March 2

Our family in Ohio.  Summer of 2009.  Parker's baptism day.

I am determined to do at least one memory a day.  I'll probably include more.  However, I've been on a kindergarten field trip all day and finally have time to sit down.  Friends are over and entertaining the troops. 

I looked at the calendar from last year and it really looks like it was just Parent/Teacher Conference week.  We had just finished the week before with Peter Pan and Wendy.  Ethan was Nibs and loved it!  He did have a hard time not wanting to be in the play but to watch every scene instead.  His back to the audience was an issue.  But, I love the video and his cute little voice.

Two memories today:

From the time Ethan and Parker were little we called them "Bubba Jones".  We're not sure where it came from, but always would call them that.  It didn't matter which child we were referring to; they were both Bubba Jones.  Eventually this was shortened to "Bub".  So, if I were ever talking to one of my boys I would say, "Hey, bub...."  When Madilyn came along, she became "Babe."  Well, this was a lot of B's for me to keep track of, so I would sometimes mess up. One time I called Ethan "Babe" and he said, "I'm NOT Babe, I"m Bub.  Babe's a girl's name."  I tried to keep it straight for my little Bub.

When Ethan was trying out for Peter Pan and Wendy, Aunt Julie was on the "Audition Panel" (I guess that's what we'll call it).  Even though he has an "in" because we know people, he still had to audition and make it.  We can't put our kids in if they really don't know what to do.  Well, Aunt Julie mentioned to me after the auditions that she had almost cried in his audition because he had such a beautiful voice.  She said they almost cast him for Michael until the other kid beat him out.  Ethan was also young, so the other kid got the role.  I was so happy to know that he even had done well at all.  It seemed no matter what Ethan tried, he did well.  He was a natural at sports and even had a good singing voice---at 7!  Way to go Ethan!

Okay one more....(its hard not putting them all down every day)

Ethan would put sooo much milk on his cereal that he had a whole bowl of milk left when he was done eating.  We tried and tried to work this out, but he always just wasted a bunch of milk.  (Just a short memory)

I cried this morning being at the kids' school.  I am always haunted by Ethan memories and wishing I had done more as a mom.  He LOVED school.  He was a social butterfly and just literally spread his wings at school.   I really did try to be the best mom for him.  Looking back, its hard not to just nitpick (word??) everything I did. 

Ethan, you are loved and missed.  Our home isn't the same without you.