Long Tongue & Short Hair

Ethan must have discovered his tongue this week. He's been sticking it out a lot. It's pretty long too; Uncle Tyler would be proud.

I also took Ethan to get his first haircut today. I know he doesn't have much hair, but it was sticking out over his ears and we are getting his one year pictures taken this weekend, so I wanted to clean it up a little. I could have done it myself, but I was nervous that I might cut him if he moved suddenly. Anyway, he did really well and was such a big boy sitting in the chair all by himself. The lady kept saying how cute he was....I have to agree!

Our Merry Christmas

We had a great time being at home with our families over Christmas! We all got so spoiled! Our family and friends are way too generous. Ethan has so many new toys, books, and clothes! He's one happy boy playing with all of his toys today.

*I just added this video of Ethan walking with one of his toys. I love how he starts clapping at himself!

Ho Ho Ho

We took Ethan to see Santa for the first time on Saturday. He kept staring up at him. Thank goodness he didn't try to pull on his beard!

When we got home, we let Ethan taste the candy cane that Santa gave to him. He loved it. He's like his momma and daddy with a bit of a sweet tooth!

Today, we decided to let Ethan open his presents. I didn't want to bring them home with us; plus I'm sure he'll have plenty to open there. He enjoyed his new toys and books all afternoon. I still can't believe that Christmas is this week! We are excited to go home and see all of our family!

Word of the Day...

Orchiopexy.
That's the word of the day.
If you don't know (I had no idea), an orchiopexy is the surgery to move an undescended testicle into the scrotum. Maybe more than you really wanted to know. But, that's what is in Ethan's future. We had an appointment today with a urologist in Columbia and scheduled his surgery for February. Thankfully, they were able to palpate the testicle in his inguinal canal, which makes the whole thing much more minor, so I'm told. He won't even have to stay in the hospital. Still, I'm not looking forward to the whole thing. I keep telling myself that it's pretty routine and shouldn't be a big deal at all, but no one wants their baby to have surgery!

Arrrrr...

I caught Ethan making the best pirate face the other day!

And, this is how I found him the other morning. He chased his car back behind the table and then he just sat there and hid out.

I will also share a few videos for Grandmas and Grandpas.

The first one he is enjoying some yummy hot chocolate.

Here he is pushing around one of our kitchen chairs. This is one of his favorite activities right now.

11 months

I'm a couple days behind. Ethan turned 11 months old on the 7th. He is so much fun. He doesn't have any words yet, but he has started to "talk" to things and will repeat after us much more. He's also turning into such a little boy and making all kinds of noises. He's still got 7 teeth and we aren't too close to walking yet. He is just so careful. I think it will be awhile on that one. He did start clapping this weekend, which is pretty cute. Check out the video at the bottom.

New Stuff!

We went to Kansas City this weekend to meet our new nephew, Levi. He is so cute and so tiny! I forgot how little newborns really are! We had a great time visiting Vicki and Danny and holding Levi. Thanks for letting us invade your house for a day and spend time with you guys!
Here is Ethan checking out his baby cousin.


Here's a picture of proud mama and daddy with Levi


Another new thing we got this weekend...

We were three hours from home on Friday and nearing Ethan's bedtime when I realized that I had forgotten to bring his bear that he sleeps with. I wasn't sure how dependent he was on the bear, but I wasn't going to chance him not having something to cuddle with when we were away from home. So, I made Ben pull over and we went into a Hallmark store, hoping to be able to find the same bear we already have. Of course, they didn't carry the same one so we just looked for something cute. We held up this cheetah for Ethan and he immediately started smiling. We let him hold it, and first thing he did was put it in his mouth. So, now we had to get it. Of course, there was no price tag, but he likes it, so I decide to not worry about it and go to the register. Yeah, so our new little stuffed animal cost me $26.86.
But, hey...he slept great and it was so worth it!

Thanksgiving Weekend

My parents came up to see their favorite grandson this weekend. It was so nice to spend time with them. Ethan loved it!

Playing with Grandpa and Grandma

Fun family photo

Ethan happy in his cute winter hat.

Ethan not so happy in his hat. He has the cutest little pout. It's so hard to keep a straight face when he pulls out that lip!

Thanksgiving and other happenings

Ben is on call over Thanksgiving this year, so we got to stay around here. Fortunately for us, a couple of our friends also stayed in town for the holiday. We had a great time and way too much good food! Ethan really enjoyed trying all sorts of new foods. My parents are coming to visit us for the weekend, as well, so we are getting some good family time in!

Ben and I put up our Christmas tree and I wrapped presents last night, so now it looks like Christmas in our house. We had to rig up a baby gate between our couches to keep the little one out of the decor! Although, so far, he hasn't been all that interested in it.

Last week, I made some spaghetti and meatsauce. Ethan loved it, especially the sauce! We just took his clothes off and let him go to town. It was such a mess, but really cute. He had our leftovers for several meals last week.

We took a short video of him chowing down!

Day Three

Ethan woke up last night around midnight and I about had a panic attack. What am I going to do without the pacifier in the middle of the night? I laid him back down and just decided to see what would happen. He cried for about 5 or 6 minutes and went back to sleep. Thank goodness! I should apologize to my neighbors. Their bedroom is directly behind Ethan’s room. I hope he didn’t wake you guys up last night!

Today has started off really well. I was planning to hold Ethan off until after lunch for his nap, but he was rubbing his eyes and acting really tired, so I decided to put him down for his morning nap. Something amazing happened. He just went to sleep. I couldn’t even tell the difference between this nap and one with his pacifier. Good Job Ethan!!

He got tired around 1:00 today and went down for another nap, really easily! I don’t want to speak too soon, but maybe, just maybe, we are “over the hump.”

