Ethan's Bad Word

Eric and I decided to take the kids into Boone, North Carolina to shop and hang out for a while, when we were down in Tennessee visiting my Dad. Thankfully, we had a few days of being out of the car, before we took the hour journey to the other side of the mountain to go to Boone. We arrived at the outlet mall and were excited to shop in 50+ degree weather. After all, it was in the 30's at home. Eric was getting the double stoller out of the car...(it seriously weighs at least 50 pounds), while he was getting it out, he got his finger caught in it and said, "Damnit". Fast forward 24 hours....we were packing up the car to begin our journey home and Ethan was in the kitchen at my Dad's house playing with his cars. He was racing them on the floor and crashed them into the wall, we heard him talking to them and didn't think anything of it, until Eric looked at me and said, "I think he just said Damnit." We called him into the family room and asked him what he just said, with a sheepish smile he said, "I said damnit, dada." I couldn't believe it and had to walk away from laughing, as I know it truly isn't funny, but to hear those words so crystal clear out of the mouth of our two year old son, it shocked me. Eric explained that wasn't a nice word and that he isn't to say it anymore. He has uttered the word a few more times and each time, we try to not make it a big deal, so he won't say it again. Out of the mouths of babes, that is for sure!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are two pictures of our two little pilgrams! They made the trek all the way down to Tennessee to celebrate Thanksgiving with Papa Ken and Grandma Charlotte. They enjoyed their visit and playing with Prissy!!

Making Brownies....

I asked Ethan last weekend if he wanted to help me make some brownies. I wasn't even sure if he knew what a brownie was, but nonetheless, he was able to sit up on the counter, so he was intrigued. After I mixed it all and put it in the pan to bake, I let him taste the batter....that was it, he was gone.....I believe his exact words were, "MMMM Mama, dat good." and of course his ever so famous, "Mere". A picture truly is worth a thousand words....

And She Stands....

We are big stuff at our house...Hannah has been standing for a few weeks now, a little wobbly at first and now she is a pro. The thing that cracks me up is she will be crusing with the little crawl she does, she will stop and sit up in mid-crawl and then put her two hands on the floor lift her butt up and just stand. She gives herself quite the workout and I am convinced is already doing some sort of yoga poses in her whole standing routine. My mom thinks she will be walking by Christmas...we shall see.

Going to Work...

This morning Ethan asked me if he could get "Donalds" for breakfast, as Eric usually buys him McDonalds on Saturdays for breakfast. I think he also correlates this to us being at home on the weekend. I told him, "No, not today, Mama and Dada have to work." He told me, "I work too!" Here is the rest of the conversation:

Me - "You work? Where do you work?"
Ethan - "I work at the apple station"

Me - "What do you do at the apple station?"
Ethan - "I pick apples and go on the tractor!"

Without skipping a beat he went on with his regular morning banter. I couldn't believe how grown up he sounded and how big he is getting! My little peanut amazes me more and more every day!

Pumpkin Patch

Every year, okay for the past two years, I have taken Ethan to the pumpkin patch to take pictures for what was going to be our annual Halloween card. This year, I was so excited and dressed both Ethan and Hannah in cute Fall clothes. We were off...our mission, to get a great picture or two of the two of them in the pumpkin patch. Tired and hungry, probably wasn't the best set up for our photo shoot. Ethan refused to smile or to even look at the camera, and Hannah was more concerned with the hay all around her. She had this blank look on her face in all of the pictures and was more into the hay she was sitting on, picking it up and trying to put it in her mouth. Needless to say, there were no Rass Halloween cards this year!

Happy Halloween

Here is our little bat and cat! Hannah was supposed to be a pink poodle and wanted nothing to do with her costume. We tried two separate times to put her in and no dice...she was not going to wear it. So she wore her cute little cat hat, which she loved!!!

Behind in blogging...

October was such a whirlwind, I can't believe it is already over! I have so much to catch up on...Hannah is crawling all over the place, we had a fun trip to the firehouse, pumpkin patch and several Halloween parties! Ethan is talking more and more and never ceases to amaze me with what he comes up with. He finally says his name, "heathen"...nonetheless, he no longer refers to himself as "me". He also lets us know that he is a good boy. Hannah finally is eating food and enjoys everything she gets in her mouth. She is also pulling herself up, could we have an early walker on our hands? Here is a sneak peak at Ethan dressing himself...

