15 months

I cannot believe this boy is already 15 months!

Time flies when you're having fun. And let me tell you, we have fun! 

A few things about Mr. Ethan:

- walk/runs everywhere

- favorite foods are watermelon, banana, apples, pears (really any fruit), string cheese, scrambled eggs, carrots,  oh and cookies, chocolate, ice cream... I try not to give him these everyday... he'll devour an entire chocolate chip cookie in one bite...

- hates milk. Drinks juice and water. Still nursing before bed, but only for another week! 

- loves to be mom's little helper! 

- loves airplanes and points them out in the sky

- loves dogs, ducks and birds

- left handed just like his grandma Shelton. 

- one of his favorite things to do is throw rocks...

- takes one nap a day, anywhere from 1-3 hours. 

- chats all the time. says, mom, dad, dog, ball, bubbles, bird

- loves bubbles! 

- loves balls. He has quite the arm! 

- loves to jump on the bed. It's hilarious and cute

- such a happy, fun energetic boy! He laughs and smiles all the time.

We love you, Ethan!

Motherhood

I had every intention of writing this post before or even on Mother’s Day but that obviously didn’t happen so now will have to do.

Motherhood is something I dreamt about as a little girl. I’m not going to lie I was quite the tomboy; however, I always LOVED playing house. I loved carrying my dolls around, dressing them up, feeding them, taking them to pretend school. I loved playing the game MASH where you image up your future home and family. I remember playing this game with my sisters and then we would all draw our future families and name our kids. 

When Chris and I became pregnant with Collin I was on Cloud 9. I was ecstatic to become what I dreamt of my whole childhood. I was finishing my degree at BYU and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. I would graduate then work for a couple of months before welcoming our precious first born into our home. I remember planning the trips to the park Collin and I were going to take. God had a different plan for our family and our sweet Collin returned to Heavenly Father three short days after he was born. I remember feeling as though motherhood was taken from me. I knew that Collin was still my son and that I was still a mother, although at times it was hard to feel like a ‘real mom.’ 

Fast forward a year when I became pregnant with Ethan. I was thrilled to welcome our second son into our home. I’ll be honest I was a little worried that I would either struggle to love Ethan the way I loved Collin, or that I would love Ethan too much and forget Collin.  Those worries vanished as Ethan let out his first cry. I was overcome with emotion. I remembered Collin’s birth as well as the moment we held him in our arms as he was taking his last breath. I felt my heart grow. 

Collin has blessed our home in so many ways. Even though he isn’t here on earth he is a constant reminder to our family to live worthily so we can be together forever. Collin reminds me to enjoy every moment with Ethan. I’d be lying if I said I never get frustrated when Ethan is fussy or struggling to sleep; however, more often than not I’m reminded of my sweet Collin and how I would give anything to have those frustrating moments with him. 

I may ‘baby’ Ethan too much or not give him enough alone playtime…but I can’t help it. I LOVE being a mom. I love spending all day at the park. I love playing catch with the ball, playing cars, reading books, swimming at the pool, going to the beach. I love that the littlest things I do can make Ethan laugh and laugh and laugh. I love that when he’s hurt or sad he immediately looks for me. I love that he wants me to play with him. I love that while we’re playing he will occasionally lay his head on my lap with a huge smile on his face. 

I learned how to be a mom from the best. I’m sure all of you can vouch for me. If I can be half as good as my mom and mother-in-law then I am set. 

I love that my mom played with me with while growing up. She took me on bike rides up the canyon. She played kickball and kick-the-can with all the kids in the park. She taught me to enjoy life. I remember when my brothers, sisters and I were arguing or complaining she would stick tissues in her ears and start dancing or singing – which made us all laugh. She taught me to work and she worked with me. She taught me to love the gospel of Jesus Christ. She taught me to be a friend to everyone I see. She taught me to serve and to be selfless. 

My mother-in-law is the most selfless women I know. Her whole life is devoted to her kids. She has sacrificed so much for all of her kids, yet it never seems like a sacrifice to her. I am forever grateful for all that she has taught Chris, which has shaped him into who he is today. 

I am in no way the perfect mom. But I know that my love for both of my boys is perfect. I am eternally grateful to be called mom. 

Oh the simple things in life

This boy cracks me up. He thinks mom and dad are the funniest. He'll just about die laughing over the simplest things. 

I am one lucky mom. 

Stomach Flu

My poor baby has been sick with a horrible stomach virus the past couple of days. It breaks my heart to see him suffer so much! He first threw up Sunday night, while we were in Utah for Blake's baby blessing. My brother was sick and he must have caught the bug. He threw up 7 times in the first 3 hours. It was horrible! Thank goodness my mom was there to help. I had no idea what I was doing. I was a diaster. It's not like Ethan told me when he was going to throw up... needless to say there was throw up every where. I did my best to catch it in bowls, toilets, sinks, but my wonderful mom cleaned up a lot of throw up...

