King of Christmas

Here's the king of Christmas. We had such a good time- Christmas truly is best shared with family- and children. :)

Piano

My dad plays the piano. We've grown up with it and I have loved it. One of the things I am most excited about is that Ethan will also grow up with a piano around. :) Here's some bonding and learning time...

Joseph, Mary, and Jesus

So our good friends the Woodbury's asked us for a favor the Sunday before Christmas... Anne asked if we could play Mary, Joseph, and Jesus in their primary pageant. I was so excited that I said yes instantly. :)

All of us in our costumes- Anne is so talented!

Surrounded by all the kids. :)

Darn...

I was going to post a million pictures from Christmas morning but I realized that my camera is still at my mom's house. Bummer. There were some really cute pictures though! Ethan didn't really know what was going on, nor did he seem that interested. But Dave and I had a great time! We were both so excited to get up that morning. It was also the first Christmas where we had to split time- we started at our place, then went to my parent's house, and ended up at Dave's sister's house for a traditional Spanish meal (YUM!). Ethan's favorite new toy is actually just a little truck that makes popping noises. Pookie ate one of Ethan's toys (we got him a small soccer ball- Bad Pookie!).

I wish I had pictures to share. Soon. :)

Big Baby (Pt 2)

So Ethan's 4 month check up was on Nov 23. And I was once again dead on regarding his size. 2 weeks ago my little boy weighed 19 pounds and was 27 inches long. He's in the 90 something percentile for his size and weight (he's a good height for his weight and vice versa). A few days ago I was reading one of my friend's blog and I realized that her baby and my baby were the same size (give or take a pound and an inch) and her baby is 9 months old.

Anyway, it cracks me up. Our little boy is so big! And he's strong too. He loves standing and if he could he would already be walking and getting into everything. Ethan loves it when we pick him up when I am cooking dinner and show him what we are doing. We have such a curious and smart little man! :)

Merry Christmas!

This year I made an electronic card instead of paper ones to be mailed out. I apparently can't work the scissers or glue in a competent way so an electronic medium is much better for me. That and I never get everything mailed out (I still have thank you cards sitting on my desk from my wedding).

Anyway, I sent out cards to the email addresses I have... so if I don't have yours, here's your copy. :)

Merry Christmas! We love you!

Gobble Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! We had a great day... we went up to Dave's sister's house and join other family members for an excellent Thanksgiving Dinner (Thanks Dave and Carol! It was yummy!). Anyway, I am really just using this as an excuse to post a cute picture of Ethan in his Thanksgiving headband. We received the headband from one of my aunts and I have been so excited to be able to use it!

That's a Turkey on the headband- so CUTE!

And just for fun- a cute face Ethan was making as he was playing.

Thank you...

I'm going to admit something I am terribly ashamed of.... It's taken me about 25 years to appreciate family and 27 years to realize that it is the MOST important thing that any person has.

Today I am writing to thank each of my parents, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles, and everyone else I could possibly be related to...

Over the past year, especially after the birth of my son, I have come to realize what an integral part of my life my family has been. David, Ethan and I have received so much support and assistance from everyone- from advice and baby clothes, to babysitting and people to talk to. It really does take a village to raise a child- and it's a good thing that between our families combined we have a small town! :)

I am so thankful that my eyes have finally been opened to the true value of family and I am so grateful that even though it has taken me so long to figure that out, everyone continued to give me a chance. I know that this realization isn't going to make me any better about sending out emails or birthday cards or presents (I wish it would though!) but I want you all to know that I really do think of each of you EVERY day. Every time I look at Ethan, my heart swells to think of all the people that have come together to raise me, to raise David, and to help us grow. To see us through the awkward years, to tease us and make us stronger, to encourage us, to help us through the tough spots. And to see us through the good times as well. Dave and I don't say it enough, and Ethan can't say it at all (yet), but we are extremely grateful that each of you is in our life, that we were lucky enough to get you as a family member, and that we figured it out before it was too late. We love you all. We think that you guys are the best and we wouldn't trade our places in the world for anything. Thank you for being with us through every thing, for supporting us through so much change, and for being with us as we start a new branch of family. From the bottom of our hearts we thank you and love each of you.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Deborah, David, and Ethan
(Pookie too)

Ethan's Wish List

Just thought I would throw this out there.... I have been reading to Ethan a lot lately- stuff that I loved from my childhood. So I would love to hear your favorite books/stories/etc from YOUR childhood.

I have been on Shel Silverstein kick lately... been reading a lot of "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and "The Giving Tree." Most of you know how dear The Giving Tree is to me and my family. :) I knew that becoming a mommy would make me more emotional but now reading the Giving Tree actually makes me tear up a little bit.

Anyway... Ethan's Wish List...

