Ethan's Third Birthday!

Ethan's birthday was the 7th of November. I couldn't find my camera, of course, so I took some photos from my phone. I am just now getting them on the computer. Ethan, we love you so much! You are such a smart, handsome little man and we can't imagine life without you. We love you, bubba!

*I wanted to add a few videos but blogger isn't cooperating. So when it decides to let me, I will share some videos.

Brayden's First Birthday!

Happy Birthday, baby! We are so happy that you came to our family. You bring us so much joy and we love you so much!

He LOVES his grandma. Always goes right to her. I love it!

Birthday kids! My mom and Brayden share the same birthday. He loves this grandma too. Just snuggled with her as soon as she came over. Happy birthday to you both!

He wasn't so sure about his cake at first...

 Then decided he hated it. Everything about it. Even the yummy frosting. I think he just wasn't feeling very good. He is getting about 4 teeth and none have come through.

 Ready for his bath. He wasn't too fond of this experience.

I had to add this last one. Yes, that curl is all natural. Going from his completely straight hair to this thick, curly mass of hair is really funny. Oh, I love Ethan. He is so stinkin' cute!

Halloween Pics

Oh dear. I just downloaded all the photos on my camera to the computer and there were a ton of Halloween and things we did for Halloween this year. There are a lot. So I'm going to do a post of just those pictures. I did promise more pictures ;) Enjoy!!

This was at a pumpkin patch in Farmington. Ethan had SO much fun in this little hay bale maze. He most definitely didn't want to leave, even to pick his own pumpkin.

 Halloween! Ethan was a 'robop' or as we all know him, Optimus Prime.

 Oh my cute boys. I love these two so much!

 My cute little monster. Thanks, Laura, for letting us borrow the costumes. They were so great!

 On our way to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden. Ethan was scared to death of the dinosaurs at first, then warmed up to them as we were leaving. Ethan won't ever look when I tell him to!

 I can't get enough of this face!

 Or this one :)

 One tough Robot!

 Cutest monster ever!

 Me and my monster. I sure love this kid!

 Ethan and his haul!

And We're Off!

Again. We have moved once more. Back to the "Valley of Death" as Brian calls it. Or as most everyone calls it, Cache Valley. He got a new job in Logan, working for a company called Millennial Medical. I swear every time I update, it includes a new job that Brian is starting. Well this one better last for longer than a few months because I am NOT moving again for at least a year. I HATE moving!! Especially with 2 kids who like to "help". Ethan thought it was so fun to take everything out as I packed it, telling me that I couldn't touch it. Ok kid, whatever.

Ethan doesn't do well with change so he wasn't so fond of me putting all his familiar surroundings in boxes and moving them to a new place. But he has surprised both me and Brian with how well he has done this move. He was excited to go home to the new house. Now hopefully we can be more successful with potty training.

Brayden has not done so well. It is mostly because he is teething and sick so hopefully he'll start getting better. I hate seeing my baby sick. He is still super happy but really clingy and coughs like crazy. Breaks my heart. Brayden is learning so much these days. He's starting to say more, like wow, mama and dada. He also kind of says bye bye. He can almost walk. He chickens out and falls to the floor. He stills has no teeth but two are so close!

On to our new place. So there are many things I love about this town home. We have lived in several town homes in our 6 1/2 years since being married. This one is by far my favorite. The one we left was awesome because 1. It was in Kaysville and 2. It was super cheap. But it was also very old and no matter what I did, never looked or smelled clean. No matter how hard I tried, it always looked dirty. Moving to this new place, it is clean! It is relatively new and has wood floor laminate on the main floor. It has 3 bedrooms! Booya! That was a must since we were moving. It has so much storage that I feel like I can move around and not bump into everything we own. The bedrooms are nice sized, especially the master. Huge! Did I mention storage? Oh so nice. I thought that I would have a hard time moving back up to the Valley since I didn't really want to live here again. Well, I have loved it! Our new place has made me so happy ;) It has been very nostalgic for me to be back. So many good things have happened here. What a great new adventure we are starting.

My baby is turning 1 next week. What?! Where did the last year go? I can't believe it. He is so stinkin' cute. We all love him to pieces, even his brother. They play so well together now and Ethan has started to wrestle with Brayden. It is so funny. He basically pancakes Brayden and Brayden just laughs and tries to love on Ethan. I love those two so much! I am so extremely grateful for my wonderful husband who works so hard so that I can stay home with my boys. What a huge blessing for me. Thank you, my love!