Bedtime tonight is going great. He didn’t cry much at all going down. He just made a little noise and talked to himself as he went to sleep.

I can’t believe how wonderful today has been! I hope it wasn’t a fluke, but I think that I can say that our mission was a success after three days. Ethan was a champ and I didn’t cave in! I'm proud of Ethan, and me too! No more pacifiers for us!!

Day Two

This will be a little harder. Lexie is here today and I hope Ethan doesn’t ruin her day. I can’t stop now, though.

-Well, Ethan cried for 30 minutes going down for his morning nap. The good news is that Lexie was able to sleep through it (I have no idea how, but praise God!) Are we making progress? I can only hope. This no pacifier thing is going to be just as hard on me as it is on Ethan.

-The afternoon nap went much worse. Actually, it didn’t even happen. He would not go to sleep. I can answer myself from before. No progress made…

-Bedtime is here and he should be exhausted. He hasn’t slept since 10am.
It only took him 5 minutes to fall asleep, but he keeps waking up off and on to cry out. Oh, the drama....

I hope naptime goes better tomorrow. I don’t know, maybe we will just cut him down to one nap a day. Then, maybe he’ll be too tired to fight it. When do kids go to having just one nap a day??

Operation: No More Pacifiers

It’s time. I’ve been dreading it, but it is time. Ethan has lots of teeth now and this process will only get worse the longer I delay it. So, I’ve decided to try this week. I say try, because I am not at all confident that I will succeed. I hope I won’t cave, but really I know it’s totally possible. I hate hearing him cry. I hate it. Especially when one little thing will fix it. But, I have to do it sometime. So…

Day One—

First nap without the pacifier did not go well. He cried, and cried, and cried for about an hour. I went in several times laid him down and gave him his bear that he sleeps with (I can’t take everything away!) Finally, I went in and held him. It still took him a long time to calm down enough to sleep. Poor kid was rubbing his eyes like crazy and yawning in between his sobs. I even got a little teary eyed holding him. It ended up being a short nap. It always is when he goes down so hard. Bedtime tonight will be the real test…

Bedtime wasn’t as bad as I expected, maybe because he was exhausted from earlier today. He cried for 35 minutes and I checked on him twice, but I didn’t pick him up. He went to sleep and I am proud of him. I hope he stays asleep all night.

Uncle Tyler

Ben's brother Tyler came to visit us this weekend. We all had a great time, especially Ethan. He and Uncle Tyler had so much fun chasing each other around the house and playing with blocks. Tyler got him laughing so hard. I don't think I've ever heard him laugh so much. Uncles are great! Thanks for coming up to visit us, Ty! We loved having you!

Here Comes Trouble

Ethan looks like such a big boy with all his teeth! How did he grow up so fast?

His favorite thing to do lately is carry his ball in his mouth. I guess it frees up his hands to do other things. He looks like a little puppy dog! So cute :-)

Tonight I was cleaning the bathroom and Ethan was "helping" me. I looked down and he had unrolled half the roll of toilet paper!

Ethan was chasing around his train the other day and we took a quick video of him playing.

New Nephew!

Ben's brother and his wife, Danny and Vicki, had their first baby this morning. Levi Norman made it here safe and sound. That means, I'm now an aunt, Ben's an uncle, and Ethan has a cousin! How exciting for us! They posted pictures on their blog (the link is on the side, if you are curious) and he is a real cutie with lots of hair and such big eyes! We can't wait to meet him! Congrats you guys!

Grandparent fun

We had a great time while my parents were here. Ethan had lots of fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa!

I even got help entertaining the kids!

Awww....cute pic with Grandma and Grandpa!

All smiles...

Mr. Cautious

We have noticed that Ethan is so careful when he gets up and down from furniture. He will hang on with one hand and bend clear down until his other hand is securely on the ground and his knees are touching and then let go and lower himself fully to the ground. He's so funny to watch. I haven't put up a video for awhile, so here's one of Mr. Cautious, himself!

My parents are starting their vacation tomorrow and will be stopping by here for a couple of days. They said they wanted to see all of us.....but we know the truth....they are missing Ethan!!

10 months

I swear I was just writing his "9 months" post a week ago. Evidently not...

This week has been filled with snotty noses. Ben got a cold last week and passed it on to Ethan. He, and therefore I, were covered with snot for two days. He's on the mend now, but unfortunately both Lexie and I are now getting sick. Anyway, due to sickness and tiredness this hasn't been my favorite week.

What can I tell you about 10 months....

Ethan is getting more teeth. He is finally getting those middle top teeth. One has poked through and the other will come in any day. He is also getting another tooth on the bottom. He is going to look so different with a mouth full of teeth! I think that I have taught him how to give a high 5. That's the first thing I feel like I have actually taught him to do, so I get excited every time he does that. We are still working on waving and clapping. I try to encourage him every day and nothing--he has no interest at all. I'm sure he'll get it, but not yet. He's cruising around the furniture all the time and I can't keep him out of anything. He still loves eating. Anytime anyone has food he high tails it over to them, climbs up on their leg, and looks up with big wide eyes just waiting. Really, he's like a little puppy dog begging for scraps at the table. It's impossible to resist. Consequently, he's been trying all sorts of new foods. We are slowing working towards eating more table food (as opposed to baby food). I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of for now.

Happy Halloween!

Here's our Halloween Giraffe! We went to a couple trunk or treats today. It gave us a chance to put on this fun costume.





Ethan and Lexie in their first bounce house! They gave the babies a turn. They didn't know what to think, but it made a cute photo opportunity!

Daddy even carved a pumpkin to look just like Ethan's funny teeth!