A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

Mrs Piggle Wiggle (The whole Series)

Picture books

Dr Suess

Beethoveen CD's

Today

Well today Ethan and I met up with April and her kids Mara, Asher, and Sylas. (Yeah aren't those awesome names? Dave wants me to scout out names from April for our next kid. :) )

Anyway... we met up at Temple Square. It was pretty awesome- and a little cold. It has been the first time that I have gone through the visitor's centers at Temple Square... they did a great job! It's really amazing to see the history of the building and the big Jesus statue. I know that it has an official name (Christus?) but I can't think of it. The painting surrounding it is amazing! I want to hire that guy to do my bedroom- the background (the stars/galaxies) are amazing! They have also started putting up lights in Temple square- I am so excited to see the lights this Christmas. :) I'm going to make Dave take me out.

I got my hair cut today as well... it's nice and short! I hadn't had a haircut in 2 years (no exagerating). Now Ethan can't get his fingers stuck in my hair. :)

Anyway- this weekend Dave is taking me to Rodizio for my birthday. YUM! :) I am so excited. :)

Mirror Lake

Over the weekend we all (including Pookie) drove up into the Uintas and to Mirror Lake. The Uintas are beautiful in the summer and beautiful in a different way in the winter. And COLD! For example- the Lake was frozen over with pretty thick ice. One interesting thing was that it was silent up there... really quiet in a way that people rarely hear. No animals, no people, no cars. In the faint distance there was the sound of an airplane. We could hear the wind howling. It was really interesting to experience.

And of course Dave and I couldn't leave until we spent some time throwing rocks at the ice trying to break it. We didn't.

Notice the frozen mass of ice? Mirror Lake. It was so cold we had Ethan in a jacket and a thick blanket just to be sure he was warm.

Bubble Boy. What a cutie!

Oh My Goodness... It's been that long?

I just noticed that I haven't written a blog entry since the middle of October. And it's almost the middle of November now! So much has happened around here! Ethan is almost 4 months old! Can you believe it? I can't. I am still amazed at the ability to look down at my little boy and watch him grow before my eyes... and learn before my eyes. I love it.

Let's see since I last wrote, Ethan and I flew down to California to pick up my mom and drove back up here. Ethan is an awesome traveler... just sits quietly and looks out the window or sleeps. Made the drive from CA to UT so much easier! We had snow promptly after returning- yeah snow! Halloween came and went- with Ethan dressed up as a chunky monkey. And now here we are getting ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

I have been trying to listen more closely to what the Spirit (Holy Ghost) tells me so that has been my daily challenge/goal. Who would have thought that just listening could be so hard? :)

Anyway, no posting would be complete without pictures....

Snow! One of our friends gave us (Ethan) this cute little snow suit.

Daddy and Son dressed alike (even if you can't tell). Some guy time.

His Concentrating Face (Daddy makes the same one when playing video games).

King Chupa the Pirate.

There's a picture of me with my older sister Molly holding me and I was wearing a turban thingy kinda like this.

Swimming!

Last night one of Dave's friends had a surprise birthday party at the local rec center. So we went. And we brought swim suits. :) It was Ethan's first chance to go swimming!

Daddy and Ethan getting ready to go for a swim.

Ethan loves his bathtime so we were hoping that that would translate well into a swimming pool. And the pool at the rec center is pretty awesome... there's a great section for kids, including a gently sloping entry with a soft bottom and a fun structure to play on. There's a lazy river type thing and a pool as well. And for the adults- a hot tub and a lap pool. Dave and I grabbed Ethan, put him in his little swim shorts (and a swim diaper) and headed for the pool. I'd like to think that Ethan loved it- I could see the wheels turning in his brain as we went in. Unfortunately the water was just too cold for him to be able to enjoy it. Poor little guy started shivering after just a few dips in the water. After that we sat by the edge of the pool where we could put his feet in the water and keep the rest of him warm. A good friend of ours watched Ethan for a few minutes so Dave and I could run off and go down the slide a few times. Also our friends told us about this awesome underwater/waterproof/kidproof digital camera... I think that's going to have to be a must in the future.

The first dip (just the toes and bum for now).
Ethan hasn't figured out that the water isn't as warm as his bath yet.

Ethan is still trying to figure out what is going on.

A little bit deeper- Ethan is starting to figure out this "bath" isn't nearly as comfortable.

Smiles

I love Ethan's smile. In fact I carry a camera around with me constantly in hopes of capturing pictures of it or of the other cute things that Ethan does. I think I've written before about how Dave and Ethan must be sick of seeing me behind the camera. Anyway... when Ethan smiles I just can't help but to smile back...

The Big Smile. Dave is so good at getting Ethan to smile.

The "For Mommy" smile

Beware the Cute!

