Birthday Wishes!

Greetings to all our family and friends whom we love so much! We are coming up on some exciting days in December as we celebrate a very special 1st birthday and a joyful Christmas holiday. Ethan will be turning 1 year old on December 13Th!!! WE can't believe how fast the time has gone by and how quickly he grows. We have truly had a great year learning all about him. He is quite a character, making us laugh and showing us that he loves attention. My guess is he is probably a couple of weeks away from walking so we won't see his first steps at his first Birthday but like he showed us in the past, he isn't one to be in a hurry to hit the typical milestone marks. He is crawling around very quickly and efficiently. He has a mouth full of 6 teeth and is getting very god at chewing up all sorts of new solid foods. He had a grilled cheese sandwich for the very first time the other day and he thought he had died and gone to heaven. We've come a long way from eating those green beans (which he now eats as long as it's combined with a banana). He is so much fun and we're two very proud parents. We'll make sure we take plenty of photos at his Birthday party, especially of his cake, before and afters. WE hope everyone is having a safe and happy holiday season. Hugs and Kisses to all our loved ones.

Apologies!

To anyone who is reading our blog, I have to apologize for the inconvenient layout that I choose each time I publish a new post. I cannot figure out how to make the pictures stand upright or how to put them in side by side. I'm sure it's possible...and you know Thomas would be able to do this if he were the author of these posts. So once again, I apologize if your necks are sore from trying turning to the side to view the photos but I simply cannot figure out this seemingly simple task. Maybe someone could drop me a line with a few pointers on what I am missing.
Thanks!!!

It's hard to believe that fall has arrived and winter is on it's way so soon! We had a great summer and we've got some exciting things to look forward to this winter. We will be celebrating a birthday for Thomas in October and Ethan will have his 1st Birthday in December.
Great grandma and grandpa Shiplett are in town this week and we have had so much fun spending time with them here in Iowa. We all spent time together at teh pumpkin patch yesterday and thought you all might enjoy some pictures. Ethan is growing up so quickly and his personality is blossoming! He is very close to getting his arms and legs working together to crawl but hasn't yet become too unsatisfied with just sitting in one place watching the world. He is pretty content (and so am I) with remaining stationary at least for now. I'll keep you all updated when he takes those first few steps on all fours. We love you all!

Camping Trip

About two weeks ago, our family decided to take a camping trip up into Northeast Iowa. Thomas has been camping numerous and has always wanted to take me so Ethan and I were pretty excited to go. We were planning on driving up Friday afternoon, camping out two nights, and coming back on Sunday however our plans shifted quite drastically. We did have one good day of hiking on Friday and set up camp early that evening. The next morning around 5am we started to hear thunder in the distance but for some reason didn't think it was heading our way. I became a little anxious around 6am and went outside to start making breakfast when all of a sudden the sky turned dark and it started pouring. I ran back inside, muddy shoes and all and started talking to Thomas about what we were going to try and do. He thought we should just ride out the storm so we sat there in our little tent for 3 hours of thunder and lightning and pouring down rain. THe strom finally subsided for a short while which gave us time to hike back to our car. At that point the sky had started to clear up but we were all ready to go home. Despite experiencing thunder for the first time, Ethan loved his first camping trip. He loves being strapped to mom's back and ripping off as many leaves as he can get his hands on. This won't be our last camping adventure, but it may be a little while before the next.

Ethan's bottom two teeth just broke through last week. He hasn't been too fussy and has handled teething pretty well overall. He's growing up fast.

We hope everyone is doing well! Love you all.

Jennifer

Hooverball

We had such a great time in West Branch celebrating Hooverfest! I ran the 5k race in the morning and Thomas played hooverball all day Saturday. Ethan and I were so proud to wear our Fighting Quakers shirts to represent such a great team. They didn't finish as strong as they would have liked but we all had a lot of fun being there together.
Ethan has really taken off developmentally. He is really beginning to interact with us and his personality is blossoming. He loves to make funny faces and is starting to make different noises. He hasn't yet begun to crawl but he is brave enough to get onto all fours from a sitting position. He doesn't quite have the courage to take that first step but it should be any day now. We miss you all and would love to hear from you. Take care!

Love,

Jennifer

Too cool!

We just thought you might enjoy viewing Ethans first styled hairdo. He turned 7 months a few days ago and just to update you all, he is spending most of his time playing while sitting up, but not crawling just yet. When he is on his tummy he likes to kick his legs but hasn't yet figured out how to get use them to move. We are in no hurry to see Ethan become mobile as we still need to baby proof. We are moving this upcoming weekend, so it's been nice packing with Ethan who isn't able to get into everything yet. It will be interesting to see how Ethan likes his new room!

Hiking with the family

Ethan went on his first outdoor adventure with grandma and grandpa Fawcett. He had so much fun taking in all of nature's beauty. If he could get his hands on any of it, he'd eat it all! He especially liked being strapped to Dad so closely. We just recently bought a baby backpack for him in which we plan to use in August when we take him on his first camping trip. We will let you know how that goes. Here are some pictures of the hike with Mom and Dad and a picture of Ethan and Thomas trying out the new backpack.

Nice to meet you!

