New Milestones

Hey everybody! I know we're overdue for more news and pictures, but I'm usually a little pressed for time ;-) But, while I had a minute I wanted to post some quick video clips of Ethan.

Ethan has become quite the terror on wheels! If you're barefooted or in flip-flops you better watch out because he WILL take out your toes!

Here's Ethan working on his scooting... he can move crazy fast, but of course he wouldn't while the camera was on! Here's a peak at his mad skills... we're still waiting for him to figure out the crawl. But he's already hard to keep tabs on cause he moves too quick.

And last but not least, just a cute close-up of Ethan checking out the camera and scooting around and slapping the floor... which he thinks is soooooo cool! Sorry the clips are a little boring but I don't have the luxury of time to edit perfect little snippets, but at least I try and keep the filming short as not to bore you too much ;-) Enjoy! We'll post more pics soon!

Ethan's How Old?!?

Well, well, well.... look who decided to write on the blog. It's a funny thing, I've even typed blog entries on my computer but never got around to actually posting them. I figured people don't really care what I have to say they really just want to see pictures of Ethan. Well, Ethan is almost 6 months old! He's got soooo much personality. He's been such a good baby for us! He loves to be scared and thinks it's so funny. He rolls all around from his back to his belly, from his belly to his back... it's his way of traveling these days. We expect him to crawl away any day now!

About a month or so ago we started to introduce Ethan to real food! We started with the usual rice cereal and oatmeal and after making our way through all of his veggies, Ethan tried his first fruit yesterday - apple sauce! He loves Squash and Sweet Peas and doesn't seem to like carrots, BUT he never spit anything out. So far he eats everything! (unlike his mommy ;-)

We started feeding Ethan in this vibrating seat, but his legs are so strong that he bounces himself all over the place. So we tried feeding him in his Bumbo but he can slide himself all over the dining room table (it seemed a little unsafe). So, we went ahead and graduated him to his high chair already! We thought it'd be a while before he made use of it, but apparently he's a big boy!

Ethan's other "milestones" are....

He's now an "assisted sitter." Yes, apparently that's an "official" stage for infants. In this case he's being assisted by a pillow and mommy's guitar ;-)

Ethan has been crazy strong since he was born... we think he was working out those extra 10 days he's stayed in my belly. I think he's been standing since about 6 weeks. Now days all you have to do is touch his hands and he immediately wants to stand up... at which time we yell "Babyzilla!" He loves to stand, but hopefully he'll wait a while still before he walks because I don't know if I could keep up with him walking about. He's hard enough to keep up with rolling around the floor!

I think that's all the highlights! I think I stopped blogging about the time he was discovering his hands and feet, cause he's been far too busy to walk away from ever since! Here's a quick recap of the last 4 months (starting at about 8 weeks till now) that I've made you all miss cause I'm a slacker....

One happy family!

Dear Mommy and Daddy...

Jan.26, 2010

Dear Mommy & Daddy,

I’m 7 weeks old today! Can you believe how big I’m getting. Mommy put me on the scale with her today and I already weigh 13 pounds! Mommy’s been feeding me really well. Maybe too well… daddy tried to get me to drink from a bottle today and yesterday and well, who do you think you’re fooling?!? Don’t get me wrong, I love you daddy, but mommy has been feeding me my whole life. Why would I want left-overs from a bottle? I guess mommy needs a break, so daddy, keep trying and I’ll see if I can adjust.

What an exciting day! Not only is it my 7 week birthday, but I also had a bath today. Grandma Janet came over and played with me while mommy gave me my bath. Grandma did a great job of keeping me warm and dry. I love to smile and laugh at Grandma and Mommy while they bathe me. I don’t know why, but it is so much fun! I just can’t stop laughing – and they won’t stop smiling back at me, so how can I not enjoy it?!

