Jenna Taking her Fancy bath

Taking a break from putting and climbing the course

Daddy helping Ethan figure out the difficult two handed swing...

Looking like a pro...almost...

Jenna getting a little crazy with sand in her toes at 4 months old! She loved it! Who wouldn't?

Our cute boy Ethan!

One of the Family on a windy day in the sunny sand!

Wild ponies!!! Watch out!

This past week we took off Wednesday morning to drive down to Ocean City, MD. It was a good 10 hour trip, stops included to feed the crew and change diapers. But we survived! We met our dear friends the Cramers down there and had a blast. With their 3 boys and our 2 kids we adults were outnumbered, especially in energy! Certainly there was plenty to do. Thursday we went to the Assateague National park where the wild ponies roam free. They were very cute and Ethan was very excited to see them. We then headed to the beach where the kids played in the sand and Ethan ran around taking it all in. The wind was a blowing but none the less it was fun to sit and watch the waves and kids play. Friday was a day for indoor activities! including indoor miniature golf and lunch at Five Guys, and some quality arcade time where mom and dad won enough tickets for a plastic dinosaur which is sitting on the couch at this very moment. Then the boys sent Shauna and I over to the spa for facials and massages, a real treat for mommies of busy kids! We walked out a little wobbly, I think we got to the point of relaxation. After a trip to the pool and lots of running up and down halls, the kids went to bed and before we knew it Saturday morning was here and we packed up and drove off to NY.

It was fun to see friends and as the guys put it, if you set your expectations for traveling with kids pretty low, you can have a good time! We sure did! We even stopped in NY, NY for a stay with our other dear friends the Blanchard's who will be moving to London this summer, so we are glad to have been able to stop in for a visit which might be the last for a while. They even treated Ethan and their kiddos to an Easter Egg hunt. I am sure the bunny will make a drop off for Ethan next year, he was a little too tired this year... We finally made it home and now we are all adjusting back to normalcy.

Jenna has her 4 month check up tomorrow and I can't believe we are already at this point. She is laughing and loving sticking things in her mouth as she is trying so hard to master holding things with her little hands. She has been able to roll tummy to back and almost rolled back to tummy yesterday, it is just a matter of time and she will be rolling around the house!

Ethan is an explosion of words and sentences. One of my favorite memories this weekend was Ethan asking if I could fix his Oreo that he ate all the cream center out of. He is also getting the idea of friends. He gave hugs all around when we left our friends and it was so sweet. Underneath all that 2.5ness he really is a sweet soul.

We feel especially blessed this weekend to remember the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a blessing He is to the World. He died that we might live. We can access his atonement and be forgiven for our shortcomings. We are truly grateful for the example of his life.

A blurr

I don't recall what we did this past week... I think it involved some grocery shopping, some play-dates and a few trips to the park.... So goes the life of motherhood. Both kids had snotty noses again midweek which kept us in for at least a day. I think we spent a little time out in the backyard too, because there are now rocks in Ethan's indoor dump truck and one came out with the laundry. Next time I will check all the pockets.

Scott and I are Missionaries for our congregation and we both spoke in Church Sunday, I think my brain is a little fried from coming up with what I was going to say. I don't like speaking in front of large crowds, but it went well. I do however enjoy the process of learning more about being a missionary, and being more open about my faith. I have come a long way in the past few years and being a mom has certainly accelerated my progression in having a better relationship with God. I can certainly improve in many areas.

Ethan is now on a every about 3 days napping routine since the binky went away. Sad. But true... I find it a bit more challenging when I don't get that nice 3 hour break from having to either entertain him or keep him out of trouble. I hope that as soon as the weather is more consistent, we will be getting fresh air more often and the newness of the outdoors with keep him occupied.

Jenna is a silly girl. She very much hates tummy time. She is very cute and smiles a lot. I decided to weigh her in this afternoon, 14.3 lbs. She is now entering the 6 month old clothing size. She has over the past few days been very "talkative". She also has a favorite toy. It is a very colorful bird that crinkles and squeaks. She can't seem to ever shove enough of it in her mouth.

Sorry, no pics this week, but we will surely have more next time:)

A week without daddy...

Really, we do love each other, we just can't have any evidence of it....

Stand Up Woody!!!

Is this a good pose mom?

Waking up Happy!!

This week was a long one. With daddy out of town, I had to get creative with the kids, well not terribly creative, but we had to keep busy with things to do or else it would have seemed an eternity without the extra help around. Accomplishments included taking the kids to the Zoo twice, outfitting them for the summer, getting rid of Ethan's Binky..."the Bink"... baking cookies and trying to keep the house in order...

