Home Improvements

Well, Paul is Mr. Sneaky and painted Ethan's room and the bathroom while I was gone! He is so sweet!!! It looks really good, and I'm so glad I didn't have to help, ha!!! I really like both colors. All we need to do is touch up around the ceilings from the crappy paint job we did three years ago. Next up is the kitchen, which will be the same color as the bathroom. Ethan's room looks sooooo different now, it's insane. It's a lot brighter. Now all we need is to replace those hideous curtains!

Here are some pictures:

Happy (belated) birthday, Ethan!!

Ethan turned three on Thanksgiving Day! I can't believe my baby is three years old!!!! He had a wonderful day- had a yummy turkey dinner (I think he had pb&j, actually), then a nice long nap, woke up and his cousins had arrived, then time for cake and presents! We got him a Star Wars-themed cake.

Ethan and Grandma show off their stunning SpongeBob party hats:

Aunt Caudie and the cousins got him this super cool Rocket bath toy. He asked me before bed tonight if he could take a bath, probably just so he could play with this!

Grandma and Grandpa Snow got him the Little People nativity set, which is ADORABLE!!! I think I was a little more excited about it than Ethan was...

Grandma and Grandpa Snow also got him these awesome little Galactic Heroes Star Wars figures, which he now carries everywhere.

Not pictured is the totally cool "Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" set with stuffed monkeys and a little bed for them to sleep on, from Grandma and Grandpa K. They also got him these Tonka trucks that he plays with all the time. You can kind of see some of them in the picture just above. He loves those! There were some other random items from Paul and me, and lots of adorable clothes too. And my old sorority sister Sarah got him two books, both of which he loves looking at and carries around the house. He had a wonderful birthday thanks to all of our awesome family and friends!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ETHAN!!!!!!

Oklahoma fun

We had lots of fun with Grandma and Grandpa K in Bartlesville! It was a little trippy being back, but still a nice stroll down memory lane for Paul and me. Ethan had an absolute blast with his grandparents and aunt and cousins, and let's not forget Grandma and Grandpa's kitties!! He was completely obsessed with them, constantly asking where they were, wanting to give them "loves," chasing them all over the house. I'm sure they were happy to see us leave yesterday. But he was actually pretty good to them, and has even been all lovey dovey with Jabba today.

We went to the playground a few times, which was lots of fun. Ethan was particularly fond of the teeter totter. But mainly he just ran laps around the whole thing. He also picked up this adorable wink thing from Grandpa- he doesn't actually close his eyes, but he kind of juts his shoulder out and makes this ultra-exaggerated face and points his finger at you. The pictures don't do it justice; it really must be witnessed in person.

I'm sure there are lots of other stories I'm forgetting, but that's all I can remember for now. All in all a good time was had by all and Ethan is already asking to see Grandma and Grandpa again. He'll get his chance in March!

Sadie's blessing gown

As some of you may remember, Paul's Grandma Ward made Ethan a white gown for his baby blessing back in 2004. I don't know if any of you have gotten a close-up look at it, but it is absolutely stunning. She did a fabulous job and I find myself just staring at it sometimes because it is so beautiful. Anyway, she made it for us with the intent that all of our babies would be blessed in this same gown, boy or girl. She sent it to us with a cute little blue gingham ribbon in the hems and around the waist, with the idea that we could replace that ribbon with something else should we ever have a girl.

Fast forward to now and here we are having a girl! I realize I still have five months before she gets here, but I could not resist. The pink ribbon at Michael's was calling my name so of course I had to buy some and redo the gown right now. I must say that it looks amazing in pink! I took a million pictures but for some reason this thing only lets me put up five at a time. So I had a hard time choosing which five to put up. Of course, any of you that live nearby and read my blog (Melanie, I think you're the only one besides Paul who fits into this category and Paul doesn't really count) are welcome to have a look in person.

Thank you again Grandma Ward for the world's most beautiful blessing gown! Now all we need is the baby to put it on!

Here's the front of the gown

And the back

A close-up of the detail on the hem of the slip (I used a different ribbon for the slip and the gown)

Close-up of the front of the gown

Close-up of the detailing on the hem of the gown