Almost...

Ethan is almost sleeping in his new bed. He's been jumping on it for several weeks now, and we've been talking about sleeping in the big boy bed. He'll even lay down on it on occasion, but we haven't really attempted sleeping on it until the last few nights. We took the chair out of his room so that he would get used to reading his book and such in bed. Today, John even tried to leave him there, but after several attempts, put him in the crib. When he woke up at 11:30pm (for no apparent reason), I went in and, not having a place to sit, put him into the bed. I sat on the floor next to him for half an hour, waiting for him to fall asleep. He was trying. Trying so hard. I finally decided to try leaving, and he got up and followed me. Because it was so late, and I was unprepared to do this in the middle of the night, he went back in the crib. But he didn't mind the bed. It was just new and different. No one sleeps well in an unfamiliar bed.

So we're almost there. I think we may try staying until he's really sound asleep for 3 or 4 nights, then gradually leaving earlier. It may mean planning to spend an hour or so on his floor, but we can do it. We'll just take a pillow.

Jabberwocky

One of our favorite poems. Go here to listen to our little 4 yr old friend. She is awesome. (Way to go Alissa and Matt!)

EDIT: I think she's actually 5. Sorry!

TV

So I've realized one of the reasons that John and I work so well together. We both agree that time to relax every day is really important. So after about 8pm, we don't do any more housework (unless we have visitors coming.) Our house is never perfectly clean, and sometimes the dishes just wait until tomorrow. But we are so much happier.

Lately, b/c the projects we've been doing in our relaxing time allow us to sit (mine is a christmas stocking and John's is writing), we've picked up a few new TV shows. We highly recommend Heroes. (For those of you overseas without regular TV, you can watch it online.) It's a new drama that is sneaking a little sci-fi into NBC's regular line-up. He he he. I'm loving it.

Not a Bad Life

I glanced at my posts for the last two months and was sad to see that all I mentioned was the hard stuff. Granted, there was more than I can handle thinking about all at once. But I missed all the good stuff.

There was great family stuff. Mom got engaged. Dad was sealed to his wife and her boys. Dorothy got married. And that's just the big stuff.

Ethan has just been a blast lately. We can have real conversations with him and he's becoming an independent little guy. He's exhausting to take out of the house now b/c I constantly have to chase him down, but he has so much more fun, so it's worth it.

John and I have been talking about when we need to leave Boston. It's an ongoing discussion and one that we've decided we don't like. Boston is not financially a good place for us, so we need to go, but we love it here. Our ward is amazing. Our jobs are ideal. We have great friends. And even with all the snow, this is my favorite climate.

All in all, we've got a pretty good life. As others have been suffering lately, we've been grateful that our happiness and stability has meant we could focus on helping them. So although my recent posts have made it seem as though life is really hard right now, we are actually doing great.

Who is this kid??

There is this kid living in our house. I don't really know who he is. He looks like Ethan, but he doesn't act like him. Ethan is shy and clingy. He doesn't like new people, or even friends, just mom and dad. In fact, he likes mom and dad so much that he won't even play by himself. He has to be involved in whatever we're doing, even if it means sitting on the couch folding laundry.

Not this new kid. He will spend hours running around the house, climbing, and jumping from ever increasing heights, regardless of what we're doing. He enjoys playing with other kids and doesn't shrink away from strangers. He even runs away while out shopping, off to explore new things and hide from mom.

We don't know who this little independent kid is, but we sure like him!

New words

John posted about Ethan's language explosion. He really is learning probably 50 words a day. It's crazy. But it's lead to some fun discussions. Yesterday he climbed into my bed, tucked himself in and said very emphatically "I don't see cats!" I responded that I didn't see any cats either. He said "I either! I don't see cats!". This went back and forth like this for a few minutes, all while I was laughing harder and harder. It's even funnier when he whips out big words. And we've learned that we not only need to keep our language clean (not so hard), but that we need to keep it nice (harder than you'd think!) You never know who Ethan might repeat your words to!

Not all Bad

Ethan said two things today that are so great. This morning, he picked up a block and said "twiangle". He was right! (Thanks Blue's Clues!) And just a little while ago, he was saying "two pen". I looked over to see that he had picked up the two pens on my nightstand. I've been asking him every few minutes how many pens he has and he says "Two!" He's very proud and so am I.

