His first Shinner!

I am sure this will not be the last shinner my little boy gets. As Ryan said, "Kerri this is only the first of many."

It was Monday January 26th and we had finished family night and were all on the floor playing. Hollie and Ethan were being so cute and Ryan and I were just enjoying ourselves watching our kids be absolutely adorable, when Mr. Ethan decided to walk around the coffee table and somehow trip and fall; hitting his head on the coffee table and cutting it open. I jumped up as fast as I could, which as we know we can never move fast enough when something is wrong, and I went and picked him up and his forehead, just above his eyebrow, was bleeding. We ran into the kitchen, put a cold towel on it and applied pressure for a few minutes. He layed his head on my shoulder and Ryan looked at the cut. It didn't look deep enough for stitches so Ryan went and got his firstaid kit and butterflied it. Within 10 minutes Ethan was up walking around, playing like nothing ever happened. I couldn't believe it! He is one tough kid. He never touched the bandage and from then on acted like nothing had ever happened. Gotta Love it!

My adorable daughter

I just have to post about my sweet Hollie. This little girl is my sweet angel. I love her so much and am so grateful that she came to our family. I couldn't imagine life without her. Yes, she definetly tests me and gives me a run for it, but I wouldn't trade it for the world. She has taught me more than I ever thought I would ever be able to learn from a little girl I call my daughter. She brightens each and every day. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the moments she comes up to me and says, "hold you mom 10 minutes". I just melt and cuddle her up for the 10 minutes. I love spending time with her and doing "girly" things, it's the best. Yes, she doesn't wear hairbows, but that's okay. She loves to wear necklaces and braceletes and get her hair done when she wants to. I definetly take advantage of those moments. She will never know the joy that her sweet little spirit brought to Ryan and I almost 3 years ago. (wow, does time fly) February 18 will be 3 years that our amazing birthmother contacted us and told us she was looking at us to be parents of her precious baby girl. That day, that email I will never forget. I could tell you where we were at, where I was sitting, the weather, those that were around, every possible detail, it was simply amazing and very nerveracking all at the same time. So many emotions coming at all directions. I am so grateful for how things turned out and that through the miracle of adoption our sweet Hollie was able to come into our family. I am so grateful for her and for the person that she has made me since she has been here on earth. I love her with all my heart and she truly is our Princess.

Only in Arizona!!

Remind me again what month it is? If my calendar is right it is the middle of January. I first apologize to all of you who are back East and freezing while we are here in Arizona wondering where our winter is. Here are some of our activities from Monday.

It started out at the park with a bunch of ladies and kids from our ward. Hollie loved playing with her friends and Ethan enjoyed crawling/walking around and playing in the sand.

Being outside was what we did all day. It was so warm that even I, in the middle of January, went and put shorts and a short sleve shirt on.

The neighborhood kids were out and it seemed as though they ended up at our house. They wanted to play in the water, so they decided to wash my car for me, thanks guys.

My sweet baby girl even wanted to participate and she did a great job!

And then we were off to the backyard to play in the splashpad and eat popsicles. What!?! In the middle of January, that is what we do in the summer. I have to say the kids all had a blast and the water was cold, I thought.

Although it was out of the norm, we had a great day and LOTS of fun.

He is only 10 1/2 months!

My baby Ethan is growing way to fast for me. I so want him to stay little but at the same time I want him to grow and achieve all the milestones, learn and turn into a boy. Oh my goodness, what does a mom do? Well, I take in every moment I can and treasure the times he wants me to hold him and cuddle him, I help him learn how to do new things, I sing to him and read him books. I guess all I can do is ENJOY him LOTS now before this moment in time passes.

