Sharp Family

One Determined Kid

2010-11-06T20:11:00.000-07:00

Ethan is in a cast from his waist to his toe, but he is determined to be independant. Today, he decided that he wanted to go downstairs and he didn't want to wait for help, so he went down all by himself. Then he came back up the stairs (we didn't catch this on video) and crawled over to our coffee table and himself to a standing position. It's funny, it feels like it did when he was a baby and we got all excited for every little thing he learned to do. Now we got so excited when he learned to roll himself over, then he learned to scoot around a little bit by using his arms and one good leg, and now this. Nothing is going to stop this kid!!!

(Disclaimer:Ethan looks like he is going to his Julia at the end of this video, but he is really just reaching for the table.)

Check out the smile at the end of this video. He feelings of triumph are obvious.

Grandpa Gifford's Birthday

2010-11-06T13:38:00.001-07:00

I have discovered a new talent. I have had a lot of fun decorating cakes this year. This is the latest cake that a made for my Dad's birthday. I made two cake mixes in loaf pans in order to make the large boat. The two whales and the smaller boat were carved out of the scraps left over from the big boat. The crap, octopus and all the boat decorations are made from toostie rolls of various flavors, just molded into their shapes. The life preserver is a vanilla tootsie roll rolled out then made into a circle with red vine strips for the stripes. The ocean is blue jello broken up and spread around. I also have swedish fish in the jello to look like fish swimming in the ocean. The sails are attached with regular wooden skewers. I had a lot of fun and my Dad really liked it!

Halloween 2010

2010-11-06T13:09:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun this year with halloween. Julia was a pumpkin and Ethan was Frankenstein. We carved some pumpkins for FHE the Monday before Halloween. On Saturday, we went trick or treating to Grandma & Grandpa Gifford's house & Uncle Glen and Aunt Diane's then on to our ward's trunk or treat. The kids got way too much candy, but had a lot of fun. Julia really thought it was fun to get to ride in Ethan's wheel chair with him. Both of them loved all the free candy. Julia even figured out how to unwrap the wrappers all by herself.

Shawn's Graduation

2010-11-06T12:45:00.000-07:00

Shawn graduated as a veterinarian assistant on October 8, 2010. It was a very nice program and we are all really proud of all of Shawn's hard work. Shawn loved working with the animals, especially with the cows. He is hoping now that he is graduated he will be able to find a job where will be able to work with large animals. Hopefully he find something that he will really likes.

Ethan Broke His Leg

2010-11-06T12:27:00.001-07:00

On October 19th, Ethan was climbing out of the tub and slipped, resulting in a broken femur. We learned that we had one tough kid. He had to ride in an ambulance to the hospital. They could tell right away that his leg was broken because you could see the bone pushing the skin out on one side. They gave Ethan some medicine that was supposed to make him go to sleep so they could take x-rays without tramatizing him any further. He resisted sleep, however, and stayed awake the entire time. Once they learned what kind of break it was, we were transported in another ambulance to Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma where they have surgeons who specialize in these kinds of breaks with children. Once there, Ethan was given some morphine so he would be comfortable for the night and was scheduled for surgery the next morning. The surgery to set his leg went well and they put him in a bright green cast (he chose the color himself) that goes from his right toes all the way up to his rib cage. Everything about this ordeal was extremely scary for Ethan, but he was so brave and did better than most of us as adults would have done.

Now that he is home, he is busily figuring out ways to get himself around and do the things that he wants to with or without our help. We were given a wheel chair for him and Julia likes to push him around in it (although we really have to watch her carefully as she doesn't seem to feel the need to steer). Ethan has figured out how to scoot himself around by using his arms and his good leg. He was really pround of himself last night when he figured out how to get himself from one couch to the next without having us move him. Anyway, he's a tough kid with a pretty good attitude about things (all things considered). He should be able to get his cast off on December 7th.

Julia Turns One!

