March 30, 2010 (089/365)

The Artist

What a budding little artist we have. Up until just a day or so ago all Etienne could do was scribble. We would get an occasional happy rock (smiley face), sad rock (sad face) or angry rock (you get the gist), but recently he's been drawing cars and trucks. This one is either a race car or monster truck. I can see it. Can you?

March 29, 2010 (088/365)

Thumbs Up

Etienne recently learned the thumbs up sign and knows that it's an indication of a good thing.
Yes indeed. A thumbs up for doughnuts with chocolate and sprinkles. Breakfast of champions. Not really. Just an afternoon snack. Actually, bribery for trying to get him to behave while grocery shopping.

March 28, 2010 (087/365)

Lemon Lover

My little guy loves lemons. I know they are bad for the enamel on his teeth, but he doesn't get them too often. He always eats them with a straight face and Louis and I are the ones who get the pucker just thinking of biting into one. I remember the first lemons we gave him. He was insistent and we really thought he would take one bite and immediately give it back to us. Nope. He took one bite and has been hooked ever since. Another time we gave him a lemon and while he was gnawing away on it Louis and I were able to have a conversation. We turned around and he had eaten the whole slice including the rind! Maybe it's the lemons that make him a little tart :)

March 27, 2010 (086/365)

Unexpected Parade

Today we went to pick up Nana so we could all go to our cousin Ella's 4th birthday party. While we were at Nana's we heard all the commotion on Grand Ave. I remember the sound all too well from when I was younger. The police sirens were blaring and the fire trucks were roaring. It was unmistakably a parade. We hopped in the car and drove to the end of the street just in time to catch the parade. It was the local little league's parade for the beginning of their season. All the teams had their own float. Etienne learned from the 2 other parades he has been to recently that all you have to do is smile and wave and poof...candy appears. I look forward to the day he gets to play baseball and maybe he can be on the throwing end of the candy.

March 26, 2010 (085/365)

The Bluebonnet Adventure

We didn't have much to do today. We visited daddy at work and brought him lunch, but after that I had no plans. I've noticed some blooming bluebonnets in Katy, so we decided to go on the hunt for a place to take some photos. I knew that they were plentiful in Brenham so we headed in that directions. We found them exactly where I thought they would be. Etienne wasn't too cooperative, but I managed to get some good images. I wanted to get Spring, Easter and Bluebonnet photos to include in Grandma and Nana's Easter cards. I love this photo because I think this was the most fun he had all day. It was taken at the end of our all day photo excursion. Mister Penguin was very hungry and Etienne was happy to feed him many flowers. Thank you buddy for trying to be a good boy while mommy tortured you.

March 25, 2010 (084/365)

I Ain't Too Proud To Bribe

I'm happy to report after a long, long drawn out battle, Etienne is finally potty trained! I never thought this day would come and I certainly never thought that if this day came I would be this relieved, happy and proud.

March 24, 2010 (083/365)

Cross Eyed Clown
This one took some convincing, but he finally complied. Lol. I wonder where he gets his silly streak?

March 23, 2010 (082/365)

Sandbox Revisited

I've always said that we would not have a sandbox. They are such a mess! Well, Etienne's 3rd birthday we took the sandbox we had, but used as a pool, and filled it with sand for a Dino Dig. I bought these cute little eggs with dinosaurs in them and buried them in the sand and let the children dig for them. It was a big hit. This was the first time I let him play in it since his birthday (3 1/2 months ago). He was in the backyard playing for over an hour while I cooked dinner. I had the door open and could see him and I could hear him "beep, beep, beep" (truck backing up). He had such a great time. I think I might rethink not letting him play in the sandbox.

March 22, 2010 (081/365)

My Little Gardener

Yesterday when Etienne and Daddy came home from their adventure, Etienne was so excited to tell me about his future plans for a garden in the back yard. "Daddy and I are going to make a garden. We are going to plant some seeds and water them. They are going to grow into flowers and vegetables and we are going to eat them!" Well, I decided to add to his excitement, so we went out today and found the proper attire for our little gardener. I know, I'm mommy and I'm biased, but he is just so stinking cute!

