Days 5 & 6: Christmas in Cali

Alright, I guess I'd better get on the ball and write our Christmas post - especially since I never finished my Halloween post with pictures of Ethan in his costume... that may still come, so don't laugh if it does!!

*Christmas Eve*
Let's see... Baking, last-minute shopping, live music and being surrounded by family and friends were the highlights from our Christmas Eve. In the morning I made peach cobbler (Grandma Mary's yummy recipe) and raspberry shortbread cookies (Grandma Sandy's recipe - though I had to change the name from raspberry triangle cookies because they aren't actually in the shape of a triangle and that really bugged me!) for the festivities later that evening. Sean also whipped up a batch of chocolate oreo balls - so easy, but oh so good! Finally, while Ethan was down for a nap, I rushed to take a shower and then made a very last minute trip to the Simi Valley mall for a couple of gifts. Made it about an hour or less before closing and I used every minute! Normally I am not a Christmas Eve shopper unless it's for stocking stuffers, but we had all been so sick and then busy getting ready for the trip that I just hadn't had time to finish up. It all worked out in the end, though.

That night we had friends of Sean's family over for dinner and then sang carols around the piano with Loren (Sean's dad) on the guitar and their friend Gary on violin (I forgot mine at home!). We even had at least one person per part - Sean singing tenor, Todd bass, Cassie alto and me and Alysha as soprano (though we were taking turns chasing after the Ethan-ator)! Once everything settled down, we opened our Christmas jammies and then Papa read this year's Christmas book: The Light of Christmas.

Here's a picture of Ethan in his Christmas jammies - while "visions of sugar plums dance in his head."

*Christmas Morning*
Of course, the little-little ones were up first, but once everyone else was up we took our traditional picture on the stairs.

Pictured top to bottom, left to right: Alysha, Cassie, Ethan, Sean, Me, Muffy, Spencer and Todd.

Just us.

Ethan's Santa gift (a Southworth tradition - a small, unwrapped toy is left by the now-empty plate of cookies for Santa): CARS shake-n-go race car!

Spencer with his Santa gift: a wooden train.

Cassie with her gift from Ryan, Amy, Jonathan and Ella - a mirror framed with little picture openings and some of them already filled in with pictures of her and family. Amy - she LOVED it!!

Ethan with his "Handy Manny Deluxe Talkin' Tool Box Set" from Nana and Papa. This was definitely the year of Handy Manny toys - Ethan LOVES Manny and will come running in from the other room if we turn it on for him!

Alysha and Spencer with his new "Spin-A-Letter" toy.

We all made quite a haul this year between my family and Sean's - I'll spare you the full rundown, though, and just list the highlights! Ethan got several different Handy Manny toys, puzzles, books, toy cars and trucks (including a fire truck), clothes, new jammies, froggy slippers (he shuffles around the house in them now!), a ride-on dump truck, a car garage toy and a new toy cellphone. I got a beautiful sapphire necklace from Sean, clothes, Nike running shoes, make-up, DVDs, jewelry, a Yankee candle and a new winter coat (once I go shopping and find one I like!). Sean got a new navy pinstripe suit from me and Ethan, clothes, lots of new books, shoes, cologne, a snowflake tie, folding garment bag (for suits, etc.) and Barnes & Noble gift card. As a family, we also got the games Princes of Florence and Typo and a Red Robin gift card!

Once the presents were opened and the breakfast casserole was eaten, we spent the rest of the day relaxing, grazing on leftover Christmas eve dinner and treats and playing games while the little ones napped.

Ethan with his new ride-on dump truck complete with various truck noises.

*Christmas with the Toftdahls*

So we celebrated Christmas with my family a little before we left for our trip (read the new Christmas book together) and then mainly the Sunday we got back, on the 28th -but I thought it'd be easiest to keep all of the Christmas pictures, etc. together.

Ethan was more than happy to open some more presents, but he got a little preoccupied with his new cellphone, so Auntie Elisabeth had to help him out a little. She didn't mind that either since she only had a couple presents from us to open!

A new book from "Tia" (Auntie Christine) and the Handy Manny "doll" we got him... Do you still call it a doll if it's for a little boy - is there some other name for it that I can't think of?? "Doll" just seems so little girly...

Lis-beth and Ethan at Gramma and Grampa's for the post-Christmas celebration.

