We all scream for Ethan... to stop screaming!

Ethan is quite the little man these days. His hair doesn't grow, it explodes from his head in every direction. He is loud... I mean, Eli has always been a pretty loud kid, but Ethan just blows him out of the water, and it is awful. He screams when he's sad, screams when he's scared, shrieks when he's having fun, and (I'm pretty sure) shrieks just to get on my nerves. It works! When he is particularly sad I ask him if he needs to go to time-out, which he often says "yes" to and then walks himself over to the stairs and pulls himself together, then is back at 'em; when he is obnoxiously shrieking I ask if he needs time-out and he says "no" and runs away to shriek somewhere else.

Seriously, the "no" is going to kill me, I can't believe how much he says it! I don't want it to be a power struggle when he is defying me, so I look him dead in the eye and tell him, "you say 'okay mommy'"... and pretty much that gets me another "no" and a runaway toddler. I'm trying not to take it too seriously right now, and that's the last-child syndrome in play right there - you can bet your bottom dollar I was correcting that behavior with every ounce of energy I had when Patrick was this age! But now... meh. He'll get over it, and I'll go have some chocolate while contemplating how I hope he doesn't turn into a juvenile delinquent.

Still being my one and only baby he has the run of my lap and my hip. I did NOT carry anyone else around when they were two, they just had to fend for themselves while I took care of the next sweet and precious usurper of their baby-hood throne, but Ethan has not been usurped! Luckily for me he still loves to snuggle, and I love being snuggled, so he nestles himself right in... and then gets huffy because my long hair is obviously in his way! He tries to push it over my shoulder, preferably back behind BOTH shoulders so no strays tickle his nose, and even better yet, mom should wear ponytails 24/7 for maximum snuggle-ability. I think it's cute.

Also cute: he started using the word "beautiful." He has so far called Caroline beautiful, our neighbor boys beautiful, and his matchbox cars beautiful. I think he just applies it to things he really likes.

He wants to help me bake and cook, so I have to sneak in my baking while he naps (usually 12ish-2ish), and when he's awake I stiff-arm the chair he's struggling to jam up to the stove so he can help me (i.e., burn his fingers on a hot pan and cry for the next hour). It's interesting. In lieu of the battle we have started a routine of one episode of Bubble Guppies before lunch and dinner (it's the perfect amount of time to boil a pot of noodles or make a side of rice), so I my cooking remains unsullied and his fingers can remain un-burned. It works.

And that's about it for Ethan! Here he helped quality control taste-test Caroline's birthday cake.

The day's not over until you've worn something completely ridiculous, like racquetball goggles.