Halle's First Birthday!

New fun pics

I guess it's time to post a picture of Halle too.

Fall Fun 2010

So this is a big compilation of pictures ... just for fun. I totally missed Ethan's b-day and all the summer fun, but I figure I should just start from where I'm at :)

As you can see from one of these pictures I am currently very pregnant. Hallie will be here no later than January 21st 2011. I will also be graduating with my Associate's of Art December 17th 2010. Ethan is almost halfway through his kindergarten year and Max is getting more and more independent every day. His "2" phase started about 6 months ago, but he actually turns two on Friday. Eli will be taking his actuary exam again just before Hallie gets here and we are praying that goes well for him. Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner and both are definitely better with family and friends. Christmas this year will be so fun with two little boys who are in great anticipation for it and I am excited for both of the upcoming holidays! They are my favorite time of year!

Seattle

Seattle was a lot of fun! Just Eli and I ..... aahhhhhh (sigh). It was too short. Next time I think we need to go somewhere tropical ... or historic. In Seattle we went to the Underground Tour, The Science Center (I think the Childrens Museum would have been better though) Experience Music Project and Pike Place Market. Pike Place and the EMP were definitely the highlights. Piroshky, Pirosky is now my all time favorite bakery ever! It was delicious! If you are ever in Seattle it's a must! Here are the nerdy pictures from our getaway :)

Just Pictures

I just wanted to post up some new pictures. I guess I'll give an update too. Starting from the youngest.

Max is scheduled to get tubes in a few weeks. He has consistently had fluid behind his ears for months. His speech has been okay and he didn't seem to be in pain, so they weren't going to do anything. But then he got a double ear infection. They treated it and I could really tell a difference in his temperament and sleep patterns. I think he WAS in pain until the fluid cleared out. THEN about 6 weeks later he had another ear infection .... so given his fluid on the ears history and Ethan's history.... we decided to go ahead with the tubes. Other than his ears, he's just a regular little monkey :)

Ethan has just registered for Kindergarten. He is excited, but I think to him it's just like changing schools again. We're working on lower case letters for his name and starting letters at the top. I think he is going to have a math mind like his mom and dad. He is already great at adding and subtracting.

Eli is currently studying to take an actuary exam. He hopes to have the first test passed and a new job as an actuary within the year. But for now, he was just offered a job at Brown Mackie College. It is great that this time around he wasn't in need of a job. They just called him up one day and asked if he would be interested in a financial aid position (as opposed to the admissions position he used to have). Of course with the pay raise he would get and the better hours, how could we refuse?! It will be great having my husband home before 7:30 three days a week. I should disclaim that I THINK this is how the hours will pan out because that is how the hours worked in admissions there. Either way, the pay raise is worth it. He'll be starting April 5th... right after we get back from out Seattle get-away.

Eli and I finally get to go away for a bit by ourselves (thanks to our wonderful parents who have graciously agreed to help with our kids for a few days each... THANK YOU, we really do appreciate you and love you). This will be the first time that we've been away by ourselves since our honeymoon. YAY! I'm excited.

That is all that there really is going on right now. We hope all is well with everyone. We love all of you!

It's just overdue

My apologies to anyone who has been wondering when on earth I will post something new. Here it is. We've had a lot going on. Max's b-day, Christmas and New Years. It doesn't make us anymore exciting. Here are some fun pictures. Max's eyes never cease to amaze me with how BLUE they are. And Ethan is as always, just cute. He likes to tilt his head in pictures and he thinks he can get anything he wants that way. Enjoy the pictures!

Boys' play time

I just love this demonstration of how the boys play. A little of Max branching out on his own to chase me with the camera, Ethan taking a 2 second break from trains to smile for the camera, and together time. .... Ethan playing trains and Max coming up next to him and kicking him/pestering him. :)

Summer's End

I thought I would just update the blog. This summer Eli was out of a job. Although it was nice to have him around, we really couldn't do much. We did end up being able to go up to Jackson with Eli's family. We went on some hike's, floats, and [cold]white water trips. It was fun! And the hike's served up some incredible views! Of course Ethan had a blast. Max was just learning to crawl and did not appreciate being cooped up and bundled up so much. Eli just got a job with Apollo College in the Financial Aid Department. Yay! Ethan is starting up pre-school again and he loves it!

Just sharing the new family picture

Ethan's 4th B-Day!!