A shot of Ethan by our tree at home. Don't even ask for the story behind this picture, though I'm sure Sean would very gladly tell it!!

We thoroughly enjoyed both of our Christmas celebrations - in somewhat sunny southern California on Christmas day and then in rainy, cold Oregon a few days later! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, loving family on both sides!! Thank you, thank you to everyone who helped make our Christmas special this year!!

Day 4: Disneyland!!

Day 4 of our trip was one of the best... Disneyland!! And in case you can't tell by the above picture, it was a success!! 15 hours in the "Happiest Place on Earth" - 9am to midnight - with a not-quite 2 year old and it was a great day. No major melt-downs, tantrums or fits. I was amazed. We truly have a wonderful little boy and it was a blast to spend the day with him in one of our favorite places. Sean's sister, Cassie went with us and we got up bright and early to make the hour plus drive from Sean's parents' house to Disneyland. Sean's other sister, Alysha, was also supposed to come but was really not feeling well and decided not to go. We sure missed her, though!

Once inside the park, with Ethan in the stroller rental, we headed down Main Street and saw... a celebrity!! Well, maybe not a huge celebrity... Ok, so you'll only recognize him if you watch Food Network, but still!












It was Guy Fieri from the show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" - Sean and I occasionally catch this show and it always makes us hungry for "diner food"! We saw him a couple more times throughout the day. He was on the boat in front of us for Jungle Cruise and at one point the camera crew even turned their cameras on us - we smiled and waved right back!

After our brief brush with fame, our first stop was Indiana Jones for the "big people" and it was our first opportunity to take advantage of the Stroller Swap passes. Since there was just the three of us non-toddlers, two people would wait in line and enjoy the ride while the 3rd person kept Ethan entertained. After the ride, we would use the pass and it would put the person who didn't get to go almost at the front of the line. The pass was good for two people, though, so we took turns on who got to go twice.
Ethan and Mommy enjoying the view and the corny and very punny jokes on the Jungle Cruise.
Jungle Cruise was Ethan's first official Disneyland ride - not counting the tram, which he thought was pretty cool. He definitely liked being on the boat and looking at all of the jungle animals - there was so much to look at, I don't think he could decide!

Even with a toddler in tow, we still managed to get to do everything we wanted to do - including all major rides - and then some. We thought we did a pretty good mix of rides for Ethan and the rollercoasters for the 40-inches and over crowd. In the end, Ethan rode:
- Jungle Cruise
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (twice - first time with Auntie Cassie)
- Pirates of the Caribbean (twice - he loved this one!)
- Haunted Mansion
- Pinocchio's Daring Journey
- King Arthur Carrousel
- Mad Tea Party (aka Teacups)
- It's a Small World
- Astro Orbitor
In addition to Ethan's list, the rest of us also rode on:
- Indiana Jones Adventure (a must for every D-land visit)
- Splash Mountain (we each got to ride it twice the lines were so short)
- Star Tours
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Matterhorn Bobsleds (I screamed extra loud for you, Mom!)
- Space Mountain

We were also able to enjoy nearly front-row seats for the early showing of FANTASMIC! It's one of Sean's favorite things to do at Disneyland and Ethan loved the show too. Shortly after the show ended, we were able to stay where we were and had great seats for the "Believe... In Holiday Magic" Fireworks Spectacular complete with a 'magical snowfall' at the end. Ethan thought this was pretty cool, too.

Here's some pictures from the rest of the day...
Haunted Mansion all decked out "Nightmare Before Christmas" mode. Notice the 'ghostly' presence to the left of the picture? Creepy, huh?! Big grins on the Carrousel.
Took this picture just for my friend Sara's little boy - he LOVES Toy Story! REALLY big grins on the Teacups. Sadly, this was the only picture we got of Cassie during the day while riding the teacups. She was gracious enough to be our family photographer and we weren't able to get any group shots! But... we were SO HAPPY to have her with us!! She was a BIG help with Ethan and made the day go by much, much smoother. Ethan loves his Auntie Cassie! Posing with Tigger in Critter Country.
Aww... and even some kisses for Tigger. Too bad they don't have any Jungle Book characters roaming around! The hippo on Small World - per Sean, "it's a hippie hippo" and probably belongs back in Eugene! Going through the bubbles on Small World - other than this, Ethan was a little bored with this ride. I don't blame him - it's really only cute for a little while... Sitting on Daddy's shoulders, watching the parade. Riding the Astro Orbitor with Daddy - Ethan was not afraid of heights. Mommy was in the rocket in front of them and she was!
Pretty much the grand finale of our day - FANTASMIC!Our happy little family after a GREAT day in Disneyland!! Can't wait until next time. :)