♥ ♥ ♥

March 21, 2010 (080/365)

Daddy on Duty

Well, the patron saint of brewing was busy teaching me a lesson today. I mustered up enough strength to get to church, but promptly returned to bed once we got back home. Daddy had to pull an all day shift. They spent the day out and about. A trip to Sam's to see some forklifts and have some pizza for lunch was part of their adventure. Thanks Daddy for taking a couple of pics and covering me for my 365!
143!

March 20, 2010 (079/365)

Hubby Found A Happy Place

We were honored to help "celebrate the good times" tonight. Some dear friends have had a tough past 2 years and recently the clouds have cleared and a new chapter of their life has begun. The celebration took place at a local brewery and Louis was lovin' life :) You should have seen him on the tour. When the guide started opening vats Louis left me in the crowd and took his spot at the front of the line. He was like a kid in a candy store!

Thank you for inviting us to celebrate the good times with you guys. I wish you a life full of love, happiness and all things great!

Please excuse the photo quality. It was taken with my iPhone. I couldn't pass up the shi* eating grin on Louis' face.

March 19, 2010 (078/365)

Shape Safari Explorers

(Etienne, Grant, Cambry & Charlotte)

What a fun playdate today. Ms Angie set up a shape safari. We started by making our own binoculars. Next she handed out a reference card to each of the children, reviewed all the shapes with them and then we went exploring for all the different shapes. The kids were so excited when they found a shape and they each had their own camera to photograph their finds. It surprised me how long the kids stayed interested. Actually, it surprised me how long Etienne stayed interested. What a great, creative playdate. Thank you Ms. Angie!

March 18, 2010 (077/365)

Hey Batter, Batter...Swing!

Your friend Noah came over to play today and you both love baseball. It won't be long before the two of you are pitching to each other and "knocking it out of the park". You shared so well and didn't even cry when you took the bat at full swing right in the chest. Mommy wanted to cry for you when I seen the mark it left on your chest. I doubt you'll stand that close to Noah again while he is taking his turn and swinging the bat. You, my son, are coming along nicely with your baseball stance and skills. I think I see playing baseball in your future.

March 17, 2010 (076/365)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

May friends stand by our side
May history remind us all
Of Ireland's faith and pride.
May God bless us with happiness
May love and faith abide.
~Irish Blessing

What a busy, fun day! We started with a photo session for one of the cutest little 3 month old boys around and it was quickly followed by a St. Patty's Day play date with the cutest group of 3 year old friends. After the green fun we headed to Clear Lake to return our house guest, Bethany, to her mommy and we met Nana for shopping and dinner. Etienne grabbed a nap on the way home and we had just enough daylight to play some basketball and have a bike ride. I predict an early bed time for both of us tonight. May luck be our companion

March 16, 2010 (075/365)

It Was Fun While It Lasted

The sun and nice weather that is. The rain returned today, but no worries from Etienne. Any day he can use his dinosaur umbrella is a good day. This was a gift from some dear friends and probably his favorite of his birthday presents. The front of the umbrella has a dinosaur face and the back has what Etienne would call the "bumpy, bumpy plates". He says it's a Stegosaurus. Who am I to argue? If I did, he'd probably prove me wrong :)

March 15, 2010 (074/365)

To Timeout and Beyond

It breaks my heart, but until we can get "Smart Discipline" implemented, timeout is this home's form of discipline. It's not quite as effective as it once was, but it's all we have right now. Three is such a challenging age. He has so much energy and is such a happy boy, but has no idea of how to control his emotions. One of my biggest fears is crushing his little spirit. I pray everyday for strength, patience and guidance. I just want to help him figure out how to handle all that energy, encourage his creativity and fuel that amazing little brain of his.

March 14, 2010 (073/365)

Tall Oaks From Little Acorns Grow

These trees at Grandma's are amazing! From their size you know they have been there for well over a hundred years. Louis spent a lot of time during his childhood climbing in and swinging from these mighty Live Oaks. He even caught one on fire. Their size is quite intimidating, but not for Etienne. He's already given the rope swing a try, but he is years away from climbing. Let's hope he never has the urge to set one aflame. He likes the trees pretty well, but prefers the leaves. He had fun today raking up some leaves and playing with his cousin.

