So it has been forever since I posted and I just want to get caught up on what has been going on with our family.
This past semester was a lot of fun (and is the last time for awhile that we will count time in "semesters" haha!) Trent took his last semester of classes this fall. He is so ready to have a full time job and be done with school. Even though he was taking a full load he still had a part-time job working for BYU grounds. He worked on the pesticide and turf crew. He got to help take care of the BYU football field and learned a ton about turf. I think it is one of his favorite things to learn about. BYU doesn't have a graduation ceremony in December and we probably won't make it back in April for him to walk, but he did so well. He will probably be embarrassed that I am posting this but he graduated with a 3.97! I am so proud of him. I really respect the fact that he wanted to learn all that he could in school and that he took it seriously.
Trent's parents couldn't come down to celebrate Trent's graduation but they treated us to Brick Oven pizza (Trent's choice for dinner). It was really good and so fun to be able to go out. Here are Trent and Ethan doing their pirate faces.
This fall I also got to teach my first real English class at BYU's English language center. I taught an intermediate Listening/Speaking class for 65 minutes Monday through Thursday. It was such a good experience and kind of a nice break. By the time I got home I was so excited to be a mom again (even though I loved teaching-it just reminded me what I loved more!). Trent was at home to watch Ethan two days a week and two of my good friends took turns watching Ethan (who is about the same age as their kids). It was kind of nice to leave and have Ethan be sad to see me go...(even though I know it wasn't so much because
I was leaving but because he wanted to go outside too!
Trent and I decided to have fun our last semester in Provo instead of focus on school so much (mostly because
I wasn't in school and I was getting bored ;). We went laser-tagging a lot with some friends, went on more dates, etc., and we went PARAGLIDING. I have always wanted to do something of that nature but now that I have a kid I feel that skydiving would be irresponsible so we opted for the safer (and less expensive) route. I found a deal online and couldn't say no (even though it was 4:00 in the morning I
had to go wake Trent up and ask if we could do it-I think he was half-asleep when he said yes because I had to re-explain the deal later that day-haha!). Trent and I had so much fun and in our group of six students Trent had the longest (and most beautiful) flight!
Ethan of course is the most exciting thing in our lives. He has changed so much during this past four months and I have loved seeing his little mind work as he learns new things! During the fall he started folding his arms and bowing his head to pray. As soon as we say "prayer time" he stops what he is doing and folds his arms (of course that doesn't mean he always stays like that throughout the prayer). I often watch him during the prayer (I can't help it!) just to see what he is doing. He often looks up at us and if we are still bowing our heads he will bow his head again too and fold his arms. One time he was drinking out of his sippy cup when we said "prayer time". He put his sippy carefully on the ground and stood up and folded his arms. Then part way through the prayer, he opened his eyes and started to reach for his sippy. He picked it up and started to bring it to his mouth when he looked up and saw everyone still praying (we were at Trent's family's house) and immediately put his sippy back on the ground, folded his arms and bowed his head. Another time we called for prayer but he didn't want to slow down so we just started without him. Trent and I were kneeling side-by-side and in the middle of the prayer Ethan ran over, turned around (so his back was to us), folded his arms, bowed his head, and backed into us so that he was kind of between us as we prayed. We can't get him to sit still for even two minutes of Family Home Evening...but at least he kind of prays with us!
Ethan still doesn't talk much. His words consist of: Daddy, Mama, badetball (basketball), ball, doggie, shoe, sock, night-night, nana (banana), Nana, Papa, sock, tuck (truck), bye-bye, yeah, no and I am sure there are a few more that I just can't think of at the moment. His favorite words are Daddy and basketball. He says both of them constantly. I remember one of my brothers telling when his son was two that all of his friends would say "my son's favorite sport is__________" and Doug would say to us: "that is so dumb, a two-year-old can't have a favorite sport." I thought he was right, until recently. Ethan's favorite sport really is basketball. Trent, of course, has helped in this but Ethan LOVES basketball. He has a little basketball hoop that Trent made him and he shoots baskets all the time. Sometimes he will sit on the floor with a ball and I will hear him whispering to himself over and over again: "badetball, badetball, badetball..." sometimes disrupted only by him yelling out the word before he continues to whisper it again. If he sees a basketball hoop while we are on a walk he starts yelling "badetball" and makes the motion of shooting with his arm as he makes a swishing sound to go along with it. The only TV he watches is basketball with Trent. He will sit in Trent's lap and point and say ball and follow the ball on the screen. He won't sit still for anything else, not even football-just basketball! It is pretty cute. Here are some photos as evidence of his obsession.