State Fair

Over the Labor Day weekend, we decided to take Ethan and Hannah to the Michigan State Fair, as it was the last one....after 160 years. The Michigan State Fair was the first of its kind. We had a great time and Ethan loved feeding the animals and his first corn dog. We walked around all of the barns and exhibits and then went through the Midway and played a few games, winning a few cheap animals, that we consider junk, but Ethan adores them. Hannah even got a stuffed banana, so all was well! It's a shame that this long standing tradition is ending, but I am happy that when Ethan and Hannah are older we can tell them that they went to the last one.

Hannah's Bikini Pics

Aunt Michlle bought Hannah her first bikini...here are a few pics....

Apple Picking with Mom...

Ethan and I had a "Mom & Ethan Day" a few weeks ago. We went apple picking and then went to Toys R Us for the Thomas the Tank Engine Day. Ethan loved the cider mill....he enjoyed the wagon ride and got a kick out of picking the apples and eating them right after he picked them. He picked more than a few and would take a bite and then thought it would be neat to pick another one and have a bite of it. After his second apple, I made him stick with the one he had. After we were done picking our half bushel of honey crisp apples at a mere $25 a half bushel, we took the wagon back to the cider mill to get doughnuts and cider to take home. When we got off the wagon, we ran into Noah and Lauren, so Ethan was excited to see his cousins!! On our way to Toys R Us, Ethan told me he had fun on the "farm, Mama!" The mill holds an annual photo contest of pictures that were taken there, so we are going to submit the one of Ethan eating his big apple.

Chicklets

Here is a great photo of Hannah showing off her little chicklet teeth! She is a riot trying to chew whatever she can get her little hands on. She is still teething as she is a drooling machine!!!

I Wonder What My Grandmas' Would Think?

Today marks the end of an era....an end to a tradition that lasted over 72 years. After over 15,700 episodes, Guiding Light's light is dark! As I write this, it is bittersweet for me, as I think of both my grandmas and wonder what they would think if there were alive and their faithful "story" or "serial" as they both affectionately called GL was over, done, cancelled! I got hooked on GL back in 1981 when we stayed at my Grandma's house for a week in the summer for Vacation Bible School. Every afternoon at 3 p.m., Gram would go into the den and turn on her show. It only took a few days and a little coaching from Grandma to learn the characters and their trials and tribulations of their day to day lives in Springfield. I watched through the years and learned that my other Grandma was a GL fan as well. In high school, I would tape "special" episodes and buy Soap Opera Digest to keep up with my favorite stars. I even sent a fan letter to one of the stars during the Rick/Beth/Mindy/Phillip era, (which was my favorite story line) and received a response back! GL was a part of my life and I enjoyed escaping every day for a hour! Eventually I stopped watching as life got busy, I went to college, had jobs, etc. When I was home on rare occasions or over the holidays, I would sometimes check-in on this familiar place. It wasn't hard to get sucked back into the drama, there was some new faces, many old and a sense of comfort that I knew and remembered from years past. It had been a while since I had last watched, I found myself sometimes checking in on my old show while I was in line at the grocery store if a headline caught my eye. Well, in February when I went on maternity leave, I was flipping channels and ran across something familiar....my favorite story line was attending their 25 high school reunion. That did it, I could relate, as I would be celebrating my 20th HS Reunion this year and the fact that I felt as if I grew up with these stars. I got sucked back in, only to find out a few months later that CBS had cancelled the show due to low ratings! It is sad to think that today it all ends. GL was the longest running television show ever....sad to think that it is over, as I really did enjoy growing up with this show....and sad to think what my grandmas would think of this. Thanks for the memories....

100 Days until Christmas

I can't belive that Christmas is 100 days away! I was reading some blogs and came across a site 100 days of Christmas!! Time is flying and it will be here before we know it. I look forward this year, as Ethan is understanding things more and more and now we have Hannah, so it should be fun! My goal is to be more organized and take time in December to really enjoy this time with family and friends! That is always the "goal", yet sometimes I seem to lose sight of this! This year, I am going to make a conscious effort to uphold this!! So now the shopping and ideas shall begin!!!

Remembering...

