Arizona Here We Come

Are my boys cute or what?

We were so excited for our trip out to Arizona! It's been said by many that it takes about a year of living somewhere before it really starts feeling like home and after 5 moves, I'm believer in that statement. In our almost 6 years of marriage, Chris and I have lived 2 places for more than 1 year. The first was our condo in Mesa that was just under 2 years, but during that time we never truly settled in to our location. The 2nd place was our last home in Gilbert, AZ and for us, it was home. We lived there 2 years, started our family there, and met some amazing friends. So for us, living here in VA for only 8 months, this trip was a visit HOME!

Ethan is always a champ on airplanes and just loves the experience. This time he narrated the whole trip and was just mesmerized as he stared out the window.

Mr. T Man did fantastic on his first plane ride and just loved watching everyone, especially Ethan who is his favorite person in the world. I love my boys!

It's just getting ridiculous now...

Seriously? More snow? You've got to be kidding me!

After the 2 huge storms plus all the cold weather in between, I've had my fill. But February brought another big snow storm. At this point we've built snowmen, had fun sleding, and making snowballs. So we enjoyed this storm from the comfort of our heated house. I love candid shots of Chris and Ethan together because they have such a fun, yet sweet relationship with one another. Ethan just adores his Daddy and the same vice versa. I was able to capture the two of them chatting about the snow as they watched out the window. I just love these boys! Tanner spent this snow storm enjoying his jumper which he's taken to very well. He loves to jump, jump, jump which is a great thing for him and Mom.

What's a big brother for if not to teach his little bro how to jump? Enjoy!

Time for "Cool"

Check out this boy - Is he cute or what?

January 28th was his first day of Joy School.

Joy School is a mother taught preschool that we rotate each week who teaches and we focus our lesson on various values and topics that introduce them to the world around them. It's really laid back...almost like an organized playgroup. The funny part about it is there aren't any other boys his age so he's the only boy in his class out of 6....YIKES! He is the ladies man and really knows the meaning of princess about now. He's definitely the energetic little boy in the group and has found that it doesn't take much work to get the girls attention (not always in a positive way.) But all in all he loves his friends and they love him!

We've had a lot of fun being a part of it and Ethan gets so excited on "Cool Days" If you haven't caught the drift from the title of this post, Ethan doesn't pronounce his "S's" so he goes to "cool" not school.

Tanner has been such a sweet, even tempered baby since the day he was born. He's always great about being along for the ride, despite having to sleep in his car seat, get woken up, etc. He just loves his brother and is happy to ride wherever with him!

This picture was taken at 5 months old.

A Family Favorite

We can't say enough great things about Amazement Square! We love it! It's been a great playdate during the day, a fun Saturday morning activity for Ethan & Daddy, or a family affair in the evening. Each month they host a special Family Night that's really cheap so we brought some friends along for the fun!
This boy and his Daddy always have the best time! Ethan has taken to calling him "my best friend" which I think is adorable. Whenever he needs or wants something he'll say to me,
"Daddy will do it, he's my BEST FRIEND!"

There's was bound to be a picture of me eventually, right? I finally got Chris to take a few pictures. It just feels awkward to ask someone to take your picture, but I'm never in them so it had to be done...for posterity sake. :) Plus, I got all dressed up...earrings and all...are you impressed Brooke? All that shopping wasn't for nothing.

This picture is pretty dark, but I'm taking my turn on the zipline. I hope one day to be ziplining through some forest on a tropical island...maybe a cruise to the Bahamas or something like that. This was just practice.

Our good friend Sarah came along and my kids just love her.

The lastest exhibit in the museum is a room dedicated to learning about various impairments. It's fantastic! Ethan's favorite is the wheelchair basketball of course, but there's also assisted bowling, a braille typewriter, different goggles that simulate visual impairments, etc. It's a great learning experience for all ages. I know I learned something new.

1st Haircut

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Ethan enjoyed a book with Grandpa during the event

It's true, Tanner got his first hair cut at just shy of 5 months old. I was really nervous about cutting it so soon, but it was getting out of control and I didn't want anyone to get confused and think I wanted my baby boy to have a rat tail. It's a style that is still quite popular in some areas of VA. He was so good, like always and he looked so cute all trimmed up and clean cut.

I can't believe I'm even posting that first picture which is horrible of me, and believe me, if there was ANY other before picture of Tanner's hair, it wouldn't be here. So disregard my scariness and focus on the cute boy on my lap.

January in VA = Everyone's Sick

Check out the cute little turtle mask...so cute but so sad all at the same time
After a few treatments he had figured out how to hold it all by himself

Watching a little movie with Dad

This little boy loves the TV, no matter where he's at in a room he will figure out how to twist & turn his body to take a peek at the tube.
So with the massive amounts of cold weather and a big brother bringing home all sorts of germs, our little Tanner had a pretty sick winter. Due to being so little when he got his first colds he ended up with Brochilitis which was accompanying some pretty nice wheezing. The solution was a trip to a special store to purchase a used Nebulizer (thank goodness because it was 1/4 of the price!) and breathing treatments for our sweet boy. And sweet he was...he hardly ever put up a fight about sitting for 10-15 mins to do the treatment and we didn't even need to bribe him...oh babies sure are easier in that regards huh?

