Ethan's Birthday Party

So this past Saturday we threw a little Mickey-themed birthday party for Ethan. We went to the big park on base and just grilled hot dogs and then had cupcakes. It was a really simple party, but I think everyone had a nice time. Matt and I made Mickey cupcakes and then we had Mickey balloons and all the favors for the kids were Mickey-themed. Ethan loved it - especially the balloons. That kid loves balloons, so balloons with Mickey Mouse on them were just amazing. He didn't tear up his cupcake this year, but that's okay, he had fun running around the playground and playing with his friends and getting to open up his presents. It was so fun to see his reactions to all the gifts and just the party in general - he was just so happy, which in turn always makes me happy. :)

Mickey Mouse cupcakes

Mickey!

Ethan and his friend, Paxton

Love my handsome baby boy (and yes, he picked off the Oreos and didn't eat them)

Blowing out his candle

After the party, we gave Ethan his big gift from us - a Radio Flyer balance bike! Matt brought it in from outside and I took pictures of Ethan's reaction to seeing the bike. Love love love his little eyes glowing in the first one - he was SO excited. Too bad the bike is just a little too big for him right now. :( His toes just barely touch the ground. Oh well, something to grow into! :)

A place to call home

Saturday night we hopped in the car and drove to Clovis. It was my second trip and Matt's first. It was about 2 hours into the 3+ hour trip we both decided we never ever needed to make the trip at night ever again, just for fear of breaking down in the really really REALLY dark desert with no cell service and no other cars in sight. I mean, that's the stuff horror films are made of! Fortunately, though, we did not break down - whew! So Saturday night we stayed on base and then Sunday morning we woke up bright and early to go check out another potential house.

I found the house on Monday after a VERY unfortunate debacle with a Remax house for rent - they said they accepted cats, we paid $100 to apply for the house, they said, oops we don't accept cats, we fought for our $100 back, which they didn't want to give us - fruuuustrating, but as usual, I digress. Oh, and we did eventually get our $100 back. But back to the verbena! So Monday around 2pm I found this cute house in a great neighborhood right in our budget - and best of all?? It was pet friendly! Hooray! Turns out the owner was renting it herself and had listed it at 10am that day! I was the first one to reach out and she was so nice she agreed to hold the house for us until we could come view it over the weekend - awesome! So off we went to Clovis!

Fortunately, the house looked as good in person as it did in the pictures, so we said yes! It has three bedrooms and two bathrooms with a great outdoor space. Nice flat green grass perfect for Ethan to run around barefoot. It has a fireplace, two car garage and pretty granite counter tops. It's nothing luxurious, but it is exactly what we need for the next three years. Oh and the owner isn't moving out until mid-September so our lease doesn't start until October 1st, which is just fantastic because at the rate Matt's training is going we probably won't be out of here until October 1st at the earliest and that means we don't have to pay for an empty house in Clovis that we're not even living in. Yay yay yay! It really did work out great for us and we're excited to have one more box checked off in preparation for our move to Clovis. :)

Where we'll call home for the next three years

Happy birthday, Ethan!

Today is our baby boy's 2nd birthday. Two years. Wow. Sometimes it doesn't seem possible that two years have passed by since we were blessed with our little amazing Ethan John. What an amazing two years they have been, too. Watching him grow from a little infant to the strong, smiley, full-of-personality little boy he is today has been the most amazing experience of my life. Not a day goes by that he doesn't surprise me with a new skill or talent, a new strength, a new word he's learned, a new understanding he's grasped. Have I said amazing too much? Because he is just that - amazing. I feel blessed every day of my life for him and can't wait to see what he will learn next, or better yet, what he will teach me.

My jugglers

As most of you know, Matt juggles. It's a pretty sweet talent and one that I've known of since the first time we hung out (8.5 years ago - yikes!) since he brought juggling balls with him and proceeded to juggle for me in my college apartment. Ahh, memories. Anyway, fast forward to today and as you can imagine, Ethan loooves when his Daddy juggles for him. The word "juggle" was in his vocabulary before the word "banana." Well, technically, he still won't say banana, but that's neither here nor there. The point is, Ethan loves to watch Matt juggle. It took him awhile to figure out Mommy can't juggle, as he used to bring balls to me (when Matt wasn't home) and say, "Mommy juggle!" To which I had to sadly explain, Mommy isn't as cool as Daddy and can't juggle.

So the other day we took Ethan to the playground and Matt decided to take his juggling stuff and juggle for Ethan. Of course, the little guy loved it and was running around picking up balls and clubs and throwing them in the air saying, "Juggle!" trying to be like his Daddy. I'm guessing it's only a matter of time before Matt is actually teaching Ethan to juggle, but for now, the throwing things into the air works just fine for Ethan.

I looove this picture :)