A couple weeks ago, we had the privalege of attending Owen Grady Fawcett's baptism in West Branch, IA. The Fawcett boys hit it off right away and didn't waste any time getting to know eachother. Ethan was pretty mesmorized by Owen's abilities. He could sit up without toppling over and crawl all over the place with such ease. It was great to see the boys play in the pond and spend time at a place where we hope many memories together will be made. We had a great time with family and friends. Thanks to everyone who made it happen!

Loving those green beans!

Father's Day Fun!

Father's Day this year brought new excitement to our family! I consider myself extremely blessed to have such wonderful guys in my life. Thomas is so much more than I could have asked for in a husband and he is a great father to Ethan. Ethan is very fortunate to be surrounded by a great father and also great grandfathers! We were at the Mall of America this father's day and had a great time. We also checked out Ikea since Thomas had never been there. It's quite the experience and a bit overwhelming. Ethan is a great traveler because he loves that car seat and would take a nap in it over his crib any day. I won't mention what I have tried in an effort to get him to take a nap in his crib. If anyone reading this has any pointers, I'd love to hear them! He had his 6 month appointment with shots and all. He weighed in at 18.5 and really hasn't grown a whole lot. The doctor says that this is normal around this age because he is becoming more active and burning off some of those calories. He is now able to start fruits and vegetables so this week we are experimenting with avocados and it isn't going so well. We will make a few more attempts and move on to something more appetizing to him. I try not to laugh, but Ethan is so dramatic when he doesn't like something. He actually makes himself get sick...I might have to post a video clip of this for some good laughs. =) Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there.

I'm growing up!

We have has such an exciting week! Ethan decided that he would like to see the world in a whole new way by sitting up on his own. He is confidant only when he knows that mom and dad are right there to catch him just in case he might tip over. He also had his first roll and now he just can't stop. He has mastered rolling back to front and is working on rolling over to his back. He just needs a little motivation. We are so proud of him and are enjoying all of his new developments. Tomorrow we will go in for his 6 month appointment...boy, time really goes fast. I can't believe he is coming up on his half year birthday. He's growing up to be such a wonderful boy!

Fun on the Farm

We had such a wonderful time this past weekend back in West Branch where we spent time at the Fawcett's pond for a family reunion. We were able to meet new friends and family as we enjoyed great food and fun. Ethan really enjoyed being outside in grandma Fawcett's garden where he attempted to eat just about anything he could get his hands on. Grandpa then took him on his first tractor ride. He was all set to start helping out on the farm. We had a great weekend! Hope you enjoy the pics. We love you all.

Jenn

It Truely Is a Small World

Jennifer and I were walking in Downtown Disney when we ran into a friendly face. It was quite a shock to hear Adam yelling out my name (for those of you who don't know Adam he is my cousin who I grew up with in Iowa and is now going to school in Florida). I was about to exclaim "what are you doing here" but he beat me to punch. which in retrospect was good because it makes more sense for him to ask me that question considering I am a resident of Iowa, than for me to ask Him that question since he resides less than an hour away from the park. We caught up on what was going on and Adam was able to see his cousin Ethan for the first time.

It is always great to see a friendly face when you are away from home.

Thomas

The Amazing Story

We briefly mentioned that we were in Florida to celebrate Doug and Marilyn's 30th wedding anniversary. Doug has been planning this surprise trip for Marilyn for the past two years and we as a family started meeting a year ago to arrange the details. we managed to keep this secret from Marilyn although there were many close calls. As the trip drew closer we began to dread being around Marilyn for fear of blowing the largest secret we have ever been entrusted to keep.

On Sunday night Doug had a surprise party for Marilyn where Mike and Lauren had put together a tribute to her with pictures and videos of their thirty years of marriage. That night he told her they were going on a trip south. Then that Thursday Doug flew all of us kids to Florida and we surprised Marilyn at the Grand Floridian resort where Doug and Marilyn renewed their wedding vows. We then spent three days in Disney world and two days down at the beach in Jupiter. It was a great trip and we came home with lots of good memories.

Doug and Marilyn we love you both and you are an inspiration to us.

Thomas and Jennifer

Its A Small World

This is a video of Ethan's favorite ride at Disney World. This ride seems harmless but after seeing this video I was convinced that Disney hypnotized Ethan and embedded in his mind a desire to come back to the "happiest place on earth" and spend his parents money. If in a few years Ethan is begging us to take him back to Magic Kingdom we will know that my suspicions are correct. Well at least we got a really cute movie of Ethan out of the deal. By the way Katherine if you read this post don't judge Ethan until you meet him. Hope you all enjoy this movie.

Thomas

Florida Vacation

We apologize for the two month hiatus from this blog, we are now up and running so be ready for an exciting look into our lives. Zach I think you are the only one who is checking this blog, thanks for your dedication.

We have just returned from our trip to Florida. For two years Doug has been planning this surprise trip for his and Marilyn’s 30th wedding anniversary. We all met in Disney World and spent a few days in the parks. We then went south to Jupiter and spent a few days on the beach. We will add some more posts about the details of the trip in the next few days. Here is a picture of us about to go into Disney World's Haunted House.

Hello to our Family and Friends

Jennifer, Ethan and I would like to say hello to everyone and welcome you to our Blog.