Holidays are here!!!

So this past Saturday we (Steve and Sharifa) were able to have our first date in a long time!!! We went on a day trip to do some Christmas shopping and decided that we could go see a movie, so we went and saw a Christmas Carol in 3D! It was so nice not to have to chase the little man around the mall and scream "Ethan! Ethan! Come here!!" We were able to watch a movie and not have to worry about the two year old turning off the TV 'cause he was done watching. It turned out to be a really good movie, but we both decided that it was a good idea we didn't let Ethan come see it. There were some jumpy scenes, but all in all it was a good movie to go see in the theaters. Later that evening we picked up Ethan from the Grandparents' house and went to see Santa and his little villages. Ethan really loved to see the villages, but seeing Santa was a different story. It was a nice day and we really enjoyed spending time together without the little man. We know that he had lots of fun with his Grandparents because he gets spoiled whenever he's around them. We are grateful to have parents around that would be willing to help us out by taking care of him so that we could have one peaceful shopping day!!

Thanks !!!! Ethan checking out Santa's different building that are placed in BC!!
Checking out what the Elves are doing!!!
Ethan loves walking in the snow, so he had to grab daddy and take him across the new fallen snow!!
Ethan taking daddy to see ALL of the different lights on the city square!!!! Ethan having fun in the snow while daddy is starting to freeze!

*We did go see Santa, but Sharifa has to find away to post the picture of Ethan and Santa! We are planning on seeing Santa again this weekend, so we'll have both pictures up asap!!

Christmas Extcitement!!!!

So we are totally excited for Christmas and didn't get the chance to set up all our decor the day after Thanksgiving. So we did it on the last day of November and we think we still look pretty festive!!! Ethan is loving all the decorations this year; even though every year he loves to see all the light, this year is more special! We have a sing and dancing Santa that he loves to push the button and watch Santa move. This year we are letting him put the stars up to count down the days 'till Christmas is here. The past few days we have been able to get all of our little Christmas movies out for him to watch and he just loves to watch them over and over again!!! Some that he really loves to watch are our Charlie Brown collection ( Charlie Brown's Christmas and I want a dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown). Steve and Sharifa had never before sat down to watch the second movie and just recently did. We think it's so funny!!!! If you haven't seen it you should 'cause it has Rerun (a more newer character) on it. This year we have decided to have our own little family Christmas and stay at home to start up our own little traditions. We will be going to Grandparents' houses during the season to spend some time with them, of course!!! We are so excited to be able to make this year a memorable moment for our Ethan!!! It's going to be the last one with just him as our only child!! We hope that you all have a wonderful holiday season and please remember what it's all about!!!!! Here are some pictures of us getting ready for the season! We love you all and just want to wish everyone a very

Merry Christmas!!!

Ethan watching Santa shake his thing!!!
Our family advent calendar (start counting!!!)!

Ethan getting some help from daddy to put up an ornament!

Ethan hanging up an ornament by himself!!

Our finished Christmas tree!!!

Sharifa's Grandma Jordan made this tree when she was alive!!!! She's grateful to be able to have something of her grandmother's. Also these are a few Nativities Sharifa has gotten from others throughout the years!!

This is the very first Nativity Sharifa got when she was only 3 years old!!! If you can't tell the angels did not come with the set (ha! ha! ha!)!!! It is one of her favorite items that she owns and it brings back fond memories of Christmases pastes!!!

These bear Nativities are part of Sharifa's mother's collection which she was willing to give to Sharifa!!!! (Thanks Mom!!!)

Ethan is putting up his/the family Nativity. We are grateful that Grandma M was willing to get our family a fun and playful set!!!

The finished product!!!

Grateful!!!

So for the past few weeks we have been going through a lot of ups and downs with our life. We have also been able to see all the many blessing that we have been given. At this time of year there are so many things to be thankful for! Our family is really grateful that Steve has a job that is able to provide a roof over our heads and be able to give us food on our table; especially when a lot of families are having a hard time finding or keeping a job! Also we are very grateful for both sets of families that we come from. We are grateful that we have such great parents and siblings that seem so willing to help us out when we need it or when we don't even ask! We have learned this year that our families are very important to us and want to let you all know that we are grateful for you, our parents and siblings!!! There are some people that are not related to us by name, but we do consider you family because of the close bond that we share with you. And for that we are truly grateful!!!! We are also grateful to be married to one another and have each other as life-time (and eternal) companions with such a great little boy to help us through every day!!!! The health of everyone including the little Daisy is also another blessing that we feel very grateful for!!!! For all that read this post thank you for your friendship and kindness we are very blessed to have you in our lives, even if we don't see you every day we are truly grateful for you!!! Your support also means a lot to our little family!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!!

Our little family! We're grateful for each member!!!

The McClaskeys

(Maverick is missing-sorry this was taken before he was born)

The Phillips

Daisy Rae

We went to have the targeted ultrasound today and got some really great pictures of little Miss Daisy!!! She is doing very well, she is at 13 ounces and growing. She's got a great heartbeat and great lungs. Just for those who want to know, she is still a girl, she hasn't shown us anything that would make us think any differently! She is just so cute and it's funny how little babies have their own personality even before they come out into the world. We really love her and can't wait for when she comes, which shouldn't be anytime before March!!!! Here is our very favorite picture that we decided to use. We hope you all like it as much as we do!!!

We call this picture "The Thinking Girl". The funny thing is, when she came up on the screen like this, Steve had his hand/arm in the same position! The tech. said that she was being just like here dad!!! What a "daddy's girl" this little one is!!! Ha! Ha! Ha!

Halloween

So this year we went up to I.F. for the weekend to see Sharifa's parents and really enjoyed our weekend. Ethan really loved going to the different houses and getting candy from everyone that we went and saw. He made us stop at every house on his grandparent's street so that he could get more candy!! A few houses didn't have anyone home and it made Ethan not too happy 'cause he didn't get any candy. We had to watch him very closely because he would knock on people's door and would try to walk into their houses!!! This year Sharifa thought that Ethan should dress up for something that truly fits him, so he was a little devil!!!( Ha!Ha!Ha!) We really enjoyed going out with him and seeing his reactions every time someone would give him or let him choose a piece of candy, it was like a little boy at Disneyland!! He really did get a lot of candy that night so we thought maybe we should help him out with the eating of the treats, 'cause we don't want him to get a stomach ache!!! We think that he will love Halloween next year too!!! Sharifa's parents grew pumpkins in their garden this year and had a special one picked out for Ethan to help design. Ethan and Grandpa pulled the guts out while daddy helped by putting a face to the Jack-O-Lantern. Here are some pictures of our fun afternoon/evening!!!!

Ethan and his first pumpkin before it's carved!

Ethan helping Grandpa cut the top off of the pumpkin!Ethan helping daddy get all the guts out of the pumpkin!

Ethan checking out the pumpkin's guts!

Grandpa showing Ethan where to put the guts!

Daddy carving the pumpkin!The finished Jack-O-Lantern

The boys with their finished master piece!!!

Ethan as a cute little devil! Doesn't this just fit him so well?Ethan and Grandpa were tried of waiting so they started on their way!Ethan checking out another person's pumpkin!

On sunday, Ethan tried out his new suit! Doesn't he look just so handsome?! A devil one day and an angel the next!(Ha! Ha! Ha!)