You too little man, like a tiny little acorn, will eventually grow into a mighty oak.

March 13, 2010 (072/365)

Japanese Magnolia Tree

One of the special treats that greet us this time of year when we go to visit Grandma is the blooming Japanese Magnolia Tree. I love Magnolia trees and one day I'll get one planted in our yard. The blooms produce such a beautiful fragrance. It is such a nice welcome when I exit the car, step into the carport, head to the door and the sweet smell of the blooms, just outside the kitchen window, wrap around you like a great big hug.

March 12, 2010 (071/365)

Adventure Bathing

Adventure sleeping...check, Adventure bathing...check.

We refer to sleeping outside of home as adventure sleeping. While in Louisiana we stayed in a hotel room with a jacuzzi tub. Etienne was a bit apprehensive about it, but once he was in and learned where the power button was it was almost impossible to get him out.
"I like adventure bathing!"

March 11, 2010 (070/365)

Road Trip

Louis was able to take off early from work today and we headed out of town to see his mom in Louisiana. We had an overnight pit stop at Coushatta. I have trouble gambling. A friend of mine told me a long time ago "you have to play big to win big". That just may be the reason I have trouble. I'm not willing to play big, so I just end up giving some money to the casino. We had planned to put Etienne in the child care provided there, but that was quickly rejected once we arrived. Louis and I tag team gambled. I played games with Etienne while he played the tables and he came back and I would go play slots. Louis covered my losses with his wins and the cash we dropped playing games and collecting tickets paid off in the form of a bag of potty training bribes.

March 10, 2010 (069/365)

Sweet Moscato

Cheers!

March 09, 2010 (068/365)

Happy Birthday Dear Daddy

Today is Louis' birthday. Happy Birthday Husband!

I think it would be a law that all birthdays much fall on a weekend. Louis had to spend his day at work, but we had a nice celebration when he got home. We went out to eat. Steak of course. Neither of us are big on the birthday singing in the restaurant so we saved that for when we got home. We sang Happy Birthday, Louis made a wish, blew out the candle and we enjoyed some yummy cupcakes from Ooh La La. Etienne loves birthdays. It means he gets to sing and eat cake. But this birthday is a special one. We can't think of a better person to celebrate.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Happy Birthday!

243!!!

March 08, 2010 (067/365)

My Friend Molly

Today we spent the whole day out and about and got home late. Etienne had fallen asleep in the car, but woke in time to catch a glimpse of Molly playing outside on her scooter. "Don't close the door. I want to play with Molly." With that request and Molly scooting her way into the garage, I had no choice. I had to let them play. Today they took turns showing each other tricks and stunts. Etienne is always impressed. Molly acts impressed and always has words of encouragement for Etienne. Molly is such a nice girl. She is so sweet and caring when she plays with Etienne. Etienne thinks the world of her and it's sweet to watch them play together.

March 07, 2010 (066/365)

Dancing Machine
Recently Etienne has "Happy Feet". If music comes on the radio or television he is on his feet. Tonight he was wearing daddy's shoes to dance in. Those are some pretty big shoes to fill little man, but mommy has no doubt that you will one day grow up to be the strong, kind, smart, gentle, wonderful man that your daddy is.
Keep on dancing!

March 06, 2010 (065/365)

The Pteranodon Family aka The Daviet Family

Etienne refers to our family as the Pteranodon Family. This comes from one of his favorite shows, The Dinosaur Train. Occasionally he tells people that his last name Pteranodon. Last year for Halloween, of course he was a Pteranodon. While trick or treating, people would call him a dragon or dinosaur and he would politely correct them and tell them he was a Pteranodon.

Today we went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. What a fun family day. Lots of games, rides and smelly animals :) I manage to take many photos, which are sure to make it into scrapbooks, but my favorites of the day were taken at the Metro station where we had to park to take a shuttle to the rodeo. These were taken at the end of our rodeo adventure. Etienne was in a pretty good mood for not having a nap, but his behavior deteriorated quickly after our little photo shoot.

March 05, 2010 (064/365)

Wrinkly Toes
Oh, how I love those little toes of yours and when I took this photo I immediately thought of this song.