2010-08-06T13:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that Julia is already 1 year old. I's amazing how time flies. She is growing like crazy and is learning to do so much. At her 1 year well child we found out that she is in the 78th percentile for her height, but only the 23rd for her weight. In fact, she is going to have to stay in her rear-facing car seat for awhile still because she doesn't weigh enough to be in the forward facing one. She is starting to say a lot of different words. She does a lot of imitating us, especially Ethan. She is becoming very adventurous. She has become quite the climber.

On Julia's actual birthday, we went up to Mt. Rainier. Jennifer and her new husband, Isaias were here and wanted to visit the mountain. So, we bought some raspberry zingers and put a candle in one for her birthday cake. Then the next day we had a little party for her with a real cake.

1st Summer Outing-Ocean Shores

2010-06-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to do something fun!!! This year has been so crazy busy that it seems like we are always racing to get just the absolute essentials done. But, last Saturday (June11th) we got to go to Oceans Shores for the day with Grandma & Grandpa Gifford. We started the day by watching the Flag Day parade. My Dad's school band was marching in it, so it was fun for the kids to get to see "Grandpa's band" and all the other fun floats. Ethan loved it too because everyone kept throwing candy at him. His pockets got so full that we had to try to convince him to let someone else hold onto some of it. He absolutely wouldn't let Mom or Dad hold it, but he finally let Grandma put some in her pocket.

After the parade we went to the ocean to play in the sand. Ethan and Julia loved digging in the sand and playing with their new sand toys that we bought for the trip. Shawn was the only one brave enough to actually go swimming in the ocean. It was sunny that day, but even out of the water it was pretty cold and the water was even colder.

Fun Pics

2010-05-16T18:05:00.001-07:00

Ethan playing with his friend Abby at the Supermall.

Ethan climbing to the top of Mt. Rainier. He's such an accomplished climber, and at such a young age!

Julia playing with the water snake at the Supermall.

Both Ethan and Julia have so much fun playing in the playground Shawn & Grandpa Gifford made last summer. Ethan mastered the climbing wall right away, but he just now starting to be brave enough to go down the slide by himself. (It is surprisingly fast for such short slide.)

Julia's favorite part of the toy is the swing. She smiles and laughs for as long as you are willing to push her. She's even more adorable with her cast on because she just pumps that one leg as fast as she can as she swings.

Julia is just too cute!

Ethan loves to work outside in the garden. He's all boy, meaning it's just not fun if you don't get dirty.

Julia enjoyed hanging out in her exersaucer watching the rest of us work.

Easter 2010

2010-05-16T16:31:00.001-07:00

Grandma & Grandpa Gifford's Annual Easter Egg Hunt - April 10, 2010

Ethan knew what to do this year. He figures out real that there were yummy treats inside each egg and that he wanted to find as many as possible. He had a lot of fun searching for eggs.

Julia, of course was a little young to really find the eggs, but if you set her down near one, she was quick to pick it up and try to chew on it. Mostly, she was quite content with watching everyone else.

Here is Ethan showing off all of the eggs he found.

Ali made a fun Easter Bunny Cake.

Easter Morning at the Sharp's House - April 11, 2010
Ethan showing off some Easter Eggs that he found around the house. Julia found some too.

Coloring Easter Eggs

We decided that coloring eggs with Ethan might be a very messy activity, so we stripped him down to just his diaper and let him go to town. He had a lot of fun and most of the eggs actually turned out looking pretty good.

Ethan and Julia hunting eggs in our own backyard.

Ethan's New Toy

2010-05-16T16:14:00.001-07:00

Our neighbors are moving and trying to clear out a bunch of their things. Here is a toy that they bought at an antique shop, for their grandkids to play with, but they aren't going to take it with them. So, they offered it to us, thinking that Ethan was about the right size for it. It's a little rusty and needs just a little work for it to work properly, but Ethan loves it.

