Gross Family

new post finally

2011-03-26T00:10:00.000-07:00

just made a new post at our "new" blog that I haven't updated in over 10 months. But if you're still out there - go check it out: http://a-mama-and-her-boys.blogspot.com

Micah Reagan

2010-05-11T16:52:00.000-07:00

see pics of our newest addition, baby Micah at: a-mama-and-her-boys.blogspot.com

I'm moving to a new blog

2010-02-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

Well, I figured since we no longer live in Montana, that "grossinmontana" is not a fitting blog for us anymore. So, I've made a new blog. It's:

http://a-mama-and-her-boys.blogspot.com/

that's where I'll be posting about life in Oregon, and I won't be updating this page anymore. Hope to see you over there!

It's been a while

2010-01-14T18:11:00.001-08:00

So I just realized it's been over 2 months since I've blogged! Good old Facebook has somehow taken the place of my blogging - it's so much easier to add pictures there than on here!

So here's a little update of our lives, for those of you who haven't heard yet. Jon lost his job at our church in Billings, so we decided to move to his home town of McMinnville, Oregon. He is working with his best friend Vaughn - training to be a mortgage banker. He is also working (not for a salary though) at Church on the Hill, as the Pastor of Assimilation. We really like our new church (we've visited there every year for the last 10 years).

I am volunteering at our church in their indoor playland that is open to the public for free. It's like a McDonald's playland but about 5 times the size and has a toddler area as well. It's really great, especially on those rainy days - so about 6 of the 7 days of the week :) I am also starting a women's Bible Study on the book of Esther (using Beth Moore's study) next Tuesday. I am really looking forward to meeting some other ladies in the church. Jon and I are going to a small group kick off meeting on Sunday, and will hopefully start a new group in the next couple of weeks.

The boys seem to be adjusting well. Caleb often talks about how he wants to go back to Montana, but it's usually for a specific things, like Chuck E. Cheese, or Hobby Lobby......he's a funny kid. We love living close to Jon's best friend and family. Vaughn's wife Tracie has been a really good friend and comfort to me in this transition. We've known each other for 10 years, but this is the first time we've ever lived in the same state. So it's really nice to get to spend more than just a vacation with her. Here's a couple recent pics of the boys:

We had a great Halloween

2009-11-07T09:45:00.000-08:00

We had a lot of fun with our old small group on Halloween. Ky and Anthony hosted a little trick-or-treating/guitar hero shin-dig. Caleb was so excited to go trick-or-treating with his friend Spiderman (Peyton). They ran from house to house like mad men - but were very polite and made sure to say THANK YOU at each house. Here's a couple pics of Robin Hood and GI JOE:

and then Caleb attacking our friend Heather with his very manly pink vampire teeth:

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-10T12:08:00.001-07:00

Well, we've had 2 decent snows already. Needless to say, the outdoor pumpkin patches are a little muddy and not doing so well. One of the local garden centers had an indoor pumpkin patch with games, snacks, face painting, pumpkin painting, and photo ops. Here are a few pics from our time there:

October 5th and it snowing!!

2009-10-05T08:18:00.000-07:00

Ethan tackling Jon in the snowEthan having a little taste
Throwing snowballs
Caleb showing off the snowball he just made
Caleb throwing snowballs at daddy
Ethan throwing snowballs at daddy
Ethan making a snow pile on the table
Our front yard
Our neighbor's tree fell down while we were playing outside
My boys
Caleb and Gavin

misc pics from the summer

2009-09-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

We went to the county fair and Caleb and Ethan both had a great time feeding the goats.

And Caleb loved the rides with his friends Hailey and Abby
Caleb and friend Gavin had taken a bath together then ran out yelling "Nakey boys, nakey boys!!" and danced all around. But then we made them put towels on for the picture:
Nothin' like a good 'ol swim in the lake in your undies.

We're having a baby....

2009-08-18T20:31:00.000-07:00

that's right. At least one more Gross baby in the mix. I'm barely pregnant, but you know Jon and I....too excited not to share the news with everyone. My best guess is that I'm due end of April....right before it gets too hot ;)

Ethan's first haircut

2009-07-02T20:08:00.000-07:00

My baby looks like such a big boy now!!

