Teeth, Crawling, Pulling Up and Gerber Graduates

Well, Ethan is growing up every second. He is currently working on 5 teeth! 5 - poor guy! 4 across the top and one more on bottom. That will make a total of 7 when these all come in. He has handled it pretty well, I have to brag, but sometimes, he is more than grumpy. Understandable, but hard on me just the same.

Crawling...we are almost there. He can get up on all fours, and rock, but he tries to crawl, and he falls on his face. =o) He gets right back up and tries again. Pretty soon, he'll be zooming around this house and in to everything. Fun times! He is also working on pulling up and he just about has it down. I can't believe he is old enough to start crawling and pulling up. Wasn't he just born yesterday?!

Gerber Graduates...since the acquisition of these new teeth, he is exploring new foods and textures. He finally figured out on Saturday the connection between hand and mouth. It is so cute! He really likes the Graduate flavored puffs (banana, peach, cinnamon apple, sweet potatoe, and strawberry apple) and is enjoying figuring out the process of eating things that don't come in a bottle. He ate half of a banana yesterday and really enjoyed that, too.
New day = new adventures!! I'm loving every second of it!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!

This was Ethan's first July 4th! We stayed in Dumas this year, and had a great time. We went to the city park to check out what festivities the town had to offer (NOTHING like good 'ol Snyder), but that's ok. Not many small towns I know of go all out like Snyder does. I really missed it this year. Anyway, then we went out to some friends' house Saturday night and ate burgers and watched their kids set off some fireworks. The noises did not bother Ethan one bit. He had the best time and was mesmerized by all the colors. We watched the Dumas fireworks display from there and it was pretty good. Small and short, but good. We are so blessed to live in this great country where we do have so many freedoms and liberties. As I remember and celebrate those freedoms, I am humbled by the sacrifice so many Americans gave and continue to give in order for us to live the life we live in this country. America bless God, and God bless America. There is no greater nation.

Happy Birthday, Baby

Today is also Ronnie's birthday. I just wanted to take a minute to tell him Happy Birthday!! Thank you, first and foremost, for your part in our son - he is the most beautiful blessing I've ever received. Thank you for the person you are and the person you make me. Thank you for everything you do to make sure your little family is taken care of. You work so hard, and I hope you know how very grateful we are for you and your willingness and ability to work. Thank you for your unconditional love - it still amazes me everyday. You love me for me, no games, no regrets, just pure, honest love. I can't imagine my life without you, and am eternally grateful to God for bringing us together. I hope you have a wonderful birthday and know that Ethan and I love you so very much and are so proud to call you husband and Dad. I look forward to many, many more birthday celebrations together! I love you, baby!! Happy Birthday!

7 Months

Ethan is 7 months today - unbelievable!! This is such an exciting and amazing time in his life, and I am just taking it all in. He learns new things everyday, and it is such a joy to watch him grow, discover and learn. However, if anyone has any ideas or suggestions on how to make time stop, that would be great!! He's growing up way too fast!

I love you to the moon and back, precious baby boy. I look forward to many more days, months and years with you, watching you grow into as sweet and beautiful of a boy as you are a baby. Happy 7 Months!!!

EJC

Sometimes it is hard to post every single picture I take of Ethan, so I decided that slide shows are the best way to share more pictures, quicker. This particular slide show is just some pictures of him over the last couple of months. He's just growing and I can't believe he's already nearly 7 months old! Enjoy!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Constant Work in Progress

We have been working on the outside of our house, and it is really shaping up. We have pulled up some shrubs, planted flowers, bought a bench for the front porch, got a new roof, replaced the garage door, and are in the process of painting the trim and front door. The trim on the house was green and white (yuck!), and I've been wanting to paint it since we moved in but last year we were busy with the pregnancy and the loss of Daddy. We are painting the trim chocolate brown and khaki. The shrubs in the front of the house were ugly and just caught trash, so now pretty flowers are in their place. The roof was damaged by a hail storm last year, so we replaced it with a dark brown roof, and it looks awesome. The garage door was the original one from when the house was built, and it was literally crumbling at the bottom, so we replaced it with a khaki/beigh one that matches the underneath part of the trim. There was a really ugly, really big, plastic garden hose reel on the front of the house that we replaced with a wrought iron one. And, finally, the front door will be painted RED, but we haven't gotten to that yet. Pictures...

Front of house - Thanksgiving 2008, before any work was started:

Front of house after we pulled up shrubs, planted flowers, put the bench on the front porch, and replaced the garden hose holder:

House with brown and khaki trim (ignore the green garage door!):

Front of house with new, dark brown roof (again, ignore the green garage door):

And, finally, pictures of the front with the new garage door!:

Hopefully, we can finish up this weekend; I'm ready for my red front door! When we get that done, I think we'll be through with it for this year. We've done a lot of work, and the house looks so much better and we are so proud of it!

Asher is here, safe and sound!

James Asher Shields (they will call him Asher) arrived Wednesday, June 10, 2009 at 2:51 p.m. He weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20 inches long. He is beautiful and absolutely perfect!! He has LOTS of blonde hair and blue eyes. Mom, Dad and baby are all doing really well. Everybody is healthy and happy, and big brother Reese can't wait for them to bring his new little brother home! We are so blessed...