The Lamp Post

Christmas, Part Three

2011-12-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve, setting out cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer...
Attempting to read Twas the Night Before Christmas; Eli gets a little restless with long books...

Christmas morning...

Santa brought Ethan a Stinky The Garbage Truck...

Santa brought Eli a Little Tykes car...

This package holds TWO GIANT peanut butter cups. Holy cow...they're ginormous!!!

So sweet...Ethan lovingly picked out this soccer ball for Eli and has been very anxiously waiting for Christmas morning so he could give it to him...

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!! We feel very loved and blessed by everyone in our lives.

Christmas, Part Two

2011-12-27T19:02:00.000-08:00

Per Lamp Family tradition, we get together every Christmas Eve for a lasagna dinner and present opening festivities. Unfortunately, with Danny being at the Mayo Clinic, it just wasn't the same this year! We missed them! But we went on without them and had fun nonetheless...

Christmas, Part One

2011-12-27T18:38:00.000-08:00

Since the Grubbs were going to Indiana for Christmas, we had our Lamp/Grubb/Willis Christmas festivities a little early, on Tuesday. Lots of fun!

House Pictures

2011-11-29T16:24:00.000-08:00

HOORAY FOR BEING IN OUR OWN HOUSE AGAIN!!!!! We are so thankful that we were able to stay with Lonnie's parents while we finished building, but boy, is it wonderful to have our own space again!!!

We are by no means done, but we're mostly moved in with the exception of all the boxes in the guest bedroom and the garage. And I haven't done any decoration, so all the walls are bare, but it will take a LONG time to be 100% decorated, so I wait for that to happen to post pictures.

Sooooo, here goes!!

Guest bathroom: (which I've declared a NO KID zone! The boys are NOT allowed to use it so that if you ever come to our house, you can be guaranteed at least one bathroom without pee on the toilet seat or floor)

Breakfast nook and desk are in kitchen:

Kitchen:

Kitchen:

Dining room, oh how I love it!!!!!

Entry way:

Ethan's room:

Eli's room:

Our bedroom:

Workout room, just off our bedroom:

Master bath, ahhhhh....

Weird picture, but this is huge for us....our last house didn't have a separate room for the toilet, so we LOVE being able to use the bathroom without having to kick out the other person!!!

I'm not ashamed of it....here's our extra bedroom. We wanted all this junk out of the garage so we could actually park in there, so it went in here! Once we get unpacked, this room will pretty much just sit empty until we have another kid (someday).

My laundry room....another favorite part of mine.

The living room. The furniture is actually going up stairs, but we don't get our new stuff until tomorrow, so this stuff is staying here for now. It was SOOOO fun decorating for Christmas, especially since we didn't get to last year.

The boy's bathroom:

Another odd picture....but this is the stairway to go up to the playroom/media room. We figured we'd need to put the baby gate at the bottom so Eli wouldn't go up without us. Well, that didn't happen and Eli went up and down the stairs several times without us knowing it and he had no problems, so now we just let him come and go as he pleases.

Upstairs...the screen isn't pulled down in this picture, but there's a big screen at the end that pulls down so we can watch tv/movies. And apparently lots of football. ;)

Extra half bathroom at the foot of the stairs:

We feel so blessed and thankful to be living in our dream home!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-29T16:12:00.000-08:00

What a wonderful Thanksgiving Break!!! We loved having our first holiday in our new home. We were so blessed to have some of our Indiana family come visit us in Arkansas for the first time since our wedding (7 1/2 years ago!). Thanks for coming Grandpa, Uncle Larry, Aunt Debbie, Michelle, and Pedro!!!!
Since we had company we did some of the more touristy things that we don't usually do since we live here.

We went to the Walmart Visitor Center. Never been there in 8 1/2 years of living here! The boys mostly enjoyed the ride of Sam Walton's truck. :)

After that we went to Crystal Bridges. We didn't have tickets to actually go in, but enjoyed walking around the trails and seeing the construction still going on (that was the boys' favorite part!)

Torturing Eli...

I didn't get any pictures from actual Thanksgiving Dinner, which we had two of! Lunch at the Lamps and dinner with my family. The day after Thanksgiving we had all our company to our house for dinner.

Lonnie and I took one for the team and sat at the 'kiddie' table...

The grown-up table...

Eli was very excited to eat some cheesecake!!!!

GreatPa and Eli having some quality time. Ethan and GreatPa and some great bonding time, too, by GreatPa chasing Ethan dressed as Batman all around the house, but I had misplaced my camera at that point and didn't get a good picture. It was priceless, though!

Trick or Treating

2011-11-29T15:58:00.000-08:00

First stop....Grandma and Grandpa Lamp. Yes, we lived there. We drove to the front of the house and walked up the sidewalk anyway!

Next stop, the G-dubs! (Grandma and Grandpa Willis)

Last stop, Trunk or Treat at the church building. We had volunteered to host a trunk, which we realized was not the best idea for us in our stage of life. We were tied to the car and couldn't enjoy trick or treating with the boys. But we had fun anyway!

Crazy Uncle Shad... ahem, Uncle Elvis...

Camping

2011-10-30T12:30:00.000-07:00

As always, our camping trips with our friends never disappoint! Another awesome weekend with awesome friends! (and okay weather...a little chilly!) But what gorgeous scenery!!!!

Stalking a poor little walking stick...

Taking a hike...

Trick-or-Treating, camping style!!!

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-16T18:43:00.000-07:00

We went to the Right Choices Corn Maze tonight with our Life Group and had a blast! The weather was confusing...it was so hot! It felt like we should have been at the pool rather than a pumpkin patch.

I got some really cute pictures...

The 'cornbox' instead of sandbox...a huge hit!

The cow train...

Hayride...

Razorback Basketball

2011-10-15T04:42:00.000-07:00

Last night we took the boys to their first ever Razorback basketball game. (Well, the season hasn't actually started; it was just a scrimmage, which means it was free and a lot shorter than a regular game-perfect for us!)
The boys were just mesmerized by all the action at the stadium, Eli especially, since he's never been to anything like that. Ethan's at least been to football games, so it wasn't too different for him. We got to watch the girls basketball team play for a little bit, then there was a slam dunk contest, then we watched the boys basketball team play. It was a blast!

Eli kept his hand in the popcorn box all night....he loves popcorn!!

Mesmerized...

He loved clapping and cheering...

Ethan gave one of the guys a ten for their slam dunk...

What We've Been Up To

2011-10-12T15:55:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from around the house lately:

In our bedroom at Lonnie's parent's house, there is a ledge that goes along one wall, which our bed is up against. Needless to say, on a daily basis the boys must spend at least 15 minutes climbing onto the ledge then jumping into bed. Oh, the boys will miss that ledge when we move out!!!

On their way to the Bentonville Tiger football game for some man time:

Several weeks ago we went to Lowe's and they were handing out little wooden car do-it-yourself kits. Today Ethan decided to take it out and put it together. He did the entire thing COMPLETELY BY HIMSELF, pounding nails into wood and all. Took him about 5 minutes. I was SHOCKED!!!!

Getting Close!!!

2011-10-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

The back patio is done!

I LOVE the stairs that go all the way across. I can visualize a lot of kids sitting on the steps, eating lunch when we have friends over, or playing on the steps, etc.

Okay, I was really disappointed in how this came out, but what can you do? We didn't think we were going to be able to be there when they were pouring the slab, so we had to do a concrete block before with our handprints in it, then set it in as they are pouring the whole slab. It looks a little yucky, but that's okay!

The kitchen is coming along. Appliances were put in today, and the lights are done in the whole house except for the light that goes above the island. We finally have power in the house, so I've enjoyed walking around the house, turning every light switch on and off. There's so many...it's going to take me a long time to remember what switch does what!

LOOOOOOOVE my dining room! It turned out better than I dreamed!

This last picture's a little silly, but it's the little things in life that make us smile, right? Well I love the closet under the stairs!!! Oh, the stuff I will put in there! Suitcases, brooms, mops, vacuum, jackets. Ethan LOVES this closet, too. He will be very sad when he realizes how much stuff I'm going to put in there.

The timeline is still mid-November for moving in, but we're thinking and hoping it will be sooner. Things left to do: driveway, yardwork, carpet, wood floors, blinds, touch up paint, cleaning.

CampQuest

2011-09-27T16:29:00.000-07:00

One of the things we look forward to every year is CampQuest, when a large group of people (200ish!) from church camp together in Branson. What a wonderful way to spend a weekend!

