2nd Annual Pamela Burke 5k

The elementary school that my mother-in-law used to work at held their 2nd anuual 5k to raise money for breast cancer research. It was a lovely day, which is only appropriate because Pam was SUCH a lovely person. The type of person that (I know this is cliche) lit up any room the minute she walked in....she really did! We all miss her dearly and are so grateful that others were so touched by her that they've started a 5k in her name! She was beautiful, classy, sweet, fun.....there are too many good qualities to name here. We love & miss you Pam!!

Zack thanked everyone for being there and spoke about what a wonderful woman his mother was. Zack & I Cousin Sarah & Ethan

Peek-a-boo!

Gramps is 85!

I was fortunate enough to spend a few days with my wonderful Grandpa, mom & 2 of my sisters in Ohio this past weekend. We were able to celebrate my Grandpa's 85th birthday, which was a great experience! He's had such an amazing, full life and is a great example to everyone he meets. I'm so grateful to have him as a Grandfather. I have so many special memories from my childhood because of him - he makes everyone around him feel special.....and most importantly, I have always equated my Grandpa with FUN! He's got a great sense of humor, a deep appreciation for family, and he always tells us wonderful stories about how much he loves his dear wife (who passed away a few years back) He makes me proud to be his grand-daughter!

Just one of the several (free!) birthday desserts he received this weekend :)

Grandpa & Mom Me & Grandpa (remember, I didn't eat too much....I'm pregnant!) Opening his presents

Uncle David, Jen, Lizzy, Me, Mom & Gramps

Cute Bday cake made by my Grandpa's good friends, the Parrs.

The whole gang doing what we do best....eating out ;)

Halloween!!!

It sure was a busy day. Here's what we did...

Ethan took part in his Halloween parade at his elementary school

Then we carved 2 pumpkins (quickly! While Spence napped) ;)

Ethan got a pretty good shot of my 8 month belly! Yikes.

Spencer freaked out at first when put in his Chewbacca costume....probably pretty itchy in there!

Cute little wookie-foot

He cheered up once we got outside. He was the hit of the night! Everyone chuckled as he passed :)

Check out that mullet sticking out the bottom!!

Ethan forced me to take pictures of him, acting like a real stormtrooper...such a ham!

Very short trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I only was able to get 2 pictures from the pumpkin patch (I've added lots of fall colors to this post to make up for the lack of good pictures) ;)

I promised Ethan we'd go that day, and I forgot that Zack had a lacrosse game to coach, right in the middle of the day.

The mood of the trip was cast when Spencer took a big spill in the dirt.

Which he really didn't like......

So it was a short trip, to say the least.

Here's my good child....posing with the pumpkins. On the lovely crates. ;)

Word to the Wise....Part 2!

I'm full of advice these days.

So never turn on your shower, realize you forgot a towel and run real quick down the hall to get one.... this could happen to you too! :)

I did this.....

All by myself......

In a matter of about 30 mins.....It's gotta be the pregnancy.

Word to the Wise.....

Putting your child in a shirt that says

doesn't mean your child will become

In fact, it may have the exact opposite effect....

The term IRONIC came to mind several times today ;)

Ethan's Photo Shoot

Ethan reallllllllly wanted to take some pictures this evening. Here's the magic he captured:

My poor pots.....they're lonely cuz their flower friends always DIE :(

Ethan told me he was only getting Spencer in the frame! But now that I think of it, 5 yr olds don't know what "frames" are do they????Mmmmm....yeah - if I knew I was being photographed, I wouldn't have looked so bored ;) His abstract art collection ;) The famed photographer Actually, a really cool shot of Spence!

Gross. His face isn't always so boogie-ish, I swear..... Think I dozed off for a sec in this one..... :)

I had to take just one! So glad I did....capturing these two movers in action ain't easy!!!

This is a true story.

My worst fears have come to pass.

My sweet little Ethie has encountered mean, horrible BULLYS at school. Actually, they're on his bus to & from school AND in his classroom. Ugh.

For over a week now, he's come home complaining that these 2 boys are teasing him. Saying "you like Elmo, you like Elmo" (Elmo is the little dorky red guy from Sesame Street)

As if!