Gotta LOVE that CUTE face

As I have been watching him grow and develop he is starting to get busier and busier by the moment. Everyday he is discovering something new he can do and something new he can get into. He amazes me. His adorable sister was NEVER as busy as he is at 10 1/2 months!! He has the walking thing down and is getting very fast. He loves getting into cupboards, pulling everything out and making LOTS of noise. He has just figured out how to climb UP on things. Yesterday I found him up on our fireplace, he climbs up under our coffee table, he climbed inside of a drawer in our entertainment center, he is starting to climb on everything and I know from talking to friends that this is just what boys do, Holy Cow!! My little guy is only 10 1/2 months and is doing all this. He is going to be climbing up on top of the entertainment center before I know it. Ethan LOVES being outside crawling, walking and swinging. Rocks and sand have become a favorite of his. He enjoys the freedom he has outside and as long as mom is there he can roam where he wants as long as it's safe. He LOVES making messes and pulling things down. Hollie has a cute little table in her room and a flower pot with (fake) flowers sits on top of it and Ethan loves knocking it over, watching it fall and making a mess. (yes we have sinced moved it to a different location, up high) Once that's done he is quickly onto the next thing. Hollie get's a little bit frustrated with him, and she is slowly learning that we need to teach him not to touch things and help him learn. This is a learning experience for ALL of us and now I know why I don't get much done, but that's the JOY of being a mommy and I so excited I get to experience it!!

Here is our adorable busy little boy

Crazy Boy Hair

Resting after a busy day with dad

What I couldn't live without!!

Trying to find a good spot cleaner is not the easiest task. I feel I have tried so many and none of them seem to do the job until I found WOOLITE OXY DEEP. Can I just say this stuff is AMAZING!! It cleans anything and everything.
I really put it to the test last week when we were sitting watching American Idol and I, not being very smart, brought apple-CRANBERRY juice in the family room. So, the kids can't drink anything but water in there and why does that rule not apply to me? Not sure, maybe because I am the mom. Well, the rule applies now. I setmy juice on the table, far enough away from the edge (and out of Ethan's reach), I thought. Until Ethan came with his fast body and super FAST hands and grabbed my juice and there I watch in slow motion as it goes splat onto my carpet. I sat there in awe for a moment, mad at myself and thinking here I worry about the kids making a mess and the one who I really need to worry about is ME!! Ryan jumped up and got towels, I started to clean it up as best as I could and there was this nice purplish red color on my carpet. I shook my head and thought what on earth will get CRANBERRY juice out? I went and grabbed my Woolite Oxy Deep and sprayed, about the whole bottle, on the spot and let it sit for quite sometime. I came back and started to scrub it and the color was gone!!! What I couldn't believe it!! I told Ryan we have to go buy lots more of this, not for the kids, but for me. We both laughed. My cranberry stain is gone and I thank whoever it is that came up with this wonderful product. Thank you Thank you. My husband is so grateful too because it prolongs the expense of getting new carpet. Hooray!!!

Our Trip to Utah and Christmas

Finally I am getting around to posting pictures for our Christmas in Utah. We had a blast and it was a FABULOUS 2 weeks!!
We went to the Temple lights at the Salt Lake Temple the Sunday before Christmas and it was beautiful!! We also went sledding on an actual sleigh pulled by horses at the Homestead in Heber and that was a blast and very calming. I am very sad to say that due to my lack of trying to learn how to use my new camera I accidentally erased ALL those pictures, but atleast we have the memories, right? It was a very sad and frustrating moment but atleast it wasn't Christmas Day.
Now, on with all our fun activities that I do have pictures for.

Tubing in Heber. After Hollie throwing a huge fit to get her snow outfit on, she finally made it to the slops and was excited to go tubing. I wasn't sure how she was going to do in her own tube, but she LOVED it and we couldn't get her out. It was so cute and she loves going fast. As for Ethan, he hung out in the nice warm lodge, by the fireplace, with my dad and Brookie. I will admit it was tempting to sit with them because it was FREEZING outside, but I enjoyed watching everyone tube down the mountain.
Christmas Eve. We were up at the cabin in Heber with the Skousen family. All I can say is that we had a blast. We listened to the story of the Polar Express, did our own Nativity, and sang Christams songs while my dad and Tyler played the guitar. It was great!! Hollie and Ethan had their matching Christmas jammies and were told that Santa would only come if they had on their "special" jammies, it was cute. Hollie was so excited about Santa and prayed every night that Santa would come and bring her presents.
Christmas morning. The long awaited morning finally came and after we were all worried Santa wouldn't find us because we weren't at our homes, it was good to see that he did. Boy, we must have ALL been good this year because I think we all got what we asked for. It was a wonderful Christmas morning and enjoyed being with our family. After opening presents we were on our way to the Homestead for a yummy brunch. We filled up on lots of food, went back to the cabin and the girls/kids took naps while the men went off-roading in the snow. It was a wondeful day and we LOVED being with our family.
Hollie got a hairstyling kit for Christmas and she LOVES doing hair. Now she can curl and blow dry it without cords attached, just batteries....Hooray!!!! Daddy is a very good sport.