Looooove this picture!

Poor Eli...aka Mr. Klutz. He fell FOUR times throughout the weekend. This next picture shows the result of his biggest fall, from the top of the playground onto gravel...

Lots of Progress!

2011-09-15T14:38:00.000-07:00

The cabinet guys and carpentry team have been working so hard this week!

Sooooo excited about our dining room. We're painting the top half blue and the bottom half white. I'm a little nervous about the color, but didn't want just boring 'ol tan in the whole house.
The kitchen...WOW! Can't wait to cook in here!

Our master closet...

The left side of the kitchen has a little desk/office area. Through the archway is the hallway that holds the boys' bedrooms, their bathroom, the laundry room, the stairs to go upstairs, and the 'mud room' area you can see with the bench and cabinets...

Left side of the laundry room...

Right side of the laundry room... (this room and the workout room will be a light green)

They will start painting tomorrow, which should take a week. I think they're going to pour the back patio on Saturday (which we'll be placing our handprints in!). Once the paint is done they'll spend a week doing tile and granite. We're still looking at the end of October for being finished. Hooray!!!!

Bed Head

2011-09-09T18:30:00.000-07:00

So Handsome...

2011-09-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

...and so hard to get a good picture...

House Stuff

2011-09-03T19:23:00.000-07:00

Here's the granite we picked out, along with a sample of our cabinets:
The brick and stone is almost done...

Drywall and knock-down got finished on Friday, doors were all installed on Saturday...

Looking from one side of the living room into the kitchen

Looking from the dining room into the living room...

They are working on trim this weekend and will start installing the cabinets on Tuesday. They'll paint as soon as the cabinets are done.

We're in the home stretch!!!

Keira's 6th birthday

2011-09-03T18:48:00.000-07:00

We had an awesome pool party for Keira's birthday. My camera died after just a few pictues, so this is all I got!

My Boys

2011-09-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

House Update

2011-08-16T15:01:00.000-07:00

We stopped by the house this afternoon and got a pleasant surprise...brick! They had just started this morning, so I'm sure it'll be a few days before it's done.

They also just finished the soffit and the patio ceiling, and we LOOOOOOVE the way it looks. We purposely designed the back patio to be really big, and are so happy with the way it's turned out.

The window you see in this picture is to my workout room.

Two french doors into the living room, fireplace for the living room in the middle. A tv will be mounted on the backside of the fireplace for outdoor entertainment. To the left of the french doors is the breakfast nook.

Door on the left into the garage.

They should do an inspection later this week then start on insulation and drywall.

We love to see progress! It's starting to get really, really exciting!!!!

Country Living

2011-08-11T18:54:00.000-07:00

2011-07-27T11:24:00.000-07:00

Here's our house as of this morning. The front and right side of the roof is done, so they still need to do the left and back side. They should be doing the electrical and plumbing next week, and I guess shingles somewhere in there soon.

In case you're wondering about the layout:
The little window on the left side of the house is the master bath, right above the bathtub. The small window on the left front of the house is our master closet. Next window to the right is the guest bedroom (bedroom of a future child), then the front door. To the right is the dining room, then Eli's room, then Ethan's room.
Our bonus room above the garage....one of the things we're most excited about. It will be a combination media room/playroom.

Garage Sale Finds

2011-07-27T11:14:00.000-07:00

We've gotten on a big kick of going to garage sales lately, and we've found some really cool stuff!

One of my favorite finds...Mr. Potato Head! Two big bags for a buck!

We've also gotten a lawn mower for Shad, a lawn mower for Lonnie's mom, a workout bench for my exercise room at the new house, Lincoln Logs, lots of board games, books, a booster seat to keep at my parent's house, and other little miscellaneous stuff.
Yay for cheap stuff! ;)

2011-07-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

He's just so stinkin' cute! (and he knows it...)

White Water

2011-07-20T10:50:00.000-07:00

We went to White Water yesterday for our last hoorah of summer. I still have a little bit of time left before starting back, but nothing else big planned. Of course, we were too busy having fun to take pictures, but Lonnie grabbed the camera for the last few minutes before we left and got a few good pictures...

Five minutes after getting in the car to head home...

Sprinkler Fun

2011-07-20T10:19:00.000-07:00

House Progress

2011-07-20T10:07:00.000-07:00

They're almost done framing!!!

Bath time

2011-07-20T09:50:00.000-07:00

I realized I haven't taken any bath pictures in a loooong time. Eli has grown so much since the last bath pictures. (and Ethan has gotten quite the tan!!!)

At the Movies

2011-07-09T20:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took Ethan to see Cars 2 at the movie theater...his first time. We were a little nervous about how he'd do, simply because he won't watch movies at home. But he did great! The plot of the movie was a bit over his head, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. I think he ate an entire tub of popcorn during the movie! (thanks, Dustin!)
Thanks, Peyton and Allison and fams for joining us!

FRAMING!!!!

2011-07-09T12:06:00.000-07:00

How exciting it is to finally see progress on the house! They started framing today and one of the guys there told us it would take about 8 days. They've gotten the right half of the house done in just the first day.
Ethan in his room...

The garage...

Around the house

2011-07-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

Don't worry, Lonnie wasn't really mowing. We would NOT let our child that close to a running lawnmower! :)

Swimming!!!!

2011-07-08T04:03:00.000-07:00

So what do you do to survive a hot Arkansas summer??? SWIM!!! We've been to the pool almost every day this summer. The pool at the clubhouse by our new house has THE BEST POOL for kids. It's a beach entry pool, which means it starts with just an inch of water and gets progressively deeper. There's an island in the middle, too. At first I was nervous to take 4 kids to the pool by myself, but Caden and Keira are completely independent in the pool, and although Ethan can't swim, he is 100% comfortable in the water and is independent with his floaties on. So really I only have to keep my eyes on Eli.
I have a weekly swim date set up with my friends and all the kids get to play together. It's been a wonderful way to spend the summer!

He loves these goggles, even they're too big for him and don't protect him from the water whatsoever. :)

I love this picture!!!! Cracks me up everytime...

Summertime Fun

2011-07-07T18:00:00.000-07:00

I realized that we've been having too much fun this summer that I haven't gotten out the camera very much to document it. I'm going to try to do better.
Let's see...this summer we've been swimming A LOT, reading lots of books, telling lots of stories, going to storytime at the library, going to JumpZone, bowling at Fast Lane, donuts at Krispy Kreme, playing at parks, working puzzles, playing Play-Doh, and riding bikes.

Here we were yesterday morning and this morning doing puzzles and playing Play-Doh.

7 years of happiness and fun!

2011-07-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

On June 26, Lonnie and I celebrated our SEVENTH wedding anniversary. Wow, how time flies! To celebrate, we took a MUCH needed break from the kids and headed for Kansas City for 3 full days and two nights away. My parents watched the kids during the day on Friday, but the Grubbs took over once they got off work that afternoon and kept them the rest of the weekend. I probably don't say it enough, but I LOOOOOOVE having my sister here, and I don't worry a single bit when she's caring for the boys. And now that my parents are here, too, I've got more people to love on our boys!

Anyway, back to AWAY from the kids. We stayed at a hotel close to the Plaza, so Friday during the day we enjoyed walking around, going in shops, eating lunch, and just enjoying each other's company without being interrupted. We found a little cupcake shop and ate a fancy French Toast cupcake at a cute little table outside.
Dinner was something we were REALLY looking forward to. We had reservations at The Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant. If you're not familiar, you get a 4 course meal that you basically cook and eat at your table. You start with cheese that you get to dip bread and veggies in. Next they bring you a salad. For the entree, you get a plate of raw meat and you just cook it in your pot for a minute and a half each. DELICIOUS!!!!!! For dessert they bring you chocolate that you can dip cheesecake, strawberries, bananas, brownies, rice krispie treats, etc. I was too stuffed at that point and didn't even do the chocolate, I just ate the stuff plain! The atmosphere was awesome, and it was just a wonderful experience. It's super expensive, so it's probably not something we'll do again, but was perfect for our weekend away!

Saturday we had planned on going to Schlitterbahn (a waterpark), but woke up to dark and dreary skies, followed by rain. Boo. But no problem. We just piddled around throughout the day, doing whatever we wanted just because we could! We had breakfast at IHOP, went shopping at a mall, went to a casino, and laid out at the pool (by the afternoon it had cleared up).
For dinner that night we had found a Brazilian steakhouse at the Plaza and were excited to try that out. It was delicious, of course! We ate a lot of meat!