A Hard Day

It's 10am and already I want this day to be over. One of the women that I have direct responsibility for lost her baby this morning. She has been on bed rest for longer than I like to think about, and at 27wks gestation, delivered a baby that couldn't be saved. It takes three hands to count the number of babies she's lost, but this one was the oldest, and the doctors said that a baby born now had a good chance. As I spend the morning alternately on the phone and on my knees I am again so grateful for my wonderful husband and my healthy son. I just wish that this day would end sooner.

My Strength

Lately, I've been so grateful for John. When I've seen couples suffering from loss and trials, I have been constantly reminded of a post I made months ago. I can't imagine how I'd live my life right now without John, much less through these larger trials our friends are facing. I am so blessed to have him.

I Love You

Ethan won't let John finish the bedtime routine until I've come to say goodnight and give him a kiss. Tonight, he said "I Love You" back to me. It's the best feeling in the world.

Blessing in Disguise

Our ward has had more than it's fair share of heartache and pain recently. And several of the families still need almost constant care. As I've been serving these sisters who are struggling with loss, spending every possible moment at the hospital with a suffering child, or trying to maintain a good attitude while confined to a bed, I've been so grateful. Not only for our family's relative peace, but for the opportunity to serve. It makes my burden seem so much lighter. It helps me to refocus on what's truely important. Spending my days crying with, praying for, and serving other sisters has helped me remember why I am here, why I chose this life, and where my strength comes from. And for that, I feel blessed.

Proud Father

I must be the most proud father in the world. I was getting ready to give Ethan a bath on Friday and put him on the potty, like I've been doing the last few days. Except that this time he actually went! I clapped and cheered him on so that he would know that this was a good thing.

He was very proud of himself too. And then he reached back and flushed the toliet. Which is another thing that he likes to do.
((I know Mia already wrote about this tonight, but I got to be here for a first with him. I was so excited))

Also, his vocabulary has been growing so fast. He is really repeating alot of what we say now days. I guess we'll have to clean up our language 0_0

EDIT: See John's blog, which is where this really should have been.

"See ya pee"

That's what Ethan says when he flushes the toilet, after he PEES IN IT! Ethan started peeing in the potty on friday and hasn't looked back. He still doesn't tell us when he needs to go, but we've started asking him on a regular basis and he went 4 times today! Plus, he seems to be holding it until we make it to the potty! We couldn't be more excited!!!

Loss

John mentioned the death of one of Ethan's playmates. He was about 6 weeks older than Ethan when he was hit by a truck. I did want to make the correction for John that he didn't run out into the street. He was standing next to his mom, waiting to get into the car. A complete accident that no one could have prevented.

We've been reminded of how precious every second we get to spend with Ethan is. And of how glad we are to be sealed as a family. That we will be together for all eternity, even if our time here on earth is cut short.

6 years

Our 6th anniversary was Tuesday. We've made it past 95% of Hollywood marriages, so we must be doing something right! I don't think we did anything for our 5th, so we decided to at least get out of the house for this one. We decided on a picnic on Boston Common. There turned out to be a play on the common that night, so I sat to watch it while John ran over to PF Changs to get our take-out. The play was HORRIBLE! So after eating we didn't stick around. We walked over to the pond on the other side of the common and watched the swans and ducks. It's so nice to occasionally get away from all the immediate needs of the house, be able to look back at what we've done so far, and think about the future. We realized we've been saying 'just one more year here in Boston' for about 6 months now, so we need to think about what comes after Boston for us. Yikes! Here's to hoping that in another six years we're feeling more settled.

The Potty

I know that people think I'm crazy to consider potty training this early. Most boys aren't trained until they are well over two years old. But I don't want to change diapers for that long, and Ethan's a smart kid, so I don't see why I should wait.

We've been teaching Ethan the words he needs for a while. Then we let him come into the bathroom with us. Once he started telling us what we were doing, I knew he was ready. So today I took his diaper off, waited for him to tell me about peeing, and then asked if he wanted to sit on the potty. He sat there for 5 whole minutes! He didn't go, but he was talking about it the whole time and wasn't afraid of the toilet. I'm so excited!! We've got four months until he's 2, and I think we might be trained by then. Wish us luck!

(Just a note about Ethan's fear of everything. He ran through the tunnel of water at the spray park ALL BY HIMSELF!. I was jumping up and down and cheering, making a huge fool of myself. It was great.)

How old is he??

