Ethan 2008

Taken by Tanya December 2008

Since I'm using my blog as a form of a journal I thought I'd post a few things Ethan has said & done this past year. These are the types of little things that I never want to forget. (Please do not feel like you need to read all of these! Its more for us than for anyone else!:)

-One day I had gone to get my hair cut, and when I got home Ethan came running around the corner and without looking at me said,"I like your haircut" and then ran away. I followed and asked him why he said that and he casually, "Dad told me to."

-When we were planting our garden I was reading the directions out loud and read that we plant the seeds every 3 feet. Ethan responded in despair, "But I only have 2 feet."

-One day as we were driving Ethan started asking all of the "why" questions I had heard so much about. It started with "What's under the road?". And followed with, "What's in a tree?", "What's in an engine?", "How does a car door open?", & "What do bugs eat?" That was when I started saying,"You'll have to ask your Dad about that one."

-"Did you bring money today?" Ethan will sometimes ask this as we drive in the car. I assume its because when he asks for things at the store I often tell him he can't buy it because I don't have any money.

-After we talked about why Bob goes to work Ethan asked, "What's your job mom?" . I told him it was to stay at home with him and Aidan. Then he said "Yeah, Dad's the rich one."

-After a bath one night I told Ethan to go get his jammies on. I went to go to the bathroom in our master bath and the next thing I know Ethan come marching by the door singing at the top of his lungs and he was buck naked. Well, mostly naked...he did have a yellow crown he made at preschool on his head.

-After Aidan was about 2 months old I had to start using a breast pump instead of nursing. (See previous post for more info) A few funny things came up because of this...
#1 Ethan now assumes that when you have a baby you have to "pump". We were watching TV and a woman had a baby. Ethan automatically said, "Well, she has to pump now."
#2 Ethan will often want my help while I'm pumping. I ask him how I can do what he wants when I'm holding the pumps. One day he said, "Mom, I'll hold it for you" & proceeded to hold the pump so I had a free hand to help him.
#3 Just hearing him say "breast pump" is a little funny.:)

-"Mom, your hair is beautiful." He just randomly said this one day.:)

-As we were getting ready for our night prayers I asked Ethan if he wanted to say it...he told me I could but it couldn't be a long one. After the prayer he said that I said a "long long prayer" and next time to say a "short long prayer".

-When Aidan was a few weeks old Ethan was looking at him one day and Aidan randomly lifted his hand and hit Ethan's. Ethan was so excited and started telling everyone that Aidan gave him a "high 5"!!

-One day a few months ago Ethan said, "Mom, you aunt jammima'ed me". I finally figured out he meant "interupted" me. He also referred to the those who bring gifts at Christmas "elephants and Santa".

-It was sweet when Aidan was a few days old he asked to hold Aidan because "I haven't held the baby for a long time!"

-One day he was telling Bob and I about something and asked where he had heard it. He responded, "Nickjr.com"

-One night he came running down and couldn't find his buzz lightyear pj's so he announced that we were to pretend that what he was wearing were his buzz lightyear jammies.

-One afternoon Ethan came downstairs wanting my help. He had tried to get a pirate boat to float, but it sunk in the bath. He had turned the water on so hot he couldn't get it out. I smiled to myself as I pulled the little pirates and their boat out of the water & wondered if one day I would miss these little moments.

-As we were having a Family Home Evening on setting goals for the new year I asked Ethan if he knew what a "goal" was. He responded by saying, "Yeah, like silver and gold!"

-I love to get and give Ethan "super silly kisses". This is when we give eachother rasberries on the cheek.

-I laugh every time Ethan says, "Bye Buddy, I hope you find your dad!" (From Elf the movie)

-I will also never forget how great he was while I was so sick with Aidan. I remember him starving & I couldn't get him anything to eat (if I got up I would puke)and he would just go to the fridge and get himself a go-gurt or whatever he could find.

He was so excited for me to have Aidan & also for me to be able to "bend over" again. One day he asked one of our friends if she could bend over. When she said "Yes" he asked her to help him put on his shoes.:) After I had Aidan he exclaimed, "Now you bend over again!"

He also asked his Sunday School (aka Primary teacher) if she could "help him with something". She said "of course Ethan, what can I help you with," & he replied, "we need to find a name for our baby. Do you have any?"

If I think of any more little moments I'll add them later. I love this little man. I'm so blessed to be his mom.

A Glimpse of our Christmas 2008

Christmas Eve:
Steph came over and we have a fun night eating our traditionals little sandwiches, opening pj's & a new family game, & putting out milk and cookies for santa.