My child is a shoot-em-up, battle-throwing, Star Wars-loving boy! He actually (much to my dismay) stopped liking Sesame Street at age 2 1/2, but I digress.....

Now Ethan hasn't gotten too upset so far by this constant teasing. I think it upsets me more than it does him. He seems confused, more than anything, as to why kids would tell him he likes something he doesn't. He's a practical kid!

Yesterday, he said they're still teasing him....even doing it quietly in the classroom so the teacher can't hear (evil and smart - bleh!) So I gave him the best advice I could think of - ignore them. I said if you don't say anything back to them, they'll eventually get bored and will leave you alone.

And then dad came home.....

And gave Ethan completely different advice. Somewhere along the lines of "you have to stick up for yourself," "don't let kids push you around," "here's what you do - when they start teasing you, you tell them they like Barbie!" "Oh, and if they don't stop, tell them they look like a girl."

Now, I don't agree with this barbaric advice, however Zack had me convinced by the end of the night that Ethan had to stand up to these bullys. If he didn't, they'll keep on doing it and will get others to as well (that's already happened too - apparently, they told one of the older kids....a safety patrol kid, no less, to make fun of him. This 10 yr old said to Ethan yesterday "I hear you're gonna be Elmo for Halloween!!" SO mean.

So here's the point of my longest blog entry ever!

Our conversation, as I'm getting him ready for school this morning:

Me: So what did Dad tell you to say to those kids?

Ethan: He said to tell them they like Barbie (giggles) and that they look like girls (giggles again)

Me: So are you gonna do that?

Ethan: Ummm (long pause) I don't think so (another long pause) because I think that would be rude, wouldn't it?

Me: (trying to hold back the tears) You know what I think?

Ethan: What?

Me: I think you're the best kid I've ever met.

Ethan's 1st Football Game

And I forgot my camera. Bad mom! So we did a photo shoot when we got back.

His team (the Pasadena Panthers) won 6-2.....and Ethan scored his very first touchdown!!!

Spencer is on a card!

OK, not really....just wanted your full attention :)

Anyway, my mom sent me this card a while ago cuz she couldn't believe how much it looks like my child - and I completely agree! In fact, Zack didn't believe me at first when I told him this card baby WASN'T Spencer (he also doesn't believe me when I tell him Ethan's bday is June 20th, NOT the 21st....had to break out the birth certificate about 5 times to prove I was correct.....but who's counting??)

So here's the little chunk on the card

And below are several pics of Spencer where he resembles card baby most (but Spence isn't as chubby-cheeked, right?? His diet of cheese cubes & whole milk keeps him nice and trim, thankyouverymuch!)

Ethan starts kindergarten!!!!

My handsome little guy

He of course had to have a Star Wars backpack! Puttin' the football moves on Dad before his big day!

Spence is One!!!

Phew! This year sure has flown by. My little love is SO much fun! He still doesn't get the concept of sleeping through the night, which is annoying. Once he gets that down, he'll be perfect! (Well, he needs to be potty trained, speaking and driving himself to practices....THEN he'll be perfect!) Just kidding - not trying to rush your childhood little monkey! You just take your time....

I won't go on & on about how adorable Spence is and how much he's loved. Just know that he is....both of those.....adorable AND loved! :)

OK, that was too short for me. So we'll all remember, here is a short list of Spencer's Favorite things!!

1) The recently-discovered juice box (preferrably one that his brother is drinking)

2) Mandarin oranges & grapes

3) MEN (as in Ethan, Matt & Dad).....(OK, yes he loves mom too, but I definitely come in a close 4th place. No medals for me :(

4)Teletubbies ( I won't go into how disturbing this show is to me)

5)His green elephant blankie

6) BINKIES!!!

7) Seeing mom in the middle of the night (my least favorite of his favorites)

So we celebrated Spence's 1st bday with a small little party (family only + Debbie & Don, who may as well be family!) ;)

Since I already know I'll get FLOODED with requests on how I made Spencer's amazing birthday cake, I'll just let the cat outta the bag right here. Ready!!! OK, here we go.....You bake a cake. In a small, round pan (this can be found at a very exotic location, such as Michael's or JoAnne's) Then you frost the cake, with an exotic-type frosting.....I prefer Betty Crocker. ( And I also seem to prefer the word "exotic"??!) Next, you take your finger, and you very carefully carve a number "1" in the frosting. Last, you fill the "1" with sprinkles. And here are the fantastically outrageous results!!!!

