Three boys and a little lady

My First Website

2008-09-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

I am so proud of myself. I had to let everyone know. I created a website tonight. I had a lot of help with a template, but I was able to put in all of the information and manage it all by myself, and it only took one evening. I went to Gallery Row Coffee House to work on it and got it done in about 2/5 hours. Go to www.shccmops.com to check it out.

First Day of School

2008-09-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Ethan was so excited on his first day of school. We missed waiting for Nora Jane to show up and Ethan even asked me, "Who is driving today, oh, you're driving every day." We took some family pictures wit his "First Day of School" sign. Notice the sleepy eyes as he had to be woken up for the first time since summer started. Even though he isn't in a Kindergarten (since he is in his third year of primary at a montessori school), he is Kindergarten age, so we put that on his sign.

Riding Bikes

2008-09-05T15:11:00.001-07:00

The boys love spending the evenings outside riding their bikes. Ethan has finally gotten the hang of riding his bike with training wheels and he loves it. Eli just likes pushing things around or trying to ride bikes that are too big for him. Here are some photos Kevin took one night. Don't laugh too hard at Eli's helmet, it has protected him from quite a few dents and dings. He is so accident prone, we thing we ought to keep it on him all the time!

Minature Golf

2008-09-05T15:02:00.000-07:00

We took Ethan miniature golfing while at Daytona Beach. We tried to go as a family, but Eli just wanted to run around. So, Kevin stayed while I took Eli home. The next day, while Eli napped, I took Ethan back. What we didn't expect was to see so much nature while at a miniature golf place. There were baby alligators to feed or have your photo taken with. Then Kevin & Ethan saw the strangest looking grasshopper. It was large and colorful. The next day, Ethan & I enjoyed playing golf around a snowy egret. It was a great experience.

Daytona Beach

2008-09-05T14:52:00.000-07:00

We went to Daytona Beach on Vacation. We did the normal beach and pool play while there. Eli loved the ocean and his adventurous nature liked the way the waves threw him all around. He didn't want us to hold onto him. Ethan was very brave in the waves. He didn't mind them going over his head. We were lucky enough to move from a room with our bedrooms side-by-side and no balcony or view of the beach, to a room 1/3 larger with split bedrooms and a really big deck over the beach (basically the penthouse of a place this small). We also ate at some good restaurants and went miniature golfing. Here are some of the better photos.

Reading & Playing Piano

2008-07-27T17:51:00.000-07:00

There are several activities that Eli enjoys doing right now. Most of them are outdoors, but some he enjoys indoors. His most favorite has to be chasing his big brother, but when he is alone, he enjoys "reading" & "playing piano". I got these photos tonight of him doing each one. He is so funny!

Garden

2008-07-27T17:48:00.000-07:00

We decided to do a garden this past spring. I have the blackest thumb you can have, but we decided to give it a try. It is amazing how some plants just take little or no attention. We have watered the garden regularly, but other than that, nothing. And look what I have to show for it, a beautiful squash (if I do say so myself). I was so excited to see this squash. We have also had small Strawberries and Broccoli. We have picked some tomatoes and lima beans as well. It is great! Nothing tastes as good as when it is fresh from your own garden.

Susina Plantation

2008-07-27T06:39:00.000-07:00

We were blessed to be able to spend the fourth of July this year at Susina Plantation - Alaina's parents home. We had such a great time. We rode horses, swam, made homemade ice cream with a hand crank maker, had impromptu water sprinkler time and ate great meals. It was also perfect spending time with our friends away from the everyday. It was such a relaxing weekend situated right in the middle of the busy summer.

Yogurt

2008-07-27T06:33:00.000-07:00

One day I was in my room getting ready while Ethan & Eli were in the living room/kitchen area. I heard the refridgerator open and asked Ethan what he was doing. He said he was getting some yogurt, so I didn't worry. He knows how to get his own snack, and this was a healthy one. A while later I come into the kitchen to find that he got himself a yogurt, and Eli a yogurt. I was so proud that he took care of his brother, but could not believe Eli standing there in a chair eating & playing with yogurt at the table. It was one of those moments where you had no other choice but to go get your camera.

Mohawk

2008-07-27T06:29:00.000-07:00

Ethan wanted a mohawk the last time I cut his hair. I told him I would give him one and he could wear it for a couple of days, but then we had to shave it off also. He looked really cute when I would spike it up, but it wouldn't stay that way and then it would get really ratty looking. He was disappointed about shaving it off, but I like his clean cut look the best.

