Brotherly Bond

We are so grateful for these cute little boys. In the last two months their bond has really grown. Many nights we let them stay up past their bedtime because they play so well together that we just can't break it up. Ethan is so sweet to Tanner, and Tanner is always willing to follow Ethan's lead. We love hearing their little conversations where Ethan does most of the talking but Tanner is giving the occasional "uh huh" or "no" here and there. As Tanner has really started to develop his vocabulary they can more fully communicate. Sometimes Ethan will lead Tanner around the house with his arm around him. We love seeing this! Tanner asks for "Ethie" when Ethan is at school. A brotherly bond really is an amazing thing. If you looked into our house at nights you would see them playing trains together, Ethan pushing Tanner around the house sitting in the dump truck, throwing the ball back and forth, playing hide and seek, or reading books together. We love our boys!

Chillin'

The other night I look over and this is what I saw. Tanner is learning the full art of relaxing at the end of the day from his Daddy. The even cuter thing is Tan assumed this crossed-leg position all by himself.

Tanner at 21 months

-still takes 2 naps most days, a short morning nap and a good afternoon nap
-starting to eat much better!
-loves his bottle which we are finally going to take away. We didn't feel he was a good enough eater until now to have him give it up
-loves playing with his brother
-can say multiple works like dada, mama, ball, Ethie (Ethan), more, thank you, please, baseball, amen, love you, color, no, uh huh, truck, car, mickey, minnie, train, Nana, Papa, hello, hi, bye 
-his favorite show is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse but he calls it "Meh Mo"
-still loves dogs 
-easy going little guy who loves to go on walks, play at the park or do whatever the family is doing
-will give you kisses when asked which means he puts his cheek up to yours
-he is a good listener, when I tell him to do something he responds right away
-We are so grateful for Tanner in our lives. It wouldn't be the same without his sweet spirit!

Cruise to Mexico

Our cruise set sail on Christmas Eve day. It was a blast! We are so grateful for Dad and Mom Goodman who made it all possible. Our first full sea day was Christmas where we celebrated with a few gifts, a few spiritual thoughts and a nice relaxing day. The cruise had four stops along the way: Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, La Paz and then back to Cabo. For our first stop in Cabo we all got off and went to a local beach and let the little boys play in the water while the local people tried sell us anything they could from hand bags, sunglasses, jewelry, toys - you name it they had it. The water was a little cold but didn't seem to stop Ethan.

Brett was so kind to help entertain Ethan in the mornings since they were room buddies. Wherever Brett went Ethan was only a few steps behind. One of Ethan's favorite past times on the cruise was playing Mario Brothers on the Wii with Brett. We are grateful Brett was so kind to help with Ethan. A cruise is never complete without lots of hot chocolate, soft serve ice cream and shrimp everytime it's on the dinner menu.

On our second excursion day all the siblings got off while Grammy and Grandpa watched Ethan, Tanner and Jacob. We are so grateful for all they did to help. They are amazing! We went ziplining and repelling through the Mexican jungle with 9 zip lines and many other physical obstacle courses to conquer. It was so fun and I wish I had some pictures to show but they didn't allow cameras - instead they took their own pictures along the way for a steep price at the end. While we were away the little boys played at the water park on the boat. The cruise had a nice waterslide which Ethan loved. A few days we went in the spa and would hop from the slide to the spa because they slide water was cold! They also had a miniature golf course which we planned on trying out but never did.

On our third excursion day again the little boys stayed on the boat and played with Grammy and Grandpa while we played hard in Cabo again. The boys (Jared, Seth, Joel and Brett) took a kayak to Lover's beach while the girls (me, Katie, and Carly) got a one-hour massage on the beach and then layed out at a resort waiting for the boys to meet up with us. The massage was a little piece of heaven to say the least. After we got together Joel and Carly wanted to parasail and Katie and I joined them. Our husbands preferred staying on ground so Katie and I went together. Our last excursion day was spent in La Paz where everyone got off and toured the city. It was fun to all be together but there wasn't too much to see. We had a blast on this trip and so glad we got to go!



Wrapping up 2011

As we end 2011 we are grateful for our many blessings. This year was again another great year for us. Below are some highlights:

As we opened the year we spent many weekends down at the beach and loved it. We continued our adventures around LA going to the Science Center, renting a four person bike, and going to the park most days.

Jared surprised me with a birthday get-a-way to Embassy Suites. We also went to Travel Town, The Huntington Library, and the Natural History Museum as a family.

We celebrated Tanner's first birthday at the park. We went on an overnight trip to Newport Dunes as a family. We stayed in a one bedroom cabin and enjoyed the sand and beach.

Dad, Laurie, Danny, Molly and myself went on a weekend trip to Yosemite. Jared was able to go to Lake Powell with us this year and it was such a treat! It was his first year back in many.

We celebrated our seventh anniverary by going on a cruise to Alaska. We played card games multiple times a day, ate when we wanted, played hard and rested until our hearts were content.

Ethan started his second year of preschool at a new school. Shortly after, we celebrated his fourth birthday with a family pirate party.

We closed the year by going on a Christmas cruise to Mexico with the whole Goodman clan. This year has been good to us. We are grateful for all we have. We look forward to the many adventures 2012 has in store for us.

An early Christmas

This year we celebrated Christmas a few days early since we will be going on a cruise to Mexico with the Goodmans from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day. We made sure to write Santa a letter to let him know of our plans and asked him to find us before we left at Nana and Papa's house. He did just that!

Ethan's one and only request from Santa this year was a Mega Man toy. Over the last several months Ethan has gotten to know about Mega Man through his video game playing with Danny. Mega Man is a video game that my brothers played when they were kids, but the game and action figures are no longer sold in stores (which makes it difficult to come by - but nothing is too hard for Santa!)

My parents and Danny spent many countless hours trying to make Christmas special for our boys. Mega Man has a blaster that shoots and they wanted to make Ethan one of his own. They went all over town to find the material they needed, and not only surprised Ethan but Jared and me as well. We were impressed!! It was made with a water pitcher, the top of a salad dressing shaker, all kinds of wiring to light it up that had to be soldered together and finished with blue fabric. Not an easy task! It looked like they bought it from the store it was so nice and well done. It lights up on the side just like the real Mega Man blaster.

This year the boys also got a Batcave and Batmobile and that was a hit. Tanner got a doctor's kit, a puppy, a tractor and his favorite crayons with a coloring book. Our day was spent playing hard and eating yummy treats.

We are so grateful for the work everyone put into our Christmas this year. Thank you!! Jared got some new dress shirts for work along with some new church books. Jared surprised me with a new BBQ that we have been thinking about for our food storage as a way to be able to cook in an emergency situation and for daily use.

We ended the night with the nativity story, ringing the bells, and the little boys dressed up as shepherds and wisemen. It was neat to see the excitement on their faces while opening gifts, but at the end of the day what was even more special was knowing that they have an understanding of what Christmas is really about. We are grateful for the birth of our Savior, for his life and perfect example he showed us and for his atonement that makes it possible for us to return to him again someday.