Ethan has finally made the charts!

Great news!  Ethan has finally, at a year and a half and 21 pounds, made it onto the percentile chart!  Rather than being 0.0.....he is now in the 4th percentile for his weight...and I KNEW he had grown taller since the refrigerator door finally hits the top of his head...he's in the 13th percentile for his height at 30.5 inches.  His head circumference is 19 inches...the 69th percentile!  That would explain why we've had such a hard time getting his T-shirts on!  

Catherine is growing into a beautiful young lady at 31 pounds...the 47th percentile, and 38 inches tall...the 63rd percentile...not much longer before she'll meet that height requirement for all the fun rides at Disneyland!

Way to grow kids!  It must be all that heavy cream I've been adding to Ethan's milk....

One Year Ago...

We love you Catherine!  Thank you for being so sweet!

Family Fun and Disneyland! (lots of pictures)

The day after Thanksgiving we drove out to California to spend some time with my family in Palm Springs. On Monday we all went to Disneyland. It was so fun to be together with my my sister, Jenifer, her husband, Steve and their son, Ryan. It had been a year since I had seen them. It was also really fun to see my brother, Ben, his wife, Adrienne, and their children, Brighton and Brandon. All of the cousins had soo much fun together! I wish we all lived closer together so that they could play together more often. I know my parents were in heaven to have all of their grandkids close to them... oh, and I'm sure they were happy to see their children as well. :) Disneyland was magical in all of its grandure. Catherine was floating on cloud nine all day and Ethan naturally joined in all of the excitement squealing and cheering for everything and everyone. The thrill and adrenaline of it all even kept me up on my ailing leg the whole day. I have an extreme case of varicose veins throughout my entire left leg this pregnancy. The pain is unbearable without support hose on. Between that and still battling morning sickness I was worried I wouldn't be able to share this special first experience with my children, but I made it through the day and it only took me two weeks to recover! :)

The kids all ready to go!

Catherine jumping to Grandpa Cattin

Catherine driving a race car

The castle

Small World

On the Matterhorn

Ethan on Jungle Cruise

Melanie's sister and brother with their spouses and children

Catherine rode on Dumbo with Grandpa

On Alice in Wonderland

The Teacups

Melanie's brother and his family

On the Rockets

Mommy and Ethan on the Rockets

Walking down Main Street

Thanksgiving and a baby!

This year was our first year celebrating Thanksgiving with Larry's side of the family. We had such a wonderful day. The table was beautiful, the food was delicious and the company was priceless. And some of the boys even wrestled...nice one! There was quite a big group even though not all of Larry's immediate siblings were present. During our Thanksgiving feast we took turns going around the table expressing gratitude. Larry and I were the last to share. I expressed my gratitude for Larry, Catherine and Ethan. I am grateful that they are my family. Although there are many friends and hobbies I love investing my time in... my favorite moments are when the 4 of us are together. On Larry's turn he expressed gratitude for our family and for his "wife who has done such a great job through this pregnancy thus far..." It caught everyone off guard but at 14 weeks along, it was such a fun way to announce our baby on the way. We had called my siblings and grandparents to announce to them a couple of days earlier as they were on their way to Southern California to celebrate Thanksgiving with my side of the family. At their Thanksgiving feast up in Lake Arrowhead, my grandfather announced our baby to the rest of our family. It was a very exciting time and even more relieving that I didn't have to try to hide my bulging belly or morning sickness any longer.

Catherine's 3rd Birthday: November 22nd

Our little girl has finally entered the grown-up world of 3-year-old independence! We celebrated Catherine's birthday with friends and family at our house during the day, then we went to Rainforest Cafe for dinner with Larry's side of the family and our good friends and neighbors, the Bigler's. We had a blast and Catherine was so excited to receive so many new presents. Thanks to everyone who gave/sent her something and for those who came to celebrate with us.

help

o.k. I know not everyone has had the pleasure of meeting my little man, Ethan...but I also know from your stories that there are many more "Ethans" out there....so any wisdom would be more than priceless to me! ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS MY SANITY!

To be completely honest, Ethan is like 5 Catherines rolled into one. He is the most curious and adventurous little boy I can imagine. He doesn't mean to be destructive, and he really isn't for the most part...though he has left his mark in every room of our house.

I feel like a crazy mom putting up gates, locks on everything and contemplating remodeling part of our house to save my sanity.

My most recent problem areas: the bathroom...shredding toilet paper, turning on the tub water...flushing the toilet (hopefully free of toys or other clogging objects)...climbing up in the pantry...emptying clothes out of drawers...but my latest worry is our computer desk...I worry about him swallowing staples, sucking on permanent markers, or just coloring on everything...

I've tried to keep things out of his reach...but the safest spot to store harmful things is up in our kitchen cabinets and pantry... and we're running out of room for food and dishes!

any wisdom?

melting my heart

I love my kids.  They are the joy of my life.  The other night I was in Catherine's room with her as she was getting ready for bed.  I was just sitting on her bed quietly, smiling at her and admiring her sweetness and innocence and loving her more than I could ever imagine...

She must have noticed my gaze because all of a sudden she paused, leaned her little head to the side, gave me a sweet smile and said, "I love you too...I love you too, Mom."  

Today while Catherine, Ethan and I were sitting at the table having lunch, I looked over at Catherine and said, "I love you Catherine."  To which she replied, "I love you too."  Then I smiled at Ethan and said, "I love you too, Ethan."  He smiled and said "TOO."  

My heart is full of gratitude for my wonderful husband and children.  I can't imagine a greater gift than my family and the love we share.