For years I have been promising myself that I would send out a Christmas card. Yet again, another year has come and I am Christmas cardless. So this is as much as a card I am doing this year but..... next I swear :)!
Merry Christmas,
Love The Ethington’s
First of all, I can’t believe that it is almost Christmas and that my babies are 5 months. I can’t handle how quickly time has passed! In keeping with order I will start with Thanksgiving. What a crazy/enjoyable day of family hopping (most of which was alone)! We started off at the Saba’s where I distended my stomach muscles almost to the point of no return. Seriously, some of the best food! Troy and my father had to leave after dinner for an important date with an Elk. I mean Elk don’t wait, do they. The moment you receive that blessed tag form the department of game and fish you have to take advantage of it, right. Well, according to my lovely husband and father you do. I would like to add this is still where the two are camped out. Only one Elk so far, which means it’s not over until there are two dead.
Pressing on, after the Saba’s was dessert at the Alvarez’s and games, followed by bow making at the Ethington’s and more dessert. It’s Thanksgiving no judgement here (except by the scale the next day.)It wasn’t that bad alone since I have so much family that are like baby vampires. They can smell them coming to the front door and are anxiously awaiting to rip them from my hands. My sweet Gavin wasn’t with me this year but, did inform me he had an AWESOME sleep over and roasted marshmallows with his cousin. It was comical as he tried to explain to me what roasting marshmallows was. When we picked him up he had to show me his Evil Canevil skills on the bike. He pedals as fast as he can and then turns sharply, stopping with his foot so that you can see he screeching tire marks! All I could see was a head injury waiting to happen.
Unfortunately, I have zero pictures from Thanksgiving. Here are some of Lincoln and Ameree at 5 months. Things I want to remember....
Lincoln-
You have the cutest joker smile. Your laugh is so captivating and raspy I might add. You out weigh you sister by 3 lbs. You look just like your dad with mommy’s skin and hair color, so in essence perfect! You roll all over the place and have figured out how to soothe yourself but sucking your thumb raw! You sleep on your stomach and know how to get what you want.
Ameree-
Your cry melts your dad’s heart and he spoils you! You have the cutest open mouth smile. You are such a happy little girl, also one of the most beautiful (I know I am bias.) You also have the most sensitive stomach (my fault). You were the first to roll over by a week (4 months). You cry HUGE alligator tears that are so hard to bear. You have no hair, you’re my bald eagle!
Gavin-
You are a great big bother, and son. You have such a big heart, and always willing to help me in the house or your dad outside. A little reluctant when it comes to throwing baby diapers away (I don’t blame you though.) You say the funniest things! I love it when I ask you to do things you respond by saying, “You got it mom!” You use words you don’t know the meaning of but in the correct context and then ask me what it means.
So this years Halloween was really low key but just as fun. I searched high and low for costumes for the twins and Gavin. Gavin had his heart on being an evil jester, much to the dismay of my sister. Unfortunately, the costume only came in size 8-10. Yeah.... that’s not even going to kinda work. So we opted for another scary choice, a mix of the grim reaper and a mask. Who really knows what to call it but Gavin loved it of course. On Friday night I braved the trunk or treat by myself, since my husband was gone for the second time in two weeks. It wasn’t that bad and we were able to score with some of my favorite candy. I went to Costco and picked up two huge bags of candy for the event, thinking there would be plenty but I was wrong! I was wiped clean! That’s a good thing because I would have eaten the remainder. On Sunday we went over to my aunt’s house to eat, pass out candy, and roast marshmallows. Gavin and the twins loved it! That’s a lie the twins passed out cold after they ate but, I loved dressing them up!
Lincoln still out weights Ameree by a good 4 lbs. Ameree has the saddest cry ever and it’s hard not to rush to pick her up. My brawny boy Lincoln has a very mad cry or a “you just cut my arm off” cry. I love to hold them and make them laugh! They both smile constantly. Linc has a joker like smile while Ameree has an open mouth smile. THEY’RE ADORABLE! Every day I see Lincoln looking more and more like his dad.... who I think is so cute!! Especially when Troy hold him up to his face! Ameree still melts her dad’s heart and I am really worried she will get away with anything. Guess I will have to be the strict parent! Gavin is loving school and soccer, well most days. Troy went hunting a few weeks ago and Gavin was devastated that Troy would even think about going camping without taking him. The whole time Troy was gone Gavin kept telling me “Daddy shouldn’t be gone this long, I miss him!” Every day I would have to tell him how many days until his return. Troy planned to be gone a solid 4 days but to my surprise he retuned at 4 am on day four. He said he missed us too much! I think he missed his kids more then me, but that’s okay!