This year was simple and fun! We had cake, ice cream, and pop. The kids got to bust open a pinata that we made. Wall-E was a hit with the Eve pinata. Loved how simple it was too. Ethan loved being the center of attention and having all of his friends there. He is now out of school for the summer which he is sad about but we have fun worksheets to do to keep his mind sharp! Ethan and Max really enjoy each other's cpmpany and it is so cute!

Just an Update!

I just had some cute pictures and thought I would send an update. We have Ethan's fourth birthday coming up! He is excited for his Wall-E birthday party. After looking at his pictures when he's sitting next to Max, he looks so big to me. Max is starting to sit well on his own. He still prefers the mommy-mobile as his method of transportation as oppossed to learning to roll. But he is obviously just super cute! So I am sure that the next post will be about Ethan's birthday party!

The Cute Pic is in!

So I had to make some adjustments to the picture .... I hope it looks alright. Isn't it cute? I think I have some very handsome boys! I Love It! .... p.s. The black spots are intentional (I "antiqued" it)

How big is HE?

Our SD card was full for a while and now that it's not I thought I would post a new picture of Max. He is especially cute in this picture... maybe I am just just bias. :)

Cousins!

My sister Christy and her kids came to visit for their spring break. Most of the week we just hung out because the weather was cold. But on Friday we got to go to the zoo and the best part was the slides of course. The lions and tigers were cool too I guess :) We had a fun week! Ethan is so glad that his cousin Aleia is so close, but already misses his cousins... Maddie, Ellie, Charlie, and James.

Blessing

We blessed Max on January 4th. Both Eli's parents and my parents were there. We decided to get a family picture that day. Amateur of course, but all four of us are finally in a picture together none the less YEA!!

!!Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!! Here are some fun festive pictures!
So it is overdue but here is the story of Max. He was born November 19, 2008 @ 2:31. 7lb 1oz. 19 inches long and head 14 in. I think that is larger than average. He was born very healthy. In his first 2 weeks we had a few trips to the doctor but everything looks good. The next week was Thanksgiving. We got to spend time with family and that was lots of fun. Ethan had fun with all of his cousins. Especially his boy cousins Charlie and James. Of course, everyone adored Max. One of the pictures I got was of Max's oldest cousin, Maddie, holding him. She looked comfortable holding him and even fed him his bottle once or twice. Too bad she's not close enough to babysit :) Ethan has LOVED becoming an older brother. He always wants to hold him and kiss him. He is great at helping mom and dad hold his bottle and give him his pacifier and he's even really good at helping mom clean. We are so happy to have our growing family just in time for the Holidays! We are still feeling the need for more sleep but overall we are very well! We wish all of our friends and family a Merry Christmas!

Max!!

Here are some of the first pictures we have of him! We will surely have more VERY soon. Also if you are interested in seeing the "Hospital Pictures" here is the link to the site that has it. Sorry if it doesn't take you there. We'll post more about the event soon. Until then, enjoy the pics!

Last Day as a Family of Three

So I know these pictures are really not that great. Trust me I tried to no end to get some decent pictures. But the nature of our fun just really doesn't translate to a picture. We decided that for our last day as a family of three we would go out and have some fun. After Ethan got out of school, we had lunch and took off to a black light indoor mini-golf place close by. My belly is big enough that I didn't even feel like doing it. So I watched and attempted to get some good pictures. After golf we went to the movie Wall-E. Ethan loved it! We weren't sure that he would because there is so little talking but I think the robots and space ships kept his attention. On our way home Ethan fell asleep hard but we still had to wake him up for dinner and a bath. Today after school he is going straight to Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's for a 3 day long slumber party. He is excited to see baby Max though and wants to come see us at the hospital. Our next post will undoubtedly be about our next three days!

Are we done yet?

We are all ready for Max to get here! Except for Max. We had Ethan's Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor appointment check-up for his tubes. We have the crib set up. And the other picture is of Ethan buckled in with his buddy Mickey (he made sure Mickey had his seat belt on too!) on our way home from Grandma and Grandpa Peterson's after our 2nd false alarm trip to the hospital. So, if Max hasn't decided to make an appearance yet by Wednesday the 19th we are scheduled at the hospital for a 2:00 C-Section. We'll let everyone know when he gets here!

Raking Leaves

At grandma and grandpa Hanks' house, Ethan was helping grandpa and Jordan rake up leaves and then jumped in them! He thought it was the coolest. There wasn't much to it but I got a few cute pictures of it.