Ethan Can Now Start Veggies!

Ethan has now been cleared by his GI doctor to add veggies to his diet of Formula & Rice Cereal.  It was suggested that we start with Carrots...so we started this morning!

At first bite, Ethan wasn't quite sure what he thought about the carrots.

It became clear quickly that these were not going to be a favorite.  He didn't like Rice Cereal when he first started either, but now loves to eat it!  We're hopeful over time he'll learn to enjoy it!  We are so excited that Ethan can now start veggies!

Ethan is Thirty-Two Weeks Old!

Today Ethan is Thirty-Two Weeks Old!

(He's trying to smile for Mommy even though he has a cold!)

Bubba Bath Time

Tonight our boys had playtime together in the bath tub.  From the looks on their faces, I think you can tell they enjoyed it!

Ethan has always used an infant tub before now.  I just bought this tub seat today, which is similar to Josiah's baby seat that we sold.  Ethan LOVED it!  He could sit up & splash the water & play with Bubba's toys!  He had an absolute blast until.......

THE LIGHTS WENT OUT!  The light bulb in the bathroom blew out while the boys were taking a bath.  I know Ethan's eyes always get HUGE when the lights go out, so I had to take a picture in the dark knowing what he'd look like.  This was SOOOO funny.  The three of us laughed until we cried.

Ethan was all smiles once the lights came on & he went right back to splashing!

The boys loved bath time together.  They can't wait for their next Bubba Bath Time!

Wave-E!

Tonight, we were getting the house settled & were about to get the boys ready for bed.  Josiah hopped into the shower, Dustin was getting pajamas out, I put Ethan in his jumper & ran downstairs to put a few things away.  When I came back up the stairs, I leaned over a said, "Hi!" to Ethan & waved.  Ethan looked at me & waved back.  SOOOOOOOO cute!  He's never waved before.

Josiah quickly finished his shower, got dressed & ran out to see him wave.  He was so excited to see him waving.  Josiah took my phone & started taking pictures while I was taking pictures with my camera.  I love seeing all the firsts that my baby's do.

Josiah loved seeing little wave-E!

Tooth #3!

Today Ethan got tooth #3!  It is one of his top front teeth on his left (on our right in the picture).  I'm so glad he got this one.  This tooth has been bothering him for a while, along with it's next door neighbor.  So, hopefully soon tooth #4 will be making an appearance right beside it.

He is growing up so fast.  I can't believe he's 7 months & that he even has tooth #3!

Ethan is Thirty-One Weeks Old!

Today Ethan is Thirty-One Weeks Old!

Clap-E!

When we came inside tonight, we went upstairs to get the boys ready for bed.  Dustin laid Ethan down on Josiah's bed to help Josiah get his things out & ready.  Next thing we knew, Ethan was laughing really hard.  Dustin walked into the room to find that Ethan was clapping for the first time.  He was so proud of himself.  Now every time we sing "Patty-Cake" he starts clapping.  It's so cute.  We sure do love our little clap-E!

Happy Birthday, Isaac!

8 years ago today, I held my Isaac Anthony for the first & last time.  Not a day goes by that I don't miss him.  Our family no longer really mourns the loss of Issac.  We do, however, choose to remember, honor & celebrate him.  We know God places Issac in our life for His grand purpose & Dustin nor I have ever been the same.  Though we had to sacrifice Isaac, we have gained so much through his passing.

Tonight, we decided to celebrate his birthday by heading out to dinner together.

At the end of the meal, we even ordered "Birthday Cake" & quietly sang "Happy Birthday!"  After dinner, we returned home with a helium balloon.  Josiah colored Isaac a special picture & we placed it inside the helium balloon.

We do this every year as a symbol that we are trusting God & sending love to heaven.

I so enjoy this moment every year.

It's always nice to pause for a moment to remember, pray & love...........

We know that our children are "On Loan" from God & we feel blessed for the time we have with these amazing boys each & every day!

Happy Birthday, Isaac!

Ethan is Seven Months Old!

Today Ethan is Seven Months Old!

Rearranging!

One of the #1 things I miss about having a bigger house is...the playroom!  We don't have a playroom in this house.  With Ethan & his enormous toys we now wish we had a playroom more than ever.  Also, the boys have tiny bedrooms with little space to play.  So, we decided to do some rearranging.

We moved the dining room table into the back of our living room.

The entire table & 8 chairs fit in that space, but we took one of the leaves out of the table & moved two chairs against the wall just to give extra space.

We then turned our dining room into a playroom for the boys.

I was questioning my idea at first, but am so glad we did it.

We gave each boy two walls so they each have their own side of the room.  We bought a few cheap bookshelves, that can get beat up, to go in there as well.  We took down our nice dining room curtains & put in our old playroom curtains from our Seattle house.

The boys love it so far!  I can't wait to see how many hours of fun are spent in here.

With all of these changes, it opened up some space in Josiah's room.  I first cleaned up his bedroom bookshelf so he could actually see some book choices.  Next, I made another bookshelf out of a cabinet in his dresser where he used to keep his movies.  I then organized his closet to be a "little man cave."

Josiah has an armoire to hang his clothes in so we normally put toys in his closet.

With most of his toys in the playroom now, we were able to make a play area out of his closet.  We put in a bookshelf with chapter books, puzzles & Tag books.  I bought a laundry bag that could hang for him to shoot his laundry into.

We also set out all of his musical instruments for easy playing access.  We even put all of his costumes in a container for him to be able to get to when he wants.  I wanted to make this particular area a place for simply building his brain.  He loves it!

This is the top view of Josiah's closet.  He even has a bean bag & some leg room to enjoy just hanging out or putting a puzzle together.

I will definitely miss having a private dining room, but will so much more enjoy having a playroom filled with toys, music, movies...but most importantly...laughter!

I am so glad we did some rearranging!