Overheard...

We were all excited about getting out of the car and starting our next Disneyland adventure. As we took the final exit to our favorite wonderland park we heard Keaton's sweet little voice from the back of the car say:

"Yeah, baby!"

I look back to see a great big smile and his big blue eyes looking at all of us. Could our 18-month-old be a Disney Addict already? He sensed our excitement and just had to be part of it.

Jazz Fest 2008

Ethan and I played a duet in his debut piano performance. It was for the Jazz Festival and we played two songs- My Laptop and Little Boogie. He did awesome and was excited to be there even though he missed a basketball game. His team lost and he was pretty sure that it was because he wasn't there. I love the confidence! He is doing great in piano...I wonder how long he will be happy about practicing. I remember giving my mom a hard time about practicing. Let's hope that what goes around doesn't come around!

We Love Messes

Today I changed Keaton's clothes three different times. It has inspired this messy post. It has also made me realize that this kid likes to finish what he starts- like adventuring into any and all water that he sees, licking an ice cream until it's gone, gnawing on corn on the cob, painting with longer stamina than his older brothers, sucking on a sucker (attached lint and dirt included)... and so on...






Keaton is such a delight. He amazes me with the words and phrases that he says. We used to work on sign language but we got lazy about it because he is able to communicate most everything that he wants and needs. He pointed to a dog out of the window the other day and said "Gog (dog), see it?" That's a big G-enius if you ask me. He is a social boy who loves to greet everyone with a hearty "hello" and hand out courtesy laughs. If he sees people laughing he will throw his head back and cackle with a wide open mouth. It is hilarious and if you weren't already laughing then you are now! He likes to tease the boys and to wrestle anyone who is on the ground. It's a good think we are opting to avoid nursery for a while. He loves "rides" at Disneyland and says "weeeee" from start to finish. He loves balls, snakes, Bakers and E-E, swimming, parks, cars, anything outside, candy, and a good book. If you ask him what the C says he will click his tongue in attempt to tell you. Again, G-enius. I love this boy with every inch of my body.

Hoopin' It Up

Ethan played basketball this year and he is totally loving it! He looks so little out there on that court with his silky orange jersey that is drowning him and pretty much all the players on the team. While he isn't the most aggressive player, he does his part and we are proud of him for trying and enjoying this sport. This year his coach is a good friend- Coach Mike. He has a son on the team that Ethan really looks up to. I'm glad that he is choosing good role models. This year the team went undefeated until the final game. Ethan comes home from each game and tells everyone what the score was and how many points they won by, etc. He's a numbers guy, I guess. He loves going to UNLV games with Darren. A few weeks ago he went to the UNLV vs BYU game and it happened to be the night before piano lessons. It must have been fresh on his mind because he would start talking about the game in the middle of a song that he was playing. He'd just play without stopping but talk at the same time! The teacher was cracking up. I love this stage of life that Ethan is in. He gets very excited about simple things and it shows in his story-telling. It's hard to keep a straight face when he talks for an extended period of time on how to be the master of the computer game or about how he plans to torture the neighborhood girls.
Ethan is doing great with his reading. He has advanced to chapter books and he reads with fluency and comprehension. He likes math and does well with numbers. He got a great report card and he is making lots of new friends. Friends are a big deal to him right now. I asked Ethan a few questions about life right now and this is what he had to say:
Fav Show: Sponge Bob (as much as I tried to shield them from this I have to admit that it can be pretty funny!)
Fav Color: Red
Fav Sport: basketball
Fav Friend: Dylan
Fav thing to do outside: ride bike and green machine
Fav thing to do inside: play the computer and Wii
Fav thing to read: Siemese Cats (his most recent library selection- pretty interesting, actually)
Fav food: pizza
Fav snack: ice cream
Fav thing to learn at school: math
These are a few things about Ethan right now. If I ask these same questions in 6 months they may have changed but at least we know what his 6 year-old mind is thinking right now.
ps- I guess I overestimated how big Ethan is when I bought those basketball shorts (top picture). There's always next year!

Can You Hear Me Now?

So, picture this. I'm in the kitchen finishing dinner and I've just phoned our neighbor to send Blake home. The phone rings. I look at caller ID and notice that the number calling is me. I'm confused. How am I calling me? Surely there's a reason that my cell number is coming up on caller ID. I answer and it is Blake. He has called to confirm that what my neighbor has told him is correct. Is it really time for dinner? Oh, that's where my cell phone has been. In the pant pocket of a 4 year-old pack rat. I couldn't help start laughing and tell him to come home. A few minutes later I get another call from me. This time Blake is asking for $25 to buy a toy that he's been thinking a lot about lately. Is this a ransom call? Will I ever get my phone back? I ask him where he is and he tells me that he's in the road playing ball with his friend. I checked and indeed he was. At least he took the time to check in...

Overheard...a young boys view on dating.

Ethan: "There's a person at our school who has red hair."
Blake: "No Way!" (chuckling as if that's so rare)

Blake: "Only clowns have red hair. Actually, my girlfriend has red hair."
Ethan: "Alexis doesn't have red hair."

Mom: "Blake, I didn't know you had a girlfriend!"
Blake: "I don't. You have to be in college to have a girlfriend."

Side note: Alexis is our 10 year-old neighbor. Blake really does love to have her around, especially if she lets him play her DS. Also, Blake thinks that he has to be in college to get a car, cell phone, silver watch, and a girlfriend. Originally I told him that he had to wait until then for his own car and phone. He just added the girlfriend and watch criteria today. Both in seperate conversations, I might add. (His mind is constantly churning- you can see it in his eyes.) This stretch of the truth (I don't "lie" to my kids) was done to stop the continual pleas for his own phone until he and Ethan figured out that our nephew has all of these things and is in middle school. Great.