So what did everyone do this week?

Scott - Was half way around the world in Goa, India at a conference for work. Rough life, I know... But he got to endure 35 hours of 4 flights, customs, security checks and all the travel delights each way, so I suppose it wasn't all that glamorous... He got to swim in the Arabian Sea, eat Indian food 3 meals a day and got to enjoy the warm sunshine as his wrist gives away how much sun he got while wearing his watch...at the beach... He enjoyed the experience and getting to know people that he will be working with over the next several months.

Brittany - Happy to report that I only nearly cried once this week while Scott was gone. I think that reading my scriptures and praying every night only brought the extra blessings of patience with Ethan this week. Especially since he slapped me in the face while I was trying to get him in his car seat at Target, because he really wanted to run around the parking lot and touch all the cars.... I know if I had not had the extra strength within I would have gone nuclear but I kept my cool. I was happy to hear that the weather was going to get warmer so I went and got the kids a few warm weather outfits, hopefully I won't need to shop again anytime soon.... Shopping with 2 is an interesting experience. I took the kids to 2 different Zoos this week and Ethan enjoyed learning the names of the animals and seeing them in action, we got to hear a Lion roar and Ethan loved watching the Otters swim. I am finding it a lot of fun to watch Ethan's vocabulary and sentence structure mature.

Yesterday I baked Chocolate Chip cookies, the first cookies to get baked since December... And I made up for the lack of cookie eating these past few months... Guess I will have to workout 4 days this week instead of 3...

This week I was also asked to do the wedding favors of a friends son's wedding in August as a paid job:) That is so exciting... maybe this will be the start to having my own side business of custom creations. I am very excited!

Ethan - So we are now 2.5 days into having no binky. Friday afternoon I slipped a "Woody" interactive doll under the Toys R Us cart and then that afternoon before nap nabbed all the binkys and stowed them away. I told Ethan that the Binky Fairy came and took them all up high into the sky because he is such a big boy and doesn't need them anymore and she left him a present in his room. He didn't seem to mind at all, because he had a cool new toy. After missing a few naps and going to bed fine until today.... he finally had his meltdown. I went to tuck him in his bed for nap and he said "Binky?" and then proceeded to cry about the missing binks. I had to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star 2 times before he calmed down and then went to sleep.

Jenna - Happy baby, such a trooper with all the love Ethan gives her. She is getting to be very smiley and I am picking up on all or most of her cues for eating, and sleep and change of activity or change me mom I am soiled. She is such a joy and we are having fun looking at each other and doing Patty Cake, which she thinks is quite silly.

April is here!!!

Here are a few favorite pictures of the week!

This week has been a good one. We are learning lots about being parents, not by choice but by necessity... Juggling two is a serious act when it comes to kids. Lives are at stake, and not just my own. Ethan has entered a new phase of hitting and throwing. Not a fun phase by any means, lets hope it is short. Here is the down-low on everyone...

Scott - Traveled to Chicago and LA this past week, and lets just say he returned to not so nice weather on April first... no joke, it was snowing.... Glad he decided to come home and not get on a plane back west... He has been a huge help managing bed time and I am loving it!

Britt - Keeping it together at home. Making sure everyone has their meals, making sure everyone is clean and so forth. I had a great lunch out with my Nursing School buddies and it was as always a very yummy experience, lets just say I got the Banana Cream Cheesecake.... I am learning a lot about how to deal with the 2.5 year old and all that entails while managing a 3 month old. There have been some recent struggles that have been hard but thanks to great support and friends and a loving Heavenly Father, I gained so much knowledge about myself and what my role as a mother is.

Ethan - This week we ran out of "Handy Manny" fruit snacks... well we "ran out" because Ethan had already had a bag of them, and Ethan informed me later when asking for them that "mommy ate them all gone"... very cute. Today we had friends over and they brought theier little toddler over with them and when Ethan saw that there we 2 babies, he counted them out for us "2 babies"... "one...two".... Glad he is getting the 1 in there since before he would just start at two. We also went to brunch at a business school friends place and they have a little black kitty... lets just say that the "Wixom kitty lover gene" has been passed down... Ethan was in love and I don't think the kitty was so in love with Ethan but put up with all the attention Ethan was dishing out. "black kitty sooo cuuute"....I think the kitty will need therapy for PTSD.

Jenna - She is grabbing toys and laughing more this week. She sat in the Bumbo seat for the first time and loves to shove her shirt or rather any fabric in her mouth and chew. I hope teeth aren't coming so quick but if she gets your knuckle she chomps!

That is all for this week:)