Well, today the twins are 3 months old. I can’t believe how time flies! They are growing like weeds. Lincoln is almost out of 3 months clothes and Ameree will be in them for a while longer. When one of them is crying the other one will usually sleep through it. Even when Lincoln punches Ameree in the face. She is going to be one tough cookies with two older brothers. Sometimes I take one out of the crib and the other one will notice. I think the sense each other. They both smile a ton and have the cutest smiles. They love their big bother Gavin, and he loves to entertain them. Who would have thought?! I have also started to make Amee’s bows. This is one, because bows are too expensive and two, so that I’m able to have one for every outfit. This is not an easy task for me! I am not very good at it, and tend to get hot glue every where. My wonderful husband thinks I am insane. He doesn’t like bows that cover half of her head, and wants me to make them smaller. I have no idea why he wouldn’t, oversized things have been in since 2000, get on board honey! Needless to say I am trying not to make it look like a growth from my daughter’s head.
In their lifetime they have taken two trips to cooler places. We went to the cabin and the Ethington reunion. My husband has taken several trips too, 3 to be exact. I use the term trip loosely, although he is planning two more hunting trips for the next two months. Please don’t mistake my tally of these vacays to mean I am upset because I’m not, honest :)! No worries, I will take some of mine own, once I am not a slave to my pump! We have been chugging along quite well. Although they take up all of my time the twins are pretty easy babies. They sleep through the night and take good naps. They are cute and happy and I love them!
Gavin is in soccer again but has had to sit out last week because he had pneumonia. I thought he was fine and just had a little cold but I was wrong. The poor kid sounds like he had been hacking up a lung. He is doing much better though, thank heavens. This year Gavin is the luckiest kid on the team, both of his dad’s are his coach. Ryan is the coach and Troy is the assistant coach. He is doing well, and playing his usual defense. I swear that kid is the best goalie. That is Gavin’s strategy and he plays it well.
The Ethington Reunion
On September 5th we blessed Lincoln and Ameree. It was such a special and eventful day! Troy spent most of the morning preparing himself for the blessing. I of course spent most of the morning getting children and myself ready. Which, now becomes a task in itself. There was other blessing that was also taking place that day however we were scheduled to go first. As I am sitting there waiting, I get this overwhelming smell. Yep, Linc decided this would be the perfect time to do me a solid (pun intended). So I run out to change him as fast as possible and happened to walk in right as they were saying okay I guess we will do the other family first. It all worked out and Troy gave two amazing blessings. When Troy held Ameree up at the end of the blessing everyone said she looked like an angel because you couldn’t see Troy’s hand with her puffy dress. I have the cutest kids!!
After the blessing we went over to my parents house for a lunch. I have to first thank my amazing family for having everything put together by the time I got there. It looked so yummy!!! Thank you all so much!! My aunt made cupcakes for the occasion and they were delicious, everything she makes is delicious! While getting everything ready my mother in law and Kristen took some bags of ice to my parents freezer. Unfortunately, my mother in law slipped and did something to her back. So we had to call the ambulance. So that was very eventful, thank you Dr. Vance for helping my mother in law!
It really was such a wonderful day! I love to have all my family around me and appreciate all that they do for us. Thank you so much!
It has already been two months! Time just flies by! Amee (our nickname for Ameree) is 9lbs 1oz, far ahead is Linc at a whopping 11lbs. Who do you think takes after Troy? Lincoln is already rolling over from stomach to back, he has been doing this for about two weeks now. He is ridiculously strong and has to eat all the time. My sweet little girl can go forever without eating. This however is a problem because she is only in the 10th percentile she needs to pack on the pounds. If only someone would tell me that, I would feel a lot better about myself.
They are actually really good babies and sleep usually from 9:30 pm to 6:30 am. Most of time it is Linc who is starving in the morning. My life revolves around changing diapers, pumping, and feeding. I run on a 3 hour clock which just seems to fly by.
Gavin is doing okay in first grade. We have had a little (I use the term lightly) problem talking. Apparently, my kid is tied for first place for talking. I have no idea where he gets his social skills. He is learning to save his stories for the playground (sort of). He is a class clown and loves attention?! No not my kid! I have no idea where he gets it, this is NOT in his genetic make-up! On the bright side the teacher does say what a kind person he is and helpful. A quality that Gavin has always had and one that is most important in my eyes. I love him!!
About a month ago we did a newborn photo shoot and it turned out great. It took about 4 hours, and by the end I was loosing my mind. I also must have lost about 5 pounds of water weight just being there because it felt like a sauna. The photographer told me it helps the babies stay nice and cozy during the shoot. It really did and it was so worth it! I love my kids and loved that Camille was able to capture such precious moments!
