Well, this morning, we got our first look at kid#2. He\she is very small. Some may say tiny, even. We also heard it’s little childlike heartbeat. It sounded like somebody blowing up a balloon using very tiny breaths. Everything looked completely normal and Mom & Baby are healthy. Due date set for 1st week in February ‘07. You can click on the picture for a larger view and a description of what you are seeing (touch the baby with your mouse). Please enjoy.

…I apparently made this a looong time ago. I guess I was bored.

Enjoy

A couple of weekends ago we went to visit the Pilgrims, and Ethan was very intrigued by Lauryn’s potato head family. He wasn’t quite sure how to get all the body parts attached, but a quick trip to Target to get his very own potato family fixed that. He absolutely loves it. And apparently Clay is much more creative with the potato head than me, because Ethan always grabs the bucket and says, “Dada?” Hmmmm…I guess it’s the architect in him.

Lisa and I were discussing last night the changes that have come about in our life since Ethan was born. We talked about finances, jobs, time, etc. But one thing we overlooked (at least at first) was the change that our son has gone through in just this past year. This picture is from when Ethan was just 6 months old. Although it looks like him, you can surely see the baby in him.

Compare that to this picture taken last week at 20 months, I’ll tell you, the 2 of us were in awe. I will suggest to those of you with kids, take a look back at any one of those thousands of pictures we have all taken of our children to see the change. I promise you, you will be impressed.

Ethan and I had our bi-annual getaway this weekend to the Kennedy farm in Clifton with Cara and the kids. It was absolutely wonderful. There’s nothing like getting out of town (but not having to drive TOO far), being in the country with tons of stuff for little boys to do, having someone make wonderful meals for you, and staying up late watching movies with your college roommate. I would highly recommend it to everyone!

Ethan didn’t know what to do with himself with Jack around and chickens, cows, a pool, a wagon, dogs, guineas, gardens, etc. Even though they’re 7 months apart, the boys play so well together and they just pal around with each other. Since it was so stinkin’ hot we had to spend a lot of afternoon time indoors, but they stayed entertained jumping off the couch onto the cushions, making forts and tunnels out of boxes and blankets, chasing each other around in circles, playing Mr. Potato Head, eating lots of snacks, and the list goes on. Thank you, Kennedys and Cara, for a WONDERFUL time on the farm. We need to plan another visit before the baby comes so we won’t need a 4th crib!

P.S. I have to admit one of the best parts of the trip is the last day because of all the goodies you get to take home – tomatoes, jalapenos, salsa, pepper jelly, jam, eggplant, squash, … YUM!

Well, it’s official. We are expecting child #2. Lisa is due sometime around Valentine’s day 2007. Ethan will be a big ‘Bruhbruh’.

Robert Wagner says: ‘Congratulations!’

-Clay

I have decided that I will contribute to the blog as well. After all, it’s named after me.

blog item of the day:

by what mechanism are hotwheels mass produced? i mean, there is no way somebody is handpainting all of the graphics and trim on each car, right? so how are all of those colors applied to each car?

think about it.

-Clay

For weeks we’ve been planning this super fun vacation to San Antonio – complete with Sea World, a boat ride on the river walk, visiting a friend in New Braunfels, and going to a new children’s museum that just opened. Our plan was to leave Thursday evening after Clay and I got off work, and drive through the night so we would have all of Friday, Saturday and Sunday to play. We had gas in the car, the oil changed, the ice chest packed, bags packed (you get the idea), and then the fever hit around 3:30 Thursday afternoon. Poor Ethan was SO sick. By the time I got to my mom’s house Thursday he had peaked at 104.5 and he was completely limp. The Tylenol finally kicked in around 7:00, but he woke up Friday morning with his fever at 102 so we took him to the doctor. The final verdict – strep throat. So, here we are on Saturday afternoon and Clay is working outside and Ethan’s taking a nap. Thankfully, though, he is feeling much better and should be fine by tomorrow. Obviously I hate that Ethan was sick, but we couldn’t help thinking yesterday around 1:00 that we should have been at the Shamu show. The good news is that the only thing we had to cancel was our hotel reservations, and they didn’t charge us for that. So, we’ll try again in another couple of weeks, but I have every belief that Clay and/or I will probably come down with strep about then (it’s already been through my dad and then my mom). Such is a day in the life!

But we have been having fun around the house. Ethan’s talking so much more now, and is starting to initiate more “conversations.” We’ve been playing cars, reading books, jumping on the bed (I’m pretty sure my brother got in BIG trouble for this once as a kid, so I’m sure the day will come when we kick ourselves for letting Ethan do this now), etc. I’m attaching a picture of Ethan wearing his crown that he made in Bible class a couple of Wednesday nights ago. He absolutely loves Bible class, and he especially enjoyed making the crown. King Ethan rules for the day!

P.S. Ginny (my sister-in-law for those who don’t know) started a blog so you HAVE to check out http://4txnsnnc.blogspot.com for pictures of my beautiful nieces.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday each week, Ethan goes to my mom’s house while I’m at work. I hear all kinds of stories about things he’s done, things he’s tried to do that day, the enormous amounts of food he eats for lunch, etc. But last week was one of the best ever – Ethan figured out how to make himself a bridge between the couch and coffee table. Thank you, Mom, for having your camera ready. He’s tried to duplicate this trick at home, but apparently our coffee table is a little too far from the couch to be effective. What cracks me up about him is that obviously no one showed him how to do this – he thought of it all on his own. I would love to know what all goes through his head during the day. Every day I learn more and more what it means to have a little boy!