Howdy's and Hugs from Arizona ... (yeah, that did sound kind of lame.) Thought I'd just add a few new pictures. I know they say child "2" never gets as much camera time, but I'm pretty sure this one won't have any trouble - we seem to always have a camera in tow.

We've had some great weather with cooler temps, but are back on the rise this week - looking at 97+ for the weekend. Hard to believe, but nice to have it warm enough to spend some time in and around the pool. This weekend Jon's office is doing HS Physicals - an annual event they do every year free for HS kids. It's a local program that's going national now. Anyway ... he'll he busy Saturday, so Ian and may find our way to the edge of the pool. Of course, our schedule is usually fairly flexible, so I don't know why we have to wait until Saturday. Ha! Here are the latest & greatest ... we took a few pictures of Ian during dinner the other night - He does like to ham it up for the camera - a complete cheese ball.

yesterday evening, we met Jon after work at the Barber Shop for Ian's latest haircut. The last two times I've taken him to one of those "kids cut" places where they entertain them with fun chairs and movies, etc ... and "poof", suddenly they have a new 'doo'. But, this time we decided to take him to Jon's barber. They're a nice family from Manhattan - the barber shop also combo's as a place to buy/sell gold and jewelry, get a watch fixed etc. Ahhhh.... our own little piece of NYC right in our backyard...without the tolls. Now, if only you could get a "slice of pie" while you wait. ha..ha.... Jon loves it because they're the true old school barber - down to the straight razor shave, massage, hot towels, etc... not to mention the haircut's only 6 bucks.

Ian wasn't a big fan of the clippers at first - and I couldn't help getting pics of his distress (rotten Mom) but you can see he eventually came around. Surely his favorite part was the tootsie pop at the end. (My least favorite for obvious reasons.)

Rock Me Amadeus ...

Attached are some pictures of our little musician. Most know how Ian loves to dance when the music comes on ... but since we've put the keyboard up, it's hard to keep Ian off of it. We thought we'd be safe if we could keep him from finding the "on/off" button, but that didn't last long. Of course the volume has been a favorite function of his as well. He loves to listen to it loud! LOL. He's actually really good at keeping the beat and likes to play along with the other tracks on the system. It's pretty funny to watch him play the keys and dance along with his original recordings. ha...ha..... he gets his best "practicing" in after dinner - he often finishes first, so we'll "excuse him" from the table and he'll play while Jon and I finish up. Luckily, the table is just feet from the piano. Last night I thought to myself ... we're really going to have to get him in music lessons in a year or so. Then it occured to me - it may not be his love of music as much as his love of noise that motivates him. LOL hmmmmmmm ....

What's in a Name ...

The clock ticks and the arrival of Ian's little brother is quickly approaching. Meanwhile, we are busy tossing names back and forth ... we thought we would throw it out there and get your thoughts on the subject.

Here's a random sampling of the names we've been considering in no particular order ... feel free to comment and offer your thoughts. Don't be bummed if we choose your least favorite though. In the end, Mom has the final say with some reaonable input from Dad. LOL (Hey, it's only fair after all that delivery drama!)

* Campbell
* Porter
* Landon
* Forrest
* Jaxon

(OK, Jaxon isn't really on the list.... but I'll insert for Jon. ha..ha... Its his way of getting around the "Jack Russell" debate, however, I'd still end up shortening it to "Jack" and I just can't get arms around having a son named after an entire breed of terrier. LOL)

Look forward to your comments!

Breakfast with Ian

Thought I'd add a few more pictures of Ian... A few are from the other morning - I was desperately tired, trying to wait Ian out so I could put him down for a snooze. Of course, it was after a night complete insomnia for me - and Ian was up for the morning at 4:30AM. LOL So after our usual morning activities, we vegged while watching Sesame Street. suddenly, I hear a big "swoooosh", look over and see a bag of goldfish in his lap. Too tired to worry about it, I took some pictures and he put them back in the bag. Not the goldfish bag, but a paper bag he'd decorated the day before. LOL Hey, when you're that age, a bag is a bag is a bag. Of course, his eyes never left the TV. Can't bear to miss a second of Elmo or Cookie Monster.

