So here's to Ethan and his second birthday...
I think he is in my absolute favorite stage. He has the most kissable, pudgy, smooth cheeks, and he's always asking us to "ha-choo" (sounds like a sneeze but means "hold you"). His hair is soft (yes, he has hair finally!) and smooth too, and I just love holding and cuddly with him. At bedtime, he asks for "baby" which means "hold me like a baby," which I willingly oblige if I'm not holding my OTHER baby. I also like when he gets a stool and says "wash," which means he wants to watch what I'm doing. He loves "ta-ta" (tractors and all construction equipment), so we got him two new ones for his birthday.
He is a talking machine now too. He has a word for just about everything. My favorite is "tee" for television. His favorite movie is "E," which is the only letter he's learned from watching Letter Factory every MWF morning when Brennan is at school. (I feel less guilty letting him watching tv all morning if it's "educational.") He has learned "mine" too, but he also likes to remind us of what belongs to everyone else. He calls himself "E-E." It's adorable.
He absolutely loves his little sister. He likes to hold her and kiss the top of her head. He gives her her "ba-ba" (his word for blankie) when she cries. He even tries to give her her binky, but she doesn't really take it from anyone anymore. He is truly the most affectionate little man in our house.
He is a mess-maker. Even though I do really love this stage, I also really wish he was less into everything. He is constantly pulling every book off the shelves and every pan and its lid out of the drawers. Everywhere I turn he's dumped something. Today he took the top of Ryan's deodorant and LICKED it. Gross. He draws on everything, lots of circles around and around. He also likes to turn on the faucet and fill and dump cups. It's a big mess, but he loves his "wa-wa."
He is a great eater. He definitely goes through phases (teething, colds) of not being hungry, but all in all, he'll try just about everything. He still loves pasta, yogurt and hot dogs best.
He sleeps from 7pm-6:15am, and he naps every day from 12:30-3:30pm. I am learning that I have really good sleepers for kids. I think they've inherited the need for lots of sleep from their mom. I love my sleep too!
He unfortunately has a cough and runny nose right now. It is making for some rough days and rougher nights. He gave it to me and Katelyn too, so that sucks.
He loves sharing a room with his brothers, and he really doesn't know he isn't a big kid too. He wants to ride his bike in the street and go to preschool too. He jumps on the trampoline with them and splashes in the bathtub. (Yes, we still put all three boys in together. Kate goes first by herself.) He refuses to hold my hand in the preschool parking lot, and he's constantly in trouble for running ahead.
He is still quite the escape-artist, and I keep all the doors out of the house locked, especially the one out to the garage. He loves to play in the driver's seat of the van. He knows how to eject all the cds from the player, turn on the hazards and mess with the interior lights. He's trouble, and the most adorably cute and fun little boy in the world!
We are headed to Utah in the morning for Thanksgiving. Wish us luck with an 8-hr drive plus stops for pottying, nursing, burping and screaming. I'm terrified. And there's no saying how well the kids will all sleep once we get there. Sigh. The things we do to see family.
