Josh had a wonderful first Father's Day as the father of two! We grilled here at the house after church and our family came over to celebrate with us. The boys and I got him a new fishing rod and reel and a cover for his iphone. He enjoyed spending the day with his boys.

Ethan had his tonsils out last Friday. He was very brave and is doing pretty well! It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do to let him go back to the operating room by himself. But he took his puppy named Polka Dots back with him and they both came through fine :) His voice sounds a little different and his speech too but they information packet the doctors gave us said those things are to be expected. Hopefully, he will make a full recovery soon.

Landen is 6 months old today! He is talking more and growing SO fast. He is wearing mostly 9 month clothes (he can still squeeze into a few 6 months). His favorite food is sweet potatoes. He kicks like crazy when he sees that he is about to get fed.

We are looking forward to the upcoming 4th of July weekend. I am sure by the time it gets here we will all three be house burned and ready for a change of scenery!

Ethan graduated from Mother's Day Out. Of course, I cried! The program the kids did was ADORABLE. Each child in Ethan's class told their name, age (5), favorite food(spaghetti...which he says "pasghetti"), favorite color (red), what the want to be when they grow up (an engineer), and their favorite thing to do at MDO (watching movies). About a week after graduation Ethan said to his dad one day "Dad, I think I have changed my mind about wanting to be an engineer when I grown up". So Josh of course asked why. Ethan then said "Zander said that train engineers have to work all day so I think I want to be a birdwatcher"! I don't think Ethan fully grasps the concept that he won't be going back to MDO. He asked me the other day if it was a school day and I had to remind him again. However, he has made several comments that lead me to believe he is beginning to look forward to Kindergarten. As much as the thought of my baby going to kindergarten breaks my heart, it helps me to see that he is getting excited.

We took a family trip to Kentucky Lake for a long weekend to celebrate Memorial Day. The boys enjoyed the pool and Ethan joined the guys for a little fishing. It was a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of day to day life.

Ethan is enjoying the summer break by spending time with his cousins. His cousin Kelci came last Wednesday and spent the day with us. We hadn't seen her in a while and Ethan and her played golf on the Wii and she taught Ethan this little trick where you walk up behind someone and use your knee to hit the back of their knee so that their leg falls out from under them. Yeah, let's just say Ethan finds it entertaining! He also went last Thursday to play with his cousin Zoe and they caught fire flies. When one of them died Zoe prayed for it and Ethan has been talking about it all week....he has seen us pray many times but never for a fire fly he says :)

Ethan's last tball game was Saturday morning (so many lasts lately....it makes me sad). He played great and all of the players received a trophy after the game. He was SO proud of his trophy! Jennifer and Ben were there to watch him play and he really enjoyed that. When we originally tried to talk him into playing he wasn't interested at all but after a little coaxing he decided to give it a try. He ended up LOVING it and we loved to watch him play! We are gonna' miss it but hopefully he will play next season because he wants to and not just because WE want him to.

Ethan is full of questions ALL of the time. He is constantly wanting to know how, or why, or when, or who. The questions never end and his little wheels are constantly turning. This week he asked me if he would have a playset in heaven! He is a very smart little boy and very eager to learn more! Ethan has a very big heart and is very concerned about preserving the Earth. He loves to recycle and do things for other people.

Landen is growing VERY quickly! He will soon be 6 months old. He is outgrowing clothes quicker than I can buy them. He is wearing 6/9 months and some 12 months. Eating an entire jar of baby food in one setting is no problem for him now! Landen is a very happy little boy who LOVES to be talked to. His bottom two front teeth have finally broken through the gum and are SO adorable!

Being "Mommy" to these boys is the BEST job I have Ever been blessed with!!!!!

'

Since it has been a while since I have updated this there is a lot to tell but I will try to minimize as much as possible. We took a family vacation to Destin, Florida at the end of April. We had a blast! Ethan loved the beach but Landen not so much! It was windy and he doesn't like the wind hitting him in the face. We returned home to the floods and my heart ached for all of those who lost their homes and for the families of those who lost their lives. Ethan was upset when he saw Bass Pro under water on tv. He loves to go there and look at the fish. I didn't tell him that the fish died when the rainwater mixed with the fresh water. He just thinks they swam away.

The 1st week home Ethan had his kindergarten screening where he went back in a classroom without me for the first time. Up until then he has clung to my leg every time we have went to the school but not that day. He just said "bye Mom" and went right on back. He was so proud of himself and I was very proud of him too. He scored 100 points out of 118 possible! That's all I am going to say about him starting school for now as I am not dealing very well with the idea. At tball practice that same week he hit the ball for the 1st time without the tee. He is growing up SO fast!

