Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde

Lately we've discovered that there are two sides to Ethan's personality. There's the sweet, tender, lovable side and then...there's the mischievous side. For example, he loves to give kisses to any baby that comes near him. At church, he literally grabs any baby walking by to give them hugs and kisses. We waves and blows kisses to random people wherever we go. He blew kisses to a lady in Ikea and she just melted. She said it totally made her day.

On the other hand, there's a little bit of a stinker brewing within. The latest trick has been hiding food in his highchair so that we think he's eaten his dinner. He used to throw it on the floor which he knew we weren't happy about. So, he got smart and started stashing it in his chair or, the latest, down his shirt. Also, he's been avoiding bedtime lately and will do anything to stay up. The other night we had done our whole sleep routine and were ready for bedtime when he started whining and pointing at the door. When he realized that I wasn't going to take him out, he started pointing at his books - in hopes that it would delay bedtime. He's very clever!

Below are a few pictures from the past week or so that we thought were pretty cute!

Ethan takes a bath. He loves trying to drink the bath water and having mommy sing the rubber duckie song.

Jen holds a squeaky clean little boy!

Ethan and Jen at a restaurant with Blake's family and grandma who was in town visiting.

Ethan claps with pleasure. He's so proud of himself!

Four Generations of Chapman Lineage

Ethan's great-grandmother, Eve, and his great-uncle Robert came up for the weekend from Illinois (this is Blake blogging, for a change). We had some good fun hearing grandma's stories (apparently my great-grandpa Chapman was a bookie and bootlegger--mom used to take bets over the phone for him).

Here's all four generations on one couch. Grandma revealed that she once went on a date with Howard Hughes. Mom got picked up on once by Greg Norman (the golfer) before he was famous. Needless to say, I would be a much better golfer and even more OCD than usual if things went differently.
Here's everyone together (except Pat, who just couldn't wake up by noon to be in this picture).

Great-grandma holding her great-grandchild.

Here's Ethan with Uncle Rob. Rob was a marine and a cop in the L.A.P.D. Needless to say, we all feel safer while he's around.
And oh yeah, Rob let me take his mustang out for a ride around the neighborhood. Yeah, it kind of blends in, but dude, it's a sweet ride!

Blake is Legit. in CT!

This weekend we went up to CT and MA to visit family and friends. Blake was sworn in to the CT Bar on Monday so we thought we'd make a weekend out of it. It was great to hang out with everyone and have a relaxing weekend.

The ceremony in CT was really neat because all the CT Supreme Court Justices were present. Unfortunately Ethan didn't really care about the legal system in CT because he squawked and squirmed through the entire ceremony. Of course you could hear every sound he made because the ceilings were domed which he found to be completely amusing. I finally had to take him out into the foyer to let him run around and burn off some energy. Poor Blake - he could hear Ethan but couldn't find us. Oh well - we still have one more ceremony to attend (NY) so maybe it will go better. Ethan sure had a fun time though!

Blake and Ethan at the Supreme Court bench.

Blake, Jen and Ethan at the Supreme Court bench.

In other news, this is how I found Ethan yesterday morning. I was checking e-mail and letting him play in the office when I looked over and caught him like this. He would have tried to scale the piano if I had let him!
We visited Elizabeth Park in Hartford, CT where they have a famous rose garden. It was in full bloom last weekend and was absolutely beautiful - as you can see!

Blake, Jen and Ethan at the Rose Garden.

Sleep

Ethan absolutely REFUSES to take a nap in his crib, even when he's completely exhausted. However, he'll sleep just about anywhere else: the car, my arms, or my most recent discovery, the swing. I took him out to his swing yesterday while I was on a phone call to keep him happy. After about 15 minutes of swinging, I noticed that he hadn't moved for a minute or two. He crashed. Poor little guy!

In other Ethan news, he is finally getting his molars in. They've been working their way up to the surface for a while now and giving him a lot of grief in the process. They are finally starting to break though which is great news!

OBX - Here We Come!

