Bluebonnets 2013

This year, I was kind of dreading doing bluebonnet pictures.  Of course, I love them, but Ethan is not very good at looking at the camera/sitting still/smiling, and it drives me crazy.  But, in the name of tradition, I armed myself with a lollipop and headed down the street to the same field as last year.  The flowers weren't quite as pretty as last year, and Ethan wasn't the perfect model, but they turned out okay.  Luckily, my aunt, Karen, stopped by to drop off a present for Ethan, so she helped me get some decent smiles out of him (even if he wasn't looking at the camera).

Easter celebrations

We had our first celebration at our friends' house with an egg hunt.  I love doing this every year, and I'm sure Ethan does too.

Hunting eggs.  In his shades, of course.

His loot.

 We also did some egg dying at home.  I believe this is the first we've done this since having Ethan.  In years past, I pretty much figured it would be me doing all the work and not much fun for Ethan.  But this year, he was interested and excited.  The whole family joined in on the fun.

Plopping them in the dye was his favorite.

We decorated them by wrapping them in rubberbands before dying, and with stickers, glitter, and tatoos.

Finished product.

On Easter Sunday, we went to my grandmother's house to spend time with the family.

Ethan loved the confetti eggs.

He'd ask people to smash them on his head.

 And then we set up an egg hunt for the kids.  My grandma likes to fill eggs with money and add them to the stash, so Ethan made some cash too.

hunting

he filled his basket to the top

Austin Fair and Rodeo 2013

There was so much fun to be had last year at the fair (and a goldfish souvenir to prove it), we decided we should go again this year.  Of course, the first thing Ethan wanted to do was ride the ferris wheel. 

loves it

ferris wheel with Nana

Cory and I on the ferris wheel

 Afterward, he made it a mission to ride nearly every ride he could, most of which he rode by himself.  Gushy mommy may have teared up a little.

One ride with Mommy

all by himself

I think he had fun

and more fun

Next he won a tiger at the water squirting game.  Maybe he only had to compete with Daddy and Nana, but it still counts.

He made sure to keep Buzz Lightyear updated on all the fun by calling him on his Buzz phone.

 Then Ethan, Cory, and my mom went into the fun house.  Which, for Ethan was not so much fun after he ran into some plexiglass in the mirror portion. 

Attempting to navigate through this mirrors and glass

Proof that he was not impressed with the fun house.

But at least Cory got to ride the slide

And Nana too.

 Definitely a good time at the fair that we hope to repeat next year. 

Sweet Berry Farms

Ethan and I decided to have an adventure and drive out to Sweet Berry Farms to meet some friends for strawberry picking.  This was our first time there, and Ethan definitely enjoyed it.  I had to reign him in or else he would have picked pounds and pounds of strawberries.  I think we'll have to make the trip out there again sometime for sure.

Christmas 2012

This year, we we're back to our tradition of Christmas in Bastrop.  Ethan was excited since GG and Paula's house is one of his favorite places on earth.

But first, here's a couple of pictures of our tree at home:

Decorating the tree

Finished product

And one of Ethan opening the last door of his Advent calendar on Christmas Eve before we left.  I bought this Advent house long before Ethan was even in the picture because I liked it so much (and also because it resembles the one on Christmas Vacation).  We fill it with little trinkets and candies, and Ethan just loves opening a door after dinner every night.

Candy Kiss!

So, off to Bastrop we drove.  We decorated the tree and ate some food with the whole family. 

Then, most of the family left, and it was just us, my mom, Paula, and grandma.  We listened to Christmas music, decorated their house, and made cookies.  It was such a peaceful, special time, and we enjoyed it very much.  Ethan set out a snack for Santa, got ready for bed, and read some Christmas books.

He loved helping make cookies

He saved a special one for Santa

Not-so-great photo of us in our jammies

Books with Paula

Goodnight, tree.

As per tradition, he got to open one present before bed.

And we read The Night Before Christmas

On Christmas morning, we opened stocking in the Airstream (where we slept), gave warning to the house that we were on our way, and headed up to see what surprises were left under the tree.

Opening his stocking

What he found when he walked in the house

A fire house/police station from Santa

Legos

Santa did indeed enjoy his snack

More Legos

The first thing he saw was the fire house, then he dug into a few more presents before declaring that it was time to put together some Legos.  Then, more family showed up and the tree got a little more crowded:

I'm pretty sure there were even more present than this.

The camera was apparently ignored for the rest of the day, but we opened presents, had dinner, and then there was a crazy game of ping pong.  I pretty much did this, though:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lots of assembly

It was a lovely Christmas, and I'm pretty sure Ethan enjoyed it.  We stayed for a few days, then headed home to fill our house with all our new goodies.  Ethan made it about five minutes, before the excitement caught up to him, and we looked back to see this:

I think it's safe to say he was exhausted.