Mouth, Ribbit and Quack Quack

What do these things have in common you ask???

Well, they are all Adalyn's new friends that she must have with her at all time of course.

I would like to introduce you to...

Mouth (aka: Mouse)


And of course there is Ribbit (aka: frog)

And you mustn't forget about Quack Quack (aka: duck)

Adalyn has taken to carrying these items (along with the ever present Blankie and Paci) with her everywhere. She will actually take inventory and will get highly upset if one is missing. She also is the one that named all of these wonderful friends of hers. It's entirely adorable! Of course, with all the items she just HAS to carry with her and the fact that she has tiny little arms and hands, Mommy came up with a solution for her to transport her friends.

Meet bag (aka: adorable purse that Adalyn got from Grandma Sandy for Easter) also named by Adalyn...



All of her friends fit nicely inside, see...

Can my girl get any more adorable????? I'm just saying...

Wanna know what our gift was???

Meet the newest additions to our family...

This is Lilly-

And this is Kaija-

Eric's brother, Ryan, and his wife, Emily are out in LA while Ryan attends seminary. They have been living in an apartment in a pretty bad neighborhood (can we say bullets flying through the walls????). Well they had the opportunity to move to a new place in a much safer neighborhood but they couldn't take their cats with them, so, we adopted them. The kids are excited- that is when they get to see them. The cats are not used to little people so they can usually be found hiding under a bed while the kids are awake. They are slowly starting to warm up and they have even let Ethan pet them a bit. They are keeping a wide path away from Adalyn though- smart kitties!!!

Wish us luck as we adjust to this new change in our household. We have not had pets in a long time now!!

Gatlinburg and "stay-cation"

So last weekend we went to Gatlingburg to kick off our vacation/staycation. We rented and adorable little 2 bedroom cabin that literally sat on the side of the mountain. See...

We had a great time. Reg (Papa) and Cathy went with us. We left on Friday after work and got there late that evening. On Saturday we drove up into the mountains a bit then we went to Pigeon Forge to go to the flea market, go-carting and to Wonder Works. Adalyn got to ride her very first ride. Both kids (and the adults) were exhausted by the time we made it back to the cabin!!

On Sunday we hit Dollywood's Splash Country! Boy that was fun. About 3/4 of the way through the day some thunder storms rolled in and they gave us all rainchecks to come back anytime during the rest of the summer for free!! We took the opportunity to spend the rest of the evening in Gatlinburg walking around. We planned to go back to Splash Country on Monday but Eric got a little sun burned on Sunday so we decided to go ahead and head home after hitting the go-carts one more time! We will be returning at some point in the next month or so to hit Splash Country again!!

The rest of the week we were on vacation but we decided to stay home and enjoy a stay-cation. Eric and I went mountain biking on Wednesday and when we returned I wasn't feeling well so a trip to the doctor later I was diagnosed with strep throat. I'm glad I caught it in time though as it was Ethan's birthday and nothing was going to ruin that! We took him out to dinner and then to see Ice Age 3. It ended up being a good day and I was thankful for antibiotics.

Eric's brother Ryan and his wife Emily also came into town (they live in CA) to visit for a few days. They brought us a present that will be saved for another post!!

This week back to work and getting up early. Adalyn was good to us last week and slept in till at least 8:30 every day!! It was a good vacation :)

Happy Birthday Ethan!

Five! How is it possible that my little baby is now a boy. And oh what a boy you are Ethan. You love anything and everything boy- camoflage, Army tanks, tractors and race cars. You love to hunt for lightening bugs and play ball of any kind. Your bike is one of your favorite toys- that and the toy tractor that you had to have that was "just like Daddy's with a stroller on it" (for those that don't know a stroller = trailer :) ). You just love to help Daddy "mow" the grass and do anything outside- outside is your favorite place to be. Not to mention outside doing anything that Daddy does. You are his little shadow.

While you may be a rough and tumble boy you still are sweet and loveable and love to cuddle with Mommy and Daddy. You even insist on giving your little sister hugs and kisses before bedtime. You are the best big brother any little girl could hope for. Ethan you are more than we could ever hope for and we love you more and more each day.

Happy 5 years baby boy!!

We love you,

Mommy and Daddy