3 years "not too big"

Whenever I tell Ethan he is getting too big, he says something along the lines of, "I'm getting big, but not TOO big."  So even though he turned 3 years old last week, which definitely feels too big for my baby, I can smile and remember that he is still "a little bit big and a little bit little." :)

In the midst of this busy Christmas season, we always have the opportunity to pause mid-month and take a little time to celebrate Ethan.  Although I know it will probably bug him someday, at this point, he doesn't seem to mind having a Christmas birthday at all.  In fact, to a little child who loves Christmas and all the excitement it brings, I think he kind of enjoys having his birthday wrapped up in the midst of it... particularly when we have a 70 degree December day to take a trip to his favorite place in the world - the zoo!

I'm not going to sugarcoat it.  Ethan is a very challenging little boy to parent.  He knows what he wants, and if he doesn't get it, he will make sure you know it and suffer for it.  I have had to wrangle him into his carseat kicking and screaming, drag him through the airport because he got tired and decided he would just sit in the middle of the floor, sit with my arms and legs wrapped around him to hold him still during a tantrum at the zoo, etc.  There are days (and weeks) when it is completely exhausting.

But in contrast to all of that, there is this face:

Ethan can be SO sweet and SO fun. He really is my little buddy, and  I love seeing the world through his eyes.

Ethan is an animal lover through and through... no matter how big or small, ugly or cute, Ethan loves them all.  Like I said, the zoo is his absolute favorite place, but a simple walk through the woods will have him stopping to check out every little bug and critter (and flower) he can find.  

This summer, we had several lizards living on our play set, and they came to be our outdoor pets for the season.  One of them in particular was somewhat tame, and we would go out and catch him nearly every day.  The boys would make little habitats for him, and at one point, he stayed in the "home" they made for him for a couple of days.  We named him "Hyde," because he seemed to especially enjoy the hydrangea flower that they gave him.  Whenever Ethan held him, there was pure joy on his face.  We may never have furry pets, so I'm thankful that he takes such pleasure in these little blessings.

Ethan loves to read.  Gifts for him are hard, because he doesn't really play with toys.  He spends his time exploring, being Mommy's sidekick (or sometimes a brother or Daddy's), reading or looking at books, doing puzzles, or playing games.  

Like his brothers, he is so fortunate to have cousins living nearby.  He and Courtney don't play that much together yet, but they are still sweet little friends, and they get along great.  They had a sleepover earlier this year, just the two of them (Ryan and Kaeden slept at Atticus' house), and they were adorable together.  

Ethan's relationships with his brothers haven't changed much since last year.  He and Ryan continue to adore each other, although I think Ryan is gradually losing bits of patience with him as he gets older.  All in all, though, Ryan is so sweet to help Ethan out with things, make him feel better when he's upset, entertain him when Mommy is desperate to make dinner, etc :)  Kaeden and Ethan fight.  They have their moments of peace, but in general, they fight.  I try to tell myself it's a phase, but the truth is I worry it's a phase that will last until they go to college!  There are days when they seem to fight nonstop from the moment they wake up and Kaeden glares at Ethan and Ethan screams back at him.  There are also days when they go off to Kaeden's room on their own and parallel play without incident for long stretches of time.  You never know what you're going to get.  One thing I do know is that every one of these boys is so lucky to have the others.

We converted Ethan's crib to a toddler bed this summer, and he had a little trouble staying in it at first.  Even now, he'll end up underneath the bed from time to time.  It never seems to bother him, though. A few nights, he has even requested to sleep underneath from the start.  

Ethan is now fully potty trained (for the most part), and he no longer takes a nap.  He still has "rest time" in his room most days and spends most of that time looking at books.  He is growing up so fast, and yet when I read last year's blog post, he sounds pretty much like the same exact child :)

Ethan, your smile melts my heart, and you bring so much excitement to our family every day.  Happy 3rd birthday, sweet boy.  We love you SO much!

Kaeden is 5!

Kaeden is 5 years old.  Looking back on last year's blog post, I cannot believe how much he has grown up this past year.  He looks and acts so much more like a big kid.

Kaeden's psyche continues to be a mystery and a challenge.  He has matured so much and is generally SUCH a pleasant child to be around, but sometimes his irrational reactions to circumstances completely surprise me.  I know we have many more years to come of unpacking what makes him tick and tock :)  

Like I said, though, he is a true joy to be around... especially on the rare chances that we have one-on-one time.  He continues to be full of life and exudes joy.  He is generally a very appreciative and affectionate child.  

Kaeden's favorite activities center around building.  He is a serious Lego builder.  And while he can enjoy putting a set together now and then, he's usually much more interested in coming up with his own creations... which tend to be pretty impressive (and often symmetrical!)  He also enjoys playing games and doing puzzles... he went through a serious Sorry board game phase this summer when all he wanted to do was play Sorry.  And he really loves reading too, although he's not yet ready to start learning how to do it himself.  His favorites at the moment are the Geronimo Stilton Kingdom of Fantasy books.  

