here's a few more recent shots of ethan- i can't believe he'll be 3 months old on sunday! if you look closely, you can see that he's starting to grab things within his reach-- the toy on his car seat, the book while i'm reading to him (i KNEW he'd love reading!!). i'm sure he'd grab his mobile if he could reach it. oh, he's just so much fun. :) 
here's a glimpse of what i am blessed to see all day long- this baby is so happy! even if he's cranky for a minute, he will usually swing right into a smile, with a giggle not too far behind. friends, family, and passer-byers are always commenting, "what a happy baby!" for the past couple of weeks, he has really perfected the art of squealing. it's so adorable. he'll do it when i'm singing to him, when i'm trying to talk to someone else, or when he's completely by himself... he is definitely exploring his vocal range. i like to think of it as making a joyful noise to the Lord. :) his obvious joy blesses so many people already, and he is only 3 months old. i love that God is already teaching me through my child. i must ask myself: is my life a daily reflection of joy? is my attitude one of praise to God? i came across a verse this week that i never really remember reading. i'm sure i must have read it as i read through hebrews throughout my life, but it never stood out to me until this week. (don't you love that?? the Holy Spirit is great.) anyway, the verse is hebrews 13:15-
through Him (Jesus), let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His Name.this verse calls me to set my heart in gear to praise God- not just on occasion, but continually. praising Him in the little things or in the not-so-great circumstances can be a challenge, but the more i seek to have this sort of attitude, the more i am inclined to praise Him in my daily activities. i love the words to the song blessed be your name by matt & beth redman
Blessed be Your name
in the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name
when I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed be your name
(chorus)
Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
And when the darkness closes in Lord
Still I will say
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
Blessed be Your name
when the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be
Blessed be Your name
And blessed be Your name
on the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name
chorus
You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name
just got home from my good friend's wedding- margaret and i have known each other since 3rd grade. she's moved back home, and i really look forward to seeing her a bunch, now that we're both old married ladies. ha. i was also able to see several other friends from high school... it's amazing to see how we are all virtually the same as we were in school. courtney still has her spunk, katie is still cute as a button (at 4 months pregnant-yay!!), and tiffany's dad is still taking a million pictures. :) even though it still seems like we're 16, we really have grown up. emily is teaching 9th grade english (bless you!), courtney has her own company now called courtney sue, ann marie is an accountant, tiffany is anesthetizing people (i'm sure i spelled that wrong), and i have a baby. ok, so we are growing up. i love this picture from our senior year. thanks for the memories, girls.
brian's aunt glenda is visiting this weekend for a conference at church. i'm introducing her to the world of blog and showing her how easy it is to post your thoughts. little man was already asleep when she arrived- hopefully she'll get to see him sing "ten in the bed" in the morning!
just thought i'd share some of my favorite cake recipes. I LOVE CAKE! anybody who really knows me knows i love cake! my favorite is definitely nichele's grandma's cake- she made our wedding cake, which was most delicious and beautiful. (i just enjoyed it again as we celebrated our first anniversary and brought our cake out of the depths of the freezer! it was still amazingly yummy!!) but sorry, i don't have her recipe. however, i DO have a couple of recipes i want to share. they are both from a great website full of cake mix recipes- really fun sounding cakes that seem pretty easy. try them and let me know what you think!
Ecstasy Cake
1 box chocolate cake mix
1 14-oz. can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1 12-oz jar caramel ice cream topping
1 tub whipped topping
4 Heath candy bars, crushed
drinking straw
Bake the cake as directed on the box. Cool completely.
Once cool, using the straw, put holes all over the entire cake, make sure to go all the way to the bottom of the pan.
Pour the can of condensed milk over the cake filling the holes. Repeat with jar of caramel topping. Spread whipped topping over top of cake. (I like to make little peaks all over the top with the cool whip!)
Sprinkle Heath Bars on top of whipped topping. Chill in refrigerator.
