Ranier Days

So here we are in Minnesota...I am finally in the land of the living again after a nasty cold I received the day after arriving here- so there would be so much more to update on if I had actually done something other than just blow my nose and cry all week! lol But nevertheless we did get out on Saturday and thank goodness because Saturday was Ranier Days! Now what is Ranier Days you may ask, well I'll tell you. The town we live in, Ranier,  is just outside the larger thriving metropolis of International Falls. Since we moved in we have increased the population of Ranier all the way up to 202...yes two hundred and two but don't worry I. Falls has about 6 thousand. I will give you more of an update on what we are learning about Minnesota in another blog but this one is all about Ranier Days! So here's the deal- neither town is big enough to have a fair I suppose so they each have their own little summer bash. In Ranier the day began with a breakfast fundraiser held at the city center- it looked like a preschool-sized lunchroom with a stage- yes everything is cuter in mini- in fact this whole town is just cute- it feels like we've stepped back in time. Anyway the even we were most excited about was the Pooch Parade...oh yeah...there is a no leash law here and they seriously brag up their dogs...so this was a big event- and it was everything we thought it would be no more, no less- there were dogs dressed up walking down the street! Delightful- Ethan loved every second as he is absolutely obsessed with dogs and he tried to join in the parade.

Unfortunately I only snapped a picture when there were only dogs without costumes

Following the Pooch parade was the normal parade complete with old cars and boats...boats are a big deal around here because we are right on Rainy Lake- international waters- the opposite side of the Lake from us is Canada- pretty cool and weird at the same time to see the Canadian water tower in Fort Francis and just to know all those houses across the lake belong to Canadians! Weird!

Ethan waved, smiled and clapped appropriately throughout- it was delightful and wherever we went we were told how adorable our little boy was! Yes thank you, I know he's a doll!

Following consumption of a giant ice-cream cone from the tiny shop on the docks, and a very messy sucker from the parade, and a quick listen to the live orchestra at the gift shop, we decided it was time for a nap- Thus ending our experience with ranier days, we totally had to miss out on the lawn mower drag races and the water barrel and sailboat rides, but sometimes a nap is the best option! So all in all- Ranier days was a hit- it was fun and funny and totally a perfectly painted picture for us of the little town life!

From Baby to Boy

Holy moly, somewhere in the last year my little baby boy has grown up to be a big toddler boy! How on earth this happened so fast I can't quite figure out, but there you go, time sure does seem to be going faster and faster all the time! So before a whole other year goes by I though I would take a blog moment here in honor of my favorite little boy in the world...so enjoy

My sweet little newborn under his burp rag...he was so tiny!

Just a few days old here...one of his very alert moments

One month

Two months

Three months

Four months

Five months

Six months

Seven months

Eight months

Nine months

Ten months

Eleven months

And now, at one year old our son has finally had the growth spurt that truly makes him a little boy. He shot up in height and got slim...he is now 30.25 in. tall (66th percentile) and 22 lbs (41st percentile) he is finally more tall than he is wide (proportionally if you know what I mean)

And here is the best example of what our little one year old is up to...

He is absolutely silly and is a complete flirt in public...much to my dismay, although it is cute. We STILL can't get enough of him and can't imagine life without this adorable boy we've been blessed with!

A "Pre" Party

We have a lot to celebrate right now...David's new job, his masters degree (he's amazing) Moving across the country, Ethan's first birthday etc. so we decided to throw ourselves a party. We invited our families for a BBQ, made them pay for most of the food, and enjoyed their company thoroughly. So here are a few "pre" pictures since technically all of the things that we were celebrating haven't officially come to pass...

Decided to coordinate as a family in honor of the master's graduate from Boise State!!!!!!

Ethan hasn't quite figured out facial hair...not sure whether it scares or just confuses him

Staring at Uncle Leif's scruff! 

So I made a special monkey cake just for Ethan's eating pleasure, and he usually is the messiest little boy, who delights in rubbing food all over himself AFTER he's thoroughly played with it, then thrown whatever remains on his hands, to the ground. So I was SHOCKED when he seemed uninterested in the cake...he just sat there looking at it, and smiling at us...

Then he played with his toes a little bit

Then finally after some coaxing from Dad and uncle Andy, and encouraging words from the expectant crowd, the show began...

He decided he liked the taste enough to dig in and then lick his fingers....

