Ethan

What to say about Ethan? We definitely gave him an appropriate nickname: E Rex. He destructive and wild, full of energy and mischievous ideas. He's rough and rowdy and has yet to go a day without hurting himself or someone else (usually Maddie). But he is also loving, and thoughtful. He loves to cuddle. My two favorite times of day are when he wakes up and right before bedtime. As soon as we wakes up he find me and crawls into my lap. At the end of the day he again crawls into my lap usually with a book or two for me to read. Many nights he puts his hands on both sides of my faces and says "I love you because you are MY mommy. And you love me because I am YOUR Ethan." In those moments all the craziness of the day melts away.

While he is rough he very rarely means to hurt someone. He loves his little sister and tries so hard to help her be happy. He constantly is sharing his food with her, food she shouldn't have. It's a wonder she hasn't choked yet. If she cries he'll bring her toys, many many toys. So many toys that you can't see Maddie because she is completely covered.

He loves to be outside. Trampolines, parks, tractor rides, sporting events, swimming, bikes, he loves it all. He loves to cheer for Brayden and Tawny at their games. When I yell something he'll repeat that some phrase until I yell something else. Obviously I make sure to keep everything I say very positive.  His favorite toys right now are our plasma cars. He's worn holes in the toe of nearly every pair of shoes he has from dragging his feet to slow himself down.

He loves nursery. Finally. It was quite a struggle for the first little bit, but now he has so much fun. He comes home every Sunday and tells me what he learned, what he had for snack, and who he played with. A month or so ago he was telling me about playing with the other kids and this is the conversation we had:
Mommy: Did you play with Savannah? Is she your friend
Ethan: Umm..Yeah! I love Savannah. (he really does)
Mommy: Did you play with Katie?
Ethan: Yep
Mommy: Did you play with Quinn.
Ethan: Ummm...Nope. We don't play. We just fight. I hit Quinn and Quinn hits me.

He's a pretty funny kid. There are a few more stories I just have to include.

• Last night Ethan told Greg "Come here and sit on my lap!" So Greg pretended to sit on his lap. Ethan's response was "Daddy get off! You are too fat!"
• The other day Ethan came in crying saying Brayden had peed on his head. When I questioned Brayden he said "But Mom, Ethan stuck his head in the toilet while I was peeing."
• One day Ethan told me,"Mommy I love you so much if you poop on the ground I will clean it up." That's a lot of love.
• After valentine's day he got into Daddy chocolate and ate almost an entire pound. When he saw me coming he frantically shoved the last few pieces into his mouth so I couldn't take it away.
• After a particularly trying day I jokingly told Ethan that he was driving me crazy. He response was "No I not Mommy. I can't drive. I just walking."
• After hitting his head a few times in one morning he went out to the garage, got a bicycle helmet and wore it the rest of the day. He said "it keeps my noggin safe."
• One of Ethan's prayers by himself. It went something like this "dear heavenly father, thank you for mommy, thank you for green suckers and purple popsicles and ring pops and ice cream. thank you for papa. help us sleep good and please give Ethan lots of ice cream with chocolate and sprinkles. In the name of Jesus Christ Amen." No lie. I was nearly crying by the end of the prayer from trying to hold in my laughter.

Tawny

Tawny girl is my little princess. She is a prefect mix of girly and tomboy. She'll get all dressed up just to go work on the farm with daddy. She loves pink, nail polish, hair bows and anything that glitters.

She played soccer this year and did really really well. She scored at least two goals every game except one and had a lot of fun. She is definitely aggressive and competitive like her mommy. She was constantly focused on the ball and scoring. I love her determination and focus. I also really love the enthusiasm she brings to everything she does. Now she is playing Tball and is having so much fun. She rotates with a few others playing on first and is doing really well.

Tawny is doing really well at school. We just got her second trimester report card and it was perfect across the board. She was also the Student of the Month in January. She is reading really well and loves reading books with me. Not only is she excelling academically but I am constantly being told by her teacher, office staff, aides, playground supervisors, etc... that is so kind and aware of those around her. She helps cheer up those who are sad, shares treats I send her for lunch, makes a point to play with those playing alone, always listens and obeys the rules.

She also loves her dance class that she takes from Grandma Terri. She recently competed in the studio's dance competition and did really well. She won overall for her age division as well as overall for all the tap routines. She'll get to perform her dance at the fair and at recital. She also will get two trophies, which she is pretty excited about. She loves to perform and is really excited to perform a solo. I'll admit, me and Grandma are pretty excited that she loves to dance as much as we do.

Tawny is also an amazing big sister and helper. If she sees I need help with something she usually will help without me even asking. She loves helping with Maddie, sometimes a little too much. She does dishes, vacuums,  sorts laundry, and pretty much anything else I ask and she almost always does it without whining. She loves to cuddle and spend as much time with me as she can, which of course I love. I pretty much love everything about her.