I had a great Mother's Day. Ethan got me a baby cactus that "isn't prickly" and even though I have no idea how to take care of a cactus it melted my heart. I also got a very pretty Pandora bracelet with the boys birthstones from all 3 of my guys <3>

Landen and I took Ethan on a play date to Hopscotch's last Friday. He really enjoyed meeting up with his little friend and playing. There are only 3 more days of Mother's Day Out left for Ethan. He was so excited that they got to take their bikes to school today. His class is working hard getting ready for their graduation. I am so glad we decided to take him there. It has helped him grow socially so much and I'm not sure he could have handled kindergarten without it!

Landen has started trying to roll over. He is now eating stage 1 baby food (well he still sorts of spits it out but it is improving). His hair is starting to grow back in from where he lost alot of it. He is now enjoying his jumperoo and his intellitainer both of which his feet now touch the floor in. He has one tooth coming in on the top and two trying to come through on the bottom. I have been blessed with another happy baby! He is such a joy!!

Tball Time!

So, last Saturday was Ethan's 1st tball game! He really enjoyed it and it was SO fun to watch. He is getting to be such a big boy. Last Thursday we went to the last Little Cats meeting at Franklin Elementary where he got to ride on a school bus, which he thought was so cool (even though he won't be riding one when he starts kindergarten)! I had explained to him a few weeks ago that he would be going to school all week once he started kindergarten and could only stay home on the weekends. So, on the way home from Zoe's birthday party he told my grandmother "I'm not going to kindergarten because I only get to come home on the weekends!"...guess I forgot to explain that he would still be coming home to sleep in his own bed each night, LOL!!

Landen has had a rough past couple of days. We went to see the pediatrician today only to find out that he has an ear infection :( However, he still grins from ear to ear when anyone talks to him. He is such a sweet baby! He now weighs 16 lbs and 2 oz....can't believe he has almost doubled his weight since birth. Kids grow so quickly.... I am afraid to blink. But I am cherishing every moment while it lasts!

So this past week Landen developed a bad cough! Just seems like we can't get rid of it around here. Thank the good Lord he didn't get nearly as sick as Ethan. By the weekend everyone was feeling better so we took the boys to a model train show. Landen was well behaved and Ethan was in awe! I have never seen a child love trains as much as he does. He told me that when he gets bigger he is going to set up a model train show that will be huge and he also said that I am going to want to see it!! He got a new train set and I haven't been able to get him out to enjoy the weather since! He just wants to play with that train.

Landen tried rice cereal for the first time on Saturday and that was interesting. He wasn't too crazy about it! As you can see from the picture, he got more on him than he actually ate. Maybe we will give it a little while and try again. Ethan plays with Landen all of the time. It was so funny because tonight at church Ethan fell asleep and Landen couldn't understand why he wasn't talking to him. He just kept looking at him and making little noises trying to get Ethan to respond....I love that they are so loving toward each other (even though often times Ethan's love is a little rougher than I would like for it to be).

A few weeks ago our good friends Jennifer and Ben got engaged and they want the boys to be ring bearers in there wedding in October! We are so excited and hope that Landen is walking by then so that he can participate. They are such wonderful people and we are so very happy for them. We are also very excited for Ethan's 1st t-ball game this Saturday!!! All of the kids are so cute out there on the field :)

Easter Week

This past week was a very difficult one at our house. Ethan had an upper respiratory infection and ran a fever of 101-103 degrees from Sunday night until Thursday evening! He was the sickest he has EVER been and it was very hard on both Josh and I to watch him be so miserable no matter how hard we tried to help him. Thankfully, Ethan has made a full recovery and now passed the sickness on to me. That's okay though, I would rather me have it than him. Somehow, Landen has managed to stay well through all of this but is now teething. One tooth has broken through his gums and I believe another is trying to come through. As you all know...teething babies are usually not happy babies but he honestly has still managed to smile as much as ever. Josh took a trip to California for work in the middle of the week and was missed terribly here at home! Easter was wonderful (except of course for me feeling awful)! It was a beautiful sunny day and Ethan loved everything the Easter Bunny brought him....especially his new train and Alvin and the Chipmunks movie. Landen, of course, didn't really notice his basket much but Ethan was excited to show him what all was in it. I turned 26 this week and the boys gave me an adorable card on which Ethan drew a beautiful flower and wrote "Mom" and "Ethan"....that all alone made my day. Love my boys...all 3 of them!

The Raines Rascals

Here are my boys, Ethan and Landen. Ethan had a difficult time transitioning to being one of two kids and not an only child anymore. However, now you barely see the jealousy anymore! He is such a wonderful big brother and Landen adores him. Everything that Ethan does Landen rewards him with a great big cheesing grin! I love to watch them interact...they are forging an amazing bond that will last throughout their lives. You can see the mutual love between them and I just feel so blessed to be able to witness that.