Boys First Camping Trip

2009-06-29T19:43:00.000-07:00

We just got back from taking the boys on their first camping trip. It was a success!! We went with 5 other couples from our small group. Caleb had so much fun finding sticks (of course), playing with his best pal Peyton, hiking, sleeping in the tent with daddy and just getting plain old dirty for 3 days straight. Ethan did pretty good too - much better than I had thought. Here are a few pics of our adventures:

Gotta love boys!

2009-05-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

Here's our little anecdote for the day, enjoy:

Caleb totally flashed our elderly neighbor out for her morning walk. I pulled his pants back up and told him that wasn't ok. He pulled them back down and said "I want to show her this!" Gotta love kids :)

Our new diner

2009-04-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

Cheers!

2009-04-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

2009-04-30T19:33:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been so long....

2009-04-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

I just realized it's been 2 months since I've posted anything. Guess it's been pretty crazy around here. Caleb got pretty sick again, and now Ethan is teething. This round of teething is much harder than any other has been. I don't know what his deal is. He just cries all the time. So we're outside a lot...that's the one thing that seems to consistently distract him. But it was COLD yeserday and is not supposed to be very warm the next couple of days either. Guess we can't put those winter coats away quite yet. Here's a few picks from Easter and the park this last month:

I can't believe Ethan is ONE!!

2009-02-22T13:30:00.000-08:00

Our baby turned one yesterday. Here's a little video and a few pics:

Caleb is 3!!!

2009-02-20T20:36:00.000-08:00

I can't believe he is 3 already!!! We had a nice little party for Caleb at our place on his birthday (Friday the 13th). He had about 5 friends over for cupcakes and presents and play time. It was a really nice, simple party. Here are a few pics:

2009-02-20T20:29:00.000-08:00

We've got a funny kid

2009-02-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

So Caleb totally has a sense of humor, and is starting to tell jokes. We went to a wildlife reserve that had a buffalo, and here's what he had to say about it:

And lately when I'm putting him to bed he tells me I'm a cutie pie:

Look Who's Walking

2009-02-18T20:06:00.000-08:00

Here's a little video of Ethan cruising around. He hardly ever crawls anymore, and is actually starting to run a little bit!

Healthy Recipe

2009-01-11T11:01:00.001-08:00

If you're like me, you're probably looking for a healthier start to 2009 (just like every year). I've been looking for recipes for healthy snacks for me and the kids. I came across this muffin recipe and I tried it this morning. It's pretty darn good for being so healthy. Even Caleb (my very picky eater - who only likes to snack, not eat real meals) likes them...Ethan too. So I thought I'd share it with you. I did the math to figure out all the nutritional info. So here's the skinny per muffin: 116 calories, 1g fat, 4g fiber, 3.5g protein. Great to keep in the freezer and warm up for breakfast or snack.

Low-Fat Blueberry Bran Muffins (makes 12)

* 1 1/2 cups wheat bran (or oat bran)
* 1 cup nonfat milk (I used 1%)
* 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
* 1 egg
* 2/3 cup brown sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup blueberries (or any other fruit you like)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Grease muffin cups or use paper muffin liners.
3. Mix together wheat bran and milk, and let stand for 10 minutes.
4. In a large bowl, mix together applesauce, egg, brown sugar, and vanilla.
5. Beat in bran mixture.
6. Sift together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
7. Stir into bran mixture until just blended. Fold in blueberries.
8. Scoop into muffin cups.
9. Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops spring back when lightly tapped.

Welcome to the world Eli!

2009-01-04T10:29:00.000-08:00

My "nephew" Elijah Scott Heinz. Born December 30th - 8lbs 14oz!! So glad I was here for his arrival, but I'm going to miss him!!

Our Visit to San Diego

2009-01-04T09:53:00.000-08:00

Our visit to San Diego is coming to an end. We go home Thursday. I am happy and sad at the same time. We've had a great visit with family and friends. Here are a few pics from the last month.

Aunt T brought over a make-it-yourself gingerbread Christmas tree. Caleb was so proud of his creation:
He even thought Ethan should have a taste:

And decided that Ethan was special enough to get his very own Christmas tree cookie, which he LOVED:

We went to one of my favorite parks at Shelter Island to soak up some sun and burn off some energy:

Ethan did the swings with Auntie Eryn for almost an hour!

