The Little Man That Could

Cliche, I know, but it's true. My baby Ethan is turning into a little boy! Here's some photos from the last month:


My little cuddlebug. He HATED cuddling as an infant, he'd never leave his head resting on my shoulder since he was about 3 days old. Now, Ethan will stop what he's doing several times a day to give me hugs, kisses, or just cuddle. I LOVE it!






Major Bedhead, inherited from his adorable cousin Ally. I guess it means he sleeps well? He needs a haircut, but with such fine hair, I'm worried that he needs it all during the hot summer months to protect his head, since he absolutely refuses to wear a hat.



The beautiful days of spring have turned my life into a nonproductive state, as this little boy wants to be outside every waking hour. Hey, at least he's willing to mow the lawn (or sidewalk)...

A few days this week have been colder, but that doesn't stop him. No, Mr. Opinionated can't decide between his two favorite jackets, so demands that he wear both. For most the the day, inside and out, he wore both.



Books come in a close second in favorites. The paperbacks he can only do for the first 2 pages (though that doesn't stop him from requesting them OVER and OVER again), and his boardbooks are neverending sources of entertainment (for him, not me--I think the boardbooks are more like bored-books). Lately he's started "reading" to himself a lot. His John Deere is a favorite place to cuddle up for a good book.

A Girl's Best Friend

No, it's not diamonds. It's not chocolate. And it probably is only true for preggos like me who are tortured all pregnancy with HEARTBURN!

My BFF is Tums. Ahhh. Not that the taste is anything spectacular, but we're pretty much joined at the hip since I'm popping them constantly day and night. And thank goodness they take effect immediately--if it was the waiting period that aspirin takes, I'd be dead.

At 23 weeks I'm still feeling good. It's fun to feel the gentle kicks before this little man turns my stomach into a punching bag. Here's a photo of the belly--I'm definitely showing and enjoying the oh-so-fashionable-elastic-waist maternity pants. The joys of motherhood. . .

This is also the point at which strangers politely try not to stare at your stomach wondering if they should ask about when you're due, but still scared because, hey, what if I wasn't pregnant and had a bit of a beer belly? Yes, I understand. I personally won't ask someone about their pregnancy unless it's been confirmed to me or I'm positive they are about to pop. One too many bowls of ice cream or a bun in the oven? For now, strangers will just have to deal with the unknown. (Besides, the answer is both... :) )

Oooh, spicy!

Our spice rack, which we've had since we got married 3 1/2 years ago, has always been in need of a little makeover. I've always been frustrated that most of the spices in it are... weird. Who really uses caraway, mint leaves, cardamon pods, and celery salt on a regular basis? And why couldn't those be left out and instead sold with more common spices like garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, or red pepper flakes? A little annoying to not ever use 11 of the 20 spices in your rack.
Solution:
Get rid of the nasties and replace bottles with the goodies.

It might not look as professional, but it was still fun to relabel the bottles and have my most common spices at my fingertips. Getting rid of storing 11 of those spices in my cupboard instead was also a bonus.

Daddy's boy

Last night Brian decided to do a little studying outside after dinner since it was such nice weather. Ethan decided to join him. With his own laptop. Don't worry little one, your time of studying for finals will come all too soon...

We are sisters...

Hip hip horray! This weekend marked the First Annual (hopefully) Lillywhite Girls Weekend. My mom, 3 sisters, and 2 sister-in-laws, and I stayed in Salt Lake for the weekend--no kids, no hubbies, just a lot of food, fun and shopping.
I was a little nervous to leave Ethan for 5 days but he did great, thanks to his amazing dad and some good friends. Instead of bawling the moment he saw me come off the airplane because he missed his mom who he's typically glued to, he glanced at me and went back to reading his book. I picked him up and hugged him, but he just gave me a quick smile and turned back to Brian asking him to finish reading the book to him. What a silly boy! It's great, he has seemed much more comfortable playing by himself since I've been back. I guess I'll have to leave more often ;)
It seemed to be a great refresher for me to get back into being a stay at home mom (I did really miss B & E), Brian learned a lot ("we've had lots of fun, but I've learned a lot--taking care of Ethan all day is HARD work!"), and Ethan seems to be happier and not as clingy. Yes, I think I'll have to do this yearly.

Can you guess who are the sisters and who are sisters-in-law? Probably not...
L-R: Carmelle (sister), Alyssa (sister), Mom, Kaitlin (sister), Lindsey Kay (SIL), me, and Lindsey Marie (SIL)

And the final answer is...

It's a BOY!
It's true, Ethan gets a little brother to get into trouble with! What am I going to do surrounded by all these boys? I'm really excited, it will be fun to have these kids be friends and it fits perfectly into our budget--same season as Ethan, so we're set supplies and clothes!
I'm still feeling good at 19 weeks, I never got sick, but crash for the night at about 7 or 8 if I can't squeeze in a short nap during Ethan's naptime. No longer do I hear Brian question if I'm really pregnant. Apparently the previous ultrasounds, pregnancy test, tiredness, heartburn, and constant hunger weren't enough to convince him. He wanted to see a belly or sickness (I haven't been eager to do either). Now that I can't button my jeans and am about to bust out the maternity clothes, he's fully convinced. Let the games begin! And the name picking too :)

Surprise Piano Recital

This weekend we visited Brian's parents for a surprise piano recital. Brian's mom has taught piano for 26 years and usually puts on an April recital, but because of health issues with her cancer this year, she had to forgo her beloved annual recital.
As a surprise, some of her good friends arranged for some of her piano students, past and present, to learn a recital piece to perform for Eileen in a surprise recital. It was great! The heartwarming night made us all cry. The students worked so hard and were so cute in playing their pieces. Many of the songs were by beginning students and were only a couple lines long.
As the last performance, Brian played an amazing song to pay a tribute to his mother who taught him piano and gave him a love of playing. Grandma and Grandpa wanted to hear it, so here it is. (sorry about the horrible camera work, I blame it on my crying child, being mesmerized by the piece and not paying attention, and holding the camera with my arms resting on my prego tummy while breathing in and out)

Enjoy! (it's quite amazing, I can't even figure out how to play a hymn without messing up)