How old is he??

Ethan says "I'm twee" when asked how old he is. (He also holds up one finger and laughs.) Some days, I'm conviced he really is three. We've discovered that Ethan knows words like 'pirates' and 'slide', and speaks only in complete sentences. He's not just repeating sentences that he's heard. No. He understands what each word means and shuffles things around to say exactly what he wants to. Really, as he approaches two, (I KNOW! TWO!), learning so many new words is normal. But Ethan's understanding of sentence structure is a sure sign that Ethan is a product of his nerdy parents. (My extended family will probably point out that all babies born in the G family are super-smart. It's in the G genes. And John's would mention that they have their share of nerdy genes too.)

Primary Secretary

Wow! I forgot that being a secretary in any organization of the LDS church means you are soooo busy! My first time, it was in the Relief Society. Granted, that president was a flake about keeping track of anything (I've never known anyone who was so loving, and so in-tune with what our sisters needed, though). But it was soooo much work! This time, I have the downside of not having served in the Primary before. I haven't been in the Primary since I turned 12 and officially graduated from it. I had no idea what I was getting into! I'm lucky that it should only require me to do things two days a week, once we get going. But because we are still setting up a new presidency, rearranging the way we run things, and dealing with the beginning of our fall influx of new families, the president and I email several times a day, calling if we need to brainstorm a little more. Hopefully, once the presidency meets and settles in, it'll get easier. We haven't met yet b/c we are still missing a 1st Counselor! (Although the 3rd, yes, the 3rd, is already gearing up to help ease the load of our HUGE primary.) If we aren't complete by next week we are going to meet anyway so that we can at least get everyone's responsiblities hashed out. Then maybe I won't walk around all day getting flashes of things I need to do (or wonder who needs to do them.)

I know this all sounds absolutely nuts (especially if you're not LDS), but I am LOVING it. I am in my element. Secretary callings are by far my favorite. So, my life just got crazier, and all I have to say is "Bring it on!"

Trucks

When Ethan woke up from his nap today, he stood at the window for nearly half and hour telling me about the trucks driving by. This was so amazing because of the complete sentences! He said "I see the truck!", "There is the truck.", "Where did the truck go?", and "Where is the truck?"!!!!!!!!!!! The most incredible part was that he wasn't leaving out a single word of those sentences. Every 'is' and 'the' was there. SO SMART!

More Vacation Pictures

Hanging out on the swing with the Great-Grandparents

So many gorgeous pictures from their backyard!

Loved the trampoline at Mariah's wedding reception. He saw a girl doing flips and was trying so hard to do one by throwing himself down and rolling around. So cute.

Ah. Dominos at the grandparents. A much anticipated part of the vacation.

And this was our day out with some Avlis players. (Read "John is a gaming nerd") We had lots of fun and a great dinner. Even Ethan made some new friends.

Alright. I've got work to do now (I'm the new Primary Secretary! Scary!), but I promise more pictures tomorrow.

Growth

We had Ethan's follow-up visit with the pediatrician today. Just in case you don't remember, last month was his 18 month well-baby checkup where they found he hadn't gained any weight, and more importantly, hadn't grown any taller. So we've been pushing a variety of proteins and making sure he had a little more fat in his diet (he used to be such a healthy eater, now he eats like us.) At this appt, he'd gained a pound and grown 3/4 of an inch. IN A MONTH! (That's alot for his age b/c their activity level usually keeps their growth pretty slow.) Apparently he had quite the growth spurt. No more worrying. YAY!

She also commented that he is so intelligent. He calmed down as soon as I told him he wouldn't be getting any shots. And he tried to tell her that he was three. She agreed that he seems almost three. He's been learning nearly a word a day and is forming nearly coherent sentences (meaning we can tell what at least two of the words are!) What she didn't get to see is how helpful and obediant he is. Granted, he is still a toddler and often doesn't listen, but only when he knows that he is in a safe place. Most of the time, he listens very well and helps to do chores and clean up his messes. He even knows that he can't go off the porch unless he is holding my hand, so he will stop and wait for me. What a cute guy! So easy to love.

As promised....

We are in the middle of the 3rd "SUPERSTORM" to hit the northeast this year. It sounds cooler than it is. The first two caused flooding. Who-ho. Although this one did have golf-ball sized hail and an unconfirmed tornado sighting yesterday. We are high enough to not worry about flooding (unless we get hit by a tsunami when La Palma collapses), and the hail was in NH, so we just worry about big lightning storms. The point is, we are stuck inside yet again and I had a little time to download the pictures!! Yay!!

Getting ready for his first plane ride!

Picking fresh sweet peas

Eating sweet peas with mom under the orange tree

Loved those peas

Hanging out with Great-Grandpa

More to come later!!

Dancing around the world

I know. I promised pictures. But they're not on the computer yet. So you'll just have to wait.

I did just discover this little video. More for fun, but strangely inspiring. I still can't really figure out why. Maybe it's seeing so much and still enjoying it enough to dance. (I tend to be a cynical traveler.) Or maybe it's simply that he managed to do something so cool without setting out to (at least the first time around).

Anyway, it makes me want to be less cranky about life. And that's enough.

On Vacation

With our vacation nearly over, I thought I'd use a little of this lazy day to update everyone.

We spent 5 days in Cali with John's grandparents. Grandpa LOVED Ethan. Most days we hung out in the back yard, eating sweet peas and strawberries from the garden. But we did hit the beach (apparently the Pacific is not always warm) and visit with friends. All in all, it was better than we thought!

Now, we are ending our week in Colorado. John's sister had Ethan's 1st cousin a few weeks ago, so we are in a house with them and John's parents as well. A little cramped, but we all get along, so it's not so bad. (It would be better if we could sleep in the same room as Ethan. We wake him up when we just roll over, so he has been sleeping in the nursery while we are on the living room floor!) We've seen lots of family while out here, but the best part was our weekend away. John's parents agreed to take the boy for a few days, and we went to a hotel in Denver for a little getaway. It was WONDERFUL! No getting up early. No toddler schedule. Plenty of time together. Besides just lazing around, we drove out to Dinosaur Ridge and hiked around to the sites. Really interesting. And we had dinner with a newly married college friend. We need to get away more often. It was good for us.

Anyway. We'll be back to real life in a few days and I will put up some pictures of the trip.