Some of the mommies got together before the newest babies arrived:

All the kiddos:

Playtown with Jenny, Allie and Carley. Caleb loves this playhouse:

And Ethan loved the infant play center, where the bigger kids couldn't run him over:

We spent the day with Jenny, Allie and Carley - here's Caleb petting their new chickens:

Christmas Day at Nana and Papa's house:

The sweetest baby ever.....

2008-12-22T08:45:00.001-08:00

...and no, believe it or not, I am not talking about either of my own children. I am talking about my friends' baby Kelsey. Many of you know Doug and Valerie Kurtz personally, and many of you have found your way to the blog about their daughter Kelsey (Our Sweet Pea) from the link on my blog. So many people have been encouraged by this family. I have known them for several years now, and our oldest sons (Caleb and Brady) are the same age. The Kurtz's newest family member is little Kelsey (7 months old). She has had numerous health issues - some temporary and some that will most likely last a lifetime (but we still trust that God can heal!). She was only a month old when we moved to Montana, so I never had the chance to meet her until this past weekend.

She is the SWEETEST baby ever! There were a lot of people at their house playing games and yelling and laughing (very loudly) and she just calmly took it all in, watching everyone and smiling away. I held her for a while and she lovingly looked at me as we talked, just so content. I asked Valerie if this was her normal demeanor, and yes it was! As I drove home that night I started crying - just praying for healing on her little body, and thanking God that he has blessed them with a beautiful baby girl who is truly an absolute joy to be around.

Thank you God that I had the opportunity to meet the little one I pray for. Thank you for giving her to the most loving parents in the world (ok -maybe that's a overstatement - but you know what I mean) - to parents that will pour into her every moment of every day to help her fulfill all that you created her to be. Thank you for the example set before us of parents who have true faith in you - and for giving them the desire to share their story so that others may be encouraged and see your love even through the difficult times.

Stuff Caleb Says

2008-12-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

Caleb and I like to sing while I give the boys a bath. We often sing "ba ba black sheep". When we get to the part about the little boy we sing "One for the little boy who lives down the drain" (something my sister used to sing when we were little). The last time we sang it we got to that part and Caleb sang "One for the little boy who poops in the stream" - so hard not to laugh at that one :)
...............................................

So we've been having a lot of "talks" with Caleb lately about not saying poop and pee as a joke. I went to change Ethan's diaper tonight and this is how our conversation went:

JULIE: Ethan do you have poopoo? (sniff sniff) Oh yes you do, you have poop.
CALEB: Momma.....you can't talk about poop.
JULIE: Caleb, it's ok to talk about poop if you have poop in your diaper, or if you want to put it in the potty.
CALEB: No Momma....we don't talk about poop.

about 20 minutes later:

CALEB: Momma, change my diaper.
JULIE: Ok Caleb, I just need to pee first, then I'll change you.
CALEB: Momma you CANNOT talk about pee.
JULIE: Yes we can Caleb, if we're talking about putting it in the potty.
CALEB: No momma, you can't talk about pee.

So at least something we're saying is sinking in. I guess I'm going to have to watch the words I choose more closely :)
.......................................

This morning Jon watched the boys while I had coffee with a friend. Ethan loves to climb on our entertainment center which is a big no-no. Jon went to grab him and lightly tapped his hand as he told him no. Caleb came over and said "Don't ever hit Ethan again" and then punched Jon in the leg. Ethan climbed on the entertainment center again, so Jon tapped his hand and said no, and once again Caleb said "Don't ever hit Ethan again" and punched Jon.....so nice he's becoming protective :)

Christmas Spirit

2008-12-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

We love the elf yourself videos, so we decided to finally do one ourselves. The expression on Caleb's face is perfect for the video :) Check it out:

Thanksgiving in Oregon

2008-12-03T21:59:00.000-08:00

We just got back from Thanksgiving in Oregon. We decided to drive rather than fly, and with the recent drop in gas prices, it cost half as much as we thought it would....Thank you Lord!! The boys did pretty good considering. It was 15 hours each way, so we broke up the trip and stayed the night in Coeur D'Alene on the way there and back. Praise the Lord for portable DVD players!!! We went to the coast for a few days with Jon's best friend Vaughn and his family, then went back to McMinnville (Jon's hometown) for a few days. Here are a few pics from our trip:

Caleb is making sure the stuffed cheetah has a heartbeat:
Here's Ethan with Grandpa Gross who he met for the first time on this trip:

