Khalil & Aaliyah

It seems like time has been flying by, and Khalil and Aaliyah are getting so big! Aaliyah turned 1 year old on December 19th (she's just 4 days younger than Ethan), and Khalil is 2 1/2. (For those of you who don't know, Khalil and Aaliyah are my brother Travis' kids). Anyway, their mom is out of town for a few days, so the kids are staying with my mom. Ethan and I went to visit them this morning and I just had to get pictures of their cute faces! (Also, I thought you out-of-towners would appreciate some pictures, since y'all don't get to see them very often...... you're welcome!)

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My mom holding Ethan and Aaliyah

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She was ready for a nap and REALLY didn't want a photo shoot.

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I love this picture! These two are such opposites when it comes to being grumpy. Ethan whines and fusses, and Aaliyah has a total meltdown, lol.
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Khalil

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Sleeping

Ethan's been on a good schedule for awhile now. He usually wakes up at 10:00 a.m., naps for 2 or 3 hours at about 3:00, and then goes to bed around 11:00. It's perfect for us because sometimes Jonathan doesn't get home until 10:30 at night, so then he can see Ethan before he goes to bed. Another reason I love having him on a schedule, is that I know when I get a break to excercise, or clean the house, or just relax. He's usually so good about naptime and bedtime, he almost never cries about it. I just tell him it's time to sleep, then I give him his blanket, and lay him in his crib. A lot of times, he'll take his blanket off my shoulder and put it in the crib himself! I guess that means he's ready for bed (and he knows he'll need his blanket for that). After he's been asleep for awhile, I go check on him to see if he needs to be covered up. Here are a few sweet pictures of what I see when I walk in...

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He likes to chew on the tag, and he fell asleep with it sticking out of his mouth!

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Ethan can read! (almost)

Ethan loves books, and often reads them himself. Here's a little sample of his advanced reading skills...(sorry, it's so dark, my poor camera does the best it can.)

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Christmas Day

On Christmas Eve night, I opened my presents from Jonathan. I was so excited! He got me clothes, gift cards to my favorite places, and a few things for the house. I love that he's not afraid to shop for me, he always knows what I'd like. The next morning, Ethan woke up and saw that Santa had brought him some toys. He was super excited and couldn't wait to play with them. After that, we went to the Ochoa's where we got to open even more presents! The rest of the day we ate, visited my parents, and then ate some more. It was a great Christmas, I can't wait 'til next year!

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Me, Jonathan, and Ethan

(Jonathan bought me that shirt for Christmas, he's got good taste!)

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This is after we opened presents at my in-laws. Jonathan's excited about his new toothpaste.

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Ethan got a Fisher-Price barn from Santa. I grew up with one of these and I'm so glad they still make 'em. He really likes it.

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Ethan's playing with his new toys in his new gingerbread pajamas.

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Ethan's not into dolls (thank goodness), but apparently he likes to kiss them every once in awhile.

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My family had their Christmas party on the 23rd. Unfortunately, Jonathan had to work, but Ethan and I had fun opening presents anyway. Oh, and my parents got us a vacuum cleaner! It was on my Christmas list and we desperately needed one, so it was the perfect gift. I've been using it almost everyday and I love it! Dirty floors are one of my biggest pet peeves. Seriously. I'm much happier with a freshly vacuumed house.

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There's me and my little man opening presents. He's gotten really good at it.

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Here he is talking on his new cell phone that he got from his cousin.

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Here's my sister Jill with Bryn, and me with Ethan.

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Wouldn't you love to get him as a present?

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We're so lucky to have such wonderful people to spend the holidays with. Thanks everybody for the thoughtful gifts and the fun parties! It was the best Christmas ever! (...well, it was definitely in the top 5, for sure)

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Ethan's First Birthday

Ethan just turned 1 on December 15th, and he had a spectacular party! We celebrated at my in-laws' house with fajitas and cake with ice cream. All of Jonathan's siblings were there and even my parents got to come. We're so grateful to have family that live so close, especially at times like this. Thanks to everyone for your generosity, Ethan loves all the new toys!

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He was a little sick that day, so he was in a daze for some of the pictures....still cute though!

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Ethan's enjoying his cake.

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Me and Ethan

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Cousins Dario and Aiden with Ethan

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Aunt Rachel and Ethan

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He fell asleep on the ride home. Poor little guy was all partied out!

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Ethan loves Baby Einstein, so I copied the Baby Einstein caterpillar for his cake. I made a delicious cool whip and cream cheese frosting, and a white cake. It was my first time to use fondant and it looked perfect.......then after 30 minutes the colors started to run! Oh well, we still ate it.

