O Christmas Tree...

Last weekend we went out and got our tree! We have sort of come up with a family tradition of going out to Radebaugh's Tree Farm in Belchertown and chopping our own tree down. We always go telling ourselves that we will get a nice, small, modest, Charlie Brown type tree and end up coming home with one that is WAY too big! We went out and Ethan ran straight to the perfect Charlie Brown tree and both Jonathan and I scrunched up our noses and tried to persuade him to pick a bigger one. We finally ended up compromising and got this lovely tree...

The kids were so excited to help decorate. It was adorable. Camille couldn't stop messing with the lights and Ethan was honored to adorn the top with the angel...

And here she is! Our lovely, perfect sized tree. We are so proud! =) Although we do have to pick up ornaments off the floor and tell the kids several times daily to "NOT TOUCH THE TREE!" It's so worth it. =)

Ethan's birthday party

Ethan is a big 4 year old now! We had a party for him at the Belchertown Family Center and a ton of awesome friends came to celebrate with him. He had a pirate themed party, cuz he's so into pirates right now. It was very cute and I hear all the kids had fun. I made up little pirate hats out of paper to give to the kids as they left. They also got a little goodie bag filled with a necklace, a compass, some fish stickers and a little treat bag full of gummy sharks and chocolate coins. I am so glad Ethan had such a great party! Thanks to all that came!

Blowing out the candles!

Pirate cake... did not get fully assembled. Didn't see any reason to. =P

Funny how Camille is already flirting with boys...

Some of the wonderful party guests. =)

Buzz Lightyear from Granna and Grandpa.

Party hat craft

We got a little bored today so I checked into my Preschooler's Busy Book for ideas and found party hats! So easy and the kids had tons of fun making them. We colored paper with crayons, put stickers on and glued cut-outs from old calendars and magazines on, then staples them together and stuck them on their heads, then we had snack and watched Curious George while wearing the hats. So cute!

They are growing up...

Today Jonathan and I went to the local YMCA to check out membership options and see what classes the kids could get involved in. During the tour Ethan was right up there with our tour guide (Brian), asking questions and being his friendly little self. We got to the gymnastics room and Ethan was all set. He climbed up onto the balance beam and practiced over and over again. We are very interested in signing up and having the kids take some swim and gym classes and having Ethan take a general sports class for 3-5 year olds in the Spring.

Cami has grown so much over the summer. She is beginning to speak in short sentences. The other morning I over heard the kids talking through the baby moniter. Ethan said "You say yes, Camille." Then she mutter something and then he said "No, mommy is mine! Not yours!" Then both kids came into our room and cuddled with us. As they were leaving Ethan said to Camille, "Go back to mommy" and she answered "Mommy sleep." It was so cute to hear them having their "serious" conversations.

I am homeschooling Ethan, all on my own this year. I have some fun things planned for this week. A couple things, we are doing a bean project, where we will watch beans sprout. We are also doing a family project, I made up a paper people chain. I also cut out clothes that fit right on, so he is going to glue the clothes on the little people and coloring on their faces and hair and decide who is daddy, mommy, Ethan and Camille. It will be fun! We are doing a math work-book for 3-4 year olds and we'll be making hot apple cider together. Lots of other fun things planned between now and Christmas. I am so excited and so is he! I think he is really enjoying having this "school-time" with mommy.

Planning for the future

I cannot seem to get baby number 3 off my mind! Even though, we definitely won't start trying until Jonathan is done with school, has a good job and has medical benefits. I think about names, about how to manage a pregnancy with diabetes and remember sweet moments with my last 2 newborns. I can't wait to go through our old clothes, to see ultrasounds, to feel the baby move, to hold the new baby in my arms and experience all the great moments all over again, most likely for the last time. It's a good think that we have to wait a while to start trying. It will give me a chance to get my diabetes under tight control and to re-learn all there is to know about pregnancy, birth, and infancy... all while having type 1 diabetes. Pray that I can be patient and take this time as an opportunity to become and expert on all of those important topics.

