Merry Chrima! Some families go to church on Christmas Eve, some go caroling, some feed the hungry. The Olivers go to Fast Lanes and ride go-karts and earn tickets. I'm sure Mary and Joe would have stopped off at Fast Lanes if there was one near the manger.



We got home in time to make cookies for Santa. Talk about a believer!

Shaun is big on Christmas display. He plans for a while, and make sure everything coordinates. I'm uberimpressed with the goal post, and so was Ethan. Nana and PawPaw showed up in time to share the magic. We put our believer to bed and hoped he would wait until daylight.

I was so excited I was up at 7, and OF COURSE, Ethan slept until 8. Why do I do this to myself?! I will not have another opportunity to sleep until 8 until 2015, and I didn't take advantage of it. Anyway, at 8:01, when I couldn't stand it anymore, Ethan rounded the corner to our room with excellent news "Santa Claus came!!!!"

He was a little miffed that his Saints uniform didn't have stripes on the pants, but Nana Elf rectified it as soon as she could.


We opened too many present, Rach and Matt joined us mid-afternoon to bring more excess to the holiday, and we introduced Mom and Dad to the Wii. Catching up the 50s crowd with current technology is fun in itself.

We finished our night with an amazing dinner prepared by Chez Bubba Shaun of Prime Rib, Lobster Mac and Cheese {[yeah, its like Tuna Casserole on Heroine (I only assume, of course)], and I wonder if parentheses and bracket laws extend from algebra to literature?} and green bean bacon bundles. It was AMAZING.

Full bellies, full hearts, full toy boxes... all filled up to the tip tip top.
Looking forward to 09 and all it will bring: new baby, new brother in law- and that just gets us to May.
:) E

Have you ever read the If You Give a Pig a Pancake series? I lived it. If you give Ethan a bag of trash to take out to the garage, he'll probably think it looks like Santa's toy bag. Then he'll go to his room and change into something red, and that will remind him of the Santa hat that is in the car, so he'll go to the car and get the santa hat, he'll ask you to make it fit better. While you're getting the velcro out of the closet, Ethan sees the fiberfill. That will make him think that he needs a Santa beard. So... chances are, if you give Ethan a bag of trash to take to the garage, it will never ever happen...

I'm also strangely facinated about how kids learn things. Ethan is finally focusing on his fine-motor needs.
Get the paper, draw a line on the paper, cut the line. Over and over and over.

And HOLD YOUR HORSES! I've figured out how to post video. It's taken me a while, but I've been recently inspired by my ability to configure a wireless router and wireless printer at the office (took me 10 days). I can do anything. Joey from India said it was "eempossible do helb me" after the third time I called him, so I had to dig into that old self-reliance. EAT IT JOEY!


For caring less about football, I am surrounded at all times, on all days, in every every way. I really am trying to diversify his interests.

A little preview of baby Elliot! He was facing my spine, and generally uncooperative with his arms over his face, but we caught one little smirk.
Ethan's worried that he's gonna be gray.

Yeah, I posted 17 pictures. It's birthday day.... We celebrated on Sunday for the obvious convenience over Monday. He woke up and knew it was his birthday, as he asked for cake and juice for breakfast.


When you live far away from your Shreveport cousins, your Shreveport Momo, and your Vegas Aunt and Uncle, you get lots of presents in the mail, so you might as well start early- before breakfast early.


We comprimised with fruity french toast and took a break with the new monkey puzzle. Then it was back to business.



Good Lord, its a fly-boat. He could barely stand it. Many people sent and gave many presents, and if I posted them all, it would be inappropriate. Being that Ethan is a snow baby, he gets presents from the day after Thanksgiving to the beginning of the new year. We have to spread them out so he doesn't become blase' about things. So, just because your present being opened does not appear on the blog, it does not represent its value, its worth, or the love it was shown...

Unless, of course, you showed up with a new uniform. Rachel and Matt win a prize. We had a casual football party. Shaun was coach, I was a pregnant cheerleader (just in theory, 'cause all that would fit me was one of Shaun's big Saints tshirts). Guests were encouraged to dress up, but I don't think we realize that other people don't have the football acoutrama that we do here. Anyway...


Ethan shared his helmets, and made sure everyone had a ball (ah ha, get it? I'm halarious.) They just roll off my fingers, really. Then came the manna.

He gets SO serious at the prospect of another uniform. He couldn't believe it first of all, then he couldn't get to it fast enough. He got the helmet out and was all "Where's the pants and the jersey?"

