Letter from Santa!

About two weeks ago Ethan wrote a letter to Santa and quickly sealed it in an envelope before anyone could read it.  On the front he wrote "To Santa From Ethan," put a stamp on it and before he ran it to the mailbox I put a return address label on it. 

Today I got the mail (the first time in a few days) and much to my surprise, there was a letter addressed only to Ethan from the United States Post Office!  At first, I thought that they were just returning the letter that he had sent but when I opened it and saw the letterhead, I called Ethan over and showed it to him.  He was so excited!

Thank you USPS for helping my son believe in Santa for one more year!!  They probably get flooded with letters to Santa each year - it is so awesome that they reply to the kids!!

Life Updates

Whew-I haven't been very good at updating my blog lately!  Sorry, Dad:)  Here are some updates from November to now...

Sean:  Sean's project in North Carolina finally finished in November (after a year a half!)!!!  That means that he isn't traveling to NC every week:)  Instead, he is now traveling to Richmond, but thankfully that it only two hours away and he usually only goes for one night a week.  He has also been traveling to Texas to give presentations for work.

Ethan:  Ethan has been busy with Cub Scouts, school, and playing.  He participated in the Veterans Day event at his school and the Thanksgiving Program that his teacher organized.  Right now he is responsible for taking care of our neighbors' cat, Dubya, for two weeks while they are out of town.  He loves their cat and is so happy that they asked him to take care of him! 

Owen:  Owen is getting bigger each day.  A couple of nights ago he slept for 8 straight hours!  That is the longest he has ever gone.  It still fluctuates anywhere from every 2-5 hours, but at the beginning of the year I hope to sleep train him with a system that some friends have used with success.  He had his first taste of baby Oatmeal in November... at first he liked it but then, not so much.  Lately I have been giving it to him again, he he seems to like it better.  He is a "rolly polly" and likes to roll over onto his tummy, and likes to watch everything and puts anything he can get his hands on into his mouth.  At Owen's four-month doctors appointment I told the doctor that I noticed that he doesn't like to turn his head to the left, so she recommended that I take him to physical therapy.  So we go there every two weeks to help stretch his neck muscles (he has left torticollis... it is very common in babies).  We continue to hang out with friends we have made from Mommy Group at least twice a week:)

                                                                 November  4, 2011

Me:  In November I sold some of the car seat covers and burp clothes I have made!  I love sewing/crocheting and it is fun to be selling them:)  I have also been busy planning Meghan's baby shower, which is going to be January 14th (what was I thinking when I made the date two weeks after Christmas?!). 

One of the car seat covers I sold.. and it's reversible!

and of course... Josie!:  Josie is doing good  - she still gets really excited when people come over, but she is so great with Ethan and Owen... Even when Ethan pulls on her ears and nags her, she is so patient with him.  And she absolutely LOVES Owen... whenever he is laying on the floor, she almost always gets up and lays right next to him - it's really cute!

In honor of Veterans Day, Ethan's school did an assembly - it was so special!  Dave came with me and they really did a great job singing the songs and really making everyone feel grateful for all that our veterans (and current military personel) do for us.  Before and after the assembly, they did a slideshow and they included a picture of Grandpa that I had sent in!  I know that he would have been embarrassed if he were still alive, but I like to think that he was smiling down on us when he picture was displayed for all to see:)

Picture of Grandpa during the Veterans Day Program.. on the big screen for everyone to see!!!

For Thanksgiving we went to Richmond to be with Sean's sister and her family, and his other sister, Aubrey (and her family) came down as well.  It was so fun - we really enjoyed it! 

Ethan Received His Bobcat Badge!

Last night was Ethan's monthly Cub Scouts Pack Meeting.  It was only his second time going, since he just became a Cub Scout in late September, but he really enjoys going, especially because that is when they hand out badges and belt loops for any achievements that have been completed!  Last night Ethan received (in addition to a couple of belt loops) his Bobcat Badge - he was so excited!  He then gave me the Babcat pin - it was so sweet having him pin it onto my sash:)  I am so happy that he enjoys going to cub scouts and it is fun helping him complete the acheivements.  I hope that he continues to enjoy it and will become an Eagle Scout someday!

