At least he has one

I've been feeling guilty lately, no change there. But THIS time I happen to feel guilty about wanting to be done with having kids (like there isn't a LOT of other things to feel guilty about), but not for the usual reasons. This time it was because Eric only has one little boy. He is such a man's man. A real adventurer. A lover of the outdoors. Everything you think of when you think "man" and that man deserves to have hords of little boys to teach how to be good men.
Anyways, I was feeling guilty, but then I saw these pictures from the father and sons camp out. Eric is the BEST dad in the world, and Ethan needs that focused love and attention. Ethan just looks SOOOOOO happy, and that made me happy. Eric may have only one boy, but that little boy adores him, and Eric adores him back. How can I feel guilty about that?

Eric is such a good sport. Lots of the boys wanted to fish and Eric was there to load up the poles and help them reel them in.
Ethan with one of his fish.
Ethan, Caleb and a bunch of the younger boys had a Lord of the Flies gang roaming around the camp site. I think this is why we have moms and dads. Moms have organized camp outs with timely meals, bed times, and refereed play. Dads have camp outs with meals that nobody knew would take 3 hours to prepare, bedtime when everyone is finally quiet, and roaming boys having stick fights (although Eric did think to put a light on Ethan's head so at least he could see where he was running with his gigantic stick).
They were just going to sleep in the back of the Pathfinder, but Caleb and Chad the Dad offered to share their tent. Ethan was so happy and insisted on sleeping right next to his best pal.

Little Boy Faces, or "ZINGO," or "random pictures from Mom and Julia's Visit", or "Longest Blog Title Ever"

What is it about a little boy, a camera, and an inability to make a normal face? Here was a great photo of my mom and Livi, and Ethan had to make a face somewhere between Jared and James. Oh well, I guess it shows his personality.
I love the look on Livi's face, like she is puzzled about Julia being on the ground also.
Ella loved to have Julia here to make coffee cake for her. More adults around to do her bidding when she flashes those inncent looks our way. It looks like Ella is taking after Julia with her ability to pose for the camera, and not look cheesy (ie unlike every picture of me).
"ZINGO," oh the dreaded phrase. Ella LOVES this game SOOOOO much. Grandma Sharon was so happy to play this game with Ella at the beginning of the trip, but about 428 games into it, she started trying to pawn the games off onto to Julia. Grandma has no one to blame but herself. She is the one that got the game for Ethan for his birthday.

Happy Birthday to Me

29. The year all women want to stay (or at least lie and say they are). Ah Man, kind of depressing. Hopefully not all down hill from here. I guess most of the women I admire are older than the mythical 29. If I can gain the knowledge of my mother, the ability to love of my mother-in-law, the ability to enjoy so many things like my grandma Jessie, and the practicality of my grandma Donna, I will have so much to look forward to.

Last Sane Parents on Earth

Seriously. I am so proud of Ethan, he did a great job this year, but what am I suppose to think when people bring gifts and balloons to their kids KINDERGARTEN graduation. What are they going to do for Junior High: a car? High School: a house? College: a small country? Perspective people. Sorry about the rant, Ethan's graduation was so cute. They sang lots of songs, had a dvd presentation with pictures from the year, and sweet words from his teacher Mrs. Blehm. I wish We could always have Mrs. Blehm as a teacher, but I guess we have to share. Ella is dying to have her for Kindergarten, so for her sake I hope we are still here.

My little risk taker

Ethan has always been a little timid, and I've worried (what, me worry?) about what to do. Lately he has become much more adventurous, and there was much rejoicing. It is finally warm enough for him to use his skates he got for Christmas, so he and Eric went out to practice. I'm so lucky to have Eric, he is such a good dad.

A B CRAZY at the zoo

Thank goodness my Mom and Julia were in town when Ethan had his ABC hunt at the zoo. Mom watched the girls at home while Julia and I "led" a group of Ethan's classmates. I am so glad Julia was there, because four 6 year olds are more than a handful.
One of the four rules the class had was to only walk on the path. Springtime normally is my favorite, with all the baby animals. The geese had tons of goslings and it made walking on those paths difficult (not to mention messy, with all the droppings, gross yes, but I AM around a 6 year old boy all the time so I notice those things).
Some of you may not have heard, but last year, when I was pregnant, I was bitten by the pig at the zoo. My family still makes fun of me, and it IS pretty ridiculous when you think about it. Who gets bit by the pig at the petting part of the zoo? So anyways, I wanted a picture of me with the demon pig.
Running all over the zoo, finding things that started with the letters of the alphabet, hanging out with Mom and Aunt Julia, those things are cool, but nothing beats playing with his best friend, Caleb. As soon as we found our letters Ethan ran over to the playground and found Caleb. I'm so glad he has a nice friend.

Shock and Awe

Livi is sitting now, and she seems as shocked as anyone! I was trying to get a good shot of her sitting, but she kept trying grab the camera. I wonder the world would look like if you thought everything should go in your mouth.

Mother's Day Surprise

I guess I can publish this now, seeing as it's been a week since Mother's Day. Eric and I have come accross a problem most people have: what to get our mothers for Mother's Day. Do you get the box of chocolates and ruin her diet, do you get the flowers that wilt in week, or maybe a card made by the impersonal greeting card company? I like gifts to have meaning behind them, so I agonize every year. Most years it is a book, or flowers, which our gracious mothers have seemed to like, but this year I wanted to be different. Maybe I succedded a little too well.
We recently had a ceramics store open in town (I hope it lasts the recession) and the kids have loved painting things. We decided to let the kids pick out, and paint items all by themselves. They picked out a mug with a heart for Grandma Sharon to drink her hot chocolate in, and a bud vase for Grandma Joan to put her pretty roses in. Ethan undertook the mug, and Ella painted the vase. It was so hard to let them just go, to not help Ethan keep the heart in the line of the heart, or to tell Ella where to place the polka dots, but it was worth it. The kids were proud, I benefited from just letting them do their own things, and the Grandmas liked their presents.

Carter Can

We love having the Bagleys as friends. Ethan is a 4 months younger than Caleb, Ella is 2 months younger than Maddi, and Livi is only one month older than Carter (I guess Melissa and I need to consult each other on any family plans we make in the future to keep the balance!). It makes playing together very easy and fun!







This was the first time we had put the babies down next to each other, and if this is any indication of the future, we have a boy chaser on our hands. Livi scooted up close to him, held his hand for a while, tried to pat his face, and eventually went for his binkie (naturally). Cater seemed smitten as well, but we definitely have the instigator.

Just Like Kyle

Livi has started putting her binkie back in her mouth by herself. This is a fabulous day for us as parents, with less gettting up in the night, or frantic checking in car seats for binkies we can't see from the front seat. Weirdly enough she prefers to put it in upside down, which I cannot understand, but as I am informed is like her Uncle Kyle. I guess genetics do play a part in personalities!