Miss YOU

A couple of weeks ago I was called to serve as the Laurel Advisor. YAY!!! I love being in the YW program. I have defiantly missed playing the piano in Primary and hearing answers from the mouths of babies. Last week we went to do Baptisms at the Salt Lake Temple for our activity. It was a great time.

However... often I find myself missing my little guy whenever we're apart. To my surprise when I got home, My little guy came running to me for kisses and hugs and a new word that's music to my ears...... "Miss You!" I LOVE tender moments like this.

Lately, there have been a few ladies who I've been missing. Many of them have moved far far away, some that are just a 30 minute drive away and some who have made my life better. Ironically many of them are having babies at the same time and enjoying the joys of motherhood.

Love you gals and Miss You too.

Today I thankful for MY Ticket to Eclipse. ;););)

Schools OUT for SUMMER!!!!!!!!!!

Brett ended his last day of school on May 27th!!! June, July and August is why I LOVE being married to a Teacher. Just hours after the school bell rang, we started our summer off right and headed to California baby! Ethan was a trooper on the road trip. We discovered that Toy Story is Ethan's favorite movie and Buzz is his favorite Toy Story character. We got everything we were hoping to get in the big CA.

The Beach!!!

One after noon we packed our towels and went to Redondo Beach. Anything with water these days Ethan calls the TUB. I think it is so stinking cute. He only enjoyed the water for about two minutes and then he got sick of the waives crashing into him.

So... our handy dandy sand kit became the hit of the day.

Give this Boy a few tools and sand and He's the happiest Boy in town. We played in the sand for two and a half hours. It was great and I got my suntan too :)

San Diego

San Diego is one of my favorite places to visit. Coronado Island is my favorite. It's such a fun, friendly place and I love the shopping, dining there. We found a park that had swings and a playground and let Ethan run around and play with the other children there.

AND...

DISNEYLAND

Truly the Happiest Place on Earth. We are so glad we took Ethan to Disneyland. It was the best time I have ever had there. We went from kid ride to kid ride. Ethan loved every moment until it was time to get off the ride Brett took Ethan on Autopia and let him do all the driving. I think we could have stayed on that ride all day.

I loved showing Ethan all the magic of Disneyland and watching his excitement. I love being the person to point out the wonderful things in life and seeing his reaction.

We met:

Now... doesn't it look like Jessie is trying to steal my man???

Ethan was the first to spot Buzz, but he was in a hurry to go somewhere. Bummer.

It wasn't long before He was fast asleep

We rode the train

Went to Toon Town

played at Goofy's house,

Ate Popcorn while we watched the Parade.

Met Goofy

And the best part of the day was when

He met Him

It was so much like "Mickey, you're my friend and I'm so excited to meet you!" Mickey was perfect with Ethan. They gave each other kisses, hugs and a little buddy talk. Sad goodbyes with enormous tears. When it was time for the boy next in line, Ethan said crying "Mickey Mickey Mickey No Bye" Mickey left the boy in line and came back to Ethan and gave him one last hug. I was amazed at the kindness and special treatment Mickey gave to my little guy.

Special moments and special memories were created that day.

Dreams Really DO Come True!!!

Today I am grateful for the memories we built together as a Family.

Ethan just feel asleep in his high chair for the first time. I didn't think it would ever happen because He is so set in his nap schedule. Lunch, read a book, find scout and tuck him into his bed while singing a song. It was so cute to watch his head bobble from side to side. It has been so long since Ethan has fallen asleep in my arms and I have missed it so much. I was so happy he didn't wake up while I unbuckled him from the seat and took him to his bed. I love being a stay at home mom. It means so much to me that I can see these things happen.

Today I am thankful for precious moments like this.

Celebrating Birth Mothers Day

We went to the Aquarium with Ethan's Birth Mom in celebration of Birth Mothers Day. It is so nice to have such a great relationship with her. Ethan went wild like the first one ever to discover fish like these:

He loved that he was just barley tall enough to reach these:

and then..... We turned the corner and saw Penguins. He went ballistic. Duck Duck Duck. Maybe it was seeing them swim under the water that had him so awestruck. After teaching him how to say Penguin his version sounds like Pengue. It was so cute we had to buy him his new pal Pengue

I hope you all noticed what Ethan's brown T-shirt said. Adoption: Adored and loved by both my Families. I fell in love with this shirt ordered it just in time for him to wear it on that day. I am so grateful that he is loved and adored by both his Families.

This is a picture of Ethan and Kirsten. It was taken the day we were sealed to Ethan. To me it captured the love and happiness she has for Ethan.

On a funny note... After the Aquarium we went to Kirsten's house to spend some time with her family. Kirsten's Brother likes to teach Ethan all the things boys do. They have a small pond in their back yard. Her Brother took Ethan over to the pond to dip his fingers in the water and wipe them off on his pants. Ethan thinks anything with water is the Tub. So I've got to be extra careful. About a half hour later in the corner of my eye I saw Ethan standing one foot way from the pond. I knew I would not be able to get there fast enough and watched him take the one foot step and he fell into the pond. It's not very deep. He was only chest deep in water. I don't think anything surprised him like it did falling into the water. It was almost like "Why am I all wet?"

Today I am thankful for such a wonderful day we spent with Kirsten and her Family.

Ethan's First Project

We were at The Home Depot the other day picking up some supplies for our new project and heard tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap....... What was going on? And there is was... a sea of children in orange aprons making a project. It looked a lot like Santa's Workshop. Every first Saturday of the month The Home Depot has a kid workshop where they teach children how to make things. We only had a few minutes so we asked if we could take Ethan's apron and project to work on at home.

He loves spending time out in the shop with his Dad and especially loves taping things with his hammer.

He has learned a thing or two from his Dad and that sticking out your tongue is essential for the final project.

He's such a good helper.

And always has a kiss or two to share.

Today I am thankful that a kiss on a smashed finger helps the tears go away.

Feeding the Ducks

On Monday Ethan and I went to one of our favorite places... "The Park." We took a walk around the pond until we found these two:

And fed them until they could eat no more. They swam away and it didn't matter to Ethan, he was enjoying throwing the bread into the water.

As a little girl I spent countless days feeding the ducks in this very pond. While walking to the pond he said "Tub." I just laughed and laughed and laughed because Ethan thinks everything with water is "Tub."

Today I am thankful for Spring and all its beauty.

I think summer is on its way :)

Today we were outside doing some yard work and I heard what sounded like an Ice Cream Man. I have not seen one in a very long time, so I was not sure if it was the Ice Cream Man or what. So, I asked Brett "Is that the Ice Cream Man?" He said "Probably" So I grabbed a hand full of quarters and we headed to the street to flag Him down. I love living in a town where the Ice Cream Man still drives the streets.

These are the moments that I truly love being a mom. We got Ethan a push pop (something my Grandma would buy for me when I was little) and he loved every bite. He kept saying num a num (his way of yum a yum) and was willing to share a bite or two.

Today I am thankful for sticky messy moments like this.