Had to steal...

So I saw this cartoon on a friends blog and had to steal it! Appalachian is where I went to college...so holla! :)

Park Fun!

This evening our family went for a walk up to the community park. We had lots of fun on the swings and the slide. Ethan LOVES the swings! We had a blast. It was a beautiful day. Then on our way home we stopped at the pond behind our apartment and fed the geese. But not only did the geese obtain nourishment but we fed the fish and turtles too. There were like 50 turtles that came up from the bottom and then I saw this white thing under the water. I was like, what in the world is that... then we saw it... an albino catfish! Matt and I concocted a plan... I would throw bread to the side to distract the geese so that the poor little fish and turtles could eat some bread too as well as the monster albino fish. So we started throwing bread like madmen. Matt and I were laughing hysterically. At this point Ethan was just staring at us from his stroller thinking, "wow I have weird parents who are easily entertained!" Like i've said before... it is the small things that I get huge JOY from! I LOVED tonight. We had so much fun as a family. We cannot wait until Ethan gets older to experience more things in life with him. So here are some pictures from the event.

Ethan in the swing

Geese and TONS of turtles
The albino catfish and a goose fighting over bread
Ethan staring at the whole bread scene

Our little Tarheel

So we had a little photo shoot in some Carolina gear before Ethan grows out of it! Since his daddy is a HUGE Tarheel fan he has to sport the team apparel.

His next outfit to grow into- found at the consignment sale for $10. Thanks for buying it Grammy!

Swingin'

Today I am at my parent's house for the day. They are having furniture delivered and needed someone to be here to let the guys in so I volunteered. While i've been hanging around the house I took Ethan out on the porch to swing in his new swing. I bought this swing at the consignment sale for $6.00 and it looks brand new! Ethan LOVES it! It was a beautiful fall morning here and a little chilly outside. His lips were quivering, good thing I brought his little jacket so I could cover up that bald head!

We got burned

Not only did our team get burned (34-21) but our faces did too. It was a beautiful day yesterday as we went to the Carolina Panthers game. It was breezy with highs in the 70's. The game started out great with us leading 14-0 in the first quarter but it all went down hill from there. We got thrashed! I was ready to leave at the 4th quarter but we stuck it out. (Matt wanted to stay until the whole game was over but I kept telling him I was getting sun burned...little did he know I wasn't just whining, I was getting toasted!) So we had a great day...we wished they would have pulled out a victory but it was fun! It was our first Panther game. The seats were on the top level but we could see just fine. Of course Matt would have loved to be on the 50 yard line front and center. I hope to be able to treat him to more games.... winning games, that is! Here are some pictures from the game.
p.s. Ethan turned 7 months old yesterday! I hit the jackpot at the consignment sale! I didn't buy anything over $8.00 and got brand name jeans for Ethan for like $2/3 dollars a pair! I got tons of puzzles and toys and even got a sled! ha ha. Now i'm praying for snow this winter because he will LOVE it! I'm going back to the sale with my mom tonight, we might get in more trouble!

Ethan's new sled

Panther's stadium
View from our seats...camera was zoomed way out, we actually could see them better than this
Me and my love
Players ran onto the field through a panther head and flames

It's a matter of time....

Our baby has made major strides just in the past 3 days. He will be crawling in no time. He gets up on his knees and hands and rocks back and forth. It's amazing to see how much he is changing so quickly. I was thinking just in the past month how much he has changed....
He now drinks from a sippy cup
He eats fruit puffs
He has mastered rolling over
He got 2 teeth
He sits on his own without falling 30 seconds into it
All of this just in the past month. I miss my little snuggly baby but I LOVE every new stage! Oh, and our air was fixed this afternoon, praise the Lord!

Broken Air

So we realized last night after we had some friends over to play cards that our air conditioning is broken. We knew it felt warm but we thought it was just the living room....however it is not. Good thing a cool front just blew in or this might be a bit more miserable.

Are you ready for some football?

YAY! Matt and I are going to the Carolina Panthers game on Sunday. Due to some major family collaboration we got tickets for Matt's birthday present to go! (His birthday is in October) This was the only game we could get tickets for and HE IS SO EXCITED! It will be a blast, and oh, don't you worry... I will be posting some pictures!