In other news... Jonathan just started his last year at UMASS!! YAY! I have a feeling it will breeze by, especially considering that he will finish his thesis and defend it all before Christmas break, meaning the Christmas and Spring will be relaxing. The only stress we'll have is finding him a job and getting ourselves all moved over to our new location next summer. Honestly, I am so exciting about this new phase of life starting. MA has been awesome! I have made amazing friends and have found the most wonderful church I have ever attended. I will truly miss all of that but I am feeling adventurous and I know these experiences have taught me a lot that I will be able to use in the future.

As for the kids and I at home, well I made up a preschool curriculum, very simple things, so that I can get started on teaching Ethan about his ABC's, 123's and all that fun stuff. We have done 2 school days and it has been so much fun. He has gotten so into it that one day, while we were going through the alphabet, he was literally screaming and jumping out of his chair with excitement answering my questions. He is doing great and learning so fast! I love watching him learn, answering his questions and bonding with him through learning. I am going to strive to be a fun part of his learning life. I want him to do much better in school than I did, with little pressure and stress and I know there are tons of ways to make learning fun!

I will, hopefully, be updating this blog more often about this last year of grad school and what we are doing. Looking forward to the surprises that God has in store for us!

Picking wild flowers

Since Ethan is getting over Pneumonia and hasn't been outside too much in the past few weeks I took him out to pick wild flowers yesterday (before the week of rain begins). It was so much fun to walk around in nature and explore with him. Here are the flowers we picked...

He decided to give the wild flowers to Nemo. He sure loves that fish! Lol!

Ethan

I can't even believe I am about to type this but Ethan is 2 1/2 now. He is growing up so fast! I was looking at the baby pictures I have of him on the wall today and just feeling sad that he is not my little baby anymore, so this is why people have so many babies! Lol! Anyway, each month that goes by gets more fun and interesting. Ethan is really exploring language right now, he is speaking very clearly and in sentences. He says some funny things though, like "I want all done!" or when you tell him something like "Okay Ethan, time to go take a nap" he'll reply "Ok, I eat cookies" Lol! He has his own agenda! I am amazed everyday at how sweet, caring, and polite he is becoming. He is growing up into such a sweet and handsome guy and I am so proud of him.

This past week was very draining and scary. On Saturday Ethan came down with a fever, his eyes were glazed over, he was coughing and wheezing very badly and was just not his happy, sweet, playful self. We took him into urgent care, where they said he needed an Albuterol treatment. After that traumatizing experience they decided to put him on antibiotics. The next day I called back, because he slept so poorly, and they told me about an easier way to administer the Albuterol and gave me a prescription for cough syrup with Codeine. I took him back in on Monday where they diagnosed him with Pneumonia. He is doing better now but we were all very sad for him and worried. Please keep him in your thoughts and/or prayers that he will not relaps. This illness has been going on for about 3 weeks now. We are really feeling ready to enjoy our summer together at this incredibly fun age!

And here's our little sicky... aww!

Happy Spring, Everyone!

Well it has been a while since I've posted anything other than pictures. I guess I am having blogger's block or something. Jonathan has been busy with school and I have been trying to keep myself and the kids busy so we don't go crazy in the house. Jonathan recently got the opportunity to take his first trip to the Big Apple. He was sent by his adviser to the Hemsley Lighting Portfolio Review. He had a great time and came back feeling very excited and inspired, which I'm sure is what the desired outcome was, since in 2 years he will be going back to present his own portfolio. Go, Jonathan, go! He is currently working on 12 shows, all of which will be performed in the next 4 weeks. He has been busy and exhausted so please keep him in your prayers. The kids and I have been enjoying the sunshine and going to the playground a lot, as you can see by all the photos I have been posting. We have also been taking advantage of the library, checking out LOTS of books and DVDs. Ethan loves reading and I read to him several times a day. He is starting to memorize the books and often he will just sit down with 2 stacks of books, look through the pages and tell the stories to himself outloud. It is so cute! He still loves watching Curious George and Max and Ruby, and since we do not have cable anymore, those are the 2 shows we watch the most. He is slowly getting more interested in potty training and we have finally taught him to drink out of a cup that doesn't have a sippy lid! Although, he does prefer the lid for some reason, a habit we will have to break. Cami is getting closer and closer to crawling everyday. She is such a happy little girl! So cute and so chubby! We are moving her up to size 5 diapers, 1 size larger than her big brother wears. She can say "mama" now, I am amazed because I didn't hear any words come out of Ethan's mouth until about 10 or 11 months. She loves to eat and loves to drink water out of a regular cup! Right now I am training her to sleep through the night and it is going very well! As for me, I am really starting to feel like I am getting control of things in this life with 2 little ones. I am finding time to do all the little things that keep me happy, like keeping the house clean, doing my hair, cooking dinners and taking the kids on outings, including seeing lots of friends! I am looking forward to my sister visiting this summer and hoping my cousin, Ricky and my friend, Sarah will be able to make it out for a visit also. So now, here are some more pictures of the kids playing at the park and at home.