This evening was quite an adventure. I’m usually really tired and cranky when Daddy gets home from work. I always cry when he holds me cause I’m just so tired from a long day. But, Daddy figured out the secret today! He put me in my lamb swing… and well, I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. Once I feel asleep Daddy put me on his chest and I slept so well! I was so happy to lay with Daddy and not feel like crying. He’s such a great Daddy!

The day doesn’t end yet! Mommy fed me my bedtime snack and then put me in my PJs and changed my diaper. I tried to tell her I didn’t need my diaper changed… she finally figured it out and put it back on. I didn’t mind though because I LOVE to have my diaper changed! Mommy just smiles and talks to me and we laugh and have the best time. I have to be honest though, I just love to be naked! And I can’t help but laugh and smile everytime Mommy wipes my booty with that cool cloth. (oooh! That’s cold!) …I got my PJs on and Mommy finished feeding me…

Time for bed! Mommy realized that NOW I needed a diaper change. So, she took me to my bed-side and changed me. Only Mommy forgot to cover my… WEEEEEEEEEE! Peepee everywhere! That was sooooo fun! I got pee on my face and my PJs and all over my changing table, but I missed Mommy, so she didn’t mind. Mommy yelled for Daddy and he came running in. He helped Mommy get me all cleaned up and he took off my PJs. I was glad cause I didn’t want to sleep in wet clothes. Apparently I got peepee in my hair cause Daddy started rubbing soap all over my head and I was thinking, “didn’t I already have a bath today?” I was so confused. I never bathe this much! Well, it worked out well. Daddy cleaned me all up while Mommy held me over the sink. I was so cold cause I only had my diaper on, but I knew Mommy wouldn’t let me get too cold.

Finally Mommy took me to put on a clean pair of PJs. “Uh-oh!” I didn’t feel so good. All that diaper changing, clothes on, clothes off, bathing, and running around got my belly upset. “Oops.” I spit up ALL OVER Mommy and all over the floor. Mommy yelled for Daddy again and was laughing so hard. I don’t know if I’ve ever heard her laugh so hard?! Daddy came running and wiped my face and tried to clean Mommy up a bit. Once Mommy and I were clean I finally warmed up in a clean pair of PJs. Then, Daddy wrapped me like a burrito, walked me around his bedroom trying to get me to fall asleep. It pretty much worked. He laid me in my bed and then I was wide awake. BUT, Daddy said, “goodnight, buddy” and I fell asleep. What a day!

Love,

Ethan

Hanging with Daddy. I like to climb up his chest.

Daddy is funny!

I like to play in my Play Gym from Aunt Kim & Uncle Dave!

Exercise time with Mommy... I'm trying so hard to crawl! I usually end up with rug burn on my face cause I get tired of holding my head up. I'm doing pretty good in this picture.

I love bath time!

My new spikey hair-do after my bath... Pretty cute, huh?!

6 Weeks!

Ethan is 6 weeks old today! Can you believe it?!? Time continues to fly by, yet go soooo slow. It's a weird stage to be in. Ethan has so much personality already. He loves to smile and laugh... especially when we change his diaper. Never met a kid who likes to have their diaper changed so much! He's a tootin' machine... he loves to drop the biggest bombs when mommy feeds him, but for the most part he just loves to drop bombs ;-) I suppose we'll be thankful that he's "regular." haha. Well, I weighed him this morning and he's a whopping 12.4 lbs and measures in at 22.75 in. long. No wonder Bry's and I's backs hurt all the time. I don't even bowl with a 12 lb. ball!

Well, the excitement of the week is putting Ethan in the Bumbo. You're supposed to wait till they're a bit bigger, but he's doing so well holding his head up that we thought we'd give it a try anyways... here's a couple pics! I did try Ethan in the Jolly Jumper, but he just got pissed at me. It's WAYYYY too big for him, but he loves to stand so much that I thought he might like it, BUT he just yelled at me. We're hoping to get him the round play seat soon so he can try standing "on his own" for a while. My cousin is supposed to lend the play seat to us... we'll post pictures of that.

