Adventurous Day

Our morning started out with a visit to the dentist. Dr. suggested that I start bring Ethan in to get him used to the place so I did. Not knowing exactly how it was going to go. I explained things to him ahead of time so he know what to expect. He sat on me and talk with Meagan while she cleaned my teeth. Then Dr. came in to check my teeth and took a quick look at his. He was a little antsy here and there but for the most part, he did SUPER well.

Next we headed to the fire station and had a tour with the mom's group. The firemen put on a puppet show about fire safety for us. And also let the kiddos climbed into the fire trucks. That was definitely Ethan's favorite part and getting to push all the buttons. At one point, he pushed the siren key and scared everyone. Oops. I forgot this was a real fire truck (unlike the one at the museum or tractors at the John Deere Pavilion) and probably shouldn't have let him do all that pushing. *crossing my fingers* I hope they'll double check everything before going on a fire call.

Wisdom of the Week

So I thought we were done with the 2's, but apparently we're now going through the terrible 2-1/2's (??). Ethan's testing us A LOT lately and it seemed to only be getting worse. I would ask him to do something and he would purposefully not do it or do the opposite. It's like a game to him or something. After a while it really gets to me and I struggle to not react but keep my composure. The threats of timeout or actual timeouts aren't really working either. So, I decided to try the positive reward system where he gets color stickers which represent points for good behaviors. And they get taken away when he is naughty or disobeys. At the end of the week, he can turned them in for toys, books, stickers, candy, etc.

This morning, he got 5 points for going directly from the house to the car without making me chase him. Now that is a BIG deal! We go through this everyday and it drives me berzerk!!! I usually ended up yelling at him and then be in this horrible mood by the time we get to wherever. 1 point for leaving the museum without throwing a fit. 3 points for letting me change his diaper without screaming/fighting/running away. Well, so far so good. I'm praying that it would work!

Oh yeah one more thing: Ethan feels this need to be physical with other boys...usually right around his age. Now I don't think he is being mean on purpose, but it's more of a male competitiveness. Last week at a playdate, he was hitting this other kid on the head. But it wasn't just him because the other boy definitely aggravated and participated also. So then they kept going back and forth until the moms had to put a stop and separate them. Not sure what to do with that one other than just being there to make sure he's not hurting others and then making him apologize. ¯\(°_°)/¯

Jesus is Alive!

Easter this year was a little quiet...too quiet. We didn't go anywhere as we both felt exhausted, Brian with work and me with Ethan, and was in need of a relaxing weekend. So in that sense it was nice to be home. But at the same time, it was hard to see other people with a house full of family and loved ones. Anyway, I was thankful that the weather was at least nice so we were able to get out quiet a bit.

Counting all the eggs at the mom's group hunt.

Halloween Party

The mom's group had a Halloween party today and we was fun seeing all the kiddos in their costumes. There were lots of yummy food, too!

My lil' cow
Posing with his friend, Nathan. Too cute!

Stone's Apple Barn

Today, Ethan and I ventured out to an apple orchard with the mom's group. It was a first experience for both of us and we had a lot of fun. We got to go on a hay ride, saw lots of apples, and learned how they are cleaned & processed. Ethan's favorite part was at the end when they gave him a whole apple. You should have seen him devour that thing! And my favorite part was coming home with some yummy cider.



When we got home, he woke up freaking out because he couldn't find the rest of his apple.

"Twittering" on Blog

Saw a newborn at the mom's group picnic today and now I have a baby fever. Uh oh! =0)

Just For Laughs

Fun Under One through the stay-at-home-mom's group started up again so that's what was on the agenda for the day. There weren't too many of us left since all the babies are getting older so the number of boys are dwindling (to just Ethan actually). But then again I think he does like having the girls to himself ;0) So much that he tried to kiss one today and made her cried hysterically 'cause she did NOT like it at all! I felt bad, but everyone else thought it was funny. Yup, that's our lil' E-Dog for you...already making the moves on girls!

Fun Under One

On the agenda for today was "Fun Under One" meetup at a friend's house. Ethan and I met four other moms and kiddos there. It was fun to let the babies/kids play and interact with each other while the moms hang out and talk, too! Ethan, being the youngest, couldn't do much other than lying on the blanket and kinda play and I had him sit up every once in a while. But I think it was still good for him to be around other babies to socialize (and also getting a few tips on how to crawl ;0). Overall, I'm glad we went even though we had to leave early because of naptime. Here are a couple of pics from today:

Good Idea, Bad Idea

So today I started a crocheting project I found out about through the mom's group that I joined. It's called Project Linus where you can show your love and support for seriously ill and traumatized children by making and sending them a homemade blanket. GOOD IDEA. Anyway, I was really excited about it so I ran to Walmart to get some materials. While in the yarn aisle I saw this boucle yarn which I thought was kinda neat looking so I bought it. BAD IDEA...VERY BAD IDEA. Come to find out it's the hardest yarn to ever crochet!!! I could hardly see where the loops are and where to put in my needles. It seriously took me 3 hours to do just two rows...given I unravelled the whole thing and redid it a few times. Yikes, I better get crocheting 'cause this afhgan is going to take a while to make and I have a deadline to meet =0(

QCSAHP

I finally got around to joining the Quad Cities Stay At Home Parents group that a friend of mine told me about a while back. Anyway, today was my first meetup "Walk & Talk" at the mall and I thought it went really well. I met this lady with an 18 month old son and since it was just the two of us it was a lot easier to connect. She was super friendly and even invited me to another meetup that was happening afterwards at the Family Museum. I was hesitant at first since I knew it was more for toddlers to run around and play, but I went to check it out anyway. This one was a little harder to talk to the other moms since they are constantly running around trying to keep up with their kids, but I did managed to meet a few ladies. So far this has been a great opportunity for me to get out and also meet other people with kids. I also love the fact that it's super organized and that their calendars are packed with different activities to choose from. Can't wait to go to the next one!