10 years ago I gave birth to my 2nd son
Yep! Ethan is 10 years old today.
10
10
10
I’m having a hard time processing that number.
I have two children in double digits now.
Ethan’s personality is pure sweetness. He’s so sweet I worry about him. LOL
This morning, I gave him a long hug and his hands pat pat patted my back the whole time.
We gave him a huge “lego police station” set and he’s been at work putting it together for several hours.
I did drag him away for a few photos, however.
Ethan was born at 6:48pm
He was 6 pounds and 7 oz, 19 inches long
His first 10 years went by so fast. I suppose his next 10 years will, too.
I’m just along for the ride, and I like it. I enjoy watching Ethan grow.
Ethan’s Special Mashed Potatoes
5 pounds pototoes, peeled and cubed
1 cup sour cream
2 pkgs (3 oz each) cream cheese, softened
3 T. butter
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Boil potatoes 20-25 minutes, until very tender, drain.
In large mixing bowl, mash potatoes. Add sour cream, cream cheese,
butter, salt, onion salt, and pepper; beat until fluffy.
Transfer to a greased 2 quart baking dish. Dot with butter.
Bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.
Yield: 8 servings
Edit (more pictures)
Well, I took E to the store to pick out junk food. Then, we came home and invited friends over. It was quite a fun day. We even all went outside. It’s almost 8pm now, and I just put the kids to bed full of cookies, candy, soda, chips, ice cream, and cake. Oh yeah, they had dinner, too. Rich wasn’t here for the candles, which is so sad, but he was here for breakfast. He has a meeting tonight after church and will be home later. He wants Ethan to wait up for him so they can spend time together. So, after I get done here, I will be going to the livingroom to hang out with my new 10 year old.
If you go back to last year’s post you will see the same group of kids. Fun to see how much they grow in a year. Grace is WILD here, and Caleb is pant-less.
Without my husband at cake time, I had to delegate jobs to the kids. Jacob was in charge of candles.
When I looked at the pictures after we were all done with cake, I noticed that Ethan ended up with 11 candles instead of 10. The perfectionist in me feels uncomfortable with that. LOL
11 candles!
Time for pj’s and tv with Ethan. Good night all!








Happy birthday, Ethan. You may as well enjoy the ride, because the other choice is to NOT enjoy it.
I have four children in double digits – 43, 42, 38, and 33!
Happy birthday Ethan!!! You are such a special blessing to your family!
Ethan looks like a very fine young man. Funny, I just came from Alyssa’s site, and she posted about her son’s birthday, and today is ALSO the day of my brother’s birthday! I love that last picture of you, and I LOVE the red shirt!
Happy Birthday to Ethan! Shanda, you need to enjoy the ride, too, because it will be over sooner than expected.
Blessings to the birthday boy! They do grow up too fast. When my oldest daughter turned 30, I just couldn’t wrap my mind around that! Not only was my daughter 30, but I am old enough to have a 30 year old daughter. Oh dear!
HAppy Birthday Ethan!!! =)
Happiest of Birthdays to you ETHAN! 10 is a special number for you this year and I hope it brings about many great memories for you.Enjoy the Lego set…and if time permits ask your mother to share a picture of something you create from it. Have a wonderful day!Shanda, you also enjoy this day! I love the pictures.
Happy Birthday Ethan! My, how you have grown! And Shanda, the next 10 years will go even much faster! Have a safe ride! Albert
I hope Ethan has a fabulous birthday!
happy birthday Ethan! i have been reading quietly for sometime but something told me today was the day to comment. i hope that today is full of many wonderful surprises and lots of love and laughter. ~ micki
Congratulations to Ethan!! I just made those potatoes last night. They are a family favorite, and I proclaim them to be calorie free every time I make them! 😉
Happy Birthday Ethan!!
Happy Birthday Ethan!! Hope you have a wonderful day! Isn’t it so fun to be 10!? And those mashed potatoes sound delicious, will you share some with me?
He reminds me of my second son, also 10…he’d be pattin’ my back the whole time too! lol
Happy Birthday to Ethan! Wow-10! I’m almost the same age as you but my oldest is just 7 now…I know 10 is coming quickly. You had babies sooo young! How special, and you’ll still be so young when they are all grown up! You have a dear boy there. Enjoy the day.:)
Birthday Blessing Ethan! We love Legos at our house, so I think you got a great gift!Have a fun day
Happy Birthday, Ethan!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ETHAN!!! 🙂 I have three kiddos in 2 digits now…..Wahhhhhh!!!