Ryan and Hollie built the cutest snowman and Hollie was very proud to show him off. "Snowman so cute mommy," she would say. What a cute girl.
New Years Eve we spent at my aunts house and enjoyed relaxing and watching the guys play golf on the wii, let's just say it was very entertaining. Ethan was showing off his new steps, walking, and Hollie and cousin Stockton, were having a blast together and just being so cute!
Hollie LOVED the snow and LOVED sledding with daddy. Don't mind Ryan in his shorts, he is CRAZY. It was freezing cold outside, people are bundled in jackets and pants and here is my cute husband wearing shorts!! Oh my goodness.

Ethan all bundled....He is such a cutie!

Our Two cute kiddos

It was a great two weeks and we LOVED being our family!!

Owen Raymond Cowles

Here are the NEW PROUD PARENTS of Mr. Owen Cowles!!

Mr. Owen Raymond Cowles arrived on Tuedsay January 13 at 2:55pm. Weighing in at 7lbs 14oz and 20 inches long. We are so excited that his very much anticipated arrival has come. Brookie and KC are doing fantastic and are loving little Owen up. You can truly hear the joy of a little baby in their voices, it's so cool.
We are so anxious to meet this little guy and very excited to have a little cousin/nephew. Our sweet Hollie has been keeping Owen in her prayers and it's too cute!!

Congrats KC and Brookie we love you!!! Welcome to the world of being a mommy and daddy and ALL the wonderful joys that come with it. "Hold on tight it's a wild ride" as Mr. Toad puts it. Lots and Lots of Love sent to you from Arizona.

WELCOME Baby OWEN!! We love you and can't wait to meet you. See you soon!!!

The month of December

Wow, I am so bad at keeping my blog up to date. Here are a few things that occured in the month of December.

PUTTING UP THE TREE

It was the Sunday after Thanksgiving and we decided it was time to put up the tree. Hollie and daddy did a great job at putting our "artificial pre-lit" tree up. While they were busy putting the tree up Ethan decided that he was going to lay on the floor and take a nap. It was so cute. He was laying there playing and next thing we know he is sound asleep. We had Hollie lay next to him, very carefully, and wanted to see the difference between the both of them. All we could say was, we have 2 VERY cute kids.

Later that evening we decorated the tree and Hollie was a great helper and did a great job at decorating her half of the tree. Only half of our tree could be decorated this year because of a busy little boy whose name is Ethan LOVES to get into and touch EVERYTHING!!! It was very much a kid proof tree and it still was pretty and cute.SANTA

Our ward had a ward Christmas breakfast with Santa and it was so much fun. The food was VERY YUMMY with all our favorites for Breakfast. After breakfast Santa came and the kids went crazy. Hollie was excited to look at him, but didn't know what to actually think of him. She sat on his lap and did a great job. She may not look happy, but, Hey, she is NOT screaming...Hooray!!!

While kids were busy saying "hi" to Santa and telling him what they want Bishop had a big suprise for them when they were finished. At the other end of the cultural hall were two huge jump houses!!! One for the big kids and one for the little ones. Everyone had a blast and big "thanks" to Bishop.
HOLLIE

Oh, my sweet Hollie. She is one funny girl. She was given a moses basket when she was just a baby and she would take naps in it. Well, lately we have used it as a bed for her dolls and stuffed animals. One afternoon she was taking a nap and I went to check on her and I found her sleeping in her moses basket. I started laughing so hard and ran to get my camera. I asked myself, How does this big little body curl up and fit in here? Well, she did and covered herself with LOTS of blankets.

The next morning we woke up and like always I go check on the kids and here I find her curled up in her moses basket again!! I don't know how long she slept in there, but she must have been pretty comfortable. My cute girl, I just LOVE her to pieces.