Sunday was sunny and clear, so we headed to Schlitterbahn. It was a blast! The coolest part was that the lazy river and wave pool were combined, so every 15 seconds you had a big wave that sent you down the lazy river - awesome! After several hours we headed back home to pick up the boys. It was loads of fun, but we missed them, too!

I'm shocked if anyone is still reading...I know no one really cares about our weekend away, but it was one of the best weekends I've ever had, so I had to document it! :)

Of course, I hardly got any pictures, but here we are at The Melting Pot.

At the Plaza...

Happy anniversary to the love of my life!!!!

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-20T04:13:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day to two great dads - my dad, of course, and the father of my boys - Lonnie!

We started our day with presents and pictures before church.
Lonnie's big gift was a book that I made for him using Shutterfly. It was my first attempt and I was soooo proud of it! I wish I had taken more pictures. Lonnie really liked it.

Last year we started the tradition to go to a Natural's baseball game for Father's Day with a group of friends. We had such a fun time! We were able to spend the afternoon/evening with the Thibodeaux, Benders, Grubbs, Dustin and Lexi, and my parents. The Gralls happened to be there too and we were happy they were able to get seats by us!

Ethan was really into the game and Eli loved watching Strike (the Saskwatch -however you spell that).

(YES! Ethan's finally learned to look at the camera and give a fake smile!! Ha! At least he's not turning his head away anymore)

The whole crew:

Love my little family!

Eli at 15 months

2011-06-17T11:14:00.001-07:00

Haven't done this in awhile...
Here's what our little man is up to these days...

-Walking all over! He's been walking for a little over a month now. He walks a little funny with his left foot turned in and he leads with his left hip. I had our doctor check him out earlier this week and he says to give it about 1 more month and if he's still doing it, we'll take an x-ray and see what's going on.
-Finally starting to say a few more words. Mama, Dada, ball (bah!), water (wawa! or wawer!), up (puh!), night-night (nigh-nigh), and he's starting making sounds for these words, but I wouldn't begin to know how to record them...Grandma, Grandpa, brother, paci
-He's still such a happy boy - loves to smile, laugh, wave, blow kisses, get tickled
-He's not eating that great anymore, I think mainly due to teething. He hates all pasta and immediately spits it out if you actually manage to get it in his mouth. He loves cereal, applesauce, cantaloupe, watermelon, strawberries, yogurt, cereal bars, crackers, PB&J sandwiches, tacos. He LOVES feeding himself, so anytime he has a taco or a sandwich that he can hold on his own, he goes to town!
-Teething. I'll have to make sure when he wakes up from nap, but I think he has a total of 9 teeth: 4 top front, 3 bottom, 2 molars on top. He's been digging his paci lately because of all his teething. Funny how I took the paci away from Ethan at 10 months, but I really don't care with Eli. I know I won't let him be the 3 year old walking around with his paci in his mouth, so if it makes him feel better while teething, so be it. Funny how you're so much more laid back with the second child!
-Swimming - we go swimming most days of the week, and Eli is off and on with the pool. If it's really hot, he enjoys sitting in his boat and floating/splashing around the pool. If it's not so warm, he doesn't really want to be in the water, so he just wanders around the pool area, picking up rocks from the landscaping areas and throwing them all around.
-Weight: 20 pounds, 6.5 ounces. He's such a scrawny little guy!

We sure do love him!

Moving

2011-06-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

We are officially moved out of our old house and living in the basement at Lonnie's parents. Fun times! Unfortunately, we STILL haven't closed on the old house, but hope to either tomorrow or early next week. One thing after another keeps popping up with stuff that didn't get done in order to close. Nothing to do with the buyer, luckily, just hoops to jump through. Frustrating, though, that we could have been living in our own house for 2-3 more weeks.

I didn't really take many pictures when moving, and haven't even taken pictures of our 'new home' but I'll try to do that soon.

A HUGE THANKS TO ALL OUR AWESOME FRIENDS THAT HELPED US MOVE: LANCE, AMANDA, ALAN, DUSTIN, CURT, MOM, DAD. WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Here are the only two good ones I got. Please, don't ever buy a hot tub. Sooooo not worth it when you have to move! (Lonnie would disagree as he used it a lot more than I did.)

Things are progressing very slowly with the construction of the new house. It's quite frustrating to drive by everyday and see very little happening. Not sure what the deal is, but I'd like to have our new home sometime soon!!!!

Mr. Tornado

2011-06-11T04:44:00.000-07:00

We've affectionately nicknamed Eli 'Mr. Tornado.' He is pure destruction! You can't look away for a second, or this is what you'll find...

On this occasion, he found a stamp pad and made himself look like Hitler:
Covered in dirt after getting into one of my house plants:

We sure do love him, but boy is he a handfull!!!!

Demolition Derby

2011-05-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ethan's been talking for a LOOOONG time about the Demolition Derby. Basically since the last one last fall. For some reason my 3 year old boy loves watching cars crash. Hmmmmm...

Anyway, we had planned on bringing Eli to his first ever Demolition Derby, but it was shockingly cold for mid-May so we left him with my parents. (LOVE that they live here now, by the way!!!!!!)

Ethan has been to 4 or 5 Demolition Derbies before and the sound never bothered him before, but it sure did this time!!!! He sat with his hands over his ears most of the time, but still enjoyed it. About halfway through, he whispered in my ear, "Mommy, I need a little song. Will you sing to me?" Awwwwwwwww! So in the middle of the chaos I sang Rockabye Baby. Too funny.

As we got in the car this morning, he says, "Maybe we can go to the Demolition Derby!!??" And the countdown begins for the next one...

Sneaking some of Uncle Dustin's funnel cake:

They actually let us down on the 'field' after it was all over and we got a close look at the crashed cars. Too bad it was sooooooo late and we were all too tired to really get into it.

Butterflies

2011-05-15T13:40:00.000-07:00

I brought home two butterflies from school on Friday. One had come out of it's chrysalis that morning, and the other one we were still waiting on, but I knew it would be any minute. Sure enough, we got home from school just in time to sit down at the table to look at the one butterfly, and as we were looking at it, the other one started coming out of it's chrysalis. We sat there, literally inches away, and watched the entire process. It was unbelievable. I am sooooo glad that Ethan got to experience it (and me too!) - it's definitely not something you see everyday!!!!
Ethan loved being so close to the butterflies and enjoyed holding them on his finger. We released them on Saturday.

Fort Mania

2011-05-15T13:33:00.000-07:00

Ethan has been VERY into making forts lately. The funny thing is, we don't exactly have a lot of the necessities for fort-making. Since the house fiasco last December, we still have almost all nonessential items sitting in storage, meaning all extra blankets, pillows, etc. So we've made do with the two blankets we have. But I think we'll be making some monsterous forts when we're in our new house!

House Progress

2011-05-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

After nearly a month of NO PROGRESS due to the insane amount of rain we got, we're finally back in construction mode! They poured the footers on Thursday, which was awesome to see the actual outline of the house and imagine where each room will be.
Apparently, though, not everyone knows not to step on wet concrete. Ethan just took off running before we could stop him. He just wanted to play! It scared him a bit, but all is well. The concrete guys were still there working, so they quickly straightened out his footprints. ;)

My Boys

2011-05-15T13:23:00.000-07:00

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:58:00.000-07:00

Man, I wish it wasn't so hard to get a good picture of all of us! I guess you could say that none of us are especially photogenic, so after about 30 pictures, these are the 'better' ones.

Happy Mother's Day to all the great Moms out there, and to those that are hoping to be one some day!

Baseball!!!!

2011-05-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

Last night we went to our first Naturals game of the season. We couldn't have asked for better weather!

Man, he is soooooooo handsome!!!! I wish he would let me take his picture more often. He usually turns his head away as soon as he sees the camera, so this was a treat!

Eli enjoyed cruising around the seats and crawling on the concrete (in shorts!). He did quite well considering he normally goes to bed at 7, and we didn't get home til after 9.

Miscellaneous Pictures

2011-05-08T14:17:00.000-07:00

I found a bug catcher at the Associate Store for $2 - best purchase ever! Ethan's been having a blast looking for bugs. So far we've caught a big spider, a long centipede, an inch worm, and a roly poly. He wanted to sleep with it in his bed....we told him that they have to sleep outside. ;)

Eli at nap time...apparently he pulled his pants off (which were quite loose) and snuggled them.

