Is A Nice Day Out, Mom!

Ethan got swim goggles in his Easter basket from GiGi. 

Ethan is obsessed with his muscles, especially since he has bigger muscles than a spider! (That was the only way Jared could convince him not to be scared of them.)

A semi-normal Easter photo

So the above pictures have nothing to do with what I'm posting about, but I figured a post without pictures would be boring! 

We have had some incredibly nice weather here lately and we have really been enjoying it. I have tried to get Ethan outside as much as I can. We have tried to go to a different park every day or go on a long walk. And no fail, every morning, Ethan wakes up and says "Is a nice day out, Mom."  I love it!

It's weather like this that really makes me forget about everything I have to do here at the house, which can be good and bad. I normally have a routine that I like to get done every day but the last few weeks, I have been a little less than motivated. So the other night when a glass 9x13 pan EXPLODED all over our house, I figured that was a sign I needed to start cleaning again. 

It took about 3 hours to clean up all the glass from the kitchen and the living room, but when I was done the kitchen was sparkling! And it even gave me a little more motivation the rest of the week! I guess sometimes I just need a little kick in the pants!

Photo Booth

So Ethan is only 2 but sometimes I think he is really a 4-year old in a smaller body. Like when he climbs onto the computer chair, wiggles the computer mouse around and his favorite "Letter Factory" movie comes on, to which he says, "Mom- I start". Or when he picks up my phone and begins taking pictures of the grocery store floor. Or when flips open his toy cell phone, says "He-yo" and paces through the house. Or when he recites his favorite books/songs all over the house from memory. (Right now it's "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you see?" and "This Old Man".) So today when he begged me to take pictures on Photo Booth by once again climbing onto the computer and opening the program, I couldn't resist. The following photos are what we ended up with!

SNOW!!

We finally got some snow a few days ago! And to celebrate, Ethan shoveled our driveway with his new snow shovel. See how happy he is!

He watched Jared closely to see how he shoveled the snow across the driveway to the grass and then how he threw the snow off the shovel. This is his greatest attempt to be like dad!

Videos and More Videos

As you can tell, I'm horrible at updating this. I hope to add some more info about what we've been doing soon, but until then, here is our YouTube channel where we post many funny videos of what happens day-to-day!

http://www.youtube.com/user/mckejar2

A Tribute to My Favorite 2-Year Old

Ethan turns 2 today so I made this video to highlight some of his cutest moments over the last 2 years. Enjoy!
*Update: I guess because of one of the songs I used you have to go to YouTube to watch it. Click above! It works now!

Morning

This morning was a pancake and hot chocolate kind of morning, but really what morning isn't?!?! Not many at our house considering E wakes up saying "pantate" most mornings. So we made pancakes. And since it has been snowing here, I wake up most mornings saying, "hot chocolate".  :) I used my favorite homemade whole grain oatmeal pancake mix and we had pancakes and hot chocolate in less than 10 minutes! 

E wanted his picture taken

But really, this mix is awesome! It stays good forever if you keep it in the fridge and it has lots of fiber and actually tastes really yummy. All you do is add an egg and some buttermilk to the mix. (I posted the recipe in my "recipes" tab at the top. I love them with a little butter and some pure maple syrup!

I was practicing my picture taking skills (which are very slim) with my mom's camera that she left at my house!

Ethan & The Alphabet

Here is a short video of Ethan & Jared practicing his letters. He now knows the whole alphabet and can count to 10! He's growing up fast!

A Year and A Half (Plus 2 Months)

This post is long overdue but as I was looking through my posts, this one was saved as a draft. I loved the pictures and knew that I wanted to post them. I can't believe our little baby is now almost 2! At least once a day, I stop in amazement at how big he's gotten and how smart he is. He loves to learn new things and always wants to help me do whatever I am doing at the moment. He never sits still! He loves reading books and is really trying hard to talk. He knows a couple letters ("o" and "i" or "i-dot" as Jared taught him!) and will point them out any time he sees them. 

Today, I was mixing something in my Bosch and he was standing on his chair next to the counter. He kept touching the dial and making it mix faster and then would make the mixing noise. I would turn to him and tell him to leave the dial on the "2" so it wouldn't mix too fast. After about the 50th time of telling him to not touch the machine, I could feel myself getting a little impatient. I kept hearing him make noises and I turned to tell him to stop touching it. There he was looking at me with wide eyes, pointing to an "o". "O", he said. My frustration melted away as I saw his face and proud he looked at me that he had seen the "o". We talked for a minute and he pointed to all the other "o's" on the machine. (P.S. I love to see him move his chair over from the table and put it right next to me when I am cooking. He picks it up, says "ugh" a few times as he stumbles over to the counter. He pushes the buttons or picks something up and pretends to pour it into the bowl. He loves to be so involved and be at the same level to help me.)

It's moments like these and the many others I have on a daily basis that make me feel so blessed to be a mom! I can always count on Ethan to brighten my spirits if I'm feeling down or to make me laugh if I haven't laughed for a while. He has such a sweet spirit and as much as I try to "parent" him and teach him things that are important for him to know, he teaches me so much more. 

"For the natural man is an enemy to God...unless he...becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

-Mosiah 3:19

Can You Say "Cheese"?