Sweet little Cami playing in the grass.

Ethan's favorite thing to play on at the playground is the slide.

He loved this shakey bridge and would crawl across instead of walk. He was cracking up when his friend, Shaylin, jumped on it and made him bounce.

Camille on the left, with her friend, Ashley.

Gotta love that smile!

Just a bunch of pictures!

Enjoying some lunch.

Hmm... he's getting a little too big for the swing... He can turn it on and climb into it himself now.

Cami, sleeping in our bed... this is very rare!

So fresh and so clean clean after a bath.

Trying her first taste of pizza... yes, she liked it!

Play time!

Chasing some ducks before church, so much fun!

Pretty eyes...

Doesn't he look comfy?

Camille

Here is a picture of Camille's name which I have painted. We will be hanging it above her crib in her room. Ethan has one too, but each letter on his is painted a solid color and has some little painted wooden piece glued to it. I had a lot of fun with these. The butterfly on the 'M' is now turned at an angle to look like a butterfly landed on it and the bunny is glued to the 'E'. The 'C' and the 'E' are just painted brown, that's why I didn't find it important to picture them. The idea is that the brown pieces are the soil, the green pieces are the grass and bushes, the pink and orange pieces are flowers and the blue piece is the sky, so we will hang them in sort of a half circle.


We finally moved the kids into the same room today. It was a lot of fun to set up their furniture and toys. We do still have some finishing touches to do, like hanging their stuff and cleaning the furniture. So far so good though. They both got to sleep just 1/2 an hour later than normal and are both sleeping peacefully an hour later. Pray that this lasts all night! Jonathan and I are excited to have a room back all to ourselves! This is a big and wonderful step into healthy sleep patterns for everyone! =) Okay, I'm a dork... lol!

Sickness and injuries

It's been a very hectic 2 weeks. It all started with Ethan getting a fever of 103.6, then a bad cold. When Ethan suffers, everyone suffers as he does not sleep. A few days later Camille caught his cold and something worse... croup (you can tell it's croup if their cough sounds like a seal bark, furthermore if they develop stridor, it can be very serious). Camille did have a little bit of stridor so I took her in the bathroom, turned on the shower and fed her where she could breathe in the steam and it seemed to help. I finally got them in the see the doctor (which was a nightmare itself, I'll have to tell that story another time) and she helped by giving me meds for Cami's croup and Ethan's cough (which I am still giving to him.) After all that Camille got very constipated, she was screaming and crying so I had to buy her some Glycerin suppositories, fun, huh? She finally got it out and now I am shoving prunes, prune juice and other foods that help her go into her mouth. The next day Ethan had to go to the allergist to get some tests done to see how his nut allergy is. They did a scratch test on him, which he struggled and cried to get away from. Jonathan had to hold him down for 10-15 minutes so that nothing, especially Ethan, touched his back and rubbed the test off. It was exhausting, even for me who was just trying to entertain and distract Ethan from the itching pain on his back and the fact that he couldn't move. Well, after all that Ethan is still allergic to peanuts quite a bit and has a slight allergy to other nuts. They said he even tested positive for being allergic to milk, but we give him that all the time and he's always been fine. That night Ethan was running around me in circles and ran smack-dab into a chair, and cut his eyebrow open. Poor thing was screaming and bleeding all over the place. I really thought he was going to need stitches. Jonathan rushed home and helped me clean the wound. He is fine and didn't need stitches, thank God. On top of all that both kids are sleeping horribly, and keeping me up all night, Ethan has even woken up throwing up two nights in a row! Needless to say the past two weeks just sucked. Please pray that we all start getting better soon! I don't know if I can take anymore sickness or injuries!