Where do I even start? Ethan and I went to Cali last week. It was so much fun! And we planned it perfectly so we missed the first storm of the year (well, there was lots of rain in the valley and snow in the mountains). We met up with Aunt Kenny and Uncle Doss, Uncle Lewy (sorry bro if I butchered that) and his fiance, the soon to be Aunt Steph, and Grandma and Grandpa. I had so much fun and I think Ethan was glad to see some new faces and see Grandma again. And we had a chance to see some of my old friends. :)

It was a great vacation for us. Ethan was great on the flight there and only a little grumpy on the way back. And I had a chance to relax and kick back while everyone else played with Ethan. :)

Pictures? Why Yes!

I love those cheeks and that smile!

Chilling at Laguna Beach.

Hat and mommy's home made sun shade.

Ocean!
Blog Cross Over. :) Lunch with Heather, Myka and B. :)

Random Updates

Hi Folks! It's been a bit hasn't it? Life seems hectic to me lately. I have been feeling a little overwhelmed lately but I think that's going to be about standard for the rest of my life. Ethan is doing well. I can't stress enough what a cutie he is. :) When he wakes up in the morning the first thing he does is smile. I love it! And the best thing? When Ethan smiles, it's impossible not to smile back at him. It just lights up his whole face. Someday I'll be lucky enough to catch it on camera. But for now I am content just looking. :)

I am heading to Cali at the end of the week. I am meeting my family down there to visit with Bro as he is on leave from Iraq. I am bringing Ethan with me and I am already so stressed about it! (proof? I am already packed because I am so worried about leaving something important behind). Our flights are at his usally nap times so I am hoping that he'll just sleep. The bad news? Lately Ethan has been refusing to take a bottle- from me or anyone. That doesn't help the situation at all. I'm excited to get to Cali (and to come back) but I'm not too thrilled about the flying part. I am looking forward to seeing my family and also meeting up with some old friends from Hawaii (Hi Heather and Myka and B!).

And the other thing that I am really excited about, but I'm not really going to talk about (sorry!) is that I am getting my endowments. I still have to make the appointment, but I want to go to the Salt Lake Temple.

Anyway, that's the haps from around here. Fall is marching its way in. The trees on the mountains around my mom's house are turning vibrant Red. I love it and wish she were here to see it. Oh yeah, I guess that's another thing! I don't know if I mentioned it before but about 3 weeks to a month ago my mom's retina spontaneously detached. There was a trip to the ER followed up by an emergency surgery. As soon as my mom was travel ready she headed down to Cali (to meet up with my Bro) and where she could get some follow up health care. Well, this past week her retina detached again, so she had to go in for surgery #2. :(

Okay One More...

Ethan's Halloween Costume- He's going to be a Monkey... My Chunky Monkey to be exact. :)

I love this picture too...

That's a big baby (Mommy's work out)

My best friend April had her baby, Sylas, 2 weeks after I had Ethan. They're going to grow up to be best friends. The babies were roughly the same size- Ethan was 7 lbs, 9 oz and Sylas was 7 lbs, 1 oz; okay so there's some pretty good difference there, but still...

Anyway... Keep in mind that these 2 babies are only 2 weeks apart...

The proud mommies with the future friends.

Yes, that big buddah baby is my "little" Ethan. And that's Sylas... It looks like Ethan could go on a rampage and eat Sylas as a mid-day snack. I love it.

Ethan's 2 month appointment is on Monday so I'll find out for sure what he's weighing in at.

Oh yeah, bonus- Ethan is bigger than most of the other babies in our wards and he's the youngest. Dave and I were the runts of our families... kind of makes you wonder...

Lottery

So we drove up to Idaho (Malad to be exact) to pick up some lottery tickets and scratch tickets. We go up every once in a while to fill my need to go on road trips (even small ones) and because it's just fun to scratch those little tickets.

It was the first time we had taken Ethan on a long trip (my marathon errand running sessions don't count). Silly me. I was thinking that it would be a quick trip up and then back down so I skimped on bringing the baby stuff. I learned my lesson quickly. We pulled into the parking lot to discover that Ethan had a blow out. A big one too. His onesy and his blanket were covered. Yuck. So I had to get him out of the carseat and into the gas station changing table without spreading the love around. The really fun part was trying to get his onesy off without spreading the poo all over him... I'm glad I brought a huge wad of wipes to clean up after that. Luckily there was an extra diaper hidden in the bottom of my diaper bag but I didn't bring an extra change of clothes. So Ethan had to class it up by sitting naked in his car seat while we scratched our tickets and then for the car ride home.

Anyway, Ethan's first road trip/scratch ticket:

Pictures

I promised to post some of my favorite pictures of Ethan... so here are my 2 current favorites.

Just before bathtime. I know it's playing with fire but I just love my little naked baby and we had to pause to get some good pictures.

I don't know why this one is popping up like this but honestly I am too tired to try to figure out the problem so just tilt your head for the full effect.