Our Big Girl!

Ethnie has been sitting up all on her own since July 31st. She loves being able to see everything and gets frustrated when we lay her flat for tummy time. As with all landmark occasions a photo shoot was a must! 

We sure do love our little Gerber baby. She is getting so big so fast! What happened to my newborn?!

A Wedding

 I love weddings! I love the dress, the guests, the dancing and the ceremony. Jakob's cousin Mathew and his wife Morgan were sealed in the Las Vegas Temple on August 17th.

Mom and Dad waiting outside for the newly wed Mr. and Mrs. Palmer.

Ethers and Grampa. She is Grampas Girl!!

 Naturally I had to snap a few shots of Baby Ethnie at the temple.

 

 

  It was a hot day! Everyone was pretty warm including our little Bug. She was loving drinking some water like a big girl!

It was a beautiful sealing with a beautiful family! Congrats to Mathew and Morgan!! We love you!!

Catch Up!

My word it has been a while. My mother has returned to Canada after a month long visit. It was wonderful having her here to help clean and play with baby Ethnie. I feel bad because that's almost all that we did, well that and shop but who doesn't love shopping?

Ethnie had so much fun with Oma, they'd  laugh and giggle together while they read, danced and sang. My Mom just loves being an Oma, I always knew she would.

 Ethers is getting pretty confident on her tummy, I'm sure she'll be surfing around before we know it, (not that I'm in a rush, I rather enjoy having her stay in one spot.) She really loves walking though. She's obviously not very good at it and I don't want to rush her into anything but she likes feeling like a big girl and begin able to see everyone.

I'm not so sure about this Oma, perhaps I better stick to rolling over.

 She's also started giving nice, big, wet, slimy kisses and I absolutely love it! Kisses for Oma!

 My mother likes to have a project to do while we're together, last time we made chimes for primary, this time I decided that my apartment needed a deep herbal cleansing. We washed walls we pulled out appliances we took apart fans. It was disgusting mostly because you could tell they hadn't been cleaned in years! The worst part however was our floors. Mom was washing them with a Mr. Clean magic eraser when she discovered that out black grout was in fact tan grout!

I honestly thought our grout was black, I mean the ENTIRE floor is black, even in the corners. It has never been scrubbed clean! Here's the before...

Here's the after.... big difference right?! Only thing is, it takes a lot of work and I have a lot of tile. I'll be chipping away at this project one day at a time for quite a while.

It was so nice having my Mother here. We sure do miss you Oma, the house is offal quiet without you! Thank you for coming! Love you!

How We Roll!

Last weekend Jakob and I went out to celebrate our anniversary. How many people do you know go to a double header roller derby for their anniversary? It was fun! Jakob asked me if I wanted to become a roller girl, personally I think I'd get slaughtered. We were a little unsure of the rules so as we watched I was Googling on my smart phone. What would we do without technology? We left Ethnie with a baby sitter! I'll admit I was nervous but Sydney was amazing and I'm sure we'll have many more date nights in our future!

As for an update how things are going at home. Mama van den Berge is still here. We are getting a lot done and I'm very thankful for the extra hands to help with Ethnie. I'm not sure what I'm going to do once she leaves! I've gotten used to having another adult in the house to talk too. I have to buckle down and take some pictures though. It's a little strange to take pictures of us scrubbing floors, organizing the garage or shopping at Costco. I think it's time for something fun? Any suggestions? Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!!

Hairs the Situation

Ethnie is petty bald aside form this little "Mohawk Mullet" thing she's got going on back there! Most people ask me if I cut it that way. I mean really... do you honestly think I would do that!? She's finally starting to see some growth on top but I still love her little tuft in the back.

Another First

 Yes Ethnie had her first taste of Rice Cereal that wasn't hidden in a bottle on July 28th. I really think that putting a scoop in a bottle at night helped her adjust to the taste, perhaps that is just wishful thinking. 

 Here we go! I love her big eyes! 

 Wait that's not apple juice, ice cream or jam! (All things my family tried feeding her while I wasn't watching.)

 I'm not so sure about this!

 Okay Mom, what else have you got?

 Hey Daddy, let me hold the spoon!

 

Ah, much better!

 Hey Mom, did you get that? How about you get a few shots of me looking at you?

 She is such a flirt!

 Last night Daddy got tired of spoon feeding her "soup" so she tried drinking it out of her bowl. She loved it!

 The only problem was she would stop drinking to look at the camera, which made a mighty fine mess. :)

 All done!

That was finger licking good!

 

I'm ready for my bath now! Ethnie has had cereal before bed for the last five nights and she's now SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT! Let the Hallelujah chorus begin! She goes to bed at 8:30 - 9:00 wakes up at 5:30  to be fed and goes back to sleep until 7:30 - 8:00! I'm not going to lie... I'm loving it!

So This is What Makes Life Divine

Three years ago today I was sealed to my best friend for time and all eternity. I have thought a lot about how romantic the reality of eternity is, not only do I get to enjoy life with him now but forever. We knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we were doing the right thing, in the right place. I look back fondly on that day and remember how spiritual and perfect it was. I am so grateful to be married to such a hardworking, loving, and generous man. I never hear him complain or grumble when I ask him to do something. He is always so excited to see his daughter and he is such an amazing father. Watching him love her has only made my love for him grow far beyond what I thought was possible. I have been so blessed and I am so thankful for all of the adventures we have had throughout the years. Happy Anniversary my love! xoxo

Fairwell to Canada

We finished up our trip by visiting my adopted Oma and Opa. We're really not related to them at all but I have always viewed them as grandparents and I love them dearly. Naturally I had to stop by to show them Little Ethnie.

And of course we had to have some dessert! So good!

Their home is so quaint and charming. I just love it!

Having a crucial conversation! We love you Oma and Opa!

It was Great-G-pa's 83rd birthday. He went for coffee in the morning thinking he was 84 but when he returned he realized his math was off and he had gained a year. So he really turned 83. Here's Ethnie with the Birthday Boy!

She sure did love the paper table cloth.

Happy 83rd Birthday G-pa! We love you dearly! Thank you for letting us come and visit and spend time with you on your special day!

It was a wonderful and busy trip. We are super excited to be home now (and even more excited that the customs officer was super nice and let me across the boarder with my expired green card. I grabbed my old one accidentally, that wasn't fun!) We sure did miss Daddy and I have a feeling he missed us too!