Ethan says "I'm twee" when asked how old he is. (He also holds up one finger and laughs.) Some days, I'm conviced he really is three. We've discovered that Ethan knows words like 'pirates' and 'slide', and speaks only in complete sentences. He's not just repeating sentences that he's heard. No. He understands what each word means and shuffles things around to say exactly what he wants to. Really, as he approaches two, (I KNOW! TWO!), learning so many new words is normal. But Ethan's understanding of sentence structure is a sure sign that Ethan is a product of his nerdy parents. (My extended family will probably point out that all babies born in the G family are super-smart. It's in the G genes. And John's would mention that they have their share of nerdy genes too.)

Primary Secretary

Wow! I forgot that being a secretary in any organization of the LDS church means you are soooo busy! My first time, it was in the Relief Society. Granted, that president was a flake about keeping track of anything (I've never known anyone who was so loving, and so in-tune with what our sisters needed, though). But it was soooo much work! This time, I have the downside of not having served in the Primary before. I haven't been in the Primary since I turned 12 and officially graduated from it. I had no idea what I was getting into! I'm lucky that it should only require me to do things two days a week, once we get going. But because we are still setting up a new presidency, rearranging the way we run things, and dealing with the beginning of our fall influx of new families, the president and I email several times a day, calling if we need to brainstorm a little more. Hopefully, once the presidency meets and settles in, it'll get easier. We haven't met yet b/c we are still missing a 1st Counselor! (Although the 3rd, yes, the 3rd, is already gearing up to help ease the load of our HUGE primary.) If we aren't complete by next week we are going to meet anyway so that we can at least get everyone's responsiblities hashed out. Then maybe I won't walk around all day getting flashes of things I need to do (or wonder who needs to do them.)

I know this all sounds absolutely nuts (especially if you're not LDS), but I am LOVING it. I am in my element. Secretary callings are by far my favorite. So, my life just got crazier, and all I have to say is "Bring it on!"

Trucks

When Ethan woke up from his nap today, he stood at the window for nearly half and hour telling me about the trucks driving by. This was so amazing because of the complete sentences! He said "I see the truck!", "There is the truck.", "Where did the truck go?", and "Where is the truck?"!!!!!!!!!!! The most incredible part was that he wasn't leaving out a single word of those sentences. Every 'is' and 'the' was there. SO SMART!

More Vacation Pictures

Hanging out on the swing with the Great-Grandparents

So many gorgeous pictures from their backyard!

Loved the trampoline at Mariah's wedding reception. He saw a girl doing flips and was trying so hard to do one by throwing himself down and rolling around. So cute.

Ah. Dominos at the grandparents. A much anticipated part of the vacation.

And this was our day out with some Avlis players. (Read "John is a gaming nerd") We had lots of fun and a great dinner. Even Ethan made some new friends.

Alright. I've got work to do now (I'm the new Primary Secretary! Scary!), but I promise more pictures tomorrow.

Growth

We had Ethan's follow-up visit with the pediatrician today. Just in case you don't remember, last month was his 18 month well-baby checkup where they found he hadn't gained any weight, and more importantly, hadn't grown any taller. So we've been pushing a variety of proteins and making sure he had a little more fat in his diet (he used to be such a healthy eater, now he eats like us.) At this appt, he'd gained a pound and grown 3/4 of an inch. IN A MONTH! (That's alot for his age b/c their activity level usually keeps their growth pretty slow.) Apparently he had quite the growth spurt. No more worrying. YAY!

She also commented that he is so intelligent. He calmed down as soon as I told him he wouldn't be getting any shots. And he tried to tell her that he was three. She agreed that he seems almost three. He's been learning nearly a word a day and is forming nearly coherent sentences (meaning we can tell what at least two of the words are!) What she didn't get to see is how helpful and obediant he is. Granted, he is still a toddler and often doesn't listen, but only when he knows that he is in a safe place. Most of the time, he listens very well and helps to do chores and clean up his messes. He even knows that he can't go off the porch unless he is holding my hand, so he will stop and wait for me. What a cute guy! So easy to love.

As promised....

We are in the middle of the 3rd "SUPERSTORM" to hit the northeast this year. It sounds cooler than it is. The first two caused flooding. Who-ho. Although this one did have golf-ball sized hail and an unconfirmed tornado sighting yesterday. We are high enough to not worry about flooding (unless we get hit by a tsunami when La Palma collapses), and the hail was in NH, so we just worry about big lightning storms. The point is, we are stuck inside yet again and I had a little time to download the pictures!! Yay!!