Julia Broke Her Leg

2010-05-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

Julia has been getting very adventurous. She is crawling all over and getting into everything! On Friday, April 23rd, Shawn had her sitting in her exersaucer while he was working on homework. Julia, little miss smartie pants, figured out how to climb out of it. The only problem was that when she came down the other side, her foot got caught and twisted, breaking her leg. The break is what is called a spiral fracture, which goes most of the length from her ankle to her knee. As sad as this all is, she looks darn cute in that little pink cast. And honestly, it really hasn't slown her down much. She is now figuring out stairs and walking along while holding onto things, etc. I'm a little nervous for what she'll be able to do once that cast comes off (it's supposed to come off May 20th.)

Summer Recap

2009-11-13T22:37:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I have been a horrible blogger lately. Life has been so crazy that I decided that I needed to just do a summer recap to catch up on everything that has happened this summer, but now it's taken me so long that I need to give a fall/winter recap too, but this is what I've been able to get done so far.

Ethan's First Campout
June 25-27, 2009

Ethan had so much fun on his first family campout. We went to Ohanapecosh at Mt. Rainier, a favorite camping place of the Gifford family since my dad was young. Ethan has gone camping where he stayed one night in a cabin, but this was his first honest to goodness, sleep in a tent camping trip. The trip was a lot fun, but interesting in so many ways. First of all sleeping on the ground and being 35 weeks pregnant and having to hike through the woods 5 times a night to go to the bathroom was lovely! You could tell that we hadn't gone camping for quite awhile because we forgot some rather important things like a camp stove, salt, and some other things that would have made things easier. But, we just had to be a little more creative and I have to say I was very impressed with how well my dad cooked over the fire. We also hiked to Silver falls (my Grandma Gifford's favorite spot), grove of the patriarchs, and Steven's Canyon. It really was fun.

Grandma Gifford's Birthday
July 1, 2009

Zion's Camp
July 4, 2009

We went to Zion's Camp with Shawn's family for the fourth of July. Ethan and Shawn had a lot of fun taking a canoe out on the lake that is there.

A Great Big Toy

Shawn and my dad built this big toy for our kids. Ethan, of course, had a blast helping his dad and Grandpa and then even more fun playing with it when it was done.

Point Defiance Zoo
August 7, 2009

We went to the zoo on my birthday, so Jennifer bought tickets for the two of us to go on a camel ride. It was pretty fun.

Ethan had a lot of fun seeing all of the animals. I think his favorite was the fish; we could hardly get him to leave, so we could see the rest of the zoo.
Just Some Fun Pics

Ethan has some new friends to play with at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Glen & Diane got two cats that wander next door frequently and Ethan loves to play with them.

This next picture was just too cute to not share.

What can I say? This picture was too cute not to share. Ethan has learned to get up to the piano, open it, and turn it on all by himself. He loves to play around on it

I was packing for the hospital just before Julia was born. Ethan had been sitting on the bed while I packed, then once I went to my closet to get something and when I turned back around, he was inside the suitcase.

We picked lots of berries this summer and on this night we made smoothies after a long day of canning. Ethan thought his smoothie was incredible and couldn't get enough of it.

Ethan loves to play with Julia and takes great delight in making her laugh.

Ethan brought out our foot stool and sat on it next to Julia. He was playing with her laugh, but by the time I got my camera, he just turned around and smiled for his picture and Julia fell asleep. Oh the life of a newborn!

This is one of the first times that Ethan held Julia nicely. At first we had to be really careful about letting him even touch her, because he was anything but gentle.

Big brother kisses, how sweet.

Puyallup Fair
September 12, 2009

Dad and Ethan looking cool in their shades.

Great Grandma needed a break from her wheel chair, so she gave Ethan a ride. Earlier, Ethan had been pushing her. I wasn't able to get a good picture, but it was really cute.

Ethan riding the toy truck at the John Deer Tent.