Updates

Well a lot is happening in our family! Praise the Lord my brother and sister-in-laws' cat returned after a week of being missing. I have a job interview today at a daycare where I could take Ethan with me! Matt is quiting his job to focus solely on working for the church and hopefully resuming his classes to get his Masters. Ethan is teething again, we see buldges on his top gums so i'm sure those teeth will be coming in soon. He is really trying to crawl. Yesterday he kept getting up on his knees and even rocked back and forth but can't seem to quite get it. Honestly I am in no hurry because that means I really have to baby proof the house and he will constantly be on the go. His latest thing is to be talking ALL THE TIME. All I hear is "na na na na na da da da da daba ba ba ba na na na na na" He is really big on the "na's" lately. Sometimes he looks at you like, "i'm really trying to tell you something, can't you understand?".
I'm very excited about a HUGE consignment sale coming up. I walked by the place yesterday and looked through the windows and was drooling at all the things I can get Ethan. I really want to get him more toddler toys to play with. The rattles and teething toys just aren't cutting it anymore. See, I went to go shopping for myself yesterday at some outlet stores and went into the Carter's outlet. Bad idea. EVERYTHING was on sale. The lowest sale was 50% off and they had stuff all the way up to 75% off. So I bought some things for Ethan for the winter. IF I can't find stuff at the consignment then I will keep what I bought at Carters, but if I find what i'm looking for at the consignment sale then I will hopefully return the Carter's stuff. Although it is TOO cute! Anyhow, the next thing i'm looking forward to is Matt and I are going camping the last weekend in September. We have a busy next few months. Between camping, family coming into town the first 2 weekends in October, Matt's birthday, then all the holidays... we probably won't be able to rest until after the new year. But guess what, I LOVE IT! I am so looking forward to fall and winter and all that it entails!
To close I am going to put a quote that I found in my little devotional book. It was talking about praying Big prayers and expecting Big answers. Maybe it will hit you like it did me....
"You want big answers to your prayers? Pray big prayers, and KNOW THE SIZE OF THE GOD YOU SEEK."
Yeee haaaw, God is awesome and bigger than our feeble minds can comprehend!

Happy Birthday

It has been a wonderful birthday! I've had numerous phone calls, e-mails, and messages. The cutest was my nephew singing me happy birthday on the phone and another couple's little boy singing to me as well. The funniest was an old college friend singing happy birthday to me in opera! I've loved receiving love from other people. SO thank you!
We went out to eat at the Olive Garden tonight and I stuffed myself. I can't wait to receive 2 gifts I know about. One is the new David Crowder CD coming out on the 25th! (Thanks Mike, Court, and Jackson) The other is my husband is letting me go shopping to get some clothes. Yay! I think I will start celebrating my half birthday ;) ha ha. Thank you friends and family. I love and cherish you all!
My gift to myself is posting more pictures, yay!

Trying to crawl- still doesn't get the 'using the hands' concept

A precious smile on my birthday!

The eve of a day to be celebrated

Tomorrow I turn 26! Birthdays definitely don't contain the excitement they did all growing up, but i'm still looking forward to tomorrow. Last year my husband's gift to me was a Willow Tree figurine that was a woman who was pregnant. It's so amazing to think that last year I was pregnant and just starting to get big and this year I have an almost 7 month old! I just thank God for my life and I hope that I can bring honor to him for many more years. I know I still have a lot of growing up to do in many ways, but I hope that a year from tomorrow I will look back and say that I grew the most spiritually. This past year I grew the most physically having a 9.5lbs baby! HA!
I think it's official, I am going to get my hair cut again. It's just in this weird in between where it's not long anymore but it's not short with a style it's just kinda here. So I think I am going to go shorter with a bob and maybe some bangs. Who knows. I just can't seem to figure out what I want.
p.s. Ethan just tried drinkable yogurt for the first time and he loved it! My sister-in-law Courtney recommended giving it to my babies because Jackson did great with it. It was a neat, on-the-go thing they could drink in a sippy cup. Fun times. So i'm sure this will be a new must have for us!

