Monday, November 7, 2011

Ethan Update

So I've been lagging on Ethan pictures lately... and with Halloween just behind us, I've got to post some :)

They're all a bit random, but just as fun :) Enjoy!

Ethan crackin' himself up in the car


A very short trip was worthy of a very special guest driver...


Pumpkin Patch with Grandma and Grandpa Wager




Pumpkins!


An acoustic guitar just his size!




Bubbles! Bubbles!
Bath time is much more fun in Mommy & Daddy's tub...


Lots of interesting bubble beards...


Ethan really did a number when he splashed... it took a whole towel to soak up the mess... Mark's towel to be exact :)



Bubble heaven



"Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!"



He was covered :)


One day we stopped by the public library in El Dorado Hills to see the Geese.
Ethan ran around saying "Geese! Geese!"



Ethan + Open Spaces = Happiness


So much for the geese, he's off to explore... my little Davey Crockett



We found some big, crunchy Fall leaves



... and some Oak Balls.

If any of you have seen the movie, "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything" (an all-time Veggietale favorite of E's), remember the scene of Larry the Cucumber playing with rocks on the Island singing, "Looking out for walking rocks... don't wear any shoes or socks... la la la la la..."
- and then from behind him comes a rock monster -

ANYWAY, Ethan was reenacting the scene with oak balls...



This one made me laugh out loud!
Silly monkey :)



Give a boy rocks and sticks and he's a happy kid :)






Fall Colors


This is what happens when Daddy gives Ethan a bath :)
Just follow the "bread crumbs..."


... and there he is! Loves that water!!


Ethan loves to try on Mommy and Daddy's shoes


Playing David and Goliath with Daddy.
It always ends this way...
"David" (Ethan) running and jumping on Goliath (Daddy)
Not quite how the story ends... but we'll take it for now :)




Halloween!
Ethan was a Lion and he liked to show off his "Roarrr!!"
Mommy was an Eskimo



Cutest lion I've ever seen!



Ethan loved having kids trick-or-treat at our house.
So much... he wanted to follow them all...


We didn't stay @ home long because we wanted to check out Lakeside's Trunk or Treat event.
It was awesome! Benefits for kids and parents:
Trick-or-treating, vendors, bounce houses, enclosed grassy area with music...

I loved that Ethan could run just about anywhere and relax not having to worry about cars!


We ran into Dan :)


Ethan survived his first Bounce House
Looks a bit worried here.... but he loved it!




Paul was there too!
You can see in the pictures, Ethan is saying, "Paul!"
Loves his buddy Paul!

Oh, and the Lion costume came off... no worries... Big Boy Builder was his 2nd Costume (underneath... we were prepared for anything!)



Finally, here are some pictures of Ethan doing his first guided painting project.
We learned about colors and heard Ethan say "lell-low" (yellow) for the first time.

We also learned that there are many ways to paint...
You can make brush strokes (continuous strokes), "dots" (with the brush or your finger), hand stamps...

I put out 4 colors and named them all... Ethan would have to tell me which color he wanted before he could color with them



When I was teaching in the classroom, I knew that all children have different learning styles. It's fun to see how Ethan is learning (even at a young age... which very well may change as he gets older).

Right now, Ethan is a kinesthetic learner.
In painting and interacting with the colors, he was able to learn them.
Sitting down with him and using flash cards, for example, would be ineffective at this time (I'm not suggesting it doesn't have value... he just won't absorb it nearly as well)

So, like most kids his age... play is the best way to learn!
And I love that he is my only student and gets my full attention...
and boy is it demanded with a paint brush in hand!!
(Watch out!)


To end... we washed up and watched... you guessed it... Pirates, Veggietales Style.
A Father-Son Movie date that Ethan promised his Daddy as one of Mark's birthday gifts. The gift read something like this,
"Daddy, for your birthday I am giving you a Father-Son Movie night. Just you, me, Big Bear, and popcorn. I hope it has pirates in it."



Our baby is growing up!
We try not to think about it too much and just enjoy the blessings that come with a walking, talking, adventurous toddler.

Never a boring minute in our house, and each second is filled with love beyond the beyond. Thank you Jesus!!