Grandpa spoiled Ethan with his very first ice cream cone

Doesn't Julia just look so cute! Her shirt says "Miss Marvelous" which totally describes her. She's such a good baby.

First Day of Preschool
September 15, 2009

Ethan has been attending school in his Grandma Gifford's toddler class. He has been having lots of fun and learning so much. He's just growing up so fast!

Last Days with Uncle Lynn

Lynn decided to move to Utah, so we went to Belfair for one last weekend with him. Above: Ethan was "helping" Lynn pack and decided to try on his boot.

Julia and Lynn are taking a nap together.

Julia's Blessing

2009-09-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we blessed Julia. It was a wonderful day. She was all smiles. Shawn said that she had a big, opened mouth grin on her face the entire time that she was being given the blessing. It was almost like she knew what was going on and was so excited about it. Here are a few pictures of her in her blessing dress.

Julia Louise Sharp

2009-08-02T10:12:00.000-07:00

We have a new addition to our family! Julia Louise Sharp arrived on Monday July 27th at 5:21pm. She was 6 lbs. 7.7oz. and 19 1/2 inches long. She is a healthy and absolutely beautiful (no bias there) baby girl. She is tall, but very skinny. So skinny, in fact, that the new born diapers kept slipping off of her little rear, so we had to put her in preemies. She has really long fingers and toes, black hair, and her daddy's nose.

The delivery went really well. Actually, we had one scare. I had a really big contraction at exactly the same time that my water broke, which I guess tripped out the uterus because the contraction just would stop. Julia's heart beat dropped to 35 beats per minute, which is about a third of what it should be. They had to give me a shot of medicine to stop the contractions. Her heart beat came back up, but it took her a little while to stabilize. The doctor decided to give me an epidural right away in case she didn't stabilize and they had to do an emergency c-section. It was really strange to be getting an epidural when I wasn't even having any contractions. Anyway, they watched her for about an hour and a half and then decided she was stable enough and started me on pitocin to get the contractions to start up again. Labor was pretty easy after that since I couldn't feel any contractions. I did have feeling in my legs still so they actually let me use different labor positions to help the baby drop faster. When it came time to push, the doctor told me I was actually pushing too hard and was going to tear. He told me to just laugh really hard and what do you know, I laughed her right out. Through it all I only ended up having to get two stitches, which is way better than last time. The epidural was mostly worn off by the time Julia was born so I could feel everything as she was born. It was a very interesting experience. With Ethan I never really got the urge to push or anything else for that matter. This time I could feel everything, although I suspect that I had enough of the medicine still left in my system that I still didn't feel the full amount of pain that I would have without anything. They gave the baby to me right away so she was able to nurse within 15 minutes of being born and she ate for nearly an hour that first feeding. Overall it was a really great experience.

Working in the Yard

2009-06-15T15:30:00.000-07:00

We had a big hole in our backyard where the previous owners had a big pool. Shawn and my Dad (with a little "help" from Ethan, filled it in with dirt (It took 17 yards, which is a lot. It took them 5 trailer loads full, with each load carrying an average of about 3-4 tons of dirt.) Ethan thought it was a lot of fun playing in the dirt, especially since Grandma and Grandpa brought a wheel barrow and a rake that was just his size. After all the dirt was in, they planted grass seed and it it really coming in nicely now. Shawn will even be able to mow the new grass soon; probably this weekend.

Taking a break with Grandma

Ethan helping Dad and Grandpa level the dirt before they could plant the grass.

Aren't these tools just the perfect size! Ethan had so much fun with them.

Our little boy is such a boy! He loves to play in the dirt and tries to eat it.

Memorial Day Picnic

2009-06-15T15:18:00.000-07:00

We went to Mt. Rainier on Memorial Day. Here are just a few of the pictures we took.

Ethan had a lot of fun when Shawn started throwing him up in the air.

Here is Grandma, goofing off with Ethan.

Ethan found this great little walking stick along our little hike and used it as he walked along. Doesn't he just look so cute!!

