Holy Crap...

Double Underwear

2012-01-31T22:37:00.006-05:00

Ethan really needed a bath before school, but we did not have time so I told him to "at least put on a different pair of underwear." Tonight, we discovered that (no doubt due to the slight ambiguity in how I phrased the request) Ethan has been wearing 2 pairs of underpants all day...

Phineas and Ferb

2012-01-01T20:34:00.002-05:00

Thanks for Uncle Alvin, Aunt Dana and Audrey, we got to see Phineas and Ferb tonight as part of Ethan's Christmas present. So fun!

The Trains at NorthPark

2011-12-31T00:25:00.000-05:00

We avoided some of the crowds today by going to the train exhibit after Christmas. The kids loved the exhibit and pushing the little red buttons (to make the ice skaters skate, swingers swing, painters paint, etc.). Like last year, I think Ethan could have stayed in that room all day if we let him.

Alvin wanted to know if In-N-Out was as good in Texas as it is in California. Oh yes, it is!

My Favorite Little People

2011-12-26T14:04:00.004-05:00

Cousin Audrey is in town!

Vanessa (6), Ethan (4) and Audrey (5)

Aunt Dana surprised us on Christmas Eve and was able to come for Christmas too!

Christmas Letter 2011

2011-12-25T21:48:00.000-05:00

OK. First off, let'saddress the pink elephant in the room. If you are reading this on your computermonitor right now, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The truth of thematter is in these tough economic times, everybody has to cut back. Even thoughwe've enjoyed quality entertainment year after year, as the popularity greweach year so did the financial realities and eventually something had to give.All good things eventually come to an end so let me just address this “outloud” so we can all “move on” and enjoy the rest of this Christmas card.

“The Office” isTERRIBLE without Michael Scott.

Whew! It's great tohave that off my chest. I feel so much better now, don't you?!?

On a completelydifferent topic, we've decided to send our Christmas card electronically thisyear. It's nothing personal. It's justthat as the price of a stamp begins to approach the price of a gallon of gas,we decided we need to make a change before inflation gets us to the point wherepart of our annual holiday tradition includes choosing between “spreading someholiday cheer” and “being able to afford food.” This worked out great for me,because it gives me a little more time to write this letter. It's amazing howthis sneaks up on me every single year when pretty much my only otherholiday-related responsibilities are hiding our “Elf on the Shelf” when Gladiceforgets and watching YouTube videos of flash mobs singing Christmascarols.

Gladice is doing great.At work she continues her life long quest for the cure for cancer, and at homeshe continues her life long quest for the world's best cinnamon rolls. Thatreminds me.... Guys, if your girl ever mentions she's thinking about trying arecipe (ANY recipe) by someone named “Pioneer Woman” you should strongly encouragethis. In fact, I would even recommend you go out of your way to try to makethis happen. At a minimum, I would suggest subtle encouragements like lookingup the recipe for cinnamon rolls online and/or having it tattooed on yourforehead.

Ethan is 4 years oldnow, so apparently the laws of gravity and physics require our lives to revolvearound him. When I was single (or even newly married), I would have judged mefor this. See, as a young man who over the years spent literally thousands ofhours NOT interacting with children, I thought I knew everything therewas to know about raising children. One thing I knew for sure was I was NOTgoing to let “the kid thing” change my life like it did with ~~every parentover the entire course of history~~ some people I knew. I wish I could goback in time and talk to myself back then. I'd sit down with the Young Me,offer me a cup of coffee and low calorie snack (cause “Come on, dude, you'rekilling us.”) and we'd have a serious talk. I'd look me square in the eyes and I'dsay, “Listen to me carefully because what I'm about to tell you is VERYimportant. Raising a child is A LOT of work. Life will be a LOTeasier if you learn to embrace the changes...and if you invest heavily in AppleInc. ('AAPL').”

But we didn't investheavily in shares of Apple stock. Instead we chose to diversify a largepercentage of our assets into Thomas the Tank engine figurines. In fact, I justcounted and from this chair I'm currently sitting in I can see 22 differenttrain engines...and that's only a fraction of the “fleet”. I recognize thatI've mentioned Ethan's love for trains before in our annual Christmas letterand run the risk of sounding redundant by doing so again. Please don't judge mefor this. Remember, you've only had to merely READ twice about trains...imagine living it every.day.of.your.life.

This was a good yearfor us “vacationally” speaking (I know what you are thinking and my spellchecker agrees with you...”vacationally” is not a real word.) We went toRosemary Beach, Florida with a bunch of our friends and we went to Jamaica with abunch of our family. Both trips were amazing! We made some sweet memories andfeel incredibly blessed to have gotten to do both in one year. With so muchtime at the beach this summer, I came very close to actually getting a tan.

In addition to thebeach trips, Ethan and I attempted our own camping trip in our back yard. Wedid this before with our friends Mr. Josh and Luke, and Ethan still rememberedtwo years later so we decided to try it again this year with just the two ofus. I am not much of an “outdoorsman.” I inherited two things from my father. Asense of humor and ridiculously sensitive sinuses. So for the most part, theclosest we got to camping growing up was staying in some shady looking HolidayInns. So “camping” (even in our back yard) was a big step for me.

When I called Mr. Joshto see if I could borrow his tent, he told me (sensing the foreshadowing in hisstatement, I'm sure) that putting the tent together is “REALLY easy.” Josh isright though. Setting up a tent the first time IS easy to do...if you are aprofessional engineer. I'm sure my friend Andrew who has a degree inengineering would have had no issues at all setting up our little tent.Unfortunately, my degrees are in business so all I learned in school regardingsetting up tents is that it's probably going to be cheaper to outsource theproject to

India

Luckily, my (then3-year-old) son is WAY better at stuff like this than I am. He doesn't evenneed the instructions (which is good because he can't read them anyways.) Ethanseriously loves projects like this and seems to intuitively know how things gotogether. Between the two of us, we managed to get thetent up and the campout was awesome. We had great male bonding. Just the two ofus. Absolutely NO Girls allowed! No exceptions! (...except mommy.) We made“shmoobs.” “Shmoobs” is Ethan's word for what most people call “smores” butdon't try to correct him on this one. He knows he's right about thisand WILL fight you about it if he has to. In addition to making “shmoobs,” wedid other manly stuff like pee outside. Ethan LOVED this so he did it ALL thetime...which made the trip exciting because once it got dark out, he neverwanted to go more than 3 feet away from the tent. By the time our campout wasover (at 10:28 pm), my sinuses were inflamed, the ground around the front ofthe tent was soaked, and my son was dangerously dehydrated. Still, it was agreat memory and we will probably do it again some day.

