Ethan's newest project from school

Our little Leprechaun

The dogs were a little jealous so they had to have a picture as well.

Baseball...This is our life at the moment

Starting out as pitcher's helper

Now trying out first base.

Getting pumped!

His Daddy as Asst. Coach.

Out with the boys...

Friday night Ryan had to work late so the boys and I went to dinner, and then went to the Commons for ice cream and little playtime.  We enjoyed our time out but we sure did miss Daddy.

Cheese!

Aiden looks so sad. 

Catcher = great entertainment!

Ethan was the catcher for the first time at Tuesday's game. I don't think he moved at all during the entire inning.  The balls would bounce off of his gear and he never even flinched.  Priceless!!

Sweet boys...

I had a follow up with my Dr. this morning. We are still trying to figure out what are the causes of my constant headaches. I am still in limbo right now and will go for an MRI on Tuesday. The boys were very concerned about me going to my appointment by myself. They said "but Mommy, we really need to go with you because we need to take care of you." I am thinking they really just wanted to get out of school but you got to love those sweet boys!

Baseball season has begun!

Baseball Season has begun and we seem to be busier than ever. Ethan has moved up to Coach pitch and he now has two games each week and practices will begin again soon. His Coach is a great and Ethan is learning so much. Saturday was opening day and we started very early with the ceremony and then all of the fun festivities. That afternoon he had his first game and they all did really well. That was my first time as the "Official Team Mom". Honestly, I thought I might be the first Mom to walk just after one game. My duties had begun weeks prior and included: running around to everyone's home to drop/pick up items, team shirts, banners and paying for things up front and then begging the parents to pay me back. Needless to say, I have been worn out.

Last night Ethan had his second game. The dugout ran much smoother which made my job easier. Ethan hit an in field home run and after about 10 minutes, he finally made it to home base. I am blaming his slowness on his broken leg when he was three. Poor thing, his upper body is moving but the little legs don't seem to go anywhere. He also had his first try as catcher. This was a funny sight. I don't think he moved much and the balls kept hitting him, so we got a good laugh.
He is having a great time so far and absolutely loves baseball. We will keep you posted on the rest of the season.

Ethan on Opening Day

Allergy Update...

Aiden had his 1/2 day food challenge for wheat yesterday. He is weighing in at 39 lbs and is 44 in. tall. His allergies are not holding him back at all. He passed with flying colors and we can now remove wheat from his list of allergies. We pray that each time they test him, his list will get shorter. Next month we will do another 1/2 day test for soy and hopefully this one will be marked off as well. Aiden has a very good memory and he loves his doctors. In his last appointment, his Dr. thought he saw some giraffes in his ears. So, Aiden was sure to remind him and was excited to find out what might be in his ears for this visit. We are happy to announce that Aiden now has turtles (1 in the right ear and 3 in the left). It sounds a bit crowded to me.

All Cousins together...

This past weekend we had Mikayla and Ian over for a sleep over. Stephanie is currently in Korea and Chad had to go San Diego for work. The boys were beyond excited. They have wanted them to come over to play for some time and not only were they coming over, but they were spending the night. One issue... Ian doesn't really like big dogs and we have to 2 big dogs. When Chad dropped them off, we decided to go for a bike ride to let Ian see the dogs outside and get used to them a bit. Ian was able to ride Aiden's bike, the boys were in a wagon and the dogs pulled them and Mikayle rode my bike.

                             The boys getting ready for their wagon ride.

I am sure this was a funny sight for cars driving by.

The boy's new loft bed came in handy.  Aiden got to sleep on the top bunk (which now he is spoiled and doesn't understand why this isn't permanent).  Ian slept on the bottom bed (with the rails) and Ethan and Mikayla slept under the loft in sleeping bags.  They were imagining that they were sleeping under a tree.  Surprisingly, they all feel asleep pretty fast and slept through the night!!
The next morning was very interesting getting 4 kids ready for church and out the door.  I thought it was hard with 2!?!  Afterwards, we kept them busy.  They watched a movie, went for another bike ride and then we took them outside for raking and bagging leaves.  We got a lot more done outside with a few extra hands (except Ian, he went behind us throwing the leaves around- but he had fun!). 

Don't they look cozy??

Overall, we had a great weekend. 

Ethan- the umbrella twirler

Ethan had his first ever school program a few weeks back.  He was very excited and so were we.  Ethan was singing his little heart out.  Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of him up close and singing (mainly because as the title states, he was an umbrella twirler and his face was covered).  During the show, Aiden was having a reaction to something so we were trying to make him comfortable until we could leave. 

Here is Ethan and a very proud Mommy!

Precious Moment...

Nana has been talking with Aiden about having Jesus in his heart. On Saturday, he was walking around and talking really quietly. So... I stopped what I was doing (probably what any parent would do if they heard their kid talking to themselves) and asked him what he was talking about. He mentioned that "all you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart and then he is with you all of the time!" Then he went on to tell me that he was just having a little conversation with Jesus to see how his day was going. He then walked out of the room whispering "I love you Jesus". Aiden turned to me and said “you know Mommy; you don't have to talk really loud for Jesus to hear you".


Precious!! I do love that kid.

Slacker...

I just noticed that I have been a slacker with the blogging. I was doing so well.


Updates:
• Ethan has started his baseball season. We have been traveling to practices at least twice a week so it doesn't seem like we have anymore quiet nights at the house. (Although it doesn't seem like our house is quiet too often). Also... I reluctantly volunteered to be Team Mom. I was warned but didn't listen. I should have... last night I was traveling around town picking up money and order forms from all of the parents, I had to call all 12 parents to let them know practice was cancelled and I was receiving calls and texts until 9:30. Seriously... What was I thinking?!?
• Ethan is doing very well with his reading. He is moving up levels with each book he reads and is passing all of his tests on comprehension. I am finding it fascinating to watch him learn right in front of my eyes and I can tell he is gaining confidence with each new book.
• My headaches are back and in full swing. I was doing so well but now I am dealing with them everyday again. Some have even turned in to migraines (which I didn't deal with before). I do not like this at all. I am going to see a new doctor in the morning and hopefully he can help me out. I will beg if I have to!
• My dogs (Actually Ryan's dogs) have been leaving little surprises for us when we get home. I am not happy about this at all. So... I just yell and Ryan comes running with the carpet cleaner.
• Tonight we have our first meeting at LaPetite Academy for VPK. I can't believe my baby will be starting pre-school this year. His teachers tell us he is very smart. He even wrote a letter to the Imagination Movers to express his love for their music!
• Aiden is singing some new songs with a lot of passion. If you enjoyed his videos a few months back, you will love his new versions. I will post some new videos soon. This time, I will try not to laugh so much while recording.

Another funny Aiden moment:

Last night Aiden was finishing up with his shower/bath and requested some baby oil. Doesn't everyone like to have baby soft skin? So, we were applying some baby oil and he asked “Mommy is baby oil made out of babies?" I asked him to think that over a bit and get back with me. I do wonder where he comes up with some of the things he says.