Ethan has started giving us a very animated, squinty smile when we take his pictures. He loves to say "cheese" and as you can see from the pictures below, we just can't get enough.

He is also quite a fan of hats and sunglasses. The other night we were out doing a little shopping at the mall and he loved trying on these hats and "foldable" sunglasses at American Eagle. He is beginning to look (and act!) so grown up. I can't believe how fast time goes!

Mr. Independent

Ethan has finally hit the stage where he wants to be Mr. Independent! He loves doing things on his own, just like mom and dad! He will no longer sit in a high chair; he has to be in  a big chair at the table. He eats his dinner with a fork and has to hold his own glass to drink! He seems to be eating much better and will often eat the things that we do. 

He has also become quite the daredevil. Anything he can climb on, he will. And then he jump off . It doesn't matter how high or if someone is even there to catch him, he just jumps. We have had a few lot of great "saves" by Jared as he dives to catch Ethan. 

He loves to give "High 5", knuckles, and thumbs up! He is pretty good at it too! He knocks on the door when we go to visit someone and sticks one arm high in the air whenever he sees a basketball hoop! (Jared taught him that one!)

Here are a few videos for your enjoyment

Ethan being a daredevil

Mr. Independent using a fork to eat

He loves lights. In this video, we tried to get him to say light.

This is my favorite video. He will only drink out of regular cups (not sippy cups) and he saw this pitcher at my in-laws house. He thought it was the coolest "cup" and wanted to drink out of it. I put a little it of water in it and this is what he did! He pretty much says "Aahhh" after every drink he takes now!

The Many Faces of.....

We are enjoying Ethan more and more every day. He has such a fun personality and makes some of the funniest faces. There are many nights we just sit on the couch and watch him try to figure things out or just watch him play around. He is amazingly entertaining! 

Modeling his sunglasses

On President's Day, Jared didn't have to work so we took a trip to Idaho Falls. At the mall, Ethan had a blast "driving" the coin-operated cars! Here is his "cheese" face!

Angie dressed Ethan up one evening. He loved it!

Ethan, the climber!

We found the cutest kid chairs at Big Lots!! Perfect size for him!

Our little Toad! This was part of his cousin's Halloween costume. 

Getting ready for a card game! :)

Muffins

(Photo from AllRecipes)

Ethan loves muffins! The first time I made them for him that's all he wanted to eat. And now whenever I make them he can't get enough.

After our Christmas trip to Arkansas, we stayed at my grandma's house in Salt Lake. We woke up that morning and were discussing our plan for the day. Ethan was just walking around looking at everything when he brought us back a small box. I looked at it and it was a blueberry muffin box he had found on my grandma's pantry shelf! He had pulled the other boxes onto the ground to get that one. So needless to say, we had muffins for breakfast!

Today I made bran muffins for the first time and  Ethan still gobbled them up. I beginning to think that as long as it is in muffin form he will eat it. My mind is now spinning thinking of all the things I could possibly get him to eat if I just made them into "muffins"! Wish me luck!

Oh and if you are looking for a fantastic recipe for blueberry muffins-this one is our favorite!! Happy muffin making! :)

Enjoy!

I chose the title of this post for 2 reasons. The first being the fact that I am actually posting some pictures for those who read this to enjoy. The 2nd is more of a reminder to me to enjoy my life and to "live in the moment." I hope I'm not the only one who often gets consumed in my to-do list and forgets the importance of enjoying the time I have right now with my family.  

With that said, on to the pictures!

At the beginning of December, Ethan burned his hand on the oven. This is his battle wound!

This is Ethan showing his "cast". We had to keep it wrapped up like that for over a month (Of course we changed it every day!) Luckily Jared has had extensive training in wound care!!  :)

My two handsome boys at our Christmas photo shoot.

Ethan making a typical funny face. This happens to be when I am asking him where his eyes are. Notice the slight squint!  ha ha

Us on Christmas morning at my parent's house.

Our handsome vampire! Over Christmas break he got his 2 front teeth so now he looks less vampire-ish!

Ethan smiling for the camera. He loved trying on hats at the store and looking in the mirror. We said "Say cheese" and this was his response.  

Ethan Knows Sign Language

For the last several months, Jared and I have been teaching Ethan sign language.

I have a couple friends who know sign language (shout out to Andrea and Breawna!) and are teaching (or will teach) their kids. I always thought that it would be neat to have my kids learn sign language, except there was one B.I.G. problem -- I didn't know any sign language!

Enter-Baby Einstein "My First Signs".

One day Ethan and I sat down and watched this video. I obediently copied the signs as they were given and repeated the words out loud. I looked over at Ethan to make sure he was doing them as well but this was all I got...

Blank Stare!

I realized at that moment that I was a little more excited about this whole sign language thing than he was. But I pressed forward. Every day, I would do the signs while talking to him.

He didn't seem interested at first, but every so often I would catch him making the sign for "more." Around this same time, Jared really started recognizing the value of teaching him sign language.

About the time of his first birthday, we really started working on them. He picked them up so quickly and has been doing them non-stop since! It is so amazing to see how empowered he feels and we love "communicating" with our 1-year old.

I tried all night to upload a video so one will be coming soon!!