Ethan John

Today our first born turned 5. It is hard to believe, and no matter how cliche it sounds, I don't know where the time has gone. It is amazing to look back and realize all that Ethan has learned in the last 5 years and his life has only just begun. We have been blessed with such a smart, sweet and funny little boy. Sure, we have our  moments of yelling and crying and feet stomping. But he has grown up so much and is learning how to manage his emotions. This post is dedicated to you sweet Ethan.

Ethan, you love being a big brother. You love your little brother especially and can't wait until you share a room and can put "boy stuff" on the walls.You can't wait until Hudson can wrestle and throw a football.

As much as you love your daddy and want to be just like him, you are still a mama's boy.I love that and never want it to change.

Ethan, you love your sister Morgan. There are often times during the day that you pick on each other and times when you say your sister is, "so Boring." But deep down you love her and you have such sweet moments together. Like the other night when you said something to make her cry, and by the time Daddy got into the room you had crawled into Mo's bed to apologize and sleep with her. Daddy made you get into your own bed and you said, "Bye Morgan, Good night!"

Ethan, you LOVE to play with us. You really don't need any toys. You would be perfectly content chatting with us, reading books with us or wrestling with Daddy. You have grown a lot socially and are doing a good job of meeting new kids and branching out to play on your own in new places.

Your imagination has grown a lot this last year. You and Morgan love to play pretend. Your favorite thing to do is dress Morgan in your clothes and play basketball, or exercise or go exploring. I need to get a few pictures of you two doing that! I hope you never lose your desire to play together.

You have become quite the little fish. You love to swim and love doing cannon balls. You love any sport right now and riding your bike.

Ethan, you are very curious. You still LOVE to ask WHY? Your daddy explains all sorts of scientific stuff to you and you eat it up. I'm excited to watch you in kindergarten this year, to see all that you learn. You are awesome at memorizing things. You know lots of songs and you're great at memorizing bible verses too. I hope you continue to learn God's word and hide it in your heart.

You have been such a big helper with Hudson and Brooklyn. You've had to grow up a lot this past year when the babies came. You are awesome at making Hudson and Brooklyn smile, feeding them bottles, getting burp rags and just being a patient little boy. You get rattled when they cry and make a lot of noise, but then you've never liked loud noises!

You love both Hudson and Brooklyn so much. They are blessed to call you Big Brother.

You currently LOVE Lego's. Oma bought you 3 sets for your birthday and you are on your last build of the last box. This is one toy that you will play with for hours. (this picture is for Oma) I am totally impressed with your spacial understanding for putting complex models together. Good job buddy!

Ethan, God has blessed us with your presence in our family. You keep us laughing and having fun. You are very concerned for others and you try to show God's love to your sisters and brother. You want to learn and do your best with everything. You always talk about how much you love your family.  We pray that you will continue to grow and learn and God shapes and molds you into the boy he wants you to be.