I'm good, right? I know.

Debbie & hubby, Don

Uncle Ron, Aunt BJ, Cousin Sarah

Cousin Melissa & Tim

Yeah, yeah...I'm 1. Who cares? But after some coaxing from Ethan...... And a not-so-nice threat from Dad....... I dug right in! Ethan, always needing to be a part of the action.

Thanks so much for cleaning my mess of a child, Melissa!!! :)

And, I'm done.

Ocean City Vacation!!

We went to Ocean City for a little over a week and had a great time on the beach (minus the 1 yr old.....1 yr olds + sand = NOT my favorite thing)

But he's sooooo cute!

The "Spencer pout"

Uncle Matt playing around with Spence

Ethan with his best little bud, Colby (already the prankster!)

There was no way Spence was going to let Ethan eat a popscicle and NOT share

Love the slop

When your vacation is going a little too well.....the weather has been perfect, your kids have been little angels......you can always mix things up a bit by running out of gas. ON A BRIDGE. If you can find a 2-lane, really small bridge....that makes it all the more interesting. Oh, and make sure that when you do run out of gas, you are exactly in the middle of the bridge. I don't think we could have been more in the middle if we used map coordinates. We're that good.

Yep, true story. We ran out of gas on the middle of a bridge. I had to document, right???

Had to call the cops for help

Hurry and fill that tank hon!!!!

Long story short, after filling the minivan up with a gallon of gas, it wouldn't start....such excitement! So the police were nice enough to give us a ride home.

Ethan, riding in what will hopefully be his LAST ride in a cop car!

So if running out of gas while on vacation sounds like fun to you, the sure way to do it is to ignore your wife when she says that morning, on your way to the beach, while driving RIGHT past a gas station "Why don't we get gas now?" Do NOT listen to her! Then you just need to forget to get gas like you said you would. This is all hypothetical of course.... ;)

After all that fun, we were ready for some more low key, less dangerous activities...like the ultra-boring carousel.

That pout again.....

Ethie's so cool - he can have fun by himself on a frog ride built in '73. It was amazing - went up AND down! ;)

Here's a lesson on how to not take a family picture 1) First, make sure to forget to turn on the flash (my personal fave!)

2) Right before the picture is taken, remind your child to "smile like a normal person" (haha - I really do say that to him all the time!) And then feel really stupid cuz he already is :) 3) Bingo!

Our not-so-happy day at the park We escaped from the kids for a night and had a delicious dinner with friends So on our way home, we stop at Wendy's. We're all eating, when suddenly a Steve Winwood song comes on the radio.....you know, slow instrumental-type song. Ethan gets up and starts doing this ninja-esque/modern dance type dance in the middle of the restaurant. Zack & I had no idea what caused it, but it was hilarious. I wish I had recorded it. The pictures just don't do it justice!!!

And we're off!!!!!

Spencer has decided it's time to join the land of the walking. YAY! Now, I tried alllll day to get good pics of this miraculous event, but it's really hard to get a picture of a baby, walking towards you, taking only about 5 or 6 steps before he falls! There's just no time (And my clicker-thingy is slow) So here's the best I could do.

He's just ridiculous with that hair (bed head.....isn't that what we used to call it??) Cracks me up. Gotta love the protruding 3 1/2 month pregnant belly sticking out in the pic! Notice the how Spence snuck his fat little foot in the picture. You'd almost miss it....if you weren't OBSESSED with fat baby feet like myself. He got lazier as the day went on. We hit dad's lacrosse game in the evening and he had HAD IT with the whole walking thing.

Maybe I'll walk.......??

Naaaah, think I'm good.

Uhhhh, Zack sweats. A lot.

Update

I haven't really been avoiding my blog. We just haven't done anything exciting enough to constitute an entry. It's been 95 degrees for WEEKS now & I've been feeling very icky due to the 1st trimester. So it's been the park & pool (& the occassional exciting library visit!!!) for us.

