Ethan's First Game

 I'm apologizing in advance because I know that the quality is horrible and the coaches always seem to be in the way, but the pictures came out ok.  Next weeks will be better I promise ;)  For now you get to enjoy a bunch of kids running around chasing a football!

Ethan is #62 with the black helmet.

Gabrielle 8 & 9 months

9 month stats:  23 1/2 lbs  28 3/4 in and
                       46 1/2 cm head circumference
                       Your in the 95th percentile or above in all areas.

  So I'm a big time slacker and missed your 8 month post so this will be a combined post that will include your 8 and 9 month.  Since I last wrote you, you were learning how to scoot across the floor and now you are a full time crawler on your hands and knees.  You are also walking along the furniture but won't reach to anything if it's not touching.  You have a weird obsession with shoes (mainly flip-flops) and paper.  You dig through the shoe basket just to get to my flip flops and try to eat them, which is really gross!  Your paper thing is pretty weird too, but not as dirty as the shoes. 
  You still eat everything that passes your mouth, which works out pretty well for meal time.  Fruits, veggies, meats, noodles, puffy treats....you eat them all.  You prefer to feed yourself and usually fight me when I try to feed you.  I get to sneak a few bites in occasionally but only a few.
  We have your nap times on a schedule now; two per day, and bedtime on your own.  Now all we have to do is lie you down with your bottle, turn your music and fan on then you are out.  Your back to only waking up about once per night.  Next on our list is to get you out of the bedtime/bottle habit.
  Your personality is huge.  I love it!  You are so expressive in everything you do.  From your body language to your voice, you are so fun to watch.  You dance and bounce up and down on pillows, Dina or Ethan.  You are getting to be a good copy cat and mimic noises or actions we do.  George is still afraid of you and Dina just puts up with you.  Everyone you meet just adores you.  You will visit with most people and are getting very independent.  At the football fields I have to either sit in the car with you or chase you on the field.  You are just getting into doing your own thing.....already!

***Pictures to come soon.****

New Videos

Gabrielle and her new dorky laugh!




Ethan @ Practice 1 of 2 (He is #62 in the black helmet)



Ethan @ Practice 2 of 2


For all of our family and friends to enjoy!

My LITTLE big 5th grader

4th grade is almost over....only today, tomorrow, then a half day on Thursday and Ethan is officially a 5th grader.  He made A/B honor roll, perfect attendance and a pin for making his goal in Accelerated Reader.  He was in the top for checking out books from the school library, #6 in the Top Earners of 4th grade and #21 Overall Top Earner for his school in AR scores.  He rocked the end of this year!!
  This doesn't include the reading contests and awards he received from the public library.  He got a gold medal for reading 20 hours.  He was trying to win their summer reading program where children have a chance to win a gift card to Boarders.  For every two hours they get a raffle ticket, he didn't win but really enjoyed participating.  Needless to say, Ethan LOVES books and we are at the library quite often!

 







  We have now started football and he loves it.  He bugs me to get there early and gets upset when I don't let him stay late.  The coach told his wife the other day how well Ethan was doing and that he "is" a football player.  I know I'm getting it from his wife, but it still makes me happy.  I sneak up there early sometimes to watch him practice and he is very much into it!  I can't wait to get some pictures of him in his gear.

JumBLe XII

  So in the past 3 weeks that Ethan has had off for track break we have completed his list of "To Do's".  I got tired of him saying.....
We never do anything.
Why can't we go here?
When are we gonna _________?
I never get to do ______________. 
So this time I had him make a list of the places he wanted to go and the things he wanted to do.  Thank goodness I have a son who treasures the little things!
  His list was:  Go to Library, Wal-Mart, Target, and Glaziers for Ice Cream.  For 3 whole weeks and that is all he could think of!  I love it :)
  I added the going to the water park, the museum, Sonic for a slush, out for breakfast.  And if he wanted to do these things he had to help me around the house.  Boy did he ever.  Our garage is cleaned out, the office is almost transformed into Gabrielle's room, and we've kept everything else clean!

Ethan's school had a father daughter dance around a few months ago and this past month they had a mother son dance.  I opted out and let Lani go in my place.  I thought she would enjoy some time out with him. 

We were able to paint the office and get it ready for Gabrielle.

Jalyn's birthday party fell while he was out and we had a wonderful time.  There was swimming, eating, and family.  Doesn't get much better than that.

 Then we decided to go out of town for fireworks this year.  I'm much to chicken to bring the good ones into town and shoot them off, although it doesn't stop everyone else in my neighbor hood from doing it.  There is still litter from them over by Ethan's school.  I wish I could have gotten pictures of them going off but it was hectic.  Definitely something I want to do again.

Gabrielle 7 Months

  This last month has brought out so much of your personality.  You have separation anxiety and it's worse when you are tired or not feeling well.  When ANYONE leaves the room you cry.  Sleep is as you need it during the day, some days you need a couple long naps and others only short ones.  Night time is pretty much the same and you only get up once.  We are working ourselves into your own bath time instead of showers and so far so good, you eat all of the bubbles you can find and splash until the water gets cold. 

