CHRISTMAS 2006

Merry Eve of Christmas Eve

Thought you might enjoy listening to Ethan's new song.

A Little Shopping & A Little Wrapping

Mom took me shopping today at the Dollar Tree so that I could pick out Christmas presents for my family. As we went around the store, I choose gifts I thought they would like, all by myself! Mom thought some of the gifts were good choices and some must be funny (because she laughed, A LOT!). I hope everyone likes them. It certainly was hard deciding. We'll find out on Christmas! I even wrapped them all by myself.
Using sticky tape was the best part.
Who do you think I picked this out for?
It's definitely not as easy at it looks!

Early Christmas Gift

Ethan brought home an early Christmas gift for Nate & I from school. He made a nativity set out of a shoe box. It's too cute and it's even more special to hear him talk about baby Jesus and his parents, Mary & Joseph. (By the way, you can't see it in the picture but baby Jesus is a peanut!). It is certainly my NEW favorite Christmas decoration!

The Ring

Ethan told me tonight, while driving in the car, that when he gets married he is going to give a girl his Spider Man ring. Why? Because that will make her happy.

Someday he will make some special person VERY happy.

WILL HO HO DELIVER?

This afternoon my parents braved the crowds & took me to the mall. Just getting there and parking was an ordeal. Mom & I waited in line to see Santa, while Dad looked for some new pants. Finally, it was my turn and I knew what I wanted to tell him and this is what I said:

Dear Santa,
I have been VERY good this year. I want a big pirate ship and some monster trucks for Christmas. Mom says we will leave the door unlocked for you, since you can't come down our chimney. Please bring your reindeer to my house. They can play in our backyard.

Love, Ethan

STAR FOR JESUS

Ethan was a "STAR for JESUS" at his school Christmas program.

Star of Wonder

Ethan's School Christmas Program @ Holy Spirit

December 5, 2006

CHRISTMAS IN WARSAW ~ Part 1

While most people might think Thanksgiving is celebrated with turkey, this year we traveled to see Dad's family in Warsaw and celebrated by having Christmas. Who would turn down opening gifts a month early? Not me. So it was a double holiday.

Grandma Anita got me some really cool dinosaurs & a dinosaur mountain! The dinosaurs growl really loud and have wings and mouths that move! They haven't left my side for very long since I opened them. We also got to go see a movie with her.

She really liked the hens & rooster we got her. I tried to get the dinosaurs to eat them!

If you look in the middle of this pop-up book, you'll see a dinosaur head sticking up. This cool book has all kinds of facts and information on dinosaurs.

Dad got a cookbook that Grandma Anita made him with reciepes from family and friends. She typed them all up and put them in a book for him. Some of his favorites are in there.

Mom & Grandma ended up buying each the exact same book, which was too funny. They should start a book club. She also got a really neat glass vase from a unique cut glass company in Warsaw.

**Merry Christmas & Thanks For Everything!!**

CHRISTMAS IN WARSAW ~ Part 2

At Grandma & Grandpa Snipes we visited with family on Thanksgiving ~ including my Great-Grandfather Leonard. They gave me a NEW Buzz Lightyear (my only one broke) and this Buzz is extra cool because he has wings to fly! I also got some really cool toys from the CARS movie and a plate, bowl, fork & spoon from CARS. On top of that there were two neat cups. But Dad’s favorite gift was the new laser gun that makes a really annoying noise!! (For some reason it’s currently in our basement?)
OH – And what 4 year old doesn’t love underwear? I sure do!
Dad got a set of huge golf umbrella’s for when he & Dude go out golfing in the rain. I guess Mom can’t call them crazy anymore. Mom got some really neat Christmas decorations for the house, including a silver angel.

Thanks for the gifts & the memories!

The Big Question......

I knew it would come one day, just not at age 4. This was our conversation:

Ethan: Mom, how will Ho Ho get in our house?
Me: Well, Ho Ho has a lot of special powers and...
Ethan: No Mom, he's not special. Christian (from school) says he comes in our "chimmy". But the TV is covering it so how will he get in?

