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.