Here is a fun chair that we found while we were on our hike. Seeing Ethan in this big chair makes me thing of Goldilocks in Papa bear's chair.

Father's & Sons Outing

2009-06-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some cute pictures from Ethan's first Father's and Son's outing. Sorry about the one picture that is sideways and the underlined text. I'm not sure how it happened, but I can't figure out how to rotate the picture or get rid of the underline. If anyone is more blog savy than me and knows how to fix it, please, let me know.

Another Ultrasound

2009-06-04T17:13:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from our latest ultrasound, taken on May 18th.

Top Left: profile

Top Right: Face (I think that it is easier to see if you tip your head to the right and look at it from a distance. It looks a little ghostly to me.)

Bottom Left: It's still a girl! There are the two legs and then the three lines that the arrow is pointing to is what they say indicates that it is a girl.

Bottom Right: Another profile, but with her up to her forehead as if to say, "life is so hard". Looks like she's a drama queen already.

Fun with Grandpa

2009-05-08T05:36:00.001-07:00

Ethan always likes to be right in the middle of things and he absolutely loves working with his Grandpa. He especially likes to play with the watering can, so when Grandma saw this little toy watering can at the store, she just couldn't resist. After the Easter Egg Hunt on 4/11/09, Grandpa started doing some watering and as soon as Ethan saw him, he high-tailed it over to him, his easter basket totally forgotten. Anyway, Grandma ran and got this little watering can and Ethan had a blast watering the sidewalk. We tried to get him to water the flowers in the pots, but apparently he thought the sidewalk needed it more.

This entertained him for a really long time as long as we kept his watering can filled with water. The first time he ran out, he just started to cry, not understanding why his toy all of a sudden stopped working. It wasn't long, however, until he figured out that if he brought it back to the hose, someone would fill it up for him. Needless to say, he was soaked by the time he was done, but it was totally worth it. It's amazing how much fun something so small can be.

Easter

2009-05-08T05:25:00.001-07:00

After church on Easter Sunday, we took some pictures. I thought these two turned out nice. I love how cute Ethan looks in his little suit.

Ethan got his first basket from the Easter bunny this year. In the basket was an egg shaped water bottle and several plastic eggs filled with Kix and Cheerios that he enjoyed for breakfast that morning.

Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-26T12:56:00.000-07:00

Ethan had a blast at my parent's annual easter egg hunt. It was so much fun watching Ethan pick up the eggs and put them in his basket. Of course, he only got a couple of eggs because he was to show us each egg and maybe play with it. There were lots of eggs out there, but the kids that were a little older understood something that Ethan didn't; get as many eggs as quick as possible and play with them later. In fact, after the hunt was over, he was sitting by another kids,playing with his eggs and ended up giving his two eggs to that kid. Fortunately that mother told him that he had enough eggs and to let Ethan keep his two. At least he was sharing.

Ethan was a big help filling plastic eggs for Grandma & Grandpa Gifford's annual Easter egg hunt. Actually, he mostly played with the eggs and candy, but every once in awhile we could get him to put a piece of candy into an egg.

Little Helper

2009-04-16T16:20:00.000-07:00

Ethan is becoming quite the little helper. He always wants to be right in the middle of what I am doing, so he's learning to use a wash rag to wipe off counters and even sweeping with the dust mop or the swiffer.

Things that Warm a Mother's Heart

2009-04-16T16:18:00.000-07:00

The other day Ethan was playing when all of a sudden, he left his toy, ran over to me, gave me a big hug and kiss than ran back to play with his toy. He did this about three times that afternoon. It's time like that that make it so rewarding to be a mom.

It's a Girl!

2009-03-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

We had an ultrasound a couple weeks ago. We were told that our baby weighed about 10 ounces and that SHE is doing quite well. For those of you who know our story with Ethan (They told us Ethan was going to be a girl, but he is definitely all boy), we are a little hesitant to really believe it, but we hope it is right this time. Anyway, they got a better look this time, so we think it is right this time and we are very excited. Our due date is August 1st and she is right on schedule according to this ultrasound.