Here are a few pictures from breakfast this morning. Ian is very particular about eating with utensils... even down to requiring a fork to eat his Cheetos while BBQ'ing Easter weekend. LOL Of course, he's a little sloppy, but we go with the flow. Today's "special" was yogurt and cereal and I just couldn't help but take a few shots. You know Ian - he's such a poser when it comes to the camera. ha..ha...ha...

Festival of the West

On St Patrick's Day, we attended the Festival of the West at Rawhide. It was a day of record heat ... 99 degrees. We couldn't believe we were crazy enough to spend the hottest part of the day at an outdoor festival, but "when in Rome..." ha..ha.... Actually, there was a tented area with various vendors and oodles of "old west stars" on hand. We arrived and they were honoring Shirley Jones with an award of some kind. However, she had to quickly rush off to catch a flight out of "Dodge". Ian really knew how to lay on the charm... He worked over Ruth Buzzi who actually took a "free" picture with Ian (All others paid $35 LOL) Ben Coopers wife was also taken by our little charmer - after pics with Ruth, she called him over saying she wanted to "see the baby". It was quite humorous... There were various old stars around - including guys from Bonanza and Timmy from Lassie. Ian enjoyed seeing all the animals, riding the train, etc.

By days end, we were all pooped. but we'd survived the heat and had a great time. Of course, we heard our friends back in Philly were surviving their own weather turmoil with a killer ice storm. Truth be told, we were glad to battle the heat vs. the ice.

Ian & Jon

Ian with Ruth Buzzi

Ian checking things out on the train ride

Ian with Mimi and Grandpa Dale aka "Honk"

Our little Cowboy

Here Comes Peter Cotton-Tail ...

Easter in Arizona ... We were lucky enough to enjoy some splendid spring sunshine this Easter weekend. A great backdrop to the many activities that kept us all very busy.

Saturday morning we attended the annual Arcadia Ward Bike Ride & Pancake Breakfast with Grandpa and Grandma A. The weather was beautiful and the food was fabulous. Ian also had fun on the Easter Egg Hunt with Grandma A. Of course, he's oblivious to the fact that we were secretly replacing his chocolate goodies with raisins. But hey, he's still too young to realize the the difference between a yummy chocolate bar and a crummy old mini box of raisins. ha...ha...

That afternoon we headed back for a BBQ and some time at the Pool at Grandma & Grandpa A's house ... Ian LOVES the water - he loves to jump off the edge into Jon's arms - gotta be quick though, he'll jump in whether you're there or not. Of course, we didn't have our camera with us, but Grandma A took some pictures that we'll post eventually.

That evening, we made our way out to Chandler to spend the night with Mimi & Grandpa Honk to color eggs. The next day we enjoyed an egg hunt in the yard and Brunch with Aunt Meredith and Great Grandma Joyce as well. Ian woke to a basket from the Easter Bunny full of fun things ... his favorite being a little monkey flashlight and sour bunny candy which he thoroughly enjoyed. We enjoyed the crazy faces with each nibble, but of course, the sour bite wasn't enough to keep him away. Luckily, the camera found it's way back into our bag for the outing.

Later we were able to talk to Grandma & Grandpa Russell in Missouri. We were sorry we couldn't see them, but are happy they're just a phone call away.

Ian coloring eggs with Mimi - hands "zipped up" in plastic bags.. Mom's just no fun and tries to keep the messes that stain to a minimum. LOL

Ian discovered his Easter Basket that morning after a nice walk with Jon - they saw Goats, sheep, chickens, horses, cows ... Ian had lots of practice with his animal sounds.

ooooohhhh.... SOUR!!

Going on an Egg Hunt .... look at all the pretty colors

A Tisket ... a Tasket ... put all my eggs in one basket ... This thing could have lasted all day - we continued to hide the "found" eggs while he was searching... So instead of finding only a dozen eggs, he must have found a hundred. LOL

Westward Ho

So the Russell's have finally joined our friends and family in the wacky, wild, world of blogs ... Considering we missed our opportunity for a Christmas, New Year’s or even an Easter letter, now seems to be the "better late than never" time to start. Hopefully we'll stay a bit more connected.