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Happy Birthday Ethan! We love you so so much!

--Mama and Daddy

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Ethan's 1st Thanksgiving

I'm a little behind with the blogging, but here are a few pictures of Ethan's first Thanksgiving. We went to my parents' house that morning, then to Jonathan's cousin's house, then to Jonathan's parents', then back to my parents'. Whew! We were definitely busy, but it was a fun day! (sorry, I only took pics for part of the day)

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Granddad and Ethan

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Uncle Todd, Aunt Emily, and Ethan

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Aunt Taressa and Ethan

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Aunt Laura and Ethan

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Cousin Nicholas and Ethan

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Cousin Ava

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Me and baby Laila (Brian and Emily's newest baby)
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Me, Jonathan, and Ethan

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Todd & Emily got married!!!

Jonathan's brother, Todd, got married to Emily Johnson on Friday, November 21st. We weren't able to go to the wedding in Houston, but we got to see them at their reception the next day. It was decorated beautifully! Their colors were black and white with a little red, one of my favorite combinations...very classy! We had such a good time and we're so happy for them. Congratulations Todd and Emily, we love y'all!

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Emily, Todd, Jonathan, Me, and Ethan

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Ethan's puckering up for the camera.

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Me and Jonathan

(don't adjust your screen, my hair really is pink, and yes I did it on purpose)
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I found Ethan's suit coat at a resale shop for really cheap. He looked like a little man, it was so cute!

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Projects

Recently, our Wal-Mart got rid of their fabric department, so all of their fabric was marked down and super cheap! I decided to jump on it, and bought material to make curtains for the house. I quickly realized that this was going to be a huge project, but after many hours, I finally finished the curtains for the living room. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out, but I'd like to add a solid colored stripe on the bottom, to make them longer. (I bought all there was of this kind).

Here are the curtains.

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This is what the material looks like. I'm going with an Asian theme (so that explains the dragons).

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I've also been working on some pictures. I found some cool stencils online, but they're way too expensive, so I made my own stencils! I cut out this black paper with an Exacto knife. Then, I put red paper behind it. I've got seven pictures to do, but so far I've only finished two.
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This is the second picture I've done. (They're supposed to be cherry blossoms.)
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The colors might not make sense right now, but hopefully after I make matching pillows it'll work out. Wish me luck!
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He's just so funny!

Last night, Ethan and I went over to my parents house. At the supper table, I tried to feed him beans and he kept spitting them out! I thought it was funny and I wanted to get it on video, but by the time the camera started rolling, he decided he liked the beans and started something else instead...





I thought it was pretty hilarious. I put my hand out to catch the beans that he was spitting out, but he kept putting his face in my hand instead!

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Of course, emptying the kitchen drawer has gotten old, so he found a new way to play with it, or IN it I should say...

I just love him!

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Ethan's 1st steps!

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Ethan took his first steps tonight and I'm so excited! Jonathan's at work, so he hasn't gotten to see it, but he'll be so proud. I'm so glad I was here for this moment. I know I can't always be with him, but as a mother, I wish that I could be there for everything and see every milestone. Sometimes I get cabin fever when I stay home all the time, but I really am lucky that I can be a stay-at-home mom. Especially at times like this.

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Ethan's 1st Halloween

This was Ethan's first Halloween and, unfortunately, Jonathan had to work. But Ethan and I still had fun! We went to my in-laws to trick-or-treat around their neighborhood. Ethan really needed a nap and was being a bit grumpy, but we went anyway. I carried him around to a few houses, and by the fourth house he fell asleep! So we went back to their house where he finished his nap, and that was the extent of our Halloween partying. I didn't mind though. He was getting pretty heavy, and it's not like he was going to eat the candy. We had a good time, and hopefully next year Jonathan and I will get to wear costumes and join the fun.

Here's the pumpkin I carved.

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Our sweet little lion.

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Ethan was distracted by all the trick-or-treaters.

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Ethan and his cousins, Aiden and Dario, the power rangers.

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This is Aiden, Ethan, Ava, and Dario, just before they went trick-or-treating.

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Ethan and Aunt Taressa (a.k.a. Auntie).

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Ethan and me.

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The little lion after 15 minutes of trick-or-treating.

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My sister Kelly, me, and Ethan. Kelly was going to a Halloween party as a Black Jack card dealer. We teased her hair up really big, and I loved the red lipstick!

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