If you are interestedin joining us, let us know and we'll make you a shmoob. Just be sure to wearwater proof shoes around the front of the tent.

Merry Christmaseveryone,

The Wallravens

www.facebook.com/#!/SweetiePhotography

Santa's Village

2011-12-18T22:54:00.001-05:00

We took our first trip to Santa's Village this evening. Amy helped coordinate Ethan getting to escort Santa to his home.

The new train display.

Lovin' all the little houses.

Back stage with Santa. So far not good.

At the fire engine in order to escort Santa to his house. A definite no go.

It was insane to see all of the kids going nuts over the bearded guy in red.

With a little candy cane magic (bribe), we got a couple of high-fives out of Ethan.

Thanks Santa for your patience.

Loving the cymbals!

And the sleigh ride!

Thanks Amy and Italo for a fun and memorable night!

Ethan's 4 Year Statistics

2011-11-20T10:05:00.001-05:00

We had had his four year well visit on Wednesday. We tried to prepare him for his shots, but not too much. I was so proud, Ethan too the shots like a champ. He was a bit sore afterwards and limped a little bit, BUT he was so proud of his camoflauge and Shrek band-aids :-). I was more concerned about Justin's empathy pains than Ethan's physical status.

Here are his stats:

41.6lbs
43 inches

According to Dr. Stanton, Ethan will be at least 6 ft tall at the rate that Ethan is growing. Probably the tallest on both sides of the family.

Conversations with Ethan

2011-11-10T16:54:00.001-04:00

Yesterday Ethan and I had to make a quick trip to Home Depot. (I drop that little bit of detail into the story hoping to create the impression that I'm morehandy than I actually am. The truth is I bought sponges.) Anyways, on what is AT MOST a 3 mile drive back home Ethan asked me 3 different times for milk. Each time Itold him I didn't have any in the car, but he could have some when wegot home. After the third time, I could not take it anymore.

“Ethan, you have asked me 3 times formilk and each time I told you I don't have any! The milk is at home!I will get you some as soon as we get home but if you ask me ONE MORETIME (dramatic pause between each of those words for parentaleffect), you will NOT get any milk when we get home. For the rest ofthis trip, I do not want to hear anything else about milk! DO...YOU...UN...DER...STAND?!?!”

Ethan (meekly) “I understand.”

After about 10 seconds of silence fromthe back seat, I was beginning to feel those emotions all to familiar to parents around the world. It's that emotional blendof guilt (for raising my voice) and satisfaction (that my words hadsunk in). Then my thoughts were interrupted by a voice in the back seat...

“Can I have JUICE?”

School Days

2011-11-08T22:49:00.003-04:00

Often times, Ethan is so excited about school, that he refuses to nap when he gets home. Often times, like this evening, we find him on this recliner.

This is the most upright that we have found him to date :-)

St. Judes Trike-a-Thon

2011-11-08T22:40:00.003-04:00

Ethan participated in his first event which called for sponsorship / pledges (aka asking for money). The St. Jude's Trike-a-Thon is an annual event at Ethan's school and this was the first year that he was old enough to participate. I've been secretly awaiting for this day for a couple of years now. The bike ride occurred last Thursday. The weather was pretty brisk, but by the time the race began, the sun was out to welcome the cyclers.

Getting lined up for the race track.

Justin caught some action shots and was proud to announce that Ethan rode really well, probably one of the fastest kids out there!

Pretty sure he would have kept going if his chain didn't come off.

King for One More Day

2011-11-08T22:38:00.002-04:00

Ethan's birthday celebrations went on through Wednesday, though we told him that they were over Monday. Here's a shot of him as King on Tuesday.

Birthday Play Group

2011-11-01T23:04:00.002-04:00

We had a little play group with Ethan's closest "guy" pals Monday morning. They literally had the whole place to themselves....quite a treat for all.

Ethan in the balls.

Justin in the balls

Justin very serious about golf.

Ethan not so much.

Luke was pretty focused on the game too.

Louie moving the boys to the larger play area.

good times!

Luke being so patient and waiting for the train to run.

Choo Choo!

Onto the animal rides! This visit - The Elephant.

I loved how Justin gave high fives as he went by.

We then wrapped up the afternoon with a long nap, woke up to open our presents and got in our Thomas costume for trick or treating.

This was the YEAR...where Ethan completely understood the concept of knocking on doors, begging kindly for candy and getting rewarded with a bucket of sugar. He loved it! After we "hit" the second house, Ethan ran from door to door knowing that candy was in sight.

Great birthday! Thanks to all our family and friends for making it so special.

Happy 4th Birthday, Ethan!

2011-10-31T16:39:00.002-04:00

Can't believe 4 years have passed. Happy Birthday to our sweet Ethan. Ethan is still very much into trains and asked for more trains to add to the collection. His fans did not disappoint.

We carved pumpkins this year during our family get together. The girls did Hello Kitty and the boys a puppy.

Some one DEFINITELY knew what to do when the birthday cake came out.

Cousin Vanessa helping to unwrap presents.

More trains!

Happy Halloween!

Biking

2011-10-24T21:31:00.004-04:00

Thankful for great fall weather and the neighbor kids, who have so much patience with Ethan as they ride their bikes.

Backyard Camping

2011-10-24T21:28:00.007-04:00

The boys went "camping" in the back yard on Friday night.

Ethan was so excited about the event. I think his natural tendency is to build and engineer, so Justin said he had a great time putting the tent together.

On the menu, hot dog on a stick and of course...smores or as Ethan call's them "schmoobs" (graham cracker and marshmallow sans chocolate)

I got in on the food (of course) and found myself getting suckered into the tent for book reading and a little nap.