More Snow, More Cold

January brought our 2nd BIG snow storm. Only this time, we actually took advantage of it. Despite the fact that the schools were cancelled for over a week, the main roads weren't that bad so we headed over to sled with the Ayers family. After the 30+ minutes it took to bundle everyone up with many layers including plastic grocery bags, sweats, jackets, hat, gloves, etc. we were ready to play! Even though cold is far from my favorite thing in the world, I do love the look of freshly fallen snow and it's always a blast to watch kids play. Did you notice I said watch...I think this year I've come to the realization that I just don't enjoy playing in it that much anymore due the fact that I just can't keep warm. I think I've been in denial for a while that cold weather isn't that bad, but I'm coming clean this year, I just don't like being cold AT ALL. Next year, I'm planning to invest in better cold weather outerwear so I can have a fighting change against the winter. Despite my woes of being cold, we had a great time!

Chris and Ethan went out with Ryan, Quinlan, and Max to sled right away. They found a great hill across the street that was super fast and landed them right in the pine trees. Ethan was totally brave and loved flying down the hill with Chris. Dacy and I came to join them soon after with Zia (Tanner enjoyed his nap in the warmth of the house.) One ride down the hill and a pant leg full of snow (I told you my outerwear was lacking) and I was done sledding.

Dacy and I went to help the younger kiddos build a snowman which was the highlight of Ethan's day. He'd been dying to build a "Frosty" ever since the first snow and finally he was a reality. Unfortunately, we didn't have the magical hat that brought Frosty to life. Maybe next year...

Overall, we had a great "Snow Day" complete with fun, friends, and chicken nuggets...you can't ask for better than that!

FINALLY 2010!

Yes it's true, I'm finally posting pictures that took place in 2010! It's a pretty big accomplishment and I have big plans to get caught up to current very soon. No really, I'm serious this time. I can't believe how procrastination and my usual overscheduling of my life has caused me to get so behind. This year I really want to keep up with documenting the cute and not so cute (hehe) things that my kiddos do and say. Along with that, I have a list a mile long of things I'd like to do better this year. For me, goal setting is something that energizes and excites me. I love talking about things I can do better and want to improve on. I never really thought of that as being a unique characteristic, but I'm realizing that it is. I guess there's a lot of people out there who don't like to talk about their flaws, fancy that. But for whatever reason, most of the time (there's my disclaimer!) it doesn't really bother me. I know I have lots of things to work on and I believe that is the reason we're here on Earth, to learn, grow, make lots of mistakes, and try our best to learn from them and do better the next day.

Chris and I decided that instead of making goals at the beginning of the year then losing track of them within the first 3 months of the year, we'd make our goals each General Conference for our church and review them each month with one another. We've done ok with our review sessions but hope to do better at being accountable to one another on our personal progress.

Now, on to my cute kids and our life so far in 2010. In January, my little cute Tanner turned 5 months and found his love for food! We started him on rice cereal at 4 months, but he really didn't start eating it well until about 5 months. Then at 6 months, he was a champ! Eating 2 meals a day and loving pretty much everything we give him (with the exception of baby peas...have you tasted those? BLAH!) This could be biased considering I'm not a huge lover of peas.

Tanner has also started becoming lots more interactive. He'll flash smiles to anyone who gives him attention and rolled over both ways a few times. Honestly, despite his ability to roll, I don't think he has much desire to do it. After showing off the ability, he quickly decided that he didn't want much to do with it and happily stays in whatever position we put him in. After a while on his tummy he'll start fussing pretending he can't roll over himself...silly boy! Ethan loves his baby brother so much! He likes to make sure Tanner has something to play with and is starting to get down on the floor and play with him a little too.

I think I'm really going to love this brother thing!

A Night on the Town

Check out this happy couple, engagement shot! The funniest part is that this was just an impromtu picture and they are just friends! Brent grabbed a friend and came along for the great food and company.

So we got a coupon and it expired December 31st, so on December 30th we got some friends together and headed to Charlottesville for an evening on the town. There were 8 of us, plus the 2 babies who we can't forget to mention, 2 cars and a 45 minute drive to the nearest Melting Pot. It was totally worth the drive and the food was delicious. Best of all, the company was awesome. We couldn't believe that we'd already been chatting for 2 hours before dessert was even served. We loved the break and night out!

White Elephant

Chris's grandparents have a fun tradition of getting together at Christmas time for a family reunion of sorts, complete with a yummy lunch and White Elephant game. 5 years ago when Chris and I got married we would all gather in the living room, a little tight, but a big happy family. Now 5 years later, there's no way the whole family can fit in the living room so we had to move the gathering downstairs to the basement. The room was so tight once you found a seat there was no moving. We had a great time playing! I unfortunately didn't come through for the family. Chris got an early number, ended up with a dud gift that was for sure not going to get traded. His grandma is awesome and took his gift which put him back in the game. He was dying for something Cast Iron but unfortunately when it game down to my turn, I blew it and we ended up with two "ok" gifts. Chris was out of the room with Tanner and my decision making skills went out the window without him there. Oh well, we had a great time and it was wonderful spending time with family during the holidays. Ethan was by far the luckiest of anyone...Great Grandma got him the toy that was the envy of all the great grandkids. It's got a battery operated screwdriver and you can take the whole thing apart and put it back together. For a 2 year old boy...this = AWESOME!

Gotta love this sweet baby smile!