A-squared Adventures

Christmas 2011- Part 2

2012-01-21T12:09:00.001-07:00

Whoops, I just realized that I forgot to post this. Finally, here is part 2.

Part two of Christmas was Christmas day itself. Actually I wish I could put this in three parts, with part three being our New Years celebration with Aarons parents and sister, but I don’t have any pictures of that so this is only a two parter.

This Christmas was the first Christmas with just the three of us. Both of our families were out of town, so we celebrated with just our little family. It was different, but it was still fun.

Ethan slept in on Christmas morning so we didn’t get a chance to open any presents before we went to church that day. Although, he did enjoy exploring his stocking. He was so thrilled with what he found that he didn’t even notice the presents under the tree.

Then, after church, it was naptime. Ethan slept for a couple of hours. So finally around two in the afternoon we got around to opening presents. Then we spent the next three hours doing so. My dad would have been overjoyed with how it all went down. He loves to take his time opening all of his presents. That’s exactly how Ethan wanted to do it. Ethan wanted to open a gift and then play with it before he would open another.

He was spoiled with puzzles and a coloring mat…

Even a bucket of dinosaurs, which he made sure to pull out each one and stick his finger into everyone of their mouths.

A surprise favorite of the day was his new Elmo doll. He was beyond thrilled with this gift. He thought that he had found his new best friend.

At this point, Ethan insisted on helping us open all of our presents. And no matter what Aaron and I received, Ethan would give us a disappointing look and say “Oh, shoes” and then he would get us another present to open hoping that it contained something more exciting. Funny kid.

It was a wonderful day spent with our little family.

Christmas 2011- Part 1

2012-01-07T11:28:00.001-07:00

I think I am going to share our Christmas in two parts. I have a lot of pictures to share so I thought I’d break it down.

We started off celebrating the Christmas season with my family. Everyone came into town the week before Christmas to celebrate.

We decorated Gingerbread houses. Ethan loved eating the candy. While Kate really got into it. Look at her fabulous creation.

I get a little serious about my gingerbread housing. My brother… not so much :)

We played lots of games. Santa bingo among a few others. We also did our annual white elephant gift exchange.

We even got to open presents.

Grandma and Grandpa win as givers of the present of the year. A real Buzz Light year! “And beyond!” are the two words that come out of Ethan's mouth most each day.

It was fun to spend the week together just hanging out. We even ventured out to Chuck E Cheese one day.

These two were inseparable. Although, Ethan may not look too enthused in this picture because we were interrupting him during Toy Story, he loves Kate! He still asks to play with her everyday. Cousins are the best!

SNOW!

2011-12-09T14:00:00.001-07:00

Hey look what I found… my computer. It has been MIA for a few weeks. I have had access to the online world through other means, so I really didn’t miss it. When my computer was rescued from underneath my bed this week, I realized that I did miss it. I missed uploading all of my pictures to it. I was excited when I rediscovered these snow pictures. These actually aren't that recent. They are not pictures from the current snow that we have on the ground. I don’t know about you, but I haven’t been willing to venture out in the freezing temperatures. These were actually taken back in October around Halloween when we got our first snow of the season. As you can see below, Ethan loved it!

Here he is channeling a little Santa Claus. Actually, he just discovered the existence of Santa. I don’t think he really understands what Santa does, but he knows that he exists and Ethan thinks that he is the coolest. He grabs our Santa ornament from off our Christmas tree, and then he runs around the house screaming “SANTA! SANTA!” It is awesome.

I am glad Ethan is a fan of the snow. We got him all set up with skis and boots this year. Hopefully we can make it up the mountains to get him started skiing!

What Can’t a Dragon Do?

2011-10-19T10:27:00.001-06:00

Dragons can laugh.

Dragons can play.

Dragons can spot airplanes.

Dragons can play Bocce ball.

Dragons can pick their nose?

Dragons can run.

Dragons can climb fences.

Dragons can cry when the neighbors dog is not outside to play with.

Dragons can pout.

Dragons can pick tomatoes.

Dragons can even mow the lawn.

I’m pretty sure their isn’t anything dragons can’t do.

Can you guess what Ethan is going to be for Halloween this year? He picked it out all by himself.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-17T16:52:00.001-06:00

Saturday we headed out to pick our pumpkins. We went to Cottonwood Farm up in Boulder. I was hesitant to go to this farm because I knew it was a smaller one. It ended up being the perfect place for Ethan.

They give you wagons to put your pumpkins in. Ethan thought that he had found a new best friend.

Besides the wagon, these were some of Ethan's favorite moments of the afternoon. He loved sticking his head through the holes.

He enjoyed exploring the straw maze.

And he loved checking out the cool old tractors…

… and waving to the farm animals.