Plano Fire Station Open House

2011-10-24T21:15:00.004-04:00

Our city had an open house of their fire stations a couple of weeks ago. So glad we went by.

Best part...

Thanks to our firefighters for letting us visit, answer our questions, and test out their toys. Since we've had to use their services in the past, we are so glad they are there to help us out when needed!

Dinner

2011-10-21T15:42:00.002-04:00

So many things wrong this picture. What made is laugh the other night was Ethan licking the ketchup off of his plate.

The State Fair of Texas 2011

2011-10-12T17:00:00.002-04:00

We had planned a few weeks back to go to the fair today. Things weren't looking too good as Ethan crept into the bed with us at 4 in the morning because he was afraid of the storms.

But the weather cleared up by mid day as the folks on Fox 4 promised.

Like last year we entered through Gate 9.

This was supposed to be a shot of the ferris wheel, but the gondola got in the way. Oh well, as Justin says, I'm sure you could find plenty of good shots of the ferris wheel :-)

We didn't tell Ethan where we were going until we turned onto I-30. He totally remembered us going last year. In fact he even asked about the train exhibit inside the greenhouse.

His choice in rides was either this race care ride or a safari train. Italo you must be inspiring our kid :-)

Justin wanted to take pictures of all the crazy foods out there this year.

Since it rained, there were little to no crowds involved. That meant that the animals were willing to eat the feed we bought this year.

This guy was so hungry that he decided to take the feeding cup with him.

Ethan enjoyed a snack while he watched the roller coaster do it's thing. He sooo wanted to be tall enough (54") to ride.

We decided that this would be our fried item to try this year.

The people in this booth obviously know what they are doing. They have either placed or won for 5 years in a row. And the buffalo chicken in a flapjack got two thumbs up from Justin and I. It would make for the perfect party appetizer!

These BMX stunt guys begin their shows at 2pm. I cannot imagine how hot are. We were hot just standing and watching.

Ethan being silly in his exhaustion.

So glad to have these memories with my boys.

Winner Winner!

2011-10-04T18:19:00.001-04:00

Ethan’s school conducts and participates in various fund raisers throughout the year. We try to participate whenever we can. One of the events that I really get into and get the whole office involved in is BoxTops4Education. You’ve probably seen the logo.

These guys are hidden on the sides of cereal boxes, Ziploc bags, refrigerated biscuits and much more. Last year the gals at the office pitched in and we brought in over 250 box tops. We came in second. This year, the competitor inside me blossomed…I wanted to beat last year’s numbers. So with everyone’s help at the office we brought in over 300 tops and got first place. I’m pretty sure Ethan doesn’t understand why he keeps getting a stuffed animal every year, but it sure is fun to see his face when he gets them.

He picked a Webkinz Fish as his prize

So, here is my plug:

If you see those little boxes on the side of your groceries, please take the time to cut them out and send them over to the Wallraven’s. Ethan’s school collects them all year round.

Conversations with Ethan

2011-10-02T21:55:00.000-04:00

So here's the setting: Tonight Ethan ate soup for dinner. He has been under the weather and informed us several times since yesterday afternoon that soup would "make me feel better." He had also mentioned he wanted to eat it because soup "has delicious flavors." This is an expression we have never heard him--or for that matter ANY 3 year old--say and may be an indication that we watch WAY TOO MUCH Food Network around here. But I digress...

So tonight Ethan finally got the soup that he had been asking for since yesterday so I (wanting to encourage his expanding vocabulary by using his new words in conversation) asked him "Does the soup have delicious flavors?" Since he had asked for soup probably 5 times since yesterday and I knew he was VERY excited about it, I was not expecting his reaction...

"No"

Then he whispered something to his mom that made her crack up laughing.

A little later Gladice told me he said "I really like it, but I don't want him to eat it."

...and so it begins.

Just Silly

2011-09-23T18:01:00.000-04:00

If you can't tell...these are oven gloves on his feet.

Tea and Tots

2011-09-23T17:58:00.002-04:00

Justin and Ethan got to join some friends this morning at a local nursing home to hang out with the folks there. I love that Julie had the idea of getting this coordinated. So good for all of us!

I love how well this "performance" turned out.

Bowl Head

2011-09-23T17:54:00.001-04:00

I've got a similar picture of Justin in a colandar I need to find and scan in...

Acolyte / Altar Boy in the Works

2011-09-22T17:52:00.000-04:00

So I grew up an Episcopalian (trying pronouncing that as a kid). One of the things that we did in church was serve as acolytes or some people call them altar boys. Justin peeked in on chapel time at school this week, and I was so tickled to see what Ethan got to do.

Receiving the candle snuffers from Pastor Borkhagen.

Snuffing out the candles after chapel.

Ethan and Audrey. Way to go guys!

Someone was proud of himself :-)

My recent conversation with Ethan.

2011-09-19T21:38:00.002-04:00

Me: “Ethan, you put your underwear on backwards.”

E: “No I didn't.”

Me: “Yes you did.”

E: (showing me the tag) “No, the tag goes in the back...SEEEEEE!?! ”

Me: “That's the front.”

E: “oh.”

Chapel

2011-08-22T10:44:00.004-04:00

Kelly - one of Ethan's BFF's from school's mom stayed for chapel on the first day of school. I'm so thankful because she gets the best candid pictures of those moments. She doesn't know it, but she is basically our guest blogger for this post :-) (The church is undergoing construction, so there will be trucks throughout the year between the school and chapel. 1) They will be making accommodations to stop construction while the kids are out and 2) Probably means that Ethan will get a peak at a work truck on school days. Fun for him.)

Luke and Ethan doing the buddy system on the way to chapel. There are only 7 kids in the class this year: 4 girls and 3 boys, so I imagine they will be getting very good at doing the buddy system together!

The class gets to sit in the 2nd row this year. Each class sings a song at the beginning. We sang "Jesus Loves Me" today.

Ethan, Samantha, and Mrs. Rowan. He was very good in chapel. Luke and Audrey...not so much.

This year's theme is Galatians 5:22-23 the "'Fruits of the Spirit'...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law." I don't know how the kids are going to remember all of these, but Pastor Borkenhagen said he will help them (and us) learn motions to go with each one, and by the end of the year, they'll be able to say them all (and maybe live them too). P.S. Did anyone notice his funny hat?

