The best of every inspirational movie...

40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes @ Yahoo! Video

If you're feeling depressed or downtrodden. Watch this. It is like liquid success. Enjoy!

Here Comes Santa Claus

My sister, Melanie, took these pictures of Ethan and I think they turned out so cute. Yes, she is a good photographer, but you have to admit her subject is pretty dang cute too!

Crawling Video

Yes, I am bribing Ethan with tissue paper which I have to take away as soon as he reaches it.

Surprise!

I went to the nursery today to get Ethan when he woke up from his nap and this is how I found him...
Yep, he's standing! He just started crawling, but now he loves to pull himself up on the ottoman and now in his crib. I just hope he doesn't start trying to walk for a while!

The Joys of Teething!

About a week and a half ago Ethan's first tooth broke through on the bottom. A few days later another one came in right next to it. He has been such a trooper and really hasn't been too fussy through it.
Can you see them in there?

Moment of Insanity!

I was a little stressed out yesterday. Ethan has been sick for about 2 weeks and he's teething so he has been fussy lately. I know that I have been spoiled with such a good baby that I'm not used to the fussiness, so my patience was running a little low. Anyway, we sat down for dinner and Ethan was still fussy. I got him to eat most of his food, then out I gave him his dishes to play with so I could scarf some food down. This little boy played with his food and made the biggest mess, but he sure had fun for a good 30 minutes. Of course he had to go straight to the bath afterward and the floor had to be mopped around him, but it was good to see him enjoying himself!



Ethan has been helping (i.e. playing) with the laundry lately. He sits in my lap as I fold and he pulls all the clothes out of the basket for me. This morning he got an extra treat as Derek pushed him up and down the hall in the empty basket.

Halloween

We spent last weekend up in Washington for a family reunion. For Halloween Ethan dressed up as a cowboy.
Here he is with his cousin Hank!

Ace of Cakes

Many of you know that my sister, Melanie, has been living in Utah, 2 minutes away from me, for a few months now. We have been having so much fun together. One of our new hobbies is cake decorating. We take classes at Michaels and laugh the whole way through.

First week's cakes.
We hosted book club this month and this was our dessert.

So we're probably not ready to apply to Charm City Cakes, but we're having a blast!

The Living Aquarium

This morning we went to The Living Aquarium up in Salt Lake. Ethan seemed to enjoy seeing the exhibits! We're hoping to see the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach when we're in California for Christmas. Family Picture! (I chopped my hair off... you can't see it too well, but it is about shoulder length now.)

Pumpkin Patch

It's that time of year!

Blowing Kisses

Ethan has learned to blow kisses...

6 Months Old

It is hard to believe that my baby is 6 months old already! He amazes me at how active, strong and responsive he is. Here are some updates of him and the cute things he does.
Ethan, like his cousin Hank, has found a love for water bottles. And also like Hank, they need a run through the dish washer when he's done with them.
He loves playing with Dad the best!
Mom's pretty fun sometimes too.
No one thinks Ethan is cuter than he does.
This is Ethan's impression of William Shatner... His diet now consists of rice cereal, bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes and mothers milk. Yum!
Ethan still loves his baths. He can sit up by himself pretty well too.

We love this boy!

Hike to Stewart Falls

Derek and I hiked up to Stewart Falls a few weeks ago and had a great time. It didn't seem like too hard of a hike, so when my sisters came to town we decided to take the hike along with our friend Heather and her two kids (ages 2 and 4). Although it is not too difficult of a hike it is rather long (8.2 miles) for kids and the adults that have to carry them when they get tired. It sure tired us out and by the end of the hike, Savannah was yelling "get me out of this place". We all felt her pain! We did have a great time though and enjoyed a nice picnic at the falls. If only we all could travel like this!

Man did he need a rest!!!
Hannah with a huge dandelion.
Melanie and Ethan at the falls.

Rice, Rice Baby

We decided to start Ethan on solid foods this week. It's called solid food, but it definately is not. It's just rice cereal mixed with some breast milk, but he seems to enjoy the new experience. We're planning on introducing bananas to him tomorrow... we'll see how that goes!

By day two, he thought he could do it himself.

Trip to Washington

We traveled up to Washington last weekend and we had a great time seeing family and going to the football game. Here are some pictures.
Ferry ride to Bremerton
The reason for the trip... BYU vs UW. Nana decked Ethan and Hank out with matching jerseys.

Unintended Use of the Jumper

Ethan has not wanted to take any naps for the last 2 days. This is a problem. I've started going back to the gym, so Nana watches Ethan on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for me (thanks again, Anne!). Our normal routine when we get home is for Ethan to eat, then he goes down for a nap while I shower and get ready for the day. It has been working well... until today. Ethan ate as usual but refused to sleep. After an hour of trying all the tricks I have to get him to sleep, I decided he must not be tired so I put him in his jumper and ran to take a much needed shower. This is how I found him... I guess my assumption that he wasn't tired was incorrect.

Of course I did take him out and he took a good, long nap for me.

Ethan's Newest Toy

Since we have a very active baby, we thought a jumper would be the perfect toy for him. He seems to enjoy it so far. We were a little worried that he only has 5 more pounds to gain before he can no longer use it, but we're hoping his weight gain slows down just a bit. Nothing but smiles!

We thought Bethany would enjoy this thigh shot.
Ethan is such a happy baby. He makes us smile and laugh all the time. How did we get so lucky?

Our Little Swinger

This isn't the first time Ethan has been in the swing, it's the second. We don't want to post anything that doesn't show him in the best light...in case he runs for office someday. Apparently, he likes the swing, and his mommy.

Football Season is Coming

With the new football season starting, Derek and I decided it is time for a new tv. On our old 20" tv you could barely see the score, and that just wouldn't do. We've actually wanted a new tv for quite sometime now (Derek is really into that sort of thing) so we shopped around and found a great deal at Best Buy. We ended up with a 50" Panasonic Plasma. Now we can not only see the score, but so can our neighbors.
Like father, like son.