Getting ready for his first plane ride!

Picking fresh sweet peas

Eating sweet peas with mom under the orange tree

Loved those peas

Hanging out with Great-Grandpa

More to come later!!

Dancing around the world

I know. I promised pictures. But they're not on the computer yet. So you'll just have to wait.

I did just discover this little video. More for fun, but strangely inspiring. I still can't really figure out why. Maybe it's seeing so much and still enjoying it enough to dance. (I tend to be a cynical traveler.) Or maybe it's simply that he managed to do something so cool without setting out to (at least the first time around).

Anyway, it makes me want to be less cranky about life. And that's enough.

On Vacation

With our vacation nearly over, I thought I'd use a little of this lazy day to update everyone.

We spent 5 days in Cali with John's grandparents. Grandpa LOVED Ethan. Most days we hung out in the back yard, eating sweet peas and strawberries from the garden. But we did hit the beach (apparently the Pacific is not always warm) and visit with friends. All in all, it was better than we thought!

Now, we are ending our week in Colorado. John's sister had Ethan's 1st cousin a few weeks ago, so we are in a house with them and John's parents as well. A little cramped, but we all get along, so it's not so bad. (It would be better if we could sleep in the same room as Ethan. We wake him up when we just roll over, so he has been sleeping in the nursery while we are on the living room floor!) We've seen lots of family while out here, but the best part was our weekend away. John's parents agreed to take the boy for a few days, and we went to a hotel in Denver for a little getaway. It was WONDERFUL! No getting up early. No toddler schedule. Plenty of time together. Besides just lazing around, we drove out to Dinosaur Ridge and hiked around to the sites. Really interesting. And we had dinner with a newly married college friend. We need to get away more often. It was good for us.

Anyway. We'll be back to real life in a few days and I will put up some pictures of the trip.

So Chatty

Ethan has suddenly started picking up new words. (Finally!) But never ones we expect. He says things like "See ya" or "wiggle, wiggle, wiggle". He even started singing the right words to a song in the car today! We were listening to an old tape of 'The Monkees' and there is a song that goes "I..I..I..I..I'm not your stepping stone". Ethan usually sings the I's and dances along, but today he said 'stepping stone'!!!!!

This bodes well for potty training as he seems ready, but doesn't have the words he needs yet. YAY!!

And for those of you who it matters to, we will be in California for the next week, and then Colorado the week after. If we don't see you out there, we will see you when we get back! I will try to post some pictures of Ethan at the beach, with his great-grandparents, with his new baby cousin, etc.. while we are gone if I can.

Bedtime giggles

John is getting Ethan ready for bed. I don't know what's going on in there, but they are having fun. Hearing my two favorite guys burst into giggles is the best sound in the world.

My little Missionary

We were listening to InsideOut's Primary Colors album today when the song "We'll Bring the World His Truth" came on. I suddenly had this vision of Ethan as a missionary and couldn't stop the tears. I'm already so excited. I already miss him. I know that it's more than 17 years away, but it seems to be coming so fast! I have been watching him and can see his potential. He will be great. I'm tearing up again as I think about my little missionary.

John's Father's Day Present

I've been working on a little scrapbook for John. I think I've mentioned it. (But before I show it off, I need to give credit to Lisa Bearnson for designing the kit I used, and SEI for all the great supplies in the kit.)

OK. I scanned in the pages, pulling out tags so you can see what's on them. (I wish I could make them bigger so that they're easier to read, but free sites have their limitations.) They will be in a few posts, but I will set the times so that they are in the right order. And I brushed out a few names for safety sake. Enjoy them! I sure do.

cont...

and more...

finally...

Happy Father's Day!

Yay for all the dads!

Loving this

I'm a work and bored. So I've been reading blogs and poking around. Found something so fun. I am LOVING this T-shirt! Although it would take some guts to wear it in public, I totally need to get one the next time I'm nursing.

My UNorganized Home

I discovered a website yesterday that has gotten me in the mood to organize. (For those of you who don't know, I LOVE to organize things. Not that you could tell by looking at my house.) The site is www.organizedhome.com. I am going to start by making lists! What else. Actually, I'm making a binder that will have things like a calender for the week (that includes the schedule, chores, and menues), a to-do list, emergency numbers, a general phone list, freezer inventory, etc. I know that it sounds ridiculous, but I am excited to structure my life a little more. It's hard to get things done when it all becomes overwhelming. When I have to just pick what's most pressing, things tend to wait until they are disgusting before they make it to the top of the list. It will be nice to know that I can ignore all the other chores because they will get done another day. Here's to hoping this works!

