Sandbox

I love Ethan's sandbox! It looks cute in the yard, is big enough for me to sit in with him, and has a great table and umbrella! The umbrella is especially nice since it was still in the 90s when we were playing at 4 this afternoon! Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Jeppson! We sure love this sandbox!
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Ethan LOVES this rocket! He can sit on it all by himself, but it requires some creative maneuvering.

Both feet are up on the fin.

Both feet up on the seat.

Success!

He also spends a lot of time standing in front of it, holding the handles, and running around the house. I'll to try to get a video when my camera is charged--he puts his head down for more speed and runs. When he gets to a corner, he plants his feet really wide and puts his whole body into swinging the tail end of the rocket around. It is hilarious (at least to me)!

Thanks again Great-Grammy and Great-Grandpa Art!

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Excuses, Excuses

We're going on a cruise!

You might be saying, as my friend did when I told her, "wait, how are you going on a cruise?" Well, I know we probably shouldn't be, but we are anyway, and here are the excuses:

1. Merry Christmas to us!
2. Happy 30th birthday to Mike (January)!
3. We've been wanting to go on a cruise with family, and Lisa and Dan are going.
4. My mom is already taking time off to take care of Ruth and James, so Ethan will get to stay
and play with his cousins.
5. We had more work (pay) than anticipated this month.
6. We have been stressing about reduced hours and lay offs for over a year and a half now, and
we need a stress-free, sleep in, no worries kind of vacation.

So, in December we are sailing away to Mexico for a few days, and we're not going to feel guilty, because I think we've sufficiently rationalized the expense (oh yeah, and it was a good deal). :)

The student surpasses the master

Ethan was the mastermind and mess maker in this game.
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Swimming!

Ethan discovered that he can lay down in the sandbox. Here he is making swimming motions with his arms. The next time he laid down he put his face in the sand and came up covered. : )
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Birthday Party

Last night we had Ethan's 1st birthday party, and it was so fun! I took candid pictures of Ethan's guests, but it was while we were eating, so, for their sakes, I won't post them. The guests were: Nana and Papa (my mom and step-dad), Grammy and Grandpa Art (my mom's mom and step-dad), Great Uncle Chub (Hal) and Great Aunt Lela (Mike's Dad's brother and wife), Becky and Sam (Ethan's best buddy).

I knew Ethan wouldn't have a long attention span for opening gift after gift and not playing with them, so anytime he seemed interested in the gift table, he got to open one.

It's as big as Ethan!
Grammy and Grandpa Art got Ethan one of the coolest toys I've ever seen. It's a Radio Flyer rocket! It is perfect for Ethan! The seat opens, it has buttons, and he can move around on it.He can already get up on it by himself and can kind of move it. Mostly he stands in front of it, grabs the handles, and runs around the house. He can turn it and everything!

Next up, the toy I've been dieing to show him all week: a sandbox! Grandma and Grandpa Jeppson (my dad and step-mom) got this for him. He loves playing in my potted plants, so we knew he would love this.
When Ethan plays in my plants, or tries to eat rocks, etc. I will say his name in a scolding tone, and he shakes his head "no" because he know what is coming. While he was playing in the sandbox, anytime I would call his name to try and get him to look at me for a picture, he would just shake his head "no."
I love the table, bench, and umbrella on this one. I'll post a picture further away sometime because it looks so cute in our yard!
Ethan's very first time in the sandbox:


He could have played here all night, so we compromised: he came inside, but he got to bring his shovel.

Eating dinner:

The cake:
It is supposed to be a road. The website I got the idea from had a race track in a figure eight, but I thought it looked like too much of an 8 for his 1st birthday, so I made a 1. Mike says that made it hard to tell it was a road. Oh well...Ethan liked the trucks anyway.


My sister, Lisa, got Ethan a ball popper. It was really funny to see Ethan and Sam try to figure it out. Ethan loves it, so I think I'll be getting very familiar with its songs. :) Click HERE to see Ethan in action.

Ethan also got a Little People Plane from Sam. I was so excited because I've really been wanting a plane like that for Ethan. He loves the little people and has already been pushing the plane around the house.

Nana and Papa got Ethan a membership to the Phoenix Children's Museum!!! We've never gone because I was waiting to get a free Culture Pass at the library, but they are so hard to get! Last week my sister posted a blog about her kids going to their local children's museum and I thought, "I really want a membership for our museum!" Apparently my mom thought the same thing when she saw Lisa's post--Thank you SOOO much Mom! We are going to spend many fun days there!

Meal Time

Isn't he cute?

This is the sign for milk, which we use for any drink. As soon as Ethan learned it he started using it to point at anything he wants.




Ethan is very good at waving hello and good-bye now.


Ethan won't eat if there is a container without a lid. He LOVES putting things in containers and putting the lid on. This is what it looks like when Ethan is done eating.

