HeAPPENINGS

Addy bought some fabric and found a pattern for bean bag chairs online that she intended on sewing when Ryan and Ethan went to Fathers & Sons. It's a month and a half later and she is finally finished! She had to create her own pattern and was not looking forward to the task, but once she stopped procrastinating it went quickly. The chairs turned out great and Ethan loves to watch movies in his and Ryan loves to play video games in his. A fun, easy way to add a little more seating to our Living Room.


NOTE: If you want to make your own, prepare to spend more than buying one at the store. The plus is that you can personalize it to your taste and style.

Tonight we headed out to run a few quick errands. On the way home we watched the lightning from the storm move in. By the time we got home there were a few rain drops falling. Ryan encouraged Ethan to check it out after we unloaded. Ethan was standing at the mouth of the garage eagerly watching the wind blow, rain drops hitting the drive way, and the lightning strike, when he said "Queen"... as in Lightning McQueen. We enjoyed his sense of humor and his brilliance in relating the lightning in the sky to a Pixar character.

This evening, Ryan and Addy celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary by sharing some time alone - a rare event. Grandma Louise so graciously watched Ethan while they enjoyed a night on the town. They started out with dinner at Oreganos in Mesa and then headed to Gammage to see 'My Fair Lady'. They enjoyed the music and resisted singing along. The cast did an excellent job portraying the characters; especially Professor Higgins and Alfred P. Doolittle. The stage design was brilliant and captured the essence of the film. The only disappointing part of the evening was that a few of Eliza's well known dresses were different. Despite the costumes, they had a wonderful evening out.

Ethan had his 2-year-old check-up today. They told us what we already know... we have a tall, skinny kid with a big head. He is in the 25-50th percentile for his weight, 90th percentile for his height (takes after the Bowman side), and 50-75th percentile for his head. The doctor said that he is doing well and she was amazed at his skills. We're glad to hear that we're not the only ones who think he's a bright kid. The best part of the appointment was not getting any shots... he doesn't get any more until he is four.

Last week it was the vacuum, this weekend was the washer and our Equinox.

Addy was doing the laundry and noticed that there were several yellow spots on some of our white laundry. After doing a little research online, we found out that there is a seal separating the tub and the transmission. Water was leaking into the transmission and since oil floats in water, the oil came into the tub and left the stains. It can be fixed, but the website recommended purchasing new units if the washer was old. Our old washer came with the house (not the same age as the house) - we left our others in our townhouse - and our home warranty expired the beginning of June. We decided that we would be able to swing the expense, so we headed to Sears and got a front loading, energy efficient washer and dryer. So far, they are nice... we are anxiously waiting to see the impact it has on the power and water bills. We did not purchase the stands, but after they were delivered we decided that they would be worth it. Stands... or... chiropractic bills to help Addy's back... the stands won.



As we were driving around, we noticed that a light came on in the Equinox and stayed on. It was just the oil light, but we try to stay on top of things as much as possible. Ryan also felt like the battery was running low, the lights seemed dimmer, the traction control was resetting itself, and the engine had a hard time turning over when turned on. On Monday, we went to Auto Zone and sure enough, it was low. We got that replaced and decided to head to the dealership on Tuesday. We were relieved to find out that someone had forgotten to reset the oil change light, but still had to spend a little money to have the transmission oil changed. We also knew that our tires needed attention and the dealership said that the tread was low. After an hour at the dealership, Addy and Ethan headed to Discount Tire to spend a pretty penny... since the cost of oil is up, so are tires. The speakers on the Equinox are also starting to wig out, luckily that is under warranty... until July 4th. The kicker is that the registration is also due this month. We're hoping that this is it for the time being...

We are so blessed to be able to survive a storm like this... we just hope that another one doesn't hit again for a while.

Can you believe it? Ethan is already two. It seems just like yesterday that Addy was on bed rest and then headed to the hospital with kidney/liver pains three weeks before his due date. After two days, he finally arrived healthy and happy. He has grown into an awesome little boy.


To celebrate his day, we went to Red Robin for dinner with Grandma Louise, Grandpa Eric & Grandma Pat. He loved having all the attention of his grandparents, with an occasional fit - ahh terrible twos. We had some great food, a few laughs and a lot of fun watching Ethan's reactions to the boisterous singing of the servers and his gifts. Thanks to his wonderful grandparents for the hugs, kisses and support!


Today, we had a small Sesame Street party for Ethan with a few friends - the 'sons' of Ray 1st Ward - Bryson, Tyson & Emerson. The boys (Bryson and Tyson) played with a sprinkler ball, bubbles and watched the dads play basketball. We enjoyed cupcakes and Cookie Monster Ice Cream. Ethan didn't get past unwrapping his first gift - it was Toy Story figurines and he was pleased (thanks Carol)! Ryan finished opening Ethan's gifts and everyone enjoyed the fun new toys. It was a great time to visit with friends and watch the boys play.

He did it! Ethan is finished with swim boot camp and did awesome! Since he is still pretty young, he did not do the same things as the other kids. However, you can see that he comprehends it all and with a little more work he will be swimming by summers end. We're thrilled with the outcome and are grateful for his wonderful teachers, Jackie and Kaitlin.


Ethan swimming from Jackie to Kaitlin








Ethan diving to the bottom of the pool for candy





Ethan and Buzz




At the conclusion of the lesson today, we gave Ethan a Buzz Lightyear swim towel for all of his hard work. He was excited and was enjoying looking at it, but still wanted to use his other towel.

