Jack's Baby Blessing

We headed to Utah for Heber and Jenna's wedding. Having all the family around was the best time for Jack's baby blessing. It was a perfect day and we were able to bless him at the Garden Park Ward where I went to church growing up.

Chase gave Jack a wonderful blessing and even though they forgot to give him a microphone, I heard most of what he said. One thing that stood out to me was that Jack would be blessed to have good friends and to also be a good friend. Chase also blessed him with a sense of humor and that he would be a happy individual. I can already tell that he'll be happy. This baby smiles ALL the time!!

While taking some pictures by the pond Sadie ran into a familiar face. Lizzy Gardner walked through the back gate and Sadie immediately ran to her. They hugged each other so tight. It was so sweet but it made Jess and me so sad that these two best friends now live so far apart (forget Sadie..I miss my best friend too!!) If only we could get the Gardners to move back to Virginia. So many of our friends were able to come and join in the prayer circle. We feel so fortunate to receive so much love and support from so many dear friends and family members. Thank you to all who came and participated.

We had a fun little brunch afterwards at my parent's home. Thanks to Mimi, Connie and my sisters the food was fantastic. Thanks again ladies!!

Of course, the man of the hour fell fast asleep.
Sadie, on the other hand was wired from all the cookies and cupcakes she ate. Actually, lets restate that, all the "frosting" she ate. She couldn't care less about the actual cupcake. Once devoured, Sadie resembled a little Nazi.

Happiest Place on Earth

We've decided that Jack's favorite spot is Chase's chest. However this utopia is only to be enjoyed while Chase is standing and rocking continuously. I can never get Jack to sleep on my chest. I think he automatically thinks it's time to eat.

Sleeping just like his mom and almost everyone else in the Etherington fam.

Fashion Police

You'd be mad too if Chase dressed you like this. Anyone need some stripes?

A Week of Celebration

Even though we won't know if Chase passed the bar until Thanksgiving, we are celebrating anyway. We are so happy to have Chase home with out any books, lectures, or note cards attached. We had a great week of just hanging out. We went to Cheesecake Factory the night he got home and and Chase got himself a celebratory coke...of course. The rest of the week we spent at the pool (way more fun when I can actually get in the water with Sadie), the park, and lots of walks.

Two amazing things happened this week. Sadie decided to be brave and after an entire summer of me coaxing her to go down the water slides at our pool, she finally mustered up some courage. There wasn't a slide she wouldn't go down. It was a very satisfying moment to see her having so much fun...and all on her own!!

Jack can now be turned around in the front pack. His neck is strong enough to be able to hold up his head and see the world around him. I love watching his eyes dart around and legs kick as he observes everything around him. He's also a total chunk. We took him to his two month appointment and he already weighs 13 pounds!!! I think most of the weight is in his cheeks.

I love having my family together again. I just feel extremely overwhelmed and blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I love my kids and I LOVE Chase. What can I say? I'm still totally head over heels for him. I always appreciate him and all he does, but having him gone a whole week really set that appreciation in stone. A day with (or with out) him will never go unnoticed again.

Hooray hooray hoorahhhhhhhhh!!!

Chase is home!! After a week of taking care of the kids on my own I was more than ready to give my left arm a rest and hand the kids over. Although spending time devoted to myself would have been nice, I just wanted to be with Chase and have our whole family together. I felt like Chase was sort of re-introduced to his newborn son. Jack was born, we had two weeks and then Chase was either at the library full time or down in the basement "not to be disturbed." I am so happy the bar is over. Lets just beg and plead to the heavens that he passed:-) Here's Sadie welcoming Daddy home. Definitely a moment to remember.

Bar Mode

Chase studied the whole month of July and it was a lot of hard work entertaining a toddler in between nursing Jack and all his naps. He spent a lot of time in the front pack and I spent many exhausting days hauling Sadie to as many play dates, library puppet shows, swimming pool (that was a tricky one seeing Jack can't wear sun block..or get in the water), and shaded parks in our area. Summer just isn't as fun with out Daddy. We couldn't wait for Chase to be a real person again. "Real" meaning someone who can come home and play with us with out having to worry about exams.

Sponge Curlers

Attempted and failed. The finished product was nothing to be proud of. We'll try again after Sadie forgets how much she hated having sponge curlers in her hair.

Sadie's new hobbies

Lately when I have been looking through pictures on my camera, I have found a few odd ones. Sadie LOVES to look at the pictures and movies on the camera. In fact, it's been a great tool for sacrament meeting to keep her quiet when we're desperate. Whenever it's really quiet in the house I assume she has found the camera and is skimming her favorite photos.