And then finally for the main event, we picked our pumpkins!

We came home with two perfect pumpkins!

Mornings

2011-10-15T10:48:00.001-06:00

Here is a glimpse at what many of our mornings look like.

My son is a morning person. He wakes up with a huge smile on his face and he is always ready to face the day with laughter. I, on the other hand, am not a morning person. I need a few minutes to let it sink in that it really is time to get out of bed. So because of this, most mornings Aaron brings Ethan to me along with Ethan’s books. Then Ethan reads to me while I get acclimated to the bright light and wonder why I can’t see anything. It usually takes me a few minutes to realize that I have yet to put on my glasses.

If the iPad is ever around, Ethan will forgo his books so he can marvel at the screen mirroring his every move. This is his favorite and he could sit there for hours playing around with the camera. It is also my favorite because he could sit there for hours playing around with the camera. I’ll take all the extra time in bed as I can get ;)

Technology

2011-10-13T22:24:00.001-06:00

He can navigate his way around my smart phone pretty well, and he can handle the iPad even better. He even has a personal best of 85 points on fruit ninja. I give him six months before he starts teaching me about the latest technological invention.

Here he is checking his portfolio on Etrade.

Sometimes I Wonder…

2011-10-11T23:52:00.001-06:00

Without fail twice a day Ethan stands at the bathroom door screaming “ba, ba, ba” or in English “bath, bath, bath!” My son loves to take baths. Well showers actually, we gave up on baths as soon as he learned to unplug the drain.

Yesterday, Ethan came inside from playing in the backyard and he was covered in mud and sand. He was in desperate need of a bath. I took him to the bathroom and started to get him undressed. As soon as I took off his shoes he lost it. “Shoe, shoe, shoe!” He screamed. I just let him keep on screaming, because this kid needed to be hosed down whether or not he liked it. As soon as I got his wet and muddy clothes off I placed him in the tub, and that is when the crying began. This was such odd behavior since bath time is usually the highlight of his day. I tried to think of a way to remedy this situation. Then I remembered the shoe screaming from the minute before. I thought I’d revisit that and see if he was still interested in them. I picked up his shoe and he picked up his foot indicating that it was time to put it on. Once the shoes were on the crying stopped, and bath time happily resumed like nothing had just happened.

Sometimes I wonder what goes on inside that head of his… I’m just glad that he happened to be wearing plastic shoes.

Lunch Time

2011-10-10T22:42:00.001-06:00

Lunch always tastes better when eaten outside, and when eaten without pants.

Our Raspberry Walks

2011-10-08T21:04:00.001-06:00

Everyday around 5:30 Ethan starts to get a little anxious (or maybe it’s just me that gets anxious, probably both) because we know Aaron is going to be home soon. In order to pass the time until he gets home, we head up the block. See, at the end of our street is a high school. This high school has a play ground, basketball court, and a dog park. I think this may be Ethan's favorite place to play.

We usually walk up the street with raspberries in hand, and in mouth, and on our face.

We usually bring Ethan’s basketball. This particular day, we forgot it, so he improvised with a rock

He is so proud of himself, because he has finally conquered the tire swing.

He wishes he was a dog as he always tries to climb through the bars to join the dogs. Although, anytime one gets close to him he runs away screaming.

And Ethan’s favorite part of this outing is the stop on the way home. He usually grabs onto the fence forcing us to a halt, because he loves to watch the football and soccer practices. I think he could sit here all day.

I’m going to miss Summer. If todays weather stays with us, we are going to have to find a new activity to pass the time before Aaron gets home :(

The Zoo

2011-10-06T22:54:00.001-06:00

Have I ever mentioned that I love where I live? I love it! It’s a 10 minute walk to the grocery store. It is a four minute drive to downtown. And it is a one mile run/walk to the zoo. And the zoo is where we spend most of our mornings. During the hot summer we would run to the zoo, walk around for 20 minutes just hitting the highlights, and then run home before the heat really set in. Now that it has cooled down a little we can take our time. Ethan loves it!

Thanks to the zoo Ethan has his animal noises down. He can roar like the lions, tigers, and bears. He can hiss like a snake. He can howl like a monkey. And he can moo like a giraffe? Not sure where he came up with that one :)

I love the zoo, because it is the perfect precursor to nap time :)

Just a Few More…

2011-10-05T22:12:00.001-06:00

I thought that I would share a few more pictures from the weekend. We spent the weekend up in Keystone. We spent the weekend swimming, hiking, and watching conference. It was a relaxing weekend, and a perfect getaway.

Mountain Man

2011-10-04T15:35:00.001-06:00

I love the shots that I took on the day Ethan turned 18 months. They are the real everyday Ethan in just his basketball shorts and t-shirt.