It is hard to believe that today marks the eighth anniversary of September 11. I remember the day vividly, from what I was wearing, where I was and what I felt like after the first bombing of the World Trade Center. I think we all will remember that day, as it was one of the darkest days for our country, much less our generation. I found this poem that was written a few days after 911 and thought it would be fitting to post, as it puts things into perspective. It is important to remember and never forget that day that shaped our nation.

A flag of honor, a flag for reflection.
It stands for us all uniting this nation.
It will keep in our minds this tragic day,
Memories of such heroic acts shall not go away.
As we look on this flag of cloth and thread,
A field of bright red for the blood that was shed.
Not just on this day of lasting memories,
But for lives that were given throught history.
Two towers of strength that rose up so high,
Reaching for dreams, they stretched to the sky.
They lay now in ruin at the hands of hate,
Great symbols of our nation have met this fate.
Out nation's military housed in a fortress of steel;
We're reminded this day that war is so real.
Hitting the heart of our power and might,
Rise up America, this terror we must fight!
Stars that shine on a field of bright blue,
Remind us of heroes with hearts so true.
An ordinary day, it had started out to be,
Soon their lives would be given for you and me.
A circle is drawn to stand for our nation's unity,
A nation coming together through such tragedy.
A reminder is given for all of America to see,
That our freedom is never really free.
"God Bless America" is written in white,
Make this your prayer each and every night.
God is always with us, He knows our needs
Bring America back to God, should be our decree.
Much was given, many were lost on this day,
A man of terror tried to take our spirit away.
Do not let our new found spirit and unity fade,
As you look on this flag, remember this day ...
9-11-01
© Lt. Tom RobinsonWilmington, NC Firefighter

More Tommy Please!

At the beginning of each month, after our regular church service, they usually show a short dvd of messages from the synod. Ethan already antsy, was standing on Eric's lap. This was fine, as if we have learned very quickly as new parents, always sit in the last pew. So there was Ethan, standing up and when he saw the tv or (TT) as he calls it, he yelled out...."More Tommy, Please!" He loves Thomas the Tank Engine (tommy the choo choo car), so he was very excited to see the TV. Needless to say, we had to explained that he wasn't going to watch Tommy! I guess we should be grateful that he at least said, "Please!"

Six Months Old....

I can't believe my sweet baby is already six months old. She is growing up so fast, it amazes me how fast time has flown! It seems like just yesterday we brought her home from the hospital. She has had quite a few milestones in the past week...including cutting her first two teeth and almost crawling. She is rocking back and forth on all fours and then throws herself forward! I would anticipate her crawling within the next week or so. Next week is her six month check-up, so I am anxious to see how much she has grown, officially!

Little Drummer Boy

Ethan got these drums for his first Christmas from Grandpa! Obviously at five months he was too young to play with them. So they sat in his closet until a few weeks ago!! The drums are quite a hit!! In fact, the first night he had them, he decided to get up after he went to bed to "play drums, Mama!"

Big Stuff in the Bumbo

Hannah has a new love...her bumbo chair. Actually, it is a hand-me-down from Ethan, but when Auntie Lisa was here last week, she bought Hannah a tray for the Bumbo. She loves to sit in her chair with all of her teethers and rattles and throw them off one by one. Squealing and throwing toys off the tray is big fun in the bumbo!

I See You...

Monday nights in the summer are always crazy at our house. Eric plays softball on Mondays, so from April - August, so we have Monday Mom Nights!! A few Monday's ago, I put Ethan to bed and got Hannah ready for bed. Ethan got up a few times and I told him he needed to go back to bed. He reluctantly got back in his bed after four or five times of getting up. He always knows how to play me when Dada is gone!! A little while later, I looked on the baby monitor and Ethan was up jumping on his bed. I yelled in, "Ethan, lay down and go to sleep". Startled, he immediately looked toward his bedroom door, but didn't see me. He yelled back, "Mama, don't do that!!" I had to laugh, as he scurried down and got into his bed!!!

Beverly Hills 48025

Well, we have officially lived in our house for one year!! One year ago today, we moved in! It is hard to imagine that we lived anywhere else, as our house truly does feel like a home. We have done so much in the past year, even before we moved in. To look back at pictures from the day we closed on the house to now, it definitely looks like a different house. Obviously, there is a lot more we would like to do, but that all takes time and money. Slowly but surely we will get there. Since we bought the house we have cut down and trimmed the forest we had growing on our property, so now we can see the deer as they make their way through the neighborhood. The deck has been refinished and Eric has redone all of the backyard landscaping. We have painted the kitchen, hallway, Ethan's room, Hannah's room and the laundry room. New carpet up the stairs and in Hannah's room, a new floor in the kitchen and laundry room. The lower level bathroom has been completely redone and we have two new front doors. It's amazing, we moved in a family of three with a baby who was not yet walking and now a year later we have a toddler and another baby who is not yet walking!

