I have been wanting to write a couple posts dedicated to Christian and Ethan, just to record some things about them that I don't want to forget. So here is a post all about Ethan, at age 26 months.
1. Right now he is the exact same age Christian was when he was born.
2. Ethan is goofy. He loves to laugh and has a good sense of humor. Just barely I went in to his bedroom (for the third time) and he was trying to tell me what song to sing him. I could not understand what he was saying. The more he said it, the less I understood but I kept guessing what it was. And with each guess, he would laugh hysterically at me, finding it so funny that I couldn't figure out what he was saying. (In this same circumstance, Christian would be screaming at me in frustration. Different personalities.) In the end, he chose another song, which actually clued me into the original song he was requesting--the Cougar song. So yes, I sang him the cougar fight song for bedtime tonight. He loves it.
3. Ethan loves to sing and he knows SO MANY songs. Some of his favorites are "Give Said the Little Stream," (and he sings the chorus with "gusto", with his hands cupped, just like the primary kids. At this very moment I can hear him singing this at the top of his lungs in bed.), "Toot, Toot Chugga Chugga Big Red Car" (he LOVES the Wiggles!), "I am a Child of God," the Cougar Fight song, which he also refers to as the Jimmer song, "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star," "Hakuna Matata" and "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" (you should hear him sing the words to these two--so cute!) and more. I love to listen to him sing.
4. Ethan is so easy going. He puts up with a lot from his big brother. It drives me crazy the way Christian manipulates Ethan into giving him whatever he wants or doing whatever he tells him, but Ethan doesn't seem to mind most of the time. I think it bugs me more than it bugs Ethan. Ethan would rather just comply than cause a big fight. He seems to be the peacemaker of the family, so far. (Although he is getting stronger and tougher, and putting up more of a fight than he used to.)
5. Ethan loves his "maya" aka blankie. He always sleeps with it, and usually wants it right after he wakes up or when he's sad or really tired. He's quite particular about the way it's put on him when he goes to bed--the soft, bumpy side must be face up, or it's wrong.
6. Ethan has the biggest, bluest eyes that can melt your heart at any moment. He will look you in the eye and ask for what he wants with so much sincerity, it's hard to resist. And usually he will be nodding his head and doing whatever he's asking while he's asking it, even when he knows very well he shouldn't be. Good thing he's so stinkin' cute.
7. Everyone thinks Ethan is so adorable. Everywhere we go, anyone we meet, loves him. He is that adorable and his personality is that lovable. We think he is quite irresistible ourselves. :)
8. Ethan loves to jump. He loves to jump in place, in circles, or while clapping his hands. He loves to jump off steps or stairs or ledges or couches or anything raised off the ground. I love to watch him be so enthralled in his jumping and clapping simultaneously. At Aunt Camille's wedding this last week he couldn't stop jumping on the grounds of the temple. I think he loved the feeling and sound of his shoes on the brick walkways.
9. Ethan has very much become a two year old. He insists on doing things how he wants them, and refuses to give in to any other way. He's started having tantrums that are quite funny to me since he's the second not the first child. :) For example, the other night after leaving the Bees game he had quite the melt down. Ethan loves to go down stairs and almost always insists on walking down them himself, while holding my hand. He does not want to be carried. Well, upon exiting the Bees game and descending a long flight of stairs, Jake carried Ethan to speed things up since the boys were already up past their bedtime. (That didn't help the tantrum.) By the time Jake was at the bottom of the stairs, Ethan was in a fit that could not be consoled. I probably should have just taken him back to the stairs to descend them on his own, but I didn't, and thus we carried a screaming, arms flailing child to the car, who at one point sat on the sidewalk and refused to go toward the car, screaming and crying. He kept trying to pull me back to the stadium, but we kept picking him up and carrying him toward the car. Eventually he was buckled in, still screaming, and cried most of the ride home. Poor little guy. He was so tired, and so crushed that he didn't get to go down those long stairs on his own. I felt so bad, because he's the sweetest little boy and he was so sad. Oh to be two.
10. Ethan is a good eater and will eat mostly anything. He loves ketchup and sour cream, as well as any kind of berry. He also loves a sippy cup full of milk first thing in the morning and will drink the whole thing.
11. Ethan loves to take baths. The other day he took two, because I bathed him in the morning and when he woke up from his nap was insisted on having another one. This is not typical, but that particular day he got two baths. And Christian joined him both times.
12. Ethan is a talker. And we love to hear him talk. He says the funniest things, like "C,mon Jake!", and "I'm super fast" or "I'm super wet". He's getting really good at saying Christian's name, and it's so funny to hear him talk to Christian. I love it. He loves the zoo and the aquarium and will talk your ear off about either place and what he saw there. He loves to talk about the sting rays and the penguins and the giraffes and the elephants.
13. Ethan loves helicopters, airplanes, jets, buses, motorcycles, and anything else that is big and loud and moves. He's very observant and always the first to point out one of the vehicles mentioned. It amazes me when he says "A jet! or A helicopter!" before I ever hear or see it. And he's always right. He is also very observant with sounds, and anytime he hears something out of the ordinary he looks at me with a concerned look and says, "What's that." He also says that when he sees something abnormal. He's a smart kid.
14. Ethan loves books and puzzles and games. He has incredible puzzle skills, and can put together 24 piece jigsaw puzzles all by himself, and a 48 piece puzzle with just a little assistance to get started. He also loves to play games and will sit and play game after game with you if you let him.
15. Ethan loves, LOVES the iPad. That also happens to be another source of tantrums when he's too tired. :) He mainly just likes to navigate around on it, and doesn't stay in one app for long. Except for you tube, where he will sit and watch Wiggles movie after Wiggles movie. It's amazing (and scary) how tech savvy this little two year old is! But the funny thing is that he doesn't know how to use a mouse and navigate around on the computer like Christian could do at his age. He thinks everything should be touch-screen.
16. He still loves to read a story and snuggle and be sung to before he has a nap. I love that daily moment with him.
17. When Ethan is getting close to being done with his meal, he will take the last three or four or five bites and stuff them all in his mouth at once and declare, "I'm done" or "More!" with very muffled words. It cracks me up!
Where has time gone? Owen is growing so fast, it's amazing how time is flying! I just keep telling him to stop growing and just stay little forever. :). But he seems to be growing and healthy, which is definitely a blessing!