Christmas Morning:
We woke up to beautiful snow flurries outside (the 1st time I've really seen it snowing on Christmas!)Ethan actually forgot that Santa came and was just playing in his room. Once we reminded him he ran downstairs and said,"There are way too many presents here.":)
I put in some cinnamon rolls and we started opening presents. Bob's parents braved the roads and showed up & stayed for a while. Ethan took his time opening each gift and then wanted to play with whatever it was (including Boggle). Usually the kids are the ones who want to open the gifts faster,but this year it was me.:)



Steph had to work at the hospital so we stopped by and had a little to eat with her before heading to Bob's sister Marilyn's house in Sandy.

Ethan with the Valentine cousins

After eating with the Valentines we headed back home to check on my parents flight in from Oregon. We weren't sure they would make it because of the weather. They ended up being one of the last flights they let land into SL! Its been so fun having them here with us!

We were blessed to have another wonderful Christmas together as a family. It was especially great to have Aidan with us this year!!

Catching Santa

I'm copying Tanya's blog post because I think its so great...

My brother Peter works for a TV station in Oregon and makes these great little funny "clips". This year in one of them he tries to catch Santa. For the full effect of this post watch Peter's short clip of catching Santa:
Pete's link
My nephew Trey decided he too would catch Santa & here's a copy of Tanya's blog about his plan...
"well, christmas eve came and trey decided that he wanted to catch santa as well.
so he got some cookies or "santa bait" as he called it.

...a "squirrel trap" which consisted of a storage bin, a stick, and some yarn.

the yarn led all the way through our family room, up the stairs, to this little mans room.

He was so excited to catch santa that it took him 2 hours to fall asleep. he even turned on our fireplace so he could "burn santa's bum" when he came down the chimney.

In the morning he heard santa's bells, pulled the string, and ran down stairs to find the trap pulled, cookies eaten, but no santa! santa left him a note which said "trey your uncle peter caught me with this trap, but i am much smarter now. i have a lot of presents to deliver to other girls and boys, so it's a good thing you didn't catch me."

After reading Tanya's blog & watching Peter's video Ethan announced to all the he too would catch Santa...next year!:) Good luck little men!

Merry Christmas!

The Fourth Wise man

As part of our Christmas Eve traditions we watch this great show called "The Fourth Wise Man." I'd never heard of it before I met Bob, but now its a family favorite. I'm not the best at summarizing (usually I make short stories long...I know you are all nodding now), but here you go!

Its based on Henry van Dyke's classic, "The Story of the Other Wise Man", a fictional story that is set in biblical times. A Magi named Artaban (played by Martin Sheen) studies the prophecies of Christ & witnesses a sign in the heavens and decides to follow it to find the Messiah.

Artaban takes with him three gifts to give to the Messiah & for 33 years tries to find Jesus. Along the way he ends up using the gifts to help others & after living among the poorest & sickest people (teaching him how to plant & plow & take care of themselves) he has nothing to give Jesus. Old and dying Artaban finally meets the Savior and thinks he has failed him. But has peace when the Master teaches him, Matt 25:40 "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren ye have done it unto me."

Wishing you the best Christmas!
Love, Emily & family

Tanya

Tan- (And anyone else who cares)
A gal I went to Jerusalem with posted about these ornaments and I thought of you. Here the link and how to make them.

My Christmas Preferences

Welcome to the Christmas edition of getting to know your friends. Instead of emailing I thought I'd post it. Feel free to copy & paste to your own blog. (It didn't take too long and I figure it would be fun to look back someday & see what I was thinking.)

1.Wrapping paper or gift bags? I love to wrap!

2. Real tree or Artificial? REAL

3. When do you put up the tree? ASAP after Thanksgiving

4. When do you take the tree down? When its totally dead

5. Do you like eggnog? Its okay--I need to add milk if its strong

6. Favorite gift received as a child? My cabbage patch kid named Annette. My mom actually knit her the cutest sweater and matching socks.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My in-laws

8. Easiest person to buy for? Our kids

9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, but its only Mary, Joseph, & the Christ child since they were the only ones we knew were present at the actuallly birth. We love to go to temple square and see the life size Nativity though!

The lights are so beautiful on Temple Square at Christmas (no I didn't take this picture!). And you can really feel of His Spirit there this great time of year!


10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Both

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I'm grateful for any present!:)

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Elf

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? December

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Probably

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Sugar cookies, hot cocoa, and my mom's little sandwiches

16. Lights on the tree? Of course

17. Favorite Christmas song? Right now its "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" because I love the part that says "to save us all from Satan's power when we have gone astray"...it really makes me grateful for the Savior.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? At home this year, but my mom & dad are coming on Christmas if they can get out of Portland with all of the snow and ice there!

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Most of them

20. Angel on the tree-top or star star? Star

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? Family game & PJ's Chrismas Eve. Most other presents Christmas AM.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Crowds, lines, & bad singing

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Silver

24. Favorite food for Christmas dinner? See answer 15

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Another good year for our family & world peace!:)

Great "neighbor gift"! (Thanks Aimee & family!)

