Only four years ago...

Today marks our four year anniversary and we could not be happier where we are in our life together. We were just talking yesterday about how different our life is now then it was when we married. We have lived in three different cities, we have a wonderful son who is not a baby anymore, Jim is a doctor and beginning his residency, I taught for three years in two different schools, we met so many new friends and still keep in touch with our friends from the past, and we bought our first home! WOW, time flies by! One thing has stayed the same, we are just as happy or happier now then the day we married- life could not be better!!

On our honeymoon to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Some Special Visitors...

This past weekend grandma Helms stayed with us and it was so much fun!! Ethan was spoiled and loved every minute that he spent with his grandma and so did she! They went on walks, played outside, read books, played with is all of his toys, she gave him baths, fed him bottles, and much more! She was such a big help to me when I came down with a stomach bug, I don't know what I would have done without her!! Thanks for coming mom, we had so much fun!! On Saturday grandpa Jastifer came for dinner and to hang out with Ethan. They had lots of fun together playing and reading books. Ethan missed his grandma Jastifer and hopefully we will see her soon! Thanks for coming!! (I didn't get any pictures darn it!)

Last weekend Jim's Aunt Mari and Uncle Fred stopped by for a visit to check out our new place and to see Ethan. It was great to see them and to catch up. Ethan enjoyed showing them all of his toys:) Thanks for coming out guys!

Ethan loved playing with their dogs!!

Uncle Mark

Since my brother lives right down the street from us, Ethan has the opportunity of getting to know his Uncle Mark and seeing him on a regular basis. They have so much fun together and it is fun watching them play together. Since Mark is Ethan's only uncle, he has a very important job and is doing great at it! Uncle Mark is so thoughtful and brings treats over for Ethan all the time such as strawberries, cookies, toys, a sandbox, and he even brought over a pool for Ethan to splash in! Thanks Uncle Mark!!

Ethan in the pool that Uncle Mark bought him!

Ethan's Fish Tank

Ethan LOVES visiting the fish at Meijer so much that we decided that we would put a fish tank in his room! He loves it! If you say, "Ethan do you want to go say hi to your fish?" , he will run in his room and start kissing the tank and waving to the fish, it is so cute. He even waves to the fish while getting his diaper changed!

July 4th Weekend

This weekend we headed up to my grandparents cabin in Baldwin for a pancake breakfast that they have put on every year since I can remember. Last year we didn't make it and were happy that we could this year. Ethan had fun exploring the cabin and playing with his great grandma and grandpa , grandpa Biener and of course Uncle Mark:) There is a height wall in the cabin that was started many many years ago and Ethan's height is now marked on it! We stuffed ourselves with pancakes and had a wonderful time!!My tired boys taking a nap on the way to the cabin.

Ethan and great-grandma Biener:) "Mmmm these pancakes are good!" I even got some fishing in--didn't catch anything! My cousin Leigh did though!

and we're off..........

Jim is officially a resident! He had his first day on the Orthopedic floor on Tuesday and was on call....talk about getting thrown into things! He did great, just like I knew he would. In his words, he kind of feels like "a fish out of water", but knows that it will pass once he gets the hang of things here in the next couple of weeks. I have to get used to him being on call as well and I am not just talking about him being gone (although that is weird for me right now because it is so fresh), I am talking about his pager going off all hours of the night!!:) I am so excited for Jim to begin this journey of his medical profession and know that he will do great and learn a ton. It will be worth all those long hours!!Jim pleased to have his diploma worth $200,000 in his hands!!

Ethan and I have been getting into a schedule ourselves. There is a playgroup that we join every Wednesday and I have met some really nice women and their children. The other day we were at the park and I tried to get Ethan to play on the playground so I could talk to the women more but all he wanted to do was play with the ducks in the pond on the other side of the park....what are you to do (except talk him out of jumping in the pond with the ducks!)?? I even met someone at the park non-resident related, and I plan on getting together with her and her 1 year old as well. Ethan loves playing in our backyard and with all his new toys from his birthday and the garage sale. He finally let us put his helmet on him so we can go bike riding and we also love going for walks. Next weekend grandma Helms is coming for the weekend and we are so excited!! We also spend a lot of time with my brother aka: Uncle Mark, who lives right down the street from us:) It has been great having him around.
Ethan helping mommy cook- he is such a big helper!

This is Ethan's new favorite thing to do....one day he did it for a half hour and screamed when I took it away - go figure!!:)

So far so good here in Kalamazoo!!

A finished bunkbed, a popsicle,a new friend,a tiger,and a horse...

These are just a few of the things that have spiked Ethan's attention this week:)

It is done and Ethan LOVES it!yummy!Ethan and our friends son Matthew came for a visit:)Ethan loves wrestling with his tiger!Ethan rode a big "dog" at Heather's open house this past weekend!