 

You have learned how to pull yourself up on things, and oh my word you are now climbing as much as your little body will let you.  Our barricades we've had to make to keep you out from under the tables are stepping stones to get the stuff on the tables.  You have a voice, and boy do you use it.  From yelling, shrieking, screaming, crying, growling, grunting, laughing, and talking.  You are just loud, daddy says your "Lesley" loud (sorry Lesley, but I thought it was funny!)  You get super mad and super loud when you can't figure out how to do something, loose what you were going after, or we take stuff away from you.  Crawling has not been mastered yet but scooting across the floor, putting yourself in a sitting position from lying down, and chasing down everything that moves or reflects your image in your walker have been.

 

Your diet has expanded to include most of what we eat.  The only treats I let you have are your cookies and maybe a bite of cake w/ out frosting, or frozen yogurt.  You will eat most everything but you get tired of somethings and poke out your lips and snort through your nose when your done or bored with what we are having.  I still make your food or now order you your own when we go out.  Pasta is very popular with you, we had ravioli the other night and you devoured it.  You understand when the spoon goes and where to put your mouth on big people cups.   Gerber puffs are a favorite snack with you as well, when you were first learning how to eat them they looked like you had little bunny teeth!

  We have started you on sippy cups and so far your doing really great with them.  Water or juice only in those for now and milk only in your bottles.  You are now a pro-bottle-holder and can do it with one hand and sometimes no hands.  Right now, your lying on the floor w/ a bottle watching Baby Einstein First Signs, playing with a sock w/ both hands.  Definite multi-tasker!

  Soon we will have your own bedroom put together and we will make that transition.  I'll post pictures of that when we are finished.

juMBLe XI

*Our new favorite grocery store is Glazier's Food Marketplace.  It's right down the street and it took me months to finally go inside.  Now that we have, we now shop there and Costco, and very little anywhere else.  They have the best pizza place and ice cream bar inside.  We have grown addicted to the New York style pizza and the chocolate covered bananas.  So if you live in the Southwest and haven't made it there yet, I highly recommend it.
*Father's Day was all weekend long.  I thought he deserved it and I finally figured out a few things to do for him.  1) I took the kids Saturday morning and let him sleep in 2) I got his car washed inside and out along with an oil change 3) We went to Chicago Brewing Company, which I loved but Gabrielle didn't cooperate so we had to leave early. 4) Crab for Dinner on Sunday and a nice relaxing night. 5) Ethan wanted to decorate a cake for him at Glaziers, and of course Gabrielle got to help too!

*I have a growing list of projects around the house that I'm working on.  They include: painting the kids rooms, moving my desk into my room and making an office area, moving Jared's desk downstairs and giving him his "man-cave" area in the garage with his equipment and books, cleaning out the garage, finishing my garden and start planting stuff, some misc deep cleaning, and a whole bunch of others I can't remember right now.

(Imagine it painted with dirt and plants, I'm really hope it looks better too, cause it was a b*tch to put together.)







*Jared is loving his job and I'm loving his schedule.  I've got four days a week to get what I need done and I've got three days to spend with him.  And on Friday's we get to hang out and have good quality time together.

*I wish I could make the "SLOW" button work on Ethan.  Everything he does is at full speed and he forgets to think first.  So far that hasn't worked out the best for him.  One of these days he'll get it and think first.
*I've been toying with the idea of switching phone companies and just haven't done it yet.  Right now it'll cost me $85 extra to break the contract w/ AT&T and I just don't want to pay that yet.
*We finally got a new computer, but I refuse to set it up until I get the rooms painted and arranged properly.
*I'm really working on loving my house.  It's not exactly what we wanted but; 1) we can afford it right now 2) it's ours 3) it's clean and in a good neighborhood 4) if I work hard then I can make it feel more homey 5) I feel greatfull for all of the above because we weren't in this position a few months ago.
*Things always have a strange way of working themselves out.  Sometimes I think of what it would have been like to move and start fresh some where other than Vegas.  But like Jared tells me regret is a wasted emotion and solves nothing.  So I just remind myself that we are where we are suppose to be.
*And because she is just too cute not to post....

Gabrielle 6 months.....that is 1/2 of a year!

*Six months done and over with and we can never go back.  You are getting such a personality and are noticing so much of your surroundings.  The dogs are huge funny play things that make weird noises and they make you laugh.

