Merry Christmas...a little late!

This year for Christmas, Jared and I decided to take the week off between Christmas and New Years so we could have some extra time with family and just relax. We've had a great break so far with lots of family around. With the exception of my Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Bruce who live in Virginia, Ethan has met all of his great aunts and uncles this trip. He has been passed around, loved on, hugged, kissed and had his feet/toes inspected :). Enjoy a few pictures from our first Christmas with Ethan

Christmas morning!

Our Little Basketball Player

Opening presents with Aunt Abby

On the 26th we headed out to the Colliers, spent the night and had Christmas there. Ethan had a great time opening all his presents and playing with Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Dustin.

Jared and Dustin played Wii most of the time :)

Grandma opening her present from Ethan, a picture Calendar and Ethan singing into the microphone on his music table.

Opening presents with Daddy



Sunday afternoon we had the Squibb family get together. This was the first year we did a big gift exchange (rob your neighbor). There was lots of stealing going on for lots of great gifts.

Micah and Phillip playing some mini ping pong with an audience

Ethan 'standing' at the footstool

Our Monday

Today Abby made a trip up to see us...well mainly Ethan. I guess she just couldn't wait until Wednesday when we will be in Salem :). We had a good afternoon which included a quick trip to the mall and some hanging out around the Christmas tree at our house. Ethan really likes playing with his Nativity...I think Jesus and the camel are his favorites. Here are a few pictures from our afternoon.

Max wanted in on some fun too

Having a little Jesus time

Neighborhood Christmas : )

Tonight we hosted a few of our neighbors for dinner. We had good food and great conversation. It was also pretty fun watching the babies. Braden is 2 days older than Ethan and they enjoy playing together. We did a little exchanging of gifts and the boys were more interested in playing with the wrapping paper. See below...

Braden, Zach and Ethan

Visit from the Grandparents!

Ethan got both sets of grandparents on Sunday. Jared's parents and my parents drove up on Sunday for lunch and an afternoon of playing with Ethan. Pictures in front of the tree for everyone!

Family shot...Max didn't want to cooperate

Cookies...Cookies...Cookies!!

Today Jared and I decided to do some Christmas baking. We picked out several different cookie recipes and got started. We started baking this morning at 8 and didn't finish until 8 pm. All in all, I think we ended up with around 20 dozen cookies in 6 different varieties! I'm sure Ethan will have more fun next year when he can "help." Here he is surrounded by all the cookies.

6 Months Old Already

Ethan was 1/2 year old on Saturday. These past 6 months have gone by way too fast. I can't believe how much he has changed since he was born. Not to mention how much our lives have changed since he came along. We are so blessed to have him in our lives and can't wait to see what the next 6 months bring :).

6 Month Stats:

Weight: 18 lbs 1 oz - 70 percentile

Length: 26 1/4 in - 52 percentile

Thanksgiving

We headed to Salem last Wednesday evening to start our weekend of eating! I don't think I've eaten so much in just 4 days before. We were lucky enough to enjoy 2 Thanksgiving meals on Thursday. The Collier Thanksgiving was at Grandma Colliers house where several members of the family got to meet Ethan for the first time. Later that day we ate some more at my parents house for the Squibb Family Thanksgiving. Ethan enjoyed some cereal and sweet potatoes for his first Thanksgiving. Here are a few pictures from Thanksgiving.

The Collier Thanksgiving Spread

Christmas tree fun at Grandma Colliers

Ethan's 1st Thanksgiving

Cereal and Sweet Potatoes from Aunt Abby

The "Kid" Table (and Grandpa)

Dad, Ethan, Patty, Mike & Wayne after a good meal

Ethan Meets Sweet Potato

In honor of Thanksgiving, we decided to give Ethan a taste of some sweet potatoes. He did eat some, but the faces along the way were quite comical. Here's a little video to show you what I mean.

Bath Time!

Ethan took his first "big boy" bath last night. Up until now we had been using the infant tub in the kitchen sink and he is just getting too big for it. He had a wonderful time splashing around and playing. Enjoy a couple pictures :).

Busy Weekend

Hello. Sorry it's been awhile since our last post. This past weekend we headed down to St. Louis for a sports weekend for Jared. His mom had tickets to the Blues game for Saturday night, so we met her at the mall and shopped during the day and they went to the game along with Dustin. Since it was going to be pretty late, Ethan and I didn't go so we headed over to Josh and Libby's for the night. Then on Sunday, Josh had tickets to the Rams game. He and Jared went straight there after church for a surprisingly good game (the Rams still lost though), while I spent the afternoon at the house with my mom and Ethan. It was a fast couple of days with a lot crammed in, and didn't even take one picture...sorry.

Here's a picture from this morning though. I hope you all have a great week.

Sitting up like such big boy!

Happy Fall!

Since it was such a beautiful day, we decided to do a little "work" in the yard.

Halloween Weekend

This past weekend we traveled to Salem to catch up with some family. My cousins Micah and Kacey were coming with Finley and their new baby Scout, so we got to meet him. Libby and Josh came with Haley and Phillip, Amanda and Hazel were there too. Thursday night my parents got a surprise phone call from my brother, Jim, who lives in Florida and he and his family were planning on making the drive. And of course Abby was there too :). So it was a great weekend of hanging out and seeing family we don't often get to see.

My good friend, Elizabeth was also in town with her adorable boys, Sam and Andrew. Ethan and I went to the Purcells to spend some time with them. It's so great to be able to watch them grow up and be a mom with one of my oldest friends!

Trick or Treat night in Salem was Friday night, so Ethan got all dressed up and handed out some candy to the trick or treaters that came to the door.

Saturday night, Jared's parents had their annual fall cookout and bonfire, so we headed out to their house for the afternoon and evening. We had a great time and the weather was perfect for a fire. Ethan did great and I think he really enjoyed watching the fire. Dustin was there along with cousins, Darcy and Logan and their parents Doss and Ed. We always have a great time when we all get together. Enjoy some of the pictures from our fun weekend.

Ethan with Grandma and Pop

Haley and Finley

Meeting Baby Scout

Sleepy Giraffe

Family Picture

Halloween Cookout with Grandma

4 out of 5 Grandkids isn't bad!


Tyler, Jim, Josiah, Shannon & Paige
Surprise Visit!

Daddy and Baby Giraffe


Visiting with Sam and Andrew



Giraffe in a Cauldron