"I no no"

That's how we all said "I don't know" at my house growing up. Ethan was saying something similar until just a few days ago. Now he doesn't say anything, just shrugs his shoulders! If we ask him where something is,he just looks at us and shrugs his little shoulders. Even if he knows. It's the cutest thing EVER!

Bad Days

It started yesterday with me already suffering from a miserable sinus infx. One of those ones that makes you soooooooooo sick, but doesn't seem to be bacterial, so you only get to fight it with Sudafed and Nyquil. Yuck.

So then Ethan and I headed to his 18-month well-baby check. All was going well until the doctor glanced at his height and weight measurements toward the end of the appointment. Ethan hasn't grown AT ALL. He's not any taller, and he has only gained 1 ounce in 3 months. His Dr isn't really concerned yet, but now we have to push more fatty food and take him back next month. If he still isn't gaining, then we get to start the testing. We are hoping it's a combination of growing into his genetics (both John and I were scrawny little kids) and his activity level.

And then the best part happened. Not 5 minutes after we'd arrived home, I leaned forward and my back started to spasm. Not a little twinge, but full out muscle spasms. John had to come home from work, and I spent the rest of the day trying to find a position that wouldn't set it off again. No fun at all. After only an hour or two I was so sick of laying around, I kept trying to do things and ended up hurting myself more. Anyone want to trade backs? PLEASE!!!

That was yesterday. Today we started off with the same. Me with my sinus infx and still some back pain. I sent John to work. Ethan decided to react to the immunization he got at the Dr's. We are hoping that Benadryl will take the swelling and itchyness down. But the nurse said that if it hasn't improved at all by this afternoon, we will need to go back in. (I only have one kid and already the dr's office is our second home!) I marked the swelling so that we could tell, and hopefully it will be Ok. If it doesn't go down it's probably an infection. Yuck.

And today gets better because I have to go to work. And it's also my weekend, so I work the next two days too!! It's gonna be great, and will definitaly speed my healing time! Maybe I'll call out sick on Sunday.

I just want these bad days to be over

I forgot!

How could I forget??? The congestion was allergies too. So when we are back at the dr's for his well-child check-up, well talk about allergy meds. YUCK! I was hoping Ethan would get lucky like me and have no allergies. But with my family's history, and John's seasonal sneezing fits, I should have expected it. Such is life.

AH HA!

I've identified the cause of Ethan's rash. Ethan is allergic to his sunblock! So now we are on a quest to figure out which ingredient it is. I have a guess, but it's one that's in every single sunblock I can find. We are already figuring out which parks have shade at which times of day. It may be a while before we can find a sunblock that doesn't make Ethan all itchy, and we can't stay inside until then, so we are going to try to play in the shade and be outside for shorter spans of time. Allergies are sooo frustrating!

In a Good Mood

It's hard not to be in a good mood when running errands means you get to listen to Ethan singing along with the radio in the car. I doesn't happen often because he's still shy about singing, but when it does, it just makes my day.

Week 3 cont.

So we went back to the doctor this morning. He spiked a fever yesterday afternoon and screamed for an hour and a half until John came home from work. Apparently daddy is more of a comfort at the moment. (It's OK. Usually it's the other way around.) So while he was screaming, and I was attempting to calm him down and not burst into to tears myself, I scheduled the appointment. I was kind of obnoxious and got them to open up an appointment with Ethan's actual pediatrician, and not with whichever NP had an opening.

It was good. She checked him for pneoumonia, a sore throat, and rechecked his ears. No pneumo, no sore throat, and ears getting better slowly. We talked it out and decided that the congestion (which has caused all of the problem over the last few weeks) probably has an allergy component. So we are going to cut out the decongestant, give Ethan a HUGE dose of Benadryl before bed, and see if he still has a bad night. When I say HUGE, I mean he is getting the normal dose for a 6 year old. I'm just glad it knocks him out instead of making him wired.

So, hopefully this will be the end of our miserableness. Maybe we will get a solid night's sleep sometime soon! OH NO! I forgot. She also said she could see his molars coming in. So maybe we won't sleep. But I can dream, can't I?

