Trains and Sugar what could be better

Well, a lot has happened since Ethan's birthday last weekend. Eric finished his classes on Thursday, we went to a get together to celebrate a friend's birthday on Sunday, had pizza with the soccer team on Wednesday and went to the closing family club social for dinner on Friday. (Yeah for not cooking!!) Then on Saturday we went to the temple in the morning and celebrated another friend's birthday at P.F. Changs that night. It seems that everyone is trying to see each other as much as possible before the big split after the trimester.
Also last week we went to the train park with the the Smiths, Websters and Prices (minus the Papas who were very busy finishing school stuff up). The kids got to ride the train around, go through the small museum that is inside the NORAD Presidential train, and play in BOTH playgrounds. They loved it. Kaleb, Xander and Elia loved playing together and were like three peas in a pod.
Ethan and Katelyn hung out during the train ride...
but Ethan was more interested in playing in the sand. Unlike Elia, he really isn't that interested in eating it... Thank goodness!

In other news, we've been working with Ethan to teach him signs because he has the worst habit of squawking loudly for things he wants. Here is my video project (the first time I've put together bits of more than one video: (Turn off the side bar music before you turn it on). Of course Ethan, like most children, seem to be very good at avoiding performance when parents want them too. We've tried about five times to capture his cute head shake (he shakes his head no as he crawls towards things he knows he shouldn't be near (e.g. Watson's water) or when he's doing something he shouldn't be, but when we pull out the camera he refuses! The nerve! Anyway, here are the "more" and "drink" signs.

Well, the end is nigh. Eric graduates officially on Friday! ... Then what? We're not quite sure yet, so if any of you hear of potential jobs, keep us posted. We know something will come, but aparently, we're not done learning to be patient. :)

AND... for the most exciting news of all, our no-sugar "diet", which began January 1st is over!!!!!! We have had several sugar-laden items since we ended it on Friday and honestly, they don't taste as good as they should... or used to anyway. We bought some Honey Bunches of Oats (I think it has like 6 or 7 grams of sugar) and I thought they were gross! We also broke into our post-Easter purchases of Reeses peanut butter eggs and they aren't as spectacular as they used to be. Eric seems to be getting back into sugar better than I am (though I'm sure I'm not far behind). The best example of this is his recent purchase of Reeses Peanut Butter cereal. Sick! He knows that is a one-time purchase though (so ENJOY it now Honey!!). Seriously though, we've both agreed we want to be more moderate in our sugar consumption. We split a cookie at the latest event where refreshments were served! Thanks Greg and Cyndee for undertaking this with us! It has definitely been an eye-opener.

Stay tuned next week to see the new graduate!

PAR-TEEEEE!

We celebrated Ethan's birthday today. We invited our friends over to swim and eat cake and ice cream. I worked in the morning on the cake (plus I had done some preparations (some of the stars) on Thursday night). I invited my friend Paola over to help with some of it. She is the creative and crafty type and I thought she would enjoy it, plus with the two kids and Eric gone to two group meetings all morning I knew I would need the help (thanks Paola)! We had a great time and I think the cake turned out looking great: The gang sang "Happy Birthday",
Then Elia helped Ethan blow out the candle:
Ethan didn't know what to do with the cake and, with a very serious face, just squished and played with it. I think he loved the feel of it between his fingers. I guess we need to play more with texture stuff:
I finally put a little taste in his mouth and he got the idea. He ate some, but still was serious the whole time! What a funny kid. After eating a little, and squishing a lot, he wanted to go back swimming. He loved being in the water, being passed back and forth between Eric and me. He had a huge grin on his face the whole time.
We had a great turnout. We collected canned food instead of presents and were going to take it to a local food bank, but we've decided to take it to church tomorrow and ask the bishop if there is anyone in the ward who could use it. Thanks everyone for coming! In a few weeks everyone will be leaving. It was great to see everyone again!

Happy First Birthday, Ethan!!!

