Ethan is 5!

I'm not sure how it happened, but Ethan is five today.  You can read about his "birth" day HERE. You can also see pictures from his first days HERE.  Ethan has been such a joy to our family.  He is a great big brother and such a sweet son.  I love when he comes and snuggles up with me.  I hope that the end of that is a long way off.  At 5, Ethan can recognize, say and write all his letters.  He can count upwards of 20 if he isn't rushing.  If he is rushing, he usually skips a number in the teens and ends up at 29.  Ethan continues to show athleticism and has become pretty good at playing soccer.  He scores a handful of times at each of his games and has great ball control.  He loves Mario video games and can kick my butt at Mario Kart.  At church on Sundays he is learning about choosing the right and tries to be kind and helpful.  He loves spending time with his daddy and sending mail to Aunt Stacey.  He can ride his bike pretty well and I'm hoping he'll drop the training wheels soon.  His doctor says he's on track to be 5' 6" or 5' 7" one day and that he's all muscle.  He is definitely all boy!

One of Ethan's first photos at 3 weeks old.  Look at that sweet face.

One of my all time favorite photos of Ethan taken at 6 months old. 

The birthday boy this morning enjoying a birthday doughnut.

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I once had someone that I would say is relatively close to me tell me I am intimidating.  This totally surprised me because I would never say that about myself.  At 5' 1/2" tall, I feel anything but intimidating.  I felt totally misunderstood by this comment and a little baffled.  Maybe my tendency to have opinions and the difficulty I have in keeping said opinions to myself led to this misunderstanding.  I try to be friendly and encouraging to all I meet and hope that I don't intimidate them.  That is the opposite of what I want to do. 

Pumpkins and Pregnancy

Ethan's little school is awesome!  They hosted a small dinner for families in (well, near) the pumpkin patch.  We brought our picnic blanket and enjoyed some delicious, American junk food--hot dogs, chips, cupcakes, and soda.  We also visited with new friends from school and had a fun time picking out our pumpkins.  Each of the boys chose their own small pumpkin and Jared purchased a rather large one.  He plans to enter his into a carving contest at the church on Saturday.  Stay tuned for photos later this week. Above the boys enjoy dinner and below they show off their pumpkins and cupcake-smeared faces.

In addition to enjoying the slightly cooler weather and impending holidays, I am managing to enjoy pregnancy.  Don't get me wrong, my body aches and I mean it aches.  In the morning, I feel like an old, arthritic woman trying to get out of bed.  I am just so grateful to be having another baby and that we are going to have a little girl.  I also am 99.9% certain that this is the last time I will be pregnant.  I am cherishing each kick and trying not to complain about heartburn, aches, pains, and forgetfulness.  We watched a little video Uncle Joe made of Ethan's first few months on Saturday.  I was crying by the end because he's going to be 5 in less than a week and I don't know how time managed to go so quickly.  I know that with our baby girl it may go even faster and I am definitely sad that this is the last time I'll feel those flutters in my belly and hold a small, cuddly baby in my arms. 
The boys are very excited to become big brothers to a little girl.  They kiss my tummy and talk about her almost every day.  All of them have stated their willingness to help her and to help mommy.  I found Grayson "practicing" this morning with a baby doll he brought home from Gigi's house. In the picture he is poking her in the eye, but before I got out the camera, he was holding her close to him wrapped up in that little blanket.  I was too slow and un-stealthy to get that shot.

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Love Language

I'm not a huge self-help book fan, but I love Gary Chapman's "5 Love Languages" series.  They seem right on target.  You should take the quiz found on the official website HERE.  I was pretty sure I knew what my love language was, but I did take the quiz to double check.  Spot on! 
My love language is Service, followed closely by Quality Time.  This makes so much sense to me.  I have often told people that in lieu of gifts for birthdays, Christmas, Martin Luther King Day, etc I would rather have someone do something for me or something with me.  When I come home to find Jared washing my car or folding laundry when I haven't asked, I fall in love with him all over again.

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Favorite Body Part

I am not sure I can pinpoint my favorite body part.  I know what Jared's favorite body part on me is.  I'm sure you can guess.  I will just say that I like that I am short, or in to put it nicely "petite."  I never had to worry about dating anyone shorter than me.  People probably hate me because Jared is 6'1".  So, a really short girl took a tall man off the market. 
Right now, I love my pregnant belly.  Here's a photo of me at 18 weeks.

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There are a lot of popular notions that I think the world has wrong; however, one is standing out to me due to my current "family way" situation.  Overpopulation!  Where did this notion come from?  You should see the looks I get when out with my three boys and and my visibly protruding belly.  My friend, Trista, who recently had her fifth child has had people yelling at her from their cars to stop populating.  Who are these people and why is it okay for them to yell such things at random strangers?
I doubt that we are in danger of overpopulating considering birth rates continue to drop in America and throughout the world.  In the recent General Conference of the LDS Church, Elder Oaks talked about Protecting Children.  In his remarks, he stated, "The national birthrate in the United States is the lowest in 25 years,² and the birthrates in most European and Asian countries have been below replacement levels for many years. This is not just a religious issue. As rising generations diminish in numbers, cultures and even nations are hollowed out and eventually disappear."  He has some additional information if you'd like to read his talk in full, you can do so HERE.

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I think I am lame and shallow because I can't think of a single historical figure I'd like to have dinner with.  If I were ever given the power to have dinner with someone who is no longer alive, I'd have dinner with my Nana and Granddaddy.  I love those two and I miss them and I'd love to have a chance to talk to them about their lives and love for one another.  We would definitely eat black eyed peas and rice, pole beans, and fried chicken.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

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Family Dynamics

Growing up I cannot remember not having younger siblings.  We are very close in age.  Currently, I am 32, Stacey is 30, and Tony will be 28 in a month.  If anyone had something going on: choir concerts, dance performances, soccer games, cheering at a game, etc, we were all there.  Family is a huge part of who we are.  We aren't perfect and we don't always agree, but we respect one another and love one another unconditionally. It's pretty rare, I know. I am so blessed.
It's not just my immediate family either.  My extended family is also awesome! I have a vivid memory of my Uncle Tommy on the day that Josh left me in St. Augustine and the beginning of the end of our marriage was evident.  I walked into my Nana's house to just be with her and my mom. I think my mom said something along the lines of "She's staying."  Uncle Tommy was there making breakfast and he just knew.  He didn't say anything, he just came over and gave me one of his wonderful hugs.  Both of us were crying and I felt so loved.  I have hundreds of memories like this; actions of my family members have made me feel so loved.
I only hope that my own children will develop the types of relationships with one another and with their extended family as I have had.  I know that my own parents helped us to develop these relationships and that now it is my job to do the same.  I feel that the best way to do this is provide opportunities for my children to serve one another, support one another, and enjoy one another.  They can fight and irritate one another, but they can also be so sweet to one another.  I love that when we pick Ethan up from school, Grayson is first in line to give him a huge hug.  Just yesterday, Ethan quietly came over and hugged me and kissed my belly.  He said, "I love our girl baby. I'm going to take care of her."  (Not sure if you caught that, but it's official: We're having a girl!)