Little Fisherman

While I was on the road last week, Ethan went to hang with G & G Doug and Trish for a bit. Initiation as a true Minnesotan! Land of 10,000 lakes and the Hodgson pond!

Magical Vacay

Last week the Ruiz family descended upon Disney World and it was GREAT! We were a little unsure how the week would go...lots of crazy characters, lots of water and little nap times and long days accompanied with late nights. And anyone who knows Ethan, knows the kid is out each night at 7pm sharp. At least with the time change, we gained an hour. Sweet.

The ride down was great (the ride back, not-so-much), I think we were all excited to see Mickey!

We were lucky enough to stay on property and once we were settled and checked the place out, we decided on one of the 5 hotel restaurants and who knew -- our hotel is one that has the character breakfasts and dinners! So we were thrown right in. After a game of peek-a-boo with Goofy...

Ethan literally ran a gave him a hug! We could not believe it. Both Pluto and Goofy were there that night and Ethan was all about it. Our theory...they are dogs and we all know Ethan loves dogs.

We hit the gift shop for some postcards and Ethan ended up with a Lolli-Pop!

We woke up to sun and heat and were off the the Magic Kingdom. It was the best of the best. Mike and I were there together nearly 10 years ago to the month and we LOVE Disney, so we were so excited to share everything with Ethan.

It was a great day. Highlights included many fun rides, the parade, the newly-discovered water park, seeing many characters throughout the day, eating yummy treats and the fab fireworks show that ended with Ethan asking for "more?"

The princess of all princesses!

This ballon was just what we needed to keep him up for fireworks!

We spent the last 2 days playing in the water, building sand castles and drinking fruity drinks poolside. In the afternoons, while Ethan napped, we sat on our balcony, read and ate bad food!

We had a couple casualties along the way; Ethan pulled our camera in the pool, so this is where the photos end (although we bought a disposable camera, who knows when it will actually get developed), Mike lost his cell phone (but found it once we got home in the dirty laundry?) and I lost my sweet new blackberry! Boo.

Another high-point of our trip was we celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary -- really, 6 years? Wow.

Labor of Love

Well, there it is! Ethan's homemade, hand-painted (yes, you read that correctly) train table. This baby is awesome if I must say so myself. Mike and I spent our evenings for the better part of two weeks in the basement painting the trees, rocks, river and forests that make up this beauty and were finally ready to unveil it last weekend. We had Trish & Doug over for brunch to christen the table and for a 1 year old with a super short attention span, Ethan was into it. He even pushed one little train over the bridge. What I think is so great about this, is that it was made for him, by hand by people who love him. It will be so neat to pass this on over the years as well.

Overdue Update

Wow -- where has the time gone?!? This has been a busy spring (finally) filled with music classes, trips to the zoo, the children's museum, the creation of a train table (more to come on that) for one very lucky little boy and lots of time outside.

We continue to be a happy busy family both at work at home. Ethan is walking and talking and therefore driving us insane most days, in a good way. All in all, things here are great -- especially considering we are less than a month away from a family vacay!

Here are some recent photos;

Our own little scientist testing the water tables out...

I went to New York

Hop to It

Our Easter celebration started early this year with the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa on Friday. Ethan wasn't feeling too good over the weekend, but even a double ear infection and incoming teeth couldn't keep him from eating lots of jelly beans and his first chocolate bunny.

The weather in Minny was perfect! We were able to take walks in the wagon, visit the park and [finally] open the windows.

The Easter Bunny spolied Ethan with books, balls, clothes and a pail for the sandbox! We had a low-key Easter dinner full of good food and family. I guess I wasn't the best at taking pictures over the weekend, cause this is about it!

Choo-choo!

There is this great place to take little boys (and girls!) in our neighborhood called Choo Choo Bob's Whether you're looking to buy trains, burn off some energy or go for Saturday morning storytime, the place rocks -- for both kids and parents!

So, last weekend when we were there, Mike started talking about building Ethan his own table and then creating piece-by-piece his very own choo-choo set for home. So, he took a slew of photos and after asking for Doug's help (with yet another project), this is what Mike and Grandpa Doug built on a Wednesday night. It now sits in our basement ready for its first coat of paint and guess where we will be heading tomorrow? You got it, to spend our entire grocery budget on trains, tracks, bridges...

"Hi!"

We've entered a new stage; the "hi!" and wave stage. Ethan is now that cute, smiley, fun-loving little boy that says "hi" incessantly to everyone he sees wherever we go. Even waves to us, all day, in the morning, at night... It's pretty stinkin' cute.

Here are some recent photos of him, mostly waving hi!