Day 3: Wrapping Presents & Back to Bethlehem

Monday of our trip was fairly uneventful. We all slept in a little and after breakfast, I went right to work on wrapping presents. Eventually, the others joined me and we watched 'It's a Wonderful Life' - one of my all-time favorite Christmas movies. Alysha hadn't seen it all the way through and Cassie hadn't seen it at all, so it was neat to see them experience it. As usual, I teared up in the beginning, when the young George Bailey gets his bad ear hit by the pharmacist before he realizes George just stopped him from accidentally poisoning a family. But I always bawl at the ending, especially when George's brother, Harry, shows up and says, "A toast to my big brother, George, the richest man in town."

For dinner that night, I made up a pot of broccoli spaghetti with grape tomatoes, one of Sean and I's favorites. There's not really a sauce to it, but lots of parmesan cheese that you toss the pasta and veggies in after you've added some butter and lemon juice. Either they were just faking or else everyone seemed to like it because there weren't any leftovers!

After dinner came the highlight of the day. We headed to the Church at Rocky Peak, just outside of Simi, to go to their Back to Bethlehem event. On their website they say it's "more than a nativity scene and not a play..." It was an awesome experience and you really did feel like you were traveling back in time. They gave everyone a handful of "shekels" (coin money) before you entered Bethlehem and you had to use one immediately to pay your taxes. Everyone was in costume and in character. There were Roman soldiers, inn keepers (who slammed the door in your face as they told you there was "no room in the inn!") and merchants selling spices, bread, pomegranate seeds and clay beads on a bracelet that you could buy with your shekels. There was also a Rabbi school and people at work making mud and straw bricks, fresh-pressed olive oil, woven baskets, etc. You even got to visit Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus (a real newborn baby) in the stable. Sorry, this is the only decent picture I got from my cellphone. Ethan especially liked all of the animals. He got to pet a donkey, goats and sheep. The goats and sheep were eye-level with Ethan and he really liked it. At one point he was completely boxed in by animals and there were quite a few tourists taking pictures of it! It's really hard to explain how well done it was, and of course we don't really have any pictures from it (left the camera in the car) - but it took up about the space of an LDS Stake center parking lot with all sorts of buildings (most were just backdrops) or merchant stands. They also had angels that were spotlighted and sang every 10 minutes or so - of course the Roman soldiers couldn't hear them and would ask everyone what they were looking at! As you were leaving Bethlehem, you would pass by the three wise men who would question if you had seen the newborn baby and when you told them he was in a stable, they would be shocked that a King would not be born in a palace. Anyway... all very well done and very memorable.

Days 1 & 2: The Drive and Fontana

For Christmas this year we went from this (ice, freezing rain, snowstorms, fog, etc.)...

...to this. Though it wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows while we were there. We had our fair share of clouds, wind and rain - but no snow.

So we started our grand adventure down to Southern California late Friday night on the 19th. And by late, I mean really late. We're talking we left at about midnight, so I'm counting Saturday as day 1. I had to work all day Friday, so by the time I got home to pack and finish getting Ethan's stuff together and then make sure we had all the other random stuff - presents, wrapping paper, boxes and bows (I hadn't had any time to wrap since I'd been so sick), etc. it was pretty late. Then we still had to stop by my parents' and then the grocery store. By the time we had some snacks for the road, and a new portable DVD player (a saving grace according to other parents with toddlers - SO true!) it was close to midnight but we were determined to be on our way!!

14 1/2 hours later... we rolled into Simi Valley, CA where we were staying with Sean's family for the week. Along the way, we actually had to stop at the border patrol station. We've made this trip at least 6 other times and it's never been open. Of course, we may have actually had some [[ahem]] fruit [[cough, cough]] to declare. But I can neither confirm, nor deny it at this time.

Moving right along...

Saturday afternoon and evening was spent chatting and hanging out with Sean's family, followed by showers and a bath for Ethan. We all felt pretty grungy after being in the car all day. We decided to put Ethan to bed a little early (for him), but since we were in a new place and he was sharing a room with Sean and I, I decided to lay down with him. We were both out cold by about 7:45pm. The earliest I've been to bed in years. It was heaven.

