Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!

Wow. My son is 4! I can't believe it! Seems like yesterday he was just a baby-- let's see, at this point 4 years ago... I was still on Pitocin and slowly but surely making progess. He wasn't born until a little after 9 pm. Ethan Graeme- we are so blessed to have you! You are growing up into such a big boy- doing so well at preschool. Learning to drum, play guitar. You love to play with your trains (the Thomas ones are your new favorites- and thanks to Grammy/Papa Smith for supplying the new trains!) on the traintable. You're learning to write your name and you've almost got it- that 'a' is a little tricky!

Today Ethan is still recovery from his cough so he stayed home from preschool. I made his favorite- chocolate chip pancakes, then homemade cheese pizza, and I bought a piece of chocolate cake so we could still sing Happy Birthday in style until the party on Saturday!

Grammy/Papa Smith gave Ethan's gifts to Josiah when he stopped by with the band last week- so we opened those today- such fun things!! Drum shirts, a Drum DVD, a new Thomas train, books, activity books, a drum ornament, and more!

We love your pirate wink, your silly smile, your laughter when we tickle your toes/belly, your jokes, your sensitive heart, your love for reading the Bible and praying, your love for your sister and I could go on....

Happy Birthday Mr. E! We love you!

Children's Museum Fun!

Last Wednesday we got to host my friend, Krista, and her 2 kids- Ayden & Elsie. We went to the museum for a day of fun with the new Dinosaur exhibit. Naomi was quite intrigued by the large dinosaurs, flapping her arms and saying, "hi! hi!" I actually thought she'd be scared- guess I was wrong! They also enjoyed digging for fossils. Of course, how could we escape the music room... songs and a monitor where the kids can see themselves- it doesn't get any better for our kids! I think they would have stayed there all day! It was a great day of discovery, imagination, and fun! Check out Ethan's face coloring... quite unique (thanks to Krista for helping!)

A Smith Family Christmas!

We went to Iowa this past weekend to celebrate with Josiah's family! It was lots of fun... presents, food, Vallarie's Christmas concert at church, photos, and lots of playing!

The cousins played so well- we're looking forward to lots of fun years ahead!

Thanks to my in-laws for hosting us- it's always a great time- wish we didn't live

6 hrs apart! But I am thankful for portable DVD players for car trips... you saved my sanity!

Merry Christmas!

Fish Faces!

Who doesn't love a cute fish face? Just had to share!!

Pumpkin Carving

We had a play date with Grammy & Grandpapa today! We played at the MG Maze, had lunch at Biaggi's (yum!) and carved pumpkins while Naomi napped. Sorry Nomi- we still have 2 pumpkins that need carving tho!
This is our tradition with G&G- so much fun- and this year was the best so far. Ethan was very excited to carve and used his carving tool very carefully. We made a good team! Grammy helped Ethan scoop out all of the pumpkin seeds/guts and Grandpapa carved his pumpkin all by himself- with Ethan's approval of course.
Such a fun day inside- despite the dreary rain outside. We love you G&G!

Pine Tree... a family tradition

A perfect breeze, warm sun, and apples. What could be better?! We love Pine Tree Apple Orchard and spent the day having fun after a yummy brunch at Keys Cafe in White Bear Lake. Yummmmm....
First, a little posing in the face cut-outs (always fun!), then we took a walk up to the orchards. We made E pose for us (cheesy smile pic) and then saw the tall corn. That was Ethan's favorite part- he is addicted to corn! Pumpkin-picking was next on the list- and the patch just opened today so we had the whole patch to pick from (usually we go later in the season when the pickings are slim!) and E & J picked some top-notch pumpkins. Back down the trail for the real fun- eating and buying apples! J LOVES the yummy apple treats they sell- so he made his way to the food. I bought some Honeycrisp apples and apple donuts... oh, and a caramel apple for me!
A folk duo entertained the crowd outside- so we joined in! Great music, a little dancing, and then, some tired kids. Back home with everyone asleep in the car. It was a wonderful day for our yearly visit to Pine Tree. See you next year!!

Fun with Dad

I asked J to return a CD to the library last weekend when I was working... so off he went with the kids. As he was getting closer to the library he saw the Champlin City Center was alive with activity! The firetrucks were out, police cars, jumping things for the kids, food- what more could a dad ask for when he's single-parenting?!
The kids became jr. fireman and policeman (very cool!), they jumped and jumped their hearts out, E got an ice cream cone painted on his face (boy, did he love that) and they went on a tour on the tractor.
The very boring errand that mom asked them to do turned out to be a great day of fun- plus a long nap time- which makes for a happy dad!