First Friday on the Square, cheering on Lance in the 5K. What a gorgeous night!

Happy Easter!!!

2011-04-24T12:50:00.000-07:00

Dying Easter Eggs with the Grubbs and Grandma and Grandpa...

After church on Sunday, before a fabulous roast lunch....

Oh, how I love these boys!!!!!!!!!

An Exciting New Adventure

2011-04-16T08:35:00.000-07:00

Lonnie and I have been dreaming of building a house for a loooooong time. We've made lists of things we don't like about our current house, and lists of things we want to make sure to include in our 'dream home.' And the time has finally come! We broke ground on Wednesday, April 13. I'll be posting plenty of pictures, I'm sure, of the progress in the next few months. Ethan was happy just to have a pile of dirt to play on. He's easy to please. (If you can't tell, Lonnie and Ethan are standing on top of the pile of dirt)

Wanna See Something Gross????

2011-04-16T07:55:00.000-07:00

If you don't, then don't scroll down!!!!

This is what a double ear infection looks like in our household:

Poor Eli woke up like this this morning. And yes, Mother of the Year here, ran to get the camera before cleaning him up. We took him to the doctor, and sure enough, double ear infection and swollen tonsils. Add that to the pink eye he was diagnosed with on Thursday, and he's a full blown mess!!!

CAMP'N

2011-04-10T12:09:00.000-07:00

Yet another awesome camping trip!!!! This may have been my favorite so far. The weather was PERFECT!!!! Shorts and T-shirt all weekend, but not too hot. All the older kids are at a perfect age for really playing together, riding bikes together, playing ball together, and just running around being crazy! The younger, non-walking kids loved playing together on blankets, chewing on each other's toys. September seems tooooo far away for the next camping trip! :(

Eli's First Birthday (round two)

2011-04-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

With my parents visiting here from Michigan, we were able to get both sides of the family together for Eli's first birthday (a week late). We enjoyed a yummy lasagna dinner together, a little birthday cake, then some present time and playtime! Reason #???? that we're building a new house. We can't fit everyone! Especially with so much family around, we can't really gather very comfortably at our current house. We will in our new house!

Mmmmmmm....cake!

This one's funny....everyone's watching Eli's every move!

Present time! The Grubbs got Eli a fun music set, which both boys LOVE! Grandma and Grandpa Lamp got Eli some cute Elmo pajamas and another play outfit. Grandma and Grandpa Willis got Eli a St. Patrick's Day shirt that says Mommy's Little Charmer (love it!) and some new books.

Thanks for a great birthday party, everyone!

Feeding the Ducks

2011-04-10T11:48:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was the most beautiful day we've had in a looooong time, so we took advantage of it! We met Amanda, Peyton, and Myra at the trail for a picnic lunch and bike ride/walk. After making it the 2 miles around the lake (with Peyton literally running almost the whole way), we stopped to feed the ducks, which were surprisingly nice this time. They usually attack you if you come near them with food. It was a blast! (wish I had taken the camera sooner....I forgot until we were almost done)

One Proud Momma

2011-04-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

Ethan has gotten SOOOOOO good at writing his name! And so motivated too! He writes it just about anywhere he can. I think it's time to start working on the last name. Luckily, it shouldn't be too hard!

My Boys

2011-03-24T23:48:00.000-07:00

I can't say enough how much I love seeing my boys play together and becoming best friends. A common phrase around our house is, "Eli's my best friend, Peyton's my best friend! Two best friends!"

This is a normal Sunday morning (or any day the kids wake up while I'm still getting ready in the morning). Eli drinks his milk on the floor of my closet and Ethan hangs out, not wanting to miss anything...
I still can't get over how different they look! We thought for sure Eli would be a mini-Ethan, but not at all!

The favorite hangout spot...Mommy's alarm clock. I've learned to check it every night before I go to bed to be sure it's still set and the sound is the right volume. I actually forgot to check it for the first time on Wednesday night and sure enough, the volume was turned all the way down. Instead of the radio waking Lonnie up at 4:45, I happened to wake up at 5:35 and freaked out! I think Lonnie was only a few minutes late, though. Luckily I'm on Spring Break, because I just can't handle being late, and that would've really messed me up!

Love those boys!

Happy Birthday, Eli!

2011-03-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Look at this handsome Leprechaun baby!
Although Eli turned one last Thursday, it doesn't seem quite real because we haven't really celebrated yet. We wanted to wait until my parents were here for spring break, so we're doing his official birthday party on Friday.
But we wanted him to eat cake on his actual birthday, so I got him a little cake from Walmart and let him have at it! (the icing was already falling off before he even touched it!)

It took a minute or two, but he finally got the hang of it!

Thanks, Uncle Curt, for the blob of icing on my nose!

And the only present Eli got on his birthday....a present from Aunt Debbie!

His very own towel!

What Eli's up to at one year....

He's not walking, but will stand independently for up to 10 seconds before sitting down (or falling down). His regular crawl has turned into a gangster crawl, with one knee not touching the ground. He's still not talking much. Pretty much mama, dada, baba, nana.

He loves to play with balls; especially likes to throw them and have you throw it back. He likes to put our phones by his ear and pretend to talk. He likes to brush his hair. He still loves bath time. He LOVES to wrestle with Ethan and chase him around the house. He's just started pointing to things in the last week. He loves to hit/whack EVERYTHING; you have to be careful when you're holding something in your hands around him. He is obsessed with the plants, which is driving us CRAZY! He has no idea what the word 'no' means (or he just doesn't care).

Eli has 3 teeth: 2 on bottom, 1 on top. He weighs exactly 20 pounds and is 29 inches tall. He seems pretty tiny to me; he can still fit into 6-9 month clothes with no problem, although does wear some 12 month stuff. He wears size 4 diapers and drinks from a sippy cup. He's still on formula, only because we still have some left. As soon as we run out, we'll switch him to whole milk. He eats table food and seems to really enjoy it. His favorites are lima beans, peas, turkey lunchmeat and bread.

We pretty much call him our little tornado. He is into EVERYTHING! You can't leave his side for a second before he's into something. I'm sure Ethan was the same way, but I don't remember, so it seems like Eli is more destructive.

Eli has been such a blessing in our lives. He keeps us smiling and laughing, especially seeing the two boys interacting together and learning to be friends.

We love our little Leprechaun!

Ethan's Birthday Party

2011-02-27T02:56:00.000-08:00

Ethan had his 3rd birthday party at Gymboree this year. It was the first time to have a 'real' party. Previously it's just been a small gathering of family and friends, but decided to go big this time! I think everyone had a blast!

Most of the gang...I think we were just missing Phoebe in this photo.

About to get rolled over!

I love it. The paparazzi...

Parachute time!

Ethan got to sit in the middle since he was the birthday boy. He was less than thrilled. But I didn't think he would do it at all, so I was happy he sat there, even with a frown. He doesn't like to be the center of attention in big groups.

I think the parents AND kids had fun!

Cake time! Ethan had a Thomas the Train cake, but I forgot to take a picture. When we sang to Ethan, he said, "It's not my birthday!" (again, not loving the center of attention) He's very literal...his birthday was on Monday and we had the party on Saturday, so no, it wasn't his birthday. ;)

Present time!

A cool airplane from Ava...

Cool Hot Wheels car wash and Cars puzzle from Aiden. Ethan LOVES to play with the car wash in the shower and bathtub!

A motorized train, stickers, and a coloring book from our favorite Grubblets! Ethan LOVES the train and we've gotten great use from the coloring book at church.

An awesome Handy Manny tractor that you can take apart and put back together from Chase - so cool!

TRAINS from Peyton - yea!!!!!

Very handsome dress shirts from Allison and Brett - we've already worn them several times!

An awesome camping chair and HUGE 3 balloon from phoebe. Also a really cool gumball machine that Ethan is obsessed with!!!

A cool Cars coloring pad from Addyson and Audrie. Ethan's really been into coloring lately, so this is perfect!

An awesome John Deere truck and trailer from Grandma and Grandpa. Ethan loves the little cows that go inside!

THEN...the birthday boy on his ACTUAL birthday...

More train tracks and trains from Mommy and Daddy...

And a fun game to help Ethan with throwing and catching....

And a ginormous soccer ball!

Aunt Debbie was so sweet to send a package ALL the way from Indiana.

