Merry Christmas!

Ethan and I had a very merry Christmas this year. He went to 2 parties and we both got lots of great presents. He may have overdone it with the chocolate covered pretzels though....just a bit.

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We definitely missed the Lunts and the Murdocks and the Shilligs this year, so we wanna shout out to them. We love y'all and hope y'all had a merry Christmas. Holla back fools!!!

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And one last thing...thank you thank you thank you to:

-my parents for getting me my first set of matching, never-before-used, brand spankin' new bathroom towels.

-Jonathan for helping Ethan make me the cutest Christmas card ever!

-my best sister Kelly for getting me a present every year when she doesn't even draw my name.

-Carol Ann for giving me the pinkest of pink stuff for Christmas. It's become my signature color and I love it =)

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obviously this could go on forever, but we just don't have that kind of time...so thanks to everyone that made this year special for us....Merry Christmas!

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Mi familia...

My sister Sarah and her 3 kids came in from California for a week and we had sooo much fun!... and lots of good quality girl time :) here are some recent pics of the fam...

My best sister Kelly, and me

My Grandma Conn and Kelly's little girl London (...but I like to call her Little Lady London...it's fun!)

Ethan and his cousins, Tiffany and Ella

Ethan LOVES to do puzzles, especially with Monica (he calls her Monica's). They're puzzle buddies. I tried to help him with one, but he pointed his finger at me and said "No Mama!", then he pointed to the chair and said "Sit!"...so I did, lol.

David, Ethan, and Roman
(with so many girls in the family, the guys gotta stick together)

My sister Sarah with her son Roman, and Little Lady London

Here are the girls looking beautiful...
Charlotte, Me, Sarah, Jill, Rachel, and Kelli
(and Sarah's holding a couple babies)

1...2...3...4...

Check out Ethan's new trick!

Better late than never!

I know, I know...I've gotten waaay behind on blogging...not cool. So here are some pics from the Fourth of July and such...

Me and Ethan at the 4th of July breakfast at church

(even though it was at 8 am, we were still hot and sweaty! ugh!)

Me and Kelly at Melissa's 4th of July party
(She's 7 1/2 months along...and it's a girl! Isn't her belly is so cute?)

Me and my sisters
(Jill, pregnant Kelly, and Melissa)

Me and my bff Caroline at Kelly's baby shower
(and the little cutie is Mali Su)

Me and Kel again, at her baby shower

She had on the cutest shirt! It wasn't maternity, but it fit over her belly just right. It's hard to find stylish maternity clothes :( ...Anyway, we had a lot of fun and Kelly got a bunch of good stuff. The tiny baby girl clothes were just adorable! Thanks Melissa for letting us party at your house!

Ethan wants to tell you something...

I was playing peek-a-boo with Ethan yesterday during breakfast and he got so excited! I love when he wakes up happy =)

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Growing up fast

Ethan's 18 months old now and he's been talking a lot lately...and I love it! I haven't even tried to count how many words he can say, but here's a little sample for everybody:

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Sometimes I let Ethan go play in his room...unsupervised. For those of you who know me, y'all know this is kind of a big deal. As you can see, he makes a bit of a mess, but I've finally decide that it's no big deal and it's not the end of the world. (Imagine that!) Plus, it keeps him busy, so it's worth it to let him trash the place. I went to check on him and found him laying on the floor like a big boy, and trying to color with a AA battery. It was so cute and 100% mess free!

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Party in Hemphill!!! Woohoo!!!

Last Saturday we went to Hemphill in honor of my brother-in-law's graduation. He's an RN now and we're so proud of him! They threw a great party and the kids had so much fun running around outside. It was really nice to have everybody together, as it doesn't happen very often. Thanks Jill and Johnny! We love partying in Hemphill!

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my sister-in-law Kelly, Ethan, and me
(...didn't recognize me without the pink hair did you!)
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While everyone was eating, Ethan thought he'd be sneaky and try to get in my mom's car. Didn't work out so well...but he didn't give up...

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Tugboat Island

This past Friday, Ethan and I went to Tugboat Island with my mom, my sisters Monica and Rachel, and my neice and nephews. Tugboat Island is this really nice park in Port Neches. When we got there we saw a cool water park right next to it that we didn't even know about! It's like a bunch of fountains for kids to play in. The kids were kind of bummed that they didn't get to play in it, but we didn't know to bring swim suits. We'll have to be better prepared next time. I did let Ethan try it out though. I stripped him down to his diaper so he could get wet. He was a little scared, so he pretty much just got his feet wet. I think his favorite part was getting to explore on his own in the park. He had a lot of fun getting dirty and he can't wait 'til next time!