I know it's cruel, but we went this morning to the doctor for Ethan's check-up and shots.
He was 28" long and weighed 18 pounds 12 ounces. He is in the 5th percentile for both of these. Dr. Michael said he's not concerned because they are both the same, but after we see the pulmonologist in 1 week, they might talk about doing some blood tests just to be sure everything is fine. He said Ethan seems to be developing fine, so he's probably just smaller than average, but those percentiles change all the time. Dr. Michael also treated Ethan for a sinus infection since he has had a runny nose for a while.
I just can't even believe it's been a year! When we moved to Glendale I was almost exactly halfway through my pregnancy and now he turns 1 today! Ethan has been so fun. He is almost always smiling! Unlike Elia when she was a baby, Ethan is a pretty good cuddler. He loves to be held and often puts his head down to rest on your shoulder. He loves to eat and will eat anything! He has eaten chicken curry, vegetarian pizza and salsa chicken (just to name a few). He always seems to know if you are eating something better than what you've given him. As of now he has four teeth, is crawling and walks by holding on to furniture. He does the sign for "drink", but he signs "more" by pointing at what he wants. He will smile most readily for Elia and even when we think she is being too rough, he giggles and laughs at her.
Here is a look back at growing up:
1 year:


One of his rare sad moments (they usually only come because he thinks he needs to be picked up): 8 months:
4 months:
One day:
I hope I didn't forget to e-mail anyone, but we're celebrating by inviting everyone to the pool for cake and swimming on Saturday:

Happy Birthday little e!!!!

Utah, North Carolina and Yuma... All in Two Weeks!

OK, so I'm forcing myself to make a post today. I've been avoiding it for a long time because I haven't felt like there was anything to write about and I haven't had a lot of pictures, but then as I thought about everything that has happened these past two weeks, I realize we've done a ton!
On the 2nd, we drove over to Quartzsite, AZ where we met my mom (who came from Yuma) and dropped the kids off. Eric and I then completed the 11.5 hour trip to Utah where he attended a conference put on through the BYU Marriot School of Business. The conference was fantastic. He heard from great speakers like Steven Covey, David Ulrich (one of the world's top five business coaches), and Bronco Mendenhall (the BYU football coach). I hung out with Tiffany while her husband Dave went to the conference with Eric. Without kids I was successfully able to go back to sleep until about 8:00 every morning. I say back to sleep because I would still wake up at about 6:30, as my body is conditioned to doing, then tell myself I didn't have kids so I could go back to sleep. Tiffany and I visited with her family and took a trip to Temple Square. I can't even believe I did this, but I brought my camera equipment without my charger or extra battery and as luck would have it (and maybe because of the temperature difference) my battery was completely dead! Some photographer I am! Luckily, Tiffany's sister had her camera and took a picture for us:

On Saturday, Eric and I began the long trip home, reclaimed our kids, and passed out back at home, uneager to unpack and begin "normal life again." However, we successfully transitioned and Eric went back to classes on Monday.

This week, I guess has felt so crazy because I've done three photography sessions! Wow! That was a little much, but we pulled it off. Elia came with me to one of the sessions and actually volunteered to have her picture taken! That NEVER happens... usually she runs away. It's been a while since I've gotten a cute picture of her and I couldn't decide if I liked the b&w or color, so I posted both. Which is your favorite?
So we don't leave "little e" out, (and since his birthday is fast approaching (on Friday!!!!)), I found this picture from last month. Poor kid. He has to put up with sister dragging him and carrying him around the house and parents sticking balloons with static to his hair.... nope, that's not some strange growth to add to his list of health problems. Thanks goodness! Of course, he can't read the hymn book yet, but he does love to "sing"... probably his second favorite thing... next to eating!

This weekend, Eric went off to Duke University for a rugby tournament. His team took 9th! I drove down to my mom's with my two sick kids, who thankfully are much better now. I made 5 flower hair/headband clips, two headbands and a tutu! It was a lot of fun and much easier than you would think. I'll try to get pictures up of my "project".

Next week, we're off to the races again. Eric flies to Minneapolis then Kalamazoo, Michigan for interviews. Of course, it would be too convenient for them to be back to back, so one is on Tuesday and the other is on Friday... still, we are grateful he is having the interviews. Pray for us, cross your fingers, or do whatever you think will help us get a job!

OK, I feel better now that I've made a post... and actually it wasn't so bad considering I have a car full of stuff to unpack before I pick Eric up at the airport at 11:30 tonight! Cheers!