Trip to New Braunfels/Gruene

A couple weekends ago, we took a short trip down the interstate. There was a surprise party for Cory's brother's 40th, so we packed up Nana and made a weekend out of it.

First thing we did was check out the hotel grounds while my mom took a nap (unfortunately we had all passed around an awful stomach bug, and her turn started on the trip down there). Walking around a huge grassy area was just what Ethan needed after the hour-long trip.

Me and my baby


With Daddy

Seriously huge trees around these parts

That evening we headed to Gruene River Grill for the big surprise. We met Cory's brothers, sister-in-law, and future sister-in-law, along with a few of the birthday boy's friends.

Surprise! Probably a big surprise, since his birthday is October and all (long story).

Me and the Mister all dressed up.

Brothers.

The next day we took a dip in the pool, window-shopped a little in Gruene (which in our opinion is a little overrated), and then drove along the river. We ended up finding a spot not filled with people toobing (why is it spelled that way?) and let Ethan wade around a little.

He loved it. And we loved how cool the water was after walking around in bajillion degree weather.

All in all in was a nice little trip, and the hotel was awesome. We've decided we're going back when my mom doesn't feel like she's dying.

Wordless Wednesday - "Ridin' Solo"

Our Evening Walks

Sometimes after dinner and before bath time, E gets a little fussy. So, to keep him in a good mood, we go for a walk outside. This has worked for Ethan pretty much since he was born. He just LOVES to be outside. The other day, I brought my camera along on our walk.

Walking with Daddy

Can't you just tell how happy it makes him.

Playing chase in the front yard.

Sometimes you run so fast you fall down.

And then the grass tickles you.

So you laugh,


and you giggle and giggle

and pretty much just look super cute

Is it too late for a 4th of July post?

I don't really care, I'm doing one anyway.

For the Fourth, we headed over to my aunt and uncle's house as we have for the past few years. You can see fireworks from their front yard, so it's really Ethan-friendly, meaning he isn't scared of the loudness. We couldn't decide if we should keep him up or not, but ended up going for it, and he seemed to really enjoy the show.

However, the big news of the day was this:

A new Cozy Coupe from his wonderful Nana. You know, cause kids are supposed to get gifts on Independence Day. I'm sure Ethan wouldn't mind making it a tradition.

He loves his Coupe. Most of the time he just sits in it.

He also likes to push it around. He really does have a great Nana.

When he wasn't playing with the Coupe, he was playing with a stick. Surprise, surprise.

Or just hanging with the big boys trying to get in on the ball game.

Then as it got dark, he was given a glow necklace, which he loved.

Finally, he cuddled up on everyone and watched the fireworks. He is NEVER this still or cuddly, but he was wiped out. He barely stayed awake to see the show, but I think he was glad he did.

And that's my belated post. Hey, at least I'm posting, right?

Catching up, in pictures

There are no excuses. I am a really bad blogger. I'll spare you all my "reasons" for not posting and go straight to catching you up on what we've been doing in the last month or so by showing you a few pictures.

First up, my mom's birthday was the beginning of June. Ethan had fun swimming with his Great Uncle A.J.:
And then he dug into some chocolate cream pie:
We didn't exactly let him do this. I was putting everything out on the table, and before you know it, that kid had a mouthful of whipped cream. He certainly is his father's son.

We've also been hitting a few birthday parties for some of E's friends. This is one of his favorite attraction at all his buddies' houses, the Cozy Coupe:
He also really likes to climb up slides. Not slide down them, climb up them:

We've been working on his piano skills:
He plays the piano a LOT at home and where I work.

We've been visiting more sprinkler parks around town. He's now more interested in walking around outside of them:

We tried finger painting. He wasn't interested:
He ate a little bit and then decided he'd rather play.

He hung out by the pool at a family friend's house:

He went to watch Daddy play volleyball on Father's Day:
And enjoyed cooling off in the misters while we were there:

So that's a bit of what the little monkey has been up to. I have more to share soon, but for now I'll leave you with one more picture of my favorite little 15 month(!?!) old:



P.S. to a couple of my most loyal readers: We miss you Uncle Gary and Aunt Elecee! Hope you haven't given up on reading the blog, I'll try to do better!

Homemade Sprinkler Park

Since Cory misses out on all our fun sprinkler park adventures during the week, I decided to make our own on the back porch so he could see just how much Ethan enjoys the water. My grandparents and aunt Paula gave Ethan the greatest water fun gift which included a kid sprinkler, pool, and bathing suit, among other things. So here's E trying them out:

He loved the sprinkler.

and drinking the water

then, he would crawl in the pool and back out again

and then do some laps around the sprinkler. It got a little slippery and it caused a few belly flops, which he thought was hilarious. He especially liked to chase us around the deck and splash. It was some good weekend fun.

And then here's a couple pictures from one of the big kid sprinkler parks we went to:

He liked it at first

but then I think it was a little intimidating so he would only hold our hands and walk around (here he's with the girl I nanny for, Rebecca).

The handsome boy taking a break and having a snack. How did he become a little man already?!?

More videos!

Ethan's first birthday:

Some shots of Ethan's first steps:

Ethan showing off his current tricks:

And the other day in the bath tub he started doing this, which was too funny not to get on camera:

Video time

So, we finally caught up on all our videos. Here's a few flashback compilations from his first year.

Ethan months 6 and 7:

Ethan months 8 and 9:

Ethan months 10 through 12:

I'll have some more recent ones tomorrow. (I had to take advantage and get at least two blog posts out of this).