A Child's Perspective

When Thomas told me that he would love to help me out one afternoon and take the kids to the grocery store to pick up a few needed items, I was a bit nervous. Not because I thought Thomas couldn't handle it but I just wasn't sure if he would ever go again. The kids really do a great job at the store but I really have a system down and if you aren't familiar with the system, it can get a bit crazy trying to get all the shopping done. Needless to say, Thomas did a wonderful job and Ethan documented the whole thing. I thought I would post a few pictures of what the grocery store looks like when you're riding in the "boat" with your little brother sitting up front and Dad smiling down at you! I think the camera was a quick way to buy some time for Thomas and it worked!!! He didn't even forget anything off the list! Way to go Thomas!

Summer's End

It's hard to believe that September is approaching so quickly and the neighborhood kids have all started school. Ethan keeps talking about going to school because he is all about doing everything that Caleb, his older cousin, is partaking in. He always assures me that he doesn't want to go to the school where Mommy can't come. We'll have to work on this a bit but in the meantime, I really enjoying the attention and the closeness that we feel. I am taking on a few new endeavors in the fall with the boys. I have researched and researched for a homeschool preschool curriculum and have landed on one that I think will suit our family just fine and am planning on starting this with Ethan in a few weeks. He is excited to begin his school and learn alongside Mom everyday as well as spend some special structured time with me while Simon is napping. Ethan has pretty much resisted naps for about a year now so will now officially spend that time doing his "schoolwork". We have also joined a preschool co-op that meets once a week in which all of his friends are a part of. He is super thrilled to join his buddies for a few hours of structured play and the best part is, I get to teach once every couple of months! All the "teachers" are mothers and most are good friends of ours. The co-op was created by a good friend of mine and we are really excited to be the guinea pigs this year and get things rolling. I am really looking forward to adding some more structure on to our day and really teach Ethan how fun it can be to learn and explore the world around him. We have also planned some "field trips" which hopefully I will get around to documenting and posting some pictures of. Should be a good time and a great year!

Here are some fair photos. The boys had a blast at the fair both times we were able to go! Thomas and I had a major realization while we were there...we cannot ride any child fair rides without feeling tremendously sick. =)

Good times!

Summer 2010

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It's hard to believe that we are quickly approaching The Iowa State Fair! It seems like the snow just melted and we were enjoying all the blossoms of spring. I know we always say it, but the summers do seem to go so quickly. This past week we spent in West Branch once again but this time we were able to stay for a whole week! It was great to see all the family that was back in town as well...cousins, aunts and uncles and distant relatives. We kicked off the week by enjoying a whole lot of sweet corn and celebrating Sweet Corn Fest. We picked, shucked, boiled and cut a lot of corn off the cob to then be placed into bags and into the freezer. It was quite a group effort and I couldn't believe how quickly we finished. The rest of the week we spent swimming at the pond, playing with cousins, enjoying long and tasty meals together and making many new memories with our family and friends. It was a great week! Thomas and Ethan even slept over night in an authentic Teepee that Grandpa Fawcett made at the pond! We all roasted marshmallows together around the camp fire and then the boys headed out to rough it overnight. Uncle Jon and Grandpa told stories to the boys (Cousin Owen and Ethan) before they went to bed. I don't know how much sleep either of them were able to get but they sure had a great time.

I thought I would include some photos of our garden here in Ames. Thomas built an amazing fence around it to keep the rabbits out and we started planting right away in late March. We planted quite a bit this year, and are planning to learn through trial and error. This year we planted beets, tomatoes, beans, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, peppers, zucchini, 5 herbs, brussel sprouts, onions, radishes, and swiss chard. Everything is growing quite well now that we FINALLY caught the ground hog. It took some time to keep plants early on because she kept eating all the young sprouts right away before they had time to establish. So, with some persistance and several different traps, we caught her and took her out to the country. The garden looks great and it's really starting to produce. We've had so much rain, so we are still waiting for tomatoes to ripen but there sure are a lot of green ones. The peppers unfortunately also taking a hard hit. They caught an airborne fungus (or so we believe) and I sprayed them with fungicide but I think it's going to be to late to come back. Next year, we will be on top of it!

Today, we decorated cookies and Ethan got a tummy ache from eating too much frosting. Every time he got some "accidentally" on his fingers, he "had to lick it off". It was a joy to watch the two boys create and make a mess all over themselves. I wish these days would last forever!