Caleb and I with Vaughn and his youngest daughter Ellie, watching the day after Thanksgiving parade down Main st.:

Believe it or not, that's Jon and Caleb up on the bridge at Multnomah Falls:

Jon with the boys at Multnomah:

We went to a small aquarium at Seaside where they had seals that you could feed. Here's Jon and Caleb with the fish:

We caught Caleb in action throwing the fish:

Here's a few of the very happy, well fed seals:

Jon and Caleb at the beach in Seaside:

Caleb and I finding shells in the sand:

Caleb ran at the birds and scared them away:

Caleb's favorite part about the beach - laying down in the sand and playing with sticks:

The Best Park Ever

2008-12-03T21:37:00.000-08:00

On our drive to Oregon, Jon remembered this park that he helped build as a highschooler in Hood River. We thought it would be a good "stretch the legs" break. Caleb had a ton of fun, and so did Ethan in the swings:

cute boy

2008-12-03T20:41:00.000-08:00

Here's a few random pics of Ethan:

Bathtime fun

2008-11-22T17:49:00.001-08:00

Ethan has officially outgrown our baby bathtub. He LOVES taking a bath with Caleb now. Caleb is pretty good about not splashing him, although he does like to help wash his hair. Here are a few pics of the rare times Ethan is actually sitting in the tub. We fight every bath time to get him to sit. He insists on standing, and now more recently is determined to stand without holding on....definitely not the safest thing for a 9 month old to do in the tub! But he's just so darn cute and he is so proud of himself. Enjoy the pics:

Caleb cracks us up

2008-11-14T22:08:00.000-08:00

We LOVE having a funny kid. He makes us laugh everyday. His latest catch phrase: "You Rock". If you tell him "Caleb you rock", he'll say "no YOU rock mommy"....and he'll go back and forth for as long as you'll play along.

Some things are super funny to him, but Jon and I are getting tired of them. For instance all the potty talk. He is ALWAYS talking about poop, penis, bobbins (bottoms)....ok so Jon and I still think it's funny, but we have to at least TRY to teach him that it's not ok.

And he's has a new favorite movie - He keeps saying "Can I watch Koo Koo Panda one more time?" (kungfu panda) I just love two year old "accents".

He is also becoming quite a good big brother. Lately when Ethan cries, Caleb will go to him and rub his back or head and say "don't cry Ethan, it's ok...it's ok, don't cry". Love, love, love it when he is sweet like that.

Can't sleep

2008-11-13T00:04:00.000-08:00

I can't sleep so I figured I'd blog since it's too late to call anyone to chat. I'm about to write a novel, so prepare yourself. This has been by far the toughest week I've had as a mom. Sunday I got the nastiest stomach bug ever (I'll spare you the details). Seriously I can't remember ever being that sick before. Jon had a denomination conference M-W that he couldn't miss, so he could not stay home to help with the kids while I puked. Praise God!! for our friend Shay who came to the rescue 3 days in a row and took Caleb to her house to play with her son Gavin. So that left just me and Ethan, which was ok.

Then Tuesday night Jon starts puking....now he's got the same thing as me. Then Ethan decided he wanted to be sick too and was up half the night screaming bloody murder and refusing to nurse. 24 hours without nursing!! So obviously a very unhappy camper for all of today. That was the hardest thing for me. I felt so crappy from being completely emptied out for the past 2 days with a high fever and zero energy from the zero sleep I'd gotten. Then trying to take care of an infant who is screaming because he hurts too. What to do??

I cried hard this morning and asked God not to test me like this...that I wasn't strong enough...oh yes, I did. I was finally able to take Ethan to the doctor tonight who said he looked perfectly healthy, of course, and sent us home (this after just finishing antibiotics for an ear infection - so luckily it wasn't another one). I was finally able to spoon feed Ethan some milk, and he drank a few sips out of a cup, but that was it. I gave him one of Caleb's Otter Pops, just so he could get some fluids. Then I had the brightest idea of my life (may be a slight exaggeration). I washed out the Otter Pop sleeve, filled it with breastmilk and froze it. Ethan downed it like it was candy!! Finally I was able to get him to nurse tonight before bed, so fingers crossed he'll sleep ok. So tomorrow looks promising.

