Our 1-Year-Old

These pictures are from Colin's birthday party with my family (almost a month ago). He sucked the icing off of his cake and then didn't eat much of the actual cake. He had fun getting messy, though. (Mark and LaDonna took all of these pictures. Thanks! And...I finally got a "real" camera. One that focuses and everything. Hooray!)

A few things about Colin:

• He weighs 23 pounds and is 30 inches long. 
• His first official word was "Grrrrr." Jason was playing on the floor with the kids a couple of months ago. He was chasing Ethan around, when suddenly Colin said, "Grrrr," charged Jason, and butted his head against him. It became a favorite game for both of them.
• He also says, "Uh-oh" and "Da." He uses "Da" for lots of things, but it's obvious when he's saying it for Jason. He stands at the gate at the top of the stairs or crawls from room to room in the house calling, "Da! Da!" until he finds Jason. No signs of Mama yet. He's not saying much else, though he makes lots of noise. Still shrieking, and also using "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah" and pointing to communicate. 
• Is signing "bye," "night-night," and "more." Blows kisses. The other day he pointed at himself, signed "more" (which he thinks means "food"), and then pointed to his high chair. I'd forgotten how well toddlers can communicate before they talk. 
• He's showing absolutely no interest in walking, although he is standing once in a while now. 
• He is very, very opinionated and determined. This can make life challenging. He points at what he wants, and if he doesn't get it, he shrieks, then throws a temper tantrum. He is also very, very affectionate. Several times a day he throws his arms around me, leans his head in, and says, "Ahhhhhh." I LOVE that. We love him. 

Good Parenting

Jason and I believe consistency is the key to good parenting. Sometimes we wonder if we're doing a good job at it. Here's proof we are.

Ethan, 2 years old, Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Colin, 11 months, Lake Lure, North Carolina

Colin's obsession with soda is an ongoing thing. My sister Erin even documented it when she was here.

And finally, a little video that is semi-related and that always makes me smile.

Family Reunion

(Photo by Kelli)

We had a great time getting together with Jason's parents, siblings and their spouses, and all the nieces and nephews the last week of August. I didn't unpack my camera the whole week, but luckily my in-laws documented the trip. We met up in Montauk, New York, at the very tip of Long Island and stayed in a house a few blocks from the beach. We had a great time, and really appreciate all the time and effort Ann and Randy put in to planning, baking, organizing, cooking, packing, shopping, unpacking, and more that made the trip run so smoothly. I ate my weight in miniature banana bread loaves. Thanks, Grammy!

(Photo by me...but I used Ann's camera)
We were very lucky to avoid a stomach bug that quickly passed through the house. Others were not so fortunate. We didn't see Ethan for the first 3 days of the trip except to feed him or force him to bed. He loved playing at the beach and running around with his cousins. I love this cute picture of all of them together. There's a good chance if you're born into this family you're going to be blond and a boy. (Photo by Kelli)

One of our favorite memories from the trip was a fun party Grammy threw on the beach for Colin's 1st birthday, complete with the fire on the beach and 'smores and chocolate cake and all.

(Photo by Ann)

Our favorite Ethan quotes of the week:

• Our plane was descending into New York when Jason told Ethan to look out his window. He did, and dramatically yelled, "Land ho!" About 12 rows of passengers cracked up, because my kids don't have "inside" voices.
• We did a little devotional on Sunday morning in lieu of church services, with a lesson from Papa and some primary songs. Ethan said the closing prayer, which included this line: "...and I'm glad we went to pretend church, because I've never been to pretend church before..." I love his prayers. The other day in "real" church he said the closing prayer in primary. They had played a game about the temple, and he said, "...and I'm glad we got to learn about the temple even though I only got one turn..." The adults loved that.
• On the drive back to the airport, Ethan unplugged his headphones from his DVD player (while still on his ears) and "plugged" them into the box of milk he was drinking from and said, "Hmm. I hear a cow."

There aren't a lot of pictures of Ethan, and the ones we do have, he's in motion. That's not unusual.

(Photos by Ann)

It was wonderful to spend time with everyone and to watch our kids make and renew friendships. We're looking forward to the beach house in So. Cal. in 2010! Maybe I'll actually have gotten all the sand out of my dryer by then.

(Photo by Megan)