Elliot

2008-07-27T06:26:00.000-07:00

We aquired a new pet, a toad named Elliot. He showed up one day in our garage in the cat's water bowl. What suprised me was the fact that I really enjoy having a toad as a pet. Since adopting Elliot, we have aquired two other toads, Kari Alexander & No. 1 Alexander. They are quite easy to care for. You just buy them live crickets every couple of weeks and make sure they have a bowl of water to sit in.

Accident Prone

2008-07-27T06:16:00.000-07:00

We have determined that Eli is accident prone. He just wants to do everything his big brother does and he winds up falling down in the process. He constantly has bruises on his head and face. Last week, while at a friends house, he fell and got a huge bump in the middle of his forehead, got scratches on his nose and busted his lip. In the first photo you can kind of see the fading bruise in the middle of his head. This past Friday, he fell and got a huge bruise on the side of his forehead (again, seen in the first photo). Then yesterday, the worst fall of all, his bottom teeth through his bottom lip (I tried to get photos of this, but it is hard with a moving 17mo. old). He was trying to climb up on a barstool in our kitchen and he pulled it down on himself. I was not here, thankfully, so Kevin took him to the hospital. The Dr. decided not to sew it up because that could increase the risk of infection. He simply gave Kevin a prescription for antibiotic and said we should come back if it gets worse. I was terrified about what I would see when I arrived home, but it really doesn't look that bad. It just looks like two small slits on the outside (the size of his tiny teeth). It isn't swollen at all. He doesn't act like it bothers him one bit. He hates the antibiotic, but other than that, he is no worse for wear.

Eli's Lip

2008-05-25T19:19:00.000-07:00

Eli has started doing the cutest thing. He puts out his bottom lip and moves it to the side a little. We aren't sure if this is something that came on with teething or what, but it is so cute to look at. Judge for yourself:

Georgia Renaissance Festival

2008-05-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

We went to the Georiga Renaissance Festival on Sunday, May 25th, 2008. We had a really good time. Ethan rode a huge slide and a children's joust swing. He also got to get on stage during one of the shows as a helper. It was so funny, he just stood there looking like he had stage fright. I told him he could smile, but he just stood there. When we went for the children's knighting ceremony, they had the time wrong in the program and we were 30 minutes late. The nice thing was that the queen was still there, and so we asked her about the time discretion. She apologized and offered to do a personal knighting. She told Ethan that a knight had to be noble and care for the weak. She asked if he helped with his baby brother. He said yes. She turned to her people and said, "Ah, he helps the weak." Then she asked if he obeyed his parents. He said, "Sometimes." I looked at the queen and said, "See, he's honest." She agreed. Then she dubbed him Sir Ethan. It was a really good day.

Broken Bone - Part II

2008-04-11T17:15:00.000-07:00

We took Ethan to the orthopedic doctor today and he put a permanent cast on Ethan's arm. His break is not bad, and did not need to be set. He will have to wear this cast for 5 weeks. He promised that I (Kari) could be the first to sign his cast, then Dad, then Eli, but he could not resist being the first to "color" his cast with a pink highlighter. I was suprised that he chose the color pink and told him a highlighter wasn't best because it would rub off. I was able to show him this by the pink on his shirt. We are so proud of Ethan with this injury. He has already adapted to life with one arm. We smile when we catch him holding something between his knees so he can open it with his one hand. Thank you for all of the well wishes and prayers.

Eli loves to be outside.

2008-04-09T12:54:00.001-07:00

Ethan likes to be outside, but Eli LOVES it! He would play outside all day if I let him. So, even when I was home with a stomach bug, I took him outside for a little while. I sat on the swing and let him walk/crawl around and play. It was so much fun for him, and fun for me to watch.

Broken Bone!

2008-04-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

Imagine my upset when I was woken from a deep sleep (from some medication I took) with a call from Kevin at 10:30 at night saying Ethan broke his arm. I was sick and stayed at home while Kevin went to pick Ethan up from late-stay at school. He decided to take the boys to Kid's Night at Chick-fil-A. Ethan was playing on the playground and was hanging from some bars that he should not have been on. When he let go, he fell and landed on his arm. Kevin didn't want to disturb my sleep, so he took both boys to the hospital and waited to get Ethan seen. Once they got back to a room, they gave Ethan a shot to help with the pain, so he went to sleep pretty easily. Kevin still had to tend to Eli. I was so upset that I could not be there for my boy or my husband. It turns out that one of the bones on his forearm, right below the elbow was fractured. They put on a temporary half-cast and we will see an orthopedic doctor on Friday to see if he needs a plaster cast. When they finally got home, Kevin put Ethan in our bed and I put Eli to bed. I was so glad to sleep with Ethan and know how he was doing. I didn't want to breathe in Ethan's face since I had a small stomach bug, but I wanted to be there for him, so I slept on my back. Kevin took this picture of us together. I will post more photo's later.