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MY NEW CAR!!!

...just kidding. This black beauty actually belongs to my dad's friend, but I couldn't resist pretending it was mine. So I had to take a picture. We look so cute together!

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High Heels

Ethan's been trying on shoes lately and it's pretty hilarious. I love seeing him walk around in huge tennis shoes; he looks like a clown! Here's his latest attempt with high heels:

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Ethan's very coordinated and likes to stack things. He stacked up four of these spice containers the other day...very impressive!

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horses, carousels, and merry-go-rounds

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Here's what we've been up to lately...

Ethan and I went to the park! There's one right by the library...nothing fancy, but he really liked walking around and picking up things off the ground (like rocks, or "balls" as he calls them).

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Here's Ethan at Nana and Granddad's. He's got a chocolate mustache...and he's showing off his belly.
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Apparently those Baby Einstein videos are paying off...Ethan's got skills when it comes to the piano.
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We went to Hemphill to visit my sister Jill and her family. They have two horses and Johnny let us ride 'em! It was so much fun, I felt like a kid again! Thanks Ratcliff's, we had a great time!

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My sister Rachel, and my neice Katherine got to ride together.

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Ethan really fit in with the country crowd.

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Ethan and his cousin Bryn.

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The Southtexas State Fair was going on for 2 weeks and my in-laws were so sweet to invite us. I took Ethan into the petting zoo and they had some really cool animals. Ethan was kind of scared at first, but then he warmed up to 'em.

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They had a miniature horse...

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a camel...

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goats...

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a pig...

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and a kangaroo! (He's kind of hiding in the corner.)

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I rode with Ethan on one ride, but I get motion sickness really easily, so his uncle Todd took him on the carousel for me. He was scared for the first half of the ride, but was eventually ok with it. In this picture, he's trying to hand me his blanket so I can hold him, lol.

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Ethan and uncle Todd

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Of course, Ethan had to try some fair food. I think he's eating lamb. Jonathan and I took Ethan another day and tried squirrel on a stick, alligator on a stick, cheesecake on a stick...pretty much everything on a stick...and who doesn't love funnel cakes, right? So we stuffed our faces and had so much fun. But, next time I'm riding the ferris wheel :) .

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Home Sweet Home

Ok, I know I should be posting about how Ethan and I are back from Ohio and what we're up to...buuuut, I haven't been taking any pictures since we've been back, so that'll have to wait. In the mean time, here's a bit of fantastic news that I thought I should share:

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This is the window unit in our living room. It looks like it's older than I am, which is probably why it stopped heating (conveniently, in the middle of winter). So, we told our landlord and he brought over a couple of space heaters to keep us warm at night until he could buy a new one.

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While I was in Ohio, Jonathan told me the landlord decided not to buy a new window unit...but put in central air/heat instead! Woohoo! I love it! I feel so fancy now! This is such a HUGE improvement. Now our bathroom isn't freezing at night when it's time for Ethan's bath. Now the whole house is comfortable all the time and I am SO very grateful.

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I love seeing these guys in all the rooms. I like to just look up and smile at 'em. :)

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Our latest field trip...

Yesterday Sarah and I took the kids to Cosi (pronounced CO-sigh). It's a science museum for kids, but adults like it too. They have everything from rat basketball (yes, actual rats that are trained to play basketball...not sure why, but they do), to a play area where kids can pretend to be doctors, build with giant blocks, or play in the kitchen. We spent the whole time in the play area so the kids could just run free and do as they please. Ethan and I had a great time!

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He was trying to ride around backwards. It sorta worked.

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Ethan loves to push stuff around. Strollers, shopping carts, cars...pretty much anything.

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This machine blows air, so when you put balls on it they float! Pretty cool huh!
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Ethan and Roman

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Thanks for bringing us Sarah! It was super fun!

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...and the fun continues...

This week we brought Kate and the boys to the mall again to play in their fancy indoor playground. As usual, they loved it.

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Ethan loves pushing this baby doll stroller around the house.

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He decided to climb in it and wait for someone to give him a ride.

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Here's Allie pushing Ethan around.

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Ethan really never gets tired of riding in the stroller.

(Sorry about the sideways view, I was trying to give it an artistic point of view.)

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It's been awhile since I've gotten Ethan to really crack up. I thought maybe I'm just not that funny anymore...but this video proves it, I've still got it!

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