St. Patrick's Day Parade

I've always heard about the St. Patrick's Day parades down here, and I love parades. So this year we decided to take Ethan to his first parade. I was a little worried that he wouldn't like them, but overall he had a great time. It was a beautiful day and we met Jill, Drew and her parents to take in the fun! They found a great spot that was under the shade of a tree, so we had protection from the sun, plus we stayed a little cooler.

Ethan wearing some of his loot

Jill and Drew
Well, at least they are in the same frame...it's nearly IMPOSSIBLE to get two toddlers to look at the camera at the same time!

Tristan trying to catch some loot from the floats

I think this is the time I got hit in the face with beads, since I was holding the camera and not getting ready for the catch!
Ethan with Jill...He loves Jill. She is his nursery teacher at church, so he spends 2 hours every Sunday with her, not to mention that we see each other a lot on our play dates. He typically warms up to men more than women, but Jill is a rare exception!

Jill's mom and dad were nice enough to let us use one of their bags for all of our loot...you can tell we aren't from here because we came a little unprepared for all of the prizes!

Digging in his bag of catches for something fun

A rare shot of me and Ethan (I'm working on getting more!!)
By the end of the parade, Ethan found a permanent roost on dad's shoulders. He's been into wearing sunglasses lately, but somehow always manages to put them on upside down!
It was a great day and we ended it with a last minute BBQ at the Britt's. I'm glad that Ethan loves parades as much as I do!!

Back in the Saddle

Well, January and February were kind of a blur for me. I found out in early January that I was pregnant and from pretty much day one was super sick. So entertainment came cheap around here! We were still busy, so hang in there as there are a lot of pictures in this post!

We spent a lot of mornings taking it easy, as opposed to the typical early wake-up and errand running before lunch...

Enjoying his banana like a big boy!

Ethan entertained himself the best he could while I kept it low key around the apartment...here he was helping me cook in the kitchen. See how neatly he lined the pans up for me???

The days that Tristan was home were always a lot easier for me and more fun for Ethan, I'm sure! One day Tristan made up some homemade play-doh and let Ethan have at it. He actually had a great time playing with it...

but didn't really care for the way it tasted!
Around this time he started making this cheesy grin...What a goofball!

On days when Tristan wasn't around, we were very low key! We found quiet, entertaining things to do...

We didn't always get dressed first thing in the morning...
We watched a few extra DVDs

Basically, we just survived!

This describes how Ethan and I both felt when Tristan arrived home from work!! He loves his daddy!!!

He went through this phase where he wanted to hang everything around his neck...toddlers are so random. This day we were coloring on some of the packaging that came in a box that was shipped to us.

A lot of days when Tristan was home he would take Ethan out to play at the playground at our apartments when I wasn't up to doing much. Even though it was a little chilly, they still had a blast!

Out riding his truck with dad

Getting ready to take on the slide!
Taking a peek...it's kind of far down!!!

We still made it out for occasional playdates with friends here and there. This day we went to a bounce house that's about 5 minutes from my house. Ethan has never LOVED bounce houses, but he will usually attempt some things and run around and play...well, this day was a huge exception. Pretty much the instant we got there he would not let me put him down, and if I did he cried and chased after me. All he wanted to do was sit and watch everyone play...I found out a few weeks later he had bronchitis and an ear infection, so I'm thinking that might have been part of the problem! Poor Ethan being forced to play with friends..... ;)
I don't know what he had for breakfast this day, but he obviously loved it!!!
I'm so glad that Ethan is so easy going and easy to entertain...I don't know what I would have done during those really sick days if he wasn't. And more importantly, I'm so grateful for a husband who loves spending time with his son so I could have rest when I needed it! I'm sure things are going to be MUCH busier come the end of September!!!

No Such Thing As a Good Excuse???

So, I know that I'm behind in updating our blog....again. But this time I think I have a really good excuse:

I have been sick as a dog! That's right, we are expecting baby #2 in the Bernard family! We are very excited, especially since I'm through the sick phase. I am due September 23 or so, which puts me at 11 weeks right now! Almost through the 1st trimester, thank goodness! Ethan will have just turned 2 years old, so hopefully they will be close as they grow up and be good buddies!

I went in for my first sonogram a couple of weeks ago, and they found a small area they were concerned about called a subchorionic bleed (basically a clot), so I had to go back in today to check it again. Usually it bleeds out or your body reabsorbs it. Today the sonogram showed that it had decreased in size, which means my body is reabsorbing it, which is ideal. The doctor is no longer concerned and I won't go back for another month, at which time I will have a normal check up.

I was very sick from the very beginning and have basically been trying to just survive the days. Now that I am feeling better, I am able to eat better and accomplish more. So I guess I won't have a good excuse if I don't update the blog soon! We are so excited to meet our new little one!

Christmas Eve 2010

We starte off the day on Christmas Eve making cookies for Santa. This year we made Snickerdoodles and Ethan even helped out!

We spent our evening driving around looking at Christmas light in some nearby neighborhoods. It's good to get out and turn up the Christmas music and see all the pretty Christmas displays. Ethan couldn't see much from his carseat, but he enjoyed the music and the ride!

We ended Christmas Eve by opening the boxes that our parents had sent to us for Christmas morning. Ethan was just as excited by the styrofoam inside the boxes as he was about the gifts!

Christmas Day 2010

We had a lot of fun creating family traditions this year, now that Ethan was old enough to participate in them.

Santa came to our apartment! Here's Ethan checking out his gifts from Santa.

He loves his table and chairs!

Getting ready to open presents

Legos from Santa!

Opening presents!

Ethan loved the elephant pillow pet that his Grandma and Grandpa Walker sent him!

We love the holiday season and all of the fun that it brings our family and for the opportunity we have to reflect on the birth and life of our Savior.

Life Since Halloween

Since Halloween, things have been busy around here but we find time to relax when we can. The weather stayed pretty nice until mid-November, so we enjoyed the cool mornings with our doors and windows open. Tristan liked to sit out on the porch and eat breakfast on occasion. Ethan, well, he just mooched off his dad!

We introduced Ethan to crayons one afternoon and he really took to it! Here's dad teaching him how.

Coloring with Dad

What do you do when you can't decide on a color? Use them all!
Trying to get the hang of it...

We continue to meet up with friends almost weekly for playdates. One day we went to Lindsey's Bouncing Tigers Bounce house. They have a lot of really neat toys, but it took Ethan a while to warm up to it. I think he'll enjoy it more when he's a little older!

Going down the slide alone
What a smile!

Boys being boys!

He still love books, and especially loves to flip through the pages of his scriptures (let's hope he feels the same way later!).
One day he was eating spaghetti noodles and he literally had them hanging off the back of his head...I was cracking up!

My two silly boys
He sure keeps us busy!