I love these pictures she has taken. I think it's time to get her a camera of her own.

She has also discovered the art of cutting paper up into tiny little pieces and leaving them all over the floor. The smaller the pieces..the better. She calls the scissors her "cuts."

I love that in this picture she is wearing her favorite "Kevin" PJ's (the bird from the movie "Up") and that her bah blanket and dog are never too far away. She takes her little "accessories nearly everywhere she goes.

We miss Daddy

Sadie, Jack and I have had quite a week. Chase headed out Monday to take the California bar exam. He's been studying the entire month of July and even though he was hardly ever available to help with the kids, it was nice knowing he was at least in the same city. We miss him!! I have some serious respect for women who are either single or are pretty much raising their kids on the their own (resident or military wives). I honestly can't imagine having to raise these kids all by myself. This week has actually gone by pretty fast considering the day he left I was already crying my eyes out and had lost my appetite. It was a really weird feeling to be homesick in your my home. Chase makes our house a home and that's probably why I felt so out of place. Today was the first day that Sadie really started to show some irrational behavior. I took her to the park this morning and she wouldn't let me talk to any of the other moms. This is often the only conversation I have with adults the entire day so my talking time is precious. We ended up leaving with Sadie in a fit of rage. As I was feeding her lunch at home I saw her lips curl down and tears well up in her eyes. She said to me..."Mommy, do you know why I am really sad?.......I want my Daddy." I was already pretty mad at her for her previous tantrum but I couldn't neglect her sad little eyes and totally melted. We spent the rest of lunch holding each other and crying because I too "want my daddy." Absence definitely makes the heart grow fonder or break a little in Sadie's case. She and I can't wait until Daddy comes home again.

Photo Shoot

Jack had his first photo shoot with one of my friends from the ward. Alisha takes great pictures!! I am so happy with the way they turned out. Jack was great. He was awake most of the time and when we were finally about to leave, he fell asleep. So, he's dresses in his sleeping pictures. Here are some of my faves. I of course want to frame them all. There's not enough wall space for all these cute pictures. Thanks again Alisha!!

Feet

For some weird reason I was always embarrassed to wear sandals in high school because I thought I had ugly feet. It wasn't until I quit ballet and stopped standing on my toes that they finally evened out a bit. Now I think my feet are fantastic!! In fact if my middle toe wasn't so dang long, I could probably be a foot model:-)

Sadie and I took some pics of our feet. Hers are so cute I just want to squeeze them. Look at those tiny, chubby little toes. Looks like she might have inherited my feet. I'm not sure about Jack yet. They're pretty stubby and little at this point. My dad also has fabulous feet. My mom doesn't. Chase does NOT have cute feet but that's ok because every other part of him is adorable. Random post I know but I just couldn't resist my kid's chubby toes. They are too adorable!!

Piggy in the puddle

This is what my kid looks like at the end of the day. I always said I'd never let my kid have syrup in her hair, dirt on her face, or boogers coming out of her nose. Of course I said this before I had kids. Now I know that it's inevitable. After the sand box, dirt piles, lollipop in hair, and chocolate ice cream for dessert she was in need of a bar of soap.

New wheels

It's official. We are a family of four and we have the double stroller to prove it. I took the kids on their first walk together the other day. Sadie didn't like the sun shade down but had to compromise so we could keep Jack nice and cool. Of course by the end of the trek she wanted to walk anyway. Maybe I should have just stuck with the single stroller for a while before we bought this one.

Wonder of wonder...miracles..miracles!!

Little man slept through the night last night!! Hip hip hooray. Yippee skippee. 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. Of course I was up all night because my body thinks it should be waking up every three hours. Sadie slept through the night on her 6 week birthday and Jack followed suit. Good work kids!!

Happy 4th

When Sadie was an infant we wouldn't have dreamed of going to see fireworks. It would have been too loud!! Well I guess I've cooled off a bit because we took Jack to see his first fireworks along with the Sadie Lady...of course!! She wouldn't stop talking about the fireworks so we couldn't let her down.

We spent the early morning (very early) setting up the breakfast at the ward (activities commitee..whoopee) and then were so worn out that we skipped a friend's BBQ that afternoon. All four of us checked out for a couple of hours. It was an absolute miracle!! We then headed out to Leesburge to hang with the Todds and see some fireworks. Wide eyed Sadie covered her ears and Jack fell asleep. I guess the fireworks weren't too loud afterall.