His very own towel! Aunt Debbie embroidered it on her new machine that she got for Christmas. Ethan loves having his own towel in his bathroom!

Playing with the presents...

Happy birthday to our precious little Valentine.

And THANK YOU to all our fabulous friends for celebrating with us. We love you all!

Ethan is THREE!!!!!!!

2011-02-11T11:48:00.000-08:00

Holy cow, I can't believe Ethan will be three on Monday. He's like a real person now! (not a toddler...)

What Ethan's up to these days...
He's really into singing right now, his favorite songs being When We All Get to Heaven, YMCA, Deep and Wide, and several Christmas songs (still). He's recently started liking drawing a lot, and can actually draw stuff! He can draw faces (he loves to include ears and eyebrows), and likes to draw lots of lines. He enjoys drawing with markers, using a MagnaDoodle, on a whiteboard, and also his Etch-a-Sketch. He's become quite the Etch-a-Sketcher...I love watching his tiny little hands maneuver the knobs to make his creations - so cute!
Ethan's really into dancing right now. It absolutely cracks me up because he has NO moves, just like his sad parents. ;)
Ethan loves to be independent - putting on his own clothes, socks, shoes, and even buttoning his own pajamas (his newest feat).
He still loves all things boy - building with blocks, playing trains/cars, playing football with Daddy.
He is so stinkin' smart! (of course, being a teacher, you KNOW I'm going to make sure he's ready for school!) His newest talents are counting to 49, rhyming, and writing 1/2 his name (E and t are so easy, h-a-n, not so much!). Ethan cracks me up with rhyming. I'll ask him what rhymes with cat. He'll say "hat, bat, sat, fat, Sooey, Mater." I'll ask him what rhymes with dog, he'll say "frog, log, hog, Sooey, Mater." He knows they don't rhyme, but he also knows it's funny. (Sooey is his stuffed Razorback.)
He is Mr. Manners. We rarely have to remind him to say please or thank you, and he usually will say random things like 'Thank you for making me dinner, Mommy!" Awwwww...makes me happy!
He is still soooo sweet with Eli. He enjoys teaching him how to do new things and how to play with different toys.
Ethan is just overall an amazing kid. We were blessed to have an amazing year with him in his two's. No 'terrible twos' for us, thankfully! Sure, he had his moments here and there, but nothing like I worried about! I can't wait to see what happiness and laughter he brings us in the upcoming year.

Ethan will be having his first big birthday party tomorrow at Gymboree. Woopee! I'll be sure to take lots of pictures and post them soon. And of course, Monday's the big day for my little Valentine! (I wonder how long until he hates that his birthday is on Valentine's???)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWEET BOY!!!

My Boys

2011-02-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

My most favorite boys in the whole wide world!!!!

The Foot Book

2011-02-09T16:44:00.000-08:00

As you can tell, this is one of our favorite books, and we've read it a lot!!!

Eli's Moves

2011-02-09T16:36:00.000-08:00

The kids have recently come to enjoy a blast from Lonnie's past....Jock Jams. They LOVE listening to it and having a dance party. Eli's learned to join in the fun, too...

When We All Get to Heaven

2011-02-09T16:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, this one baffles me. Ethan has been singing this song NONSTOP the last few weeks. We have no idea how he learned the words. It's not exactly a song that we sing very often at home, and he's probably only heard it at church a few times. I thought maybe they sang it at school, but I asked and they don't. No way he's just picked it up from hearing it a few random times in the last two years at church???

Regardless, I love it! The last line cracks me up. It's supposed to say, "We'll sing and shout the victory." Ethan says, "We'll sing and shout the rictor, rictor, rictory!!!"

YMCA

2011-02-09T06:52:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to upload videos all day, but this is the only one that's worked so far.

One of Ethan's current favorite songs...YMCA!

January Happenings

2011-02-01T06:32:00.000-08:00

A few random pictures from the month...

This one is supposed to be at the end with Lonnie's birthday party, but I can't get it down there for some reason...

Our old office is now the new playroom. After we sold the desk and moved the couch to storage, it was left pretty empty, so a new playroom it shall be! We love it.

We've had several snow days this month, so we've been playing a LOT!

And we have to be creative...

This looks a little creepy, but both boys loved it!

Ready to play in the snow...

Making snow angels...

Making a cake for Daddy's birthday...

And decorating it...

My best sister ever! I don't see why people think we look so much alike...

Mommy and Ethan's Day-O-Fun!

2011-01-08T02:01:00.000-08:00

With two kids, it's hard to always give each kid the one-on-one time that they deserve. So Christmas break was a perfect time to do that (since we have to pay for daycare whether we bring them or not!).
So one day over break we took Eli to school and then Ethan and I started our day off right with breakfast at McDonald's (or Old MacDonald's to Ethan). Ethan loooooves their pancakes!
Okay, the next part may not sound like a day-o-fun kind of thing, but it was! Nothing opens around here until 10am, so after McDonald's we went back home and I let Ethan watch Sesame Street while I cleaned for an hour. (Let's be real....we're still trying to put our house back together and he was oblivious- he just thought he got to watch Elmo because it was his special day!)
Once it was 10am, we went to Jump Zone. Oh my! That is the best place ever! The inflatables are pretty big, so I thought Ethan might be intimidated. We started at the Sesame Street toddler inflatable and he thought it was pretty neat.

After a few minutes we decided to venture out to the 'big kid' inflatables. HE LOVED IT!!! He wasn't intimidated at all! He climed up the ladders, went down the slides, and bounced like a crazy kid!

I did have to go on a few with him at the beginning, and then he just wanted to go with me for fun, so we both got a little sweaty together! Next time- short sleeves!

After Jump Zone we went to the Promenade to run two quick errands, then went to Mama Fu's for lunch. He LOVES to eat his mac-and-cheese with chopsticks! His eyes were rather droopy during lunch, so as soon as we were done we headed home for his nap.

It was a great day!!!! I love that little man!

Stop the clock!

2011-01-04T18:35:00.000-08:00

As much as I try to make time stand still, it just never seems to happen. As much as I want to freeze time and keep my baby and my little man the age they are now, they try even harder to show me how big they are.
I just want to document the amazing things they are doing right now so I'll never forget them.

I've decided Ethan is a genius. Tonight at dinner he recited the days of the week and months of the year. He can count to 29 (I can't convince him to say 30 instead of twenty-ten). He knows almost every sound that each letter makes. He can orally spell Ethan, Eli, Mom, Dad, Bible, and STOP. And those are just the recent things that I've realized he knows. Add that to the fact that he's known his letters, numbers, colors, and shapes for well over a year, the Pledge of Allegiance, the words to probably a hundred songs.... It's amazing! He's just a little sponge!
We're currently working on writing his name, and at school he's been working on cutting and using a pencil.

Eli is just hysterical. That kid will laugh at ANYTHING! He is just a barrel full of laughs and smiles. He is super fast at crawling now and is cruising all around the house. He'll take a few steps if we hold on to his hands, but he doesn't really like it. He finally got his first tooth yesterday. We started him on table food a few days ago and he LOVES it! He grabs a whole handful and shoves it in his mouth as fast as he can. Hopefully soon he'll learn how to get more in his mouth than on the floor. He still eats my homemade baby food fruits and veggies for breakfast and lunch, but table food for dinner. He finally started babbling a couple of weeks ago and it sounds like he says 'blah blah blah' a lot. He does say mama and dada, but he has no idea that it means Mommy and Daddy. He will sign 'more' when eating. He is an awesome sleeper. Over break he pretty much slept 7pm-7am. I of course have to wake him up earlier than that during the school year, but I was amazed at how long he slept when he was allowed to. Oh, and that kid can pull hair! I may go bald before he becomes a toddler.

We've learned with Ethan that each new stage is just as fun, if not more fun, than the stage before, but it's sad to see each stage go! I sat behind a friend and her newborn at church on Sunday and I miss that tiny little, scrunch up their face, scrunch up their body, snuggly, sleep all day stage.

Sorry for being sappy. I just don't want to forget any of it!

Christmas Day

2010-12-28T18:18:00.000-08:00

A rundown of our Christmas morning festivities....
We always do Christmas with just our immediate family on Christmas morning, then meet up with the Grubbs to do breakfast and exchange presents with them. Eli was sick, so he didn't even make it to breakfast. He was up for about an hour and then took a 3 hour nap!

