Duck Whisperer...with a vengeance!

So, a while back, I posted this picture...

My sweet Ethan, having a nice peaceful chat with the local duck.

Today, while walking (or riding) around the neighborhood, this is the picture that I snapped...  

"Tum here duck...tum here ducky.  I just wanna get you...dat's all!" 

My how things have changed!  So much for whispering sweet words to the ducks...now we're just out to get them!

And don't mind E's all blue attire!! ! He INSISTED this morning to wear his "sweaty pants" as he calls these pants that I mistakenly referred to as sweats one time.  And then he HAD to wear the blue t-shirt...'tuz, it's de only one dat matches, Mom!  See, blue and blue!"  He even made sure his underwear matched today too...same bright blue waistband to match everything else he had on.  I tried to convince him that a little contrast was good...but he just looked at me and said, "Nope Mom!  I just wearing blue!"  So that was that.  He wore sweaty pants and frolicked in the park in all-blue enjoying every minute of it!

Further Proof

What's that???  You didn't believe me?  How could pint-sized little sweet Olivia get into any trouble???  Isn't she too sweet and girly to attempt to do her own stunts???

Well, here's just one more example...(I'd show more, but honestly, how often is the camera right next to the action?!?  I just need to carry it around in my pocket...then I could document how many times a day this little one attempts a new trick!!!)

And don't judge me on the state of my itsy-bitsy pantry!  One day, I'll find a way to keep it organized!

defying death

Olivia has a great love of climbing and especially for our staircase...a LONG straight-shot staircase.  She is a very coordinated/precise little thing and has picked up the skill surprisingly fast.  For weeks on end though, I have spent a large part of my day sitting on the stairs as she climbed up and down, just waiting for that one time that she slipped and fell.  But, she never does.  Not even when she climbs up and sits on the top just bouncing up and down and laughing at me still sitting in the middle of the staircase.  Not even when when I would startle her (still sitting at her favorite perch at the tippy top of the stairs) as I was convinced she was on her way down, and was running up the stairs as fast as I could to grab her...usually hollering "STOP!!!" along the way too!  She just stares at me like I'm crazy when this happens!  :)  

So after weeks of the doing this...and hopping over the gates at the top and bottom of the stairs that we'd put up when I didn't have the time (or the mental patience) to sit and watch her defy death once again, I decided I needed to give her a chance.  So now, she is up and down the stairs all day long as much as she pleases, and I get a whole lot more done during the day!  It makes me so happy to see her growing and becoming so independent...only because she is still my cuddler and still always comes back for a hug and a pat on the back - for both me and her!  She almost always pats my back when I hug her and it MELTS my heart!!!

So now, we're about a week into her new-found freedom.  She still is on the stairs constantly, but she now LOVES to stop mid-way up and stand holding the rails as she peers through to see who she can spot down below.  She'll jabber away to them, happy as a clam to be up higher than everyone else.  But the past few days, I've noticed that she is combining this freedom with her other new skill of standing alone (meaning not holding on to ANYTHING!!!).  Talk about a heart stopper when you see your teeny tiny baby girl, standing completely unsupported on the stairs, giggling and holding her hands up as if to say "Look Mom, no hands!!!"   AAAHHHHH!  I am now back to my sitting on the stairs, everytime I hear her pause on her way up or down.  This girl is going to do me in!  :)

swimming

Ethan just started a swim lessons.  I know...we're a little late for the season!  But when I mentioned it at the beginning of the summer, you could see the panic rising in his eyes and the stubbornness just starting to spill out.  I KNEW he would not do it...and if I pushed it, it would be a huge fight every time...and soooooo not worth it.  So, we waited...patiently...until he said he was ready. In the meantime, I showed him some lessons going on one day when we were walking into the Y to work out.  He watched for a minute or two and turned to me, completely excited, and said "That's swim lessons?????  I wanna do that!"  Apparently, he thought swim lessons would be exactly like Garrett's swim team...and for some crazy reason, my little 3-year old wasn't all that keen on all-day swim meets and practice every day!