The strip tease began, and the transformation was complete. He now IS a Miami Dolphin, but is still hoping for a Saints helmet and Chiefs helmet for christmas. I need a helmet shelf.


We've had to really crack down on the no uniforms at school rule. I told him the other day that real football guys don't wear their jerseys to school. Here's how it went:
"Real football guys wear real clothes to school."
"May you call Reggie Bush for me?"
"He's very busy, maybe we could write him a letter. What do you need to ask him?"
"If he wears his wristbands to school."
We haven't had to write the letter yet... he's trusting my word so far.



He doesn't care that real football guys don't sleep in their uniforms, as this football guy does.

Happy Birthday Ethan! Lots can happen in 3 years.

THese pics are a little out of order, but its the best I could do. You see our new football grass... it's astroturfalous, it makes a horrible green plastic and black backing residuous mess. It was intended for its OUTDOOR living capability, but now it has started to snow. And once Ethan saw it, he drags it in from wherever he can find it, rolls it out, and goes to town.
That's his Saint's uniform... excuse me, practice uniform. I had to talk him into a practice helmet and practice pants. Those are gold wrapping paper fleur de li on his hat. I do admit some sort of sick pleasure out of being able to make WHATEVER he asks me to.



My tree hunters brought home a loverly balsam piney smell good tree. Ethan could actually manipulate the hooks on the ornaments this year, and was fiercely inedependent in his design. So, we have a large blob of elmo, big bird, and all things sporty about 3 feet up. He's watching for deviations in his design, so it has stayed put.

We had the first annual showing of the Polar Express in 3-D, which was almost miserable... the 3D part, not the movie. Myabe it was the glasses, maybe it was me, but I didn't like it.

Our final display... and the most timely I've ever gotten all this stuff up! Please note Dudley Sparkle, the Elf on the Shelf, to the immediate left of the tree. He is this craze that Momo let us in on... he goes to the North Pole every night, we can talk to him, we CANNOT touch him, and he reports to Santa on how we've been behaving. Dudley returns while we are sleeping and hides in a different spot every night. He was sitting on top of the microwave this morning, and when Shaun said "Ethan! Dudley moved out of your stocking! How did he get up there?" Ethan's response was simply "Mama moved him."

I have an ultrasound next week, so I'll hopefully be able to post an Elliot picture.
Til then, E

I thought it was the terrible twos?! Here, at two years, 11 months, and almost 2 weeks we've seen the worst yet. In this week, Ethan has:
1. Missed play-rug at school for not listening
2. BEEN SENT TO THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE. They apparently "talked about ice cream... she likes banilla." I'm still following up on this one.
3. Lost all his football uniforms
4. Been sent to bed at 6:30

Don't get me wrong, we still like him most of the time, but FOR REAL... this is getting hard. I will now work through my parental hardships by naming one precious moment for every not so precious one:
1. Friday was farm day at school. He obviously dressed up, to the max. He was standing at the front door at 745, I was still in a towel. He said "Come on, Mama, Old McEthan needs to get to farm day."
2. He asked me, genuinely, how Santa was going to get in the house. I got to tell him.
3. He told me he was sorry for not listening.. without being told to tell me.
4. He giggled 'til he farted while he and Shaun were playing Crash-trucks-through- book-tunnels.

Ahhh. Cathartic.
I have heartburn.
9 weeks to go until we really get to test Ethan's psyche.
:) EBO

Ethan now splits his time evenly between being a Razorback and a Tiger. Shaun is taking it so well.

Ethan thinks I'm magical and can make anything happen, which is nice, and endearing, until I can't make something happen. We were in the Johnson City Hall the other day getting my business and sign permits for my NEW AWESOME CLINIC THAT WILL BE READY NEXT WEEK! and there was a Razorback rug. Here's how it went down as soon as we got home:
" Mom, I would like a Razorback rug."
" We'll ask Santa... you know you have an LSU Rug..."
" No, may you make me a rug, now."
"I can't make a rug, I'm not a weaver."
"You can do it mom, you can... may you make grass with a razorback. Just make a red head, and red mouth, and red nose, and white teeth. Then on the grass may you make white stripes that go down down down. You can do it mom."

So we made one out of paper. It has seemed to do the trick.

Ethan got a cool new big boy room, as his old room is now invaded with the crib. He talks himself into being ok with the big shadow guys on the wall. When he saw them for the first time he said " That's cool, that's cool.. I don't even have to be scared of them because they are just pretend guys in the paint... that's cool" and then promptly left the room. He talks himself into it every day, but refuses to let us take them down.