Ethan picked out this car toy for Eli....
Eli got Ethan two books of BOY stickers - trains, cars, dinosaurs, etc....

We got Ethan got a big truck that holds a lot of little cars...

Jammies, a Christmas book, and a toy for Eli from Aunt Nicole and fam...

A cool make-your-own stuffed dinosaur and an Elmo game for Ethan from Aunt Nicole and fam...

And THE present from Santa - A TRAIN SET!!!!! This has got to be the best present ever (for all of us!) We've spent HOURS playing with it over the past few days. I think I love it as much as Ethan. It's so fun!

A hammer toy for Ethan from the Grubbs (like the one at Aunt Debbie's!)

...and a Cars backpack from the Grubbs...

We got Caden a few books...

...and Keira too...

I bought a train table from a friend a few weeks ago. (since I had heard that Santa may be bringing Ethan a train table) We've spent so much time around that table! And not just for trains....we play cars on it, we color on it - it's fabulous! The other day when Eli was sick and I had sent Ethan to daycare so I could focus on Eli, I cleared it off and threw a ton of 'baby toys' on top and Eli just walked around the table all day playing!

A fun farm book for Eli from Aunt Debbie...

A cool workbench toy for Eli - he's a Lamp, afterall; he's gotta learn how to use those tools!

This last picture is actually from the Lamp get together the day after Christmas. I unfortunately only got one picture before my camera battery died. Grrrrr... But we had lots of fun and Shad, Dustin, and Grandma and Grandpa spoiled the boys! They got books, puzzles, balls, clothes, a remote control car, and a dump truck.

Merry Christmas from the Lamps!

Christmas Eve

2010-12-28T04:41:00.000-08:00

Christmas has been sooooo fun this year! What a difference a year makes. Ethan understands the whole Santa thing (for the most part), LOVES Christmas music, loves Christmas lights, is in love with his Christmas tree, and knows that we're celebrating Jesus' birthday and can tell you about it.

On Christmas Eve we made cookies for Santa, wrote him a note, and left him some milk, along with carrots for the reindeer...

As Ethan was about to go to bed, Lonnie had gone to the garage to grab something, and when Ethan heard the door shut, he said, "Is that Santa????"

And as soon as he woke up in the morning, he said, "Is Santa here????"

Too cute! Christmas morning pictures to come soon...

Christmas Bowling

2010-12-27T18:45:00.000-08:00

Lonnie got off work early on Thursday since it was the day before a holiday (woohoo!) so we decided to take the kids bowling with the Grubbs.

Loooooove the little alligator/crocodile/dinosaur thingy that kids can use for bowling. It was so easy for Ethan!

Wow....a picture of Lonnie and I! That just never happens anymore!

Afterwards we hit the arcade area and let Ethan play a few games....

By the way...Rachel- how did you manage to not get in ANY pictures?????

A Few Faves...

2010-12-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

Nothing big here, just a few cute pictures from the last couple of weeks.

Mark this one in history....a good picture of me! The kids aren't smiling, but too bad for them!

I love these PJ's - Tigger on the booty and it has Eli's name on the front...

Ethan is very into hugging his little tree...

Future architect? He can point out where is room is on our house plans...

Our Christmas card picture - they're just too cute!!!

And I love outtakes - Eli looks like Popeye!

Again, hugging the tree. He loves to hug it, then he says, "Take a picture for me!"

Mr. Fuzzyhead...

Have a great day!

Have you heard?

2010-12-20T17:52:00.001-08:00

I don't know if you heard the official news or not, but Rachel and I are THE BEST WIVES IN THE WORLD! Hahaha...

But for real, we did do good! For Father's Day this year, we got our hubbies tickets to THE BIG GAME. Ohio State vs. Michigan. Lonnie and Curt have talked for YEARS about wanting to go, but it was pretty much just talk. Once I looked it up though, I found out the game was the Saturday after Thanksgiving in Columbus, which is not far from my grandparents' house, so it would work out great for us to go up there for Thanksgiving and the guys could go to the game.

They had a blast! Maybe Lonnie more than Curt, since Lonnie's team won and Curt was surrounded by Ohio State fans that taunted him relentlessly throughout the game. Ha!

*And I'm proud of the guys actually taking pictures like we told them to. :)

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For real???

2010-12-20T17:14:00.000-08:00

We've been working sooooo hard the last few weeks to get our house packed up and ready to be out next weekend. We just had some friends over on Saturday to get everything out except for the few things we need for the last week - couch, TV, fridge, mattresses on the floor, and that's about it.
Then we get a call today that the lady who 'bought' our house is backing out. WHAT????? On top of the fact that that means we aren't moving out, moving in with Lonnie's parents, and building our house, it means we have to now move ALL OUR STUFF OUT OF STORAGE AND BACK INTO OUR HOUSE. Well, not all, but we have to make our house look 'show worthy' again, meaning we can't show it with mattresses on the floor and nothing but nails on the walls.
So we're back to square one. We're so disappointed. We had our little pity party, and now we're moving on. We'll start moving stuff back in tomorrow and get it back on the market and pray for someone to come buy it soon!
We've had to remind ourselves that when God shut a door, He opens a window. So I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us!

And look at all the fun we had while packing!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-18T04:05:00.000-08:00

I've been trying for weeks to put pictures up from Thanksgiving, but Blogger wouldn't cooperate, so I finally gave in and did a Smilebox.

Free slideshow created with Smilebox

The Boys

2010-12-18T00:16:00.000-08:00

I feel bad that I haven't kept up with the cute, fun things the boys have been up to lately. Here's my attempt to remember everything from the last month...

Eli
Eli turned 9 months old yesterday! He weighs exactly 19 pounds. Still no teeth and I don't even think he's close to getting any. Eli started pulling up about 2 weeks ago. He's pretty fast at it now; he'll crawl from one spot to the next and is standing up before you can blink. He hasn't attempted to let go and stand on his own yet. Eli is very interested in anything that's NOT a baby toy... boxes, bubble wrap, plastic bags (his obsession!), tape, remotes, keys, Ethan's potty. His hair is still as blond as can be, which blows my mind. It's starting to fill in and get fluffy, and even hang over his ears. Which means Lonnie says it's time for a haircut. No way. :) Eli still isn't talking, or even making any consonant sounds. I guess Ethan does all the talking around here and Eli can't ever get a word in. He's an awesome traveler; he did so well on our two long trips recently. I think he has a high tolerance for pain; he's such a trooper about putting in his eye drops right now and never cries about it. He barely cries when he gets shots.

He is still the happiest baby I've ever seen - full of smiles all day long.

Ethan
Ethan will be three in just two months. I can't believe it! To really describe Ethan well, we have to talk about him in two parts: Ethan at home and Ethan in public. Because they are COMPLETE OPPOSITES!
Ethan in public is SHY, reserved, and basically doesn't want to talk to anyone that he doesn't really know. (You can't blame him; I'm the SAME way!)
Ethan at home is HYSTERICAL, outgoing, loud, playful, silly, and very very entertaining. He LOVES to sing. I really think he might be talented musically. He knows the words to tons of songs, and is really into Christmas music right now. His favorites are Jingle Bells and Up on the Housetop. They say at school he sings himself to sleep at naptime and is constantly singing throughout the day. Ethan still loves to read. He can read a few words (Ethan, Eli, Mom, Dad) and loves to spell his name aloud. For a while he kept saying he didn't like the h, though. Funny. He's a typical boy....loves cars, trains, dinosaurs, blocks anything sports related. He's really hoping Santa brings him a train set for Christmas. ;) His favorite phrases are 'I'm not doing anything' (which he says if you ask him what he's doing or where he's going), and "hey guys,...". He's starting stuttering! It's especially bad when he starts a sentence with 'you.' I think he says 'you' about 10 times before moving on to the rest of his sentence. Ugh! Ethan's finally stopped crying when we take him to school in the mornings. Hallelujah!!!! He's just like his Momma and loves cereal. His favorites are "Yucky Charms" and Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Mmmmmm! (No we don't let him only eat sugary cereal all the time, but these are the special cereal choices he gets on Fridays at school. It's regular cereal the other days: Life, Cheerios, Kix) Ethan's a GREAT big brother and really likes to play with Eli; they are so cute together! They both just want to wrestle each other all the time. He's still a big fan of picking his nose; sometimes he eats it, sometimes he wipes it on the carpet. I'm so proud. Ethan is NOT a good traveler, to say the least. Ethan still loves Elmo, but is on a really big Little Einsteins kick right now.

