All Wrapped Up

Ethan has been asking for me to "wrap up" his Monkey and to "wrap up" himself lately - it's way too fun! I had to find a big enough blanket to wrap my big boy:
He thought this was hilarious and has been continually asking me to 'wrap Ee-ee up' (he refers to himself as "Ee-Ee" can't say 'th' yet...) Ethan's been role playing a lot lately - his newest 'baby' is his stuffed monkey. He liked me to swaddle his monkey and then he plays with him like a baby: holding him, giving him a paci, putting him to bed, etc...

and putting Baby Monkey in the baby swing:

I think it's funny to see Ethan mimic what he watches all day (ME!) - today he decided he needed to 'feed' Baby Monkey....you see where this is going...he pulled up his shirt and and held Monkey just like Mommy holds Judah....too funny! Don't worry though - I'm going to explain that Daddy's don't feed babies that way and direct him to a bottle....I was laughing too hard to do that today! Ethan loves to be an activities director of sorts; today he asked me to swaddle Judah - then swaddle Baby Monkey - then swaddle Ethan! I did and this is the cuteness that transpired:

Then Ethan decided it was time to get out:

So, all that was left were these 2 cuties: Mr. Judah and Mr. Monkey:

When Judah's not all wrapped up he loves to be a little squirmer; he can successfully roll front to back and is SOOO close for turning back to front. He gets stuck on his arm; I think as soon as he realizes to lift that huge noggin and roll over the arm there's no stopping him!

Never a dull moment in the Mancuso household!

Baby Elmo

Last night Ethan pulled out his creative imagination again - he decided that Elmo was going to be his 'baby' and he needed a diaper change. Ethan picked Elmo up; picked up the changing pad and went into his room...then he emerged with Elmo, the changing pad and a diaper! Too funny. He then put the pad down - put Elmo on it and tried to put the diaper on him! All while narrating every move he makes:)

In Ethan's brain: "How does mom get this thing to work??"
In my brain: *Talent I tell you - it's a talent**

After getting the diaper "on" Elmo Ethan proceeded to put Elmo in the laundry basket for "nigh-nigh" with a blanket and all! I love to see his imagination run wild!

**On a different note: my imaginative boy is in his room right now - and should be napping. I put him down at 1...it's now 2:35! and I know he's tired. After him getting out of his bed and coming out to the living room a few times I finally shut the door (after making sure his room was 'Ethan proofed' and now he's laying on the floor by the door cooing....yeah my toddler is cooing - I think he's trying to keep himself AWAKE! I have a feeling I'm going to find him sleeping by the door soon....**

Speaking of cooing babies: I finally got a SMILEY picture of my little man Judah!
What a little stud muffin :)

BATHTIME!

Now that little Judah is getting bigger we can do bath time with both boys! The first time we tried this Ethan wasn't too sure about Judah's mini-tub...he wanted it 'out' but Judah 'in'..he eventually warmed up to it:) The other night we did a dual bath again and both boys had SO much fun! Ethan was giving Judah toys and Judah just sat there big-eyed taking everything in -- I had Joe take some pictures of the festivities:

Like the strategically placed ducky and seashell? It's so much fun to get clean when you get to play with your brother and bath toys in the water! I think Ethan likes to have a playmate for bath time now:)

Another funny thing: Ethan's discovered that he can still fit in Judah's infant car seat - he loves to lounge in it in...and give us big goofy smiles! Tonight he did it and as he was laying in there he starting saying "Judah waaaaaa- Judah waaaaa" like copying Judah crying in there! Too cute and too funny.

Where's our focus?

Today is Good Friday and in a few days we will be celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus. The song "Jesus, Thank You" has been on my mind the past few days - as we approach Easter I wonder how many people take the time to actually thank Jesus for what He did; where is our focus this weekend? Is it on candy, eggs and bunnies? Or is it on the death and resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ? The resurrection of Jesus is no little deal - please read/listen to the song below and see what Jesus has done for you. If you don't know why you should thank Jesus, I pray that your eyes will be opened to what He has done for all of us!

Jesus, Thank You
The mystery of the cross I cannot comprehend
The agonies of Calvary
You the perfect Holy One, crushed Your Son
Who drank the bitter cup reserved for me

Your blood has washed away my sin
Jesus, thank You
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied
Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table
Jesus, thank You

By Your perfect sacrifice I’ve been brought near
Your enemy You’ve made Your friend
Pouring out the riches of Your glorious grace
Your mercy and Your kindness know no end

Lover of my soul
I want to live for You

Here's a video with the music and lyrics for the song Jesus Thank You

My smart boy...

The other day I was nursing Judah and Ethan was entertaining himself (nice eh?), and I could hear him saying his colors while playing. He says them so cute: yellow = lellow; blue = boo; red = bed; green = duwieen; orange = errr

After I finished nursing Judah I went over to the bench where he was playing and this is what I found!
Impressive huh? He put all the like colors together! Now, I'm no early childhood specialist but I think that's pretty smart for a 22 month old...I may be biased though:)

He was proud of himself too!

This morning, while getting ready for ECFE, I had Judah laying on the floor (a common occurrence at our house) and Ethan was playing - then he decided he wanted to play with Judah! He went over to him and laid down next to him; Ethan thought it was THE funniest thing when Judah would 'tickle' him (ie: randomly move his arm and accidentally hit Ethan in the tummy!) I love it that Ethan enjoys Judah and is not 'jealous' of his little brother!

I can only imagine how their 'playing' is going to evolve when Judah gets a little older....

Getting SO big

Our newest member of the Mancuso bunch is growing soooo fast! Judah is a wonderful eater and it shows - he's starting to get the classic baby belly:) Too Cute! I would estimate he's about 10 lbs now (at least 9!). You would never have guessed that he was a month-early-little-preemie by his healthy looks now!

He's also turned into a smile maniac (when he wants to of course) - this is our attempt at capturing his smile...more of a pleasant smirk in this shot! Eventually we'll get his wide-mouthed+big-eyed+tounge-out SMILE on film:)

Mr. Fix-It

Ethan loves to help daddy with whatever project he may be doing. Ethan has 'helped' with fixing toys, computers and gadgets to name a few. If he sees a screw in something he'll attempt to 'fix-it' by (trying) to get it out -- way too cute when you see your toddler sitting intently on the floor with a toy in his lap and he's trying to get screws out with a pen or something!! Keeps him entertained right? ;)

The newest project that daddy was working on was fixing our new (used) double-stroller. Ethan had to get in the action and I had to take pictures....

I love to see the concentration on his face when he's trying to get the tip of the screwdriver into the hole - he really gets into it!

I think we have a future Mr. Fix-It (just like his daddy) in our midst!


He sure was happy after he completed the project!

I just hope he never "fixes" something that doesn't need fixing...ie: take something apart that doesn't need to be....hmmm I have a feeling that may happen...stories to come I'm sure!!