The next morning we got up bright and early and headed to Fontana where Sean's brother, Todd and his wife LynMarie (aka Muffy) were blessing their baby boy - Spencer Aaron. The adoption for their little guy went through sooner than expected, so we were very excited to have them hold off on Spencer's blessing and sealing until we were down for the holidays. After church (where the Nursery was made up entirely of visitors related to Spencer), we headed over to Todd and Muffy's for a yummy lunch, board games and naps! Ethan got to nap in Spencer's crib (thank you!!) and slept for about 3 hours. After naptime, Ethan, Spencer, Papa (Sean's dad) and Todd played with the train set that was around the tree. Ethan loved the "choo choo" and was quite fascinated by it!

See the big grin on his face?

The other fun past-time that day was climbing up and down the stairs. Over and over and over... you get the idea!

Todd keeping a watchful eye on the little ones as they climb the stairs.

Finally it was back to Simi for a late dinner and bedtime!

Our CA Trip... From the Beginning

I figured for journaling purposes, it would probably be easiest to break down our trip by day, rather than having a HUGE, incredibly long post with tons of pictures. This way, our trip is neat and organized - just like our kitchen cupboards. Ha!
Anyway... enjoy the text or skim it and just skip to the pictures. :)

Home... Safe and Sound

And working on a massive update with tons of pictures for your viewing pleasure!

So we left Fontana, CA just before 4pm on Saturday afternoon. Sean was (and still is) pretty sick - very flu-like symptoms including cough, 102 fever, nausea and vomiting. With Sean in the passenger seat (barf bag within easy reach) and Ethan snacking, napping or watching a movie on the portable DVD player, I drove the entire way home. We made a stop at Pea Soup Andersen's in Santa Nella - Ethan and I got a little dinner to go, stretched our legs and did a bathroom break. Then it was on to Redding - we stayed the night and in the morning I drove the final leg of our journey. We were very happy to cross the border back in to our home state!! No snow or ice on the way home - just a bit of rain (some snow mixed in) and one major patch of white fog. But we're home now, and I'm off to work while Sean stays home with Ethan to rest and get well.

Check back soon!!

Merry Christmas!!

Hope everyone had a great holiday!!

We have been enjoying our time with Sean's family down in Southern California - Ethan's first Christmas down here. We had great weather on our drive down - not a single snowflake! And we are praying for weather that is just as good for our drive home. But... we have chains just in case!! So stay tuned for a LONG update with LOTS of pictures from all of our Cali adventures. Including...

* Cousin Spencer's baby blessing and temple sealing

* Back to Bethlehem event

* Disneyland!! (Ethan's first trip)

* Christmas Eve and Christmas

* Loads of fun with family!!

We are having a great time. Merry Christmas to everyone!

And to our family and friends in Oregon and anywhere else it's snowy, icy or just cruddy weather in general... drive safe or stay inside!

We love you!

Points for Politeness

As much as Ethan can be a little DESTRUCT-O, he is also a very sweet and loving little boy. And now, as he continues to learn new words and expressions every day, I am pleasantly surprised at how polite he can be already!

He says "Please!" when he wants or needs something and "Thank you!" when you give it to him - usually without prompting him first.

He also says "Bless you!" if he hears someone sneeze.

It's just so cute to hear these new expressions in his little voice. I love it! And I'm glad he's learning some manners already, even if he does turn around and pull all of the books out his bookcase or throw his dinner on the floor... again.

If you give a mouse a cookie...

...or in our case it was crackers. Goldfish crackers to be exact - and cheddar flavor at that!! Alas, it was a brand-new, BULK box of cheddar goldfish crackers that we had yet to open up. And I thought I was being so economical by buying the crackers in bulk - getting 3 regular boxes worth for the price of 2. Now we're just out $6 in crackers!

So this was not the first snack our little mouse had indulged in. Last week I found a Boboli pizza crust that had a good chunk out of it - he'd been munchin' on that one for a couple of days. But after finding the cracker box chewed in to, I told Sean to pick up some traps. Note that both the pizza crust and the crackers were in the garage - not the house, thank goodness. To date, no mysterious mouse nibblings found inside the house.