It was time!

Ethan's hair had been getting pretty unruly, but I was planning on waiting until his birthday to cut his hair. However, after he had a few "mullet moments" in one day, I decided it was time to get out the clippers.

A little idea of the "before" situation--although, this was combed, not crazy bedhead.

He didn't mind at all.

I got a lot of really unflattering pictures of Ethan, but at least he's too young to care that I'm laughing at him.

We moved to the floor to do the back.

Finished product!
I'm not sure if he is using it as a phone, or trying to cut his hair. He knows to hold phones up to his ear and put combs to his head, so it could be either.


Not spiked:

Good job Mike--and thanks for letting me make it into a big deal (lots of pictures and I am saving a lock of hair)!

Videos

Ethan dances standing up now, and has gotten really into clapping:


I thought it was about time that I post a video of Ethan's expert walking skills! He is even getting pretty good with shoes on! This video is a little long, but at least watch the beginning and then stop when you get bored of watching a cute little munchkin wander around. :)

Play

This exemplifies Ethan's style of play. He snagged two pill bottles from the pantry, opened the cabinet, took out a pot, put the bottles inside, and then found a lid that fit. Silly, lid obsessed kid!
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HOV's Lund Family Hospice Home

Mike has been working for his current company for about 2.5 years now. In case you don't know, he is a structural engineer. In case you don't know what that means, I'll explain: architects draw the plans for a building and then send them to a structural engineer. The engineer then does a whole bunch of math to design how the building will be made (materials, connections, etc.) these plans are sent to the city, and after approval are used by the architect and contractors for the construction of the building.

One of the things Mike has been looking forward to is seeing something he engineered completed. The following pictures are of one of the first of Mike's projects to be finished (besides the many remodels and little things he works on).

I'm really proud of the work Mike does and that in an economy that has been really bad for anyone tied to new buildings, Mike still has a job. Way to go Mike!

Pearly Whites

Ethan brushing his teeth with his new Cookie Monster toothbrush. After I clarified that it was for brushing his teeth, not his hair, he was an instant expert.

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Running

As I've posted before, I started running again this year. I run most mornings and go usually 3.5-4 miles. Now I have started registering for races to keep my motivation up. Last week was my first official 5K. The results still aren't up, but I finished at about 28:30. This included the time it took to get to the starting line from the back of the pack, so overall, I was pleased.

I learned a few important things about races:
1) They start late, so you probably have time to go to the bathroom, although they'll start as
soon as you do
2) Wear your number on the front of your shirt.
3) They take pictures as you cross the finish line, so don't look retarded--the picture of me on
the race website is terrible.

Look closely at the picture and check out the new running shoes my mom got me as an early birthday present--LOVE them!

Weight

Disclaimer: More information than you care to know, I'm sure, but I'm excited!

After I had Ethan I really thought that my pregnancy weight would come off pretty quickly. He was my first baby, and my twin sister loses pregnancy weight fast. So, when Ethan was 1.5-2 months old and I still had 20 lbs of baby weight, I was not happy (I only gained like 30 in the first place!). I decided to give myself until after the holidays, and then I was going to start losing the weight.

The day after Christmas I had 16 lbs of baby weight left to lose, so I set a goal to lose 26 lbs by July. My reward would be a trip to Utah to hike Timpanogos and see friends and family. Fortunately, this trip moved to the end of August so that we could see our nephew David when he returned from his mission, so I had a little more time to achieve my goal. I worked my tail off to lose the last couple pounds before our trip, but still came up 1/2 lb shy of my goal. Then, of course, I gained a few pounds on our wonderful trip. But today, I stepped on the scale, and wahoo!!! I've lost all the baby weight + 10!!! Hooray!

House plants and babies don't mix

I gave Ethan a bottle this afternoon and went to grab him a blanket. He was nice and quiet so I mistakenly assumed he was happily eating. I decided to do a few other things while he was eating. When I came back in I saw Ethan's bottle laying on the ground by itself... And where was Ethan? At the plant of course!

At least he wasn't eating the dirt this time, just taking it out one handful at a time. *sigh* I think this might be his way of telling me a sandbox would be a great birthday present. : )
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Laundry Day Fun

At least these were already dirty!
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Trying to buckle himself

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7

This is Joseph Jeppson I. My brother, Joseph Jeppson VI, and his wife, Lauren, are expecting 7 in February! We're so excited for them!

A Bit of Dancing

About a month ago I mentioned Ethan starting to dance, and I finally found the video!


His dancing (the little that he does) has changed. This is what it looks like now:

Holding hands

I finally got Ethan his own high chair, so until I return my mom's to her, I can feed both boys at the same time. All three of us are enjoying it! Here are the boys holding hands at lunch.
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