one year older...

Quote from Will: "Daddy." (This is Will's FIRST and ONLY word. I've tried EVERYTHING to get him to say "mommy". No luck.)

Quote from Ethan: "Daddy, IS THE MAN."

Yesterday was Jon's birthday. My whole "lame mom" thing with birthdays carried over to a new low: "lame wife". I didn't get Jon a present, nor did I do anything out of the ordinary for him. Well, actually, I did make him breakfast. By about 1:00, I was feeling super guilty about neglecting the special day, so I suggested and agreed to go on a hike with him. We hiked the "Y", which ended up being perfect because of the gorgeous weather.

Happy Birthday, Jon.


Yep, we are pretty lucky.

"no, i'm four"...

Ethan celebrated his third birthday the other day. However, he's convinced he's four. Yep...I don't get it, either.

Yet again, I was a lame mom and didn't plan anything. However, lucky for Ethan, the Grandparents stepped in. It was an all things THOMAS birthday (shocking, I know), complete with the much anticipated Thomas cake...the one he has been talking about for literally months. He saw a picture of it at a grocery store once and was determined to have it for his birthday. I toyed with the idea of just baking a cake (one similar to Will's!) and sticking a train on top. Then I remembered his memory, and knew it would never fly.

(Yes, the cake is on the ground. We had to follow him around to get him to pay attention to the "much anticipated" cake...he was too busy playing with his new train.)

What a fun kid.

i felt all thankful...and emotional

Ethan and I made these turkeys. Ethan is thankful for: Feathers, Thomas, Percy Video, and Helicopters. I'm thankful for: Jon, Ethan, Will, and ON DEMAND (the best and cheapest babysitter).


Thanksgiving this year was, as always, wonderful. It was full of great food, reflections of blessings, fabulous shopping, fun company. You know, the works.

Before we left town to stuff our faces, I made a quick stop at the gym. While there, I caught the last few minuets of a Thanksgiving themed "Saved by the Bell" (yes, with the dreamy, Zack Morris). It was really touching. I got kind of emotional. At the gym. Totally embarrassing. And pathetic.

them crazy doctors...

Will had surgery the other day. Yeah, something about a normal procedure after birth--gone wrong. Poor kid.

Here he is about to go into the Pre-Op waiting room (he clearly had no idea what was about to happen), where we sat for FOREVER. We got to the hospital at 7:40 am, and he was finally taken into surgery around 10:15. Not so good on a one-year-old that had not eaten since 8:00 the night before...or a mom who was dying to go the bathroom.


His recovery has been, surprisingly, really smooth. Tough kid.

i loathe potty talk...

...but please bare* with me (I promise there was absolutely no pun intended. Only after I wrote it did I realize: a. it was funny, b. that it was actually a pun, c. incorrect spelling of the word.)

...then I laughed...and then I decided to keep it.

Anyhow...


After five, yes FIVE, long hours (half Friday night, half early the next morning) of sitting like this, we finally got some results. There was a lot of jumping and celebrating. A lot of high fives and high hopes for the future.

However, turns out, it was a one time deal. On Sunday I put him there (in front of the tv, of course) in hopes we could repeat the past. Nothing. On Monday we went to the store to get "potty treats". We got home, set the whole thing up...again (yep, you guessed, tv and all), ready for another try. After sitting there for a bit, Ethan was excited because he thought that just by sitting there he had earned his treat. I explained to him that he had to actually have "wet" (for lack of a better word...I told you, I absolutely LOATHE potty talk. Always have. I know, nerdy.) in there. I, being the genius that I am, had a great idea to give him a sippy cup of juice, you know to help speed up the process. After I handed the cup to him and started to walk away, I glanced back only to see him secretly dumping the cup into the potty with a "Ha, I'll get you, Mom" face.

Yeah right. Nice try, dude. No treat for you.

Oh and it's been a few days, and...still not treat. Oh well. He won't the first kid in Elementary school with diapers. Or, will he?


*...not knowing if it the phrase was: "bare with me" or "bear with me", and after a quick deliberation, I did some research. Turns out it's the latter, bear with me. Hmm, who knew?!

thomas and a spider, soccer, and a wedding...

October was a crazy month and since it's the middle of November, I've finally decided to post. We went to Thanksgiving Point a few billion times (corn belly's, j. crew sale, etc.), had some birthday parties, Jon's Grandpa passed away, went to Logan a bunch of times, had a lot of visitors, went to a museum, and a bunch of other really fabulous things.

Halloween happened...




soccer ended...


Hillarie and Mark got married...




...the end.

my son, the bully? no...

I don't know where it is coming from, but Ethan has turned into quite a bully. He has been kicked out of nursery, put on "time-out" in nursery for making another boy bleed, gone up to a random kid and in his words, "kicked that crying baby", and a number of other unmentionable things. We have been scrambling trying to figure out what's going on with him.

