Another special visit from grandparents!

The two weeks that grandma and grandpa came, were really full! We had a dedication or two, I was in a wedding for a very good friend, we had lots of outings and even the Franks came to see us. It never fails, no matter how tired, stressed, or crying, this little man cheers up the minute you put him on his changing table!
Have any of you ever heard of The Funky Griddle? It is located on Brandsford Ave, just past the my parents store...The Beaded Bungalow. They have hot plates in the center of your table where you cook your own pancakes and eggs. They have all these different toppings and it is yummy! It was a little hot in there, but loved it! That is where we are, in the picture below. All the grandparents met us there for a very filling breakfast. Is this not the sweetest shot of dad with his grandson? We had to take Terje and Berit to Cracker Barrel for their last meal before catching a flight. Otherwise, it would be like they never came to the south. If you look closely at this picture, Bob and Sally Anderson are sitting behind us (For those of you who know them from church).It took three generations to truly define handsome!

Sad goodbye's are only soothed by sweet hello's. Till we meet agian. Tusen Takk for at dere kom

Ethan's dedication day!

This truly was one of the best days of my life and for little Ethan it definitely had to be THE BEST DAY of his 121 days so far! The Lord was so gracious and his presence was so thick. He did not spare us one ounce of his goodness. I was very unsure of what this day would hold. I had never been to a baby dedication so i didn't know what it should look like. I was really struggling to feel like i had heard from God about it. I also, really felt awful because i had nothing to offer at my own babies dedication. I had not realized, that was God's plan and his very best for this little guy. It really all came from him. It was a day the Lord had set aside to celebrate his billionth creation, to call him his very own son. As we gave Him a day, He gave us His heart. He wanted to use this day to ask Ethan to come away with Him forever to discover just how big His heart is and to know His goodness! Jon David and I went up to a beautiful mountain to dedicate Ethan. It was a very hot and sunny day. He was naked most of the time due to the heat. Later we dressed him when the family came in a gown that many generations had worn in Norway before him. During our time alone we prayed so many things over him. Jon David is the one who held him the whole time and lifted him up to the Lord and dedicated him. IT WAS AMAZING! I wish i had a picture of any of that.
We had all the grandparents there. Jon David's parents came all the way from Norway. We also had the franks there. We had asked them to be Ethan's Godparents and they flew in just for that day! In our time everyone anointed him with oil as they laid hands and prayed over him.
Everyone got to share something special that the Lord had given them. Here his grandparents are singing the most beautiful song in Norwegian over Ethan. It was translated for all of us and it truly had the most powerful words in it. My parents shared so much of what God had already told Jon David and I earlier that day. They even spoke about children being arrows, having no idea that we had archery planned as a surprise part of our days events and Jon David was reading from that very scripture!

At the end,the grandfathers shot an arrow on our behalf's toward parenthood as Psalm 127:3-5 was read allowed. Then Jon David shot one for baby Ethan. It was so cool. It was small and intimate and absolutely beautiful. Thanks for letting us share in the best day of Ethan's little life so far. We wish you could have all been there, and this is the best way to do that.

grabbing and holding...

Ethan has just started grabbing things and putting them into his mouth! He loves this swing so much i made my mom bring it over from her house and give it to me! He loves to bat at the bear because it will make a funny sound if he hits it just right. So, he concentrates really hard, aims for the bear and then strikes! It is so amusing we could sit and watch him hours!
This is fast becoming Ethan's first best mate! If he is anything like his mom or aunt Jessica, the bear is soon to find an ear or two chewed off! Never the less, Elizabeth, we will always remember you picked out his favorite toy! oh, i need to put one of your famous and beautiful cakes on my blog! She does the most amazing cakes you have ever seen!!!!! i will prove it later.
These days have been so very special. Ethan is talking like crazy and makes us laugh every day! I wish so much i could frame him in this special time to keep forever. This weekend his grandparents from Norway are coming to visit again and we are so excited. They are so awesome and just can't imagine staying away longer than three months. We have a lot to look forward to while they are here...We are having a private ceremony with just the family to dedicate Ethan and then we will do one at church as well. Then i am in a wedding and we have our Bradley class reunion (now that all the babies are born). So much to do in so little time. Looking forward to it all!

More fun at the beach

Julianna, Sally and Isabella with little Snow Baby
A Jon David sportin a little Bay Watch jive! Hee Hee
Does this baby even look like mine, let alone 3 months old. He could be a year or more old in this picture. He seems so clean cut...can't be mine,, oh yeah, he came from Jon David too!

The days at the beach, mmmmmmmm.

The Franks were so much fun and Ethan would always sleep well in Sally's arms!
Baby snow wouldn't get in so, we had to show him how much fun it was!
A Family of happy feet in the sand...
It took us the whole week to get him in the sand and water. This was five minutes before we left for good. He loved it!
Little Ethan hangin with the magster!