We (and by we, I mean Sean) set the traps Tuesday evening. We checked them before bed: nothing. Sean checked in the morning: nothing. I checked later that morning: nothing. I checked once Ethan and I got home that night: nothing... wait! One, two, three traps - where was the 4th one? And then I spotted it, on the garage floor was the 4th trap with our little mouse in it ("He's just sleeping, Ethan. Shh..."). I admit, I hate to use traps and kill it, but at the same time we can't afford to feed this mouse (mice??) and I especially don't want any around when we've got Ethan in the house. So it had to go. For now, the traps are still out and set in case our little mouse had any brothers or sisters who also enjoy munching on cheddar goldfish crackers or any other yummy snacks in our pantry.

The only other mouse I want to see anytime soon is this one:

Sick of being sick.

Last week Ethan was sick... Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and finally feeling a little better on Monday. He still has a very slight cough, but I'm sure glad to be done wiping that kid's nose every two minutes. I had Wednesday off and then took Thursday and Friday as sick days - of which I was told I'll only get paid for one per policy at work, but that's a rant for another day - and worked Saturday. Sean came home Wednesday and was also sick. I think he was finally feeling better by Monday too, so now it's my turn! Ugh. This morning was by far the worst morning, so hopefully it can only get better from here, right? Currently, I look only slightly better than death warmed over. Mainly I just have a stuffy head and really want a nap. I slept good last night, but my nose decided to wake up a little earlier than I did, so that kind of ruined my morning.

But... I am determined to get better ASAP! I intend to get as much rest as possible the next 2 days because I have too much to do this weekend and can not afford to be sick.

These are my incentives for getting better as quickly as possible...
* I intend to hold this little guy on Saturday.









My newest cousin (once removed): Baron James Graham, born Tuesday Decembeber 9th (to John and Stephanie Graham and big brother, Jackson).

* I'm ready to give my two favorite guys some kisses and not have to worry about spreading the germs.









This is an old picture, but I still love that you can see the baby drool on Sean's shirt!

* I need/have/want to finish my Christmas shopping.











* Because by the next weekend we'll be here:





and I want to enjoy every minute of it!
So I'm chugging orange juice and going to bed early tonight!

"That's not a ball!!"

Crash!

Too late.

Apparently, to Ethan, our Christmas tree is decorated with tons of bright, shiny balls. And what do you do with a nice, bright and shiny ball? Well, throw it on the ground, of course! And that's exactly what Ethan did on Thursday night after we had finished decorating the tree. I was back in the kitchen and next thing I see Ethan take one step into the dining room and throw the 'ball' down to the floor. Sorry bud, those balls don't bounce. So we've repeatedly corrected him when he eyes all of the 'balls' on our Christmas tree. "Those aren't balls, Ethan, they're ornaments. NOT balls. Ornaments. NOT balls...." Our tree is decorated with the previously mentioned jewel-toned spherical ornaments (we bought a large set of standard size and small ones for our first Christmas tree) and then a variety of Hallmark and other random, festive ornaments. We've only lost 3 of the spherical ornaments now and ironically all 3 have been gold colored. Maybe the tree thinks they clash too much with the silver snowflakes. Who knows?

But anyway...

Christmas has come to our house!! Actually, we decorated the mantle and put out the Nativity scene last Sunday, but I wanted to wait and include a picture of the tree - which we got on Monday, but did not finish decorating until Thursday.

It's still missing something, I think some sort of beaded garland, or ribbon or something to wrap around the tree, I just haven't found anything I like. I do like the addition of the long, curly silver ornaments, though. I forgot how limited my Christmas decorations really are - barely enough to do the mantle - so we filled in the space with some of our favorite Christmas books. I love Christmas books and I have made it a tradition to get a new one every year. I'm picky, though. They have to have a good, heart-warming story - usually some act of charity and kindness, really good illustrations and it always helps if the story makes me cry! My favorites are:

"Why Christmas Trees Aren't Perfect"

"A Christmas Dress for Ellen"

and last year's addition,

"The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey"

All three make me cry and the Christmas Dress one leaves me a blubbering mess!! I'm always on the look-out for a good Christmas book this time of the year. Does anyone have some good suggestions for next year's book(s)?? This year's is already on order and should be here (fingers crossed) before Christmas.

