Outings

Not much exciting has been going on the past couple of weeks. We have been going on a few outings during the day while the weather is still nice. We went to the Akron Zoo with Michele, Anna, and Luke and again with Shari and Grace. (But not with Jay or Steve which Ethan will make sure to remind you)

Here is Grace and Ethan on the train. Believe it or not I did not take my camera the day we went with Anna.





We went to meet Angela, Alyssa and Dominic to go swimming one afternoon. I think Ethan likes older women...as we were pulling away Ethan told me "Alyssa is so pretty".





After the train ride at the zoo and a couple of rides at the North Royalton Home Days, I decided to try the Kiddie Park again to let Ethan ride the rides by himself. Well, we were literally by ourselves. There was not one other kid on any of the rides. It took us about 10 minutes to ride everything and it was kinda boring for him. So we went again the following week with Anna which was a lot more fun for everyone.

We went to lunch after the Kiddie Park with Michele and Anna. Ethan decided he had to go potty but of course wanted nothing to do with the big toilet in the public restroom. After trying to bribe him with ice cream to just go in his diaper, I remembered I have a portable potty in my car. (Just like the one I got Kevin for Christmas to use on the days he can't make it home.) We ran to the car and he immediately went. Great...cheers and dancing in the parking lot. Except now, he ALWAYS wants to go "potty in the trunk". At least he is going I guess, so what if I am sitting in my driveway with the trunk open and a toddler taking a poop in a bag.

Just a Quick Pic

Luckily swimming lessons are starting again next week because the tub is just not big enough to swim in. We haven't gotten to the pool with the chilly weather we have been having. We are going to visit Uncle Brendan in a couple of weeks and made sure we found a hotel with a pool. It is all Ethan can talk about now when we mention Uncle Brendan.

Hello Big Boy Room!

We put Ethan's bed in his new room tonight. It is going pretty well so far. He cried when we put him in there until Daddy climbed in with him to read some books. We will see how the night goes and what he does in the morning when he wakes up. Here are a couple pictures of the room and Ethan in his new bed. As you can tell, he was pretty excited until he found out he was actually going to be sleeping in it.

Bye Bye Crib

If all goes as planned, tonight will be the last night Ethan will sleep in his crib. He is just too big to be comfortable anymore and he can put his foot up on the rail like it is nothing. So we decided to move him to his big boy bed this weekend. He loves the new room that he will be sleeping in and hopefully he will love the bed just as much. I was a bit teary tonight when we put him to bed. I feel like my baby has just grown up overnight. I will post pictures once we get his bed up tomorrow of his new room. His crib converts to a double bed, so there is no going back!

Getting ready for bed tonight...

This is how he sleeps, with all his extremities hanging out of the crib. Can't be comfy.

A Day Without Accidents!

Warning...potty shots (Michele, keep Jay away).

Ethan has been doing pretty well with his potty training lately. He had a great day today...he went first thing this morning, before his nap at Grandma's and even held it while we were out to dinner. He told us he had to go when we were finishing up dinner, but we aren't really ready to try the public restroom yet. We told him we would go as soon as we got home, and he was dry when we got there! We were so proud of him for doing this that we had to take a picture. I love seeing his face when he goes in the potty. He is so proud of himself that it just melts my heart.

Swimming at the Pool

We took the kids swimming over the Baughmans' last weekend. It was a perfect day. Everything worked out better than expected. We swam, the kids all napped at the same time, the boys grilled out, and the weather was beautiful. Now a few days later and it is cold out...in August.

Popsicles!




Such concentration...where to begin?

Princess Anna lounging in the pool

Ryan loves the water and is definitely more daring than the others. He can swim all by himself with his floaty suit, go under the water and even jump off the diving board.

Anna was also swimming by herself by the end of the day using her arm floats. Ethan was over the 30 pound weight limit so they didn't work as well on him : )

Luke spent the day sleeping peacefully in the shade. I think the fresh air knocked him out.

Tom with his babies...

cupcakes...what a perfect ending to a perfect day!

Just in Case....

you all aren't sure where Ethan's nipples are, he would be happy to show you anytime...