The other day we were driving to Josh and Layne's house for dinner. In light of our recent battles with this aggression, we were talking to him about good behavior. After a long spill about being nice, Jon said, "Ethan, we know you can do it."

I piped in with, "I know you can do this Ethe. I know you can. I know, because you are Superman."

Very annoyed, Ethan countered, "I am NOT Superman. I AM a kid."

Smart kid, actually. He's already figured out: if you keep expectations low, there's less disappointment in the end.

Ok. Point well taken.

belated birthday wishes...

Will turned ONE on October 9th. It was an event-filled day with expensive gifts, gourmet cuisine, and lots of pampering.

Uh, yeah right. More like-- business as usual. Grandma Sue called to wish him a happy birthday (not that he had any clue) and asked me what we were doing to celebrate. Well, he was sitting on his throne (aka high chair), same place he had been for the last couple hours, eating his usual: dry bread and Fruit Loops. I was, however, nice enough to slide him into the living room to watch Little Einsteins with Ethan. I know, I'm a Saint.

I hate to admit, as the day went on, I think the neglect only increased. Around dinner time, when we should have been having a party, we took off to my soccer game. We did, however, stop on the way home from the game and grab a cake mix and a few "dollar toys" at the grocery store.


Around nine, the cake was done and we were ready to party.

Here is the style of cake I was shooting for...


Actual...

(Only partially frosted.)

Ok, so not quite as good as the first cake, but pretty close.

(Ignore the smashed bananas all over him, it was a futile attmept at getting some "real" food in him before the sugar overload.)

Unfortunately, by the time the cake was done, Will was so tired that he didn't really get into the whole "attack the cake" thing.


He did, however, devour his ice cream cone.


Regardless of the lame birthday, we absolutely adore Will.

And, hey, there's always next year.

what stinks?...

Lately, Ethan has been afraid of EVERYTHING. I constantly find myself having to turn off the t.v. because every show (except Thomas, mind you) is simply too scary (especially Dora, he can't stand Swiper).

The other day we were walking home from the park and Ethan heard our neighbor's dog bark. He immediately stiffened up and covered his eyes. When I asked him what on earth he was doing, he said, "I'm hiding, from the dog." Oh brother. Luckily, as we made our way passed the dog, he realized and said, "that wasn't too bad." I hate to say it, but the kid needs to toughen up.

So today when I went to change his diaper...yes, my almost three-year-old is still in diapers. Which actually brings up another fear...the toilet. Terrified. Absolutely, terrified. Anyway, while I was changing his diaper he started covering his eyes again. Are you kidding me? Getting very annoyed with the whole fear thing, I said, "Ethan, why are you covering your eyes? Are you scared?"

"No, it stinks."

"Then why are you covering your eyes?

Again, "It stinks."

"Then you should cover your nose."

"No, I cover my eyes."

Oh-kay. I suppose it's time for a lesson on the five senses.

where have i been?...

So back to school means a lot of things around here. Less time with Jon, more stress, and most of all...NO income. Because of the ever-decreasing state of our economy, the Financial Aid department decided to stiff us a bit this year. Jon, being the finance guy he is, has implemented an impressive budget to get us through the year. However, with this new budget came some pretty harsh restrictions. So today when we were in need of a few things, I decided to head to a place I'd never been...Deseret Industries...and I absolutely LOVED it. I can't believe that I had been missing out all this time. It was awesome. I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but hey, they had some pretty fabulous finds. Take for instance the five, yes I said five, movies I purchased all for $2.50--total. What a steal. The only problem, I didn't have a VCR to watch these treasures . No big deal, in the electronics department I found a VCR for only $8 (frivolous shopping you might say, but I actually have to have one to run my DVD player on my TV...I know, old school). And if you're laughing right now thinking there's no chance the VCR is actually going to work...think again. I had it personally tested by the nice employee who gave it the official stamp of "WW" (for all of you less experienced DI'ers out there, that's code for: Works Well).

Here's to you DI, I'll be back soon.

"virginia is for lovers"...

I love that this car says "Tracy & Courtney"!

Things we loved this summer...

• Sailing on the Chesapeake
  
• Jon going to Belgium
  
• Box seats at the Nationals game
• Visiting all the monuments...multiple times
• Dad, Mom and Hillarie coming to visit
  
• 4th of July in the Nation's capitol
• Trip to New York
• Jen babysitting two kids in a hotel room in New York...sorry Jen!
  