Well, that's all I can think of right now. I'll probably add to this over the next few days as I think of more.

Blogging Absence

2010-12-17T23:49:00.000-08:00

Wow. It's been over a MONTH since I've last blogged. That's horrible! I guess you could say a lot has happened in the last month.....

After 4 months on the market, we finally sold our house about a week before Thanksgiving. Woohoo! Oh, the chaos of moving, though! We have 4 weeks to be out of our house. Then we traveled to Indiana to be with my family for Thanksgiving. LOOOOOVE going to Indiana, but everyone knows how traveling with children can be. We were utterly exhausted after this trip. As soon as we got back, we were in full packing the house mode. Enter December and all the 'fun' that comes with that... buying presents, decorating, school Christmas stuff (making ornaments for parents, planning Christmas party, wrapping up first semester), etc, etc, etc.
Then on Dec. 7 we got the phone call that my Grandma passed away. She was an amazing woman and I miss her so much. I am so thankful we were able to spend Thanksgiving weekend with her and made great memories to remember her by. We left that Friday for Indiana and got to see the family again. It was definitely a hard, emotional weekend, on top of the sheer physical exhaustion that comes with traveling. I think we counted spending 25 hours in the car over a 3-day stretch.
When we got back home it was back into packing mode. And here we are. December 18. We have about a week left to pack up our entire life and shove it into a storage unit. We have LOTS done and are having friends over today to get pretty much everything out that we don't need for the next week. We'll be moving into the basement at Lonnie's parents house while we are building our new home. Our house is scheduled to be done June 15.

And somewhere in there throw in a minor fender bender for Lonnie and pink eye for Eli.

So there you have it. Our life in a nutshell for now. I like to think that Lonnie and I lead a pretty calm, uneventful, low-stress life. Some would call it boring. I love it. So for us, it's been a whirlwind! I'm hoping after Christmas, once we're settled at Lonnie's parents' house, things will calm down and we can start to feel somewhat normal again.

And I hope that means doing better at blogging....

Thanksgiving Day PowWow

2010-11-13T07:21:00.000-08:00

Sorry for my blogging absence. I dropped the camera a few weeks ago and broke the flash, so it only works when we're outside. Needless to say, I haven't taken many pictures.

Rachel let me borrow her camera yesterday so I could take pictures at Ethan's PowWow at school. Ethan moved up to the 3 year old class on Monday, and he handled it way better than I thought he would. While he's still pretty reserved at school, he didn't cry and scream in his new class. They said he cried for about 3 minutes the first day, and it was less every day after that. Yea! He LOVES the new playground! It has a huge play set, with a track around it with BIKES!

Back to the PowWow...
Let's see... he wouldn't wear his hat, he kept pulling at his costume, he didn't sing a word, he didn't pay attention, and sometimes just picked his nose. That's my boy!

And of course, wouldn't smile for the camera...

But boy, do I love that kid! It cracks me up how different he is at home. He talks NON-STOP at home! He is silly, fun, and active. He'll come out of his shell eventually. It only took me about 20 years!

Happy Halloween!!!!

2010-10-30T18:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween has been a total blast this year!!!! Last year was, well, torture in my book. Ethan wouldn't wear a costume, and he was just too young to really do anything with. This year is the total opposite!
Yesterday we went trick-or-treating at Lonnie's work and Ethan did a phenomenal job, considering how shy he usually is. For one, he actually walked the whole time! He usually wants to be carried everywhere we go, especially if there are lots of people around. And he actually went up to people and took the candy from them, and sometimes even reached in the bowl and got it himself. Huge for him! Eli just loved looking around at everything and everyone. Oops, though, no pictures.

Tonight we went to the Benders for a Halloween party, which was a blast. We got great pictures and Ethan loved playing with his buddies. On the way home we stopped at a church's Trunk-or-Treat and got some extra candy, too.

Enjoy our cute boys!

Caden and Keira look like giants in this picture!

Hello? Anyone there???

This picture got out of place and Blogger won't let me fix it, but this is our 'spooky treat.' Rachel saw this graveyard cake on the Today Show and wanted to try it. Rachel requested Lonnie's mad cake-decorating skills, and together they put together the AWESOME treat! Even won the best spooky treat award!

This is just too funny....Lonnie looks great, Eli's trying to eat the banana, and Ethan's distracted by who knows what...

Tomorrow we're excited to actually trick or treat for real in our neighborhood - another first. It'll be fun!!!!

CAMP'N

2010-10-24T12:47:00.000-07:00

We went camping this weekend with a bunch of our friends and had a WONDERFUL time! This was the largest group we've ever gotten together; we took up 5 campsites! (of course, did I get pictures of everyone? No!) There's just nothing like being outside, spending time with friends, and watching the kids play together.
We did, however, get rained out. We knew the forecast was calling for nasty storms, but we figured we'd enjoy the fall weather as long as we could before the rain came. We ended up packing up and heading home Saturday night.

I never tire of seeing these boys play together...
And this one, man...he has got to be the happiest baby in the world. You'll see he's grinning from ear to ear in every single picture.

Taking an illegal ride with everyone crammed in the back to the playground.

Men doing important things...

And you can't camp without digital reception to watch the Hogs game! (at least that's what the men think)

After the rain hit....chillin' in the camper.

We're looking forward to spring when we can camp again!

So Handsome!

2010-10-12T18:21:00.000-07:00

Hmmmmmm....

2010-10-12T18:17:00.000-07:00

Can you tell who is in the picture that Keira's holding? It's not her Momma!

Her fabulous Aunt Margaret! That's me at 5 years old, just like Keira. Isn't that crazy?!

More Bath Time

2010-10-09T04:06:00.000-07:00

I think I'll be taking lots of bath pictures in the next few months; the boys are just too cute playing together!

If you know me very well at all, you know I can't STAND mohawks, but I gotta admit, it's pretty stinkin' cute on this little guy!

Other stuff....

Eli loves being able to sit up and play with toys (and boy, does Mommy love it!)

Eli has made feeding time an adventure lately. He LOVES to blow raspberries as I put food in his mouth. On this particular night, I just decided to stop wiping off his face and see how messy he would get.

Yum yum!!!

6 month stats

2010-10-06T18:46:00.000-07:00

I guess I forgot to post Eli's stats from his 6-month check-up last week.

Weight - 17 pounds, 7 ounces - 53rd percentile
Height - 27 inches - 77th percentile

He's sitting up soooo well now and continues to be an extremely happy, smiley baby. He is not crawling, but gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. He eats 6-8 ounces four times a day. He's eating cereal, vegetables, and we've started a few fruits. He wears size 3 diapers and both 6-9 and 12 month clothes. He LOVES his big brother and loves to wrestle with him. He goes to bed at 7:00 every night; we just lay him down and he conks out on his own, then sleeps all night. Love it!
We are so blessed to have him in our family!

Inseparable

2010-10-06T18:26:00.000-07:00

Wow, these boys love each other! Ethan loves to wrestle with Eli, and I'm surprised at how much Eli wrestles back! His newest thing is to pull Ethan's hair, so Ethan is constantly telling him, "Don't pull my hair, Eli!" Too funny.

Is this not hysterical??? They'll hate me for it someday...

This one was taken at CampQuest, as we were setting up the camper. (One of about three pictures taken all weekend. Grrrrr...)

Unrelated....

Goodness, Keira is getting more beautiful by the day!

When you ask Ethan how old he is, he'll say two, then show you these two fingers. Strange...

Another side note...

Both the boys are running fevers right now, so we could use prayers for the fevers to subside and for Lonnie and I to NOT get sick.

Wanting to Crawl

2010-09-28T18:06:00.000-07:00

This little guy is definitely on a mission to keep up with his older brother. I can't believe how close he is to crawling! He gets up on all fours, then rocks back and forth. He's even starting to lunge forward, as this video shows.

Sorry, but this video is twice as long as it really needs to be. I kept thinking he'd do something, so I kept videoing, but just ended up getting a bunch of crying.

Sitting Up

2010-09-28T18:01:00.000-07:00

Eli learned to sit up over the weekend! It just doesn't seem like he's old enough to do that. He's also very close to crawling!

Boys, Boys, Boys

2010-09-28T17:51:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm getting a tiny little glimpse of what the future holds for my boys. They have become such great playmates already. I'm so surprised that even Eli at 6 months seems to love wrestling with Ethan. When Ethan gets anywhere near Eli, he gets a big grin on his face and reaches his arms out to grab his big brother. I pray that they continue to be great playmates and grow into best friends and support for each other as they grow into young men.