So after I gave this whole story to my friend Jenny this morning, she gave me an update on friends of hers that totally put me in my place, and made me ashamed that I had asked God not to test me like this. For those of you prayer warriors, please keep this family in your prayers. Jared and Shannon have a little boy named Kyle who is Caleb's age (about 2 and a half). I don't know the whole story but basically his head/brain is growing too fast or in the wrong spots or too much fluid or something. They elected to have a pretty risky surgery last week (I think) to try to help the problem. Well things did not go well and the docs say he now has permanent brain damage and may not be able to sustain life on his own. WOW!! This absolutely BROKE my heart - especially being that our kids are the same age (he was actually at Caleb and Allie's bday party). And here's the kicker, the mom Shannon is 7 1/2 mo. pregnant with twins. She's been put on bedrest because all the stress is causing premature labor. Can you even imagine?!?! So please lift their family up in prayer. I will post an update when I hear one.

That made me think about all the others I know that are going through much more difficult times that I, with my silly stomach bug. Friends who just lost a pregnancy at 5 months (while the husband was out of the country!), friends who's 6 month old sweet baby girl has been in the hospital for more days than she's been at home (seems like), 2 deaths this past week of church members....and then there's me....poor little me, pleading with God to not be sick with a bug that I know will only last a few days. Pathetic. God please forgive me for being such a moron!!

Well, thanks blogger.com, for giving me a place to clear my head. It's now 1:45am and I should probably try to go to sleep again. I'll post something cheery and fun next time, I promise :)

Halloween in Montana

2008-11-01T08:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween was pretty fun. A local church did a trunk or treat and each of the cars had a theme that tied into a Bible story or principle. This first one was Prince Charming and his princess:

Here's the Wizard of Oz:
Here's Jonah and the whale:
Here's mobster Caleb showing off his tommy gun:
Cowboy Ethan:

More of Caleb the mobster:

Daddy and his boys:

stick 'em up:

Fall Fun

2008-10-25T22:00:00.000-07:00

We went to the cornfield maze and pumpkin patch today with our friends Eric and Tiffany and their daughter Braylee. The corn maze was fun, although we cut through the stocks several times so I guess we didn't officially complete the maze. It was so windy that we had dried corn stocks, hay and dirt blowing in our faces the whole time. I got in the car to leave and licked my lips, only to taste dirt. Blown deep into the lip gloss I had put on an hour earlier. I was really excited to get some cute pics of the boys in the pumpkin patch like the ones I have of Caleb from the past two years. But I was very disappointed. Look at the picture below. Behind Caleb in the wagon you can see about 20 pumpkins on the ground. That was the "pumpkin patch" - that's it!! I was so bummed. Maybe we'll try to scout out another one before Halloween.

Our friends and Jon and Caleb in the "corn box":

The fam posing for a pic in the middle of the corn maze:

Catching up

2008-10-12T11:14:00.000-07:00

So I've taken quite a few pics and videos over the last few days. I've posted a bunch here, so keep scrolling down, there's a lot of new stuff on here.

Look who's crawling

2008-10-12T11:02:00.000-07:00

Ethan is really starting to move now....

Little Drummer Boy

2008-10-12T10:58:00.001-07:00

This drum is our "go-to" toy when Ethan is cranky. He gets so excited when he's drumming.

Family entertainment

2008-10-12T10:52:00.000-07:00

We were all entertained by Caleb's dancing and singing. Ethan was cracking up, so we tried to capture a little of him laughing at Caleb:

Playtime

2008-10-12T10:47:00.000-07:00

more snow pics

2008-10-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a few cold weather pics of Ethan, Caleb and our friend Jolie

More Snow...

2008-10-12T10:15:00.000-07:00

turn your volume up if you want narration

Here's Caleb playing in the snow on our balcony

It's snowing...

2008-10-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

that's right, it's only the beginning of October and the snow has already begun. I went out last night and it was snowing a little, but when we woke up this morning, there was a light blanket of snow everywhere. It snowed constantly all day and we are supposed to get 9 more inches tomorrow. Here are a few pics that Jon took before he headed to work this morning:

the back of our apartment complex

Jon's jeep

Some trees outback

Caleb got a hand-me-down snow suit from some friends tonight, so we'll post some pics of him playing in the snow tomorrow.

