Catch up!

I haven't posted anything in awhile. It's been a busy few weeks.

Ethan had his first round of four month shots and his follow up appointment at Dupont Children's Hospital. He's been cleared for any return visits to Delaware, and the Walking Pneumonia is still the prime suspect for his 9 month hospitalization. He's growing big and tall. Now a whopping 26 inches, putting him in the 90th percentile for his height!

In the past few weeks, we've been though a four month growth spurt, complete with sleep regression. (Full nights of sleep--I miss you, please come back soon!) Ethan is also working on teething (poor little guy).

On the fun side of things, Ethan's big personality just keeps getting bigger and bigger. My favorite new trait is his desire, nay ability, to own the room. He's a rock star. He loves going out in public so he can solicit attention from passers by. He'll even resort to letting out loud happy screams, look around mischievously to see who looked at him, and flash them his winning smile. It's very deliberate. The world is wrapped around his little finger, and that's just the way he likes it!

He's also dying to be mobile. He's so close he can taste it. Of course, as I have mentioned before, he can walk assisted. Putting him down on the floor and letting him toddle to the thing he wants to investigate is quite amusing and interesting. It sure solves a lot of "what do you want?" mysteries. He's also starting to roll around quite a bit. He's long since mastered rolling onto his side, but occasionally makes it over to his belly, and sometimes from belly to back. I take back any comments about him not wanting to crawl. The fire in his eyes has ignited. He's a quick learner. It will be soon soon.

Oh, and he's eating baby cereal! It was love at first bite! Some nights are more of a struggle than others, but it is helping him sleep a little better at night, so it's worth it. Sometimes he fusses, sometimes he grabs your hands and jams the spoon in his mouth. We all have our moods I suppose!

So, tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Santa is coming early this year, and we're celebrating with my family tomorrow. Stay tuned as photos are sure to follow!  Here's a sneak peek from our holiday so far:

Happy Holidays!!!!! :) :) :)

I got a brand new pair of roller skates...

If you've spent time with Ethan, you know how extremely high energy he is.  I love this HP commercial, and it reminds me of Ethan every time (seriously, I now know not to get him a walker). Good job HP.

Enjoy!

Wall Decor

It's been awhile since I've written a post about something other than Ethan's growth and development.   I've been meaning to add this how-to, but imagine... slacking when you're adjusting to life with an infant!

This is a name banner that I made for Ethan's room.  I had seen these letter banners sold by The Land of Nod.

I liked them, however they didn't really seem to fit the nursery.  Additionally, I hate paying for something that I can easily do myself.  I wanted to stick with an animal theme for the letters.  I started in the scrap book section at the craft store, and purchased a few animal print pages. I used the computer, picked a letter style, and typed out ETHAN in a large font size (I believe I used 72pt).  I printed out the letters, traced them, and cut them out.  Stopping now would make the paper too flimsy, and leave it prone to curling over time.  To give the letters strength and shine, I used a spray on acrylic spray (a matte spray would reduce the amount of shine). The acrylic should be applied to both sides of the letters to keep them nice, solid, and without curl.  Then it's just the trusty hot glue gun and some ribbon.  I used a sheer white ribbon to not clash with the animal print, but some pretty polka-dot ribbon could be really nice with some bright patterned letters. 

Anyway, its a great way to add some good fun on the cheap!

These Legs are Made for Walking

If you've spent time with Ethan, you know that since before he was born he's been on the go, on the go, on the go.  There's nothing I love more that watching the expression on his face as he makes a discovery, and watching him grow and develop.    

Before you think I'm completely crazy, let me explain.  Ethan has always been a big fan of trying to stand.  Anytime you would hold him as a baby and he could get his feet against something, he would push with all his might.  When he's trying to figure something out, you can so obviously see the gears spinning.  A little help and some encouragement goes a long way with him.  He's a quick learner.  He wanted to stand, we worked on standing.  Now he stands all the time (with assistance of course...balance is a whole other story).  So we stand and stand and stand.  Of course, that can only last for so long before he gets bored.  He sees something and wants to be near it.  So he leans, almost to the point where he's completely horizontal.  The problem?  He gets very frustrated that leaning doesn't make him go the way he thinks that it should.  To keep him happy, I started walking him across the floor (you know, the way you would make a stuffed animal walk).  He would get to the object he had spied and would let out a shriek of joy.  He enjoyed it, so we kept doing it.  A few days later, I started to notice that he was trying to pick up his leg.  I would hold him with his weight shifted on one leg, and slide his other leg forward.  We did that for a few days and it became evident that he was starting to figure it out for himself.  Everyday I was having to do less and less weight shifting for him.  

So here we are, about two and a half weeks after we started our little "walking" game.  Last night Charlie was helping him stand when Ethan lifted his knee up high and took a step forward.  Daddy couldn't believe how he'd done it all by himself.  Ethan took off across the living room and into the dining room (until he got distracted by the larger than Ethan sized plant...or maybe that's what initially caught his eye in the first place).  I ran upstairs and grabbed the camera.  Last night was the first time that he went quite a distance and with a much increased speed.  Like a light bulb, you could see it completely click. He was really lifting his knees up high too! How funny looking it is to see such a little person, not even 4 months old, motor across the room.

Now what do we have?  Well, we have a fun game to play.  We have a baby who can take some control over where he is.  No, he's not "walking," (and thank goodness!!)  but there's no arguing...he's well on his way!

What a Long Strange Week it's Been!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving Cyberspace!

We had a happy Thanksgiving with family, but I can honestly say that I'm glad it's over!  Ethan was having a rough week last week, as well as though the weekend, so all the extra holiday hoorah was quite tough on him.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again...he's such a trooper!!  His mood swing and the sleepless nights lasted about a week and a half, but he seems to be on the up and up.  Every time Ethan is crabby, Daddy says "I think he's having a growth spurt."  It's become a bit of a joke in our house.  Well, let me say it, "I think he's having a growth spurt."  I have a favorite set of Ethan jammies right now.  He was wearing jammies from that set all week, and one day he woke up and we had this (it's like the incredible Hulk---I can't believe the fabric didn't split!):

He also gained almost a whole pound in two days!  That's a lot of weight gain for a baby who weighs 16lbs!

Ethan took his first road trip to see Aunt Karen on Saturday.  He did pretty well with the car ride, and really enjoyed our trip to the diner.  He tried to catch the eye of anyone who walked by the booth, and flashed a winning smile at anyone who would smile at him.  My favorite part of the dinner was when he grabbed my basket of food and almost pulled it right off the table.  That will teach me!!

As for my world...well, it's BUSY!  We're juggling a lot right now.  I'm of course, still back to work.  It's been hard, but it's really nice to get to be creative everyday.  We are working on refinancing our house to a lower interest rate, replacing our shower in our master bathroom, and of course getting ready for CHRISTMAS! We also have quite a few appointments for Ethan coming up...three with doctors, one with daycare!  Fa la la la la :)  It's exhausting, but I'm ready to love every minute of the upcoming holiday season, and all the excitement we have in store!

As I wrap this up, here's a few pics of Ethan having himself a good ol' time!