Happy Birthday!

So.. this little guy is now ONE! His favorite activities include: eating, slobbering, slithering like a worm everywhere he goes, "singing" (you and i might call it a joyful holler), snuggling, playing peek a boo, "reading", pointing at everything and grunting, did i mention eating?, having his picture taken, and thank heaven sleeping! He loves to do everything that Ethan does... which is cute most of the time, scary sometimes, and occasionally irritating (sometimes they have yelling matches that then turn into screaming matches that then turn into quiet time... :) ). He is such a happy boy! We are so happy to have him in our little family!

Ethan was so excited all day to eat Joshies cake and ice cream. He was definitely more excited for Joshies birthday than Joshua was! He kept asking when he was going to have a birthday... cute boy!

Joshua love, love, loved the cake... he wasn't so sure about the ice-cream.

I think he had a little bit too much birthday fun!

Both boys had a lot of birthday fun! We're so lucky to have our boys! They bring so much to our lives! Happy Birthday Joshua!

Visitors..

My sister Alayna came to bask in the warmth of Texas with us... it was great! Too bad for her it wasn't as warm as had been or is now... it was 87 today! We still had a good time though. We went to the zoo, went bowling, to the park, had a girl's night out (courtesy of James, thanks lover!) and had so much fun! It was so nice to hang out with my sister and two of her kiddos. So excited to see them again at Christmas!

At the zoo in front of a .... dinosaur? I guess I missed that exhibit...

Wyatt and Joshua are just about the same size... Wyatt is just 3 mo and Joshua 11 mo....

Layla was having way too much fun at the bowling alley!

Both little tigers at the zoo... Ethan sure misses Layla. We loved having our visitors! We can't wait to see them again soon... and Dana too!

Holt Family Reunion

For the weekend of the 24th we went to a Holt Family Reunion in southern Utah. It was so nice to see everyone! Even though our trip was short we were so glad we could go. We had such a blast!

Joshua loved all the kisses he received from aunts and cousins especially this cute auntie (James' sister Ashla).

In the past Ethan has been timid so I was surprised that we wanted to "ride" this horse. He got up there and wasn't scared at all... maybe he was a little bit scared.. he wouldn't smile for the camera. He has asked several times since then to ride the horsey...

On the 24th my sisters-in-law Erin, Heather and I walked a 5k... Shelley, Dona and her husband Brad ran it. It was a beautiful morning! After the race most of the Holts rode a float in the parade. It said "Faith Family Farming". It was the beginning of a super fun day!

After the parade we had a family picture (that was an adventure!), yummy lunch, and gargantuan water fight and went to a rodeo. It was a fun relaxing day! We were lucky that Seth and Mary were able to drive down from Salt Lake. It was great to see them too!

This is Seth and James tuckered out after a game of king of the hill with some of James' brothers and nephews. They all played hard that day.

These little guys were all pooped out too after a long day. From the left this is Finch (Seth & Mary, 1), McKay (Kimball & Shelley, 9mo), and Joshua. It was so much fun to see all of the babies! I wish I had a picture of them all together... In 14 months there were at least (not sure if I missed one) seven babies born in the Holt family. Wow!

Overall it was a super fun weekend, only wish it had been longer!

Houston Astros

When we first moved here we went to an Astros game with one of James' cousins and her husband. They lost, which has been happening quite a bit lately from what I hear, but it was still fun to go and hang out with Camille and her family. We're sad to see them go... the next week they moved away...

Lonestar State

Shortly after graduation we moved from Columbus, Ohio to Houston, Texas. Quite a move! It took us three super long days! We left Columbus on Wednesday afternoon, after spending most of the previous day and night packing and cleaning... may I say NOT fun and NOT easy with two small munchkins! We are sooooo grateful for James' sister Robin and her kids for coming and helping us the Saturday before.

Tuesday night we stayed in a hotel in Columbus and forgot a super cute bag with some small fans in it in the room. Sad day! I really wanted my bag back and James wanted those fans... so he called the hotel and they mailed us the fans - MINUS the cutest bag in the world! Grrrr! Anyway.... after lots of driving and a whole lot more driving we finally made it to Texas! And then we had to drive some more... Members of our new ward helped us move in. Our new ward has been so welcoming! We are so grateful for that. We are beginning to get back into the swing of things. Life is finally beginning to settle down a bit! Hooray!