Me Don't Like That!

"No Mama, me don't like that!" echoed through our car on the way home from daycare yesterday! I was listening to the radio and singing and Ethan proclaimed that he didn't like that song. Usually he will dance back and forth in his car seat to whatever is on the radio, but yesterday for whatever reason he was not into the song on the radio. He is particular to 80's music and especially partial to Fergie. When he was a baby, whenever I would play the song, "Big Girls Don't Cry" he would immediately settle down and coo!

He is becoming so independent these days...picking out what he wants for breakfast, what he watches on tv (Tommy the choo choo car) and really flexing his right to pick and choose what he does or does not want to do! My little boy is growing up! I have a feeling I am going to hear, "Me don't like that!" a lot in the near future!

A Whole New Look...

As you can tell by now, 2 Under 2 has a whole new look! I stumbled upon This, That & Your Blog and inquired about creating a blog header. Jessica, the designer/creator was an absolute pleasure to work with! She made my vision a reality and I am truly grateful for her dedication and amazing talent! She has an incredible knack for detail and took my ideas and turned them into an awesome site! I hope you enjoy the new look! If you are interested in starting your own blog, I highly recommend her!

Rolling, Rolling, Rolling...

Hannah has discovered big fun and a love for tummy time! She now can roll over both ways and squeals with delight every time she flips over! She hasn't quite mastered getting her whole body over her one arm, but each day she is getting better and better at it!! By the way, bananas are a hit!!! Still working on the whole concept of eating, but we can now add bananas to the list! Next thing to try, peas...surely that will make for a great photo!

Err Ceam

Ethan has found a new love...p-bar err ceam! In English, peanut butter ice cream! As you can see from the pictures, he loves it and after he finishes always wants mere (more). In the spirit of Ethan speak, here are a few other words that crack us up every time he says them...

peek-a-ma-boo = peek-a-boo
peas = please
lub you = love you
sitter = sister
bum mo mo bee = bumble bee
goo ba = school bus
sigh = slide
out sigh = outside

Five Years - No White Picket Fence or Dog!

Today is our 5th wedding anniversary! I can't believe we have been married for five years! It doesn't seem that long, as I remember our wedding day vividly!! All of the details are still engraved on my heart. It was such an incredible day and I will cherish it forever. We have been blessed beyond measure and truly do have it all. Looking back at the past five years, we have had our challenges - new jobs, living in different states, moving, etc., yet we have accomplished so much together ....two amazing kids and buying our beautiful house! So we really do have it all with the exception of the white picket fence and a dog! I am sure in time the dog will come, in time!!

Ethan's Literal Hand Shake & an Applesauce Victory!

When Eric came home from work yesterday, he greeted Ethan as he does every night with a hug or a kiss. He then wanted to teach Ethan how to shake hands. Ethan engrossed in his latest obsession of reading his "Tommy the Choo Choo Car" book (Thomas the Train) was not in the mood to learn a new trick. After a few more attempts by Eric, Ethan yelled, "No Dada!" Eric's final request to teach Ethan to shake hands like a big boy, resulted in Ethan waving his hands back and forth, while shooting Eric a look that he didn't need to be taught to shake hands, he already knew how!! That's my boy!!

As for Hannah's and the great food eating crusade, applesauce is a small victory, so far. She definitely gets more all over her face, bib and hands, but we are making progress. Stay tuned!

No Hip-Click for Hannah Kicks....

Little Hannah Kicksters had her ultrasound yesterday to see if she had hip-click. She did so well, she was happy, smiling and rolling around on the examining table. Apparently, hip-click is common with first-born girls who are breech and are delivered c-section, none of which Hannah was. It is also common if the fetus doesn't have enough room, I believe this was Hannah's claim! She kicked constantly...that and the fact that she was 21 inches long when she was born. She continues to kick all the time, hence he nick name....little Hannah Kicksters!!! She is going to be a tall girl, already 26 inches long at four months! Thanks to Dr. O'Shea for her email yesterday, telling us that the tests were normal!!!