-Cass
Awww, what a sweet boy! Happy Birthday Ethan! Yummy recipe for Mashed Potatoes, that is a must try!
Happy Birthday! We have a lego police station at our house too.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ethan — 10 is wonderful! Those mashed potatoes are a favorite at our house too, and we like them with cheddar cheese instead of cream cheese and sour cream too. My children are also in double digits — 36, 33 and 30. Where oh where has the time gone!!
Happy Birthday Ethan. I can’t believe he’s 10 already.
Happy Birthday, E! I hope you have a great day. I’d love to see pictures of your lego police station when you get it finished.
Happy B-day, E!!!You have my permission to eat an extra slab o’ cake for the rest of us who wish we could.:o)
Happy Happy Birthday Ethan! Ten is a wonderful age! May God bless your year ahead.
Shanda, you look beautiful …what a happy day. My second son is characterized with sweetness too. Do not fear….they stay sweet and with the Lord I have seen Him take that sweetness and add to it a great strength. blessings, Jenny
Happy Birthday Ethan!!! My oldest, Matthew will be 10 on the 7th!
Happy 10th Birthday, Ethan. May the Lord richly blesses you during your 10th year.
Happy birthday to Ethan! Those are lovely pictures, both of Ethan and of you as well!
Happy Birthday Ethan! It seems like just a little while ago your mom was doing a blog about your last birthday! I’m glad you’re a sweet boy and I hope you never change that about you! Love you! Cousin Lish
Happy Birthday E!!! 10 IS a fun age!
Ethan we love you so very much! XOXOX love Aunt Amanda Uncle Jay, Abbie, Naomi and Weston
The happiest of birthdays to you, Ethan!! Mashed potatoes fixed like that are so yummy!!!
Wow, so hard to believe he’s 10…I hope he had a fabulous birthday today. Great pictures, as always. Take care.
Happy Birthday to one sweet looking little guy! when my kate turned 10 someone told me, “do you realize that probably the majority of her yrs. w/ you at home are over!?” to which i thought, “no i did not. and thanks alot!!” :)i try to remind myself on those days that seem so long, the years really are all too short!
Happy birthday to your young man, Ethan. They do grow up fast! My 14-year-old just proclaimed that she’ll be able to vote in the next presidential election, LOL!
BTW, 10 candles for the birthday, and one to grow on! Easy!
Happy birthday to your young man, Ethan. Yes, the years do fly by! My 14-year-old very cleverly noted tonight that she’d be old enough to vote in the next presidential election, LOL!
BTW, 10 candles for the birthday…and 1 to grow on!
(Sorry for the double post…I had to log in and it didn’t show the first one so I tried again. Oh, well. While I’m here…we have the Lego police station, too! And the fire station. The boys got them for Christmas. Nothing like getting *more* legos to add to a family’s 19-year-old collection!)
Tell Ethan Happy Birthday from us. He is growing up so fast, I can’t believe a year has gone by already! We love you Ethan!
Ethan: Happy Birthday (a day late)! I sure enjoy looking at pictures of you and your siblings. I can see how much you’ve grown in a year! Shanda: I think I asked you once before: Do you make and decorate the cakes or are they bakery cakes? I used to decorate cakes and found this one to be very pretty.
HAAAAPPY BIRTHDAY Ethan. and many many more to come! You are a fine young man! Live for Jesus!
I, for one, plan on trying your potatoes. What a a wonderful bunch of kids on the steps! (I loved the first response!) blessings and love from SC, M
We often added one candle “to grow on”, so satisfy your mind that way. The cake looks delicious and I can hardly wait to try the potatoes. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ETHAN!!
Happy Birthday Ethan!! Kids grow up so fast. Have a fun day!
@cherylyn_p – I bought this one~Ethan picked it out from our grocery store bakery. It is called a “shadow cake” there is a layer of chocolate on top of the creamy vanilla frosting. YUM! It was good!
A big happy birthday to the Ten yr. old!!! Wow, it has gone by fast! The cake looks so good!
Shanda you look beautiful I like how you have it up as your new profile picture now.
Happy Birthday, buddy! Ethan – What a great gift God gave you 10 years ago!! He gave you the BEST mom ever! 🙂