Ethan's Path of Destruction

Ethan is at that fabulous stage right now.....the one where he methodically makes his way around the house and empties every cabinet and drawer in sight. Even Matthew is getting a little annoyed by it. He told me...."Mom! You have got to get some locks for our kitchen cupboards and drawers! Ethan is getting into EVERYTHING!" Jay just thinks it is funny and actually helps put everything back in its place. Except he wouldn't fish the TV remote out of the toilet. I guess I should be grateful for that. :)

Backwards Logic

A Conversation:



Jay: "Mom, can I have a brownie?"

Mom: "No, Jay. Not right now. It's breakfast time."

Jay: "But I already had breakfast!"

Mom: "You can't have a brownie at 7:30 in the morning. If you are still hungry, I'll make you something else."

Jay: "Aargh......"


15 minutes later

Jay: "Mom, can I have a brownie?"

Mom: "No. Maybe after lunch you can have one."


Another 15 minutes later

Jay: "Mom, can I have a brownie now?"

Mom: "Jay....if you ask me again we won't make brownies at all anymore!"


30 minutes later (after I got out of the shower).....Matthew comes into my bedroom

Mom: "Matthew! What is that on your face?"

Matthew: "Br..... I mean apple."

Mom: "Oh really. Looks like chocolate to me."

Matthew: "Ok. It's brownie! Jay said if we ask you again for a brownie we won't ever get to make them again. So we didn't ask. We just ate one."


Gotta love their logic!

Winter in SoCal

January 2008-Connecticut

January 2009-Huntington Beach, CA

We are having some unbelievable January weather here in Southern California! As much as I miss our dear friends in Connecticut, I am loving the sunshine here! We spent the day at the beach yesterday and had a fabulous time. Matthew loved the boogie board. Jay took a turn on the board, but was done when he flipped over and got a mouthful of saltwater. He stuck to digging in the sand after that. Ethan was trying to figure out if he liked the sand at all!

Ethan's 1st Haircut

I'm always a little reluctant to give my babies their first haircuts.....I think they lose some of their "baby" look that I love so much. That being said, Ethan's hair was getting out of control and it was time to tame the curls a little bit. Our dear friend, Kristi, came over and took care of Ethan for us! He wasn't too happy....but it was over quick and I love the result. Ethan looks like a little boy now!

Before:

After:

Boys will be boys

I grew up with mostly sisters (I have one brother), so I don't understand the need that boys have to hit, kick, punch, fight with, tackle, launch, jump over, jump ON, karate-chop, throw, smash, drop or climb on EVERY thing they come in contact with. I never imagined I would only have boys in my home, but it seems to be my destiny!

Most of my boys' punishments these days come when they fight/argue/hurt each other. Take yesterday, for example. We had been home from school for 2 minutes before Matthew was making fun of Jay's preschool art project and Jay responded by shoving Matthew from behind. The fighting escalated until I sent both of them to their room in tears. I typically separate them for time out, but I've decided to make them suffer together in their room now. "Just let me know when you're ready to get along!" I told them.

Twenty minutes later they emerge saying they won't fight anymore. "Can we go downstairs and color a picture?" SURE! Sounds harmless enough. They each grab a piece of paper off the computer desk in the loft and drop it off the balcony (see above about dropping, throwing, launching everything). They like to drop paper and see if they can get to the bottom of the stairs before the paper hits the ground. They get downstairs and INSTANTLY an argument erupts over which paper belongs to each of them. They haven't been out of their room for one minute! The argument gets physical enough that I yell from the top of the stairs...."Back in your room! Now!" I hope that fight over the BLANK piece of paper was worth it! We'll try again later.......

Here's to hoping for a better day today! (And a little proof that Matthew and Jay do actually love each other.)

Ten month milestones

Ethan turns 10 months old tomorrow! He has truly been a pleasant baby to have around. He's a little butterball that I love to smother with hugs and kisses. His brothers are able to get him giggling in a way that no one else can. Here are some of his recent milestones:

• He has mastered the stairs....going up and down freely and is very proud of himself.


• Eating lots of table foods....mostly preferring what is on everyone else's plate. Not a huge fan of baby food.


• Not sleeping all through the night yet (this has never been a strong point with our kids)! Can't seem to give up that 4 am feeding.


• Officially became one of "the boys" when we were all in Matt and Jay's room and Matt pointed to me and said, "Mom! You go! Ethan stays with us!"


• Discovered that emptying all of the kitchen cabinets at his level is a really fun activity and really gets mom's attention.


• Found a hiding place for lots of his balls, cars, toys, etc. I looked inside a large vase on our fireplace and noticed it was FILLED with toys that had been missing.

• Figured out how to escape from most of his "mini prisons" (i.e. high chair, exersaucer, walker). Luckily the crib still keeps him caged.
  
  

I love you, Bubs! So glad you joined our family!

Farewell to the Holiday Season

It's always a little sad for me to see the holiday season come to a close. I love to see the magic of the season through the eyes of my children. This year I realize that I have much to be grateful for. Here are a few highlights of our holidays....

1. Christmas at Disneyland


One of the perks of being back in Southern California....annual passes to Disneyland! Disney certainly knows how to make the season magical. We enjoyed an evening with friends here...watching the parade and riding "It's a small world."

2. Thanksgiving in Phoenix

We had such a fun time with my family in Phoenix this year. We missed Haley and Lonni and their families....but enjoyed time with everyone else! Swimming in my parent's pool was definitely a highlight for the kids. It was heated nice and toasty warm....what a treat on turkey day!

3. Clay and Matthew visit Tahiti

The Christensen gang all (well...almost all) went to Tahiti on a ten day cruise in December. The trip was planned long before we realized that no infants under the age of one would be allowed on the ship. This meant Ethan wouldn't be going....his chubby cheeks may fool some into thinking he's over the age of one, but the passport wouldn't lie! As Ethan's primary food source, I wasn't able to go either. And Jay is just too much of a momma's boy to leave me! We didn't want Matthew to miss this unique opportunity to be with 40-something cousins, and for Clay to be with his parents and 7 of his 10 siblings. They had a blast and I know we'll do it again in the future.

4. The simple things

I realized this year that the simple things seem to bring the most joy. Decorating gingerbread houses, driving around looking at Christmas lights, acting out the nativity story, letting the kids actually decorate the tree themselves, decorating sugar cookies and watching "Frosty the Snowman" over and over. I'm so grateful for my family and the simple times we share together!