| While I was getting dressed one morning Ethan went out into the living room, turned on the TV and crawled onto the ottoman to watch Sports Center. |
This is the "hoop" Trent made Ethan (out of a hanger and old shirt) and Ethan in Trent's basketball shoes.
Here are some other highlights from the fall:
This is at Trent's little sister's volleyball game. Grandma and Grandpa took turns holding him. The last picture is blurry, but I put it in because every time people cheered Ethan would get that look and start clapping. It was pretty cute. He actually watched the ball go back and forth.
Ethan likes to play in his room on his own, normally he reads to himself. One day he was being loud and I came into find this mess! Ethan also loves belts and always takes ours to wear around his neck.
On the far left is Ethan and I on the kiddie slides. He wanted to go again and again. Closer is Ethan and his friend Naomi at the water park. Ethan LOVES the water.
Throwing bread to the ducks. A favorite past time. As is chasing the ducks as seen below.
This is Ethan's Tupperware drawer where is was allowed to pull everything out and climb in if so desired. And believe me, it was desired a lot. P.S. When Trent changes Ethan's diaper in the morning he doesn't want to bother getting him re-zippered or putting new clothes on him, so he leaves him like this.
And calls him cape boy.
Trent and I at a basketball game and my parents and us at a football game. Our last semester to truly enjoy BYU sports.
Ethan with Nana and Papa. Whenever they call on the phone he gets so excited and whispers "Nana...Papa".
This is a typical Ethan face. He
loves to make this face. This one is just plain cute.
This is in our bike trailer. To entertain Ethan I give him all sorts of odds and ends. This jaw breaker was wrapped in plastic until Ethan figured out how to open it. 30 min later, when we got home, I saw this. Woops!
Book time with Mama. Ethan must face forward in the cart.
Ethan got these new snow pants and boots from Nana. He opened them up and although I am sure he didn't know what they were for, he knew they were for him (and he loves shoes) so he was pretty excited and walked around trying to check them out for a good 15 min.
Playing with cars. This is so cute to me. I don't know why.
Ethan could eat apples all day. I gave him one and he cried until I gave him the second. This middle picture perfectly describes my son. The third picture is of Ethan on Trent's little Honda 50. Trent wants to give it to him in a few years. I am thinking more like 10.
Tired Daddy and non-tired baby.
Ethan signs food, all-done, more and night-night so at least if he can't say them we have the basics covered.
He turned 18 months in November and I couldn't believe it. At his checkup the doctor said he was in the 25th percentile for weight and 75th for height (so tall and skinny). He said that was perfectly normal (which I thought was interesting-isn't 50th and 50th "normal"). He is super happy and always giggling. He naps well and sleeps well at night (most of the time) He is still as bald as can be. We have been teaching him body parts including hair. Sometimes I can see him rubbing his head randomly and I wonder if he knows that he doesn't have any hair. He runs EVERYWHERE-no walking allowed I guess, and he is really fast. Sometimes I really do have a hard time catching up to him. He loves to jump (he can get a few inches off the ground and has been able to for
months). He also does "quick feet" (can you tell who Daddy wants to be a basketball star-jumping and quick feet?). He loves to dance to music and kind of bobs up and down doing little squats. He also loves to go outside. He loves to run and climb on the jungle-gym, go on the slides and the swings. He is a pretty typical boy. He is ALL boy, as Trent loves to say. But he is MY boy, and I guess that is what makes him special (to me at least). He is entering the stage of independence and in the past few days has started to say "no" to everything. It is SO frustrating. Yet I still adore him. I love his mischievous little smile and the sound of his laughter. I love him so much but I can't even begin to describe it. I love to look at people older than me who have their first born boy all grown up (like Trent and I's parents and our grandparents) and imagine that they must have felt this way about their first child, their little boy.