I cannot wait for Christmas. I haven't done any shopping yet. Yes, I am procrastinating this year but we have done so much this month. Christmas parties like crazy the last couple weeks, moving and now Brayden's birthday. Did I mention my mother is getting married??? She got engaged last weekend to her old high school boyfriend. I am so excited for her. Doug is such an awesome guy and I have never seen my mother happier. Congrats you two!

I will post pictures as soon as I find the cord to my camera. I hope everyone is enjoying this Christmas season!

Way Behind

I am so behind on this blog. Ugh. Okay, so we have had a lot happen in the last couple months. A LOT! Beware, this is going to be long. So since I last posted:

*Brian went on another 10 day trip. It was actually 12 days with flying and he got extremely sick for the first half. That was the last straw for this job. The time away wasn't worth the money, he was sick, and he was working too many Sundays. So he quit when he got home.

*Brian got a new job. He doesn't start until January but that's okay. We have really enjoyed having him home and we are definitely taking advantage of this time together. Its been a really fun month.

*We went to visit Brad and Missy in Minnesota. It was so good to see them and so much fun to visit. Ethan loved flying on a plane and had a love/hate relationship with Abbi while we were there. He still asks to go see her so apparently he likes her. We hit the free zoo there, which is better than Hogle. We also went to the Mall of America, which is humongous. It was so good to see their family and hang out for a few days. We miss you guys!

*Ethan turned 3!! Holy cow, how did that happen? He is so fun and so frustrating at the same time. He understands so much more and talks a lot too. He learned right from left and what the colors of the stop lights mean :) Now anytime he sees green, he says 'go mom'. He has recently been asking for songs at night before bed. His favorites are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Ball for Baby, and You Are My Sunshine. One day, he put me down for a nap and sung Twinkle to me, the whole song! I was so impressed. I will have to post the video when I have more time. I sure love my little curly haired boy!

*Brayden is almost 11 months old and almost walking. He climbs on everything and walks along anything he can. He won't take any steps alone though. As soon as he realizes he isn't holding on to anything, he plops right down. He has also discovered an ear piercing scream he can do. He does it anytime he gets a little frustrated. And oh man is it piercing. So loud! Oh the scream! Still no teeth but so close. He is also no longer nursing. I stopped right after he turned 9 months. He was just getting too frustrating to feed, getting too distracted all the time. He loves food. Real food, not baby food. As soon as he gets some teeth, he will go crazy with all kinds of foods, I'm sure.

*Halloween was a lot of fun. We went to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden a few days before Halloween so it was all decked out in scary decorations. Ethan was scared out of his mind at first, just wanting to 'go home, mom'. Then about the time we were leaving, he warmed up and wanted to stay. He has asked almost everyday if we can go to the Dinosaur Park. Oh Ethan. If only you had enjoyed it while we were there. For Halloween, Ethan was Optimus Prime, which to him was a robop (robot). Brayden was a cute little furry green monster. He was so chill and enjoyed his costume. Ethan was a little more difficult to get into his costume but that is just how he is. Very defiant and opinionated. We love both our boys so much! They make everything so much more fun. I cannot wait for Christmas and all the fun things we get to do.

*Due to Brian's new job, we are moving to Logan. Yep, we're going back. Again. We flip flop a lot. We have moved from Logan to Kaysville, back to Logan, then back to Kaysville. Now we're going back to Logan. And from there, potentially to Washington state. I am excited for this new job. He will be working for a medical supply company called Millennial Medical. His brother, Jared, works there now but is quitting in January. Brian is really excited to get started and see what he can do for this company.

*We attempted to potty train Ethan this week. Oh man that was fun! He doesn't understand that you do something when you sit on the potty so he would sit for awhile then about 5 minutes after we put his underwear back on, he'd pee. Every time!! SO frustrating. So we decided to wait until he was more ready and begging us to go in the potty :)

So that about covers it. I will post pictures when I get some more time. I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful fall and has a great Thanksgiving!

More Pictures for Dad

So Brian is gone again. The 10 days home goes so much faster then the 10 days gone. Ugh. Anyway, we are just trying to keep busy so we don't all miss him like crazy. Its not working very well because Ethan woke up 3 times last night, crying for his dad. He hasn't woken up at night for a long time so you know he must really miss him :) Who wouldn't though, right? Brian is a guy you want around, or at least I do. We miss you babe!

 I love these boys!

