It's the Way You Say It!

One day last week after Josh arrived home from work, he was standing in the kitchen with me trying to tell me about his day. Of course, Ethan kept interrupting with stories of his own. Between sentences, Josh shrugged him off with a sarcastic, I don't really care tone, "That's great, Ethan."
I gave Josh the, "Josh!" with the disapproving tone and glare.
Ethan gave me a confused look, and said, "What, Mom? He said that's great?"
Here I was trying to protect Ethan from Josh's sarcastic tone, but I should have known that, like all other men, he wouldn't understand that sometimes it's not what you say, it's the way you say it! (Right, Grandpa Larry!)

Ethan's Dream!

After Josh told me about his dream, Ethan decided to tell us about his dream. After he rambled on for a few minutes, Josh said, "You really need to be recording this!" This is just one minute of his story. It went on for quite a while afterwards! What an imagination!

Canopy?

The other night, I was showing Josh a few different outdoor play yards in a magazine. I said, "And this one has a canopy."
Ethan jumped up and shouted, "Can of pee?!" He was just dumbfounded that a child's play yard would come with a "can of pee." I was laughing so hard, I couldn't even explain it to him!

Coke What?

Josh drinks coke on a regular basis, and sometimes calls it Coca Cola Classic. The other night at supper Ethan asked, "Dad are you drinking coke full of classic?"

I Blame Bob the Builder!

When we were on our walk on Saturday, (walks have become part of our daily routine now that it's nicer outside) we passed a construction site with lots of big trucks and machinery. I pointed them out to Ethan, knowing he would LOVE them!
Unimpressed, he said, "Yeah, but they're not doing anything."
I went on to explain that they probably had the day off since it's Saturday.
He thought for a moment before saying, "But what are they doing?"
I said, "Well, maybe they are going for a walk with their friends, just like us."
Now more confused than before, Ethan said, "Trucks can walk?!"
Oh! He was talking about the trucks; I was talking about the workers! I should have known that a three-year-old who watches Bob the Builder would think that the trucks needed a day off to have fun too!

Just Say Words!

Ethan will sometimes say phrases that have nothing to do with what we are talking about and sometimes they just don't make any sense at all! When he does this, Josh and I tell him, "Ethan, sometimes do you just say words?" Yesterday afternoon was one of those "just saying words" moments.
Josh brought a gun upstairs to clean it, and Ethan said, "No shooting in the house, Dad."
I agree with that rule, but I've never said that before. Ethan has lots of nerf guns that he shoots in the house all the time. Wondering what made him say that, I said, "Who taught you that?"
He responded, "Just forget about it."
What?! Does he even know what that means? I didn't think he did, so I said, "Forget about what?"
Then he said, "You and Livi making cute and me and Dad making awesome."
Awww! Cute! But very random! Ethan, sometimes do you just say words?

The Difference Between a Toot and a Fart!

I know, I know, you gotta love the topics that come up in the Halverson household! Ethan told me Monday afternoon that, "A toot is a little one, and a fart is big."

How Did God Get Here?

A lot of our books lately have talked about God always being with us and how we can always come to Him in prayer. Ethan is still a little confused about where God actually is since he can't see Him. On Monday, I caught him singing a made up song about God being in our house. I was quite impressed, so I said, "That's a great song, Ethan! God is in our house!"
Then Ethan asked me, "Yeah, did he ride a donkey here?"
Hmmmm? Well....ok......kind of......when he came down to Earth as Jesus he rode a donkey.....and now His Spirit is with us.......does His Spirit ride a donkey?......well? Can anyone else answer that one?

More Wiener Talk!

Josh has found a great way to get Ethan to eat healthy foods. I'm not proud to admit this, but........he tells him that good foods will help make his wiener grow big. So at supper tonight, Josh was telling Ethan to eat his carrots so he can get a big wiener. Most nights it works like a charm, but tonight was different. Ethan sat there for a moment, just thinking before he said, "We should go to the wiener store and get me a big wiener." Really!? The wiener store, huh! If a store like that really does exist, I'm sure it's not appropriate for a 3 year old! By the way, he did finish his carrots, so I guess we won't have to go to the wiener store after all!

He Knows!

I was setting the table last night for supper as Josh was finishing up the grilling outside. I looked over to see Ethan sitting in his chair at the table poking at the buns. I told him to stop and gave him a different task to hopefully hold his attention while I finished getting everything ready for supper. I looked over a minute later to see him poking at the buns again. This time I wasn't as calm as I shouted, "Ethan!"
He looked up at me with his sweet, innocent face and said, "Mom, I'm three. I don't know what I do!"

How a Baby is Born

Well, I'm finally caught up with all the Ethan Expressions of the past. Now it's time to post current ones! This morning Ethan was asking me about a friend of ours who's pregnant. He asked, "Will her tummy get really big, and then the baby will just POP OUT?!"
Not really wanting to get into "all that" yet, I asked, "Well, how did you come out of Mommy's tummy?"
He responded, "You just lifted up your shirt, and I flew out! Then you caught me and put me on the floor so I could walk."
Oh, if only it were that simple!

March 29, 2010

Josh was out with some work friends and I was getting supper ready for the kids. Ethan asked for a left over hamburger, oranges, and pickles. I tossed a handful of shredded cheddar on Olivia's high chair to keep her busy while I got everything ready. Before I put the cheese away, I put a handful on Ethan's plate, because I knew he liked it too. But when I handed him his plate, he said, "Hey! I didn't ask for any cheese!" He's going through that "I'm in charge" stage.
I tried to remain calm as I said, "Okay, you don't have to eat it if you don't want it. I put it there because I thought you liked cheese."
After he thought things through a bit, he realized that he did in fact like cheese and he would like to eat it. He felt bad for whining at me, so he said, "Sorry, Mom, I didn't mean to get all up in your junk."
I, of course, didn't believe what I had just heard and asked him to repeat himself. Yep, that's what he said alright! I'm still trying to figure out where he learned that one!

March 29, 2010

I still can't figure out what made him think of this, but as I was fixing my hair the other morning, Ethan came up to me and said, "Mommy, do you remember when I was in your tummy and made it really big?........I should do that again sometime."

March 27, 2010

As I was getting Ethan buckled into the carseat, he looked at me, and totally out of the blue said, "Mommy, my wiener is big for my age!"

This picture was taken earlier that same day!

March 14, 2010

Only a few blocks from our house, there are two big, wooden cardinals hanging on a fence post. Ethan always gets really excited when we pass them, and he points them out to us every time! And as we drove past them on our way to get our professional pictures taken, he pointed them out yet again. "Look! Cardinals! They're my favorite bird!"
I then responded, "Bluejays are my favorite because they're pretty and mean, just like Mommy....right, Ethan." I was obviously fishing for a compliment at this point about how super nice I am!
Instead he smiled and said, "No, Mom......you're not pretty!"

March 11, 2010

Ethan and one of the day care kids were playing nicely in our little Fisher-Price house when Olivia decided she wanted to get in on the action. The other day care kid didn't want Olivia spoiling their fun, so he said, "Get out of here, Livi! Go away! You can't play with us!" Then he started to push her out of the house.
Before I even had the chance to go over and intervene, Ethan stood between the little boy and Olivia and said, "That's my sister! You can't talk naughty to her!" What a great big brother! I hope he's always there to protect her!