Mr. Ethan turns 2!

I know that it's 5 days late (I'm a horrible blogger!), but Ethan is officially 2! Things have been pretty busy around here lately, but it's been a good busy. Clay and I decorated the outside of Ethan's room Wednesday night so when he woke up Thursday morning he had streamers everywhere. He loved it. We had a special birthday breakfast and gave him his Elmo birthday coloring book. He had his 2 year checkup that morning and we got a very good report on his asthma which was wonderful news. He weighed in at almost 28 pounds and about 34.75 inches tall. That night my parents had a hamburger cookout for him and gave him his present - a big red car that he can drive. Now Ethan and the car are inseperable and it's hilarious. He doesn't always want to drive it - he just likes sitting in it. We found him out in the garage the other day sitting in his car with a coloring book just coloring away. Boys will be boys.

Then Saturday came and we had a little party for him at a park near our house. The weather was perfect, but the wind was out of control. It made the balloons, napkins, plates, etc. a little challenging, but we all survived and had a great time. It was neat because we had a lot of family there - my parents, Clay's mom from Royse City, Clay's dad from Mineola, my grandmother from Tyler, my aunt from Austin, my cousin from Idaho, and Clay's brother and his family from Tyler. I hope Ethan knows how blessed he is to have so much family that thinks the world of him. It was a Mickey Mouse party and Ethan just kept saying "Mik-mey!" all day long. We had Mickey balloons and decorations, Mickey shaped peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Mickey plates, and Clay and I conquered the task of making cupcakes look like Mickey Mouse. We got home and all crashed because we played so hard.

(Side note - you should check out my sister-in-law's blog (it's Ginny Parker on the list on the list on the right) to see a video of my nieces singing happy birthday to Ethan - I LOVE IT!)

I can't believe our little boy is 2 years old. It really seems like yesterday that he was eating his first cereal and learning to sit up. Now he runs everywhere he goes, loves to climb stairs, chases his shadow, pretends like he's driving our car, sings his favorite songs, gives us big hugs and kisses every morning, talks about his friends, and a million other wonderful things that make him special. Everyone says 2 is a challenging age, and I'm sure we'll learn that first-hand, but I just love him at this age. It's fun to see him grow more independent and learn from little things all around him. I'm starting to see a lot of Clay's personality in him which makes me smile. I know that in the blink of an eye he'll be turning 3 and then 4, so my prayer today is that I never forget what he's like right now.

Things are back to "normal" now around here. I had my 24 week check-up at the doctor's office today and the baby is doing great - right on track. I seem to forget from each appointment to the next how amazing it really is to hear your baby's heartbeat and think about how God is making a new life inside of me (she's kicking as I'm writing this!). I've had some strange stomach pains the past week, but my doctor assures me this is normal so we're moving on. I got really excited at the appointment because I got a brochure for the hospital we'll deliver at - it opens at the end of December and Clay's firm is designing it. The LDR rooms are all suites, and they have couch beds and high speed internet and flat screen TVs and lots of other things that I'll have no recollection of, but it's nice to think about! Clay and I just keep praying for a completely normal and healthy delivery this time around.