Batman - to the Rescue

Around our neighborhood
@ Brian's office
Love seeing Ethan get all excited about the costume and candy. Not so much the actual begging for candy every 5 second.

"Twittering" on Blog

Went to Des Moines this weekend in search of new furniture for downstairs. Good news: we found some. Bad news: they won't get deliver until Christmas.

Just For Laughs

Went to McDonald's for a play date this morning and saw 7 boys the 2 hours I was there. And no girls.
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A funny conversation between Ethan and Violet (a friend's daughter that I watch on Tuesday night)

Violet: Hi Tiger!
Ethan: No, it's Kaika.
Violet: Ti-ker.
Ethan: It's K-k-k-k Kai-Ka with a "K" (repeats it after hearing me).
Violet: I can't say it. I'm just gonna call him Tiger.
Ethan (frustrated): NOOO!
Me (had to step in before an argument breaks out): It's okay Ethan. That's fine.

Mamma Wisdom of the Week

On a happier note, I figured out a couple of solutions for Ethan:

1) Koosies for his milk cup on a cold morning saves me from having to sit and hold it for him.

2) Prune juice in his milk in the morning seems to help the "movement" issue for the rest of the day...or the next.

"Twittering" on Blog

Day 4 of the late night, early morning saga continued. Not sure what the deal is since we don't even have anything going on this week. I just know I'm more tired and crankier too.

The Challenge & Updates

The challenge for small group this week was to be media-free for 48 hours. It was refreshing and wasn't too hard considering I have a dumb phone and not a tv junkie. However, it did make me a)be more creative with my time (instead of randomly getting on the internet throughout the day) and b)think and ponder more about the Lord.

Anyway, now that it's over I feel the need to catch up on my postings...which just a little warning that they will be super random thoughts/things.

• Ethan has been SUPER and the ideal child lately. He listens and obeys and does what we ask him to do which bring us such joy. I wonder if this is how God feels sometimes? He is also playing by himself for a longer period of time which is really nice. Lots of imaginary play like a picnic with his stuff animals and reading to them. So cute.
  
  
• I've realized that although Ethan's potty train, I still need to pay attention to his liquid intake and when he went. Every so often, he would get lazy or wait too long to go and have an accident. I tried not to get mad about it but have failed at times.
  
  
• Ethan has been displaying a lot of big brother qualities like being gentle and watching out for the little ones. It just warms my heart. I was a little worried how he would do when our 2nd comes, but I think he'll be just fine. =0)
  
  
• I'm completely amazed at Ethan's ability to memorize AWANA verses. I thought he was too young or that it was too hard but apparently I was wrong.
  
  
• He's really into acorns lately and loves collecting them on our walks. He also comes home from preschool with two pockets full of them. Somehow they made their way into our house until I found some worms/bugs so I had to put the kibosh on that.
  
  
• Bedtime has been such a drag especially Tuesday and Thursday nights when we have stuff going on. He really struggle with winding down so it takes FOR-EVER for him to go to sleep. It gets pretty late and I mean 10-11 pm. We might need to reevaluate night time programs next year.
  
  
• A girl from my small group recently gave me two boxes of maternity clothes and I felt like I won the lottery. They are cute, comfy, my size and winter stuff. What a huge blessing! I'm just too cheap to go buy a bunch of stuff so I've been trying to get by with some old stuff. But that means a very limited wardrobe.
  
  
• Every night I struggle with bloating and feel super uncomfortable to the point of not being able to sleep. I've tried everything but nothing works. It's pretty miserable.
  
  
• Lastly, this song recently touched my heart. What an awesome reminder to me of how big our God is.
  
  God is able
  He will never fail
  He is almighty God
  Greater than all we seek
  Greater than all we ask
  He has done great things
  
  Lifted up
  He defeated the grave
  Raised to life
  Our God is able
  In His name
  We overcome
  For the Lord
  Our God is able
  
  God is with us
  God is on our side
  He will make a way
  Far above all we know
  Far above all we hope
  He has done great things
  
  God is with us
  He will go before
  He will never leave us
  He will never leave us
  God is for us
  He has open arms
  He will never fail us
  He will never fail us
  
  For the Lord
  Our God is able
  For the Lord
  Our God is able

Dancing the Night Away

We went to a friend's wedding yesterday and Ethan was ready to dance before we even got to the reception. He patiently waited and waited and waited until it was his turn to get on the dance floor. Once he was on it, he never left it. Even at the end of the night when he ran out of steam, he just stood there and watched everyone else dance. It was so cute!

6 Months Pregnant...

with Ethan
with #2

Famous Again

Ethan made it in the paper again! To view the whole article online, click here


Ethan Billman, 3, and his mother, Kay Billman, of Davenport, look at the live turtles that are part of the new Family Museum exhibit.

Just For Laughs

Me: Ethan could you please let Kaika in? He's knocking at the door
Ethan: Knocking?? He doesn't have hands.
Me: You're right. He's pawing at the door.
Ethan lets Kaika in after he was satisfied with the answer.
Me: Thank you.
Ethan: Uh huh.

"Twittering" on Blog

Bought Ethan some 3T jeans yesterday and couldn't figure out why they don't fit right. Then I realized, they are "skinny" jeans for little boys. Seriously?! So wrong. That and cardigans for men.

Quote Worthy

Among the many verses we'll have to memorize for women's bible study this year, we also had to memorize the definition of love according to the A Wife of Noble Character.

"Love is giving of myself to meet others' needs whether they deserve it not and expecting nothing in return."

Not that all the verses in the Bible about love aren't great and all, but this just makes it so much more tangible for me. Still isn't easy though.

Anyway, right now I'm learning about obedience and how it brings blessings. One of the ways to be obedient is to keep God's commandments in my heart (Proverbs 3:1-8) -> which means 1) know them by reading 2) know them well 3) live by them 4) react to life by them. So according to James 1:22-25, I need to be a doer and not only a hearer of the Word. Just those little truths are so powerful and life changing to me. I feel like in my previous Christian walk, I would read and think to myself, "Hmm, that was so encouraging." Then walk away forgetting what I've just read.

Also, last month was really rough with Ethan as far as him being defiant and disobedient. He was pushing buttons, testing his limits and not responding to the discipline. I found myself practically in tears almost everyday from discouragement and not knowing what else to do. Anyway, God gave me 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." I SO needed that! Lately he's been doing a lot better so I'm thankful and praying that we're just going through a phase (again).

Just For Laughs

Went in to put Ethan down for a nap today and saw that he had arranged ALL of his stuff animals face down. Ethan sleeps on his stomach and apparently that is how they like to sleep, too.

Amana's Oktoberfest

This year's weather was probably the best we've ever had: sunny, clear sky with no wind. We hardly had to bundle up, it was beautiful! We met up with Brian's parents for a yummy breakfast at The Colony Inn and then enjoyed the parade. Ethan was all over the candy collection thing. (It's fun to watch him get so excited about that. But not so much when he wants to eat them all at once). We walked the shops afterwards and I made a few purchases...but not the wine this year though.

On the way home, Ethan somehow stayed awake the whole time and didn't fall asleep like usual. Which spelled disaster. He then proceeded to have a melt down from exhaustion as we rolled into town. We ended up putting him down for a late nap and letting the sitter deal with him that night while we went on a date. We had fun having a drink and listening to some music at 11th Street Precinct. And of course the night wouldn't be complete (according to my cravings) until I got some nachos and cheese. After stopping at two gas stations, Brian came through and found me some. I was happy. The baby was happy.