Last night's adventure and the new do

So last night I had one of the best nights in a long time and it wasn't anything real extravagant. Matt and I decided that we didn't want to make dinner here at home. So we walked down to a nearby restaurant. It was so fun! It's a little over a mile away and it is real hilly where we went. The sun was shining and there was a slight breeze and it was awesome to be outside walking together with our little boy relaxing in his jogger. Ethan loves going for a stroll. He sits there contently and looks around. So we walked down to the place, ate dinner, and on the way back we stopped at the big community park that is right down from our apartment. We put Ethan in a swing and he loved it! I had wanted to try since he enjoyed the swing at my brothers house. So it was just a fun family outing. By the time we got home our stomachs were a little queezy from the food we had just eaten sloshing around in our stomachs on the walk back. But I am sure we will do that again! Just a mile further is a dairy queen!!!! We might have to make that trip very soon!
Anyhow, got my hair cut yesterday. It isn't exactly what I was looking for, but I didn't exactly go in with anything in mind. I think when it grows out some it will be what I wanted. Now i'm debating on cutting some bangs in or I guess what they call "fringe" now-a-days. This is after I styled it today because I did NOT like the way it looked yesterday! Let me know what you think... bangs or no bangs.

BEFORE

yeah, you try taking a picture of the back of your head!
AFTER

Priceless

Good morning! I just got back from walking/running with my son. I love where we have moved to because we are right on a main road that is about 3 miles long with sidewalks down each. We are also right across the street from one of the richest neighborhoods and a golf course. So as we walk and run I stare across the road and only hope that those houses are holding 20 people instead of the 2 that probably live there. I love getting out and Ethan loves to go for a stroll in the jogger. I haven't been since last week so it felt good to get out again. I need to get back in the habit. I walk about a mile and then run as much as I can which these days is not much. But one day i'll work up to it.
Today I am going to get my hair cut. It has gotten real long and my last cut was about 5 months ago when Ethan was two months old. I got a bunch of layers put in it last time, so now it's all grown out and it looks like a mop sitting on my head. I try to be fashionable but i'm just a plain girl. I have been begging my friends and family to nominate me for TLC's "What not to wear". It would just be fun to go get fashion advice and tips for what would look good on my body. But I couldn't bring myself to spend $200 on a pair of jeans like they do! I can't even remember the last time I bought jeans... oh yeah, maternity jeans! Those were my favorite pair, I loved being pregnant. But back to my hair cut... maybe i'll post a picture of the new do because you know I will never again be able to style it the way they do when it is first cut.
Anyhow, i've started reading a book called "Shepherding a Child's Heart". I have to say, I don't really look forward to disciplining my son. But, I look forward to helping him grow up into a man that honors and serves God. The book is all about getting to the heart of behavior rather than just trying to produce a proper behavior. Kind of like the "why" we do things. I think it is a great reminder for myself too. It was actually convicting. So i'm rather enjoying reading it!
Yesterday Ethan was HYPER. He was "talking" all day long..... "dadada da da da bah ba ba ba bah" It was SO cute. Well Matt called me from work when Ethan was having a conversation with himself, so I put him on speaker phone. Matt and I were cracking up because Ethan was staring at the phone and "talking" like he really had something to say to his daddy. Matt loved hearing him. So when I hung up with Matt I called Grammy. Ethan did it again. He was staring at the phone and talking to Grammy. Well of course my mom is a proud Grammy and she put her phone in her office on speaker phone and gathered up the office girls and they listened to Ethan jabbering away. It was a fun moment. One of those moments that makes you tear up, smile real big, whisper a prayer of thankfulness for this wonderful gift in your arms and hug him like you won't ever let go. I just love my son so much, can you tell?! ha ha.
Then, to finish my blog, last night during Ethan's last feeding he was so zapped that he fell asleep after drinking 3 ounces out of the 8 ounces he was supposed to drink. And there was NO waking him up. I tickled him, poked him, made noises, rubbed his feet and burped him (See picture below). He was so tired after all the conversing he had done all day. It was a sweet moment to lay my sleepy boy in his crib for bedtime. Matt and I are in love with our family and I just pray that others feel that same love. Husbands and children are my two favorite things.

I'm holding his chin and trying to burp him, but he's OUT.

I forgot some pic's!!!

Ethan playing with his new ball Grammy and Papa got him. It plays music, lights up, and rolls on its own!

Ethan being distracted by the morning news...maybe he'll be like his daddy and LOVE world news and events.
Ethan in my niece's swing over the weekend. He loved it!
I love this picture, although it didn't turn out the best because of the lighting... Ethan and Papa having fun this past weekend. Ethan likes to jump on Papa and Grammy like he's in his jumparoo.

