We are serious party animals ...

Well, Jared and I have had an Ethan-free Saturday. Here's a rundown of what we did without our child. We took the Sentra to the shop for an oil change and some work on the window and a/c. We dropped off some items for a Young Women garage sale fundraiser. We went to Target to exchange Jared's t-shirts for different sizes. We went to Lowe's to replace my E-Pass battery. We ate lunch at Logan's Roadhouse (pretty good burgers, by the way). Once at home, I took a nap and Jared did homework. We then cut coupons, planned our menu, and went grocery shopping. At Publix one of our friends from church was there with his three girls. Upon finding out we were child-free, he said we were party animals and quote, "I hope it gets better from here." Good times. Ethan, we miss you!

My Golden Boy!

Happy 26th Birthday to Jared! It is his Golden Birthday. He turned 26 on the 26th: )

I love you Jared with all I've got. I am so blessed to have found you and that I have the privilege of sharing this life and the eternities with you. You light up my life and get me through the toughest of days. I love you! Here are some photos that show the many reasons I love you!

You take me on fun dates! You are so crazy! Yes, that is my bra on his head! You're a great daddy and an awesome husband! I am so proud of you!

You're creative and handsome even as a Simpson's character! You are handy around the house! You love music and sing great! (Even if it is Creed: )

5 months!

Ethan will be five months on Sunday. His cousin, Nathan, turned 3 months yesterday. On Saturday, we had their pictures taken and they are sooooooooooooo cute! Here's a link to Janna's website. You can see the photos there in her gallery. If you need photos and live near Orlando, you should hire her. She does a great job!
www.jannabeecher.com

New foods

Ethan has been trying new foods. I'll snap a picture soon and maybe have Jared take a video. He loves Squash and Sweet Potatoes and Carrots! He also loves Oatmeal! Just like his daddy! Happy Monday!

Saturday is a special day ...

I have a newfound love of Saturdays. I used to dislike them because it meant I had to go back to work in two days. Now, Saturdays are the start of my five day week with Ethan. They are much more fun. Today was jam packed. Ethan and I woke up around 6 AM. He ate and we both got ready for the day. Then, we went to Publix to pick up the week's groceries. Jared was still sleeping and had no idea we had left. I woke him when we got back around 8 AM to help me while I brought up the groceries and put them away. We ate breakfast and Ethan had his second feeding. We introduced sweet potatoes for the first time. He was unsure about it at first, but then decided he loves them and could hardly get enough. Then, Jared and Ethan had some guy time while I went to an activity at my church. I actually got crafty and nobody cried!
When I got home we cleaned up and Ethan had his pictures taken. Believe it or not he will be 5 months next week. We did them a little early because next week he will be having his second overnight trip to his Grandpa and Nana Hesson's house. After he had his pictures taken, Melissa and Nathan came over to have Nathan's picture taken. We also got quite a few photos of the two boys together. I am looking forward to seeing the pictures. Those two boys are sooooooo cute. At one point, Ethan put his arm around Nathan. Probably just a reflex, but it looked like he was loving on his cousin.
After the photo shoot, we went to Lisa and Jason Madsen's home for dinner. Cendy and Rob Knight were also there and we had fun talking and catching up with one another. Lisa made a yummy dinner and dessert. It was great. Thanks for the night out Lisa!
I just wanted to blog because we had a great day. Now I am completely tired and need to go to bed. : )

Food Storage

Okay, so my good friend, Emily, has been on me about food storage for about two years now. When I was out West last year we stayed with her, Darren, their three children, and their food storage. She has a great room filled with food storage and has been my inspiration. I've wanted to build our food storage for some time, but there was always an excuse not to, i.e. no space, no time, no money, etc. Well, none of those excuses apply anymore and I've just had this nagging feeling (we'll call that the Spirit) telling me to get it going already. Today, I went canning with Julieanne, Amy, and Michelle (sisters from my ward) and it was a great experience. The beauty is, I bought things I will actually cook with! I have a plan to spend $50 every six months at the cannery building our food storage and another $5 every trip to the grocery store on items not available at the cannery. I am so excited about food storage! Go figure, I never thought I'd say that. Anyways, Emily is going to send me some of her materials to help me get organized and I am going to do this voraciously until we have at least a year's supply of food. I may sound crazy to some of you, but this is really important. The prophets have been warning us for awhile now, so if you haven't started storing food please do. I want all the people I care about to be ready for whatever comes along. Go, Food Storage!

: )

Ethan makes me smile so much. He has started laughing, really laughing. He inhales when he laughs, which makes a pretty hilarious sound! I just love him so much. Here are some cute photos.

Ethan laughing.

Ethan being cute.

Ethan enjoying a meal.

Nathan and Ethan being cute.

Tummy time!

Okay, if we're being honest, Ethan hates tummy time. I make him do it because I'm his mom and I know what's best for him, right? I'm sure there will be more difficult things I'll make him do in the future for his own good, so we may as well start now. Anyways, he usually cries the entire time. Last week, he did enjoy himself for a few moments and I managed to get proof.

Airplane to Atlanta

I had to travel to Atlanta last week for a conference/training for work. My mom came with me so that Ethan could come too! He enjoyed spending time with his nana during the day and we all hung out at night. My work stuff went great. It is amazing to be able to work for an organization whose bottom line is to help individuals transform their lives and come unto Christ. Once all the working was over, we spent time with my cousin, Chris, and his wife, Pam. They are two of my favorite people and we had a great time talking and laughing. Ethan loves his cousins and enjoyed extra special snuggle time with Chris. Overall, Ethan traveled well. In fact, he slept the entire flight home like the angel that he is. Ethan discovered on this trip that he loves oatmeal and that he really is the cutest baby in the world (as per the students at my cousin's school.)

The Baby Whisperer

My sister-in-law, Myndie, is the Baby Whisperer. I was telling her that as instructed by Ethan's doctor, I have been trying to feed him cereal. Well, we've tried twice and both times he cried the entire time. Not just fussed, but CRIED! I felt awful and wanted to quit. Well, while I was at work today, she gave it a try and he did so good. I swear, what will I do when she moves. Anyways, she recorded the experience and it is too cute not to share. Enjoy!

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