After chapel is over, we line up and get to high five or hug Pastor. Then we go back to class and play on the playground.

Not sure what Ethan was saying here, but he was really talking it up with Pastor!

Gym Camp

2011-08-19T09:40:00.004-04:00

Just dropped off Ethan at gym camp. As soon as he walked into the door, it was like a fish in water. I'm amazed at how they just "know" what to do with all the equipment.

One of his good friends, Annabelle is there too. It'll be so good for them to be there for one another.

I could barely get either one of them to stand still to take a decent picture.

First Day of Pre-School

2011-08-18T19:24:00.004-04:00

Ethan officially started "pre-school" today. As you can see, he was excited about going. I think it's because he remembered there were trains in the classroom when we went for open house :-). He's got a great teacher Mrs. Rowan. We enrolled him at the same place that he has been for Mother's Day Out and so far excited about what the year is going to bring. I am personally excited that his Tuesday / Thursday class has only 5 kids in the classroom - SCORE!

Day 1 and Ethan was already sent home with homework. Good thing pre-school homework means fun projects for Ethan and Mommy :-)

2011 Annual Kids Photo

2011-08-18T11:30:00.003-04:00

These kids are growing up waaaay too fast! It was evident when they lined up in two lines to walk into the photo shoot. They were obedient and so happy to be with each other. Love you friends!

Happy Saturday!

2011-08-13T18:19:00.007-04:00

Build and Grow at Lowes. We are really liking these Saturday morning projects.

Dallas Museum of Nature and Science - So many fun things to explore and make!

Cramer Family Reunion - First Airplane Trip

2011-08-06T17:40:00.005-04:00

We had the privilege of going on a vacation to Jamaica this past week. Justin's grandmother hosted a family reunion at Runaway Bay, Jamaica. We had a great time visiting with family members that we rarely get an opportunity to spend time with.

This was also Ethan's first trip on an airplane. He loved watching how the airport worked and did fairly well on the legs of our trip.

The beach! Again, though it was 100F outside, he would have stayed out all day in the sun and sand.

This is a picture of the resort from our room. Every room had a balcony and a fabulous view. The resort was huge!

This is a picture taken on a timer in a room. We look so tall :-) It makes me laugh so I thought I would post it.

Frisco Family Fun Ride Good Friends

2011-07-24T13:33:00.003-04:00

We have had a fun weekend with friends. Yesterday, we got to participate in the Family Fun Ride.Did you see the seriousness on his face?

Popscicles!

Pals Clay and Caleb. We wish we could have more time with you guys!

Indoor Safari Park - We love this place

2011-07-15T18:36:00.002-04:00

I "surprised" Ethan with a trip to Indoor Safari Park after swim lessons today. Little did he know that some of his best buddies would be there. It was also a wonderful break for me to be with good girl friends too. Thanks ladies.

Enjoy the blurry pictures. Again, proof (though the place was crazy packed during the first hour) that this place is perfect for this age group!

Swim Lessons Cont'd

2011-07-15T18:31:00.004-04:00

So Ethan has just been totally in love with his swim lessons till a couple of days ago, he swallowed some water and vomited a little. The swim instructors did a, not so great job, at reintegrating him back into the pool, so Ethan was rather apprehensive about going back today. We finally got him back in the water and he says that swim lessons are "awesome."...so hopefully we can continue on this positive streak through next week as well as through our courses in August.

Swim Lessons 2011

2011-07-11T11:28:00.003-04:00

We went back and forth this year as to whether we were going to go with private swim lessons or swim lessons from the recreational center. Things worked themselves out to where we ended up choosing the rec center.

Justin reported positive results...

Ready to swim. (This is the 2nd level class)

Listening and obeying Dalton
Ethan liked it!

Rewarded with time at the sprayground.

We'll update the blog with more pictures as the next two weeks progress.

First Major League Baseball Game

2011-07-10T00:52:00.002-04:00

And a memorable one at that!

We went to the Ranger's game today for my birthday. What a fun experience: the seats were great, the weather was mild for a Texas summer, Ethan did great, and Josh Hamilton finished the ninth with a 2 run walk off home run.

I think Ethan now expects fireworks at each baseball game :-). Thanks for the birthday gift boys!

Buzz Cuts

2011-07-07T23:51:00.003-04:00

BEFORE

AFTER

Toby doesn't even look the same. I love the soft fur that has now been revealed.

Frisco Safety Town

2011-07-02T01:08:00.004-04:00

Friday nights are family nights at Frisco Safety Town. Ethan and I had never been but had heard great things. So off we went. Such a fun place!

Indoor Safari Park

2011-07-02T01:03:00.002-04:00

Ethan and I have had some good one on one times the past couple of weekends. Here we are last weekend at Indoor Safari Park. I couldn't get a good picture because he was moving around so much. It was a great place for him to get some energy out...even better we got a reprieve from the Texas summer heat.

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T11:31:00.000-04:00

STOMP

2011-06-09T20:51:00.001-04:00

We had a special date night this week and got to watch STOMP again. I would highly recommend catching this show if you ever get a chance. It's so entertaining and amazing what these performers can do!

Dressing Ourselves for School

2011-06-09T09:45:00.003-04:00

Final result...

Digger Day

2011-06-03T15:11:00.003-04:00

Thanks for the heads up on Digger Day, Julie!

Ready for Summer!

2011-05-29T20:04:00.001-04:00

Happy Memorial Day! Thanks to all our soldiers who give us these freedoms.

Rosemary Beach

2011-05-19T16:36:00.011-04:00

We had the privilege of joining 8 families and 21 kids (6 years old and under) this past week on a beach vacation in Florida. This group of friends have been so important in our lives. We've been through single years, weddings, and now life with kids together. Two of the people in this group, Justin has known since kindergarten. All that to say, this was a really special time.
Some highlights of the trip, include:

watching fighter planes heading to Pensacola

Playing in the sand and water with some of our best buds.

The joy the kids had playing in the water was priceless to watch.