Eli is 1!!!!!!!!

2008-02-25T08:09:00.001-08:00

I cannot believe Eli is already a year old. So much has happened in a year. Eli is now a very happy, almost walking one year old. He has his two bottom teeth and is getting his top four middle ones. He recently got over the flu which made him very moody, but he is usually a very happy boy who plays by himself. Some of his funny habits is rubbing his head when he is tired and babbling. He still isn't saying much. He loves his Dadee and says that often, but hasn't said mama yet. I wish you all could see him and spend some time with him as he is a great joy to us all.

I'll Have My Cake and Eat it Too!

2008-02-25T08:01:00.000-08:00

We had hoped to have some family & friends over for Eli's 1st birthday celebration, but he was still getting over the flu and we didn't want to pass it on. He did enjoy his 1st birthday cupcake. It didn't make as big of a mess as a whole cake would, but he managed to get pretty messy. He eventually got tired of it and was ready for a bath. I included one photo that shows how well his top four teeth are coming in, finally!

Too Many Bubbles - Nah!

2008-02-25T07:57:00.000-08:00

Eli & Kevin took a very bubbly bath together. Eli looked so cute with all of the bubbles on his face and in his mouth.

I love baloons!

2008-02-25T07:39:00.000-08:00

Eli absolutely love balloons. Ethan brought one home for Eli from a birthday party he attended. I could not get Eli to eat, because he was so enamored with his balloon.

I didn't sleep at all last night!

2008-02-25T07:33:00.000-08:00

Every morning when Ethan wakes up he says "I didn't sleep at all last night". I am not sure why he always says this, but Kevin wanted to prove to him that he does sleep at night. He took these adorable photos while Ethan slept.

Noodles

2008-02-25T07:24:00.000-08:00

Eli had so much fun with spaghetti noodles one night. Instead of eating them, he wanted to play with them, but he had such a good time. He even wore some in his hair.

Proud Moment

2008-02-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

As a parent, there are moments when we are truly proud of our children. Today was one for me. Tomorrow is Ethan's 5th birthday, and he was supposed to have a party with all of his friends at the local Gym. He started running a fever today and feels really bad. I called all of his friends and told them we would have to reschedule the party. I dreaded telling Ethan. I knew he would be upset (I sure was). When we told him, we started the conversation by talking about what a special day tomorrow is because he will be 5. We decided we should get out photos & videos of when he was born to look at tomorrow. Then we talked about him having a fever and not wanting to make our friends sick. So we told him we would have his party on another day so he could stay home and rest tomorrow. First he said he didn't like resting. We promised to rent lots of movies and have a birthday cake and ice cream. Then he asked if I had told his friends. When I said yes, he asked if they were sad. I told him they were disappointed, but they were excited that they would still get to celebrate with him another day. Then he said something that made me so proud. He said his friends could still go to the party, and he just wouldn't go so he didn't make them sick. I thought this was the sweetest thing he could think at a time like his. He was more concerned about his friends disappointment than his own. Truly, I expected him to cry and fuss about the party, but he handled it very well.

Eli's first haircut

2008-01-18T17:35:00.001-08:00

Eli had his first haircut today by Beth Sims. I almost cried when I saw all of the hair she was cutting off. It is so hard to see my baby growing up. He looks so handsome now with his nice trim. Ethan and another customer helped with taking pictures. On the way home Eli got to have a Blue Raspberry lolly pop as a treat and his hands and face were blue when we got home. I had to give him a bath as soon as we got home.

Snow!

2008-01-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

We had our first snow on Wednesday, January 16th. It started snowing in the afternoon and some of it actually accumulated. This is so rare for us here in Georgia, that I had to take some photos and video. It was beautiful with big flakes. We went out after dinner to play in it and had a great time. Ethan & Kevin wrote I "heart" U in the snow on the driveway, and Ethan made a snow angel. We had snowball fights and built a little snowman. Eli enjoyed it until he sat in the snow and got pegged with a snowball. After we all came inside, Ethan was so cute with his red cheeks. Remember to look at the links to our photo albums for more photos of our family fun.

Shhhh...Angel Sleeping

2007-12-28T14:49:00.000-08:00

Dina & I went to the movies and got back late on Thursday night. I went to check on Eli and he was sleeping on his back looking soooo cute. Usually he sleeps on his stomach. Dina took these photos.