Oreo Cookie Cake
Cake:
24 chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup margarine
1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 tablespoons milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine chopped cookies, chocolate chips, flour and margarine. Set aside. Mix cake according to directions on package. Pour half of cake batter in pan. Sprinkle approximately 2 cups of the cookie mixture on top. Pour rest of cake batter over layer of cookies. Sprinkle remainder of cookie mixture on top. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean. To make the glaze: In a small bowl, mix 1 cup confectioners' sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons milk. Drizzle glaze over warm cake.
week 12 is wonderful, he is smiling and laughing all the time. he is really trying out those vocal cords!! i am so proud. :) i will be in the other room and hear a shriek and a squeal and a laugh- i can't help but do one of two things: run in and kiss him to death or run in with the video camera and wait for him to do it again! i have worked with and played with so many other people's kids (whom i have dearly loved!)--it's so wonderful to enjoy him 24/7. i know grandparents love to say that the joy of grandparenting is spoiling the kids and then getting to give them back.... well, i'd say that one joy of parenting for me is not having to give him back. we get to put him to bed every night and see his big, gummy grin as he's in his cute sleeper pajamas. we get to peek in on him about 20 times before we actually go to bed to see how much he has scooted around in his crib. (that is quite amazing, by the way!) i get to sing stupid songs to him while moving his arms and legs around in sync to the songs...my personal favorites right now are ten in the bed, arky, arky, and ants go marching- he loves them! all of that to say that i love being ethan's mom. thank you, Lord, for creating him to be a part of our family!
ok, so now, this time 12 weeks ago, i was at the hospital for the first time... i was in triage, answering the same questions that i had answered on my preadmittance form (which i now know is a complete waste of time!). who knew that i would be asked the same questions by my next FOUR labor nurses as they started their shift. (you don't expect one nurse to work 33 hrs, do you?) by the time the last nurse began quizzing me, i was rattling off answers before she asked the questions...as i was having back to back contractions. ok, back to this time 12 weeks ago, i think by now my first labor nurse had said, "usually if you have an easy pregnancy, you have a hard labor." thanks. that was actually the first time i had heard that comment... she was right, at least in my case. not one day of nausea for 40 weeks, but i was nauseated through my whole labor. oh dear, i'm going on and on. if you're pregnant for the first time and you're reading this, i do want to be your cheerleader! i do not want to put fear in your heart about labor...you will be just fine! even if it is awful, as i said earlier, it is so worth it. ok, i'm going to shut up about ethan's birth story now. you really probably don't care. some of you were there, waiting and waiting and waiting, cheering me on, telling me "the pain is down there. don't go down there, stay up here. the pain is down there. stay up here!" (thank you, tammy!!)... those of you who weren't there saved yourself a day and a half of waiting!! anyway, i was hoping to catch you all up on the last bit of ethan's life, but maybe i should just start from week 12.
this time 12 weeks ago, i was in labor. i don't think i had thrown up my delicious dinner from uncle ernie's yet, but my contractions were coming faster and harder. i knew this entry into mommyhood would not be easy, but i also didn't think it would take 33 hours and a c-section! but it did, and ethan is here, and he's wonderful. i would do it all again for him. the labor and delivery was much harder than actually taking care of him has been (so far!!), so i do count my blessings. shortly after ethan was born, i ran across a precious quote.
before you were conceived, I wanted you. before you were born, I loved you. before you were here an hour, I would die for you. this is the miracle of life. -maureen hawkinsthis little boy has captured my heart.... i was convinced that his first smiles were not because of gas :)...his first little laugh plays over and over in my head... God has been so good to us, and i look forward to filling my heart and my head with a million more memories of our baby boy.
sing along with me, tommy boy fans! ethan has discovered the neatest chair: the bumbo baby seat! once a baby can hold his head up, he can sit up in this chair!! it's great! he has to get used to not staring up at the ceiling fan for a lot of the day. :) 
i am hoping that this will possibly help his hair grow back in since he's not lying (laying, lying, whatever-i never did completely learn that detail of the english language- sorry, grandma!) on his back as much. our little friend lydia, 22 months, saw much pleasure in climbing all over the chair and getting in and out of it. it seems really comfortable and durable. i'm sure brian has already grown weary of my unusual baby finds... but this one is definitely a keeper!
well... after an hour of deciding on a name for this blog, now it's time for bed! i can't wait to get started... i have 11 1/2 weeks to catch you up on!
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