Labor Day weekend and Little "L"

It was a good weekend. We went and visited my brother's family because my new niece was born on Aug. 17th. I will call her little "L". ( I am respecting their wishes to not publish pictures and names on my blog) "L" was so small. She is 6 lbs and something ounces (can't remember). She was weightless compared to my son. Even at birth Ethan weighed 3 more lbs than she did. She was so small and beautiful!!!! She was technically a premie by 2 days, but only had to stay an extra day in the hospital. She is doing wonderfully and I enjoyed cuddling with her. My brother has recently bought a Wii. It is fun to play, and his excuse is it is his only form of exercise! ha ha. SO my husband enjoyed playing that with my brother while I cuddled with "L" and my other niece who is 2.5 years old. She is SO smart and funny. Whenever I visit with them I am laughing the whole time because she has such amazing wit for a toddler. She was in love with "baby efan" and wanted her "aunt cher cher" to play with her. I LOVE it when she calls me cher cher. She tried Cheri one time and I wished she would go back to cher cher. She has come up with names for everyone in the family.
So anyhow, it was a nice relaxing fun weekend. Ethan is doing wonderfully! He is really trying to crawl and is actually using his arms and not his face! So it is a matter of time before I truly have to baby proof the house.
I was thinking the other day and it was a bit of a shock, that I have 2 nephews and 4 nieces! Last Christmas my parents had 1 grandbaby and this Christmas they will have 3! Children are such a joy and a gift from the Lord! We are really enjoying our son and life as a family. I can't wait for the day we hopefully will add to it!

Two Teeth!

I finally got a good picture of his two bottom teeth coming in! I love it!

Hodge Podge

It's official. My child is a stomach sleeper now. After a few days of crying every time he rolled over on his stomach during nap time or night time, he has adjusted. He LOVES sleeping on his stomach. His naps have even gotten better now that he sleeps on his stomach. Now a new issue has risen. He leaks pee pee every time he turns on his stomach. I've tried a different diaper and I tried adjusting them so that more diaper covers his front. Any suggestions on a good diaper? He is a super pee'er. His diapers are always SO full in the mornings. So if you have any ideas then I would appreciate it! I am changing his crib sheets every morning now. ha.
*You wouldn't know it, but I just had to stop blogging because my adorable baby just spit up all on Matt so I had to rescue him.
Anyhow, yesterday I had a job interview as a TA (teacher's assistant). Matt and I are in this transition stage where I might go back to work while he works for the church and goes to seminary. He had to stop taking classes for this semester because of the move and getting adjusted. So he may stay home with Ethan during the day while I work. We're just not sure yet. I wouldn't mind going back to work as long as Matt was home with Ethan.
After my job interview I met a girlfriend of mine at the mall and we went to babiesRus. I LOVE that store now. Let's just say I went in for some more nuby sippy cups for Ethan, and came out with a bunch more. Nuby sippy cups are definitely the best to start out your child on when they are learning to drink from them. The mouth of it is shaped like normal sippy cups, but it is made out of the bottle nipple material. It doesn't leak but is very easy for babies to learn to drink out of because it doesn't require the vigorous sucking that other sippy cups do. So I ended up buying some new pacifiers for Ethan to try, a pack of nuby sippy cups, then right by those were some Carolina sippy cups so I HAD to buy those! Then as we were walking by diaper bags a cute little tote one caught my eye. It is black on the outside and blue on in the inner lining. It is much smaller than his big one I have and is SO cute! So I grabbed the diaper bag then we went by all the clothes and I HAD to buy my new baby niece an outfit. So I saw this adorable pink onesie with gray sleeves that said "little sister" in rhinestones. Then a matching t-shirt for my 2 1/2 year old niece that says "big sister" so I HAD to buy those! We are going to see them this weekend so I will come bearing gifts. So needless to say I spent a bit more than I should have, but in my eyes they were necessities ;) For some reason my husband doesn't see my point of view!
Well that is all for now. I hope to get Ethan's new curtains hung today. I need to do some house cleaning and I can't forget to go feed our friend's dog for them while they are at the beach. Then tomorrow after church we leave to go visit my brother and his family. So until next time...

I found a picture of Ethan's new bag online.