Discoveries of a Wagon Ride

One of the things I like most about having children is that they force you to re-discover the simple things in life that have become boring to us adults. On Monday during our walk we noticed some dandelions and Ethan learned how much fun they are.

Here he is nearly turning blue trying to blow those seeds off:
Here's the smile my dandelion blowing is rewarded with:
Here's Ethan voluntarily offering to share his newfound treasure with Luke:
Here's Luke preferring to stuff his mouth full of crackers rather than touch this strange plant:
Here's both boys done with Monday's dandelion discovery and ready to go home:

Our New Floor!

As many of you know (or have witnessed), Ethan has a hyper-gag reflex, which means he throws up extremely easily and often. So, after 2 1/2 years of scrubbing the low-quality, almost-white carpet in the downstairs of our condo, I was ready for a change. Here are some pictures our new wood laminate flooring. These pictures aren't the greatest (I took them at night, when the toys finally get put away), so the color of the maple isn't quite as yellow as it appears, but you get the idea. Best of all, the mess wipes right up. Goodbye carpet cleaners, goodbye stains!

Introducing Mr. Luke Potatohead

At least this set of front teeth are closer together than his are!

Little Helper

There's no household task that Ethan believes he's unable to help with. He loves nothing better than to wind in a screw when Will is assembling a new toy, or throw clothes into the washing machine for me. And, he won't be placated with a pretend hammer when Will is using the real thing. Usually all this "helping" results in a lot of re-doing for us, however, we discovered on Saturday that Ethan is an expert car washer.

January Blues

Top 5 Reasons Why I Hate January:

5. My car insurance is due.

4. My Christmas decorations never fit back into the boxes the way they did the previous year. And, just when I think I've finally got them all put away, I discover that Ethan has hidden half of the nativity set in various toy boxes around the house.

3. My calendar is wide open: No parties, no baking days, no out-of-town visitors filling up every spare minute of the month. Instead, all of the Dr./Dentist/Hair appointments I put off until "after the holidays" are upon me.

2. I miss Egg Nog.

1. I had to finally break down and stop listening to my James Taylor Christmas CD. It's excellent, by the way, if anyone is looking to buy a Christmas CD in January.



As I was bemoaning to Will that nothing good ever happens in January, he kindly reminded me that our first date was in January . . . something good to think about until this month is over and we can start into Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend celebrating in February!

Baby Max

Here are some pictures of Max Bollard, our first nephew! Max is now almost three weeks old. We can't wait until we get the chance to meet him in February. From pictures, we think Max is looking like Tori. What a cutie! With proud Daddy, Joe.

Finally!

I'll spare you all the boring details, but it's been 20 days since I first encountered technical difficulties and was last able to access this blog. After many frustrating self-help attempts, numerous readings of the blogger help menu, and Beth & Annie's suggestions, I'm finally back! A million thank-you's to Nick from the Blogger support team for sorting out the problems and returning us to the wonderful world of blogging (basically, the moral of the story is never, ever forget your username & password while trying to move your blog over to the new Google version)!.

Now, I'm sure you've all been waiting with baited breath to see what we've been up to in January. New posts to follow . . .

Getting Their Ears Lowered

Here's a rare moment for you: both Bollard boys scrubbed clean, smelling good, with their freshly-cut hair combed, AND looking in the same direction. This is when I start to think I have two little angels :)
Ta Da! My mom had my curly brown locks cut off!
A typical scene: Ethan concentrating intently on a show with his blankie in hand, Luke trying to kick Ethan off of the couch, Will hoping for a moment to relax and trying to ignore them both (at least until Ethan starts crying about getting kicked), and me trying to snap a picture of it all!

Welcome Maxwell Stratton Bollard!

Today was a very exciting day for the Bollard family! Will's brother Joe and his wife Tori welcomed their first child into the world around 12:35 pm today. Max weighed in at 7 lbs. 3 oz. and 19 1/2 inches. Tori's labor went smoothly and she is recovering well. According to Grandma Bollard, Max is a good blend of both parents with a little bit of dark hair. We are so happy to have our first nephew and Ethan & Luke's first cousin! Congratulations Joe & Tori. We can't wait to meet Baby Max!

Up next are Ben & Heidi who will give us cousin #2 (a BOY, of course) in May!

Fun with Finger Paints

Crayola Colorwonder Fingerpaints might possibly be my new favorite invention (after the invention of the epidural and the chipping hammer we used to demo our tile, of course). How else can a kid have a completely fun time fingerpainting with virtually no mess?! Here's Ethan trying this out for the first time. Even I had fun "helping" him stay in the lines. Thanks for the fun gift Aunt Danielle!