Fun Friday!

Today was Fun Friday!  We planned to spend our afternoon at the park on a picnic.  The weather was a little too wet for a picnic, but not too wet for the park.  We did live in Seattle & if you didn't go to the park in the rain, you didn't go to the park!

The boys had a great time on the swings together.

Josiah even enjoyed the zip-line.

There were lots of ducks around on the lake today.  Dustin & Josiah went to the duck food machine & bought some so they could feed the ducks together.

Josiah really enjoyed throwing food for the ducks.

Dustin even let one duck eat from his hand so the boys could see the duck up close.

We had a wonderful time at the park together!

For dinner, we went to the Haward house.  Our friends, Jonathan & Joscelyn had us over to their home for food & fun.  Jonathan is the Mission's Pastor at our church & our boys all go to the same school together.  We've been planning this dinner for a while, but both of our families have been battling sickness.  So we finally planned this dinner over Spring Break & said nothing was going to stop us from getting together.  An event did pop up at the last minute at the church, but we kept our promise to our hosts & had an absolute blast.  They have three children, Luke, Aaron & Naomi.  Luke (8) is one year older than Josiah & Aaron (6) is one year younger than Josiah.  They were perfect friends to play with.  Naomi (2) is only one year older than Ethan & they even had a few minutes of play together.  We are so thankful for our friends & can't wait for many more dinners together.  What a Fun Friday!

Zoo!

Today was our first trip to the Knoxville Zoo.

The boys were really excited & Ethan had the luxury tour in a stroller.

We came to the zoo after Ethan's morning nap & started out by eating lunch.

After lunch we enjoyed the awesome animals.

Josiah enjoyed seeing the cute little penguins, but his favorite of the day were the baboons.  He said he thought they were super cool.  When asked "Why?" he said, "Because their bottoms are hot pink."  Lovely...just lovely.

Ethan had two favorites.  We think his top favorite were the Meerkats.  This meerkat would stand up right in front of Ethan.  The moment Ethan would reach out for him, he'd run somewhere else & stand.  It was really cute to watch Ethan try to catch him.

Ethan's 2nd favorite of the day were the prairie dogs.  They were cute & tiny & kept popping up & down out of holes in the ground.

We also enjoyed our visit to the lion cage.  These beasts were massive!

Josiah has been to zoos years ago, but really seemed to enjoy it better this time because he could read all of the signs.  He would tell us all kinds of information as we walked.

These two fruit loops had a great time together.  They were either scaring the animals or the animals were scaring them.  I love my silly guys!

Josiah doesn't like pictures, but today he posed for so many.  Happy Mommy!

We ended our day at the "Kid's Cove" inside the zoo.

This is the place where kids can get their energy out before leaving.

Josiah said he enjoyed this part the best.

"Bye Bye Zoo!"

Market Square!

Today we went on our first family outing to Market Square.  Market Square is an area of shops, restaurants & entertainment in downtown Knoxville.  This outing made us reminisce about Seattle.  It is much smaller, but very similar to some Seattle areas.

We stopped in for lunch at "Soccer Taco."  My guys love soccer & tacos.

This was a fun & yummy place to eat.

After lunch, we walked around & enjoyed the sights & sounds.  The kids really enjoyed the local entertainers.  We then made a stop into a shop called "Coffee & Chocolate."  How can you not stop for yumminess with a name like that?  Dustin got coffee & Josiah picked an enormous yummy dessert called, "Dynamite Cake" for us all to share.  It was dynamite!

We had such a yummy good time at Market Square.

Salvation Day!

Today is Josiah's 3 year Spiritual Birthday.  It was 3 years ago today that he asked Jesus to live in his heart.  We have begun calling it "Salvation Day" because if you use the word birthday with this child, he'll think there should be presents involved.  He's too smart.

We try to do a little something every year to honor this very important decision.  Tonight, we took Josiah to Olive Garden for some of his favorite Italian food.  He got to order whatever he wanted & even picked the family dessert...Triple Chocolate Strata.  Mmmm!

Josiah, we are so proud of the decision you made 3 years ago & we are continually proud of the daily choices you make to show Jesus to your friends.  Happy Salvation Day!

SBSS!

Josiah is on Spring Break & Dustin took the week off as well!  We decided as a family to have a "Staycation"...you know...a vacation where you stay home.  We are all so excited!  We planned our week a while ago & couldn't wait for it to come.  We began the break by having a relaxing weekend & a lazy day with Movie Night on Monday.

Today we decided to get out & do something together as a family.  We went to our local YMCA to enjoy their indoor salt-water pool.  We had such a fun time swimming together.

The coolest part was that we were inside the warm water while watching it snow huge snowflakes outside.  Josiah said, "We're having an SBSS.  Spring Break Snow Swim."  That's definitely a first for us & a very special memory to have an SBSS!

Ethan is Fourteen Months Old!

Today Ethan is Fourteen Months Old!

First Steps!

Ethan took his first steps tonight!

Ethan & I were playing with blocks.  I decided to put one on my head & see what he'd do.  He took three independent steps before getting to me.  WOW!  We knew he was wanting to walk, but still a little nervous about it.  Soon after, the entire family was involved in the game.

Here is Ethan standing.  He is so proud of himself & ready to do it again.

When Dustin put a block on his head, Ethan took three small steps before leaping the rest of the way.  You can see the joy & excitement on his face as he's taking his first steps!

Ethan's 1st Haircut!

Ethan got his 1st haircut today.

Dustin & I were dreading this because Josiah did not enjoy his first haircut.  With Ethan being more sensitive than Josiah, we figured this wouldn't go well.  Ethan surprised us & loved it!

For the 1st haircut, Ethan sat in my lap.  After that, he could try out the race car or the pony!

Margurite, at Western Plaza Barber Shop was amazing with Ethan.

She gave us locks of his hair for his baby book & even a certificate.

I loved that she wanted to leave it a little longer to show off his wavy hair.

He was so still & so good!  We couldn't believe it.

After Ethan's haircut, he sat in the car & drove for a little while.

We are so excited that things went so well for Ethan's 1st haircut!