What a handsome ring bearer!

Oh, I am so bad at this...really, I have no excuse! 5 whole months have gone by and there hasn't been even 1 post! I am truly apologetic especially to all my faithful viewers...anyone? Well, in a nutshell, this is the update. Since our last post in January, Ethan started walking, talking, dancing like crazy, and has really started to show us his fun personality! He loves anything that has wheels...trucks, tractors (especially his Grandpa Fawcett's red tractors), motorcycles, bicycles! He can't get enough of trains and airplanes. He is all boy that's for sure! We just adore him and he is such a wonderful kid, even during his difficult moments. He is growing up into quite a handsome young man, just like his father =). Since January Thomas and I moved out of our tiny apartment and bought a beautiful home centrally located to everything! WE love the house and and love having all the space. We have really enjoyed using some of our saved up money to buy things for our new home! I never thought shopping at Lowe's could be so much fun. Since January, my brother Jon has married a wonderful woman, Hanna. WE just love her and couldn't be happier for the both of them. The wedding was beautiful and a great opportunity to spend time with extended family that we haven't been able to visit with in quite a while. Since January Thomas and I have really enjoyed spending time together and with Ethan and have fallen deeper in love with each other. God has really been faithful to us and blessed us with so much and we give Him all the praise for taking such good care of us. We love you all and would love to hear from you! Take care and God Bless.

Rain, Rain and some more rain...

The title pretty much sums up our trip to California but despite the constant downpour, we had a great time being together and visiting some old friends. We didn't get off to a great start when we sat on the plane for an hour only to find out we would be have to get off and wait for several more hours in the Des Moines airport before our flight could take off. The weather was so cold that day in Iowa that there was a part that had frozen on the plane and we had to wait for the part to fly in from Denver. Thomas handled all the logistics while Ethan and I walked up and down the aisles of the airport pointing at all the people and the planes from the window. Ethan had a blast pushing his stroller around and I was all for him burning off some energy. We finally caught a flight to Denver around 4pm and we arrived in San Francisco around 9pm. Ethan did great on the plane and seemed to entertain everyone around him.
We were lucky enough to stay with a friend of mine, Shelly who lives in the heart of the Silicon Valley where all the hustle and bustle never slows. I took Thomas around to see where I grew up, what schools I went to, where all the local hangouts were, where I coached gymnastics and where my dad pastored a church for 10 years. It was all very nostalgic for me and I couldn't stop telling Thomas story after story of all the memories I had. Ethan was such a trooper. He wasn't on any schedule and had to take the majority of his naps in the car seat. He is sch a flexible kid and just rolled with our plans. We went to Santa Cruz which is along the coast where we had some great food and went out on the wharf. We spent a lot of time driving because of the weather but there were some great things to see from the car. We went hiking one day in the mud but it was an adventure and something I really wanted to do with Thomas. WE also spent a day in San Francisco where we experienced everything from bumper to bumper traffic to driving down San Francisco's windiest street. Thomas had his first In-N-Out Burger and we took Ethan to the Rainforest Cafe which was a great idea for a 1 year old. He loved the gorillas and the elephants and to our surprise, wasn't frightened by the loud sounds they made that seemed to shake the entire room. He just stared in amazement. I had a great time reminiscing with old friends and meeting their new families. The flight back home wasn't as eventful on the ground but once we were in route, Ethan decided he wasn't going to be as easy this time. It probably didn't help that there was a lot of turbulence and I don't care for flying too much so I'm sure he picked right up on my anxiousness. He is a smart kiddo. Fortunately, we made it without making too much of a scene and the flight back to Des Moines was a short 45 minutes in which Ethan was once again on his best behavior. Despite the 7 days of nonstop rain we still had a great time. I was really looking forward to getting back and being in Ames. I'm sure glad we were gone during the week of below zero temps! Brrrr... I missed all our family back in Iowa and I can't wait to see you all soon and show you some more pictures of our trip. Oh and Ethan isn't walking yet but sure seems like any day he might take that step. We will keep you updated. Love you all!

Jennifer

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