What says "I love you" more? Ryan and Addy celebrated their 5th Wedding Anniversary today. Ryan was able to take a half day and spend some more time with the family. They exchanged gifts when he got home... Ryan got Guitar Hero III and Legos Indiana Jones video games for his PlayStation and Addy got a gorgeous necklace with a diamond pendant.They topped off the days festivities with dinner at Macaroni Grill, Ethan in tote. Since tomorrow is Ethan's birthday, they have plans to properly celebrate next weekend.

About two weeks ago, Addy went to vacuum the house and discovered that our vacuum was dying. It makes a high pitched squeaking noise when moved back and forth - not good when Ethan is sleeping. We decided that it was probably cheaper to replace it and Addy LOVES the new vacuum! The coolest feature is a hand tool that has a rotating brush... great to get cat hair off the couch quickly.

This may be weird to some, but if you know how much Ryan loves his video games, just translate that love to cleaning for Addy. Yes, she is a little OCD.

Our friends, Matt & Joy Schmidt, adopted the cutest little boy at the end of last year. Joy e-mailed us some updated pics of Eli Matthew and since she doesn't have a blog, we're going to brag about how stinkin' cute this kid is. We're so happy for you guys and wished that you lived closer!

Today has been a rough day for Ethan. He is typically a pretty mellow kid and doesn't get himself into too much trouble, but today he decided to be a climber.

Addy put him down for a much needed nap before swim lessons. She was downstairs wrapping some gifts when she heard a thump, followed by screaming. Ethan had attempted climbing out of his crib and fell once he got a leg over. When she got to him, he was standing up and crying... "sleep... sleep... sleep!" He must have known that he had done something wrong by his reaction. We're hoping that he will last a little bit longer before we have to switch him to a big boy bed.

Later in the evening, Ethan was hanging out with Ryan while Addy did some last minute shopping for this weekend's events (5th Wedding Anniversary, Ethan's 2nd Birthday & Father's Day). Ethan has been using his diaper pail as a stool and climbing onto the end table in our living room. He lost his footing while climbing up and hit his head (right eyebrow) on the corner of the end table. He has a lovely cut and is a little swollen - just in time for 2-year-old/family pictures tomorrow.

Today was amazing... Ethan hardly cried. He typically starts crying even before we get out of the car, but he willingly showed his teacher how he could lay on his tummy and kick before getting in the pool and then scooted to the edge to get in. The cold water took his breath away a little, but he didn't complain for some time. He worked on jumping into the pool and even went off the diving board, with some assistance. His greatest accomplishment was diving to the bottom of the pool to get a jelly bean.

Ethan is just getting better and better each day - he's not crying as much. The water is starting to get warmer, so it seems to be helping. He continues to kick a little, but his instructor felt that he should practice floating on his back. She also says that he is young and that she can see that he is processing the information, but is having a hard time making his body move. Overall, we are very pleased with his progress and look forward to the next two days and the rest of the summer to practice.

Ethan is improving sooo much. His teacher told us to work on his skills over the weekend. We went to the pool on Friday to work on some skills and he has been practicing kicking on the ground and in the bathtub. Today at swim lessons he swam under Addy's legs and turned on his own to get back to her. He also jumped in the pool on his own. He is starting to kick his legs and reminds himself throughout the lesson to 'kick, kick, kick'.

It is amazing how much little ones learn... you learn about it in Child Development classes, but it just doesn't mean the same until you have seen it first hand. Ethan can identify his letters (uppercase), numbers and knows several words/signs. He recently has started identifying colors. Not only is he saying them, but he is trying to sign them - some are tricky for little hands... green for example. It's fun to see him so excited about his new skill and for him to tell you his favorite color --- ORANGE! Dana will be so proud.

Sick of swim lesson updates yet? Four more days... Ethan is getting better and better each day. Today he actually kicked on his own!!! Just a few times, but it is progress. He is also getting better about keeping his eyes open under water. Hang in there buddy... you're doing awesome!!!

Ethan is still crying, but learning more and more each day. He worked on diving for candy on the steps of the pool. He isn't opening his eyes under water, so he had a little trouble. He is awesome at holding his breath and we're sure that it will come as long as we continue to work on it regularly.

Ethan had another great day of swimming. He still cried, but didn't swallow any water and continued to direct himself to 'Kick, kick, kick'. He's doing awesome and we're sure that he's learning. At home, he practices kicking followed by push-ups (Ryan taught him).

We want to send another shout out to some more of our friends in our old ward. Baby #2 arrived today... a beautiful baby girl. Congratulations Brad, Meghan and Tyson! We can't wait to meet her!


Elise Mae Miner - 7lbs 9oz - 21 inches

We woke up this morning around 8:00 and Addy decided to bag swim lessons through the City. The instructor didn't do well enough to push Ethan to get out the door in morning. He did start his 'swimming boot camp' today. It is about 3 miles away and Ethan's cousin, Zac, is also participating. The instructor’s main goal is to make sure that the kiddos have enough skills to get to the edge and get out if they fell in. He worked on holding his breath under water, kicking, reaching and making 'big arms', doing the 'ballerina' under water, and floating on his back. He cried, but did a lot better than anticipated. As Addy told him that he was okay, he continued to reassure himself, 'I'm okay, I'm okay'. When he was finished and was headed to get his towel, he said, 'Water, fun!' He did awesome!

When we got home, he excitedly told Ryan about his adventure - laying on the ground and showing how he can kick (which he didn't do at class... at least he was listening).