Kaeden is going to preschool four mornings a week this year, and he adapted really quickly and easily to his new class, even though we still have to visit last year's teachers multiple times a week after school.  He has a few friends from last year's class as well as some from his 2's class, and he seems to be thriving there.  I am so thankful.  

Kaeden has a soul that is extraordinarily drawn to God.  And when you combine it with his love and appreciation for music, it's a special thing.  He loves to listen to Selah, especially the African songs. His favorite song right now is "I need thee ev'ry hour"   I will try to get a recording of him singing it and post it on here, because it's pretty amazing :)

Kaeden loves to superlatize himself.  He has the softest skin in our family.  He's the fastest.  Etc.  Hence the Halloween costume... "Dash" from "The Incredibles" - his super power is running very fast.  And one of the first things that Kaeden tested when he woke up on his birthday was whether or not he could run faster now that he's five :)

That doesn't always work out quite as planned, though.  Kaeden got his first stitches this year.  In January, he was running up the steps on the playground at the park and fell and cracked his chin open.  It was not a pleasant experience overall, but to this day he still talks about the 6 hershey kisses and juice box that the nurse gave him once all 6 stitches were in!

Kaeden and Ryan continue to have an incredible relationship.  Kaeden is able to play more and more on Ryan's level, and they generally get along SO well.  They are really lucky to have each other.  I'll often find them in each other's rooms playing together after they wake up in the mornings.  And this fall, they've been known to beg to go outside as soon as they're done eating breakfast to work on their various "tree houses" in the woods.  

On the flip side, Kaeden and Ethan have really struggled lately.  Kaeden knows just how to push Ethan's buttons, and when it comes to Kaeden, Ethan's buttons are incredibly easy to push.  There have been days when they literally could not be in the same room without fighting all day long.  It's exhausting and incomprehensible for a mama.  That being said, there are other days (more rare) when they get along just fine and can be the sweetest of friends... though it's typically when they're pretending to be dogs instead of humans.  I guess doggie siblings are nicer to each other.

Their first day of preschool.  It's been a bonding experience to be at the same school, at least.

Atticus and Kaeden continue to be the best of friends.  Once again, they are so lucky to have each other (even if "battling" in the play room does send Atticus for his first round of stitches).  I know they're really going to miss each other when they start kindergarten next year and don't get to see each other as often.  But let's not even think about that right now! 

Kaeden, you are a bright light to our family.  We love your smile, your hugs, and your appreciation for the simple things in life.  Keep on shining, little mister.

Somebody LOVES soccer

Watching the under 6 soccer division teams play can only be described as comical, but I'm pretty confident that there is no one in that entire enormous soccer field complex who has more fun than my Kaeden.  I sure do love his smile :)  

Apple Festival

Our family loves to pick our own fruit.  We've been picking blueberries with Ryan since he was 2 months old.  Having grown up in New England, I have fond memories of apple picking, but I've never been able to find an orchard close enough to us to make it worth the trip.  So until today, my boys had never been apple picking.  But this week I heard about a place a little less than an hour from us, and since the rain decided to hold off today, we made a last-minute decision to go.  I'm so glad we did, because everybody had a blast!  

As evidenced by the number of photos, the overall highlight was probably the tire swings.  They certainly took up the majority of our time! 

Since there weren't always multiple swings available, the boys figured out how to ride two at a time.  It was really sweet to see their faces enjoying the thrill together.

There was also a pile of hay for the kids to climb on.  Ethan enjoyed throwing hay and jumping around for a while.

 Of course, the primary purpose of the trip was to actually pick apples.  We took a hay ride over to the orchard and had to wait a bit.  Perfect photo opp, except that Kaeden was not in the mood to cooperate.  Apparently, neither were Ethan and Ryan at first, but they warmed up :)

Then, it was apple picking time!  It was a fairly small orchard, so they had a limit on how many each family could pick, but that was okay.  The boys still enjoyed it in spite of Mason & I yelling repeatedly, "Wait!  Don't pick that one - it has a rotten spot!" etc :)  

Early on, the boys heard about a pie eating contest, and Ryan got it in his head that he just had to participate.  So, even though it wasn't until a few hours later, we signed the boys up and found a diner for lunch and then came back for the contest.  It was hilarious.  There was a junior division, so it was all kids, and they each got a piece of pie.  Whoever finished the whole thing first won.  Ryan was feeling pretty confident (and he actually did a surprisingly efficient job) but there were some older boys who finished first.  I think they all had fun, and hey - they got a free piece of pie out of it, so who can complain!?!

All that fun sure can tire a boy out.  Just be sure you have a book to snuggle, though :)