Last, but not least, Grandma Janet has really helped Ethan enjoy his bath time. We started a new routine... she distracts him while I bath him. It's seems to be working really well. He enjoyed his bath more than ever today. I think it's the happiest I've ever seen him.

Well, I know you all just want to see pictures.... so here you go. Oh, I almost forgot... Ethan said "Hi" during his bath today. Grandma Janet was there too... I'm not making it up. ;-)

Today during his very happy bath time!

Ethan gives daddy a big bear hug ;-)

He loves his daddy!

Bumbo baby wearing mommy's hat (thanks to G'ma Nita - who's pretending Ethan's driving a car... she said "you can steal mommy's car and drive to the store for cigarettes and a 6-pack, oh, not till your 15." Thanks G'ma! haha! And people wonder where I get my sense of humor from)

"I think this chair is a little big for me"

4 Weeks!

(1)Ethan loves the car seat (can't you tell). (2) Sporting his "Best Gift Ever" onesie on his first Christmas. (3) Ethan loves to watch Action Sports with mom ;-) [he's about 3 weeks in all these pics]

Well, we’ve survived 4 weeks already! I can’t believe Ethan is already 4 weeks old… actually he’s more than 4 weeks old. It’s so hard to get him to sleep long enough for me to hop on the blog. So, Grandma Janet is here keeping him sleeping so I can get some things done around the house. And, one of my priorities is to update the blog. I’m sorry it’s taken so long, but as you can imagine it’s a little difficult to get away from a newborn.

Ethan was kind enough to break us in easy. As you may have read before, Ethan was sleeping pretty well for us in the beginning. Well, things have changed, but all in all, he’s really been a great baby! We try to keep him in a daytime “routine” of eating and sleeping and playing in hopes that he’ll sleep longer at night. Some of you might be laughing thinking, “yeah, right!” BUT, it’s actually working out pretty well. Ethan eats around 8 or 9pm and then goes straight to bed. He’ll go about 5-6 hours until he eats again. And then he’ll give us another 3-4 hours after that. So, I get about a 9 hour window in the late night/early morning hours of good sleeping (not 9 hours of sleep, but a 9 hour WINDOW of sleep – just thought I’d better clear that up). We really can’t complain ;-)

When Daddy (Bryan) is home he’ll grab Ethan around 6am and spend some Father-Son time together while Mommy sleeps more. I really appreciate those mornings. When Bry’s not home, I keep Ethan in bed with me and try and squeeze a couple more Zzzzz’s out of him. We get about an hour on the bed and another hour on my chest if all goes well. I do my best to keep us in bed till 8am… a reasonable hour for a mom to get out of bed. Haha ;-)

Ethan is such a happy baby (most of the time). From the very beginning he smiled at us. Oddly enough he smiled and laughed in his sleep more than anything else, but finally started smiling and “laughing” at us. We’re still waiting for that full-on laugh/giggle, but boy we try to get it out of him. He started to “coo” and “ahhh” a bunch in the last 2 weeks which has been awesome! Bry and I are constantly trying to tickle a “coo” out of him. We’ll probably flip when he finally lets out a full-on laugh. We can’t wait! He “laughs” the most when he’s on his back in his little play area (compliments of his Great Aunt Kim & Uncle Dave). This is also my saving grace because I can actually put him down and walk away while he entertains himself… (hello! Bathroom break!!) Well, I’ve tried real hard to capture some “coo’s” on video for you all and was finally successful… so I hope you enjoy the video. ;-)

Hope I didn’t bore you, but the blog is also a journal for when Ethan grows up, so you’ll have to deal… Ethan just reminded me (toot!). He is a tooting machine! And it never fails, he bombs me while I’m feeding him OR bombs you right in the face while you’re changing his diaper. Gotta love ‘em!

Ethan - 3 weeks old

Ethan - 4 weeks old... and no, I never get to leave this spot on the couch.