The blur of the holidays....

The holidays were great and went by so fast. We had a wonderful time with Meme and PopPop, who flew all the way out from Boston to be with us. Since they arrived before Christmas, we were able to do some sight seeing in San Diego, Newport Beach and Laguna. The weather was warm which was a nice change for them from the snowy New England weather. Ethan was very anxious for Christmas and did a very good job of showing self-control around the presents in the days leading up to Christmas. Well, he showed as much self-control as any 2 year old can...we did once find him hiding behind the chair trying to unwrap a present! On Christmas morning when we told him that Santa came overnight and left him presents he was awestruck and ran as fast as he could downstairs. Santa didn't forget about Meme and PopPop who got their first Christmas stockings ever. Ethan loved opening gifts and demanded to open everyone's gifts for them. He was a very good boy this year as between Hannukah and Christmas he got so many wonderful presents. I think his favorites are his new train table with Thomas trains and his workbench. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year

Conductor Ethan directs his trains

Is this big one for me?

Boston fans...Red Sox and Patriots!!

A picture that says it all....

Drediel, drediel, drediel!

Hannukah is officially over but not in Ethan's mind. He truly loved every part of Hannukah. Everyday he would point the menorah and ask if we could light the candles only to be reminded that we had to wait until Daddy came home from work. It was very cute as the first night we lit the candles the first thing Ethan said when he saw the candles burning was "Happy Birthday Ethan" and immediately wanted to blow them out. He would listen very intently as we said the prayers and when we were done, would say "Happy Hannukah mommy and daddy!" It only got better from there as once he realized that he was getting presents his eyes became as big as saucers. I bought him some little drediels and even though he couldn't spin them he liked trying. We even made potato latkes for the first night and he ate them right up. This weekend we went to a Hannukah Festival at the Town Green and there was a much bigger drediel for him to spin. While the candles were being lit by a local Rabbi, Ethan yelled out "Time to open presents!" He still asks at night where his presents are and I have to remind him that Hannukah is over. I think he thought that this getting presents every night was an ongoing gig. Not so fast buddy.

Snow in California?

No, it did not snow here in SoCal. Every year one of the local elementary schools makes 5 tons of snow for the kids to play. We thought it would be fun to refresh Ethan's memory of snow and went down. It was a bit crazy as there were tons of kids and not a lot of space to play. Bryan and I were laughing as the kids were amazed by the snow and overheard some of the kids saying "can you believe this is real snow!!" We wanted to tell them that the novelty wears off after shoveling one too many snowstorms! Yet, now that Ethan is a Cali kid, is he going to grow up thinking that snow is a novelty despite his new England roots?

A Thanksgiving to remember

We had such a nice Thanksgiving this year though it was very different from the past few years. This year, instead of having 20 people at our house, we had a nice, simple and quiet Thanksgiving with Bryan's parents who came to visit. We had a blast with them and miss them already. We went to the San Diego Zoo, the beach, the park, music class and just hung around the house. Ethan remembered them very quickly and was soon following them around asking them to either read to him or play trains! Check out the video of Grandma and Ethan, I think it was one of the highlights of the whole week!

Man on a mission

Ethan got a new bike for his birthday and couldn't really ride it too well since the wheels were a little tight. Once we loosened the wheels he was off and pedaling, literally. He flies around on the bike, steering and all. He loves riding it and it is crazy how well he rides it considering he just turned 2!

Kodak Moment

Every Friday morning for the past few weeks, our next door neighbor Dylan comes over to play for a few hours in the morning while his mother works from home. Dylan is about 10 months older than Ethan but the two of them have a blast together and I get a break from having to entertain Ethan. So today I was puttering around in the kitchen and the boys ran upstairs to Ethan's room. I did not hear any screaming or crying and took that as a sign that things were going well. After a little while I did not hear anything and decided to investigate. When I went upstairs I found the cutest sight, Dylan and Ethan had crawled into Ethan's bed and Dylan was "reading" to Ethan. They then noticed me taking a picture and as if on cue, they turned back into the crazy boys that they are and started jumping all over the bed. Oh well, at least they were cute and cuddly long enough for me to snap a picture!