Ethan's First Birthday

2009-03-15T20:51:00.000-07:00

Ethan's first taste of cake and ice cream.

After the candles were blown out everyone cheered and clapped. Ethan, of course, didn't know what was happening, but he joined in anyway.

Ethan "blowing" out his candles. The candle in the middle says "1" and the other two are shaped like stars.

Ethan started to walk for real just before his first birthday party. Shawn was holding a balloon and Ethan wanted it, so he took 11 steps to get it. Up until then he had taken a few steps at a time, but I think 4 steps was his max. Once everyone got there he just kept walking. It was almost as if he had been able to do it for awhile and just decided that that night was the night that he was going to show off.

Ethan Walks (with a little help)

2009-03-15T20:44:00.000-07:00

We found this toy in the shed of our new house. Ethan has had so much fun with it and it even allowed him to walk before he could really walk on his own. (taken January 31st)

Ethan feeding himself

2009-02-09T12:44:00.000-08:00

Ethan is feeding himself with a spoon for the first time without making a huge mess. If you listen carefully, there's a part in the middle where his sippy cup starts making noise after he took a drink and Ethan thinks it is very interesting.

2009-01-29T12:18:00.000-08:00

Ethan in his new Christmas PJs

Ethan playing in grandma Gifford's lid drawer.

We finally made a blog!

2009-01-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally did it. I've been meaning to create a blog for quite awhile now, but there always seems to be other things that need done first. My intent is to keep this updated so we can stay in touch better with all of our friends and family, though I make no promises. So, here are the new and exciting things going on in the Sharp family.

We recently moved into a home (Yeah, no more apartments!!!) in Auburn, WA. The house is almost 1,000 square feet more than either of the apartments that we have lived in since getting married, so we are just thrilled. We are also loving the fact that we have a good sized back yard and the landscaping that is already done is actually very pretty. The only thing that we are going to do to change in is fill in the big hole that the former occupants left from where their pool was. This summer we will turn that area into a garden. last summer we were only able to have a few pots out on our patio, so we are excited to be able to have a real garden this year. Ethan is loving having all the space to crawl around in.

The other major announcement we have is that we learned a little before Christmas that Ali is pregnant again. It was a bit sooner than we were anticipating, but that's okay. I guess the Lord knows more than we do. This new addition to our family is expected to arrive on August 1st. As of yesterday, Jan 24th, Ali is 14 weeks along. That means that it is still too early to know whether it is a boy or a girl, but we'll let you know as soon as we know.

Shawn is doing very well. He is really liking his job. He's been on the same job site for several months and since his superintendant seems to really like him, he will likely be there for the life of the project (about 2 years). This is a blessing because it provides consistancy and a little more job security. He is also in his second semester of Auto CAD classes, which will help him in his ultimate goal of becoming a superintendant. He's been learning so much and is just loving his schooling.

Ali has subbed once in awhile for some local music classes, but mostly she is enjoying staying home and being a mom. She just got called to be the enrichment counselor in our new ward's Relief Society presidency. This new calling is sure to bring all kinds of new adventures.

Ethan is growing up so fast and so strong. He weighs 22 pounds and 3 ounces and is nearly 30 inches tall. He is crawling everywhere he can and getting into all kinds of things (he definitely keeps his mom and dad busy). He's not walking by himself yet, but he will stand without holding onto anything and will walk while holding onto various things, so we don't think it will be too much longer. He's getting really good at the stairs too. If we turn our backs for just a second it seems, he hurries towards the stairs and before we know it, he's climbed all the way to the bottom or to the top of them. He thinks that they are his personal playground. He will be turning one in just a few short weeks, February 12th. It's amazing how fast the time goes. It doesn't seem possible that a whole year has gone by since he was born.

Well, that's about it for now.