Week 3 of the Virus

The first week we had all those crazy symptoms. Then, in week two, it seemed to be clearing up, except for a cough at night. The cough got progressively worse, waking Ethan up several times a night b/c his throat was so clogged with mucus he choked on it. But our days were fine, so we just gave him decongestant and hoped that it would pass. Sunday (the beginning of week 3), the mucus problem began to creep into daylight hours as well. After no nap that day, I decided to take him in Monday morning. Lo and behold, the mucus was creating yet another problem. A double ear-infection. So now Ethan is on an antibiotic, a decongestant, and a pain-killer. And he still sounds like he might cough up a lung. I can only pray that there is no week 4.

Random Photos

I just uploaded a batch of photos from the camera, so I thought I'd share a few. (I think that the first two are sideways.)

"Look Mom! I found the outside!"

I don't know what's so funny about that piece of bread, but apparently it was hilarious.

Tasting Daddy

Ready for a prayer

Taking the stairs

This is the sign he makes when he asks "Where is it?"

Having a lunch at the big table because the high-chair was not our friend that day.

What a cute boy we have!

Randomness

1 - I was just working on a little scrapbook about John. (I'm doing a set of four small ones to cover 2006. One about Me, one about John, one about our family, and one to recap the year.) It's fun to try to come up with a list of random facts about your husband (did you know John has an obsession with jackets and bags??) or try to characterize him with the 26 letters of the alphabet. It's surprising the little things that I don't really think about, but make up the person that I love. Try making a list of fun facts about someone you love. I guarantee it will make you smile!

2 - Ethan has a serious oral fixation. I kind of assumed it would go away by now! He not only puts literally everything in his mouth, he walks around chewing on his fingers all day. People always ask if he's teething. No. He just likes to see how things taste and what happens if he bites them. So gross.

3 - Ethan is getting so grown up! I cut his hair and in just a few minutes he went from looking like a little toddler to a big one! And he has new words every day. Everything from "Let's go!" and "Where is it?" to "I don't know" and "I can do it". Oddly, he has fewer single words.

4 - We bought a little slide at a garage sale today. After I cleaned it, we put it in the living room and let Ethan go wild. I think it was the best purchase we ever made.

Photos!

I finally figured out why I couldn't add photos to my blog. Now that I can, I will try to put in pictures of Ethan every so often. (Definiatly more often than John.) These are from a month or so ago, but are just the cutest! Ethan was eating macaroni and cheese when he decided that it would make great hair gel.

My John

A woman on 'A Baby Story' today said, "You never realize how much you can love someone until you hold your baby in your arms." Don't think that I'm a horrible mother, but I immediatly balked at that. As much as I love my son, I love my husband so much more. Maybe it's because Ethan is dependent on me, which gets exhausting, and I'm dependent on John for my sanity. But I don't think so. When I look at John, I not only see who he is, but who he has the potential to become. And because we are sealed, what we have the potential to become together. And when I look at Ethan in that eternal perspective, I'm glad that we have the opportunity to be his parents, but his potential will not be greatest simply as our son. So we will teach him and let him find his own partner for that. How could I love my son more than I love my husband? I can't. And that's the way it should be.

Filthy

I just got home from work. It's late, I'm tired, and looking at my house makes me want to cry. It is normally hard to get housework done with Ethan around b/c he gets in the way (on purpose, to get attention.) With him sick, ZERO housework has been done all week. That means that you can't go in the kitchen without shoes, we are all running out of clothes, the dishes are spread out along the counter, the carpets are developing a crust of goldfish and raisins, and all is in general disarray. I think it may take a while to get everything back to normal.

Luckily, our friend upstairs LOVES to clean. I'm not kidding. It makes her feel good. So good, in fact, that she has asked to come help! I know. You are all thinking that she is just being a good friend. But no, she really enjoys cleaning that much. You should see her apartment. So now that Ethan is on the upswing and we have some help, maybe walking into my house won't make me want to walk back out again.

Still sick and stuck at home

It's now Thursday and Ethan is still sick, but I think I see the end in sight. The rash cleared up everywhere except his face (and I think the face was maybe a different rash than the body.) The body rash appeared to be viral, as a cold hit in the middle of the night Sunday and kept us all from sleeping. Now it's the cold that's the problem. When Ethan is congested, he won't eat or sleep. He was so tired the last two days that he fell asleep on my shoulder twice! He doesn't do that EVER. And only having mucus, milk, and medicine in his stomach made him throw up the other night. Yuck. But it does seem to be improving.