We spent this last weekend up in the mountains. I thought since we surrounded by beautiful scenery that I would take some more 18 month shots just for fun!

Love this little guy!

Baking

2011-10-02T00:38:00.001-06:00

I have been asked if I forgot the flour on the floor pictures. Well, I didn’t actually get any photos of that particular moment. I apologize if yesterdays post was confusing. I do have some photos to share about what lead up to that flour event.

Ethan and I spent an afternoon baking.

We were baking zucchini bread, and apparently the grated zucchini looked too similar to corn on the cob.

And then while I was cleaning up the baking aftermath, that is when Ethan decided to add to the mess.

What I Took Away From Obama’s Speech

2011-09-30T13:25:00.001-06:00

This isn’t a political post. In fact, it wasn’t even supposed to be a post. As I was looking through pictures for a different post, I came across these photos that I had forgotten that I had taken. I have gotten in the habit now of always having the camera out. I take so many pictures these days that I forget about a lot of them. I love capturing all of Ethan's moments. As mundane as they may seem there is something special in all of them.

Take this afternoon for example. Ethan knows nothing about the current economic climate. Heck, he doesn’t even understand what a job is.

But when they stood up, he stood up.

When they clapped, he clapped.

I loved this afternoon, because I loved Ethan's optimistic spirit. For him, everyday is full of excitement and endless joy. I love the fact that he sees the good and the fun in everything that he does. That includes everything from watching the president speak…

… to discovering the existence of flour. Oh how I relish in his innocence, and his use of the word “Wow!”

“Wow!” I can open this bag of flour!

“Wow!” Look at what happens when I turn this bag upside down!

“Wow!” I get to sweep the floor!

I want to bottle these qualities up and keep them forever- for him and for me. I think that optimistic and innocent spirit is what gets me through those flour floor covered days, it is what teaches me most days, and it is what reminds me about why I love being a mother.

Goodnight

2011-09-28T22:44:00.001-06:00

18 Months

2011-09-27T16:46:00.001-06:00

Ethan turned 18 months yesterday. I still can’t believe how fast time fly's with this guy.

I thought that I would get him in a decent outfit and try to take some cute 18 month shots. In the end, I decided to take the camera out while Ethan was playing in the backyard yesterday. I let him tell all about his 18 month old self. And this is what he said...

I adore my blanket and I take it with me everywhere.

I can always find a stick bigger than I, no matter where I go. And I will more than gladly hit you with it. If it is not a stick that I am hitting you with, than it is my…

golf clubs! My favorite words are bath, book, ball, out, outside, food, cheese, bottle, baby, dog, and bird.

I will fall onto the ground at least 10 times a day just to roll around, because I think this is hilarious.

My favorite foods are cheese sticks, oranges, and noodles. Good luck getting me to eat much else.

With only 12 teeth, I still drool like crazy!

I always have a smile on my face!

I love hugging, running, dancing, reading, climbing, making music, making messes, and having fun!

I also love rocks, balloons, chalk, and baths. I am afraid of bubbles and vacuums.

That is our 18 month old Ethan.

Kung Fu

2011-09-26T18:38:00.001-06:00

A Monday afternoon with Grandpa…

…watching Kung Fu Panda.

And afterwards some Kung Fu lessons from Grandpa himself. (This is all my camera got before it was karate chopped.)

I’d say a great way to start the week!

So Far So Fabulous

2011-09-24T13:37:00.000-06:00

Friday night date with the husband included a sushi boat plus some Moneyball with a little Brad Pitt for me and some baseball for Aaron.

Then a Saturday morning walk to the store for some bagels and orange juice.

It’s shaping up to be a fabulous weekend.

Booh- Book Minus the K

2011-09-22T23:23:00.001-06:00

This is Ethan's favorite spot to sit in our home. It is the place where he is surrounded by his favorite things, his books.

I used to get nervous when things got too quite around the house. Now if I can’t hear Ethan playing I know it because he is reading. (Or watching T.V. somehow that kid figured out how to turn it on all by himself. Most days I just have to unplug the thing.)

Booh (just think book without the k) is one of the first words out of his mouth after every nap. We pass right by his book shelf on the way out of his bedroom, and he always grabs a book on the way out. Right now he loves any book with trains(choo choo’s as he calls them) or Mickey Mouse(Me Mou).

There is no doubt about it, this boy loves to read.

The Perfect Way to Say Goodbye to Summer

2011-09-21T21:49:00.001-06:00

Going to the last Rockies home game!

Until next year… we are already counting down the days!

Child Labor

2011-09-20T23:04:00.001-06:00

There is one thing that you should know about me… I am not opposed to child labor. Especially if my child is not opposed to it either. Ethan is in this magical phase right now where he wants to do everything that I do. I love it!

