t 'n t luoma

Undoubtably the best part of this site is the Daily Dose of Ethan (or DDOE).

For some time now the "Add your own caption" feature has been broken.

It is now working again.

You can always get to the latest DDOE by going to http://tntluoma.com/ddoe or http://tntluoma.com/ethan/daily/

Also, the pictures at the top of the page show: The first picture ever, 3 years ago, 2 years ago, 1 year ago, and today.

The weekly caption contest is currently on hiatus. You can continue to post your own comments on Friday captions as well as through the week.

Posted by TjL at 12:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I went into the kitchen Saturday and Tracey had two pieces of white bread stacked like a sandwich.

Except there was nothing in the sandwich.

“OK, so she just took out the bread to make a sandwich” I thought.

Then she cut it down the center.

“Hrm... well, usually you make the sandwich first and then cut it, but ...”

Then she cut it two more times in parallel, rotated the plate, and prepared to make more cuts.

“What?” she asked, noticing me there with a look on my face like a dog that just heard a whistle but can’t figure out where it came from.

Continue reading "Church Bread" »

Posted by TjL at 06:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ethan turns 3 on Saturday.

Ethan starts Preschool on September 8th.

Didn’t we just get him home from the hospital?

Posted by TjL at 08:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

(two notes in 1)

Just how big of a Blue's Clues fan is Ethan?

Tracey went to Home Depot the other day, and Ethan wouldn't leave until she bought him a mailbox.

He just sat in his Thinking Chair and called for Mailbox.

He's learned more of the song:

Fin' yer first pawprint [which sounds a lot like 'ballpit']
That's yer first clue
Put it in yer notebook
cuz there whooseclooze?
Blues Clues

A.dor.a.ble.

In other news: I was making Ethan some bacon and I asked him how many pieces he wanted. He said "Two." Then he said, "Spiderman wants two."

"So you want two and Spiderman wants two?"

"Yes"

I thought it was just a sneaky was of saying "four" but he just ate two. I guess Spiderman's eyes were bigger than his stomach.

Posted by TjL at 01:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ethan is currently infatuated with Blue's Clues (he's a Steve guy), but most notably the "Mail Time" song.

For those of you who haven't seen the show (get yourself a kid and watch it, it's fun), when the mail arrives, they sing a song that goes something like

Here's the mail
it never fails
it makes me wanna wag my tail
when it comes I wanna wail MAIL!

There's more to the song, but that's the important part, because Ethan spends quite a bit of time each day singing (and by "singing" I mean "indulged yelling" because he's so adorable when he does it): "Make me wanna wah my tail -- MAAAAAIIIILLLLL!!!"

During which he'll frenetically shake his head. And arms. In fact, most of his body. And running around. (By the way, at what age do you lose the ability to run around while wagging your head frenetically without either falling down or throwing up or getting a raging headache?)

Note to self: video tape this to play at Ethan's wedding rehearsal dinner as part of emotional film montage to lead up to teary speech which will probably end with "I love you man" followed by a firm embrace.

Posted by TjL at 04:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

We took Ethan out on the canoe for the second time today. The first time was a month or so ago and he was not all that impressed. He clung to his mother and was ready to get back on solid ground as soon as possible.

Continue reading "Ethan the Skipper" »

Posted by TjL at 08:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ethan insisted on having 4 pieces of bacon before going to bed.

I went to get him his customary glass of water before bed, and he pointed vehemently to the bacon box (precooked, just microwave and eat... it's a wonderful time to live when you can have decent bacon in under a minute).

Continue reading "Not in any parenting book" »

Posted by TjL at 11:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ethan will be two in a week. I'll deal with that later. Just a few updates.

Continue reading "Ethan Scrapbook" »

Posted by TjL at 09:30 PM | Permalink

There are a lot of similarities and differences between raising children and dogs. Some of them are not as obvious as you might expect.

Continue reading "Raising Dogs and Children" »

Posted by TjL at 12:17 PM | Permalink

The Daily Dose of Ethan is a daily picture of our son, from the day he was born up through today.

New picture every weekday, over the weekend we run a Caption Contest where you get to submit your own caption in the vain hope of winning fabulous gifts and prizes which we don’t really have to offer. But you do get your name on a web page under the word “Winner” and really, what more can you ask of a Monday morning?

Posted by TjL at 12:04 PM | Permalink

This past weekend marked Ethan’s stage debut (and Tracey’s triumphant return to the stage) in Alice in Wonderland

And just how successful was the show? The original goal was 300 people (about 100 per show). Instead, 225 tickets were sold for the Friday night show, 223 for the Saturday matinee, and at least 200 for the Saturday evening show.

Speaking as an audience member, it was a lot of fun to watch. The kids and adults alike seemed to be enjoying themselves. The costumes were wonderful... I could go on and on...

But the picture says more than I ever could.

Posted by TjL at 09:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Hi my name is Ethan, I’m adorable, and you can download this picture for Desktop wallpaper in any of the following sizes:

• 640x480 (23k)
• 800x600 (33k)
• 1024x768 (49k)
• 1400x1050 (84k)
• 2048x1536 (748k)

Posted by TjL at 11:18 AM | Permalink

For some time now Ethan has been doing little helpful things. He'll carry an old diaper to the trash can (and when you change his diaper he'll say "Whew!" and wave his hand in front of his nose... I think he learned that from me).

Two new cute ones: 1) Tracey coughed (she's fighting a cold) and Ethan went over and brought her a kleenex. 2) You can tell him to bring a diaper and the box of wipes. Then when he brings them, he'll lie down on his back and wait for a diaper change.

Very cute indeed.

Posted by TjL at 04:39 PM | Permalink

Tracey brought Ethan to her MOMS group today, and Ethan was terrified of Santa Claus.

He's a curious child.

He's totally thrilled with his ability to walk. The new thing is to walk (toddle) backwards.

At his 18 month checkup he had finally broken the 20 pound mark.

Posted by TjL at 09:24 PM | Permalink

There is now a year worth of DDOE, from birth to first birthday.

There are “new” pictures I just put up from Ethan's birth through the end of June (originally the DDOE started the end of June, so this meant going back and filling in some).

I have created a list of notable days on the DDOE path. Or you might just want to start with birth and work your way forward :-)

Continue reading "Ethan turns 1!!!" »

Posted by TjL at 02:10 AM | Permalink

Inspired by the way-cool Daily Digital at Beagles on the Web (they have a caption contest each Friday), I have decided to start a caption contest for the Daily Dose of Ethan.

Enjoy!

Posted by TjL at 07:36 AM | Permalink