I'd never heard of "neighbor gifts" before I moved to Utah-at least they weren't called neighbor gifts. For those unfamiliar with the term it refers to the little treats or gifts your friends and neighbors bring you this time of year.

Our friends the Johnsons brought us a great neighbor gift that I thought I'd tell you about since it was such a hit at our home! In fact Ethan couldn't stop talking about it and begged us to make smores the second we got it.

Unfortunatetly I didn't get a picture of the cute bag & poem attached to the treats, but you get the picture. Ethan lovingly place the contents we were given...marshmellows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars...into this basket to so he could carry it around until it was time to make the smores. (But only after dumping out the diapers and wipes I was storing in it.)

Bob got out the camping stove and set it on the porch so they could be warm inside while roasting the marshmellows outside. (Bob does have a creative side!:)


And they enjoyed everylast bite!

So if you need an idea for your next "neighbor gift" here you go!

Crazy weather

Growing up in western Oregon we loved when it would snow. Even an inch would mean school delays or cancellations because of the inability to keep the roads safe. (So early morning (5:45AM) seminary would be cancelled and we'd get lots more sleep!)
So as my family has been updating me on the weather conditions I couldn't help but think of all the high school students & my mom (who now teaches an early morning seminary class) jumping for joy.

Its been crazy snowy and icy there cancelling church today, giving my brother several days off work last week, closing the airport, trapping both of my brothers and their families as well as Marge at my parents house, & creating snowy fun that we all love.

My mom sent these pictures and I got such a kick out of them.

My brothers went into the shed or barn (who knows where they found them) and pulled out a purple sled and yes, a boogy board. Not being prepared for the weather they also hit the attic for any warm wear they could find...including the bright orange hunting hat pictured here.


Here's Marge (bundled in several items I have seen my dad wear before), Trey...in rain boots (I'm sure they were the only thing that fit that he had at my parents house), & the boys hiking up the hill near our house.

Nothing like a fun day in the ice & snow. Wish I could have been there to ride that boogy board.:)

"I keep thinking about cutting this..."

We have a little obsessive compulsiveness running through our veins. It showed itself today when I saw Ethan eyeing these little pictures of Aidan. I asked what he was doing (because he was so still) and he confessed, "I keep thinking about cutting this."

This kid is a wild man with scissors. He can't control himself. I've had to hide his scissors from him several times already (and forget where I put them sometimes).



I told him that he couldn't cut the pictures, but then after a few minutes changed my mind & thought he could cut one off (hoping to curb his passion). As soon as I told him he could cut it his little voice said, "Mom, I already did." And this is what he showed me:



Next thing I know they were on Aidan's package (the only one under the tree-Ethan wrapped it and keeps begging me to open it now. Oh man.:)


We were also talking about the Nativity scene when Ethan asked for the baby Jesus' "nest". I figured he meant manger. Since we are always trying to find new ways to make the scriptures come alive & apply them to our lives(and not to be sacrilegious) "baby Jesus" really hit home when we added a little baby of our own...

Glass half full

An old friend and mission comp. has a great blog. The other day she posted some great thoughts about having a "positive attitude".

As this year comes to an end I've been thinking about how blessed we are. And even with so much I still find things to complain about... so this post was great for me.

Thanks Janece!

"*Instead of saying, "Oh no, I've got piles of laundry to do every week." I will start saying, "Yeah, laundry! Look at all the clothes we have!"

*Instead of saying, "No way can there be dishes in the sink again!" I will start saying, "Wow, we always have something to eat."

*Instead of saying, "What are you whining about now?" I will start saying, "You learn from me, so I will always say things sweetly."

*Instead of saying, "Pat is gone again. I'm all alone." I will start saying, "Man, I'm lucky to have a husband who works so hard and goes to school so he can get a job to support our family for the rest of our lives. I'm a lucky girl."

*Instead of saying, "I think I'm going to SCREAM if you kids wake me up in the middle of the night again!!" I will start saying...no, I really will scream if they keep waking me up."

I'll like to add:
*Instead of saying "my home is such a mess" I will start saying, "I'm grateful I have home to live in."

*Instead of getting frustrated with Ethan when he's running around and driving me crazy I'll think about how blessed we are to have healthy kids.

*Instead of wishing I lived in Oregon closer to my family I'll think about how great Bob's job is (especially since it allows me to be at home with the boys)& how Utah can be good even with all the crazy Mormons!:) (Okay this one might be a stretch.)