Myrtle Beach

2007-12-21T08:53:00.000-08:00

We try to take a yearly trip the week before Christmas to get away from all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays and just spend time together as a family. This year we went to Myrtle Beach, S.C. Our favorite things are spending time at the indoor pool, playing in the sand (if it is nice enough) and just hanging out together in the condo. Check out our album link for picasaweb to see more photos of our trip.

Meeting Noble

2007-12-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

We had the tremendous blessing of meeting Noble Richard Gray on Saturday, December 8th. He was such a happy boy, smiling at us all. He was so cute the way he sucked his thumb. He and Eli enjoyed parallel play which is normal at this age. They are 42 days apart (Noble being older). We hope they will grow to be great friends just as Ethan & Nora Jane are now.

Kisses from Heaven

2007-12-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

Eli loves to give kisses. If you make a kissing noise and he is in the mood, he will open wide and give you kisses. He happened to be in the mood while the camera was on and we got this wonderful shot. I love his sweetness!

Merry Christmas

2007-12-21T08:24:00.001-08:00

We hope this holiday season finds you and your family well. We have had a wonderful year. The beginning of the year was filled with anticipation as we awaited the arrival of our son. He was due March 22, 2007. He had other plans and came into our lives on February 24, 2007. The birth experience was something we never could have aniticpated with an emergency c-section and a rough start for our little guy. By the grace of God he is a perfectly healthy boy and we are very blessed with our guys.
Eli loves to be around people and he smiles at everyone. He will be 10 months old on Dec. 24th and he is pulling up on everything and cruising the furniture. His favorite things are his brother, the cats and anything he is allowed to put in his mouth.
Ethan is still attending Oak Grove Montessori School and is starting to learn to read. He is very excited about his ability to spell some words. He takes Judo & Piano at his school. He continues to make us laugh with the things he comes up with and his silliness. He recently put Kevin in his place by reminding him that even though he is big and strong, he is not as big and strong as God.
Kari still enjoys her job at the school and now gets to take Eli with her. He does very well in her office playing on his own like he does at home.
Kevin is still loving his job at Woodland Christian Camp. They are constantly involved in new projects and renevations. He keeps very busy and I am very proud of his work ethic.
Some other highlights of our year were spending time with family, having Kari's Dad & family come and stay in the basement twice this year, having Dina Forehand come live with us after summer and meeting Viviana & Noble Gray in April & December respectively.
Please know that you are in our thoughts often throughout the year, even if we don't contact you. Remember Christ and his wonderful birth this season.
Love,
Kevin, Kari, Ethan & Eli Jarrett

Eli is 9 months old

2007-12-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Eli turned 9 months old on Nov. 24th and he is crawling, pulling up and even letting go and trying to stand at times. He still smiles all the time and loves to be around other people. He is very busy and trying to get him to sit still for a photo is nearly impossible. He loves banging two objects together to hear the sound it makes. He still only has the two little teeth down bottom that he got when he was only 4.5 months old. He is trying to get more, as he is grumpy sometimes. Our greatest desire is for him to sleep though the night, but we know he will not be waking up in the night, every night when he is 10, so we try to be patient. Ethan still loves his baby brother and is very good with him, but he does occasionally act like a baby to try to get equal attention.

The Best Birthday Ever

2007-12-04T18:14:00.000-08:00

I turned 32 today (no I'm not afraid to tell my age) and it was great. It started with a pancake and fruit salad breakfast lovingly prepared by Dina. Then I got a great card from the Gray family (Bear & Honey included). After taking Ethan & Nora Jane to school (we sang Bible songs on the way), I had a great day at work. Kevin said he would come and have lunch with me. What I didn't expect was for him to bring me presents (one from Alaina who is currently in Guatemala) and one from him. He also brought a cake for me from Publix (cream cheese icing, my favorite) and candles - which he lovingly transposed to make me 23. He even got Ethan out of class to come and eat cake with us. After work I came home and got ready and was treated to the movie Enchanted by my great friend Melissa. The movie was so cute. I am now home and hope to have a good night sleep and remember to enjoy every day as much as today.

My Photo Album

2007-09-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

I have created a photo album on picasa web that you can access at any time. I try to upload albums often. Since I don't want to put a million picures on my blog, you can go to this website and see all of the pictures I have taken (www.picasaweb.google.com/karijarrett). I also put the website as a link on "my favorite links" at the bottom left of my blog page. It is titled "photo album". I know I am a genius with the titles.

School Photo

2007-09-30T13:50:00.000-07:00

To see Ethan's school photo, go to www.mccphoto.smugmug.com and click on sessions. Click on the Oak Grove folder. He is in Primary 2. The password is OG.