We just had to share with you some of our good times in Virginia with the Franks and Maggie ( who got to visit at the same time)! We love them so and are so excited every time we get to see them. Traveling with a baby was a huge experience. He seems to love to fly. Enjoyed the flight with him a lot. He slept well there but did wake up every night around 4 am and hasn't slept as long since. On the other hand, he went to so many places and was a real trooper. He must be like his mamma, loves people, new places and lots of activity around him. Traveling home was horrific the first day. We drove back with a new car! Funny, i don't have a picture of that. Anyways, he cried the whole first half of our drive (almost 5 hours). So, we had to stop and get a hotel room. I am soooo sorry i don't have a picture of him lying on his own queen size bed surrounded by pillows and living like a prince! It was so adorable! The next day he was definitely tired from the long hours of tear shedding from the day before and was totally out for the rest of the day (another 5 hours). Only to cry for the rest of the evening when we got home. So, he doesn't seem to like to travel by car! He did so great though, over all and we are really proud of him!

First family vacation!

We just took our very first family vacation and We are so excited! Yesterday morning we flew out for Norfolk, Virginia to visit some of the coolest friends ever...THE FRANKS! It seems as though we have a traveler on our hands. He was so good and so happy and never cried the whole flight. We even took off twice and landed twice and he was never bothered. I love it! He is such a dream baby and so endearing, for sure! It was too bad that the pilot offered for us to get to go into the pilot cabin and take pictures and our camera's battery died...of course! We did manage to get a couple.

Oh, by the way, i cut all my hair off. Not even remotely the cut i asked for. Some of you are thinking that happens to me alot...it is true! I love it short though so, i kinda don't care.

I just love my little prince. He has captured my heart in a way that i truely never could have imagined! I love that i get to spend all my days with him. Loving him, watching him develope and grow into a little man. Now, Jon david is so thrilled to ge to take a whole week to be with his family and son, all day every day!

catch up with you later!

Thank heaven for girl time!

Today, was a great day for me! I had mommy time, (never thought I would say that...feels kinda weird) and wonderful conversations with some dear friends. It was surreal to find it all wrapped up in a blog i read at the end of the day from a friend of mine. Good job Lori! You totally nailed it on your "speaking of addictions" and "choices". Thanks for sharing. If you want to check it out go to www.herroyalexcitedness. on my blog list.
So, i am constantly trying to figure out how i want to use this blog spot. Is it for snow or for me or for the three of us? Seeing as how snow can't write yet, and Jon David hardly has the time and never looks at it until i put it in his face...I guess it is already mostly meeting my needs and i should use it to share and journal. the only problem is that by the time i get to it i have nothing to say because the day is just a replay of the day before and all my mind is mush. I never seem to have any deep thoughts anymore, and isn't a journal for deep thoughts. It always has been, anyways.
All i think about and all i see is little Ethan. (Some of you are asking me if we are calling him Ethan or snow. Well, as you can see it is both. He is such an Ethan to me and he is my little snow bug! ) I watched most of my friends get lost in motherhood and all there was in life was their baby or child. Their smile, cute sayings, funny things they did, bad habits or behaviors, how to redirect them or not get into a bad habit as a parent, co-sleeping, not co-sleeping, etc. "Surely, they realize there is more to life than their little bundle of joy", I would think. Well, here i am, and NO!!!!!!! Here is nothing more. Well, there is, but yeah all i see is the end of my nose and it is pushed up (or smashed up) so far in my face by my babies needs that i have simply lost my panoramic view. And honestly, it is a relief at times. I am no longer responsible for anyone else but this baby. At least for a while. Not that i am not responsible to recycle or love my husband or think of others, but you know what i mean. Anyways, i realized this and it bothered me to now be that girl, as much as it is making me feel like the saying, " you don't know till you get there" is laughing in my face and teasing me.
So, i did something about it and i got out and saw the world again with out the baby. On Saturday night i went out dancing with my husband and we tried to swing dance after like a years break. It just made me crazy inside. I missed it so much and didn't even have the ability to notice and i am burning to take classes again so we can be as good if not better than before. so, that is exciting to look forward to! Wednesday, i got to have some girl time at my house with take out and wine...woo hoo! Then on Thursday morning i got to go to my yoga class...EXCELLENT! Today, I met friends for coffee (that was with snow, and it wasn't as hard as i thought is would be) and I had lunch with a different friend. All thanks, to my wonderful husband and Snows loving grandparents! And to end the day i get to go to a friends house for dinner. All in a days work! Girls, Girls, Girls ROCK! And i am loving their company.
Thank heaven for Girls!