P-Bar and Rice Ceral...the breakfast of Champions!

Well, peanut butter is the new favorite at our house. I am so glad that Ethan likes p-bar as he calls it. It is funny, I love peanut butter and when he was a baby I would call him my little peanut butter. He has asked for p-bar every day this week, for breakfast, dinner and snacks. He woke up yesterday saying, "P-bar Mama, P-bar!" No peanut allergies and a love for peanut butter just like his Mom! I love it!

Rice cereal, not a hit! I was so excited to introduce Hannah to rice cereal, in hopes that it would buy a few more minutes of sleep at night. Not so much! At first, I thought she loved it as she was trying to shove the whole spoon into her mouth, then after a few bites, I noticed she was not digging it at all. She started blowing raspberries and gaging on it. Maybe it was too thick for her, or just the strange sensation of having a spoon in her mouth. Whatever it was, we will try it again tonight. She is also free to start fruits and vegetables, but I want to get the cereal thing locked down and then we will go from there!!!

Three Shots, bloodwork and lots of band-aids!!

Yesterday we had Ethan's two year check up and Hannah's four month check up. I thought I would be ambitious and schedule them both at once, since the time was so close to have their vaccines! Note to self, it wasn't ambitious, it was crazy. Never again, will I schedule two office visits at the same time! Thankfully, Eric and I both went. What an adventure it was!

Ethan was first, he wasn't really into answering any of Dr. O'Shea's questions...all questions I may add, he answers for Eric and I and anyone else willing to listen on a daily basis. He warmed up after he was weighed and measured. That lasted about two minutes, when the nurse began to prep him for his blood work, he went ballistic. My poor little peanut, apparently is still remembering his experience earlier this year when he was in the hospital for rotavirus. Unfortunately, he has my veins and the nurse wasn't able to draw blood in his arms, so she had to use his big toe. He cried and screamed, "No Way, No". Eric had to hold him down. Needless to say, some time later, she was able to get enough blood for the two tests needed. Thankfully she was done, as he was hyperventilating near the end and wouldn't even look at all of the Batman band aids he had. He weighed 26 pounds and was 33 1/4 inches long. Dr. O'Shea said he is growing consistent with how he always has grown.

As if that wasn't enough, we still had to have Hannah have her vaccines. The first one was oral, so she was okay with that. Then she had to have two shots. Not a happy camper, but she was pretty resilient and bounced back after I held her, as she kicked her little Hello Kitty band-aid covered legs around. Unfortunately, the rest of her check-up wasn't seamless, Dr. O'Shea wants her to have an ultrasound on her hips, as they were loose and clicking. She said it was not uncommon for little girls to have this. So next week, we will be venturing to Beaumont for a hip ultrasound. Hannah weighed 14. 9 pounds and was 26 inches long. She is a tall little thing and just may surpass her brother in height!!

One hour later, the Rass family departed from Dr. O'Shea's office a little battered and worn out.

Another Milestone...

It's time to celebrate....we crossed off another big milestone off the list yesterday! Who knew that turning two years old would be all the incentive it took to get Ethan to sleep in his big boy bed. We have had the toddler bed in his room for two weeks and he would play on it, but when it came time to go to sleep, he wanted to sleep in his "cribby". So we didn't push the issue, then last night when we were getting ready for bed, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to really sell the benefits of a "big boy bed". He bought it hook, line and sinker!! He got up a few times when we first put him in there, but then he settled in complete with his to pillows, blankets and menagerie of animals! This morning he was so excited when he woke up knowing that he slept all night in the bed. Now if we could only work on the head banging and convincing Hannah to sleep through the night, we would be set! Baby steps....

Happy Birthday Peanut!

I can't believe my sweet baby boy is two years old today. It seems like just yesterday we brought him home from the hospital and now with a blink of an eye, he is two. What an amazing journey we have had thus far! He has taught me more in two years than I ever thought possible. The gifts he has given me, I will cherish forever. His little smile lights up a room, he laugh makes my heart melt and those deep blue eyes, filled with compassion and love make me thank God every day, I have been blessed with such a wonderful little boy. However, the most precious gift he has given me, is the title, Mom!

Happy birthday doodle bug!!