Ethan's Dedication

Yes, I'm behind again. Yep, I know...it's summer. I have off, and should have much more time to blog without working 8+ hours a day. Yeah, I don't know, either.  I guess between projects at home, preparing for vacation and Ethan's birthday, blogging time has gotten pushed to the back burner. Catch up time!

On June 10th, we dedicated Ethan Wyatt back to the Lord...officially. I think in our hearts we had done that well before June 10th, but we still wanted to stand before God, our family and friends, and our church family and share our committment to raise Ethan to love, know, and serve God.

Here are a few pictures of Ethan's special day!

Pre-Service kisses from big brother!

Like Daddy like Landon. ;)

 Mid dedication, Landon declared, Mom, let's switch! Take turns!

A special saying on his cake....

Yes, Ethan, you ARE dearly loved.

(PS- the ShopRite folk put the # symbol after "Col." so we had to remove it, hence the big space... haha!!)





Oh, Family Day!

Today marks 1 year since we walked in and saw an adorable TINY baby in his carseat carrier sitting on the table. 1 year since I changed this tiny peanut's diaper and broke out into a sweat because I felt like I couldn't go fast enough, and my boy was crying.

1 year, 1 year! Time certainly has flown!
(Slow down!!!)

I couldn't help but choose these two photos, since he is reaching out and touching my face in both. The first one was taken the first time I held him. The second one was just yesterday, at the Phillies game. :)

 Happy Forever Family Day,  Ethan Wyatt! We love you SO much!!! ...to the moon and back!!


PS- Look how much Landon has changed in a year!

Sandy Cove 2011 vs 2012 picture! I think cute just turned into handsome. My, oh my!

 

 

Boat Day!!

Yesterday we spent the day with Greg's Aunt Eileen and Uncle Kenny and Kristy down in Rock Hall, MD. We left bright and early for the 2-2 1/2 hour drive down so we could maximize our time together. As soon as we got there, we unloaded and hopped in their boat for a ride before the heat set in too much (it was already 90!). We had a blast, and their boat is amazing!

Someone is a very, VERY happy boy!

Another happy boy!!

I like the ride...but not the life jacket!

Best buds- Uncle Kenny and Landon!

Driving!!

Helping Aunt Eileen up on the bow

Thanks for telling us about this picture, Greg! HAHA

Ethan is out cold (actually, a sweatball)

and Kristy and I were falling asleep to the lull of the motor and rock of the boat ourselves!

Up next, a ride out on the dingy!

We had a blast! I don't know why, but after the dingy ride, the camera was put away for the rest of the day (whoops!). We ate a very yummy lunch, and then Landon, Greg, and Uncle Kenny headed up to the marina pool while the girls and Ethan stayed under the boat and cooled off. Ethan took his nap in Kristy's bed, while we enjoyed a nice afternoon coffee and played Skip-Bo. Brought back sweet memories of the days shortly after Ethan's birth, when we stayed at their house and spent every afternoon like that! Could it be that almost a year has passed???

After Ethan woke up, we joined the boys up at the pool. Landon was a fish! He made friends with all the marina folk, and his contagious laugh was something they all talked about. :) ...we know, we know!!

To close our day together, we grilled poolside. What a fun, exhausting day! The sun, the drive, the hours in the pool.... I don't know who is more tired today, the boys or us!! I have a funny feeling I'm going to be saying a lot more of that when we do our huge group/family Disney trip next July! Whoohoo!!!

Thank you for such fun day, Spressarts!  We love you!!

Happy Birthday, America!!

Landon is very aware of birthdays, and what they mean. 1)You get "bigger" and 2) You get presents. He loves birthday celebrations and we can often overhear him singing "Happy Birthday to you..." at random times. With May and June just passing, we have celebrated over 10 birthdays in our circle of family and friends.  Yesterday, we got to celebrate our country's birth, a day filled with lots of fun!

I ran in the Pitman 4 miler for the 2nd year in a row.

Landon joined me for a few blocks!

Right in front of me, you'll see my long-time running partner, Shannon, and her daughters, Lindsey, and Christin. Hooray for Christin who ran the last half with us!!

Then we walked to the Pitman parade to join my family

Grandmom, Mom (Nana), and Ethan

We spent the rest of the day with our friends and their children...

wow, we have a lot of kids! :)

Yeah, mom, I have a woodchip in my mouth...so what, it's my 1st 4th of July!

I'll close this post with a little video I took of Landon...



Happy Birthday, America!!

Cousin time!!!