What can I say, the Christmas season was beyond busy between school finals for Jon, travel to Arizona for all, and prepping for a speedy move. That being said, we have failed to catch up with many friends and family members as of late. Sooooo … this “short” update will fall under one of the following categories for most of you.

1.) “Blah, blah. Heard that … seen that … tell us something we don’t know.”
2.) “What? The Russell’s aren't in Philadelphia anymore? That explains a lot.”
3.) “You’re kidding!! The Russell’s have been in Arizona for a month and haven’t bothered to call us yet? Losers!”

In January, we received the assignments for Jon’s final two clinical rotations in preparation to complete his Physician Assistant Program at Drexel Univ. in Philadelphia. We feverishly began to pack ourselves up to head back to Arizona so Jon could be ready to start Feb. 17th. He’s currently working for a Family Practice and will complete his activity there at the end of May. In June he’ll begin his last rotation in Emergency Med. at the Indian Health Services Hospital, also in Phoenix. Then it’s back to Philadelphia for Graduation in August. It’s hard to believe how quickly the past two years have flown by. (Although, Jon may disagree. ha…ha.) We were lucky to have so many good friends helping with the move. From “adopting” Ian, to packing and loading the truck, we were very, very blessed!!

Ian and I flew back to Arizona and Jon drove out in the car. He was able to stop in Rolla, Missouri on the way and spend a couple of days with his parents which he really enjoyed. They've built a great homestead up on the hill surrounded by tons of trees and a couple of ponds on what seems like endless acreage. He also took a side trip to find his grandparents old home in Indiana.

Meanwhile, Ian and I enjoyed spending time with my family here in Phoenix while we anxiously waited for Jon to arrive. Philadelphia had been hit by some crazy cold weather just as we were packing up and moving out, so the sunshine and warmth was wonderful. Our things arrived a week or so behind and with the help of more friends and family, (and the awesome ABF driver) we loaded things into the apartment and storage unit. It was funny to see Ian’s excitement when he noticed his old cozy caterpillar seat come through the door – we put it in the bedroom out of the way and he promptly went in to sit down and get reacquainted with his old “friend”. We found him just sitting in it “chillin’’.

It's been a busy couple of months, getting settled and reacquainted with the Valley. We've had some exciting adventures and fun visiting with family. Jon's brother Ron and his family came up to Phoenix one weekend, and we stopped in to see them while travelling through Tucson on a quick jaunt through Southern AZ a couple of weeks ago. It's been nice to have lots of babysitters available with Aunt Meredith and 4 of 6 Grandparents nearby. Jon and I left Ian overnight while we explored Bisbee, AZ - a fun old mining town about 2 hours south of Tucson. It was nice to sneak off and spend some time together. Ian had fun with Meredith for the day then overnight with my Mom. He hardly noticed we were gone.

Ian's kept us busy - he's as active as any kid I know. He loves to build with blocks - color - and watch the Wiggles. Typical toddler stuff. He gets so excited when he sees someone standing near the DVD player... his little legs go crazy dancing and squealing "Wiggles" ... it's funny. We took him to see the Wiggles show in March - At first he was a bit overwhelmed by everything - but before long, he was dancing in the aisle. Jon's in heaven because he's good with a ball. Unfortunately, we've yet to help him understand that it's only OK to throw the BALL ... blocks, cups, books, etc are NOT balls and should not be pelted across the room at people. He has unusual strength and aim for a little guy. Ha...ha...

Pregnancy is going well ... "Little Boy Two" is expected to make his debut in about 6 weeks. (Of course, he's due while Jon's scheduled to be back in Philly for exams and lectures, but we'll keep our fingers crossed that Jon gets back to Phoenix in time. What can I say, we're suckers for drama and adventure. Ha...ha...ha.

Meanwhile, here are some various photos of our first few weeks back in Phoenix

Ian (19 Months) with his cousin Canyon Alldredge (22 months) - he was visiting from Salt Lake

What do you think Canyon... Ian's shoes are a little stinky?? LOL

Finger painting with Ian ... An adventure all its own!

Fun in the Arizona Sunshine

Ian loves being in the pool

A pregnant Holly ... I'd say "very pregnant", but that belly has actually grown in the last month. LOL