Ethan's birthday!

Ethan's birthday was a stressful day for mom. I was sure I wouldn't be able to make a Lightning McQueen cake for my little boy and that's all he really wanted. (Not that he'll eat it...he doesn't like cake or frosting). Ethan and I went shopping for frosting and cakes and came home way too late in the day to start making a cake. I didn't even get it in the oven until after 3pm (and you're supposed to cool the cake completely)! LOL The Chocolate cake literally fell into three pieces when I took it out of the pan. UGH! I was sure I'd failed at that point - just ask Tim...he had to console me, assuring me that Ethan is only four and he'd get over it. At 5pm I started this process...it took me an hour and I really should have given myself more time to do a cake and fix dinner. However, birthday dinner for Ethan consisted of shrimp and Honey Nut Cheerios. (Interesting combination...he did end up eating some noodles and plain cake left over from the car).
I can't believe my little E is already 4! I never dreamed four years could go by so incredibly fast! His smiles, his humor, his love and his voice are some of the most precious things I get to enjoy as his mommy. As I put him to bed on his birthday, he said, "mom...the day went too fast. I got up, I played and back to bed." The hand motions during this conversation were the best. He's so cute...mostly I think he was just sad to see his birthday end. But before I know it, we'll be celebrating his 5th birthday.

the beginnings of the car...three pieces cut to the shape of a car....

LOTS of frosting "glue"...

Painting the windows and wheels...I also added a spoiler with toothpicks....

starting to take shape... I used oreos for wheels and yellow sprinkles for #95

about this time...Ethan came in from playing and with a huge smile said, "mom, you're doing a great job!" I broke into tears and hugged him. He had to ask, "are you happy mom?" He'd seen me cry several times this day trying to deal with the stress I caused myself, trying to be a good mom who could make a cake!!! Thank GOD for Ethan loving the cake and being an encouragement!

I had to take pictures soon after it was made...the spoiler was falling off already once frosting was added and I was afraid after dinner the whole thing may have collapsed!

Top view!!! I even remembered the blue eyes. Ethan was proud of me. :)

blowing out the candles....

presents!

He got a big bike with parts, tools and a ramp...

And Daddy found a Legos Star Wars game for him. He's very excited to start playing that one!

Brother checking out the goods too...

some random pictures...of my boys!

WOW! Two years ago...Jacob was just about two weeks old here and Ethan was a week shy of 2

Does he look like his Daddy or what?! :)

Not sure why...but they were running around with tissue on/in their noses!! They thought they were pretty cute - I'd have to agree...

Ethan with his kitty...who on occasion lets him pet her. (Ignore the pile of clothes behind Jacob...someday I'll keep up)!!

One of Jacob's "comfortable" positions for nap time on the couch. More often than not his naps end up being 30 min. on the couch...otherwise he will sleep forever in his crib and not go to sleep at night! Here he slept for about 15 min. and then I woke him up to go play at Carmen's house.

Another couch nap...and big brother being so tender and loving. :)
At least he looks a little more comfortable here. :)

Ethan "checking himself out" in my bedroom mirror. I bought him these new pants and I guess my saying, "You look so handsome in your new jeans" got to his head. He is pretty handsome though!!! :) A mom can say that!!

Belly shots at 32 weeks!

Me at 32 weeks! The doctor says the baby is about 1 lb above average for 32 weeks...but I'm not surprised. I knew there was more weight in there!!! Still he doesn't think it will be huge - thankfully! We also found out today that it's a girl!!! So we're excited to know and I just had to buy something today.....

I found this cute little dress and shoes!! Just couldn't help myself. Having a girl is going to be dangerous for me!!! I also found this adorable quilt and it also came with a crib bumper, sheet and crib skirt!!! :) I should have never gone to a consignment sale the day I found out I'm having a girl!!!

Jacob is TWO!!!!

Jacob is two and I can hardly believe it!! Where did my baby go? He's been so excited about his birthday and has been practicing saying and showing he's two. He holds up his fingers and says, "mine two, almost"! Now he can leave off the "almost". :) We had a lot of fun celebrating. We sang Happy Birthday several times, including Jacob singing it to himself throughout the day. The boys and I went swimming, which was a lot of fun and something special for us to do (even though it was snowy and cold outside)!The boys sampling the cake! They both liked it better warm out of the oven without frosting...

It's beginning to look like a ball! For weeks Jacob has requested a baseball cake.

coming along....

Done! :)

Jacob comparing his ball with his cake and proudly showing me how old he is now!

I think he blew the candles out 3 or 4 times before we actually got the picture!
flying his new planes - with sounds!

Yummy!! Cake! We had a pizza dinner, but he wasn't interested in it once dinner actually rolled around. He was glad to eat his cake though. :)

Steelers sixth Superbowl Win!!!

We had a great time watching the Superbowl!!! Here is our "spread". Jacob LOVED that he could eat in the living room and at his own speed! We just knew it had to happen this year. It was Superbowl 43 after all and Ethan's favorite number is 43. Tim's favorite player is Polamalu, number 43!! It was meant to be!!! :)Daddy and his boys! Ready to cheer on their team! Jacob was excited about his corn dog!

...and Doritos and cheese dip!

Bear feeling the stress of the game...
the boys trying to make Bear feel better!
Aaahh!! Thank God. (Note the phone...Tim is on with his buddy Mike - another big Steeler's fan)

Yippy!!!! No overtime!!!!

The boys celebrating!

posing for the camera!!
Ethan and Daddy cheering on the Steeler's back in 2005.....

and in 2006 when they won number 5 (again note the phone...Mike is on the phone)!

The flight!!

Tim bought a plane! Here it is and he and the boys love to go fly Daddy's plane. It was truly freezing out this day, but Tim had just gotten it and really wanted to fly. The boys wanted to be there for the first flight...so we all bundled up and headed out to see the show! :) You can't see it real well, but Ethan has his two planes too.

All bundled up and ready to head to the park!

Isn't he the cutest in his snow suit!!! :) My little Jacob was SOOO cold at the end of our flight that Tim had to run back home with him to get him warmed up.

Ethan flying his plane while watching Daddy's in the sky....

Here we go.....

Ready, set...fly! (it's crashed a few times since this picture...but Tim is still having fun with this new hobby!!! Thanks Chris (a neighbor of ours)....

Current Belly shot...27 weeks

I'm feeling SO ready to have this kid...I feel so much bigger than this pictures shows...but I have grown considerably since the 20 weeks shot. The baby is moving around like crazy and giving my legs and belly some pain...but overall I'm not too bad off! I don't feel sick, I can wear my contacts now without feeling nauseous, I've been able to still go for walks - which helps me feel much better. I'm very excited to see if we find out anything more for sure in the gender department. We have another U/S at 32weeks. But...if not...we'll only have another 8 weeks from there before we find out for sure!!

Random shots....

I let the boys choose a special meal for New Year's Eve. Ethan wanted hot chocolate to go along with his. I don't think he really understood the year changing. He just wanted to know when Christmas would be again...

Jacob loves Corn dogs and...well that's about all he ate from his "special" meal, along with his sippy of "bilk"

Hmmm...potty training isn't exactly going smoothly. He likes my new planter though! (Although he didn't produce anything in there either).

The boys posing....

The boys playing together. They were trying so hard...but never did get a volley going.

snow angels in what was left of the snow! Poor Ethan needs some boots!

Jacob thought snow angels were pretty fun too!