Digging holes and building castles

Look to the left of Justin's eye and the menu the waiter is holding. This is my papparazi shot of Michael W. Smith. I spotted him while we were having dinner one night. Justin spared Smitty from my geekdom. They were having some sort of a family celebration dinner, so I didn't approach him...but it was lots of fun to be so close to fame.

The traditional white shirt photograph at sunset on the beach. Check out the green dump truck in Ethan's hand. He picked up that toy off the beach every opportunity that he could. I also love how we both have a grip on him. Ethan didn't really care about getting a family picture as much as mommy did :-)

This is my current wallpaper on my computer. We shared a house with two families and I was so impressed and how well these guys did together all week long.

Six kids that lived in the house together.

Evenings ended sweetly with some fun treats from the Sugar Shak.

Crab Hunting Night

Here is my catch! I lucked out an skimmed my net in the water to catch this gal.

More attempts at trying to catch a family photo opportunity.

All the dads in our group.

Are we having fun yet?

Kite flying

The water was a bit chilly but the perfect size waves for the kids to play in.

Justin and Ethan gave boogie boarding a whirl.

Gorgeous sunsets

Happy Mother's Day!

2011-05-08T12:41:00.001-04:00

Fabulous way to start the day! Thank you boys!
Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful ladies out there!

Justin's First 5k

2011-04-30T12:54:00.006-04:00

Today Justin ran an entire 5k today for the first time. And it was my first time to run the whole way (well, with the exception of about an 1/8 of a mile). So it was a huge milestone for both of us.

FINISH LINE!

A big thanks to Jay, Kathi, Vincent, and Tom for pushing and cheering us along. both physically and emotionally.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T14:02:00.003-04:00

The little things we get to enjoy in life because of the big thing that happened.

Last Day of T-Ball Practice

2011-04-16T13:30:00.004-04:00

We had to carb-load for practice. Priority in carb-loading are the sprinkles, of course. Up to bat

Ethan did surprisingly well in the outfield today.

I think it's because he was able to run off all of the sugar, I mean carbs :-)

Ethan had to sit in time out less than 3 minutes after waking up.

2011-04-15T10:35:00.000-04:00

It had to be some kind of a record. Anyways, after sitting (and crying) in time out for several minutes, he finally settled down and he and his mommy discussed the situation. I thought this was pretty sweet.

I love my family.

My Favorite Season in Texas: Bluebonnets

2011-04-09T15:43:00.003-04:00

We missed them last year, due to our busy schedule, but I'm so glad we caught them this year.

Ethan took this one with the time. Pretty decent shot for a 3 year old.

We finally put our tripod to use.

Conversation Overheard Tonight

2011-04-06T00:14:00.002-04:00

While putting Ethan to bed tonight, I heard the following interchange: Ethan: I got a booger. Justin: Don't eat it! Do you eat your boogers? Ethan: No Justin: What do they taste like? Ethan: Yummy, pizza! Thought that was a memorable one to post! Bet you'll never eat pizza in the same way again.

First Day of T-ball

2011-03-26T13:39:00.003-04:00

We were so excited this morning to go to our first t-ball lesson.

Warm-ups with the coach. Ethan was a bit overwhelmed at first but slowly got the hang of things.

I think he aspires to be a catcher, or like me, doesn't really like too much attention.

He did pretty well in catching the ball a few times.

Ethan's Debut???

2011-03-24T01:07:00.006-04:00

I've had some issues getting this video to post, so I'm thrilled that I am finally able to get it on the blog. This is the church in which Ethan goes to Mother's Day Out. They asked if we would be available for him to sing on this particular Sunday morning and we couldn't resist the opportunity to see what he would do. My favorite part is towards the end.

King of the Back Yard

2011-03-22T00:19:00.002-04:00

We often find our new family member in this position. I'm pretty sure he gets up there in one leap directly off of the ground. I'm also sure that he looked directly at me knowing I was taking a picture...posing.

Training for the Tour de France

2011-03-01T21:51:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the Family - Toby!

2011-02-28T23:50:00.005-05:00

Introducing the newest addition to the Wallraven Family. This little guy formerly known as Fritz is Toby Wallraven. He's a schnauzer mix adopted from the pound less than two weeks ago. We've had a very rough start in that we found out he had parvo last week. Since the, he's had a remarkable recovery.

I'm also happy to report that he and Houston are starting to play together. All those years of Houston messing around with the big dogs. It's now his turn to have a puppy in the house teasing him.

We look forward to many more years to come!

Saturday with a $1 kite from the dollar store

2011-02-19T23:25:00.000-05:00

Best dollar we ever spent.

Fondue Date Night

2011-02-19T23:10:00.000-05:00

This was actually a spur of the moment picture with literally no staging whatsoever. Even my wife's sexy "hand modeling" was by accident. If I would have moved over an inch to the left, you would have seen my leftover shrimp tails laying on the table and 3 inches to the front and you would have seen my dirty plate that I was eating off of.

Still, this picture turned out great as did our date night.

BTW, unbelievable filling...fondue is.

Fun Pictures!

2011-02-09T18:00:00.001-05:00

Today it snowed again. In keeping with our latest "Snow Day Traditions" we continued our quest to ~~throw away my stuff~~ de-clutter the house. Today we uncovered a disk containing a bunch of Gladice's bridal pictures. I thought it would be fun to post them on the blog for the sake of posterity and to show the friends we've made since our wedding seven years ago ~~how smokin' hot my wife is~~ some of Gladice's bridal photos.

It's been a great 7 years, baby!

Flashback

2011-02-09T11:26:00.007-05:00

Thought it would be fun to go back in time. Check out some pictures from February today through 2007.

TODAY

February 8, 2010

February 9, 2009

January 2008

February 2007

Snow Fun

2011-02-04T15:03:00.003-05:00

Getting ready to go out. Since we don't have a real coat (since I'd grow out of it too quickly), Mommy bundled me up in 4 layers. I was a trooper about getting all that stuff on and off, but I felt like Ralphie's brother from Christmas Story.

Mommy showed me how to make a snow angel.

I made a go of it, but didn't quite grasp the full concept of flapping my wings.
Here I am getting some snowballs together with Daddy.

Papa got Mommy with a few snowballs.

I just like to eat the snow.

Mommy and Papa made an asian snowbot. (Daddy's woodchips for eyes.)