• Having Jen come to DC
• Visit from Christian, Sadie and CJ (and driving around DC with us all in the Subaru)
  
• Building relationships with extended family
  
• Gettysburg
• DC Temple and Ethan singing "I Love To See the Temple" while driving away
• Virginia Beach
• A million awesome parks
• A really great water park
• Baltimore
• Arlington Cemetery
• Ethan attempting to put out the Eternal Flame at Arlington Cemetery
  
• Mount Vernon
• Easy access to the city via the Metro
  
• Old Town Alexandria
• Great yogurt shops
  
• Great shopping
• Cosi...our favorite restaurant
  
• Great friends made
• Perks of living in a hotel...with an outdoor swimming pool
• Getting lost all the time
• Georgetown
• Getting led to the National Cathedral by a police man
• National Zoo
• Newsuem...and all other museums
• Air show at Andrews AFB
• Leesburg Outlet Mall and Potomac Mills Mall, Tyson's Corner
• Great Falls
• Iwo Jima
• Dupont Circle
  

"this is the last time"...

In my family, my mom is known to use this phrase often. Whenever a change is about to occur in our family, mom always whips out something like, "this is the last time we will all...". And most of the time she receives quite a few eye-rolls, especially from me. Well, I have to say, I've followed suit. During our last few days in Virginia, this phrase was used by me frequently. So, roll your eyes fam, because this post is all about "last times".

Last time at Piccomolo (the greatest yogurt and gelato shop)...





Last time with great friends...

Last time visting the Temple...



Last time seeing the sights...



Last time riding the Metro...


Yes, yes, that is Ethan's train, Percy. I know,
how horrible. So bad, in fact, Jon wanted to jump
on the tracks to rescue him. Luckily, my will
won out. After all, it's a $5 toy we're talking about.



...I absolutely miss Virginia, but am so grateful for all the good times we had there.

party's over...almost.

Well, it's official. The end is in sight. The plane tickets have been purchased. We're going home...in a week. And while I saw my last Saturday here going somewhat different, sitting in the hotel doing laundry, while it rains, with Jon at work, is a close second.

Luckily, we have Christian, Sadie and CJ coming in a couple days to finish it out with us (the boys and I will be flying home with them, thank goodness).

I am so sad to leave. I love it here. But I really am ready to get back to real life. Good thing too, the hotel just raised the price of laundry to four bucks a load.

it's hot here...

It is really hot around here. We've tried to survive the heat by swimming or staying inside.

the watermine...





the baltimore chidren's museum...

more to him than donuts and coffee...

Sunday evening we went out for a drive and decided to go see the National Cathedral. We ended up getting a little lost, so we pulled over to look at the map. I was trying to locate our current location on the map, but was having a hard time finding the street. In the meantime, a nice Police Man noticed us and pulled over to help. Ethan was very excited about going to see the Cathedral and he was insistent on telling him. However, the guy was busy talking with Jon about the directions and wasn't paying attention. Ethan was getting very impatient with him and repeated, "We're going to the Cathedral. We're going to the Cathedral. Hey, little boy, we are going to the Cathedral!" Luckily he was an A-typical Police Man and didn't mind being talked down to. Probably because he has three kids of his own.

Anyway, after having a rough time giving us directions he suggested we just follow him. As we were following him, Jon became worried he would notice our headlight that has been out for a while. I assumed we were fine, especially because I had just seen him break a number of traffic laws.

When we arrived to the Cathedral he pulled up next to us and we expressed our appreciation. Before he pulled away he said, "Do you know you have a front light out?"

"Yeah, we just noticed." Awkward pause. Subject change.

"Hmm, so where you guys from anyway?"

i'm feeling gypped...

Everyone in Utah is celebrating a holiday, and here, well, we're not.


(Don't be fooled by the "brotherly love" facade, the big gash on Will's forehead is compliments of Ethan.)

Jon is out of town for a few days, so that means me going to the gym: not an option. So, we improvised. We went into DC to walk around the monuments. I was able to exercise and the boys were happy... and strapped in. Perfect.

Although Ethan has seen the Washington Monument a number of times, ever since the fireworks he has become somewhat fascinated with it. Whenever he sees it from across the river in the car, he gets very excited, "Mom, it's the Washingment!" (I like his "nickname", or more like his confusion. It's more efficient.) So today was especially fun for him. He was able to get out and touch it and just enjoy looking at it. He put it nicely, "Mom, it's wonderful."

ahh, the beach...

With our days here in Virginia winding down, we needed to check another destination off our "to-see" list. On Saturday, after five hours of driving (traffic was horrible, the drive home was much quicker), we arrived in Virginia Beach...to a down pour. Thankfully, in true Virginia fashion, it cleared right up and cleared a lot of people out, which meant a great parking spot.


Lucky for us, Ethan's new shovel and bucket also served as entertainment on the drive.

"Look me Mom, I'm Sir Topham Hatt (from Thomas the Train)."




Ethan loved the beach...







Will, not so much...



I took Will down to the water to watch Jon and Ethan playing.

From behind it appears he is loving it, cheering in fact.



From the front...Yeah right.





We ate at a great restaurant right on the beach, walked along the boardwalk, played on the playground, ate ice cream, got sunburned, enjoyed time together. It was such a fun day.