Getting out of the tub all drawn up like a raisin
Showed my fingers to my daddy while he was shaving
Said look at my toes dad what’s wrong with my skin
Will this go away, will I be normal again

Well he picked me up and set me down on the hamper
Wiped off his face while he gave me the answer
For the first time I noticed the lines in his grin
As he dabbed a little foam on the end of my chin, he said

Those wrinkles ain’t nothing to be scared of
They’re just a product of time and true love
Some are gonna come and go
Some are gonna come and stay
Son, you’re still young, you’re gonna be okay

Well, I walked down the hall
Saw my mom getting ready
For a long over due date, dinner with daddy
She was cussing those crows feet
Didn’t know I was listening
Started talking bout her younger years
And how much she missed them and I said

Those wrinkles ain’t nothing to be scared of
They’re just a product of time and true love
Some are gonna come and go
Some are gonna come and stay
Mom you still look young, you’re gonna be okay

As I get a little older, I’m starting to get a few
And I’m sure I gave mom and dad at least one or two
We’re all gonna have em, there ain’t no doubt
But those wrinkles in life ain’t nothing you can’t iron out

Those wrinkles ain’t nothing to be scared of
They’re just a product of time and true love
Some are gonna come and go
Some are gonna come and stay
I still feel young, I’m gonna be okay

Those wrinkles ain’t nothing to be scared of
They’re just a product of time and true love
~Diamond Rio~

March 04, 2010 (063/365)

Good Morning. Can We Play a Game?

At least you remembered to say good morning :)

You have that gotta have it, do it now attitude. I'm pretty sure you get that from me. Daddy tends to be a little more laid back and patient. Unless of course it involves electronics. You were bright eyed an bushy tailed this morning and insisted we play some games before breakfast. You even wanted the games before your milk. I knew this was serious. So it was awake at 6:50am and games by 7:00am. By 7:25 we were done playing Cars and Memory. It was a shutout. Etienne 2, Mommy 0.

March 03, 2010 (062/365)

Give Me an E

Tonight while I cooked dinner, Etienne sat at the table with his markers and paper keeping himself occupied. He would tell me what colors he was writing with and what he was drawing. He is getting pretty good at writing his letters and I take any chance I can to have him write them more and more. "Write mommy a big E". He certainly did. Not only was it an uppercase E, it was as big as half the page :)

March 02, 2010 (061/365)

I'm an Airplane

When we got home from swim and running around, Etienne asked if he could play outside before his nap. It was such a beautiful day, of course the answer was yes. We began our play time with flying a kite. That was short lived once the string broke. We were able to retrieve the kite, but decided to move on to bigger and better things...pretending to be an airplane. It's a good thing we have a big cul-de-sac. Etienne gets so preoccupied with things and really doesn't pay attention to his surroundings. This results in many banged heads, scraped hands and knees and embarrassing moments if it happens in front of other people. Thankfully, no accidents today. Notice though, he is soaring around, making his plane sounds and paying attention only to his shadow.

"I'm not afraid to fall
It means I climbed up high
To fall is not to fail
You fail when you don't try
I'm not afraid to fall
I might just learn to fly
And I will spread these wings of mine"

March 01, 2010 (060/365)

Snack Attack
This boy can snack you out of house and home. It starts every morning after his glass of milk. Etienne: "Mommy may I have a snack?"
Mommy: "No. You may have breakfast."
Etienne: "I don't want breakfast. I want a snack"
Mommy: "You can't have a snack. You can have breakfast."
Etienne: "I don't' like breakfast."
I can usually convince him to eat breakfast if a snack is to follow.
The snack requests begin again right before lunch time and follow after lunch time. Then again after his nap and after dinner.
He would snack all day if allowed. I'm pretty sure that he believes it needs to crunch to be considered a snack. Pretzels, goldfish, crackers, animal crackers, popcorn. Every once in a while fruit can be substituted for a snack. I try to keep cookies and sweets to a minimum. His most recent snack of choice is mini rice cakes. I guess it could be worse.
I just wish he would show as much enthusiasm towards his meals that he does for his snacks.