Soccer

It took 13 months, it was only a matter of time....

A Bunk Bed...

Jim took on another project of building a bunk bed for Ethan when he moves into a "big-boy bed". We also plan on using it for guests before that time arrives, so with Jim not quite starting yet, he spent a couple days building it and it turned out beautiful! In Jim's words, "You can drive a truck over it by the time I am done." I believe him.

"This is for me?!?! Thanks dad, you are one great bunk bed builder! When can I start hanging from it, jumping off it, and playing Ninja Warrior on it?"

A visit from the Egglestons

Last Wednesday Amy, Nikki, and Sharon came out to see our new place. It was great having them here and giving them a tour our our home. We are excited that they are only 45 minutes away now!! They even surprised Ethan with some presents for his birthday. You are are so sweet!!! Thanks a bunch for coming out:)

Ethan opening his presents....his favorite was the tag on the swimming suit:)Showing the ladies his new toys!Amy performing physical therapy on Ethan....just kidding, they were having fun playing!:)"Nikki, how does this tool set work?"Here Ethan is the next day using the watering can that they gave him. He was helping mom water the flowers!!

Thanks again, you guys are the best!

Circle, Square, Triangle???

This is a video of Ethan playing with one of his new favorite toys. When we first brought it home, he was not sure what to do with it, but now he is getting the hang of it:)

Grandpa and Ethan TIme!

Yesterday Grandpa Biener came over and Ethan and him were able to play together all afternoon! Ethan liked clapping with grandpa and giving him high-fives:) Thanks for coming over dad, it was great to see you!

Father's Day 2008

As you all might know....Jim loves taking pictures of his feet, especially when Ethan's feet get in the picture too. When Ethan was 2 weeks old, we took a picture of Jim and Ethan's feet together and another one has not been taken since, so it was time to get a new one! Feet Picture May 2007Feet Picture June 2008

Jim, you are a great father and husband!! Thank you for all that you do!!

HAPPY FATHERS DAY TO ALL DADS (including ours!!)

"Monster"

Ethan has been nicknamed "monster" by us because he is always getting into things and is running around all over the place and that name has just stuck with him:) He doesn't seem to mind!! He had an doctors appointment the other day and had to get five shots and his blood drawn....poor guy. It was hard for mom and she was not the one getting jabbed with needles! The measurements are in:

Weight: 24.9 Pounds (75% percentile)

Height: 32 in (90% percentile)

Head: 18.3 in (50% percentile)

He is doing great and is definitely enjoying Kalamazoo. Yesterday we had a city-wide garage sale in our neighborhood and Ethan got stocked up on toys!! He got a new slide, toy box, books, puzzles, educational videos, big/small toys....he is a happy boy! I had fun too buying a few decorations for the house and getting some good deals for my brother who is moving into an apartment down the street. I love good deals!

The Sanchez's Visit!

The Sanchez family, minus Joel (good luck on boards Joel, we are thinking of you!!), came to visit us in Kalamazoo the other day!! It was great to see them and they spoiled Ethan with presents! Patty, he plays with it ALL the time, thanks for your thoughtfulness! I even like playing with the present. Their three kids are adorable and growing like crazy! Thanks for coming guys...we really appreciated it!JJ- who lost his first tooth.......congrates!!Sam...LOVED the sandbox!Cute little Mia...who enjoyed the swing and the chair:)

Thanks guys...we had lots of fun!

A Visit from Grandma Helms!

Grandma Helms came to visit the other day and Ethan had so much fun! They played all day and grandma even bought Ethan some ice cream:) Thanks for coming Mom, we love having you!

Kisses for grandma!

Getting some Ice Cream!Eating the ice cream!:)

Vacation in the Smokies

We just got back from a wonderful week long trip to the Smokey Mountains. We had so much fun and Ethan especially loved the attention and time that he spent with grandma and grandpa Jastifer!!:) We saw caves, lots of fish at the aquarium in Gatlinburg, wonderful views, but most of all we relaxed and played in the water, streams, did some hiking, grilled out great meals every night, and mom and dad even found time to read a book!! Ethan loved the cabin that we stayed in and he even learned some new tricks while we were there: He learned where his ear is, he can now climb up on picnic tables, couches, and coffee tables all by himself (not sure if the is good or bad??), and he learned that throwing things off the deck was lots of fun:) Despite the fact that he was ready to play at 5:45am EVERY morning, we had a relaxing vacation!! Our cabin for the week

Playing in the stream on a hot sunny day

The beautiful sunset from our deck When it is on the 90's....who needs clothes?!?!

Sting-rays are apparently funny to Ethan:)

Ethan and grandma checking out the fish at the Aquarium Hanging out with grandpa in the morning