The Latest

2008-10-03T18:18:00.000-07:00

Boy, Ethan is growing up fast. He is mastering so many new skills. He's got the army crawl down, will rock like crazy on his hands and knees (seriously the fastest rocking you've ever seen), and will crawl a few steps at a time before giving in to the army crawl again. He likes to sit on the floor between my legs and use my body to pull himself up to standing. He's also mastered the "ma ma" sounds, and will "call" me when he wakes up from his naps, and mimic me when I say it to him....so cute!! I will post some pics soon, I promise.

He's also so big that he now wears the same size diaper as Caleb - who is two and a half!!! what the heck?!?!? Kind of nice to just have to keep one size of diapers on hand though....makes it easy to pack a diaper bag :)

Caleb is very into singing these days. Last night he serenaded us with his own medley of "If you're happy and you know it", "Head, shoulders, knees and toes", and the ABC's - all combined to make one very unique song that Jon and I were required to participate in. I love this age!

Dying to sleep

2008-09-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

So any mom out there definitely knows what I'm talking about. You finally get to the point where your kids sleep through the night consistently, then SURPRISE!! They decide they don't like sleeping anymore. We were on a good roll. Ethan had been sleeping through the night a good 9-11 hours for about a month. Then he had to go ahead and get some new skills (up on hands and knees and rocking like crazy). He wakes up about every 2 hrs now. Whenever I go in his room he is rocking, and he's got this look on his face like "Hi mom! Look at me!". He's just so darn cute, but it's driving me crazy. He did this for 3 weeks, then slept through the night 2 nights in a row - I hoped we were back on track.......no such luck. He's back to being up every 2 hrs. I'm mentally at the point where I'm ready to just let him fuss/cry it out, but the poor guy has a major cold and can barely breathe now, so that's not going to happen......

.....I tried napping today while he napped, but of course I laid in bed for an hour without falling asleep. As soon as I started dosing off what do you know? the boy has awakened yet again. He's sleeping now but of course I'm too tired to sleep.

Monkey's nap time

2008-08-28T15:00:00.000-07:00

I walked in on possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen the other day. Caleb was putting his 2 monkey's down for a nap. He read them a story, sang them " Jesus Loves Me", "Mary had a Little Lamb (the widdle wam song)" and "Jesus Loves the Little Children"...our bedtime routine, then he leaned over and kissed them each good night. Of course by the time I got the camera out he was finished. But I did catch part of the encore performance the next day. I missed his version of Jonah and the Big Fish, which was actually quite good. But I did turn the camera on in time for his rendition of David and Goliath (just in case you don't speak 2 year old and are wondering what is going on).....I tried to flip the video but it didn't take...so sorry, you'll have to crank your neck....

And here's Caleb doing his version of "Jesus Loves Me" and then trying to kiss someone out there goodnight.....man I love this kid more and more everyday!!

Ethan loves his brother....

2008-08-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Ethan's newest skill is lunging forward from sitting position to grab a toy. So I was trying to catch that on video. But then Caleb walks into the room....check out how excited Ethan gets when he sees him... please ignore my fat legs at the end :)

Montana State Fair

2008-08-12T18:13:00.000-07:00

The fair has come to town!! Doesn't quite compare to the Del Mar Fair - but we had fun. Our friends Tammi and Jolie joined us for some good old 4-H action, fair food and kiddie rides. Here's Jon and Caleb looking at the Llamas:

Jon touched the cows, but Caleb wanted nothing to do with them:

The helicopter ride that Caleb was desperate to get on and very frustrated by having to wait in line.....what do you mean I can't have what I want exactly when I want it?!?!?

Caleb freaking out on the helicopter ride, because he didn't realize the shifter he was playing with in the middle actually moved the ride up and down :)

Good old cotton candy.....thank God for baby wipes to clean up this boy:

You want to eat what? Testes? That's right folks. Here's Jon chowing down on some good old Rocky Mountain Oysters:

Dedicated

2008-08-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our church does baby dedications one weekend a month. And there happened to be an opening at the service we normally attend, so we had Ethan dedicated. Our head pastor Vern did a really neat, meaningful prayer over us all, and we really felt like a part of the church family. Here are a few pics of the dedication:

New skills

2008-07-31T11:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a little video of Ethan showing off his newest skill - rolling from back to front.