Ethan pinning the Bobcat pin onto my sash

Since Sean was out of town, a friend in our ward took this picture for us:)

Halloween 2011

Ethan was a Ninja and Owen a pumpkin:)  (Owen's costume was actually Ethan's first Halloween costume!  Thankfully I kept it!)

Kiddos... LOVE THEM!

Owen's Ready!

Hi-Ya!

Owen didn't last long...

Everyone's Ready for some Candy!

Ethan's pumpkin creation... turned out great!

Pumpkin Carving and Block Party!

After church Sean and Ethan carved the big pumpkin - it was fun watching them design how they wanted it to look and watching Sean teach Ethan how to carve it. (Ethan didn't want to use any of the designs that came with the cutting tools - he wanted to make his own).

Me Making Brownies and Cookies for the Block Party

Owen hanging out watching me bake:)

NEIGHBORHOOD BLOCK PARTY

Since it snowed all day on Saturday, our neighborhood block party (that some of the neighbors organized) was pushed to Sunday.  Even though it was pushed to Sunday, Sean and I agreed that we should go (we usually stay inside on Sundays after church).  It was so much fun and Ethan had a blast running around with his friends in his Halloween costume!  There was even a DJ and a pumpkin launcher that some of the dads built!  Great friends, great times, great memories:)

 Some of the kids dancing:)

 The DJ

You can't really tell in this picture, but this is the driveway where most of the adults hung out... there was a mini fire pit so it was nice and warm!

The Infamous Pumpkin Launcher!

Some of the older kids set up face painting for the younger ones...

The Three Ninjas!!! (Can you tell which one is Ethan?!)



Snow BEFORE Halloween!

That's right... today it snowed ALL day long - and it is still October!  Ethan and some neighborhood kids had fun playing in it at least!

Lookin' Out the Window...

Halloween Party at Mom and Baby Group!

At group we had a Halloween celebration and dressed all of our babies in their costumes - it was so cute seeing all of the different outfits!  Here are some pictures:

 Cake I Made

Owen sleeping at the beginning of the party

Jimmy and Owen

Jimmy, Owen, Ella, and Emery

"Artist At Work"

After church, Ethan really wanted to paint the two smaller pumpkins that he picked out yesterday at the pumpkin patch.  So while I was feeding Owen, Sean helped Ethan set up all of his paints outside on the deck.  In addition to painting the pumpkins, he also painted some pretty pictures:

"Artist at Work" sign Ethan made and hung up by the door leading to the deck

Pictures he painted...

Finding the Perfect Pumpkins!

We went to Pumpkinville to find the perfect pumpkins to carve!  Surprisingly, they didn't have a huge selection left, but we were able to find three that we liked:)

The kiddos with one of the pumpkins Ethan picked out

Ethan's Baptism!

Yesterday Ethan was baptized!  Sean and I didn't get much sleep the night before because Owen kept us up, so we prayed that we would have the energy to make it a great day for Ethan.  Sean made Ethan his favorite breakfast (pancakes) for breakfast and after hanging out for a little bit, we all got ready to go.  Earlier in the week, Owen and I went to the mall on a mission to find matching ties for Sean and Ethan.  It was so nice to see them in their matching ties!  William, one of the other boys in our ward, was getting baptized, too. The Relief Society room was almost full of family and friends!  My visiting teaching companion, my visiting teacher (anbd her family), some of Ethan's neighborhood friends...  It was so wonderful to see all of the people who came to celebrate and support Ethan and William!  My parents, Dad, sister, and brother in law also came:)

Watching Ethan during the program I was thinking about the first time I took Ethan to church and how much we have gone through since then... The Sundays when he was a toddler and "testing the boundaries" when I didn't think we would ever be able to sit through Sacrament without having a talk in the hallway to the boy he has become.  I am so incredibly proud of him!

