One month old

Jacob Richard Lewis

Our little boy was finally born six days late!!

Jacob Richard Lewis
June 21, 2011
6lbs 6oz  19" long

I'm a Big Kid now!!

Today I took Ethan shopping for some new tennis shoes. His others were getting really scuffed at the toes and he had complained that were too small. Kohl's was having a really good sale (had a $10 off coupon plus a 15% off card) and I really like their stuff, so off we went! I think I "officially" became the mom of a kid. How did I realize this? Well, everything I showed him, he didn't like and of course, what he wanted, I didn't like! Yeah, it made me flash back to when I was a kid and couldn't understand why my mom always picked the ugly clothes! LOL :) Ethan is going through a growth spurt and is now in a size 11. Unfortunately, at Kohl's, their toddler sizes end at 10 so he has moved up into a different department (along with the higher prices!). We had our first bicker over shoes; Ethan wanted the "light up" shoes that were $50 (!) and I was like "No way!". Heck, even I don't pay that much for MY shoes ;) We were able to compromise on a pair that we both liked and was in my price range. I told him that he could ask for light up shoes for his birthday (especially since he will be needing back to school clothes then). Ethan looked so cute in his new shoes and as we walked out of the store, he told me that he was a big kid now :) Well, as if buying new "big boy" shoes wasn't enough, as we got towards home, I had Ethan jump out to get the mail. When he came back to the car, I noticed there was blood on his chin. I asked him what happened and as he opened his mouth to talk, I noticed HIS BOTTOM TOOTH WAS MISSING!!!!!!!!! I had been noticing over the last week or so that one of his bottom teeth was sort of crooked and pulling away from his other teeth but I hadn't suspected it was coming loose. Ethan gave me his tooth and then proceeded to say "Yeah, now I get money from the Tooth Fairy!". I wonder who told him that! :0

Ethan with his new shoes and his missing tooth

Close up on his new shoes

Yeah, there's a tooth missing!

Ethan with his tooth in a bag for the Tooth Fairy

What's for dinner? Hungry Hungry Hippos :)

Jason's parents have moved to Alaska since his dad got a different job with the Boy Scouts than the one he had in Las Vegas (it's a step up - he is the Scout Executive which is like being the whole boss of the council in Fairbanks, Alaska). They have been packing up a 4500 sq ft house with almost 18 years of stuff in it! It has been fun opening boxes that Shelle brings us and seeing what's inside :) In one of the most recent boxes, Ethan was delighted to find several puzzles, card games, and the Hungry Hungry Hippo game that he always plays when he is at his grandparents house. He also enjoyed looking at some of the cub scout badges Jason had earned as a little boy and of course, promptly declared they were his!

Ethan has the game all set up and ready to play!

Being silly :)

He could play this game for hours all by himself

With the puzzles and card games that he found in the box

Checking out daddy's cub scout badges

Saturday in the park....

Now that Jason is deep in the middle of busy season, he is working a lot. Of course, with his early mornings and late nights (including all day on Saturday), Ethan doesn't get to see his daddy very much. We decided it would be fun to have lunch with Jason today to get out of the house. He wanted to go to Liberty park near downtown SLC for lunch and to feed the ducks but when we got there, we saw that the large pond was drained because of the oil that had leaked into it. We were sort of disappointed especially since Ethan and I had made a big bag of popcorn to feed the ducks. Not all was lost though when Ethan spotted a rather large playground that he wanted to explore. Ethan really enjoyed himself on the swings, the slide and just being able to run around. Even Jason let his inner child come out and got on the swings with Ethan!

Ethan and Daddy at the park

Ethan enjoying the swings

"Here let me get closer"

I always knew he was 10yr old boy in an adult's body!

Coming down the slide

Sad because he doesn't want to leave

We are matched!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Doing the happy dance right now!! I have been waiting awhile to be able to write those three little words :) We found out today that we are matched with a birth mother due June 15 in Las Vegas. We are excited about this for several reasons. First, we are both from Las Vegas and still have family there so it's nice to have that connection. Second, she thinks she is further along than the EDT and might actually have the baby before June 15. Third, it's a great time of the year for a baby to come since Ethan will be out of school and Jason will be through with busy season. She doesn't know what she is having yet (she said she feels like it's a girl) but I'm sure we will found out soon. We already have names picked out: Katelyn Ann for a girl, and Caleb Richard if it's a boy. Thanks for so much for all your prayers and thoughts :)

Snow falling all around...on my head...and on the ground

We knew there was a big storm coming but no one for sure really knows just how big or what areas around here it will hit. Jason and I watched the weather on the news last night just hoping for something to fall here. Well, I woke up around 4am and it was snowing really, really hard! At 7am, it was still snowing and there was A LOT of snow on the ground. When Jason went out to shovel the driveway, he told me there was probably around 8" on the ground. Ethan was helping him to shovel and the snow not only covered up his boots, but it came up almost to his knee. That's when I knew we had a lot! Even while Jason was shoveling, it kept coming down and there was probably another 1 or 2" when he was done. Of course, I had to take pictures for posterity :)

Some pictures of our backyard with the snow

The snow almost buried this slide!

