Little Boys becoming Big Boys

Today mom and I took the boys to the pool. We have been swimming several times this summer, but I have not let Lathan get in the water because of sunburns,(our children received my genes of fair skin), nap time, etc. Today he had already had his morning nap so I decided to let him take a dip. I then realized I did not have any swim diapers for him. So what does any constructive mom do...put him in the only swim diapers we have..(Ethan's). I thought they might be a little big and I could layer them above his regular diapers. Boy was I wrong!!! They actually fit him just fine, without any layering. I find it very interested that children two years apart can wear the same size diapers. Like I said before, I wonder how long it will take LJ (Lathan) to surpass Ethan in size.

Now, on to Ethan's big moment today. He finally decided to ride his bike using the pedals. This may not sound like a big deal to most of you, but Nate and I have been working on this goal for several months. I think Ethan understood that it was a big accomplishment as well..he pointed to the pedals to show me!

We are leaving for Arkansas this weekend to visit my mom's side of the family (they have not seen Lathan yet) and make a stop on the way to see Nate's parents. I will be posting new pictures when we get back!

Amazed!

It still amazes me how God can create two totally different individuals from the same set of parents! Lathan is starting to show his personality more and it is becoming apparant how completely different it is from Ethan's. I started thinking about how different they were after I weighed them (don't ask me why). Ethan is in the lower percentile for weight and Lathan in the higher (obviously). They are 23 months apart...same as Laura and I. And as of today, Ethan weighs 28lbs and Lathan weighs 18lbs. ONLY 10 POUNDS DIFFERENCE!! I'm wondering how quick Lathan will catch up with Ethan (and I'm pretty sure he will). So, I guess you could say when I'm holding them both, I'm getting a good workout on my arms! We also have noticed that Lathan likes to have people around him. He doesn't like to be left by himself, whereas, Ethan plays wonderful by himself. But, Ethan is more of an extravert as far as communicating with others. As a baby, Ethan would let anybody hold him and was happy. We have noticed that Lathan starts crying if he's not familiar with you. No matter how different they may be, I love them both for all their characteristics! Anyways, just thought I would share my random thought for today.

Just a day at the movies!

Today I decided to take Ethan to the movies to see Madagascar. He has seen the movie several times at home, but I thought it would be a fun mother/son adventure to go to the movies. When we got in the theater, the lights were out and the movie was beginning. We walked halfway up the stairs, excused ourselves around a few other people, and sat in the middle of the row. Ethan climed into his seat and immediately started saying "roar" for the lion and "say-dees" for the zebra. (Mom's horse is called Mercedes, so all horses and zebras are called "say-dees" to Ethan. After about 2 mintes, he was ready to go. I tried to get him to stay until we became a disturbance to others.
As we reached the exit level to leave, he pointed to the lower section and said "sit." So trying to make this fun for him I went along with this. Ethan took us to the FIRST row all by ourselves and said "sit" again. As soon as I got him situated and started to sit down...he got up and began running around. Embarrassed, I quickly gathered our belongings (minus one sippy cup we lost in the chase) and made a mad dash for the exit. Guess I'll be saving our movie days for when he's older! We opted for the mall play area in lieu of the movies today.

Funny Things

For some reason, both of the boys have been waking up around 4am lately. While I am feeding Lathan in the nursery this is what I hear.... Ethan closes his door behind him, comes to close the nursery door (without peeping in), and then walks to our bedroom to close the door behind him. After putting Lathan back to bed, I return to bed only to find Ethan nice and cozy..sound asleep on my pillow with my blanket. I have been pushing him over and letting him sleep with us for the rest of the morning. But now I am finding myself very tired...he is a horrible wiggle worm in his sleep. My sister can vouch for that as he spends the night with her once a week. Last night, I returned him to his proper place and I rested much better! I don't know what the issue is with doors either. He likes them all closed...even when you are in his room playing with him. He even used to lock Augusta in his room with him to force her to play with him...silly little boy!

Ethan is also very interested in counting right now. This is how we count...1,2,1,2,and so on and so on. Three just doesn't seem to be an option right now! He even repeated Count Dracula (I think that's his name) on Sesame Street with 1,2,1,2,1,2 for the number 6. We'll get there one day!

A Day at the Ranch

The boys and I were at the ranch hanging out. Mom, Laura, and I decided to take the boys in the mule to the back part of the property. (For those who don't know what a mule is: it's similar to a golf cart, but has two benches, is meant for more rough terrain, and we currently do not have the windshield on it.) So, on our way back to the house, it started sprinkling. Laura is in the back seat with the boys, so mom and I end up being their shield in the front. We look ahead and see the downpour that is blowing our direction with the wind. Laura covered Lathan with the diaper cloth. I covered Ethan's face with his cowboy hat (although, he would have preferred nothing as this was fun to him!). It was raining so hard that mom had a hard time seeing the road even through her sunglasses. By the end of the trip, we could ring water out of clothes. Since Ethan was already wet, we let him play in the rain. You gotta love mother nature!!

The other pictures are Ethan playing with a friend's dog and just chillin!

Some of Lathan's Favorite Things

This is one of Lathan's first foods. He has tried peas, squash, and carrots (shown)and of course, loved them all. As you can tell, he's not a picky eater!



This is the first time in this toy. He loves anything that lets him stand.




Just playing!




He knows how to make a real good pucker!

Tribute to Augusta

For those who do not already know, Augusta was adopted by a sweet family near us. They live in the country and have a two year old little girl who adores her. Ethan was beginning to get too rough with Augusta and she seemed unhappy (even though she looks like that all the time.) So we decided it was best to look for a family to adopt her. I have called to check on her several times and she is very happy in her new home. So, for all the wonderful memories we shared with her, here are some pictures to remember her by!



Ethan at 3 weeks with Augusta!