Ethan's been super sassy lately, with lots of time outs and early bedtimes. I just don't know what to do with this kid. He looks cute in this picture but he is a naughty little one. He yells at me all the time and loses his temper so quickly. I get surprised by how mad he gets sometimes. At other times, he can be so cute and loving. He and Brayden get along so well. They love each other so much. Its super cute! I know 2 year olds are naturally naughty but I've noticed this time around when Brian's been gone, he's been a lot worse than normal. I'm thinking its because he misses his dad? I don't know. But I love him beyond words. He can be the sweetest little man and just melt my heart when he wants to. He has learned his whole name and the other day was looking in the mirror and said "Its John Harding!" I think he meant I'm John Harding because that's his middle name but it was so cute how it came out. We are going on a trip to Minnesota and it can't come soon enough. He is beyond excited to go on a plane to see Abbi. And I am beyond excited to go on a plane to see Missy!! I guess seeing Brad will be fun too ;)

Brayden started crawling 2 weeks ago, the day Brian got back from his last show. It is so cute. He'll crawl on his hands and knees occasionally but loves to scoot like a worm. It is so funny! He also loves to get into anything and everything now that he can move. Its a good thing I don't care if he puts everything in his mouth. Because he also puts everything and anything into his mouth. I think he's teething. But I thought a tooth was coming a couple weeks ago when he was fevering and had a blister on his gum but still no tooth. Someday soon hopefully. He's become a very clingy baby. He is still super happy most the time but I have to be in his sight for him to stay happy. Oh I love my little man. He is just the sweetest little monster ever! He growls and has learned to fake laugh. It is so funny! I just love him to pieces!!

I was downstairs one day during naps and could hear some giggling. I went upstairs and this is what I found. For their naps, I put Ethan in their room and Brayden in mine since they sleep at the same time sometimes. Well, Ethan had woken up and went right in to Brayden and they were just giggling like crazy. Best sound in the world!

This kid loves the camera. He pulls the cheesiest faces when the orange focus light comes on before the flash. I think he is pretty darn cute!

Pictures for Dad

So we are on day 9 of Brian being gone and things are going very well. For us. Not so much for him. They sent him to the slowest, worst show in the whole company. How nice of them, right? And it has been slow! Poor Brian. He is so eager to sell and NOBODY ever comes into that Costco. He is in Phoenix and the Costco is located in a mall. A mall? Come on people! Costco doesn't belong in a mall. Honestly!! But he only has 3 full days left and he'll be home. We seriously can't wait. All 3 of us miss him so much, and Ethan keeps saying "I need my dad, mom". It is seriously the cutest thing. I didn't know he understood that. He surprises me all the time with what he knows these days. Anyway, I told Brian I would post pictures while he was gone of his little guys so here you go, babe! I hope these tide you over til you see them in person. We love and miss you so much!!!

 

 I love this picture. He just looks so happy.

 Love these boys!!

I know you can't see it real well in this picture but Ethan has a nice bruise on his cheek. No I didn't punch him in the face. He was jumping on his friend, Hunter's, bed and smacked his cheek on the bed frame. It didn't look too bad until the next day when it swelled up and bruised all the way to his eye. He still has a black eye but at least his cheek is looking better. Poor monkey, now he knows not to jump on beds ;) Ethan is learning so much all the time, I can't keep up with him. Whenever we are in the car, he asks me animal noises, ones he knows, and when I do them he tells me "That's a good one!" or "Oh wow, mom, nice one!" I love how positive he is. He has also been loving me like crazy since his dad has been gone. I'm pretty sure its because when dad is home, he is the one who gets all the love and without dad here, he just gives it to me ;)

Love this kid! He is seriously the happiest baby you'll ever meet. But I think he may be getting teeth. He is fevering and his left cheek is super red. Poor baby. Teething is no fun. He is also scooting around everywhere. He started doing this a few days ago and is so proud of himself! The first time he did it, he scooted to a ball he wanted really bad. When he reached it, he turned onto his back and just started giggling. So cute!! He also growls when you growl at him. Oh how we love this little man! And apparently he is looking prettier everyday. I went to Fresh Market yesterday and while there, a woman asked if he was a boy or girl. Um, he was in a very manly green shirt with handsome denim shorts. Come on lady. I wouldn't dress my girl that way! When I told her boy, she said he was so pretty. His eyes were just too beautiful to be a boy. Okay lady. Whatever. He looks like a boy to me :)