He genuinely cares about others feelings.

- 100% BOY - he loves wrestling, shooting hoops with daddy, trains, jumping off of anything I will let him. He is extremely athletic and coordinated. He can dribble with one hand while running, he can actually make it in a regulation height hoop and he is trying to learn a lay-up.

- Hilarious - Oh my the things this boy says. I am fairly certain he will be the class clown. For a refresh of how funny he is...click here.

- Constantly Moving - I don't think he ever sits. Getting him to sit at the table is hard work. As my dad would say...focus Ethan LOL.

- My BOY and I love him so so much and can't imagine what life would be without him.

Ethan - 8lbs 2oz 21 inches long:

First Birthday:

Second Birthday:

Third Birthday:

Now:

I love you Ethan!

Hilarious Ethan

Ethan..he is going to be the class clown, I just know it. Oh how this boy cracks me up. He says and does the funniest things. Here are a few of my favorites from the last month or so.

Ghost Train
On one of his train movies there is a train that puts a blanket over himself to pretend he is a ghost to scare the other trains. Ethan was playing trains in his room and Jon called me in to look and when I got there he had put a pair of his white underwear over the train and was driving it around pretending it was the ghost train.

Paint-lish
Yes...I said Paint-lish. That is what Ethan calls my nail polish. He thinks it's paint..and I said nail polish and Paint-lish is what he came up with.

Hookers
Oh me oh my. Ethan is obsessed with hitches and trailer's. My dad has a truck with a hitch and has pulled a trailer before. As my dad says...he is teaching Ethan how to do "manly" things. So Ethan doesn't call a hitch a hitch...no...he calls them hookers..because they hook things. Here are the sentences Ethan has actually said (no lies):

 - we have got to get more hookers dad.
- bapa's hooker is bigger than that one (my personal favorite as we were walking into target this morning)
- look at all those hookers dad (as we are walking into Costco)
- dad, why don't you have any hookers on your car?

Reachers
What do you do when you do think your arms are not long enough to reach things?? You take your mothers tongs from the kitchen and call them your reachers. We went through a whole week where he wouldn't pick anything up without his reachers. You see...he wanted his arms to be long like mine LOL. I have bought 2 new "reachers" in the last few months and still cannot find a single one.

Underwear
The other day Ethan came to me and said he wanted to put his Cars underwear on so he could watch Cars and when that was over he needed to put on his Diego underwear so he could watch Go-Diego-Go next.

Oh Bumpers
Ethan loves this train show called Chuggington. It's super cute and I actually kinda like it too. Instead of saying "Oh no", or "shoot" Ethan says "Oh Bumpers" (because that is what the train says on the show.). Yesterday he was helping me put dishes away and he dropped one of the plates and as he did it he said "Oh... bust my bumpers I dropped the plate". ROFL...I just about died laughing right there.

These are just a few that popped into my head today while writing. I find I frequently laugh at what he says or does during the day.

Getting our craft on

 I try to do 1-2 activities with the older kids each day...depending on how the day is going we do more or less.  One of those activities is something crafty. Some days it's as simple as drawing or coloring or painting. Other days we have a little more fun. Here are some of the things we have done:

Heart Shaped Tortillas with butter and sprinkles: Pretty simple, punch out hearts, put butter and sprinkles on them. Not so yummy though. Kids acted excited as they ate them. Then after a few bites I asked if they were good and i got a "not really" from both lol. I didn't think they were so good either. But they are cute and oh how kids love sprinkles.

Valentine Hearts: Oh....these were fun. I've seen these  done a few times but this was the first time we did them. We took crayons, got crayon shavings from a pencil sharpener, then sprinkled them on wax paper. We put wax paper on top of that and ironed away. I put a towel on top of the wax paper and I am glad I did because some of the wax leaked out. The kids loved getting to iron. Don't worry...I was supervising which is why there are no pictures of that.

Mail Boxes: It's Valentines time...and you have to have somewhere to put them! I found these foam mail boxes and let the kids decorate them. It came in a kit...but they used their own ideas to decorate these. They aren't very sturdy or anything...but they sure have fun with them. I randomly put things in them and they get so excited when they notice the flag is up. Here is Ethan being a goober. :)

Flipping Motorcycle

My Parents got Ethan a motorcycle a while back. It's pretty cool...it has a kick stand on it and a piece that actually makes it flip. I am not talented enough to make it flip (must be a guy thing)...but Jon and my Dad can get it going pretty good. It even lands back on its wheels and keeps going.

So since it flips Ethan calls it his "Flipping Motorcycle". But he says it in a way that you would think he is using slang for another not so nice "F" word. I frequently hear "Where is my flipping motorcycle" when he is looking for it. I always have to register in my brain that "flipping" is not a slang word for ethan. It's an action word...a verb!

Rolls Anyone?

It is perfectly normal to find yourself kissing your computer screen while viewing these photos.  Simple screen cleaner will remove any marks left behind. I do advise to remove all lipstick and chap stick before moving forward.