{side note - our TV is on a stand and sits up on the ledge of our fireplace and covers all of it but the mantle}

Me: Well, like I was saying Ho Ho is magic and...
Ethan: No Mom, he's not magic. Ho Ho has to land on the roof and come down the hole.

Me: After he lands Ethan he can use his powers to come through the roof and into...

Ethan: No, he's not a ghost so he can't come through walls. Daddy can move our TV right?
Me: How about we just leave a door unlocked?
Ethan: Ok.

WOW. At least I didn't have to explain whether or not he was real.

Happy Turkey Day (early)!

We are headed up to visit my grandparents & Dad's family for Turkey Day, but I wanted to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Fall Leaves

WELCOME TO FALL

This afternoon I helped Dad with the leaves in our yard. Mom says the neighbors love Dad because of his unique "leaf raking" strategy. While others spend a lot of time mulching and bagging, Dad takes another approach.

He blows them all out in the street. Sounds like a smart idea and it does work. However, what happens is that as a car drives by the wind just carries them a house or two and they end up in another yard. That is why the neighbors love us so much!!!!

I ONLY WISH I'D HAD A CAMERA........

I promise in 6 months to take a camera to Ethan's 2nd dentist appointment, only to prove the following is true. Yesterday was Ethan's first visit. On the recommendation of his pediatrician, we opted for a specialized pediatric dentist office that caters to children. I thought it might help ease any fears. It did that and more.

Upon entering this Disneyland office, you'll find a glass enclosed toy room, visible for parents to watch their kids play while waiting, only they did it quietly. It was sound-proof! Wow! The chairs in the waiting room were reclining, which I admit was nice considering I sat out there for 2 1/2 hours. Flat screen t.v.'s with video games hooked up for kids to play was the icing.

We were given a tour of the office, including the luxurious patient rooms with individual flat screen t.v.'s & headphones for each child. There are plush consultation rooms for after the exam & cleaning is completed, where the dentist will meet with the parents. Looking past all that, was a basketball court, where kids shoot baskets with the dentist and win prizes. For the record he watched The Incredibles.

Ethan had absolutely no problem telling me to wait in the waiting room. I was a little surprised, but not after seeing the set-up. Who wouldn't? No fear here. He came to the consultation room with his new dentist carrying a ball and a balloon. Whatever happened to just getting a new standard toothbrush?

Good news is he is brushing well and his teeth look good. Six months from now, we'll do it all again. I'm even thinking of asking if they will accept a 29 year old patient.

AHOY MATE

It's great to be a pirate.
And live a life of pleasure.
We fight with swords &
Swing from ropes.
And hunt for buried treasure.
We make our prisoners walk the plank.
Sharks love us when we feed `em.
We wear those patches on our eyes.
When we don't even need `em.

*I am probably the only 4 year old pirate who says he'll have you walk the plaque.*

Sneak Peak

Here is a sneak peak of a pirate named Ethan. He got an early trick-or-treat experience last weekend while camping with Grandma & Grandpa Vote at Lincoln State Park. They had their Halloween activities ~ even his first hayride. Enjoy. More to follow next week.......

Meet a Dude

I want you to meet Dude. His name is actually Layne and he's my uncle, but to me he's always been Dude. In some ways he's more like an older brother. Everytime he walks in the door, I yell his name, knowing shortly we'll be laughing, playing and goofing around. He just bought a house and when taking the initial tour I told him exactly where my bed and his bed would go (as if I would be living there). I also was curious as to where to keep my toys there. He's really my best-buddy and he's a pretty cool dude.

ARE SQUIRRELS VEGANS?

Every wonder what squirrels eat? I can tell you. Just take a look at my pumpkins. Although I couldn't get Dad to take a picture quick enough of the squirrel actually feasting on our porch, the pictures prove it. They didn't just eat away at the pumpkin that wasn't even carved...those furry little animals took off with the lid to the one I carved with Grandma Anita! How in the world did they carry that? There had to have been dozens of them.