I tried to eat some snow off of Daddy's car.

Houston loves the snow too!

Ice and Snow Days

2011-02-04T10:50:00.002-05:00

We've had some amazing weather this week and due to ice and below freezing temperatures, we haven't left the house since Monday.

Here's the payoff for being homebound for 3 days. Check out the amount of snow we got. It started around midnight last night and has yet to stop.

Someone was pretty excited to see the snow. I'm sure we'll go out for some snowballs later in the day.

Potty Training Round 2

2011-01-31T09:43:00.003-05:00

The past couple of weeks have been a ton of fun. Ethan's really been getting the hand of this potty training business, often times telling us when he needs to go pee or poo. This picture tells it all.

Another Shutterfly Opportunity - Valentine's Day

2011-01-29T10:21:00.003-05:00

So here is another opportunity to receive some free Shutterfly cards.

Shutterfly is offering 25 4x5 cards when you share about what Valentine's Day means to you.

To me, Valentine’s Day a fun holiday where we get to express love to the ones we love. It has been fun getting doted on by Justin on these days. We’ve enjoyed Valentine’s Day in simple and creative ways (scavenger hunts, picnic lunches, and flowers). I’ve enjoyed the time together, not really getting into the commercialization of day.

I look forward to sharing some times with Ethan creating cards and gifts for our friends. He’s been getting into gluing crafts these days, so we’ll probably order cards as well as make some crafts for our family and friends.

I hope to get some fun photos for Ethan for some cute photo cards. We’ve used the photo cards in the past for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, thank you cards, birthdays and of course Christmas cards.

I’ve enjoyed the options that Shutterfly offers and the quality of the products I’ve used. The best part about this deal, one lucky blog reader will get the opportunity to get 25 free cards too! Who can say no to FREE?!

Sewing

2011-01-23T15:13:00.003-05:00

I've been getting into some handcrafts lately. Mostly appliques on onesies, burp cloths and baby blankets. I have done a poor job of taking pictures of my projects. I started a project last night that has been long awaited, (by me at least). Joann's had their winter sale and so I went after it. (Nathalie, I couldn't find the browns...but I'll try to find some next time).

Here is the first of few, I hope...I was planning on giving it away since Justin thinks the owls look a bit creepy. But it seems like somone else has already claimed it as "my owl."

Ethan's growing up...2 changes around here this week

2011-01-20T11:57:00.001-05:00

This week Ethan learned to pee pee in the potty. We bribed him with M&M’s so he not only goes…he goes OFTEN. Typically 3-4 times an hour when we are home. Poor kid is going to be massively dehydrated (and fat) if we keep this up.

What’s funny is despite all the reps he’s getting in each hour, he’s still making some rookie mistakes. For example, it’s not uncommon for him to feel the urge and get so excited he forgets what order in which to do things. Yesterday, the urge hit and he got so wound up (I swear I could actually SEE M&M’s in his eye balls) that he immediately dropped his pants to his ankles and took off his diaper. The problem was he wasn’t anywhere near the bathroom so he ended up waddling bare butt (like a penguin cause he's pants were around his ankles) all the way across the house to get to the bathroom. I laughed cause 1) it was funny and 2) I got to feel a little like King Solomon.

"Remember, my son, and let my words sink deeply into your soul for they will serve you well all the days of your life: 'Walk to the bathroom...and THEN pull down your pants!' "

We also reached another milestone. I took down the baby gates today. Since Ethan figured them out a while back, the only real purpose they served was to give my wife something to walk into on a fairly regular basis. The poor girl has had bruises on her thighs for the last 2 years because of those gates so she isn’t sad to see him go.

I am. Our little boy is growing up too fast.

I should have thought of this a long time ago (evil laugh!)

2011-01-15T13:25:00.001-05:00

The funny thing is that he loved it. He wouldn't give it back.

Guess Who Pee Peed in the Potty Again?

2011-01-13T23:16:00.002-05:00

I think he's been holding out on us. Ethan voluntary went last night and was rewarded with an M&M.

Tonight, he had a weird look on his face and I asked him if he was going pee pee in his diaper. His reply was "no." So I followed up and asked, "Do you want to go pee pee in the potty?" His response was, "what will I get?"

Amazing the incentive one M&M can provide :-)

Snow 2011

2011-01-09T23:32:00.003-05:00

I love the annual day long TX snow :-) Ethan's been lucky enough to see snow stick to the ground every year of his life. This year, he begged to go out in his pajamas.

So after a few minutes of Mommy getting him bundled up, he got to have some fun!

see how the waterproof gloves came back into play ;-)

Yummy....Smoothies

2011-01-02T17:39:00.000-05:00

My Boys: Their Obsessions

2010-12-30T16:08:00.004-05:00

Ethan's into trains.
Justin's into grills.

Sometimes....

Ethan's into grills ;-)

Christmas 2010 Photos

2010-12-28T10:54:00.005-05:00

Some of my favorite pictures from our weekend in Little Rock. Ethan had a blast and really caught on to the concept of Christmas, Baby Jesus' birthday, and opening presents.

Thanks to Kaki he had Duplos and Thomas the Trains to entertain him.

Cool remote control race cars from Papa and Kaki.

Pure joy! (unfortunately Ethan was moving around so much, that the picture ended up a bit fuzzy...but you get the gist)
After playing with all of the cousins, he literally passed out from all of the fun.
Opening Colin the Crane (again)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2010-12-25T11:59:00.001-05:00

"Ethan, Christmas is coming."

2010-12-22T16:28:00.000-05:00

Me: "Ethan, Christmas is coming up."
Ethan (eyes light up and smiles): "Yeah!"
Me: "Do you like Christmas?"
Ethan (bigger smile): "YEAH!"
Me: "Are you excited?"

Ethan (stops smiling and looks at me like I'm crazy): "No. I'm Ethan."

Sneaky Sneaky

2010-12-22T10:47:00.002-05:00

We've been trying to figure out what Ethan wants for Christmas...a gift that he would like, that other family members have not yet purchased for him. Last Saturday, I took him to the toy store to see if I could interest him in something outside of "Thomas the Train." Of no surprise, the entire time we were in the store, he kept wanting to go back to the engines.