All I want for Christmas is...

This is the list we got, verbatim, and in this order.

1. Saints helmet
2. Chiefs helmet
3. Chiefs shirt
4. Chiefs pants
5. Packers helmet
6. Wonderpets
7. Little Einstiens
8. Drums
9. Guitars
10. Pianos
11. Microphone
12. Trumpet with valves (We asked, and he told us that Quincy on the Little Einsteins told him about valves)
13. White football helmet
14. Chapstick
15. Cowboy shirt
16. Cowboy pants
17. Cowboy Helmet
18. Cowboy football

" I will get Nana candy in a pumpkin, Paw Paw a santa toy at the mall, Mom a golf ball and a golf club, Momo a racquet and a tennis ball. Momo's will match mine. I'll get Daddy a coke."

Let the season begin!

Did you know that the Arkansas Razorbacks have a hockey team? Me either. The boys went, and now we have a new sport obsession.
The helmet needed to be white, it needed extra eye safety poles, he needed "skaters",they needed to be very slippery.

Argh.

I don't think the Bery Scary Spider knew what he was in for. He kept asking "Is it time to go to Halloween? Is it time?" We've been practicing the trick-or-treat concept at the bathroom door, but when it was time to ACTUALLY approach a house, we weren't bery scary after all. Alas, after that first Baby Ruth hit his bucket,a trick-or-treat machine was born.

We met up with pal Bennett and his older sis Savannah, who's Bride of Doom get-up DID NOT impress Ethan.


Both boys had a great time, stayed out until they needed their glow sticks, and after cute little "trick-or-treats!" and "happy halloweens" degraded into "i want some more candy,", we knew it was time to go.


He's only eaten one little thing out of his pumpkin, and I think the act of unloading and reloading is, so far, better than what's in those wrappers.

I only have to carry Elliot for three more months as of today. Atleast he's not crying. And I didn't pass out during my glucose test this time, and I'm not diabetic. All good things.
E

For some reason, the blog page inverted my picture sequence, and NOW I CAN'T TELL THE STORY IN THE ORDER I HAD PLANNED.



These top three were intended to be the leftovers on the bottom. Making coffee, doin' some chores, trying not to giggle.



This next triad, in reverse order, tells the story of the new Razorback uniform. Requested by Ethan, delivered by Nana. Shaun has been a TREMENDOUS sport about the collision of his LSU roots and his Hog Wild In-Laws. 'Cause Nana shows no restraint. She showed up with the complete ensemble. There's a 6 minute video of Ethan receiving his gift oh so graciously, and when I figure out how to post it, I will do so. Anyway, the new uniform was worn for the entire weekend, and I finally got to peel it off his body once he was asleep. Again, Shaun wins the self-restraint prize of the century... all this Hog calling and red and white in his purple and gold sanctuary..

Now, this was supposed to be on the top of this page. We attended and Ethan participated in the 32nd annual New School Fun Run. There was a goal post and a football field which Ethan ran the length of before his race, so I'm just saying that he probably would have won had he not have spent so much energy blah blah blah... Oh, sorry... anyway... so they were divided into heats of 5. Ethan was OBVIOUSLY the most prepared, as we had watched the runners in Beijing. Parents were encouraged to help their 2 year olds to the track and to keep them on course. Ethan refused any such help... he struck his starting block pose as soon as the official said "On your mark", and he ran his 40 feet with honor and determination, and INDEPENDENCE, and won the bronze! There did happen to be two kids drug down the track that finished in front of him. Hmmmm. I'm over it, really.
No really.. I told Ethan before hand that if he fell down just to get back up and keep running and was fully prepared for some sort of last place finish. He got a trophy and a medal and just wanted to go see the goal post again. My camera did run out of battery right after the race started, but the NBC station followed him the whole way down, so I'm trying to get that footage. The paper asked our names and everything after his glorious finish, but some other cute blonde kid trumped him in the paper too. Whatever. I'm over that too.


I had a really hard parenting morning with one naked Ethan (I'm not as fast as I used to be) screaming "you see my tiny shiny hiney?" over and over through running and giggles while he would not get dressed. I wish I could convey the stress it caused me this morning... doesn't seem so bad now. Anyway, in the time I have typed this post, he has TOTALLY REDEEMED HIMSELF, as he took off all his clothes, put them in his laundry basket, put his shoes away, and put on his pajamas. Maybe he'll read this someday...way to go kiddo.
Off to read books... Mama