This past Memorial Day (I know, I know...I'm a tad behind in updates...shh! don't tell!) we got such an amazing treat. Jill (Greg's sister, for those of you who don't know) flew in with Jackson- OUR 1ST NEPHEW!- for the weekend. Knowing they were coming in, we had kept our calendars free and clear. All we had on the agenda for the week was Jill & Jackson. Which sounds funny for two reasons now that I am thinking of it... 1) Jack & Jill  2) Jill Jackson was Jill's name for...well, up until last September! It was just funny to keep saying Jill Jackson visit. :-) 

They both flew in on Friday night, and the boys were already in bed. So, we met them over at mom and dad's around 7:30 for a huge, yummy breakfast. It felt like Christmas!  I couldn't help it...I walked in, and cried. Nope, not the emotion I was expecting either. But, it was a happy, bottled up for 3 1/2 months excitement kind of cry. I wa sso happy to hold this adorable, teeny, tiny little nephew of mine! It brought back the emotions too, of how fast this year with Ethan has gone. I can't believe he was THAT little!!  Our weekend was so nice and we enjoyed every minute we got to spend holding, kissing, and smiling back at our nephew!

Our tearful meeting. :)

3 cousins!!

Ethan checking out Jackson!

Grammie meeting her 3rd Great Grandson!

Jackson meeting Aunt Linda,

and Aunt Barbara!

Jill and Jackson (LOVE!)

Uncle Neal, Aunt Denise and their 3 GREAT nephews!

Silly cake time!!

Aunt Faith, Landon, and Jackson

(2 outta 3 ain't bad!)

Jackson checking out his Uncle Greg

Cousin photo time!

...courtesy of Aunt Faith!!

.Our newest Jackson family photo!

(minus Drew and Marissa)

It's Summertime!

I have really, REALLY enjoyed this past week off. I had seriously been on a countdown for the end of school since Easter. Last summer was exciting too, but it was jam packed with planning and preparing for Ethan's arrival. I feel like this is the summer I can catch up on little things on the house and take a once a week day trip with the boys. I have been really looking forward to this summer...and IT.IS.HERE!


Here is a little bit of what we've enjoyed this past week!

We started our week by going on a date...and all day date! It was a lot of fun!

Kenny Chesney/Tim McGraw concert at the Lincoln Financial Field!

Then...came, Father's Day! Greg enjoyed playing softball in the morning for a team he hasn't been able to play with for over a year. Then, we BBQ'd at his parents house. Yumm-O! Ethan had his first taste of Jersey corn, and Landon and Daddy spent the afternoon playing light sabers. It never ends!

It's been HOT here, so setting up the pool was a MUST!

Running and diving is right up Landon's alley!

We went out for ice cream tonight! See the size of my ice cream? Yeah...this is why I run...to eat. Pathetic, I know. :)

MMM!!!!

Baby Bird (AKA Ethan) loved his Vanilla Soft Serve!

"What you talkin' about Willis" (AKA Landon) loved...and wore his chocolate cone!

Can't you tell how much he loves having his picture taken?!?

Up next on our summer agenda....the Ocean City beach and boardwalk! We are taking the boys tomorrow, and hoping that the PM Scattered T-storms stay clear of us!

PS- stay tuned for long overdue posts on our recent visit from Jill and Jackson (my adorable, ever growing nephew!) as well as Ethan's Dedication and Landon's last soccer game. They deserve their own posts!

The Little Gym Finale

Today was Landon's grand finale (for now, at least) for the Little Gym. For those of you who aren't familiar with The Little Gym, it's a place you can take your child to for organized physical and social development classes. When we first brought Landon home, the CHOP doctors had advised that we do some sort of class that worked on motor skills that he may have been below "age appropriate" on. Thus, the beginning of the Little Gym classes for our family.

Since January 2011, Landon has been going to the Little Gym once a week. Up until this past January, he was enrolled in a "Parent and Me" type class, where we did the class alongside him and were responsible for keeping him on task. In January, he was promoted to the independent class, where we had the opportunity to watch him through the windows. I must say, looking back, that seeing your child participate in a group without you has its most prideful moments, and its most embarrassing. There were times where other kids were having meltdowns, and my boy was not bothered in the least- he was "tracking the speaker" (my teacher terminology inserted here) despite. Then, there were those times where my stinker would hop up, and run clear across the room to a different activity when he wasn't supposed to. When Miss Megan or Miss Kristy called him back, 99% of the time, he listened. But, when Mr. George tried, Landon just thought it was a game of chase. It took everything within me not to go through the door at times. :) But, all part of the learning process. It did get me thinking....maybe cameras in my classroom would be a good idea (if the parents watched them)...having a parent aware of how their child is behaving could really be helpful! :)

Anyway, I sort of got off track there....  Here is a video I put together of all the pictures and video clips from today's grand finale show. I have to admit, I had to stifle back my happy tears at the very beginning of the show when I thought of where Landon was just 2 years ago, and where he is now.