We flew home on Monday...I considered delaying my flight but we missed Chris and wanted to get home. He seemed to be doing a little bit better but throwing up on the plane was unavoidable. I tried my best to catch everything in the bag but I think more ended up all over me, him and the ground.

The worst part of it all is he has been SO thirsty! The nurses told me to just give him little amounts every 5 minutes. He would cry and cry when I wouldn't give him more. He would bring me water bottles he found, hold them out to me and cry. I thought Monday morning he was feeling better so I let him drink a sippy cup full of Pedialyte and within minutes it was all over his high chair.

After throwing up 13 times, he is thankfully on the mend.

 Oh and here is a picture of my beautiful sister and her cute family on Blake's blessing day. Sorry Meg, I only took one picture and it looks like I passed the eyes-closed-during-pictures curse to you...

Cancun!

We just got back from a Lindley family vacation to Cancun! And let me tell you, it was heaven! - especially for Ethan. When we came home he took one walk around the apartment and burst into tears, grant it he was tired and wanted me to hold him, but I think he was disappointed to be away from the beach.

We had a bit of a scare the day before the trip that involved Ethan breaking out in a rash, me taking him to insta care and the doctor telling me he had chicken pox and I should cancel the trip. Well, thankfully we listened to our instincts (instead of the doctor) and talked to my family, and we all decided that we would go on the trip anyways and keep him under quarantine if need be. Well once we arrived in Mexico his rash had significantly improved and by the next day it was essentially gone.  He had his 1 year MMR vacine shot a week and a half before the trip and I'm fairly confident it was a reaction to that rather than chicken pox...but I guess I'm not a doctor so who knows. Anyways...we made it on the trip. 

While in Cancun, Ethan enjoyed precious cousin bonding time with Ava and Blake. He enjoyed playing in the sand and warm beaches. He enjoyed splashing in the pool and napping in the sun. He enjoyed walking through the Tulum ruins and playing with the rocks, although he didn't enjoy mom and dad trying to hold him so they could listen to the tour guide. He didn't really enjoy wearing a life jacket on the Catamaran boat or the long dinners each night, when he would rather be running around the restaurant or playing in the pool.  He definitely didn't enjoy sitting on mom or dad's lap during the long plane rides to and from Cancun (however, we can't complain too much, he did as well as could be expected). He definitely enjoyed all the attention from grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles. 

Chris and I enjoyed spending time together and with my family. We are so lucky that Chris was able to come on the trip, as he has been busy with this big deal at work. We enjoyed swimming with the dolphins and 'walking' under water with the sting rays in Xel Ha. We enjoyed snorkeling off the Catamaran boat and playing beach volleyball, woofle ball, tennis and golf (Chris) with the family. We enjoyed the beaches and the pool and most of all just being together with everyone. We did miss Devin, who is serving his mission in Taiwan.

We had a blast!
And now for pictures, in no particular order - I'm sure there is more than you ever wanted to see...enjoy
thanks to Erica and Coleman for taking great pictures! 

Blake

Ava

Ethan

Ethan turned one!

Ethan turned one on the 21st of February. His birthday celebrations lasted for weeks! We are setting the bar high for future birthdays... Ethan and I spent two weeks in Utah to help 'babysit' my siblings while my parents were in Australia. Chris met us there this past weekend and we were able to celebrate Ethan's birthday with both of our families. He is one spoiled little guy! I don't think he felt too bad about all the celebrations. He LOVED the cake and LOVED the ice cream even more.

He had his one year check up today. He is one tough dude! He had to get 4 shots and only cried while he was getting them, he immediately stopped as soon as I picked him up.
Stats:
Height - 30 inches 50th percentile
Weight - 21 pounds 45th percentile
Head - 85th percentile...

A few fun facts about Ethan at one:
- He is walking! He is getting better every day. He'll walk across the room but if he falls he defaults to crawling.
- He loves to be on the move. ALWAYS. Keeps mom on her toes.
- He is a great eater. Will eat anything we eat. Favorite foods include: blueberries, bananas, oranges, pears (basically any fruit), pancakes, scrambled eggs, avocado, and ice cream
- He still LOVES the park, dogs, balls and trucks.
- He is such a social little guy. He loves friends!
- He holds his mouth open wide when he is focused on something. Funny guy.
- He is strong! He has an incredible grip. It's hard to pry something from his fingers.
- He is FINALLY sleeping through the night. Thank goodness!
- He has 8 teeth with more on their way
- He uses his little pointer finger to point at everything and is getting the hang of waving hello and goodbye.
- He is such a happy little boy. Always smiling.

We love Ethan so much and are so blessed to have him in our family!

Sorry, if you follow me on instagram you've already seen all these pictures : )