And he ended it with a BANG! I mean this picture is everything I ever hoped to get at his first birthday

All in all I'd say a great Pre-birthday, Pre-graduation and moving party! Success is ours!

Animal in the Wild

Sooooo... we went to the zoo a couple of days ago, and yes as you can imagine we were probably more excited to go than Ethan, since he doesn't know what a zoo is. But by the end we were pretty sure the zoo was a big hit for everyone! Ethan found himself in his natural habitat- you'd probably think he was raised with the animals, but we love our little puppy/monkey and he performed admirably in all areas of our expectations at the zoo, so see for yourself...here's our little wild animal!

We started telling him first thing in the morning that he was going to the zoo...I think he started to get the idea...maybe

I'm going to the zoo!!!!!! Love his face (Mine is goofy:)

He tried to get into all of the animal enclosures...

Please Dad I know how to get in here...let me go

We were so excited for the penguins since he loves water so much!

We discovered he REALLY likes bark and dirt...little boy through and through!

He tried to eat a goat at the petting zoo...

Ethan:  Hmmm.. an unknown...I must put it in my mouth-
David: No Ethan you can't eat it

Ethan:  ok Dad I'll just pet it

Ethan:  Yeah right! Attack!!!!

He couldn't believe that the komodo dragon would sleep through his visit, so he pounded on the glass

Until it woke up!!!! HAHAHA

He also decided to get a head start on charming the ladies...I'm not sure his tactics worked...

Looks like his charm only brought her to tears...but at least he enjoyed himself! lol

And last but not least...have I mentioned that he likes to drive, wait let me rephrase that, LOVES to drive, is OBSESSED with steering wheels...this old jeep is on the way out of the zoo and I thought we'd never be able to get him off it once he spotted it!

DID NOT WANT TO LEAVE!!!

So basically the zoo was everything we could have dreamed, we got all the delightful pictures I wanted, all the fun reactions we were after, and we learned that the "animal" within every boy just needs to be let out. Squirming, growling, rock throwing, dirt eating, girl tormenting, and being all around WILD is just a part of their nature...so to everyone out there with boys, EMBRACE the animal within and just go with it!

LOVE LOVE LOVE this little boy!!!

Sure do love my puppy-monkey-dinosaur baby...yes I'm sure we created the perfect hybrid child of destruction, but he is awfully sweet when he wants to be and he knows how to suck up to his Mama...yes he does have me wrapped around his little finger!

The Last month in review

So I've been a little out of touch with blogging for the last month- maybe I just lost the drive, maybe I wasn't sure if people really wanted to see that many pictures of my baby, or maybe (and this is the one I hope it was) I just got caught up in being a mom and had no time for anything else...so here are a few fun pics from the last month

First off Ethan decided he is just too busy to breastfeed so he weaned himself, but as you can see even a bottle puts a cramp in his playtime- it's kind of like feeding a baby calf- I am almost convinced that if we didn't make him eat he'd just play and play until he completely ran out of juice and keeled over!

The only things he is interested in taking time to eat, are things that seem important to me, so since I was cutting up the other pepper, he must have thought that I was eating it, so he would eat one too...

If you can't tell, he didn't like it at all, however he kept at it..

And kept at it some more...

And just decided that he would bite it, then remove the piece from his mouth, throw it to the ground, then bite off another chunk! Needless to say there was quite a mess all over the kitchen floor!

I also discovered two different toys that I NEED, yes I said NEED, for Ethan- number one...Little people barn with animal sounds and a giant Lego table...these so far seem to be the only things that have kept him entertained for more than 2 seconds other than electrical outlets and cords! I discovered the lego table while on an outing to Carter's outlet...

That's a face of pure bliss

He literally spent the whole time at this table while I browsed- it was great and he was completely content...I have got to get one of these so I can actually get chores done around the house!

And I suppose the last thing to add for this little blog...the most important thing that happened this whole past month...Ethan got EVEN CUTER!!! I wasn't sure it was possible, but it happened!

Such a little clown- he's always making faces...no question he's David's son!

Please excuse my armpit- I was trying to get him to smile at the camera and his attempted smile cracks me up! Little mister personality!

He just keeps transforming into a little boy - I can't hardly believe he's not really my BABY anymore- but I love the little bundle of boy he's becoming!

Oh and P.S. exciting Zoo adventures blog to come...it will be epic!