Happy 6 Month Preston!

Our sweet baby Preston is 6 months old!!!!!!!! He's growing like a weed, exclusively nursing, eating rice cereal and other baby foods, rolling over and scooting! I would say he's just 2 weeks away from full out crawling. He is sitting up for a few seconds independently. By 7 months, I think he's going to have the sitting and crawling perfected. Today, he started babbling which actually sounds like talking! He said the sound "dada", so exciting!! He goes to sleep around 9pm and sleeps for 6 hours. He wakes up for a feeding and then sleeps 3-4 more hours. We are pretty happy with his nighttime routine. During the day he's taking three 30 minute naps. I'm still hoping he will transition into a morning and afternoon nap, which last at least an hour. We'll see what happens in the next month or so.

Happy Memorial Day

Memorial day is a day to recognize and give thanks to our service men and women! We spent the day at my parents house doing our favorite things: swinging, swimming, cooking-out and watching a movie. My dad served in the US Air Force for 9 years. He was a Staff Sergeant working as a computer repairman/instructor. My mom was also in the Air Force for 6 years. She was an air operations specialist, who did aircraft flight scheduling. My parents met in Big Springs Texas at WEBB Air Force base. Thank you for serving Mom and Dad!!

Easton, Preston and Makayla sporting their red, white and blue!

Guess who likes to play "peek-a-boo"?

Easton giving his cousin kisses!

The babies spending time together~

Easton's favorite thing to do at Nana and Papa's is swing!!!

So fun!

Mommy and the boys in the pool!

The kiddie pool is fun too!

Cousin Jonathan came over for a swing!

And this is how Easton's day ended!! Nana and Papa's puppy Minnie curled up beside him. (Mom and Dad are replacing their flooring and ceiling, that's why the room is bare =)

Our boys and their hair~

Here is a ridiculously long post to answer the question, "What do you use in Easton's hair?"
All of the products can be purchased at Walmart or Target. I've heard of wonderful products available online but I have been happy with the over the counter, inexpensive products found locally. It's been a journey of trial and error to see what works best with the texture of his hair. I actually started writing this post months ago but I keep finding different products and techniques that I wanted to share. Hopefully, this will be a starting point and a good reference for you!
Easton's hair is tight curls. When you pull them out you can see how long it is!


Baby Shampoo- (very mild for Easton's hair)

Our favorite leave in condition! We use a generous amount of this conditioner each bath. I believe the key to Easton's hair is rich conditioner and no tangles.

A good comb is necessary! I try to comb through it twice a week, in the tub with lots of conditioner. I keep the scissors close by too because I typically just cut out the tiny knots on the ends. Easton can tolerate this for about 5 minutes so I work fast!

This was Easton's hair at 12 months old. This is combed out! I haven't combed out his hair in a long time. I'm pretty sure he would have atleast a 4 inch fro!

This is what it looks like when it's completely soaked. Tight ringlets that I love!


I just have to share some silly pictures of Preston's comb over and natural mohawk. Looks like Preston is going to have to have his 1st haircut this week. We are just going to trim his bangs, since they are in his eyes. I guess I just like long hair because I don't intend on actually cutting either of the boys' hair!

2 Videos to show you:


Some hair samples:
(Twist and Lock)
Our favorite product for styling his hair (special occasions-It's too much work to do daily) I use a generous amount and twist locks of hair around my figures. I do not use a comb to part it. I simply grab a tiny chunk and twist it between my figures.
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(Poof Ball) Here is Easton's hair once I sprayed it with water and rubbed Cantu Shea Butter leave in conditioner through it:

We love all of the Cantu products!


(Curly Q)
Easton's hair after a bath with Palmer's coconut oil, hair milk in it:


(A Hot Mess)
Inevitably what Easton's hair will look like after 10 hours of sleep in his crib!! Time for a bath and to start all over again!! =)


Mama's hair doesn't get half the attention that the boys' hair does! =) Thankfully my hairdresser friend Brittny insist on taking care of me!

A BLAST FROM THE PAST:
Incase you are wondering if your baby will have hair like Easton's, here are a few pictures to help you compare. His hair was never course, it was always soft, curly and fine.


(I love this picture!!!! I'm 5 months pregnant with Preston =)

Hopefully that gives you more information than you could ever need on Ethiopian hair care!

If you have any questions please leave a comment or email me at Ryanashlie@aol.com

Easton's 1st Birthday Party!

On Sunday, March 13, 2011 we celebrated Easton's 1st birthday at Summerfield Park. The theme was "All Star Turns 1"

I got super cheap and yummy cupcakes at Sam's Club for the kids!

Since the cupcakes were super cheap I was able to afford this small but adorable and delicious cake from Pastries by Design. I simply dropped off the themed plates and they designed the cutest strawberry filled vanilla cake. The smash cake was included too!

I order this banner, plates, napkins, hats and party favors at Oriental Trading. Another cheap find!


Easton's Uncle Aaron gave him these Air Jordan Nike's for his 1st birthday!

Easton loved swinging at the park with his Papa's Ethiopian hat!

Easton did a fabulous job smashing his cake and he even shared a little with me!

Family portrait

Our little man wasn't feeling 100% on his birthday. Unfortunately, he had just recovered from a virus so he wasn't his normally smiley self. I know he enjoyed eating cake for the 1st time though!


The Fulmer Family

The McFarland Family

Our big 1 year old!

The pinata was a big hit with the kids at the party~

Cousin Dana and her son Jonathan had a great time!

It was so nice to have friends come to celebrate Easton's 1st year!

The Ryan family~

Brittny and Jason- (they have since welcomed their baby girl Emersyn Mae into their family)

My sister-in-law Meg with her baby girl Makayla~

My wonderful girl friends!

The birthday boy is fast alseep on daddy's shoulder! Proof that it was a wonderful party!!!! =)


Easton's 1st Year Milestones: I'm so thankful for I-photo! I can go back and look at pictures and videos to find out exactly when these things occurred!!!! I've decided that instead of having a baby book I'm going to use our blog as our memorabilia. I've heard of websites that can turn your entire blog into a book, maybe we'll do that one day. I've also made photo baby books using Kodak online gallery. Our family tradition is going to be making a photo book for the boys each year for Christmas. Since I have a gazillion pictures, with no intentions of slowing down, I need to have a purpose for all of the images.

Here are Easton's "first"
Rolled over (back to front)- September 7, 2010
Sitting up for a few seconds- September 23, 2010
Sitting up without falling- October 16th (I know this because I photographed him in a pumpkin patch)
1st Tooth- December 16, 20109 months old (he got the bottom 2 teeth)
Crawling- December 30, 2010- 9 1/2 months old
1st time on a swing- January 15, 2010- He loved it!
Pulling himself up and standing independently- January 15th
1st Steps- February 13, 2011
Walking- February 16th, 2011 Exactly 11 Months Old

I'm not completely sure when he said all of his 1st words but he definitely said "Dada" first, probably around 10 months. Now, at 14 months he says, "Baby", "Dada", "Mama" "Eeee Yaaa" (while riding his horse). He does the "D" sound for dog and the "B" sound for lots of b words, such as book, bird, and block. Oh, and how could I forget "Va" for vacuum! He is infatuated yet terrified of the vacuum!

Ok, I think I captured all of the highlights of Easton's 1st Year! We love you baby boy!!!!