Future Montessori Student

2007-09-30T13:36:00.000-07:00

In the Montessori invironment, children work in the "sensorial" area of the room. This is where there are materials that help them use their senses to learn. Eli wanted to do just that when I was feeding him Oatmeal the other day. He ate some, but kept wanting to touch it. I thought, "why not". So here is the messy result of my future montessori child at work!

7 months old and sitting up!

2007-09-24T06:34:00.000-07:00

Eli has been practicing sitting up for a while now and he finally has it down. He still falls over sometimes, but for the most part, he is doing great! He is 7 months old today. Time goes by too fast. His favorite things are the cats, eating food and playing outside. He especially likes going on a golf cart ride before his afternoon nap.

Panama City Beach, Florida

2007-09-22T07:06:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure of visiting the sugar white sands and emerald green waters of the Gulf of Mexico for vacation this year. Dina was with us for the first part of the week, so we were able to go on a boat trip by ourselves (Kevin & I). That was great. It was great having a friend along for our vacation. Eli loved the beach (his first time) and Ethan always loves it. Ethan was pretty brave in the water this time. He loved jumping the waves on a raft with dad. We all got to go to the zoo and on a pirate ship while on vacation. It was a great time.

Labor Day

2007-09-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Labor Day at Woodland is always fun. We have family camp. This is a time where families come to enjoy the camp atmosphere and spend quality time together. On Friday night, we swam in the pool with the Gray family, then Kevin, Ethan, Kevin Gray & Nora Jane spent the night in a boxcar. Saturday, we continued to play at the camp, roasted marshmallows by the campfire (yes, we at smores) and Kevin & Ethan slept in a cabin at the Heritage Camp. On Sunday we enjoyed worship with all of the families at the camp, then we ate a meal together. Sunday night, we all slept at home. Monday we enjoyed a picnic at the pool with the Gray family and we really enjoyed the pool. We knew Kevin would close the pools on Tuesday, so we wanted to make the most of them. Eli was exhausted, but wouldn't fall asleep with so much activity, so Kevin put Eli under his shirt to help distract him. He slept nicely in there, but they were both pretty sweaty.

Ethan was so proud to bring home a Katydid that we found at the pool. It is missing two legs, so we thought we would rescue it. We needed something to bring it home in, so we used our empty "Famous Amos" cookies box. It looks like we are doing an ad for "Famous Amos" because Ethan wanted his Katydid in the pictures. He affectionately named him "Toad". All in all, it was a great weekend!

I love my walker!

2007-09-05T17:37:00.000-07:00

Eli loves playing in his walker. I can put him in it and he is content for quite a while. He scoots all around the kitchen and squeals!

Men at Work

2007-09-05T17:34:00.000-07:00

Kevin & Eli worked hard tonight vacuuming the house. Eli loves watching the vacuum move and hearing the loud noise.

Girlfriend!

2007-08-28T17:43:00.000-07:00

We went to Ethan's back to school picnic for Oak Grove Montessori School and Eli got to spend some quality time with Olivia Freeman. We call them our future montessori children. They were so cute and interested in each other. He likes his

"older" woman.

Growing up is hard to do!

2007-08-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

Eli went on Monday to his 6 month well check-up. He got two shots:( That was not even the worst part. He has a bad ear infection and ulcers all in the back of his throat. He is such a trooper though. He only complained a little. He weighed 14lbs. 4.4oz. and was 27" tall. I took these pictures before bedtime last night and he was sitting up so well. He was very excited when Gabbi decided to pay him a visit.

I can hold my own bottle!

2007-08-26T07:16:00.001-07:00

Eli is still very much a breast-fed baby, but he gets bottles upon occasion. He was so proud when he could hold his own bottle.

Dina

2007-08-25T17:46:00.000-07:00

We are so happy to have Dina Forehand hanging out with us while she finds a job. She is such fun to be around and a big help. Both of the boys love her very much.

Clean Sweep

2007-08-25T15:03:00.001-07:00

Before & After

Before & After

Before & After

Kevin & Ethan went to Lake Wedowee on Friday night. I decided to do a Clean Sweep on Ethan's room while they were away. First, I moved everything to the living room, then I put the things back that I wanted in there. I really enjoyed getting rid of so many things we don't need. I think his room looks great now! By the way, there are already toys on the floor:)

First Day of School

2007-08-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Ethan started back at Oak Grove Montessori School on Tuesday. He was very excited about seeing new friends and having his good friend Nora Jane Gray in the class right next door. Mom is excited that we will be carpooling with the Grays on a regular basis.