On May 19th, we began our journey down to the Outer Banks in North Carolina. Blake hasn't had a vacation day since he started working and he was going to lose the time he had if we didn't use it. So, we planned a trip south and brought my brother Tim, his wife Kimberly, and their little guy Rylan with us for some fun company. According to Mapquest, it should only take around 8 hours to get there. Of course, it doesn't adjust the time for the "baby factor." The boys did really well on the trip down (9+ hours) but the trip back took about 12 hours. Never again!!!

Nevertheless, we had a wonderful week away. We rented a condo near the beach and did lots of fun activities which you'll see in the pictures I'll post. It was a wonderful trip and just what the doctor ordered for all of us. Sorry about all the pictures but there was just so much to include!

Rylan and Ethan hanging out in the back of the van.

A view of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge/Tunnel. It is a series of bridges and tunnels that go for miles.
In the northern part of the Outer Banks, wild Mustangs run freely. You usually won't see them unless you rent a jeep to drive up to those areas. We got very lucky and were able to see them by just walking out onto the beach. So beautiful!

Daddy and Ethan walk on the beach together.

Jen and Ethan snuggle up on the beach to keep warm. The wind made it quite chilly on our first day.

Fun At The Beach

Walking on the beach with the cutest little guy in the world!

Buddies: Ethan and Rylan

Ethan and Rylan learn that sand doesn't taste nearly as good as it looks! (Notice Ethan's beads? His Aunt Emily let Ethan and Rylan have their own beads to play with on the trip. For some reason they were both completely fascinated with them!)

Blake looking very cool during his surfing lessons.

Ethan gives boogie boarding a try!

Lighthouses & the Aquarium

The gang in front of the Currituck Lighthouse.

Ethan wanders in front of the Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Ethan had a great time at the aquarium. Although it wasn't very large, he still got to see a shark!

Mommy and Ethan at the Roanoke Island Aquarium.

Daddy and Ethan touch some fun little sea creatures (starfish, etc.)

More OBX Pictures

As a special treat, the boys got to do some golfing at the Goose Creek Golf Club. So cute!
We visited the Roanoke Island Festival Park where the first English settlement began (although they didn't last.) All this time Jamestown has been getting the credit. They had a fun interactive museum where we got some cute pictures.

Jen and Kimberly at the museum.

Blake and Ethan look at the water on the grounds of the Roanoke Island Festival Park.

All the boys hanging out in the pool.

Final Vacation Pictures

Ethan and cousin Rylan ready for
bedtime. They are so cute together!

We rented bikes and went for a nice afternoon bike ride. Ethan did okay at first but by the end, he had lost all patience and screamed for the last 10 minutes of the ride. Of course, Daddy riding through the sprinkler didn't help!

We had a blast miniature golfing. The course had a train that took you around and up the fake mountain to the start. I lost of course and Blake came in 1st place. Let's just say I'd rather have a driver than a putter to work with!
We stopped at what is the largest sand dunes on the east coast in Nags Head, NC. It's famous for being a great place to hang glide.
Tim and Blake had to have a sample of southern BBQ. Here they are digging into some ribs.

Tacky Party

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've done a blog. We were on vacation for a week so I'm trying to get caught up. I'll post the vacation pics next. Anyway, the night before our vacation we hosted a "tacky" party with 5 other couples we know. We each take turns every month hosting a game/party night and they are always a blast.

For our tacky party, we served pigs in a blanket, twinkees and ding dongs, kool-aid, and other tacky goodies. We decorated with toilet paper as streamers and had everyone bring a white elephant gift to exchange. There were some pretty hilarious gifts given but I think our gift was the hit of the night. I took a picture of Blake doing a cheesy shooter finger stance and framed it. He also autographed it: "All the Best, Blake Cooper." People were crying they were laughing so hard. I have a feeling this picture will turn up again sometime in the future. Everyone came dressed in tacky attire which was a riot. I'd highly recommend this theme if you're looking for a fun party idea!