So Justin and I talked that night, decided that he could get the train piece that Ethan had asked for at the store that night...and would put the rest of what we had budgeted for Ethan into his college fun.

The train piece, "Colin the Crane" came in the mail yesterday. I wrapped up the present, thinking Ethan didn't know what was inside. I put it in a box with the other presents that we are taking to Kaki and Papa's house.

Fast forward to this morning and Ethan wanders off. We ask him to come into our bedroom, but he didn't respond...and then we hear it...THE RIP....amazing how he knew and by the way, knew that he was guilty for opening the box early too.

Needless to say, the boxes of gifts including Colin the Crane is now stashed in the back bedroom behind a closed door.

~Merry Christmas 2010~

2010-12-21T14:48:00.007-05:00

(click onto letter to enlarge)

"I've got a booger in my ear."

2010-12-01T19:10:00.000-05:00

I've got no comment to make. Just want to get this one down for the sake of posterity. Ethan, you are a funny kid.

Thanksgiving Moose

2010-11-30T23:10:00.002-05:00

Mommy is so thankful for fun, inexpensive, foam crafts :-)

Thanks Kaki

2010-11-30T23:07:00.003-05:00

Future Thespian?

2010-11-30T23:00:00.002-05:00

Testing Out Camera Settings

2010-11-30T22:54:00.005-05:00

Was just playing with our camera's Kids and Pets setting tonight. Somehow came up with these...

Another Shutterfly Deal - $25 Gift Card

2010-11-25T18:19:00.002-05:00

Couldn't pass up another opportunity for FREE stuff. This time, Shutterfly is giving a $25 gift card to those who share a project on their blog.

This is the card we made for Justin this past Father's Day.

Paper Hearts Father's Day 5x7 folded card

Unique party invitations and announcements by Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

This is how you go about getting your gift card:

1. Login to Shutterfly
2. Click on “My Shutterfly” in the top menu
3. Click on “View all projects” under “My Projects”
4. Select a project by clicking on the circle above the project title that you want to share (don’t click on the project itself)
5. Click on “Share Project” in the righthand menu
6. Type in “Title” and “Description” for your project (does not get included if you just embed the widget code)
7. Go to the “Next” step
8. Now you’ll see all the details of this promo, including the email address to send your blog post link to in order to get your $25 gift certificate.
9. Pick your embed method: Blogger or Widget Code (I got the widget code to use on my WordPress blog)
10. Don’t forget to email Shutterfly after you post your project!
This offer ends on January 31 and your $25 gift certificate will expire on February 15.

Thanks to Freebies 4 Mom in sharing this offer.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T11:40:00.003-05:00

Gobble Gobble to All! So thankful for these guys! So incredibly thankful for a laid back turkey day too!

Daddy, where do pulled pork sandwiches come from??

2010-11-23T14:27:00.004-05:00

Son,
I'm glad you came to me with this question. I've been looking forward to this conversation for a long time. You are growing up so fast and I finally think you are old enough to know the full story.

When a mommy and a daddy REALLY love each other, the mommy tells the daddy he can have something he has always wanted…

This is very exciting to the daddy because it's one of his favorite things to do. That's why sometimes things start to really heat up at night…

And if they don't get it on till really really late…

They'll be cookin' till morning…

And 9 hours later, something wonderful comes out…

When it first comes out, it doesn’t look right. It needs to be cleaned up.

After a lot of work, it starts to look a lot better.

But it’s still very tender so we’ve got to take good care of it. For instance, it’s important to keep it covered.

They love games…Peek-a-boo!

It’s a lot work, but totally worth it. How can you resist an open face (har) like that?!?

I hope this answers all your questions. I know this is a very confusing time for you. I want you to know I’m hear if you have any other questions.

"Thanks, Daddy...so where do babies come from?"

I don't feel comfortable talking about that...Go ask your mother.

Young Love

2010-11-20T22:20:00.001-05:00

"If you go poopoo in the potty, you'll get a piece of chocolate..."

2010-11-19T23:35:00.000-05:00

Poor guy nearly blew a blood vessel in his forehead trying to get that chocolate. :)

Mom said the Silly Bands will glow in the dark

2010-11-17T10:02:00.000-05:00

Trust, but verify!

Guess which one Ethan named the "daddy pig"?

2010-11-17T09:57:00.000-05:00

Dang it!

I realize he goes by size order (and not mammary functions) but still! A ginormous PIG?!?! REALLY CHILD??!?!? Dang it!

;-)

Dallas Zoo

2010-11-11T17:25:00.003-05:00

Thanks to all of our soldiers who protect us and give us the freedoms we have today.

Because of Veteran's day, our friends were able to take off work and invited us to the zoo. The weather was perfect and the new exhibit Giants of the Savannah was awesome.

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Thanks Kyle and Sherah! I can't believe we've only known each other for months. We look forward to many more years together.

Ethan's 3 Year Photos

2010-11-10T16:43:00.003-05:00

So here is a sneak peak of Ethan's 3 year photos. I'm lovin' them so far and can't wait to see the rest. If you need so pictures taken of you or your family, give Sherah a shout. She's super talented and the price is unbeatable.

Free Shutterfly PhotoCards

2010-11-09T20:23:00.004-05:00

I love getting real mail in our mailbox. One of the things I come home to is free stuff that I've mailed in for and I'm looking forward to the days of Christmas cards to come.

Here are some links to items that can be ordered for Christmas:

One online site that I've enjoyed using is Shutterfly.com. Right now, they have a great deal where you blog about their company and they will send you credit to order 50 cards. I can never pass up free. So check them out. I've always been impressed with the quality of photos and cards that I've ordered from them. Some of you guys will probably see the results of these free cards in conjunction with Ethan's 3 year photos at Christmas time. If you want to know about their current free offer, check it out here. Thanks Kristen for the tip!

Following Instructions...not so much. ;)

2010-11-08T17:29:00.001-05:00

Every Monday, Ethan and I go to “Tumble Tykes/Gymnastics” class at the local recreation center. Ethan is pretty good at the class so he likes to show off a bit, but in this particular session he is the only boy in a classroom full of very sweet and VERY docile little girls who giggle at every silly thing he does. The un-Asian half of Ethan VERY much enjoys being the center of attention so a room full of laughing women is like pouring gasoline on the fire. We will probably have to have a talk about that someday, but frankly I don’t know how helpful my advice will be. After 7 years of marriage, I still work VERY hard on a daily basis to get his mom to laugh at me.