So far we are loving Texas! There is so much Texas pride! It's everywhere! Texas edition this, Texas style that... It's fun! It's kind of like buckeye fever in Columbus. It's not as hot as I thought it would be, but it is definitely more humid than I expected. YIKES!! I walk outside from the air-conditioned apartment and I'm instantly wet (with or without sweating)! The things I love so far.... pico de gallo, the library (well almost... that's another story), the park, the people, the many many things to do in the city... it's great to be here!

Graduation

In June James graduated from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. Yea!! His parents came out to congratulate him. His sister Robin and her family also came down from Cleveland. I am so proud of him and all of his HARD work! And I am soglad we're finally finished with school! Yea!!

Ethan loves to do everything that Daddy does...

Joshua spent most of the day in a box! Grandma took him down under the stands to get out of the sun.

He was so happy to get home and cool down!

These are some of the guys that James graduated with... they are the other LDS guys in his class. They are from the left - Thomas Moser, Chris McQuivey, Landon Hagberg, and Brandon Hicks. Congrats!

Three Years Old!!

For Ethan's birthday I made him a super yummy chocolate cake!! We had friends over to help us enjoy it. Ethan loved it!

I love how easily amused small children are. Ethan loved this card! He would have loved to stop there and not open anymore of his gifts. Thanks Grandma! He loved it! And thank to his other Grandmas for their gifts too. You sure know the way to your grandson's heart!

After the cake and ice cream we sent all those little boys outside to run off the sugar overload! We tried to sit them down for a picture... this was the only one that caught all six of them looking at the camera. I wish we had a camera going the other way to catch all six of their parents trying to get them to smile...

Here are few cute ones of Joshua. He love love LOVES to eat. Good thing too! He's continuing to get bigger and bigger. Yea!!!

This week we surprised the guys and took them out. It was so nice to get out without our kidlins. This is Casey and DJ Hovermale and Thomas and Delight Moser: the parents of all those boys that don't belong to James and me. We are really going to miss you guys when we move to Texas!!

We're back...

So... we didn't get lost on our way back from Minnesota! We made it back to Columbus all safe and sound... and a little bit frozen, but we've finally begun to thaw out.

When we got back my dad came out to help us finish our basement. James and Dad worked really hard and it looks great! Sorry Dad, still haven't taken any pictures of your handy work... I'll get on that.

Since then, we've been raising boys and getting a house ready to sell. Anyone looking for a charming three bedroom ranch with a finished basement? Yes, that's right we're moving to Houston, Texas. James has a year long residency there. I'm excited for a change of pace and for warmer weather.

Ethan is talking more. Which is great! Except that I still have a hard time understanding him. I catch most of what he's saying, but it's usually because I know what the context is. I am just glad he's vocalizing more and ATTEMPTING to talk instead of just jumping right into a tantrum. It is a blessing. He is making progress.

Joshua is finally growing!! YEA!!! When we first returned from MN he weighed 13 lbs 4 oz (for a child that started out at 8lbs 13 oz that is tiny!) Now a month later he weighs 16.5 lbs. YEA!! We had to juice up his formula and started him on solids. Now he's becoming quite squishy! Not quite chubby yet, but very very squishy.

So, if you stayed with me long enough to get here... I'll post more pictures next time.

Adventures in Minnesota..

So, this is Minnesota

And Ethan is just as surprised as the rest of us...

This is what those mountains of snow really look like... we're not quite sure what's underneath all that snow.... maybe a secret passageway into Canada.

One weekend we ventured a little bit west into Fargo, ND and went bowling. This is Ethan's victory dance. We love bumpers! Especially me! That was my best game ever!

Another weekend we went to St.Paul/Minneapolis and went to the temple...

and to Mall of America. That place is HUGE! And still I couldn't find any shoes that fit!

We have a lot of pajama days.

No stay in northern Minnesota would be complete without ice fishing. James went out on the lake right outside of our apartment with a guy from our branch. They drilled holes in the ice and waited and waited in their little hut until.... they finally caught a ..... minnow! Okay so that was just the bait, but Ethan was sure excited about their "catch." Until next time you slippery walleyes!

And finally our cute little elf man...

He sure is growing and growing despite the cold.