My Brother.

Ethan and Samuel took full advantage of the "warmer" weather today.  Although it wasn't hot, by any means, they did enjoy chasing each other in the snow.  Sam tried running into the street several times, and Ethan would save him.  He would grab his hand and say "no no Sammie".

They are going to have so much fun together!!

The One I Love...

Yesterday we celebrated Nick's 30th Birthday.  As I write this post today, I can't stop thinking of all the reasons I fell in LOVE with this wonderful, amazing man.  He's rugged, funny, smart, loves golfing and a good cold beer.  He's a pro at fixing up our home, loves Tom Petty, and occasionally loses his temper.  He's strong and makes you feel like he could crush anyone who tried to hurt you.........all the things that make a girl weak in the knees.

Last night Ethan was throwing a fit because he wanted a new calander with stickers in it when we were leaving that mall.  By the time we had made it home, Ethan was totally pissed, to say the least.  Ethan didn't want to take a bath.  Nick yelled..................Ethan cried...............I was bewildered.    Just 20 short minutes later, I found Ethan and Daddy snuggling in bed, reading bedtime stories to each other.  What better way to forgive and move on with the evening?

It's comforting to know when we fail, screw up, loose our tempers and get angry.........He stands up there.......waiting to FORGIVE.

Oh, and he can also tell you just about any tree.....by just looking at the leaf.  And he does the laundry.  I am starting to feel inadequate! 

Did I mention I LOVE this man?!?

All Night Long...

I almost hate to say it, because I just know it's going to ruin a trend...but Sam has been sleeping so much better at night.  Last night I worked, and usually he wakes up when I get home.  I crawled into bed SO QUIETLY and didn't even dare move...just fell asleep.  The next time I woke up was at 5:45am, and guess what?  Sam was STILL asleep IN HIS CRIB!!!  I couldn't believe it.  I think it might have just been a fluke, but I guess we'll see!!  I am so glad he is becoming more independant, yet sad at the same time!!  Oh!  And we finally put the swing downstairs.  Until now, that was the only way we could get him to nap...for the past 3 days, he's been napping in his crib!! Growing into a little man!!

Pop!

I am just waiting for the punching ballon to pop while Ethan bounces on it.  I am pretty impressed with it's strength as Ethan bounces on it as hard as he can!!

Our Lazy Monday.

Yesterday was a lazy day...besides all the laundry and errands we had to run...we dressed the part anyway!!

The picture below is too funny, Ethan never looks at the camera, and always squints...so I asked him to "give me his eyes", and thats what I got!!

Something Old...

I was "cleaning" up the laptop, and found this.

I can't believe how much has changed in the last 2 years, Chloe has left us, Sam has joined us, our house looks totally different, and the biggest is Ethan's hair...I miss that long hair!!

First year of brotherly love.

Some of Sammie and Ethan's first days together as Sammie gets older.

Both in the crib!

Sam was just learning to crawl, and Ethan was cheering him on!!

Ethan helping his little brother learn to stand

Sammie sharing his toys with Ethan too!

Kisses and Love.

Ethan's hiding...so he thinks.

Probably fighting over the bear

Ethan and Sam play so good together.

I am excited to see their "brother bond" to grow over the years!

Can you tell...

(Ethan at 13 months)

One MAJOR difference between Ethan and Sam at 13 months, is Sam has WAY more hair. Which concerns me just a little. Ethan has the thickest hair. It may not look SO thick, but it is. Trust me. Does this mean Sam's hair is going to be thicker?? All I know is we are not cutting it anytime soon. Either of them. We are growing their hair out again...can't wait. It's so cute!!


(Sam at 13 months)
Notice the hole in the jeans? We didn't buy them like that!!
That's a sign of great wear!!
Both kids wore them, they are the cutest little boy jeans!!

Sam's new "thing" - pointing his finger in a "general direction" and going "uh uh uh".
Like take me over there and when we get there, I will show you what I want!!

(Samuel)

Do you see any similarities of the boys?? Both pictures at 13 months.

(Ethan)

(Samuel)

Disaster Zone.

Usually Ethan is the one making HUGE messes without picking them up. Today is different. Ethan sits quietly on the couch eating a banana and watching Alvin and the Chipmunks...he's so zoned on the movie, he doesn't even notice me taking his picture...

While his partner in crime, Samuel, empties out ALL of Ethan's beloved DVD's and throws them over his shoulder, not even looking back to see where they land. Until...he comes across a DVD without a case...and he tries to fog it up with his breath and clean it with his shirt...then he tries to clean the floor with it...

Ethan's going to be so mad when he sees what his little brother has done to his DVD's.

There might be a war.

I'm going to hide, and pretend like I never saw anything.

Wish Samuel luck...uh oh...Ethan just noticed all the DVD's. He's saying "OH MY GOD...Look at what Sammie did Mommy. What have you done?? Now your gonna pick all this up before I smack your butt"...I have no idea where Ethan's heard that...

Snow!!

On Christmas Day and Christmas Eve we got around 2o inches of snow. It was awesome!! These pictures don't do it much justice, because you can't see just how MUCH there really is!! The boys have been whining and begging to go play in it, but it's been SO COLD lately. With temps barely above 0...I'm not willing to take Ethan sledding or even let him play on the 4 ft. mound we have in the backyard!! We are still supposed to get 30 something inches of snow this season...we could have a long winter still ahead of us...and I'm already dreaming of capri pants and the way the sun feels as it warms your bones...Oh I can hardly wait!!