Just to prove that squirrels do eat pumpkin (for those non-believers out there), Mom found this picture on the internet.

A Visit From Grandma Anita

I always love to have family come visit & stay with us, especially when it involves really fun activities. Grandma Anita got to come down for several days & see us. We did a lot of cool things, but my favorite two included "halloween." I helped make cupcakes and we decorated them with halloween sprinkles! Then we ate them (all). We also decorated a pumpkin with these new light bright type things. I put a really cool bat on mine and then you put this battery-operated flash-light inside and it's really cool.

HAPPY ONE YEAR

BLOG-VERSARY!!!!!!

I'm very proud of my mom for keeping this up-to-date for the past year.

ELEGANT PARTY

Every week at pre-k we talk about a different letter of the alphabet. All the lessons and activities focus around that letter. For the past 2 weeks we've talked about the short & long vowel "E". This of course has to be my favorite letter, because it's what my starts with!

Our stories, snack, art projects, games, the stations we play at and snack all revolve around the letter of the week.

*This week I took a toy elephant for show & tell*

To celebrate the end of the letter E we had an "elegant party" at school this morning. Everyone dressed up (fancy) and we had made hats the day before to wear. We also helped make a special snack and decorate the tables for our party. There was music and I had a dance partner (a girl!).

Did you know....? Why?

It's amazing what Ethan can come up with given the right opportunity. Nathan & I are constantly reminded of how much he absorbs what we say and what we do. For example, the other day Ethan was asking me to help take apart some lego pieces and I was washing dishes. He wanted it done right then. I told him my hands were busy and he'd have to wait. Fast forward two days - Nathan asked him to do something and Ethan replied, "My hands are busy dad." Wow. Not only did he absorb it, but he turned around and used it in the right context.

His other new trick is at bedtime. As you're tucking him in, he'll come up with a question or story to tell you. It seems to drag on forever...as if he is having a conversation just to hear himself talk. Tonight, he asked if we knew where bears lived, how many fish were in the ocean, and why clouds can cover the sun. Pretty important stuff to a 4 year old. However, his intent is to keep us in his room longer. The funny thing is that we try to keep this interaction period short, with our goodnights & love you's. Ten years from now we'll be begging him to talk with us...about anything...including where bears live, how many fish are in the ocean, and why clouds cover the sun.

LOOK @ MY HAIR!!!!!

Wow, watch out! There must be a new hottie in my pre-k class, because this morning while Mom was ironing clothes and Dad was in the shower I went into the bathroom and got out the water bottle and comb and fixed my hair "all by myself." Don't I look cool?

This past weekend I spent several days helping Dad outside in our garage. There was a lot of work to do out there. After cleaning it out, we had to go get wood & screws. Then the real work started. Dad has built a workbench, storage & shelves in the back of our garage. He did most of the hard stuff. I just handed him things when he needed them. By Sunday evening we were both exhausted. It's a rare moment for me to actually lay down and relax with someone, but Dad & I were exhausted!

Welcome To T-Ball

This Saturday I started playing on an indoor t-ball league. We play on Saturday mornings for 6 weeks. It's a lot of fun! I'm on the Red Team (hint, the red shirt) and I'm #2! (I had no real explanation for choosing that number.)
For the first two innings we hit the ball off of the stand. The last two innings they pitch the ball to us and we hit it. Everyone bats every inning & there really aren't any outs. It is more of an instructional league to show us how to play and learn the rules as we go along. At my first game this morning I did really well. The first lesson I learned about playing baseball today was that when you hit the ball you run to first base (apparently not third). See this is more of a "learning" league & parents help and are on the field. As you can see Dad explaining to me where to run next.
One of the neat things is that my old neighbor & friend, Jake, is playing on my team. So I get to see him every Saturday ~ which is great!
Everyone should come watch me play (and by play I mean mess around on the field). Watching 4 year olds try organized sports is always enjoyable!