The wonderful world of potty training

Well, I think it is safe to say that we have entered the world of potty training, though purely by Ethan's lead. For the past 4 or 5 days, Ethan has successfully used the potty 2 or 3 times a day. Ever since he was 18 months old he has always been interested in the potty. When we moved out to California we bought him a little potty which I think he has sat on maybe 3 times total. Just showed no interest in it and in fact would say that the seat hurt his bottom. Things cooled off for a while and then a few months ago he started to want to sit on the "big" potty so we would let him when he asked. Then I went out and bought the little toilet seats that fit on the toilet and he loved that. Every so often before his bath I ask him if he wants to use the potty to which he usually responds "no" and we leave it at that. However a few days ago he wanted to sit on the potty when I asked and actually went. Even better, there have been times when he comes to me and tells me that he has to go potty. Then of course there are the times where he stalls trying to go to sleep or take a nap by telling me he has to go only to sit on the toilet and play or sing! As always, he is very proud of himself wanting to call Meme and Grandma to spread the good news as well as tell anyone who will listen, even the grocery store cashier!! So, I think we have started the road to toilet training but think it could take awhile, but that is the latest and greatest from the Phillips household.

King of the Jungle

Ethan is officially in love with the concept of Halloween. Last year he was too young to really get it but oh boy does he understand it now. I took him to the mall in the afternoon to Trick or Treat at the stores and at first he was intimidated but soon got the hang of it and would walk into each store saying "more candy please". I had to keep reminding him to say "Trick or Treat" first. His costume was a riot but the lion's mane made it a bit top heavy and kept falling in his face. This evening we met up with some of our neighbors and the boys headed out to tackle the neighborhood. It was a riot watching these little munchkins all jockeying for position around the door and flocking to the candy bowl when someone would answer the door. After each house Ethan would come up to me and say "more candy Momma", ahh these kids learn quick. Now I can only imagine how much Ethan is going to beg to eat all of his candy, this should be interesting. Here are some more pictures from the festivities of the day.

Mr. Bo Phillips and Red Sox Nation

We have a new member of the Phillips family, Bo, as in Boston) the fish. This past weekend, Bryan took Ethan on a "secret mission" and returned home with a fish. Ethan picked out the fish and tank. He loves it and says good morning and good night to Bo everyday. It's his little buddy and the only pet he can have given Bryan's allergies.

On another note, we are celebrating the Red Sox World Series victory last night and are disappointed that we can't be in Boston to truly enjoy it but it is still sweet.

The weather is slightly improving but the air quality is still poor and supposedly the air is not clear until 7 days after the fire stops burning. Unfortunately, the Santiago Canyon fire, the one closest to us, is still burning so it may continue to be some time until we are able play for long periods of time. We have been doing a lot of indoor activities to keep Ethan and his friends busy, even carving pumpkins on the kitchen floor. Ethan wasn't too into the pumpkin carving and wanted nothing to do with scraping out the inside, can't say I blame him, I don't like it either!

Wildfire Update

The wildfires here in Southern California are unbelievable. Thank you to all our friends and family who have called or emailed to make sure we are okay. Fortunately we have not been in any immediate danger. The closest fire to us is about 15-20 miles away and as of the latest report it appears to be heading away from structures and moving towards the mountains. From our house we can see lots of smoke but not any flames. There is ash on our cars and the air is very thick from the smoke which means we can't be outside much as the air quality is so poor. Ethan's school closed early on Tuesday and was closed again yesterday as they could see flames on the hillside in the distance. Bryan's office is about a few blocks away from Ethan's school and he and his colleagues have gone up on the roof of their building to watch the flames. Apparently this is the closest any major fires have come to this area in a long time and some of the worst the state has seen. This is all new to us as we are used to just a good old snowstorm! Anyways, we're fine, a bit stir crazy from having to stay inside, but lately that is okay since we have our Boston Red Sox to watch and by the way they're playing things are looking good.