And another of his favorite skill - blowing bubbles:

Obsessed

2008-07-22T13:16:00.000-07:00

So we now have cable TV (we did without for the last 4 years in SD). And we love the disney channel. Caleb is completely obsessed with Dora the Explorer and her cousin Diego. He knows exactly when they come on (everyday after nap time) and in what order....first Dora, then "go San Diego, go go San Diego"!! (the actual show is called "go, Diego, go") But Caleb insists on calling it "go San Diego, go go San Diego" every time he talks about it. He'll randomly sing songs from the shows throughout the day. It is very cute and makes me want to keep him this age forever!!

Handyman

2008-07-16T10:07:00.000-07:00

It's so great having a handyman around. When I was growing up I had one of those dads that could fix anything....I mean ANYTHING! I always admired that about him, and really hoped that when I had a household of my own - there would be a handyman living there. I always thought it would be my husband....but it's not. It's Caleb. Check out the pics below:

Helping me nail in some rafia in his bedroom:

Making new friends

2008-07-14T13:34:00.000-07:00

Friends of ours just bought a boat and a wake board, so the boys and I joined them at the lake one day after church. Caleb really liked the boat ride and was trying to give our friend Kim instructions on how to get up on a wake board. I did not try it (wasn't wanting to get into a swimsuit just yet :) I'll try it next time). Here's a pic of me and Caleb on the boat.

Brad and Jolie climbing on rocks in the water

Caleb "sword fighting" with the cotton candy cone he'd saved from 4th of July

Caleb seemed to have the most fun filling the chair's cup holder with rocks - he was so proud of himself. It's nice when the little things make them happy and keep them occupied.

All in all we had a really great day. Hopefully Jon will be able to join us next time, and I will give wake boarding a try. I know Caleb will want to go again....he did NOT want to leave the lake and kept talking about it all the way home.

Celebrate Freedom

2008-07-06T06:41:00.001-07:00

So I'm totally lame and didn't take any pictures at the church's Celebrate Freedom outreach. But I did snap one of Ethan in his 4th of July duds (mommy's little firecreacker):

Celebrate Freedom was awesome though (despite the 104 degree temp). There were tons of concessions stands (shaved ice, cotton candy, watermelon, ice cream, fresh squeezed lemonade.....) all for 25 cents. And a BBQ meal (hamburger, beans & chips) for $1.50. There were a zillion bounce houses, and all the different version of any type of game you could imagine playing in an inflatable. They had a really great fenced off toddler area with mini inflatables and 3 little inflatable pools for the kids to splash in (they even provided swim diapers & sunscreen). There were bands playing live music all day and then a fantastic fireworks show that night. Jon said it was the best one he's ever seen (I took the boys home before they started....Caleb is terrified of fireworks). Several people kept asking "what kind of church would do this for free?" which was great to hear because a lot of the volunteers were able to share about our church and our vision and passion for simply serving the community. It was a really great weekend and I am looking forward to next year!

Fun with friends

2008-07-04T08:32:00.001-07:00

So we went to a new friends house last night (Larry and Teresa's). They are friends of Brad and Tammi, and Jon just hired Larry as the new IT guy at the church. They have a huge property about 15 minutes out into the country. They also have a huge family (5 kids and one on the way - and they're our age!!). It was pretty much complete mayhem the entire time we were there. They had a few other families over, so there were probably about 40 people (20+ kids). Caleb was so entertained by all the kids and totally got into "country life". He even went off roading with 2 girls....go Caleb!!

Yes - that is a red mustache on his face. At one point I saw him walking down the hall with two huge cups full of Kool-aid and the biggest grin on his face like he hit the jackpot....not sure where he found those :)

When it got dark they started breaking out the fireworks...and Caleb started breaking out the tears. Boy, he really does not like those at all. So needless to say, we will not be going to the fireworks show tonight...which is just fine with me since it won't start until 10 or 10:30 when it gets dark. We will be going to the big outreach that the church puts on today. I will do my best to take pics so you all can see what our church is up to. They are expecting 10,000 people to come through this year...wow!!

Hope you all have a great 4th of July and truly celebrate our freedom!!

