What a little stinker

Ethan is definitely a character. Yesterday after returning home from a bike ride Matt ran upstairs for a minute & I sat down in the living room with Ethan. He was playing contentedly with one of his toys so I read the news. I saw him go & use the gate to stand up then next thing I know Matt was greeting him. Apparently the gate was not latched & Ethan crawled up the stairs by himself. We told him good job & never do that again unless he's with someone. It was impressive. I have been letting him climb the stairs all day today as long as I was with him. He has pretty much mastered going up now he needs to master going down. I took a video of it that I will post at the end of this entry. We attempted a bike ride tonight but got caught in the rain. Luckily Ethan's trailer is water proof so he was nice & dry when we managed to get back home.

Here are some new pictures & a few videos.

Ethan swimming in his pool

Mom! I'm swimming put down the camera!

Ethan put the camera bag on himself 

Ethan in his pool

Ethan Climbing the stairs (Sorry this one goes sideways)

Mr. Sociable

What a week this has been with Ethan. For most of this week he has been Mr. Krabs. He has been all about throwing temper tantrums over being told no. He wants whatever it is we happen to have in our hands & he won't let it go. He has thrown tantrums over the tv remote, cell phones, the house phone, poking the cats is the eye or pulling their fur (poor cats), & whatever else we have to tell him no on. Each morning after breakfast I get down on the floor to play with him only to be completely ignored. So I stay on the floor but will turn on GMA that I DVR each morning to listen to the news while I continue to try to play with Ethan. This is when he thinks he should get into all the no-no's. Somethings are just to big to put up out of his reach like the floor lamp. He got really aggressive with poor little Peek-a-boo the other day ripping her fur out, tugging her ears & hard as she tried since she won't jump the gates she just couldn't get away from him. He got really upset when I rescued her. I know it's just a phase he's in between the independent & dependent play with me stage. Some days it's just exhausting though. I guess we have reached Toddlerhood huh?

Yesterday we took Ethan on a few errands with us, then he went swimming in his pool, then he went over to his Aunt Cindy's for a cookout & watched the Point Place fireworks after that. We got home a little after 10:30 from the fireworks. Today we all took a trip to the zoo. Since we have a membership we were able to get in a hour earlier (just this week only). I think we covered every possible area except the aquarium & of course the Butterfly house. We took him to the new petting zoo which is more of a discovery area now but there were some goats for him to pet. He was a little timid with the goats, not really sure what to make of them. He got up close & personal with a Fox snake as well. There was one out in the open for people to touch. I was a tad disappointed that he wasn't allowed to touch it. Gov't says that b/c snakes carry E. Coli & other diseases children under the age of 5 are not allowed to touch due to their immune systems not being strong enough to handle it. But he was allowed to look. Ethan also was right up to the Tigers. We got the oppertunity to watch them feed the Tigers. They were right up against the glass chewing on rats. He was fascinated by that. He had a fun time at the zoo so when we got home he went down for a nap. Now he's in bed for the night talking himself to sleep.

I took some pictures & a short video of Ethan in his pool on Friday. They will be posted soon I just have to get them loaded onto my computer. Be on the lookout for them.

Father's Day

Daddy,

I am so glad that you are my daddy.

We have so much fun when we are

together. You make every day fun.

Each day I look forward to you coming

home so that we can play. You make me 

Laugh & smile the evening away. I enjoy 

our time together so much. I am the luckiest

little boy to have you as my daddy.

Happy Father's Day daddy

Love,

Ethan

Matt had a great day today. We attended a wedding this morning, then we had lunch with my dad, & when we got home Ethan gave him his gifts. For Father's Day Ethan gave his daddy a WWF magazine & a new book. I gave him a picture frame for the pictures we took with Ethan a few weeks ago. Now Matt is having a relaxing evening watching Harry Potter & doing things on his computer while Ethan is napping. This year was special because this was Matt's first Father's Day with Ethan home with us. Last year we celebrated Father's Day in the NICU so I wanted this year to be better. 