My biggest complaint has been keeping us occupied while stuck at home. We would go for walks for fresh air, but it's been raining all week. I, like always, have plenty of housework I could do, but Ethan has just wanted to be held all day. It was cute for a while, but my arms are tired. We've watched nearly every disney movie we own, and I've banned Blue's Clues for a few days for my own sanity. This had better be over soon, or I'm going to make John take a vacation day so that I can get out of the house!

Our First Mystery Rash

Ethan doesn't get sick. He's like his dad that way. And on the rare occasion that he is, we usually find out about it by accident. (Like the two times he's had ear infections in both ears when we went in for well-baby check-ups!) He never seems to be really bothered.

But today, he has a rash. It apparently appeared friday and SOMEONE forgot to tell me about it. I discovered it on the back of Ethan's neck and on his arms when I gave him a bath last night. It didn't look too bad, maybe just a combination of dry skin and too much sun, so Ethan got all lotioned up before bed. This morning, the majority of the small dots are gone, but the ones that stayed are bigger, redder, itchy, and spreading! It's now on his face. And of course, it's Sunday. Today is going to be fun! Benadryl and oatmeal baths should hold us until the morning. If it's worse tomorrow, I'll take him to the doctors. If it's the same, I'll just call and make sure that I'm doing what I should be. If it's better, I'll be proud of myself!

Just as long as it's not a reaction to something. The only thing different about the last week was being outside more. Oh! And the beach. Maybe he's allergic to seaweed? Or mussels? (Both were washed up on the beach we went to.) Anyway, he's too young for allergy testing, so it would mean trial and error to find places he could play. Yuck.

I hope it's just a weird nothing. Poor little guy.

Playing in the sand

Yesterday Ethan and I headed up to the North Shore to pick up the last set of Ethan's professional photos. (I know, mom. We had these taken back in december. But there was a shipping problem and they needed to be reprinted. And then I had to find time to drive up there to avoid shipping them again. So now I have them. Leave me alone.) They are FANTASTIC! It's the set of 4, one from each session his first year.

Anyway, we were on the North Shore, not three blocks from the beach, so Ethan and I went to play for a while before heading back home. Can I tell you that he is so cute? We had so much fun running back and forth along the beach, finding shells, and burying our feet. And of course, I forgot the camera. We only stayed for about 30 min, but it was so much fun. I need to find a nice beach that is closer to home. Maybe Walden Pond?

EDIT - My mom wanted me to mention that it was the Mom in my head bugging me about the photos, not her. I nag myself way more than anyone else does!

Community

About two weeks ago, John and I were asked if we would help our ward's 'Lost Sheep' committee try out a few things. When it's our bishop asking, we always know that there is a specific reason that he has been directed to ask us. So we agreed, and got our assignments. 4 people. No luck.

But as I've been thinking about those that have chosen to leave the church, I've been practically smacked in the head by all the reasons to stay. And not the obvious that are most important in the eternal perspective, but the day-to-day things that the church and our ward provides. I think that I can sum them all up in one word. Community. There hasn't been a day in over a week that I haven't had things to do with members of the church. Some have been regular playgroups, a ward activity, a visit from visiting teachers. And some have been things that I've done with friends, a baby shower, a swim lesson we signed our kids up for together, an informal craft night, etc. I can't imagine having such a full life without this huge group of friends that are almost put in your lap. And I can't imagine chosing to leave it! I just feel so blessed.

Wa Wa

That's "Woof Woof" for those of you who haven't heard Ethan barking like a dog. He even sneaks an F on the end occasionally. We are also working on quacking like a duck!

A Good Hour

Ethan is quite a terror. He is so active, and has learned how to use chairs to climb to new hieghts. We have gone from rarely saying no, to saying it every few minutes. But on Thursday, we had a good hour.

It started after Ethan refused to eat lunch in his high-chair. He wanted to sit at the table. So I got out his booster seat and fed him lunch at the table. He was sooo happy. I even got to eat all of my own lunch! (I have pretty much given up on eating unless Ethan is asleep or distracted to avoid the whining and fits. Also, so that I get to eat more than 3 bites of a meal.) We sat across the table and ate. Ethan was swinging his legs and humming while he ate. So nice.