COWLES FAMILY CHRISTMAS PARTY

This has been a tradition that my mom started many many years ago. And the coolest part is is when she passed away the tradition still continued. It used to be my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, second cousins it has always been a big deal. Now it is our family, my cousins here in Arizona and my aunt and uncle. One of the traditions is that my dad plays the guitar. I don't hear him play very often and when I do it is such a treat. He LOVES playing and played lots when my mom was here and it brings back many memories when I hear him play. Thanks dad. It is still lots of fun and the tradition of singing the 12 days of Christmas still goes on. My grandpa Cowles always had the "5 golden rings" and it was "His Part" the best part of the song. Sometimes he would say 5 roast beef sandwiches, just to be funny. There are always cazoos present and bells and lots and lots of loud voices. It was fun to be able to have it at my house this year, it was the first year we got to host it. My kids loved it and we all had so much fun. We can't wait for next year.

And I don't even know what to say here except for, oh my goodness gracious!!

He's on the WAY!!!!!!

As some may know my brother, KC, and his wife, Brookie, are expecting their first little baby, a boy!! Let me first say I am SOOOO excited!!! Well, it is looking like this little guy is going to make his grand presence a little bit earlier than expected. He is only going to be 2 1/2 weeks early if he comes by tomorrow. I just talked to my brother and he said that there are a few signs and that Brookie's contractions are about 11 minutes apart...WAHOO!!!! Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that they are in Utah and I am here in Arizona. I wish I could be there so bad, but I know that I have a family I need to be with and two adorable little kiddos that need their mom. Thank goodness we have a trip planned to Utah for the end of the month and we will get to meet our new nephew/cousin.
I cannot believe my little brother is going to be a daddy. Wow. I couldn't be more excited for him and Brookie. It seems like yesterday that he was this cute little and may I add CHUBBY boy and now he is this grown man and becoming a daddy. Where does time go? They both are going to be wonderful parents. This little guy is one lucky boy to be coming into such a great family. I know how excited Brookie's family is because this is the first grandbaby for them and I know they are all bursting with joy and excitement too. Many happy moments ahead and as soon as he is born I will post some pictures. Oh, I just can't wait.

Re-cap of the last month

Wow, where has time gone? Christmas has come and gone and it's now 2009, oh my goodness!!
Let me give a quick re-cap of the last month.

• Ethan turned 9 months and needed to get an MRI because his head measures above the 100 percentile! Thank goodness the MRI came back normal. Our pediatrician said, he just has a Charlie Brown head. As you can see he continues to keep us on our toes.
• Christmas Shopping and more Christmas Shopping.
• Christmas Party's
• Hollie enjoyed sitting on Santa Clause' lap. Hooray....last year was quite the experience.
• Papa Cowles and Janene's "sleigh" arrived 2 weeks before Christmas and that was LOTS of fun.
• The Cowles Family Christmas Party!!! Always fun and loud due to all the singing and kazoos!! (thanks Janene for a GREAT Turkey!)
• Packed the car and brought Christmas to Utah this year for 2 weeks and it was a BLAST!! Pictures to come soon. We just got a new computer and are in the middle of transfering stuff.
• Ethan starting to WALK the day before Christmas... oh goodness, I don't think I am ready for this.
• Ethan keeping us on our toes once again with a week of diahrea diapers (about 10 a day). Yes, can you say HOLY COW!! This started 2 days before we left for Utah and it just got worse as time went on. His poor bottom just made me cry every time I changed his diaper. The doctors said it was a virus and to let it run its course. Are you kidding me, I said. So, we decided to give him a blessing and switched his formula to Soy. He is doing much better now and is still on Soy.
• Our Birthmom went through the Temple and was married on December 27. We are so excited for her and the new chapter she is opening in her life. She has made great decisions and found a young man who loves her unconditionally and that is all we can ask for.
• Christmas Day was fantastic!! Santa brought Hollie a Princess Kitchen and Ethan a Leap Frog ride on train. Santa spoiled me too, I might add. And Mrs. Clause was very nice to Santa. It was a great Christmas and we were so lucky to be with all our family and the Skousen Family (my sister-in-law's family). It was great and SOOO much fun. Pictures soon.
• Ryan turned 33 and now calls himself "an old fart". He doesn't look a day over 25.
• Well, I think that sums up our December. Now here we are into a new year with LOTS of New Years Resolutions, goals and many more fun memories ahead. Lets GO!!!!