Afterwards, we came back to our house where we had some snacks and cake.  Then we took Ethan to the church bookstore by the temple (in Maryland) and bought him his own set of scriptures (with his name engraved on them), and a scripture tote.

It was such a wonderful day and I hope Ethan will always remember it!

Today was a testimony meeting at church.  Ethan was the first one to go up and bear his.  He said that yesterday people kept asking him if he felt different after being baptized and that he did "and that I know it was the Savior."  :)

The boys before we left for Ethan's baptism

 Ready to be baptized!

Sean and Ethan before Baptism

My family <3

Owen Can Roll Over!

This afternoon I put Owen on his tummy to show Poppy how well he does for "tummy time."  Shortly after, he rolled over!  I grabbed my camera and put him back on his stomach to see if I could get it on video... Sure enough, he did it again (and I got it on video!).  I put him back on his stomach to see if he would do it yet again and he did... What a big boy! :)

Bittersweet Goodbye to My Car...

Saturday we did it - we sold my Honda Civic for a van.  Although I was the one who wanted to do it (two kids in a Civic is a tight squeeze!  Add a stroller in the trunk and there isn't anymore room!), it was still sad to let go of Civic.  I bought it in February 2006 - it was an early college graduation gift to myself.  I paid for it all with my own money, every cent.  It was kind of a symbol of my own 'real' independence.'  Unfortunately, at this stage in my life, though, Civic just wasn't big enough.  It had over 85,000 miles.... all but 81 of them I put on it.  It took Ethan and I to Cincinnati, Ohio once, and Oak Island, and Myrtle Beach multiple times, alont with other trips we went on.  It was a great car!  Even though a semi-moving target for other cars to hit:(  It sure was sad to leave it at the dealership, but I'm so excited for our van!  It has the power sliding doors which is fantastic!  It also has navigation and a DVD player (that we will only use when we are traveling for vacation).  So nice, and so much more space:)

Owen's Blessing Day

Today Owen was blessed at church and my parents, my sister and her husband, Sean's two sisters and their families, and the McQuivey's came for it.  I am so grateful that they were able to come to celebrate this special day!!

First Picture Of Owen Smiling! (kinda)

Owen randomly smiles, especially after he eats when he is just entering "dreamland" and I have been trying to get a picture of it, but they happen so fast that its hard!  Well this morning I just so happened to have my camera right next to me since I'm downloading all of August's pictures on the computer so I was able to snap this one as he sits in his car seat next to me:

So it's not his biggest smile he's shown us, but it's definitely a smile nontheless!  He is starting to smile more when he is awake and we are playing with him (he smiles especially for Ethan!) so hopefully many more "smiley" pictures will be coming soon!

Ethan's First Day of Second Grade!

Today was Ethan's first day of second grade!  I think this was the first year that I didn't start crying when I sent him off to school.  I think it is because I knew how bored he was here at home.  No matter what I did to try and keep him entertained (take him to Harper's Ferry, Mount Vernon, berry picking, go on bike rides, etc) he was always bored. 

He came into our room at 6:30 already dressed in his clothes for the day.  We did our normal morning routine (breakfast, family scripture study, feed/walk Josie) and at 7 he wanted to go to the bus stop... even though his bus doesn't come until 7:30.  So I was able to stall him a little bit so we didn't head to the bus stop until 7:15.  I was only able to get a picture of his cute face by telling him if I didn't take one now (while we were walking) then I was going to take on at the bus stop in front of everyone.  He was pretty quiet this morning (usually he talks my ear off about anything and everything) - he was probably a little nervous but I'm sure he is doing just great! 

After school we are going to get ice cream... our tradition:)

Walking to the bus stop...

Yay - he let me take a picture of him! :)

Getting on the bus...  (he is at the top of the stairs on the bus)

Home from school!