Best of friends

2008-06-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day for me. I said goodbye - scratch that - I said see you later to my very best friend. Tamara and I met freshman year of college - almost 13 years ago!!!! Wow we're getting old. We were instant friends. Tamara flew up to Montana with me and the boys and stayed with us for 11 days. It was so great having her here, just hanging out and watching her play with the boys. They absolutely adore their "Aunt T". Here are a few pics from our time with her:

Ethan was hungry - and yes, a chin WILL temporarily satisfy hunger!

Sharing an ice cream sandwich with Caleb at the church staff BBQ

Eating popsicles. Caleb insisted on telling us which color we'd be having....always the director!!

"Swing Aunt T, swing!!" Caleb shouted pretty much daily.

Making brownies...mmmmm!!! Did you check out Caleb's farmer tan?

Posing for a pic with the boys wearing the shirts she bought them. Caleb's says "I don't have an off button"....so true for a 2 year old!! And yes, you're reading correctly that Ethan's says "Eat, Sleep, Poop".

I am going to miss her so much. I love you T!

Yesterday...from good to bad to worse

2008-06-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

So yesterday started out great. Ethan slept 7 hours through the night without a peep. I got up and took Jon to work (we're sharing 1 car right now), then had breakfast with Tam and the boys. Ethan took a LONG nap then we headed to the spray park with Tammi and Jolie (see pics below). Yes, my son is the one who refused to wear his swim trunks - only a swim diaper. I love having THAT kid :)

We came home, both boys had long naps again....long enough for Tam and I to relax and watch a movie - "Definitely, Maybe" - cute, but a little slow. So all in all a really good day so far. Then I left to go pick Jon up from work. On the way home, Jon says "hey, there's a cop up there, you might want to slow down a little". Sure enough there's a police car headed our direction. So I slowed down, but a little too late. The cop made a u-turn and started following me. We were pretty close to Tammi's house, so I started going her direction, hoping to park and have the cop pass me by.....wishful thinking. Yes, I got a ticket for going 40 in a 25. Welcome to Montana!! To top it off, I had left my drivers license at home, since it's only a 6 minute drive to Jon's work - I just grabbed the keys and ran out. Then when the officer asked for our insurance, I realized that I had not put our updated insuance card in the car....so I got cited for driving without insurance as well (which can be overturned once I take proof to the courthouse). So by this point, I'm not really enjoying my day anymore.

Then I get home and start making dinner. I was microwaving some veggies, and when I went to take the lid off to stir them, the hot steam that had condensed on the lid dripped off onto the top of my bare foot. That felt really good!!

Then later that evening it finally sunk in that Tamara was leaving today to head back to San Diego...that I actually had to say goodbye. So some tears were shed and I went to bed very sad.

Bathtime fun

2008-06-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

After months of fearing the bath, Caleb is once again excited about bathtime and actually asks me to take a bath. Check out this video of him reciting his favorite book "Brown Bear" that Nana would read him. Please excuse the brief nudity :)

Our first day in Montana

2008-06-17T14:25:00.000-07:00

Monday was our first full day in Montana. We did a little unpacking, and we went to the zoo with our friends Tammi and Jolie (we called it the "mini zoo" so Caleb wouldn't be disappointed that it wasn't like the SD zoo). Here are a few pics from the day:

What a big boy!!

2008-06-17T14:22:00.000-07:00

Caleb went peepee in the potty all by himself for the very first time yesterday. Our friend Jolie was over (she's 5) and apparently after seeing her go to the bathroom, he wanted to also. So she helped him take his shorts and diaper off and get on the potty. We even got a picture of it:

Our last days in SD

2008-06-17T13:58:00.000-07:00

Here's some pics from our last days at Nana's house and visiting our friends Ryan, Janice and Ella.

Counting the days

2008-06-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

5 more days until the boys and I leave for Montana!! We've been doing lots of last minute stuff before we go....visiting friends that we won't see for a while, hitting tourist destinations we won't be able to visit again for quite some time, etc. Caleb and I took Ethan to his first baseball game - Go Padres!! We had a lot of fun. Here are a few pics from the game.

Getting ready to move

2008-05-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well, move day is almost here. Movers come May 28th or 29th, then we'll all go stay with my parents in Mira Mesa. Jon is driving up to Montana June 1st. Then the boys and I will fly up with Tamara on June 15th (I have a wedding on the 14th - that's why we're staying longer). We found a great apartment to rent for 6 months while we look for a house.....not looking forward to moving again in less than a year, but will look forward to more space with a yard for the boys :)