Fire Trucks

We went to the fire department that is a few miles up the road from my mom’s house.  We were hoping that Ethan could look at the fire trucks and maybe get to stand on one.  We were surprised that Ethan was able to do as much as he did.They gave Ethan this fire hat.  He was so excited to wear it and stand in the fire truck.  Then he got to try on a real fire hat.Course, it was a bit too heavy for him to wear.  He started leaning forward and downward once it was on his head.Talking about one happy little boy.  So much better than any amusement park--getting to “drive” the fire truck.And then getting to spray the big water hose.

Tractors

A dream come true for Ethan…

Mom and Gary took Ethan up the road where someone sells tractors and equipment and asked if he could get on them.I can drive this thing… no problem!

Look at me- all by myself!

Dad and I can both fit in the blade!

Another truck to operate, oh fun!

And, now I get to drive a fork lift, one of the first pieces of equipment that I learned the name for.

1st Dentist Appointment

I’ve heard that children should start having dental check-ups at 2 years old, and I wanted our first experience to be in the States for a number of reasons.  So, we took Ethan to a pediatric dentist.  We had no idea how it would go.

The dentist said that for the first visit, they don’t really do a lot.  It’s more to get the child use to being there, etc.  They told us that he could sit in our lap for the check-up, but we said that we thought he would do fine in the chair.The key thing with Ethan was the gloves.  He has a thing for gloves.  So, since the hygienist wore them, he opened his mouth and kept it open and closed it when he was supposed to.Flossing went well too.

I think the dental hygienist was pleasantly surprised at how well he cooperated.  She made comments throughout the time at how well he was doing and said that some children cry and scream during the appointment.  Another woman who worked there came back and commented about how she couldn’t believe how well he was doing.

Memory of a Two Year Old and Closets

We were in the living room at Kent and Debbie’s house and Ethan pointed to the corner and said something about the Christmas tree going there. He remembered that from us being there over 6 months ago.

When he first went to his great-grandma’s place he noticed that there weren’t snowmen. When he was there 6 months earlier, there had been snowmen decorations out in the front grass.

It has amazed us at how well he recognizes places while we are driving.  He did this some in Hungary, but we live there.  We can almost be at the missionary house or my mom’s house in NC, and he will know that we are almost there.  He remembers the Boone post office when we drive by after only going there once with Gary.

Closets

Ethan loves the closets in the States (and so do I; in fact I really miss them a lot after being in a house full of them). They make great forts. He loved getting into the closet at Gary’s parents’ house that had all of the coats and shoes. He would take all of the shoes out and then hide in there with Gary or Papa. When he got in it by himself, he would want us to find him, but if we didn’t open the door pretty soon, he would open it and laugh. He’s not much into waiting/patience at this point. One evening, Ethan, Gary, and I all hid in the closet together.Ethan not only took the shoes and boots out of the closet to play in it, he also enjoyed running around the house in Nana’s boots.

Our Time in CO

Our time in CO was split up with a week in CA.  We are in NC now and much of our time in CO seems like a blur and so long ago.  One highlight from our time there was being able to celebrate Gary’s parents’ 50th wedding anniversary.  It was actually in August, but the celebration party was in September.  Much of the family flew in for it, so that was really nice, and I was able to meet some family members that I’ve never met before (like Debbie’s sister in the picture above).

Near the end of our time we were in Colorado Springs overnight and woke up to snow.  It was a good amount, but thankfully did not make the roads unsafe to drive on.  After we left that morning, we went to the homes of 4 different people in Denver back-to-back before going to Gary’s parents’ house.  I enjoyed seeing the people, but it was very rushed, which wasn’t so fun.  It was great to see Mark and Matthew, two of Gary’s good friends, one from birth and one from high school.  They were both in our wedding. Ethan enjoyed “playing” the drums and guitar while we stayed at Mark and Holly’s house.  Gary has taught him the difference between an bass guitar, electric guitar and an acoustic guitar, so he knew what kind of guitar this was right away.