Happy Father's Day to all our dads.

Mr. Busy Boy

Ethan has been keeping me busy all week. He is all about being the center of attention. Sunday Matt, Ethan, & I went for a bike ride in the evening that ended with Matt blowing a tire & having to carry his bike home. I had to ride home from Detwiler Park to get a wrench to transfer the trailer from Matt's bike to my bike. That turned into a very exhausting ride. Monday Ethan went with me to visit some high school friends that I haven't seen in 5 or 6 years. He had fun playing with their little boys toys. There is only a 7 month difference between the 2 boys. Ethan is older. Tuesday Ethan & I took a bike ride in the morning after he had breakfast then came back home & he took a nap. Yesterday we went to the post office for stamps so I could finally get the Thank You cards mailed. There was a reason it took me so long but I can't say why you'll have to find out on your own (wink, wink). Then today we went for a ride & took a dip in his pool when we got back. I think I wore him out this time. My sleepy little guy did not wake up this morning till 11. I actually had to go wake him up. Usually he rouses when he hears my alarm go off in the morning.

We will probably be taking Ethan to get his blood drawn for his hyperphe either tomorrow or beginning of next week. We were told that they didn't want him to take in more than 50g of protein per day but he seems to only take in 20g-30g per day anyways. As he gets older he might take in more but right now we are only feeding him the amt that he will actually eat. 

An Exciting Day

Ethan had a fun & exciting day today. He watched Matt put together his bike trailor, then he had lunch with us, then he went with us on a bike ride, then he watched us empty his pool when we got back home. Now he's playing with Matt. What a day!

Last night we had gotten his pool all inflated & filled hoping that it was going to be a nice day for a swim. Unfortunately it turned out to be too cool. Didn't matter anyways. After all the work to inflate it we find that the bottom tier has a leak. So we had to empty it & deflate it. Tomorrow we are going to look for the leak. I don't have the receipt so I don't really want to go through the hassle of having to try to exchange it through receipt look up. If we can seal the leak we are good to go.

Ethan started saying another word today. All day he has been going around saying "Bop" We think that he is trying to say stop. A word we have to tell him quite often. He started saying it when I was changing his diaper. He was turning his body every which way & trying to stand up. It was a poopy diaper so I really didn't care to see it get smeared all over b/c he wouldn't lay still. I kept telling him to stop, lay still, hold on, ect. He just started saying "Bop" so then I would tell him I'm not Bop I'm mom. He still hasn't said mama yet. So for the rest of the say he goes around saying "Bop". It's very cute.

He loved his bike ride today. He was laughing, talking, & squealing while we were out. Poor Matt wore out quickly. Guess he wasn't in as good of shape as he thought. That just means we'll have to ride more often. I had forgotten hoe hard the seat on my bike was. I haven't ridden in 2 years. Last year I was preggers so I couldn't ride. I once had a padded cover but it was stolen off my bike a few years back while I ran in & dropped off a movie at the video store. I will have to get another one. It's really rough on the caboose.

Here are the pictures I took today:

(I took these a few days ago)

Excitable Ethan

Adorable Ethan

I have no title for this one

Watching daddy

Sitting in his chair

Raiding the fridge

You can never start beer drinking too early

In his bike trailor

Going for a ride

Ethan enjoys his ride w/Grover

Relaxing while dad does all the work

Watching the pool being emptied

 

Matt bailing out the pool

Ethan's Video Debut - (took me long enough)

I did it! I got the video on his blog! I had one more trick up my sleeve & it worked. This video is not in it's original format. I had to made a few minor adjustments to make it fit right to the music when I broke it up into parts. Make sure when you watch this you have your speakers on. Please make sure you turn off the player in the side bar too you wouldn't want it to interfere with the video music  :-)

                                    

Here it is. The debut of Ethan's Video:

