Happy Birthday Copper!!!

Today Ethan's dog, Copper, turned 2. He is finally starting to calm down just a bit but we have a long way to go. He and Ethan have a blast together and are perfect for each other. Ethan likes to share Riley with him.

Weekend getaway!!!

Over this past weekend, Jeff and I took a trip to Monterey, California. My mom was willing and able to come stay with us for the past week and stay with Ethan so that Jeff and I could take this trip.

We had a great time in Monterey. Jeff and I left early on Saturday morning to catch a flight to Monterey. We had a layover in San Francisco and then flew to Monterey in a puddle jumper plane. We stayed in a nice hotel about three blocks from the beach and rented us a car so that we could do some sightseeing. What a beautiful place!!! We flew home on Monday night and arrived home just before 1 am. It was a short but fun trip.

It has been a really really long time since I have had a good night sleep. The first night we were there Jeff and I had an early dinner and then decided that we were both so tired from getting up so early and Ethan sick and not sleeping for the last week that we would turn in early. We both laid down around 7:30 pm and both fell asleep until almost 8 am the next morning. It was so good to have a nights sleep. I really appreciate my mom taking care of Ethan and letting us get away. He was a great boy for her but he must have sensed that I was home on Monday night, because he was back to his routine shortly after we got home. Oh well, hopefully it won't be too long before I am able to get a good nights sleep again.

Here are some pictures from our trip.

Jeff standing outside the Monterey airport next to the puddle jumper.

Monterey Penninsula Airport (very very small).
Our hotel room.
Jeff as "The Castansa" from Seinfield. He cracks me up.

The harbor just a few blocks from our hotel.
Jeff and I on the harbor. You never get good pictures while trying to hold the camera yourself.
Cannery Row (tons of shopping, restaurants and the Monterey Aquarium).

Bubba Gump restaurant. We had lunch here on Sunday. Really fun place.

We hung out at Monterey Aquarium and Cannery Row for the day.

This looks like leaves in the water, however, it is a sea dragon. Its body looks like a sea horse but it has these leaf like attachments.

Nettles.

This is a sunfish. It was huge and really ugly.
The Aquarium had some great things to see, including a touch/feel area that you could feel different sea creatures such as a Bat Ray, Star Fish, Crab, etc.
View from the Aquarium.

I hate the wind....

Last night we returned home from the beach to find that the wind had blown strong enough to blow our deck canopy that was bolted to the deck completely off and break it in pieces as well as break the railing on the deck. These are pictures of it this morning after Jeff had taken off the canopy top. We normally take the canopy off the end of September, however, we are trying to sell our house, so it never got taken down. Yikes! We are just glad that it still had one bolt attached to the deck to keep it from taking out our fence. We are unsure what happened to the covers for the Chiminea and fire pit as they were on when I left for the beach.

12 years married and it keeps getting better!!!

Today is our 12th wedding anniversary. It has been an amazing journey. I love you Jeff!!!

Manzanita Beach Weekend

This past weekend we spend with our friends the Seifert's in Manzanita on the Oregon Coast. We have stayed there a couple of times before with them but this time the little boys were big enough to play outside. They both had a great time, but they also both had fevers the whole time and Hunter had a cough, which thank goodness so far Ethan has not gotten. I don't think Ethan slept more than a couple hours the whole weekend. It is only the second time he has had a fever. Ethan and I headed down to the beach on Friday afternoon and Daddy joined us on Friday night after getting home from his business trip. We played on the beach, had AWESOME weather (60's), had some great food with great friends, played some Wii and today both Mommys had massages. What a way to end the weekend!!

Busy day but we made time for some play.

We had a busy busy day today. First off, we took Jeff to the airport for his trip to Canada to do a lab inspection. Then we headed off to Ethan's balls and beanbags class at the community center. He had a great time playing with all the kids, especially his pals Hunter and Peyton. He is quite a social little guy and definitely had the attention of the teacher, who was trying to create structure for a class of very hyper and not-so-focused toddlers. I think he will have his work cut out for him. We then headed home for a much needed nap. Mommy worked in the yard getting all the weeds cleaned up for the open house this weekend while Ethan took a nap. After naptime, Mommy and Ethan walked Copper to the park for some exercise and to play on the swings. We then headed off to Costco to get some necessary items for the beach. We are heading to the beach on Friday morning for some much needed relaxation with our friends the Seiferts. We will be very excited to have Daddy back on Saturday just in time for Mommy and Daddys 12th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Here are some pictures from Ethan's class today:

Jumping playtime

Today Ethan and I met Hunter and Amy at "Pump It Up" in Beaverton for Toddler playtime. Both boys had a BLAST running, jumping, climbing and sliding. Ethan giggled the entire time we were there. Amy and I got a workout as well chasing and playing with the boys. We will definitely be doing it again.

Happy 18-months Ethan!!!

Ethan turned 18-months old on New Years Day! Looking back over his photos over these last months he has changed so much. He makes Jeff and I so happy to be his parents as well as frustrated at times with his stubborn personality and will.

We went in today for his 18-month check up and Dr. H said that he is doing really great. He was impressed with his abilities and thinks that he will be a long, lean, healthy boy. Now if I could only get him to sleep through the night it would be great!!

His measurements were:

Weight: 21 lbs, 9 oz. (10th percentile)
Height: 32 inches long (50th percentile)
Head: 47.4 cm (just under 5oth percentile)



Ethan (2 wks old) with Daddy and Shadow.

13 weeks old.

24 weeks.


36 weeks at Manzanita Beach with Mommy.

18 months old with Mommy


Where's your nose?

Eskimo kisses.