Isaac is just too stinking cute. I love his little rolls.

He makes the funniest facial expressions still. He is so animated. Can you believe he is 13 weeks old....

Shroutine (Shroo-teen)

It took us a few weeks to get into a good routine over here, but I think I can say that we finally have one down. Do I call it a routine or a schedule..... Schedule implies that when the clock hits a certain time we have to do something. I don't like that very much. We are very relaxed over here but still stick to a routine..with out a routine it would be chaos...and I can't do chaos. So I like to call it a Shroutine. What is our shroutine you say? I thought you would never ask. :) These are just general times. I mean if it's 1:07 and the kids aren't listening to a story life goes on. And with a "newborn" baby there is always something changing and someone is always off their Shroutine. But on a perfect day here it is:

7:00-7:30 - Isaac wakes up and he eats. One of my most favorite times of the day. The house is quiet and it's just him and I rocking away.

8:00 - 8:15 - Maddie and Brady Arrive

7:30-8:30 - Ethan wakes up

8:30 - Ethan and Maddie eat breakfast (sometimes Brady joins)

8:15 - 8:30 - Isaac goes down for a nap

9:00 - 10:00 - Ethan and Maddie play...I usually clean up breakfast.

9:15 - Brady goes down for a nap

10:00 - 10:30 - Isaac wakes up and Eats

10:30 - 11:30 - More structured play for E and M. For the first half we read books, we do a puzzle, or we play a game.  They second half they do something creative every day. So they either color, draw, paint, play with play dough...anything like that.  On days where we do projects we usually take the whole hour.

11:30 - I start making lunch the kids either play or pick up toys depending on how messy the house is.

12 - Ethan, Maddie and Brady eat lunch.

12:30 - 1:00 - Kids play and I clean up lunch and cram some food in my mouth as well.

1:00 - Ethan and Maddie listen to a story and start winding down for quiet time.

1:15 - Brady goes down for a nap.

1:00 - 1:30 - Isaac wakes up and eats

1:30ish - Ethan and Maddie lay down for quiet time. Sometimes they sleep, sometimes they lay there quietly or sometimes they get up every 20 minutes asking if it's time to get up. Ha Ha.

2:30is - Isaac goes down for another nap.

3:00 - Brady wakes up

3:30- Ethan and Maddie wake up. We take pull-ups off, go to the bathroom, etc. etc. etc.

3:30 - 4:30- Ethan and Maddie play or we do puzzles or we read or we play a game. Just depends on the day.

4:00 - Isaac wakes up and eats

4:30 - Maddie and Brady go home!

Phew...I am tried just writing this down LOL.

New Job

I have been working my "new job" for the last 6 weeks now. Hard to believe it's been that long. I can finally say that we have a routine and things are going very well. I love being a stay at home mom. I am having more fun then I ever imagined. Some days I do miss my job, but being with my kids all day is where I need and want to be.

I set a few goals for myself this new year. One being to document more about our daily life. I seem to only take pictures of special events. I also have the camera sitting out on the counter so I can take pictures more often. So far I am doing good.

This poor blog has been a bit neglected. The holidays, a newborn and watching all four kids was a lot. But I think I finally have the hang of things a bit so I am hoping to keep up more (we will see). I won't even bother with a recap of the last 6 weeks. I am just going to start fresh.

SO.....with that being said I think I should introduce the four kiddos that occupy my day. For those of you that don't know I started watching my sisters kids 6 weeks ago. It's great to have them here. They are both very special to me and I love that I am the one who gets to watch them. I have them Tuesday - Fridays.

First is my big boy Ethan....he is almost 4. He loves having me home, but sometimes he has a hard time sharing me. He adjusted great to bringing Isaac home. Having Maddie and Brady here took more of an adjustment. Now that we have a routine a little better I am able to spend more time with him and Maddie playing games and such and that has helped. I have also tried to make Monday's a special day for him and we do nothing but play all day.  He loves having Maddie here to play with him (most days LOL). They play very well together and it's been rewarding to watch them learn to share and play good together.

Second is Maddie....she is 3. She is a sweet girl, and the only girl here. It's nice to have a little girl around here. I have to do her hair...change her baby's diaper, wrap her baby and all sorts of things I forgot how to do LOL.

Third is Brady.....he is 9 months old. Brady is such a happy good baby. I often tell Theresa he was the best kid of the day. He plays wonderful, loves the big kids and has such a happy smile. This week he has literally stood on my dishwasher door multiple times. He is so strong and big. I think his favorite thing about my house is the pantry door and the stairs. Poor kid sleeps in the laundry room...but it's the only room left.

Last is Isaac....he is 11 weeks old. I just love being home with him. Words can't describe how much I love being home with this sweet boy. He is a mommy's boy 100%. He loves to snuggle and is starting to play more and talk. I am savoring every moment with him as there are no future plans to expand the kiddo's at this house.

I hope to share the many adventures I know I will have with these four with you all. 

And with that I am off....there is always someone waking up, eating or needing something around here. :)