Pumpkin Picking California Style

So we made our yearly trip to the pumpkin patch this past weekend, though what a different experience than what we are used to. Somehow pumpkin picking on a warm, sunny 80 degree day felt a bit odd, but fun nonetheless. Ethan loved running around the pumpkin patch looking for the perfect pumpkin. We have yet to carve/decorate them and plan to do that with some neighbors this weekend at a pre-Halloween bash.
Ethan also had his 2 year physical appointment today and here are the latest stats:
Height: 35" (74%)
Weight: 31.5 lbs (77%)
Head: 19.5" (75%)
Although, he has dropped down quite a bit from his days of 95th percentile in weight and height he continues to be growing on the same slope. All in all, he is a healthy, active and happy toddler, not to mention he didn't even cry when he got his flu shot and after it was over said to himself "Yay, good job Ethan!" What a character.

From then to now..

Today is Ethan's official birthday and as all parents do, Bryan and I have been reminiscing about the past two years and how much Ethan has grown. Two years ago at this very moment I was still in labor with my gigantic baby. Who knew that I would be delivering a 9 lb 3 oz baby boy and how much our lives would change in an instant. Well, I won't bore everyone with all the mommy moments of the past 2 years but wanted to share some past and present pictures, time sure flies.

October 2005

October 2006

October 2007

Ethan turns 2!!

Yesterday was the big day, the day Ethan has been looking forward to for months. The day he gets to eat cake and have people sing Happy Birthday to him! We woke up Saturday morning to find it raining. Poor Ethan started to cry when he looked out the window. (It has literally rained 3 times since we moved here in April, so of all days right?) We assured a crying Ethan that we would still have his party but since the grass was still really wet, we decided to move it indoors.. kind of. We set up the table and chairs inside our garage and opened it up to the alleyway. I know, pretty tacky but it ended up working out fine since most of the kids who came lived on the alleyway so all the kids could just run around and play in the alley. It was a pretty crazy day. There were about 12 kids ranging in age from 4 months to 4 years old.

We had a fun activity where the kids each got to make their own stuffed animal and create a shirt to put on it. Very Build-a-bearish and quite the hit.
Ethan was very aware that it was his birthday and when a friend would arrive with a present, he would run right over to grab it. It amazes me how fast these kids pick up on these things! Ethan loved all of his presents and woke up at 5:30a this morning begging me to take him downstairs to play. Since today is Bryan's birthday, he was allowed to sleep in (which means to 8a). I had to draw the line this afternoon when Ethan wanted to take his tractor, his garbage truck and toy barbecue in bed with him for his nap. He is in absolute heaven with his new loot though I am not sure if he understands that his birthday only comes once a year.

I, on the other hand, am okay with that. Planning these parties is a lot of work, not to mention trying to secretly buy a present and cake for Bryan. It was all worth it and seeing the smiles on the faces of the two men in my life was priceless!

Visitors from Beantown

Last month we were lucky enough to have a bunch of visitors. Meme and Poppa came first and it was so nice to see them, it had been a while. Ethan was a bit shy at first but it did not take him long to get comfortable and show his personality. It wasn't long before he was begging to help Meme cook Matzo Ball soup and for Poppa to play catch with him. We did a lot of fun things but most of all we enjoyed just hanging around, playing and being silly.

After saying a sad goodbye to Meme and Poppa we quickly got ready for our next round of visitors, Uncle Ben, Aunt Karen and cousin Oliver. Ethan and Oliver had a blast and hadn't seen each other since April. They ran around the house chasing each other and were inseparable. We were on the move with them, going to the Long Beach Aquarium, the water park, walking along the cliffs in Laguna Beach and just playing. It was so much fun and we sure miss them. Next time we see Oliver he is going to be a big brother:) Here is a clip of Ethan and Oliver playing around the house, please ignore the talking in the background, wasn't planning on posting this on the web.

We had such a great time with all of our visitors and miss them already. We are looking forward to our next visit in November when Grandma and Papa come out for Thanksgiving. For now, we are gearing up for Ethan's 2nd birthday party this weekend. Stay tuned...

Cyberspace here we come...

I've decided to take the plunge and enter the world of cyberspace and create a blog. At first I was very hesitant but after reading some of my friends' blogs, I got hooked. It is such a great way to share our lives with our family and friends who are so far away and also fun to keep a scrapbook of our little man. I am still very new to the whole blogging world so it may take some time for me to get the hang of it but I will soon post some recent pictures of what we have been up to.
While you are waiting here is a video clip of Ethan that is hysterical, quite the character!