Mr. Serious

2010-09-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

Ethan was looking so sharp, as my dad would say, before church last week. I know he's handsome, but man, if I could just get that boy to smile for the camera!!!!

First Bath Together

2010-09-27T18:07:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting for when Eli would be big enough to take a bath with Ethan. Even though I wouldn't quite say he's big enough, we gave it a try this evening and they both loved it! (and yes, I know the Bumbo is not meant for the bathtub; it floats! But it gave a little support until Eli can sit up in the water better.)
I can just imagine all the fun they'll have in the upcoming months and years taking baths together.
So sweet! Eli just watched his big brother in awe. Love it!

Fish out of Water

2010-09-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Mother May I?

2010-09-14T18:16:00.000-07:00

We have been very adament about teaching manners to Ethan. It started with signing 'please' and 'thank you,' then actually saying the words. Once he was starting to put more words together, we started teaching him to say 'may I...?" Well, I'd say he's got it! (well, kinda) Maybe he OVER-generalizes the use of the phrase.

Common questions these days:

"May I have a hold Eli?"

"May I have a go outside please?"

"May I have a up please?"

"May I have a hold me?"

"May I have a more milk please?"

"May I have a read a book please?"

I know I should probably be correcting him, but it's just too stinkin' cute!

Another random cute thing...
I've had a cold the last week, which has involved lots of sneezing and coughing. Apparently the coughing and sneezing really concerns Ethan. When he's in bed at night and I think he's asleep, if I cough or sneeze, he will call from his room, "OKAY, MOMMA???" Seriously. He doesn't do this during the day - only at night. As I'm typing this, he's been in bed and quiet for 30-45 minutes and he is STILL asking me "OKAY, MOMMA???" every time I cough/sneeze. Too cute.

Family Bike Ride

2010-09-06T10:38:00.000-07:00

We have loved the beautiful fall-like weather this weekend. To celebrate our extra day off today, we went to the Bella Vista Trail for a bike ride. It's a two-mile loop, and Ethan made it all the way around by himself! There were a couple of little hills that got too hard for him so he calmly got off and pushed his bike up the hill. I was so impressed! Lonnie rode his bike too, and I rollerbladed while pushing Eli in the stroller.

We had to take a pit stop to throw rocks in the creek...

Putt Putt!!!!

2010-09-06T10:20:00.000-07:00

We've been anxiously waiting for it to cool down so we could take Ethan putt putt golfing. He has a plastic golf set at home that he loves, and he pretty much turns anything into a golf club in the house to hit his baseball, soccer balls, or anything else he can find.
Ethan enjoyed it for the most part. Towards the end he got bored of it, but he was still content just to be playing outside.

The Night That Never Was

2010-09-06T04:51:00.000-07:00

We were SOOOOO excited to take the boys to the Naturals game on Sunday night. We didn't bother getting tickets ahead of time because anytime we've been to a game, there have been PLENTY of empty seats. Well, no such luck. We get all dressed up, drive all the way there, pull into the parking lot, and the attendant tells us they're all sold out. Oh well. I had gotten cute pictures before we left, and that's all that matters, right? ;) We decided to go to the new putt putt place instead (that's another post).

Playing Catch-up, Again

2010-09-06T04:12:00.000-07:00

Man, I feel like all I do is play catch-up with this blog lately! I realize it's mostly because I just don't take as many pictures as I should, so I don't have much to blog about. I'll get better!

Random pictures from the last few weeks:

Ethan has learned to cross his eyes and thinks he's pretty funny doing it...
This little guy's just as cute as ever...

Eli is one rolly polly kid. The second you lay him down, he immediately flips over. We actually have to buckle him into the bouncy seat now, or he'll flip out!

My football fans. I see lots of this in my future. Tune Mommy out, focus on football...

Eli is starting to interact with Ethan more and more. Eli grabs his face and giggles at whatever silly thing Ethan is doing...

Lots of wrestling around here. I love it! We have to constantly remind Ethan though to be gentle with Mommy. (My back is still a little messed up and he likes to jump all over us!)

Ummmm, just too cute not to post...

I just can't believe this is what my two boys look like - they look so different! I thought for sure that Eli would be a little clone of Ethan, but he definitely found his own look! I love that he has a little Willis in him.

Man time in the garage before taking a bike ride...

Ethan likes to line up his cars lately. Today they were going to the park...

Watching the Hogs game with friends. Oh wait, the men were watching the game, the kids watched Bee Movie. Ethan still won't sit for longer than a few minutes during a movie. He was much more interested in all of Peyton's cars and other toys.

Crazy Football Fan

2010-09-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

I'd have to say for a two-year old, Ethan is quite the football fan. He knows the lingo and LOVES to watch it, whether on tv or at a live game. We've been talking about the first home Tiger football game for WEEKS. Every night before he goes to sleep, he asks to sing Take Me Out to the Tiger Football Game (an improvised version of Take Me Out to the Ballgame, of course).

We FINALLY got to go on Friday and he loved it, of course! He went to a couple of games last year, but I have a feeling we'll be hitting all the home games this year. Eli even really enjoyed it! He's just happy to be outside.

Horrible picture, and I cut out Shad, but I loved the shot of all the men holding the boys.

Baby Food

2010-09-05T19:13:00.000-07:00

Before we had kids, I always said I'd homemake baby food for my kids. But when it came down to it, I just never got around to it with Ethan. But this time around, after hearing several friends say how easy it was, I thought I'd actually give it a try.

I knew I'd love how much money it would save us, but I had no idea that I'd actually enjoy making it! I started with acorn squash and sweet potatoes, which he both loved. Then we moved on to sweet peas. Not a match made in heaven, but as long as it's mixed with either squash or sweet potatoes, Eli tolerates it. I've already made green beans and butternut squash, which we'll be trying in the next week.

County Fair

2010-08-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

Friday night we hit the county fair. We left Eli with Uncle Dustin so we could give Ethan some much desired undivided attention. (and it's just too stinkin' hot to carry a baby around the fair!)
Ethan had a fabulous time! We went and saw the animals first, then rode some rides. I was pretty convinced that Ethan would refuse to ride any rides by himself, but he really surprised me! We rode the ferris wheel as a family, then he rode two rides all by himself!

Ethan said he wanted to ride a pony, so we paid the five bucks. And this is what we got:

Oh well. We had plenty of fun otherwise!

Lonnie and Ethan hit the demolition derby on Saturday night. I'll be excited when Eli's a little bigger and we can join them; we've had to miss the last two just because it's a little too loud for those tiny eardrums!

Other than that fun this weekend, we've been busy, busy, busy. School started for me on Thursday and I have a GREAT bunch of kids.

We've also been sick, sick, sick. Ethan started it all with an ear infection last week. Then I got a strep-like infection and was completely out of it for 3 full days. Now Eli has a random rash that keeps getting worse. Lonnie will have to take him to the doctor in the morning, as I know they won't let him in daycare looking the way he does!

We're hoping for things to slow down soon!

Happy Baby

2010-08-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

I think Eli has got to be the happiest baby in the world. He is nonstop smiles, coos, giggles, and squeals. You just have to look at him and he'll flash you his famous gummy smile. He gets so excited he flails his arms too, and usually slams them down on his belly. He's very ticklish too, and you can get a good belly laugh out of him with just a few tickles. I LOVE IT!

Playing in the Sprinkler

2010-07-30T04:10:00.000-07:00

Eli has recently learned to blow raspberries and is usually covered in spit:

Baby Cereal

2010-07-30T03:17:00.000-07:00

I just can't believe that Eli is old enough to start eating baby food. Wasn't he just born???

I really didn't get very many pictures - the feeding didn't last very long. But he really did a good job; more in the mouth than on the face! In the week since we've started, he's gotten a lot better and is eating quite a bit more than the first night.

Ethan was so sweet to share his blanket and doggie after his cereal experience. He's such a sweet big brother!

4 month check-up

2010-07-19T08:15:00.000-07:00

Eli's official stats:
Weight - 14 pounds, 14 ounces - 50th percentile
Height - 26 inches - 90th percentile

Our pediatrician says Eli's doing great! We can start doing cereal with him; not sure when we'll actually do it, but sometime soon. Maybe that will help him sleep better at night.