16 Again

10 Years Ago....
1.) I was 16 and had not gotten my driver's license.
2.) I had yet to really discover that I have naturally wavy/curly hair, thus my hair was in a ponytail 95% of the time.
3.) I was in the middle of my 3rd season on the SHS Varsity swim team and perfecting the backstroke. During the winter, swimming was my life and meets usually coincided with mutual, so it looked like I was inactive for about 3 1/2 months - even though I still went to church on Sunday and was the Laurel class president. I was pretty much Laurel president the entire time I was a Laurel.
4.) I had not yet met my wonderful husband. Instead I went on my first date - too see 'Pleasantville' - and the guy held my hand! First date and this guy had guts! Of course, neither of us could drive (as previously mentioned), so we had to have the parents do drop off and pick up. It didn't last. Although... the next year when he asked me to Homecoming and I couldn't give him an answer right away (I was waiting for some details of another plan to work out) he went ahead and told the ENTIRE Symphonic Band class (of which I was not a part of) that we were going together. Yeah, that was a fun mess to straighten out. And in conclusion to this long story, the guy that I went to Homecoming with that year ended up marrying one of my best friends (on the same day that Sean and I got married!) and they now have a beautiful little boy (Ethan's age) and a girl on the way! Small world.
5.) Other than swim team, my high school life was busy with Orchestra, SODA (Students Opposed to Drugs and Alcohol) Club - I was president, and of course, AP Calculus, AP History, AP Comp and Physics. Yeah, it was a hard year.

5 Things On Today's List Of Things To Do....
1.) Work
2.) Avoid my work Christmas party - a potluck in our showroom. Lame. Last year it was catered and on the top floor of the Hilton. Much, much better.
3.) 2-hour host shift at the Creche
4.) Snuggle with my sick little boy
5.) Finish an Amazon.com order and pray it gets here before Christmas

5 Snacks...
1.) Crisp, juicy apple
2.) Fruit smoothie or chocolate/banana protein smoothie
3.) Wheat Thins - don't know why, but the Reduced Fat ones are the most crunchy
4.) Cottage cheese with fruit - I need to start eating this more often
5.) Cold cereal

5 Things I Would Do If I were A Millionaire...
1.) Pay off all debt.
2.) Quit my current job to stay home with Ethan.
3.) Buy a house with new furniture.
4.) Travel. 1. Just Sean and I. 2. A family trip. 3. An extended family trip (maybe a Disney cruise??)
5.) Help others: Family, friends, etc. And then invest/save for the future.

5 Places I've lived...
1.) Duplex with my parents - when I was an only child.
2.) House with my parents and sisters.
3.) Technically I was briefly homeless while Sean and I were in LA to get married and then on our honeymoon. I had moved all my stuff into his place, but didn't spend a single night there (obviously!) - I unloaded the last of my boxes and then we loaded up Sean's car to drive down to his family's house.
4.) Double-wide trailer with Sean.
5.) Duplex with Sean and Ethan. Maybe next year I can finally add Salem to this list!

5 Jobs I have had...
1.) Yamaha of Springfield - my grandparents owned the business
2.) Harry & David - one season at the call center
3.) Ramsey-Waite Co. (service dept, parts dept and accounting office) - I've worked here NINE years, so my list is pretty small
4.) Wife
5.) Mother

I won't tag anyone... unless you want to be tagged that is!

"He's Such a Boy!"

I've always known that there are distinct differences between boys and girls, but seeing as I have only younger sisters, Ethan is the first boy I have lived with from day one. He is such a BOY!! Cars, trucks, "choo-choos" and balls are his favorite toys. And I'm already getting glimpses into what our grocery bill will look like once the teenage years hit. For a toddler, this kid eats a lot! Anyway... The other night, he proved that he was his father's son. As we were unlocking the front door to go into the house, Ethan noticed a daddy-long legs spider on the front porch. "Spider!" he said. First of all, I didn't even know he knew the word spider, so I was pretty impressed to hear another new word and see that he was able to identify it. Then, it true boy fashion, Ethan leaned down and picked the spider up!! That's right. My little boy is already picking up creepy-crawlies. Dang it! I'm not afraid of daddy-long leg spiders, but as a rule I hate spiders. Sean does most of the killing of them for me, though occasionally I have to pick up the slack when he's gone. I've also been known to trap them under a container in the bathroom and leave instructions on the door for Sean to dispose of it! Still, I could not believe that there was no hesitation on Ethan's part - he just bent over and picked up a spider like it was no big deal. Yikes!