The more attention Ethan gets from "the giggle-boxes," the less inclined he is to listen to instructions from the teacher who (being a mom of 5) did eventually get E back in line, but not before I snapped this picture.

Ethan was told to “Sit on your bottom and face the front of the room.” This was the result…

We're so proud of our little obedient child. ;)

2 Year Statistics

2010-11-02T22:20:00.002-05:00

Ethan had his 3 year appointment. We thought he was free and clear of shots, but he actually had one that he was scheduled for. Much to our surprise, he took it like a champ!

Here are his 3 year stats:

Weight 34 lbs 77 percentile
Height 39.5 inches 91 percentile

Happy Halloween-Birthday!

2010-11-01T21:58:00.005-05:00

Guess what this year's theme was in our house? There were hints of it in the last post.

Here's a shot of Ethan, I mean Thomas when we first got the costume. I like this shot because it shows the full costume.

Here he is on Halloween / birthday night. Ready for some Trick or Treating.

Our coordinating pumpkin for the year.

Trick or treating with the cousins. Unfortunately the camera on the phone gave the kids some pretty scary looking eyes.

On the move...

Yep, another cake.

Happy 3rd Birthday Ethan!

2010-10-30T23:22:00.013-04:00

Happy Birthday to our boy! The past three years have flown and we've been so blessed.

Our celebrations started on Wednesday night when we attended Northwest Bible's Fall Fest. We got to do some of our favorite activities:

Pony Rides

"Train" Rides

Petting Zoo

On Thursday the kids at school celebrated his birthday and today, we got to spend is with some of our best friends and family. Thanks to all who were able to make it.

Even the big boys joined in on all the fun!

The CAKE. Can you tell what Ethan's been into the past two years? Thomas the Train has been a big part of his life. Thanks again to Mary King for making a wonderful cake: cute and super tasty!

Birthday boy blowing out the candles. He was so serious about making sure he got it right.

What fabulous helpers! Aren't they adorable!?

Opening up all the loot!

Good bye 2 year old! You are such a good kid (98% of the time). Daddy and I predict that you will be ENTP on the Meyers-Briggs personality test (when you take it). Some tidbits for Mommy and Daddy to remember in the future:

You still love your milk. You take down 3 gallons a week.
You are tall for your age (stats to come on Nov 2 well visit).
You are a night owl. There are many nights that you stay up till midnight "reading" your Tag Junior books.
I melt when you say stuff like "I need my Mommy.", "Will you lay down with me?", "Mommy can you play with me?"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!

Texas State Fair 2010

2010-10-12T16:56:00.004-04:00

HOWDY FOLKS! I took the day off today to introduce both Justin and Ethan to the State Fair of Texas.

I hadn't been myself in quite a few years, but have fond memories of school field trips to the Big D.

One of our stops was the train exhibit in the Greenhouse. Here is little Tex. We didn't make it around the entire fairgrounds to see Big Tex.

One of the highlights for Ethan was getting up on these tractors.

I think it was one of Daddy's highlights too.

Petting Zoo

See that dollar store shovel in Justin's hand. It soon became an obsession for Ethan to play with the shovels vs. checking out the animals.

Ethan really took to this little camel.

Last but not least, let us not forget our fried foods...

Our future belly-aches this year was the funnel cake and fried oreos.

Road Trip to Denver

2010-10-05T22:27:00.008-04:00

We took a road trip to Denver for Andi and Russ' wedding. We broke the trip up to where we stopped over in Amarillo on the way there and back. That made it the drive more bearable for us all, especially for Ethan.

Ethan soon made friends upon our arrival Friday evening.

Ethan, Heidi and Jen

New beautiful friend Sophie and Karen

Thanks to Andi for this gigantic lollipop. It bought us a little more time to visit with friends before Ethan cried out "I'm done" for the third time.

Some wonderful girl friends from college. I felt like I "grew-up" with these ladies through some good times at Southwestern. It'd been five years since we last got together. Five years is too long!

Heidi, Amy, Karen, Me, and Jen
The wedding itself was really a celebration. Andi and Russ threw a great party and we felt like we were 20 again...we danced all night! (and I'm not 20 anymore...proven by the sore calves the next day :-))

Jen, Karen, Andi, Amy, Heidi and I

"Happy Birthday" as Ethan would put it.

We had the priviledge of getting to stay with Justin's uncle and aunt. We were able to hear some good family stories and Ethan and I got the opportunity to get to know them better.

Lynn, me, Justin and Mark at Red Rocks Amphitheather

The last couple of days in Denver, Ethan asked about the house and Houston more than once during the day. It was obvious he was starting to get homesick. When we got home this evening, he was like a kid in the toy store. He played and ran around all night long pointing to "my bed," "my chair," etc. He's obviously glad to be home.

It's good to be home, but I sure do miss seeing those mountains!

Like Father Like Son

2010-09-20T22:51:00.003-04:00

I have recently allowed Ethan to play games on my phone. It's amazing how quickly he has caught on to the memory and puzzle games. Without showing him, he has figured out how to unlock my phone, start games, and even get to the home page to go from one game to another. Look at how a two year old manuvers an iPhone confirms that Steve Jobs created an intuitive smart phone.

Another recent event is that Justin got an iPhone 4G. It's like his second wife (as Nathalie woud state).

Plano Balloon Festival 2010

2010-09-20T22:37:00.002-04:00

It was just E and I heading out to the balloon fest this year. We had a full Saturday and Justin felt a cold coming on. By Sunday, he wasn't feeling well, sluggish and achy. Ethan and I took Melissa's advice and headed out to the balloon lauch early. Good thing we did because they aired the balloons and decided that due to a storm approaching, that they couldn't launch.

Our favorite this year was the mushroom. It was also cool that they let everyone onto the field to look at the balloons up close.

Here's a little footage of Ethan. This is his opinion of "hot" air balloons.