'Tis the Season

So I realize I'm a little ridiculous. I guess its my Recreation Management experience coming out. (Yes, Rec Management is a major at BYU & I got the best job ever after graduating...and yes it was hard to give it up to stay at home with my babies.):) After a fun birthday party in October we (okay "we" is really me, but Ethan didn't object & often called it his birthday party:)) thought it would be fun to have a Christmas party. So today Ethan had a little Christmas Party with a few of his friends. And it was so fun. I'm not sure who had a better time me or the kids.:)

I learned a few things from Ethan's b-day party in Oct. so I made this party 1 1/2 hours instead of 2 and planned alot more activities so that we weren't stuck with a lack of things to do at the end. However, this time we didn't have enough time to do all of the things we had planned! (Sorry moms-you could of gotten more shopping and errands done!)


The kids seemed to have a good time (especially since I kept telling them they were having so much fun). We colored, played games, did a craft (tin can pencil holders), had a fun lunch, frosted & ate sugar cookies, & had a gift exchange.
The highlight of the party was Santa! Well, he was the highlight for most...we had one sweet terrified gal shed a few tears (poor Erin):) & 1 who wanted a candy cane but didn't want to sit on Santa's lap (Ashlyn) (can you blame her?). We also had one little man (Ethan K)accuse his sister of being naughty (loved it), & about 10 minutes after Santa's arrival one smarty pants (cousin Trey) proclaim to all that Santa was really Bob because he had "spots"(aka freckles) on his face.

The gift exchange was also fun & most left satisfied with what they got. (But only after we reminded them several times (okay more than several) that the point of a gift exchange is to get a different gift than the one they brought.:) Love this age.



It was also fun to find most of a roll of toilet paper in the waste basket after the party...not sure what happened there.

All in all it was great. Maybe we'll have to make it an annual thing...well maybe.:)

PS A big THANKS to Steph for coming and helping!!! I couldn't have done it without you!!

Just as good as Christmas

We had a morning like Christmas on Saturday. Trey & Tanya flew in Friday night...we were all so excited we could hardly stand it. After we picked them up we head to Starbucks for some white peppermint hot chocolate and then drove to see a street by our house that is decorated with a ton of lights. We sipped our cocoa and looked at the lights with our snowman glasses that we got at Zoo lights. I called it a magic moment. (Yes, its the simple things these days that bring a smile to my face!:)

On Saturday morning we woke up to snow , made the best oatmeal cookie pancakes, and our best friends were here. The boys had a blast playing in the snow and Tanya made a great hill for them to sled down.

We also went ice skating at a rink by our house. It was the boys 1st time and at first it was a little rocky. We didn't know if we would be leaving full of tears! But the boys did their darnest to learn how to skate and by the end were doing great! They didn't even want to leave. So fun.




We should have just told Ethan Saturday was Christmas. Its interesting how as we get older a real Christmas is less about gifts and more about Christ and family. I guess perfect holiday for us is really is just being with the ones we love the most.

Shepherd's Field & Bethlehem

Shepherd's Field (Bethlehem is in the background)
Yes, there are still sheep and shepherd boys wandering there!

While living in Jerusalem (I studied abroad for 4 months in Israel) I had many life changing experiences as I studied the life of our Savior Jesus Christ & visited the places that he had been during his mortal life. Today I was thinking of Christ's birth & I pulled out some of my pictures & journals. It brought back great memories so I'd thought I'd share a few.

Monday April 10, 2000
"Last night we went to the Shepherd's Field just south of Bethlehem. It was in that area that the angels came and told the shepherds of Christ's birth (Luke 2:8-20). We sat at dusk and watched the lights of Bethlehem come on while we had a small program reading the scriptures of the Savior's birth and singing songs. It was a very sweet experience to think nearly 2000 years ago this time of year that the Savior was born here! It was a windy & chilly evening and I couldn't help but wonder if it was the same while Mary & Joseph searched for shelter. So often I imagine the weather always being hot in Israel, but I've learned the hard way--that's not true in Jerusalem during the winter months! I'll never view Christ's birth the same way again."



Below: The Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem (A Catholic Church built over the birth place of Jesus Christ. For more information about The Church of the Nativity I found this website with great pictures & fairly accurate historical information.




I'm grateful for this time of year that I can reflect more on the Savior and His Life. I'm so thankful for His great sacrifice & example.

Nativity bought in Bethlehem made out of olive wood.

PS A big shout out to those who I was in Jerusalem with! Love you guys!

My Prince Charming...and I love Bob too

I had no idea that I could love a little man so much. Last Saturday Ethan went to a friends princess birthday party so he got to dress up at Prince Charming. He is so fun. I know that some parents and kids aren't really on the same page about things just because their personalities are different. But I feel so lucky that Ethan & I are the best of friends. I love spending my days with him. This of course does not mean that they are without conflict (or that I don't look forward to preschool), but just that we really like being together.

The other day he melted my heart when he told me that he wished he was older and I was younger so we could be together all of the time & our mom could drive us around. I'm so thankful to the Lord for sending me such a great little guy.



Ethan wanted to be an angel for the navity choir at church last Friday. I hope in 10 years he still wants to be an angel.:) I can hope can't I?:)