say it: three!

My big boy Ethan is three years old! How quickly that has come and gone. I still remember the minutes before he was born, the excitement, the nervousness as I was laying on the table and Dr. Fadool was cutting me open...(lol, sounds so disturbing, doesn't it? It's not, I just have big babies and I'm a small girl. Especially my insides. So Doc doesn't feel it's safe enough for me to dry to deliver. My scheduled c-sections are actually a very big blessing as well as a big deal. Those four days healing up in the hospital are really the only time I really get to rest. When Ethan was born, I brought all my scrapbook stuff and watched American Idol and just cracked up the labor & delivery staff)...of course it was a bit stressful this time around because Ethan had fluid in his lungs and had to stay in the NICU for an extra week. We didn't even get to hold him until he was going on two days old. I know that doesn't sound very long, but after 8 1/2 months of him being in my belly, I wanted to snuggle with my new little son and nuzzle his soft little head. It was such a hard time for us. I did lots of crying and praying that he'd do OK that first week. Of course he made it out just fine. The NICU staff at Del Webb were wonderful, especially Mary.



So, three years later I have a rambunctious no-fear growing running chasing climbing jumping ball-kicking ball-throwing preschool attending big boy! He's a joy. He's learning to express himself more and more and can communicate better each week. We love him so much. I love that he still loves to crawl onto my lap and cuddle with me. I love that he has a favorite pillowcase that he can't sleep without. I love that he growls like a dinosaur when he plays and that he can play basketball pretty much better than either of my other boys. I love my Ethan Michael!

We had a couple of little parties for him, one on his literal birthday with my brothers and pizza and some icecream drumsticks. And another with all the inlaws and cousins and Grandma with cake and presents. So much fun! When you ask Ethan how old he is, he'll properly hold up three fingers, but he'll say any other number that's in his head at the time, from one to six. Kinda cute. Here are some fun pics from our parties.