Pt 1 - Ethan from birth to 2 months

Pt 2 - Ethan from 3 months through Christmas

Pt 3 - Ethan from New Years to Easter

Pt 4- Ethan from Post Easter to 1 year

1 year check-up

Ethan had his 1 year check-up today. He weighs 19.6lbs & is 28" long that puts him in the 5% for both height & weight. He's pretty much right on track with his development. The only thing that at this age he should be doing is starting to help get himself dressed. But he's actually a tad ahead with his walking. He should be getting about 16oz of milk a day, & we are giving him no more than 8oz of juice a day. She was very happy with the level of engagement that he shows & with his level of energy (he sat for her as well as he sits for us). I talked to her about his energy level regarding how we repeatedly tell him no to the things that he shouldn't be getting into & how he persists in getting his way. I also mentioned that he is really into hair pulling, biting, & yanking glasses off our faces. We have tried swatting/slapping his hands away but it doesn't phase him, & we are currently giving him warnings then putting him in his playpen but he doesn't forget about the no-no. As soon as he's released he goes right for it. She said the next thing we can do is if he goes right back for it he gets 1 maybe 2 warnings then back into the playpen. If we stay consistent on it then we should be able to get the point across. She said that it isn't too early for us to start disciplining him. He's testing to see if we give in. She said the persistence is good in one way yet bad at the same time. We just have to remain persistent. She also said that if we feel that he's ready to potty train then to go ahead esp. since he is starting to walk. She recommended starting out sitting him on the potty before his bath & just have him sit there, entertain him with a book or toy. Once he actually goes on the potty then we can gradually bring him to it more often. The fact that he is making diaper changes so challenging it wouldn't be a bad thing to train him early. It should be easy to do since he doesn't really like messy diapers. He gets fussy as soon as he poo's in his diaper. So all in all he's right where he should be. He got his vaccines & is all up to date. 

I made a video for Ethan for his birthday but unfortunately I am unable to post it on his blog or youtube. It's 35 min long & if I post on youtube or esnips I need to break it down into segments which I will be doing as soon as I can figure out how to do that.

I took him outside yesterday since he was seeming to want to get into everything in the house. I figured he could burn off some energy in the backyard. So I took pictures of him playing outside.

Honking the horn

What do I touch next

Sitting cute

Driving?

Nummy fingers

Where'd it go?

Found it

How big is Ethan? So big!

Ethan's Birthday Party

Ethan had great party it was a total success. Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with him & for all the very nice gifts. The day turned out to be so nice for a party. Ethan had a great time seeing everyone & was so happy that you all were able to attend. 

Ethan opening his gifts

Ethan looking at his present

Ethan eating his cake

Ethan getting into his cake

Ethan with cake on his face

Ethan playing with a new toy

Party Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Ethan's B-day party. We went out today & got the food, balloons, & dessert plates. Ethan is all set to PARTY! The house is cleaned & the cats are groomed. Whether they will be on their best behavior is the question. Most likely they will go into hiding. It will be the biggest group of people they have ever been around. By the end of this weekend we are going to be 2 very tired parents. LOL.

We were going to take some time out to let Ethan use his pool but it will take forever to blow up. We tried a electric air pump & nothing happened. We might be better off using hand pumps. It has 3 rings to blow up we could so 2 at a time if we both work at it. We'll have it blown up & ready for him by the end of the weekend. It would be nice if the weather would be warm & sunny this week so that he can use his little pool.

6/4/09-post b-day

Ethan had a nice b-day yesterday. Matt was up early in the morning before Ethan to clean the bathroom downstairs. By the time Ethan got up Matt was just about done. We spent the morning with him then while he was taking a nap we worked on getting the house cleaned. When he got up from his nap we gave him his lunch then had him open his gifts from us. He loved his plush Grover. I hope that it's going to warm up this weekend sometime so we can get his little pool set up. I even bought him a swim shirt to help protect his skin. He loves the plush baseball & glove that Matt picked out for him. Great for chewing on. We had to go to the grocery store to pick up just a few things for us so we got him some mini cupcakes. He loved those. Each cupcake is less than a gram so it's ok for him to have. He'll be able to have a little b-day cake on Sat. We sang Happy Birthday to him & had cupcakes with him. I would like to make it a tradition to have a private celebration with him (& any other kids we have) on their actual birthday. It's something fun for us to do.