We did get to break up the monotany and go to our friend Lucy's 1st Bday party! It was a pool party & everyone had so much fun. I, unfortunately, did a horrible job taking pictures. Sorry!

Ryane trying to give my child ear infections!

And then stealing both his water guns....bully! ;)

Ethan is still adorable as ever...... And playing with what else? Star Wars This is one of his battles he sets up. It takes him around 20-30 mins to get all his figures set up and prepared for battle! Then the actual battle lasts no more than 2 mins. Crazy, in my opinion. I'm hoping it means he's patient???? Ethan is close to having every single figure ever made in the Star Wars collection. Thank goodness they're coming out with a new Clone Wars movie in August...with a whooooole new set of toys to go along with it. (And all of our money as well) We love supporting billionares like George Lucas by buying all his ridiculously over priced toys!!! And Spence is still a messy eater. The End.

Ethan is 5!!!

I just said to Zack last night that Ethan is SO not my little baby anymore. He's gone from 4 to like, 15 overnight. I wanted to share some of my favorite pictures of Ethan from the past 5 years. He is SUCH a good boy. I know every parent says that, but I'm serious!! :) We are consistently amazed at how sweet, caring, loving & hilarious he is! He's just a joy to be around. We love you Ethie-bug!!

He was a little slimy at first, but we loved him just the same! :)

With Uncle Matt

He was always ALL hands and feet!!

With Grandpa Bob in San Diego

Grandma Pam loved him soooo much!

Ethan went through a phase where he just let himself go!!! We were all very worried about him.....if I had to choose 3 adjectives to describe this self-destructive stage: short, fat, sweaty.

During this time, he could typically be found in a chair, on a couch......anywhere where he could put his feet up and suck away on that binky. And just be sweaty.

Hey, I didn't say he wasn't happy! The lazy life suited him just fine...

Once his 3rd Bday hit, he cleaned up and realized life was too short to sit around and eat all day.(We think the discovery of GIRLS may have had something to do with this miraculous turnaround!) But man, what a turnaround it was.....there was quite the handsome little man underneath all that flesh!

The Twins

Hiiiii-YA!!

He loooooves Grandma Diane!

And sprite is his favorite drink.

He says it makes him "feel funny" :)

So, we were of course concerned regarding how Ethan would take the new baby in the house. He was the best big brother ever, from day one. Except he didn't like the screaming..

He REALLY doesn't like the screaming...

Besides that, Ethan is wonderful with Spencer. He's patient, loving, caring. Everything we could ever have wanted. He never gets jealous.....sometimes he gets annoyed, but not often! Basically, Zack and I have no idea how OUR child became so wonderful.

Even with Spence pulling his hair.....

Ethan just laughs about it.

And he's a big hit with the ladies.....

But he'll always be his moms' little boyfriend!!!!

Bananas!!!

Every morning for breakfast, Spencer has a waffle and a banana. Surprisingly, he LOVES the banana way more than the waffle?! When I bring the banana out, he flaps his arms up & down like a mad man and screams.....no, SCREECHES a very high pitched screech until the banana is peeled and in his possession. It's hilarious.

Here's my banana. Jealous?

Oops - How rude of me....let me cover my mouth while I stuff my face.

My Husband's a really good coach :)

He would of course KILL ME if he saw this....too bad he doesn't check his family's blog! ;)

1) http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/highschool/blacrosse/bal-va.bcoach04jun04,0,1591608.story

2) http://www.hometownannapolis.com/art/storypics/080601allcounty_laxb.pdf

3) http://www.digitalsports.com/article/type/organization/typeid/1040/id/29602.aspx

The last link, you have to scroll down to see the article on Zack. And the picture of us is the SICKEST thing I've ever seen! Note to all photographers: Don't ever take pictures of people with your camera UP THEIR NOSES!! Ugh....

And a shout out to my Brother-in-law, Matt, who made 2nd team all-county for the Baltimore Sun and the Annapolis Capital :) Go Cavs!!!

Fun at the pool!

No, Spence isn't taking a really big leak ;) He's fascinated with the fountains at our pool. He sits in between two of them and dives head first into them every time. It's a bit of a shock to him at first, but he keeps goin' back for more.

Just kickin' back, catching up on Luke, Han Solo & the rest of my boys in Naboo ;)