*You are eating EVERYTHING!  We made pot roast last week and I blended up the veggies (you loved them), I made beef stroganoff and blended that last night (you ate two helpings).  I don't think I found anything you won't eat yet.  We keep a steady stock of squash, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, rice, mashed potatoes, applesauce, and vanilla yogurt in the house for you.  Depending on what is on sale depends on what we buy and make for you.  I picked up a box of teether cookies yesterday, but they aren't like they used to be.  They are brittle and smaller.  But that didn't stop you from chewing and shoving them in your mouth with both hands.  Today you had pasta with a side of diced bananas and cheerios.  It was awesome to watch you pick them up and put them in your mouth and chew them with you fish lips poking out.  I know these are small things but at this stage that is what we look forward too.

*Your sleep schedule is kinda funky right now.  You have certain blankets that have to be in a certain place otherwise you don't sleep well AT ALL.  For a few months you were sleeping the night through and now you are waking up at least once per night.  Don't know what happened.  Your not much of a sleeper during the day so I don't know if your starving or what....you sleep when we are driving somewhere and then maybe a few 15 to 30 min naps.  And by a few I mean 2 to 3 max!  So seriously not much sleep.  I don't know what you think your gonna miss out on but whatever it is, your not missing ANYTHING!

*You can hold your own bottle now and usually do.  I can lay you down and give it to you and you are a happy girl.

*We are out of the pacifier stage.  You only get it at night time when your in bed when your bottle is empty cause you get super pissed when it runs out.  So we can fool you back to sleep with the pacifier. 

*You can sit up on your own for a while now.  You still have to hold yourself up with your hands and tip over when you lean too far.  But you are getting the hang of it.

*You can make your walker go backwards pretty good and once in a while you can make it go forwards.  You roll everywhere and scoot around the living room floor.  The dogs have to be on watch because once you get focused in on them there is no stopping you.  I know the time is coming when you will get your feet and arms in motion together and we'll have to watch out too.  Right now you use your forehead and legs to scoot and then twist around on your belly.  Anything sideways....your rolling to get there!

 *Of course everything your not suppose to have is your favorite toy.  The remotes, my hair, cell phones, necklaces, glasses, my purse and everything in it!  Your starting to like the Baby Einstein movies and pay attention when the puppets come on.  Also last night you got wrapped up in the baseball game with your cookie.  You wouldn't give Daddy the time of day.

JUMble x

*This has been a long time overdue.  It's funny how once you get on a roll of blogging you will keep it up but once you let it go for a week or so then a week turns into a month and WHAM it's been forever since anything has been updated.
*Let's see over the last month or so a lot has happened.  Our house is up for sale and we are doing the hurry up an wait game.  It's not my favorite game in the world because I HATE waiting for things to happen.  I just hope that Ethan can finish out this school year where he is and they don't give us any problems.
*My Grandfather passed away much to soon.  I will miss talking to him.  We were good listeners for each other and he would always make me laugh.  He had a silly saying for everything.  Always upbeat and usually positive in nature.  Which for someone in his shoes was amazing.  I'm so so glad that my Aunt and Uncle were there to help arrange everything for him.  He deserved the best and they made sure they took care of him the best they could.
*Ethan has been awesome in school.  On his last progress report he had more A's than B's.  He is due to get another report soon so we will see if he kept it up. 
*We have all been praying to the lottery gods and so far they haven't listened.
*I started buying whole wheat pasta, and so far so good. 
*The wind here is kicking my butt and I'm tired of getting headaches.  They are no fun when you have a baby that doesn't sleep much in the day.
*Jared's car is falling apart.  They want $3000 to fix the transmission, and now his engine light is on.  GREAT!!!!
*I finally donated some of our old clothes and junk laying around.  It cleaned out a whole 1'x1' space in the garage.  Guess there is a lot more to go.
*One of these days I will get serious about Weight Watchers again.  I've only got 15 lbs to loose and I know I can.  I just need to take the first step and stick with it.
*I'm addicted to M&M's.  I bought a big bag of them while I was shopping yesterday and plopped down on the couch with my bottle of water and went to town.  After about 10 min I threw them all away and jumped on the Wii fit and got my butt kicked.

My fun 10 year old boy!

*The top of your head is a little past my nose and your about 100lbs.  You have almost out grown me but it will be a while before you out grow you Daddy.

*You are back on AB Honor roll for the second trimester and I'm so proud.  You worked hard for this one and now I hope you can stay there.





Ethan, Ethan, Ethan........

You woke up and now you are 10 years old.I can't believe how fast you have grown up.  Everyone who knows you loves you and thinks you are a very polite caring young man.  I can't say much different only add to it.  You are funny, goofy, thoughtful, compassionate, and so very handsome (yes, I had to add that)

You still remind me of your Dad.  Your quirks are the same, the way you both react to situations, and the way you two approach thing are so similar.  When you are with your friends you are so silly and chatty.  You never run out of things to say, which is sooo not like your Dad.  I love you and can't wait to see what the next year brings.

Your 10th party was so much fun and I know you had such a blast.  You had friends, family, and family friends come.  There was cake, pizza, sandwiches, soda, and goodie bags.  We sent everyone home with a sugar high.  Thank you to everyone who came, you helped make Ethan's day a wonderful one.