You should hear the giggles...

between these two every meal! Notice the lack of space between their chairs. No matter the distance, Ethan always scoots his chair to reach Gavin's to pull them smack next to each other.

He'll put his arm around him and exclaim, "Look Mommy! We're sitting begether!" No, not a typo. That's how he says it :)

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Turning Three: A Day of Biking and Bumps!

Today Ethan turned three! His prayers were answered and we gave him a bike for his big day. Chris skipped sleeping and the four of us went to a nearby playground to give him his gift and give it a spin.

He was as elated as we expected!

 

Ethan hopped right on and started pedaling...

And pedaling!

 

He showed no fear!

 

And then... The inevitable first tumble. The first knee scrap of sports weather!

At first we were alright. Just a lower lip response.

But THEN he saw the "red stuff."

The next half an hour was a variation of these looks...

But after a little non-bike related play, Grandpa called to sing Happy Birthday! Ethan, who thinks all phone calls are video chats like Skype, and yelled to Grandpa, "Watch this!!!" He jumped back on his bike and rode nonstop for at least another hour. He even took another tumble on the same knee later, but brushed it right off.

I imagine today will likely be a lot like his third year will be. Filled with lessons, laughs, and tears. I just hope more of the former than the latter!

 

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"Remember to leave room for the Holy Spirit!"

I don't think this is what the nuns had in mind! ;)

 

Love this picture of us dancing at our friends' wedding, congrats again Suz and Lauren!

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Facepalm

Win: Actually being able to shower while leaving both boys alone (in separate rooms of course). Came out and found Ethan still sitting on the same spot I left him watching his show just as I instructed.

Fail: Finding his underwear and sofa underneath soaked... With pee.

 

No accompanying photo today!

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Ethan's Prays to God for...

Ethan has suddenly become very interested in the concept of God, prayer, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Upon seeing any building that looks like it has a steeple, he will call out, "Look Mommy, there's God's house!" He will randomly close his eyes, reach his arms out, and give God a big "hug". Sometimes he'll even ask us if we can say grace at the table, often because I think he just enjoys practicing the sign of the cross at the end.

So last night I decided it was appropriate to start a nighttime prayer where we say the typical Guardian Angel prayer and then allow him a chance to say whomever he wanted to say special prayer to God for. When I prompted him asking him who he wanted to say a prayer for, I mentioned it could be for a grandparent, a friend he misses, for people that are going to bed hungry that don't have enough food, etc., etc. He didn't pause for single moment and said,"Dear God, I want a bicycle!" What?! In my very basic explanations about God I never explained that you could ask for things! He doesn't even know you can do that with Santa!

I repeated all of the special people or needs that he could pray for (and that I apparently deemed more worthy) and told him his prayer was all his own. And he said, "I know Mommy. Dear God, I want a bicycle!" So much for my artful coaching. "Okay Ethan. Amen."

Tonight his prayer was, "Dear God, I pray for God." Hey, BIG step up from my next guess... Chocolate!

How have you explained your faith or God to your toddler or preschooler? I'm in over my head here.

 

Eavesdropping on Ethan: Monitor Melodies

Ethan loves to sing himself to sleep, and I love listening to him do so through our video monitor.

Before he stops, or it stops being appropriate to watch him behind a closed door in his room, I've recorded a couple to reminisce with later.

My all time favorite was a one night only show of his own Adele mash up. His favorite two songs are Rumor Has It and Someone Like You. When I heard him combine the two, the Glee fan in me just about died! Here's a little, faint, listen. You can hear him go "rumor has it...sometimes it hurts instead...".

 

 

This rendition of his nightly lullaby is more typical.

 

Gavin, not one to be left out, also is working on his harmonizing skills...

 
What songs do your kids sing at night?

Gavin's First Bites!

Here's a peek at the first time Gavin tasted anything other than milk (okay, or his prescribed Pepcid ;). Gearhart boy tradition, mashed avocados mixed with Mommy's milk. One day before his six month birthday...

Isn't it odd how somber we are about this landmark? Neither of us spoke, how weird!

Days later he lunged at mashed bananas as if to say, "What have you two been waiting for!?"

(side note: here's an article explaining our reasons for waiting http://kellymom.com/nutrition/starting-solids/delay-solids/)