Shoes

Scott often accuses me of spoiling Ethan. I don't know about that. Is he really spoilt? I could argue that point. However, it has recently come to my attention, that maybe, just maybe, when it comes to shoes, I do spoil Ethan. But just a tad. Maybe.

We're moving houses next month, so I've started packing. I went through all of Ethan's old clothes and packed them up. This is where I discovered that from the ages of 0 to 3 years, Ethan's owned 14 pairs of shoes. (There are 13 in the picture, as I found another pair after I took this).

This made me think I should check out Ethan's shoe rack and see if he still owns a lot of pairs of shoes. This time I found 11 pairs. Not too bad. Then again, we did loose a pair, and I do need to get him a pair of boots when we go home this week.

Ok, so here's the deal. I don't spoil Ethan. I provide him with a choice of footwear!

Elf on the Shelf

Last year I was introduced to the book The Elf on the Shelf. It's a clever story, written in rhymes, that tells children how Santa knows if you've been good or bad, by sending a little elf to your house. The book even came with a little elf.

So this year, we thought we'd try it out with Ethan. We read him the book one evening and told him to watch out in the morning, because the elf may appear. The book instructs the child to name their elf when it first arrives. Ethan decided to name our elf Jake.

Every morning Ethan wakes up and asks where Jake is. He then searches the house for him. He laughs with such joy upon seeing him, and then makes sure that both Scott and I are aware of Jake's presence. The book instructs children that the elf cannot be touched or it's magic will disappear, but you can talk to your elf. So once Ethan's shown Scott and I Jake's whereabouts, he says good morning to Jake, and asks how he got there. Of course, the book also explains that your elf has been instructed by Santa not to speak, so Ethan's not concerned when Jake doesn't reply.

But the best part of Jake, is the effect it has on Ethan. Our dear Ethan, who tends to only eat pasta for dinner, ate a fish pie for dinner one evening, with no fuss, then walked over to Jake and presented him with his empty plate and announced, "I ate all my dinner Jake". Ethan comes home from school and tells Jake "I didn't fight today". And when Ethan starts to fuss, we remind him that Jake is watching, and usually it helps calm him down.

Now what on earth will I do when Christmas is over???

Halloween

Usually when I'm asked what my favourite holiday is, I reply Christmas. I mean, what's not to like? We get to go home for the holidays, we get a good 3-4 weeks vacation, we leave this heat, we get to see family, and best of all..... PRESENTS!!!!!

But another holiday I love, and even more since Ethan came, is Halloween. Actually, I think I may be a little obsessed over Halloween.

This year Ethan hosted a Halloween party. He invited his mates, and put his mum through a lot trying to decorate and bake. But I think everyone had fun.

The weeks leading to Halloween, Ethan kept insisting he be something scary for Halloween. He'd want scary masks that we knew he'd never wear. We finally found something we could agree on. He wore last year's skeleton costume, but added a scary mask that he made.

His mates arrived and they played all kinds of games. We hung marshmallows and they tried to eat them without using their hands. Of course no Halloween would be complete without bobbing for apples, followed by bobbing for sweets (you have to get a sweet from a tray filled with flour). And since Ethan's all about being scary, we added a slimy activity where the kids had to dig into a tub of slimy green spaghetti to get a slimy rubber bug!

But I think this year had to be the BEST Halloween ever. And not just because Ethan got to enjoy it more, but Halloween night was wonderful. Scott and I went to the Movenpick for their Halloween party, and we won best couple costume. Two tickets to Paris!

Can't wait till next year!

My Dad

Education was always, and is still, very important to my dad. He always wanted my brother and I to do well in school, go to University and get an amazing education so we'd be successful. His love for education is still seen in the way he speaks to his great niece about her choice of Master's program, and how involved he is in his grandson's school.

So when I came across this picture, I just had to share.

Here's my dad, a graduate of Leeds University.

Logic

Have you ever wondered about the thought process of a three year old? Well here's a glimpse into the mind of my 3-year old.

While in SA, we bought Ethan a new Spiderman shirt. He wore it for the first time this week. I came home from school and he was wearing it. Yeah, it looks great. Then I noticed he'd drawn on it. Yes, my son drew on his brand new Spiderman T-shirt. Needless to say, I wasn't all that happy with this. So as I say, in my stern mommy voice, "Ethan you drew all over your new shirt!" Ethan replies, very innocently "I gave him eyes, mommy. He didn't have the black inside his eyes."

So really, can you argue with this logic? While Spiderman doesn't have the blacks in his eyes, Ethan did attempt to correct this flaw!

Dinosaurs are Scary, Skeletons are Not

I thought I would share this thought that Ethan taught me in London. I did not know that skeletons were not scary.

In London, my brother and I took Ethan to the Museum of Natural History. He loves dinosaurs and we thought he'd enjoy this outing. Ethan was a little weary at first. He wouldn't go near any displays, but had no problem pointing them all out to me, and asking me to take pictures of them all. Then we went around a bend. They had a huge T-Rex displayed that was robotic. He moved his head and roared. It was fabulous. But not for Ethan. He was terrified. He held on tight to my brother and wouldn't let go. I finally picked him up, shoved his head into my shoulder and we left that scary part.

Ethan calmly explained it was scary because the dinosaur made noise.

After lunch we went to the London Eye. As we're making our way there, we pass this Haunted House area. There's a skeleton with wires and lights wrapped all around him. Ethan pointed it out and announced Halloween must be soon.

So I asked him if he liked the skeleton. "Yes" he replied. "It's not scary?" I ask. Ethan then explained to me that while the dinosaur was scary because it made noise, this skeleton just sits there. "You can touch him and nothing will happen" he replied.

Ah, lesson learnt!

Family Portrait

My cousin, Faiza, has a wonderful blog. Recently she posted a picture of her family. Not only is it an incredible picture taking by an equally incredible person, but Faiza was very proud, as it was the first family picture taken in years. It features her with her parents, her 2 brothers, 2 sisters-in-law and her gorgeous nephew.

This picture got me thinking. We go home every year for Christmas, and Scott's Aunt Judith makes sure she gets a family picture of us. But then it suddenly occurred, that the same night Faiza got her family picture, was the same night I got a family picture of my own. Not since Ethan was born have we, my parents, and, especially, my brother been together.

So to copy Faiza, here's the 1st picture in 3 years of my entire family.