10 Years of Ethan!

Ethan turns 10 today, and I can honestly say that I have no idea where the decade went. Decade? Weird just to say that. I will spare you all of the melancholy thoughts that I, as his Mom, have been having about this momentous occasion, and instead I am going to share with you some things I know about Ethan.

1. He loves his family.

2. He is definitely an A+ personality, and is in it to win it (think that comes from Jake).

3. His jokes are horrible (trust me, I know because I also tell jokes badly). This stems from Ethan being more grounded, and not really able to see the lighter side of things. He is a realist people!

4. There is only black & white for Ethan, no gray. He has a strong sense of what is right & wrong. (not always applied to himself, but others for sure! ;)

5. He is smart as a whip, and soaks up as much he can about everything. Unlike Rhys (who only shows motivation in things that he likes), Ethan applies himself to every subject.

6. Ethan loves video games. I am sure college will seem like Heaven to him, because we will not be there to monitor how much video game time he gets. That is until his grades come in!

7. He is not afraid of anything. He is 100% daredevil. He will jump off of anything!

8. He likes to go fast, and play hard. Enough said.

9. He is (usually) polite & helpful. He does so much around here, and does them well. He never complains about taking out the recycling, and he loves helping with Lucy.

10. At heart, Ethan is a sensitive soul. He roots for the underdog, and looks out for the people that need help. In turn, he remembers every mean thing that people have said to him & it is hard for him to shake mean words/actions off. He takes things very personally.

Ethan is a cool guy. I love him very much, and I am so proud of the young man that he has become. I have no doubt that one day (too soon) he will go out in the world, and make it a better place. But for now, I will keep him at home with me.

I was going to make a movie, but that would have been too emotionally stressful for this poor Momma, so pictures are going to have to do!

The Beginning

And today he is 10!!!!

Ethan's Big 10 Camping Trip

We really wanted to do something special to commemorate Ethan's 10th birthday, so we took him camping. Joon & Lucy got packed off with Oma to spend some quality time at Casa Swain, and we loaded up the boys (and more junk than you can shake a stick at) and headed to Pedernales State Park.
Jake and I did not grow up camping, nor are we the "camping type". So there was a slight learning curve on Friday night with making the fire and dinner, but Jake rocked it on Saturday! Friday night the low was 37, and it was cold!! By morning we were all on the air mattress together, bundled up for warmth. Jake & I even wore our jackets to bed!! Thankfully it warmed up quite a bit on Saturday.
Jake & I gave Ethan a Gerber Multi-Utility Tool for his birthday, and he could not have been happier!! We figure having his own utility tool really marks his passage into the double digits. Rhys was green with envy, but Dad let him borrow his to whittle with!
We tried some fishing, but nothing was biting. We had a great time trying though. The boys made up a game called "Paper Airplane Golf", which was basically frisbee golf with paper airplanes. They all had a great time!! The surroundings were beautiful, and the company was fantastic. It was definitely a memorable trip, and I hope Ethan remembers it fondly for years to come. I know that I will.

Karma

Lu & I recently did some shopping at Central Market. In the fruit section, Lucy became enamored with a little girl's balloon. The little girl noticed this, and really started showing off. Lu was really jealous, and this little girl knew it. So i did the only thing I could do, I whisked us out of the fruit into another area of the store. Further into our travels, a nice employee offered Lu a beautiful purple balloon. I usually decline them, but how could I this time? Lucy was now the proud owner of a balloon. In the deli we ran into the little girl again sans balloon. She immediately noticed Lu's balloon, and started screaming her head off!! Lu didn't even notice her, but the rest of us couldn't help but notice her. It was horrible!!! But a nice reminder that sometimes karma works faster than we expect.

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To nap, or Not to nap!

Lucy is growing up so fast!! She is starting to use nap time as play time. This results in Lucy wanting to eat at 5 pm, and being in full melt down mode (get that food away from me) by 5:45. Not pretty folks. Last night she fell asleep in her highchair!! She is a toad, but it is fun to see her exercising her will even if her choices drive me batty! But you can bet that even if she doesn't choose to sleep, she is going to have some rest time because MOM needs that hour!

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Christmas

I have to say that this Christmas was Magnificent! We stayed in Austin, and our family came to visit us. Things didn't go quite as planned, but they still turned out great! We enjoyed getting to spend this special time with our loved ones. It was nice to have all the Christmas "work" done, so we could really enjoy each other. And did we ever!!
The boys & I also attended Christmas Eve mass together, from the front row no less (if it is standing room only, you can always guarantee a little space in the very front row!). Sharing the magic feeling of mass with the boys was definitely a highlight for me, and really helped to put Christmas into perspective. Plus I love singing the carols with the whole congregation! It was lovely.
Looking at these pictures really brings a smile to my heart, and I will cherish these memories for a lonnnngggg time.

Uncle John helping Lucy open her mermaid!

Before the rampage!

He will definitely shoot someone else's eye out!

Girls with their morning "joe"

The only gift she really wanted.

Aaah vulcan blasters, and yes they really are that cool!

My favorite present of the day!

His shirt says "Define Naughty". I think this pic says it all for Rhys.

Jake's favorite present: a remote like Dave's (until his wife upgraded it for him)

Some people needed to escape from the excitement.

He looks deadly, doesn't he?
Opa & Rhys battled it out in the living room for quite a while!

One of my favorite pictures.
It really represents some of the special moments that we were able to share.