Guess the kids will have to wait to play on the jungle gym till the snow melts

Our patio table all covered with snow

I guess I am romantic after all :)

When I came back from the grocery store this morning, this package was waiting for me on our front porch.

Once I saw what the package was, I couldn't wait to see the flowers inside! Can't believe that Jason got me both chocolates AND flowers! I started to tear up and decided that yes, I was romantic after all!

Happy Valentine's Day!

"I'm not romantic you know" - Charlotte Lucas, Pride & Predjudice

I've always liked this quote because it fits me. I've never been one to expect roses or candy or cards on Valentine's Day. Honestly, for me, Jason doing what I ask is more romantic for me. I'm not saying that he hasn't gotten me flowers in the past but it's not something that I demand that he do. This year was a little different. For some reason (maybe my old age!), I was really wanting a heart shaped box of chocolates for Valentine's Day. I had mentioned it to Jason a while ago but wasn't sure if he remembered. Much to my surprise, this morning on the kitchen table there was a sweet note and a heart shaped box of chocolates!! He even remembered that See's candies is my favorite, especially their milk chocolate Bordeaux (he even got me a small heart shaped piece of just the Bordeaux! YUM!). He also included Ethan and made him a little heart pocket with a bunch of conversation hearts inside. I'm glad that Jason remembered and I told him just how very much I love him :)

Just a quick update

Yes it has been a while since I last posted but to be quite honest, nothing has really been happening...okay, except for one thing. We signed up with Adoption Advertising based on the recommendations of a few couples that have used them to find their babies. We had our intake interview one week ago and then on Tuesday, received a call about a birth mother due March 7, 2011 in Texas!! We haven't heard the final word about whether or not we are matched with her but at least things are starting to happen :)

Update: Talked with Flossie at Adoption Advertising and she said that she was able to speak with the birthmother about us. She is going to take the weekend to think about it and then let Flossie know on Monday what her decision will be. Hopefully, I will be able to update this blog next week with some good news! :)

Yankee Doodle

Last week Jason went to Philadelphia to teach at a training for his company. He decided to stay over one night beyond the training so that he could go and explore some of the early Colonial America sites there in the city. Jason saw Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, the Betsy Ross house, and even the site of where Benjamin Franklin's site stood. He really enjoyed getting to see all these places and the next time he goes to Philadelphia, Ethan and I will try and go with him!

Independence Hall

This is a representation of how the meeting room was set up  when the delegates came to write the Declaration of Independence. The chair in the back was where Washington sat during the proceedings.

The Liberty Bell

The site of Benjamin Franklin's house

Jason self portrait!

The Betsy Ross house

Random photos

The other night while going through the picture folder for 2010, I realized there were many photos that weren't used for this blog or our adoption profile that I liked. I thought sharing some would be fun!

Ethan pretending to be a fireman

Having fun riding the elephant at the circus

Ethan's preschool graduation

With my sister Christa on our cruise to Catalina Island

I love this picture of our family!

Jason kayaking on the Colorado River

Jason and I on our cruise to Catalina and Ensenada, Mexico

Ethan learning how to do a hula dance during the ward party

Showing off his pirate moves!

Santa Claus is coming to town!

Every year we go to Las Vegas for Christmas. Both Jason's family and my family are there so it's nice to go and visit for a few days. This year was no different except for one thing. Jason's parents are moving to Alaska and so, this will probably be the last year we actually have Christmas in Vegas.

We came down on the 22nd and stayed through the 27th. Usually our days are just jammed pack with doing things and this year was no different. Also, it had been 3 years since my sister and I had had our kids' pictures taken together so we decided to do that as well. It's amazing how fast everyone grows up! We were also going to meet Jesse and her clan after wards at McDonald's so that all the kids could play together.

Ethan and Jenna, my niece, waiting in line to see Santa

Waiting to see Santa

My brother Rick with his son Tommy

Christmas Eve we did over at Christa's house like always. This year we decided to stay the night on the 23rd with them so that we would have the whole day on the 24th to visit. Mom and Nana ended up coming over around 11am to help with the cooking and the cleaning for our Christmas Eve dinner. We had ham, mashed potatoes, salad, rolls, gravy, and carrots. Yummy!!  After wards, we all gathered in the living room to open our presents. I have to say it was a great Christmas for everyone!

Ethan with his cousins Ryan and Jenna

Me with my sister Christa

Nana getting ready to open some presents

Jason and I trying to help Ethan construct his new GeoTrax train set

We went back to Jason's parent's house after watching "A Christmas Story" and Ethan was so tired that he feel asleep before we had even left Christa's subdivision! Christmas Eve is junk food night and Jason's dad just loves to make chicken nuggets, french fries, little smokies, and any other junk food he can think of! It's fun to just talk about what we got from my family and to visit with each other.

Christmas morning is exciting especially now with a 5 yr old! Ethan really understands the concept of Santa and what that all means so it's fun to watch him check out what Santa brings him! He was really excited to get a pillow pet and scooter this year. Jason got me a new set of scriptures, I got him some nice tall work boots for the garden, and his parents gave us some gift cards to various restaurants so that we can have date nights together. Overall, it was a really nice Christmas and I'm glad that we all got what we wanted :)

Ethan playing with his new Geo Trax set

Checking out what Santa brought him

More stuff from Santa in his stocking

Trying out his new scooter