So I didn't get a picture of the cut on his eye, but there's a picture of the bandage and Ethan, climbing around and being dangerous like he normally is. Luckily, the picture isn't so bad.

What a wonderful and strange Valentine's Day

The wonderful part being that a friend watched our kids so we could go on a date to Elements Hot Tub Spa and sit in a sauna and hot tub in a private room for an hour. The strange part being that Jonathan and Ethan both got their hair completely buzzed off! They look pretty bald, but both still have a little fuzz. I sure miss Ethan's long, curly, blond hair though. =( So, here are some pictures from the day.

I made these chocolate covered strawberries as a surprise for Jonathan to eat during our date.

Here's my little baldy. Next time Jonathan said he'll put a guard on the buzzer so it won't be this short. (This is his first hair cut ever!)

Here is me with my other baldy in the hot tub room, when the date was just ending.

Valentine's dinner, homemade pizza... mmmm!

Can't forget about little Camille, she spent Valentine's day sick... poor thing! =(

The joys of parenting... or something like that...

The kids had me running around like mad this morning. Ethan is getting over having a cold but he is acting just fine. As I was washing the dishes this morning I saw him carrying the dish towels I folded last night down the hallway. Thinking he was putting them on my bed I didn't mind and thanked him when he returned. An hour or so later I was looking for a tiny wash cloth, that would have been with the towels, so I could wipe the oatmeal off of Camille's face and was surprised that I couldn't find the pile of towels, so I went in the bathroom and found them all... in the toilet... (picture below). I promptly put them in the washing machine, in hot water, on extra heavy cycle and washed them clean. Later I was doing something else and Ethan had wandered off. I went looking for him and found him in the bathroom, dipping his hair brush in the toilet and brushing his hair. Aye! He then had to take a bath and get a good soap down. Kids will keep you busy... Needless to say, I will be keeping the bathroom doors shut from now on... Oh! By the way, I still haven't found the tiny wash cloths that should have been with the dish towels.. =\

Random

I decided I needed to spice up my blog a little bit tonight, hence the new layout and pictures of the family. Weird, I don't have a good picture of the 4 of us, I will have to work on getting one. Anyway, I should be sleeping right now but I have the hardest time falling asleep when Jonathan is not home, (my dear husband is off at school working hard to give us a better life for the future) so what am I doing? Playing on the computer, of course! I have been neglecting my blog lately, I guess I've had bloggers block if you will. It's just that not much is going on that I feel is worth posting about. It is cold outside and I don't have a car so most of the time I just stay home with the kids. I am having a bit of cabin fever. I joined a book group and we read a great book called Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. It is a Christian romance, if you can imagine that. I really liked it and I look forward to the next book we are reading which I will tell you about later. It is nice to get away from the house once a month, alone, and sit and chat with a group of girls. Jonathan and I have also been attending a weekly Bible study, although I am far from away from the kids, I usually have to leave the room because Camille is "talking" louder than the group does. As soon as she is sitting up on her own more easily I will start putting her in the nursery. Jonathan is super-busy and I am really missing him. He seems to really be enjoying the assignments and projects he's working on (except for those all-nighters) and he likes the people he gets to work with. Ethan is talking up a storm. He was even repeating the spanish words on Dora this evening. Finally, Camille is a little beauty. She is eating rice cereal everyday and she seems to like it very much. She loves toys and music but one of her favorite things to do is watch Ethan play and laugh at him. You can tell she wants to play with him so bad just by the look in her eyes. Poor girl, soon enough! Now that I have been typing for a while the sleepiness is really hitting me and I am going to attempt to hit the sack. Night all!

P.S. What is everyone doing for Valentine's? Have you even thought about it yet? I have some surprises for Jonathan. =)

January 2009 - Cold times

Yes, it is very cold in Massachusetts this time of year... I am not even sure of what there is to do outside of the house so we have been trying to entertain ourselves indoors. Here are some pictures of the kids and such from January...

Camille found her thumb, she's not a binky kind of girl.

She is also learning how to sit up on her own so she can play with her brother.

Isn't she a beauty?

Here are a couple of cuties, hanging out.

Little sleepy-head.

A painting mess!

We are trying out different arts and crafts, painting is a good one.

Coloring is good too.

Camille is happy just playing with toys.

But Jonathan is not happy to be spit-up on.