The Maines'

Happy Halloween!!! Ethan paraded down the main street of Steamboat Springs mid-day today with his school - oh, so cute! The kids were stopping traffic - literally! Adam and I were zoo keepers at the "Maines' Zoo" (patched on our arms & backs) and Ethan went as a "gorilla" (not a monkey, says Ethan) and McKenzie went as a cute little monkey. The main street of downtown Steamboat Springs (Lincoln Street) becomes a pedestrian walk and all the downtown businesses give out candy to the kiddos. It's super fun! When we got back home from trick or treating downtown, we went to our neighbors Halloween party. The kids did great and had so much fun.

The Zoo keepers trying to tame their monkeys!

Ethan walking with his teacher during the daytime parade

Ethan with his dragon friend, Garrett

Ethan checking out his "loot"

"Look, mom - see how much candy I have?!"

Our friends, Ben (the gardener), Simone (the adorable snail) and Kelly (the flower)

Rose, Trout and Matt

Let's start with Ethan. Hmmmm... where do I begin. Ethan has been super super fun lately. He's really good on his Strider bike (no pedals). We go to the BMX track AND the skate park at least 1 or 2ce/week. (even when it's cold / raining / windy, etc..) The skate park is designed for high school kids on bikes / skateboard - but Ethan just loves it there and the high school boys love him too! They are all so impressed with Ethan's skills & ability.

Skate Park

BMX track

Ethan recently got a new PEDAL bike!(used- but new to him). Pedaling is all very new to him and he's just picking up the concept. He doesn't like to practice on his pedal bike because he's not as good, confident or FAST.. We've been using chocolate chips as bribery for him to practice on the pedal bike! Well, it's working and.. he's getting pretty good. I don't think it'll be long until the training wheels come off.

"Look at me, mom - I'M PEDALING!! I'm doing it all by myself!"

This was the view on the bike path one day when Ethan and I went to the skate park.You can see the top of the mountain has some snow on it. Oh.. so pretty!

Dada is showing Ethan how fun it is to play in the leaves!

Ethan likes "helping" mama make dinner and enjoys washing the dishes. (Hmm.. how long will this last?!) As I'm sure you can imagine - preparing dinner with a 2.5 year old is a pretty lengthy process; as is letting him wash all the dishes. We've had many conversations about "wasting water".

Night time has been a bit of challenge for all of us. Ethan gets up 2 or 3 (sometimes 4) times a night. Either he has to go potty, there are monsters "getting him" or he's just crying in bed (still sleeping) but needs Adam to cuddle him back to sleep. Adam gets up with Ethan and I get up with McKenzie. Sometimes, Adam has a better nights sleep - sometimes I do. But.. overall - we're all not sleeping very well.

Ethan has been doing really well in preschool. He loves his teachers and has fun learning. This week, he put his jacket upside down on the floor and then put it on all by himself. I was sooooooo impressed - hugging, kissing & praising him. I said, "Ethan, where did you learn how to do that?" He said, "Mama, my teachers taught me how to put my jacket on!" It was super cute.

As cute, smart, agile and charming as Ethan is... he's been difficult. He sure has been keeping us on our toes and questioning our parenting skills/techniques. He is a very strong willed little boy. Adam and I are being tested all the time. He knows "right" from "wrong" and still makes bad decisions. Recently, Ethan has been spending a lot of time on the stoop of our stairs in.. TIME OUT. Some of the reasons why he's in time out are: biting or hitting McKenzie, not sharing toys, not being nice (talking in a deep/mad voice), having a "melt down" for silly reasons and not using his words but most of all... not listening. If we ask him NOT to do something he'll continue doing it or pretend that he doesn't hear us. He's also in this stage that he only wants help from his Dada. He wants his Dada for everything. If Adam is holding McKenzie and Ethan needs his bum wiped, he'll say... "Dada, I need you to wipe my bum bum- I went poop." I'll say, "Ethan, Dada is holding McKenzie - but I'll wipe your bum bum." Ethan: "NO, I WANT MY DADA!" Adam: "Ethan, I'm holding McKenzie right now but Mama can help you." Ethan: "NO, I WANT MY DADA!" Elisa: "OK, when you're ready for mama to wipe your bum bum - let me know." He then goes into what we call "melt down" state. This is when he starts crying inconsolably and there's pretty much nothing that you can do except pick him up and put him in time out. And.. he doesn't like that very much so he'll start kicking, screaming and hitting his head on the wall/floor. When he puts himself in danger./hurts himself.. etiher Adam or myself has to cradle him tight so he can't hurt himself or anyone/anything else. Yeah... good times! This weekend we instituted a reward chart - I'll keep you posted! When Ethan is being a good boy, he really is such a sweet, polite and very fun kiddo.

Funny quote from Ethan right before nap time yesterday...
Adam: "Ethan, please walk up the stairs and climb into bed for nap time."
Ethan: "Dada, my legs are broken!!"
Ha!! Where does he get this stuff?! Some of the things he says are just hilarious and.. sometimes embarrassing in public.

Ethan is sometimes rough with McKenzie - but he really does love his baby sister. And, she adores him.

Cuddle time on the couch

Now for McKenzie... She is doing super! She's been sick on and off with a cold (runny nose and cough) for about 6 weeks. Last week she got quite sick with a fever and just wanted to cuddle with mama for about 4 days. But.. now she's back to her normal, fun, smiley self! She's been sleeping OK. She still gets up 3 or 4 times a night to eat- which is not horrible, but... it would be better if she only woke up a couple of times. ;) McKenzie is one of the happiest little people I know! She's super super sweet, so happy, very tolerant (of Ethan!), a "go with the flow" kind of babe and just adorable! I keep calling her a baby, but... she's getting big. She's 7 months old already. Wowee!! She got her first tooth mid October and her other bottom tooth is coming very soon. I'm still nursing McKenzie, but she's also been enjoying other baby solid food! And.. she's getting really good at picking up little yogurt bites & cheerios and getting the majority in her mouth! Since she's teething, we've been putting yogurt sticks in the freezer and feeding them to her- they feel really good on her gums.

McKenzie is not yet crawling. Actually, she's showing NO signs of crawling anytime soon as she very much dislikes being on her tummy! And.. I'm OK with it because I've been enjoying her "baby ways" and liking the fact that when I sit her down to play with her toys... she's in the same place I put her when I pick her up. Well, that is if Ethan isn't around!

We're glad that McKenzie is really easy as we've got our hands full with Ethan. I'm sure the tables will turn one day, but for now we're really enjoying McKenzie's laid back demeanor!

Seriously... does it get any cuter?!