Trip to West Branch

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Last weekend we went back to West Branch and had so much fun visiting with everyone! Grace is getting so big and talking so well. She and Ethan have quite the relationship. They get along so well and Ethan treats Grace so protectively as if she was his little sister. They are too cute together. We picked strawberries together and headed out to see the pond. We all went swimming in the pond and even got to see the new TP that Grandpa Fawcett built. It was amazing and we're excited to come back and spend more time there! Back at home we have been busy playing outside in our pool, sand box, play house and garden! Ethan and Simon love to be outside as well as both Thomas and I. We bought a new patio table and some outdoor lanterns to create relaxing atmoshpere for all our friends that come over to eat and hang out. I have really been enjoying planting and replanting all of our perennials around the house and fixing up the outside in general. I never thought I would enjoy gardening as much as I do. Thomas built an amazing fence around our vegetable garden to keep the rabbits out. The most frustrating thing about the garden is that in spite of the fence that Thomas built, something was continuing to eat the garden. Arggg, so frustrating and after trying several organic and home made repellents, nothing seemed to work nor could we figure out what was eating it. Yesterday, I finally found the problem! It is a beaver or perhaps a groundhog that is hopping over the fence! I was so angry and tried to kill it with the hoe but it got away. This is to be continued...

Enjoy the pictures.

Step back into time...

Let me explain the title...I feel that Simon's Bday was a pretty big event and worth documenting, and I just never got around to doing it until now so it's now June and Simon was born in March but better a few months late then never, right?!? I thought I would jot down a few random thoughts and memories of the day and include a few precious pics of all the family and of course, the man of the hour, Simon Douglas. It turned out to be great weather and we had everyone over to our place for a brunch and cake. Mom Fawcett made the official bear cake much like Ethan's 1st Bday cake. Simon didn't hesitate to get right into it and rip the cake apart. He scarfed down the cake as quickly as possible without stopping to let us get any real great photos so we had to do our best. We also celebrated my Bday and my favorite cake was made as well! Simon went with the chocolate bear and I went with black walnut poppyseed cake! Yummy! I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my Bday than with friends and family, sharing Bday wishes with my beautiful 1 year old son, Simon. Ethan was a great helper on that day and didn't at all hesitate to help Simon open his gifts. He was even ok with the reality that they weren't for him this time and that this new baby in the house was growing up and actually recieving toys that were pretty cool for him too. Once again we had a great time having the Fawcett's (Mom, Dad), the Vincent's (Troy, LEanna, and Grace), the Sanchez's (minus 2 because of illnesses) Jon and Hanna, Mom and Dad Shiplett, and Shelly all join us. Thanks to everyone for making it such a special day for Simon and I. We love you all!

It's been a while...

Ok Ok, so I am really bad at staying on top of things (as far as blogging goes) but I'm just not a writer! The words just don't seem to come and I end up sitting here trying to think of how to say something and before I know it, I've wasted nap time, the only time I really have to sit and write. What is a mother supposed to do. I've decided that this isn't a good excuse and the boys are growing at a rapid pace and I can't let my inability to creatively blog about our lives get the best of me. So, my pages may be short and directly to the point, but I figure it's better than nothing. I would love for the boys to look back and see that Mommy did make an effort to record those important dates and fun outings together. So...

Ethan is now 3 and loves bugs, sand boxes, his scooter, ice cream and pretending to be dinosaurs. He loves to talk and tell stories. His favorite stories to listen to are the ones about Freddie and Eddie, two pet dinosaurs who take all sorts of different adventures together. This always comes in handy at the grocery store when the boys are getting impatient. Ethan will sit still and listen to a story as long as Freddie and Eddie are the main characters and they're action-packed! He loves to read books and his favorite movie is Toy Story!

Simon just turned 1 and he is my shy, sensitive little one. He is very cuddly, on his own terms, and loves to copy anything big brother Ethan does. He loves Ethan so much, and consequently, this oftentimes causes some difficulty and conflict when Simon wants to be near Ethan and Ethan would like his own space. We have figured out a pretty good system and things are working ok for now. Simon can say Mama and Dada and just recently learned to point to things, especially animals. He loves dogs! He loves bugs as well!

Thomas and I are enjoying each other and love spending time as a family. Family life is great and we are looking forward to this summer, going to the pool, taking walks, getting back into running (maybe) and projects on the house.

I'll blog later, sooner rather than later, now to get back to baking a batch of cookies for midweek tonight and playdate tomorrow, cleaning up cheerios on the floor from lunch, killing the moles that are destroying my garden as I type, getting dinner made for the family and...well, I could go on...all of this to say I am blessed, and thank you Lord for this life you have given me...

Growing Up

Summer days are over and fall is settling in very fast. The cold temperatures hit us hard this weekend and we just don't feel quite ready yet. Ethan is getting excited for fall festivities including carving his own pumpkin and dressing up as a lion for Halloween. He is already talking about his 3rd Bday party and how he is going to request that his grandma Fawcett make him a Thomas the Tank Engine Bday cake. Ethan is really starting to communicate well. He is learning so many new words and is very social with his friends. He loves to make sure that everyone is involved and having a good time. Simon has almost reached his 7 month Bday and is growing very rapidly much like Ethan did at his age. He was 20lb 8 oz at his 6 month appointment and has started rolling over quite a bit. He started sitting up today, unassisted, and will probably be crawling before we know it. Ethan really loves his brother and is pretty good at being gentle with the baby. He really can't wait until Simon can wrestle with him though. We love you all and hope things are going well with you and your families.