“Mom, please let me do the dishes!”

“Thanks Mom, you rock!”

“When can I mop the floor?”

“I would love to help unload the dishwasher.”

Those are all things that if Ethan could say, he actually would. Including…

“Lets unload the dryer!”

and

“Is it time to clean up my legos?”

Too bad by the time that he can actually speak those words probably wont ever come out of his mouth. For now I plan to take full advantage of his enthusiasm and naiveté to get my house clean while I just sit back and take some pictures :)

Sometimes Sick… but Always Stylin’

2011-09-19T07:08:00.000-06:00

This sick boy may not have made it to church yesterday, but he still asked to get dressed.

I heard him whining in his room. When I went to go check on him I found that he was trying to yank out his tie that had been smashed in his dresser drawer and was now hanging out just enough so that he could see it. I opened the drawer for him. He took out the tie and handed it to me. I proceeded to put it on him. Then came smile #1. Next he went back to the same drawer which also contains his shoes. He pulled out two shoes, and then handed them to me. I put them on him. Then came smile #2. I appreciated both of those smiles, because we didn’t get too many of them yesterday. Poor guy :(

With as crummy as he felt yesterday, I am glad that he at least had two smile worthy moments. He definitely thought he was looking pretty cool.

As Bad as the Squirrels

2011-09-15T17:18:00.001-06:00

Remember how I said the squirrels were my worst enemy, because they kept eating my tomatoes? Well if I wasn’t so in love with this little guy, he might make my worst enemy list too. You have to keep an eye on this one if he gets near the garden. He loves to eat tomatoes, he loves to pick tomatoes, and he loves to play with tomatoes. See the problem is that all of the un-ripened green tomatoes are not tomatoes in his eyes. Nope, to him we are not growing a tomato plant, but a ball plant. In his mind, all of the green ones are ripe for the picking so he can throw them around the yard.

If he does pick a red tomato, it immediately goes into his mouth- which is perfectly fine with me. It’s just that he hasn’t quite learned that there are various shades of red. In this case he picked a slightly ripened tomato.

And his face explains it all. It wasn’t quite ready to be eaten just yet.

Hmm, what to do now? Do I put it back?

I will sit and ponder my decision.

Just as bad as the squirrels.

P.S. The day that I took these photos was the day that we refer to as “sticker day.” Can you tell why? I’ll blog about that interesting day later.

P.P.S. I think my blog is in need of a reality check. This blog started out as a way to document Aaron and I’s adventures. So much has changed in the last 3 1/2 years. Our adventures are so much more than what we get around to doing on the weekends. With Ethan, every day is an adventure. I want to capture those everyday adventures. I want Ethan to know what he was like at this age. I want to remember what Ethan was like at this age. So my goal is to blog everyday for the next month(excluding weekends) in hopes of getting myself accustom to this new type of blogging. I can’t promise that it will be exciting, but I can promise that it will be real.

P.P.P.S. What about Ethan’s blog? Well it is still there, but it was only supposed to be for his first year of life. I don’t want to set the expectation too high for my future children ;) I think an entire blog dedicated to each of our children's first year of life will be all that I can handle. Then they will be grafted into this blog.

P.P.P.P.S Hunt family a reunion post is on it way. I have narrowed the 750 pictures down to 161. Someday a post will make it to the blog.

Okay, I’m done. I promise. Have a great weekend. I’ll see you on Monday!

Teaching to Remember

2011-09-11T23:07:00.001-06:00

It was my senior year of high school. I was counting down the minutes until English class was over. All of the sudden an announcement came on to the loud speaker. I don’t remember what was said, I just know that it left me feeling confused. After English, I made my way to P.E. where I was instructed not to change into my usual P.E. attire, but to sit quietly at the back of the gym. A girl was crying because her mother was supposed to be on a plane flying home from New York that morning. What was I missing? Why the big fuss? I thought. I excused myself to go to the restroom, and as I was making my way down the hall I passed by the front office. I stopped suddenly as I saw the horrific scene flashing across numerous computer screens. I don’t know how long I was staring before the secretary waved me in. We stood there in silence, and I finally understood.

Did I understand how a group of people could want to create such destruction? I don’t think that is something that I will ever fully comprehend. Here I am ten years later struggling less with the question of why did this happen, but now struggling with how to teach my son about honoring his freedoms, and how to choose love over hate.

As we went to a memorial today at a stadium just north of our home, I tried to explain to my son what all of the flags meant. He just thought it was cool that they blew in the wind.

10,000 plus flags honoring those who have died in the aftermath of 9/11.

American flags inscribed with names of the innocent civilians and rescue workers that died that tragic day.

Today was just a start in teaching Ethan to remember, but it was a good one.