We have been busy cleaning & whatnot around the house to get ready for the party on Sat. Even the fish tank was cleaned. We have been battling cat fur every where the cats are shedding like crazy. So we found a furminator on sale for cheap. When they say you can't brush your pet bald it's a lie. Poor poor Peek-a-boo has a bald spot. It's funny but I feel bad for her. Not to mention that she has become quite accustomed to gouging us with her back claws so we are starting her on the vinyl nail covers. She hates them, she tends to pull them off. We are just going to have to be persistent with this. I'm too scared she will badly scratch Ethan. Carmel never brings his out. He never feels the need to use them. Peek-a-boo may need a little loving if you can find her.

Here are a few pictures from yesterday.

Ethan kissing  Grover

Ethan with his ball & mitt

Ethan playing with Grover

Ethan eating his b-day cupcake

                    

Ethan finished with his cupcake

Happy Birthday Ethan!!!

On this day 1 year ago Ethan made his debut into this world weighing 3lbs 9oz. Born 9 weeks 6 days early Ethan showed he was a strong feisty little guy. Through the year we have watched as Ethan has gone from being so tiny & fragile to rolling over, to crawling, to talking, to standing, & starting to walk. He has turned into a beautiful feisty little man. Ethan has a way of making gloomy days brighter. He has made our lives fuller & happier. This year has gone by so quickly it's hard to believe that my little 3 pounder is now 1. 

Ethan,

You joined our family much sooner than we anticipated. As you turn 1 today I look back & remember the beautiful baby that you were. You have turned into a beautiful little man. I have watched you grow & learn throughout this year. You have made each day brighter than the last. You have a way of making us laugh & smile alongside you. Our lives are much fuller with you in them. We have been there through all your firsts. From the first time you rolled over, to the first time you crawled, to your firsts steps. Now we are here for your first birthday. It is so hard to believe that you are 1. Where has this year gone? You are an amazing little boy. You have come so far since the day you were born & we are so glad that we get to share life with you. There are no words to describe how much we love you. Happy Birthday Ethan!

Love,

Mommy & Daddy

Ethan newborn

Ethan 1 Month

Ethan 2 months

Ethan 3 months

Ethan 4 months

Ethan 5 months

Ethan 6 months

Ethan 7 months

Ethan 8 months

Ethan 9 months

Ethan 10 months

Ethan 11 months

Ethan 1 yr old

Soon to be 1!!

In just a few short days Ethan is going to be 1! We are working on getting the house cleaned & ready for Ethan's party. Matt is going to be off Weds, Thurs, & Fri so we can get things set up. We need to find a place for some of Ethan's bigger toys so they aren't in the way. It's supposed to be nice all weekend which is good b/c we planned on being able to use our backyard.

Ethan is getting more daring. He is trying to stand up without the assistance of furniture. He hasn't been successful yet though. He's been trying walk on his own but he still hasn't found his balance totally so he always ends up plunking down on his little behind. Soon enough he'll be walking. Once he does that we plan on beginning potty training. Both of us are tired of fighting to get diapers on & off of him. We see this as a sign that he is ready to use the potty. We figure about another month & we'll start.

Ethan is wearing 12 mos sized clothes now & we are good to go on summer clothes. He could use 18M & 24M sizes. Things for fall. At the present time he is not really interested in too many toys. He's all about getting into things he shouldn't have. I think my kid might become a computer geek. He seems to go for anything electronic. If you still don't know what to get him I mentioned in the last post about his college fund. You can always donate to that. For anyone who doesn't live close or won't be at his party I put a link up in the side bar to donate through his website. I set up an account for him so that I can easily transfer the money to his college fund. To make a donation though his website just click on the button in his sidebar that says donate. For those who bought his bracelet it's the same thing.

I am so excited about his b-day. It's going to be a fun day.