So here we are...swimming away...and loving every single minute of it!

Out of the mouth of Ethan...

So, they say that kids say the darndest things...but this child may just do me in!

Today, I was hanging out with the kids and just had to laugh at some of the things they were saying.  This is how it all played out...

Me - Man!  You kids are so cute, and you are sooooo funny!

Ethan (w/o missing a beat) - No we not!

Me - Huh?  You're not funny and cute?

Ethan (very matter-of-factly) - Nope!  We say bum all da time.

I am constantly on the boys about saying nice/appropriate words...but for some reason, they think a few certain words are pretty much the funniest words on the planet.  'Bum' being one of those words that I roll my eyes at quite frequently.  I know!  I am a complete failure as a mother!!!  You should see what happens when someone mentions the word 'tutor' or 'tutoring' during church (which happens more than you'd think!).  My boys fall on the floor laughing...only pausing to repeat the word 'tooter' between gasps for breath!  None of this is done quietly either!  Don't you wish you came to church with us?!?!?!?!

Anyway, back to actual conversations.  

Steve told me this one, so I'll leave it up to him to correct me if I quote him wrong....but that would mean he actually had to post on here, so we'll see if that happens!  :)

Steve was playing with the boys yesterday.  They were dismantling part of the erector set that they had previously built so they could build something even better.

Steve - Ethan, will you hand me that piece over there?

Ethan - Otay Daddy!

Steve - Now can you take these two pieces apart and hand me the pieces?

Ethan - Otay.  (then proceeds to NOT do it)

Steve - Uh, are you going to take those apart?

Ethan - Dad?  Yeah, I'm going to do it.  But first, I doing dis (this) and dis.  Just chill for a minute.

Steve (thinking he heard him wrong) -  What?????

Ethan - Just chill.  Cuz I doing (going) to do dis and dis.  It's doing (going) to be about two hours.

Steve - Okay.  So you want me to just chill????

Ethan - Yeah...just chill for a few hours.

Steve then proceeded to chill, at the request of his 3 year old (and watch college football!) until E saw fit to be done with his creation...which did not take two hours, much to Steve's football dismay!

Pretty in Pink!

Olivia woke up with a double-dose of pink eye!  Poor baby!  Her poor little eyes are swollen and pink and not so fun!  

But as always, she's a trooper and refuses to stop.  Although that just makes a whole lot more work for me...this little one is into EVERYTHING!  It will be a miracle if I can keep this from spreading to everyone else!  Though, I think I may be giving her a complex as I follow her around with clorox wipes, wiping everything after she touches it!  :)

From Scratch...

I have to brag for just a second.  Reason one...because I actually accomplished something, from start to finish.  That doesn't happen a whole lot lately.  Reason two...because I made time to work on something and teach myself a few new tricks that I really wanted to learn.  Again, this doesn't happen too often as a mom!  And now that I sound totally selfish...I'll explain:

I built a bed!  I've been wanting to build a bed for about 3 years now.  I wanted to build one for Garrett, but then we got bunk beds.  I wanted to build one for Ethan...but then he moved into said bunk bed.  But we need a bed now...and not just the mattress and box springs on the metal frame, shoved against the wall.  I wanted the room to look more put together...so I built Ethan a bed.  Okay, enough bragging.  I could only do it for two reasons...I have a hubby who let me spend a weekend in the garage, and the amazing Ana at Knock-Off-Wood and her super easy and beautiful plans!  Thanks to the both of you!  :)

So here's the bed.

It's not perfect...but that's how I wanted it!

It's not built exactly to Ana's specs.  I changed it up a bit so I could slide food storage boxes underneath. Always looking for places to store that!  :)

AND, it doesn't match the abc's hanging above it...don't worry, I'll fix that soon!

I love it!  And I LOVED doing it!  And, I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED having a reason to use the new nail gun I got for my birthday and (still) hadn't tried out yet!  I really enjoyed having a project to work on all by myself...though I loved having Steve come help when I needed an extra set of hands!  We have so much fun doing things like this together!   Now, we just need a new project to work on...