When lunch was over, the peacefulness continued. Ethan did so many cute things that I can't even remember them all. He danced around with Baby and his musical microphone. He helped me with the dishwasher and laundry. He even pushed around the Swiffer Flick-it, cleaning the living room floor! We played hide and seek. He told me a story. And the list goes on.

It was nice to have a good hour to make up for the week of craziness.

NO!

We don't really say "no" to Ethan. Our house is really baby-proofed, and he's a good kid. But we've had a hard time at church and at playgroup when he tries to do something he shouldn't. So Ethan has been hearing "no" a little more than normal lately. And he learned it fast! We now hear no as the answer to almost any question. He also says "yes" or "umm" in response, but he prefers "no". Even if he means yes, he says no. And it's the cutest little "no" you've ever heard!

Time to say a prayer

We haven't really been stressing that Ethan should participate in prayers yet, but he figured it out yesterday. We were playing, doing nothing related to praying, and Ethan stopped, folded his arms, and stared at me. So I folded my arms and said a short prayer. Ethan clapped and was so excited. This repeated three more times before Ethan's attention moved on to other things. Then, after John came home, Ethan tried it again with Dad. So, because it was monday, we had a little on-the-spot FHE lesson on prayer. Ethan even tried to close his eyes! Really he was squinting at us, but it was so cute. Eventually, the excitement of it all was too much and Ethan would yell and laugh during the prayers. Our little guy is growing and learning so fast!

He didn't cry???

That's right. Our little punk, whose been obnoxious for us, didn't cry when we left him for a day. Not once. We put him to bed friday night, and drove up to Maine for John's birthday. Ethan woke up saturday and spent the day with Grandpa G. and his family. No tears. It apparently took him a few minutes to decide that it would be ok, but that was it. What a weird kid. On the other hand, it means we can do this kind of thing more often! Woo-hoo!!

Now about our trip. We went up to Maine where I'd booked the suite at this quaint little hotel. We had dinner at restaurant out on the docks while a local band played upstairs and the dining room cleared, leaving us to enjoy a wonderful dinner alone. Then back to the hotel for the whirlpool tub (the reason for the suite). Skipping till morning, we slept in as late as we wanted and had breakfast at the hotel. Then out for some shopping! (This was actually John's idea!) We were hoping to make it further up the coast to walk along a beach, but John's jean hunt took quite a while, so we just hit a few other shops, had lunch, and headed back to our boy. It was so great to get away and relax!

OH! A few people have asked about our friend's little boy, so I thought I'd pass on the news. After the second dose of chemo, they couldn't handle putting his body through it, so they contacted yet another specialist for yet another opinion. (All the others said the same thing.) This one was in SLC and wanted to redo the scans, so they headed out about two weeks ago. The scans were CLEAN! No more spots on his little bones. They will redo the scans again in a few months to make sure, but our friends feel like they can start breathing again. And Ethan is excited that his friend is back in the game.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

I could come up with excuses for why I haven't posted in a while, but the real reason is that Ethan is a toddler. And I'm exhausted. So let me catch you up on our little crazy man.

The Good. Ethan's vocabulary is growing. He loves that he can communicate, and gets soooo happy when we understand him.

The Bad. Quite often, we have no idea what Ethan is saying. His understandable vocabulary is much smaller than he thinks it is.

The Ugly. Tantrums ensue when we can't figure out what it is Ethan is asking for. And he has taken to biting me if he thinks I'm not paying close enough attention.

In general, Ethan is still a happy boy. But my patience wears thin on those days he decides nothing is going his way. I just have to keep reminding myself that it will pass. Eventually...

John's New Job

No, John still has the old one. But John has had a second job for a few months now, and although he thinks it makes him seem nerdy, I'm proud of him. So I'm sharing. (I may not be totally accurate, but I'll try.)

Not long after we were married John started playing Neverwinter Nights (Think D&D type game, set in a medieval world, with LOTR type characters.) About two years ago John discovered an online perpetual world based on the game. This world (Avilis) is huge and has innumerable ways for people to play, including simply standing around, having a conversation, but in character. John loves this. As he became involved in the human/elf war and helping other players learn things, John made a name for himself in the area he plays in most. He added to this by contributing several stories to the Fan Fiction site and writing a play that was performed in the game (this is a weird thing to imagine, but it was pretty cool.) Eventually, John applied to be a DM (dungeon master, effectively an overseer, keeping tabs on players and setting up quests and adventures.) Enough of the current DM's knew of him that he was quickly accepted. But this isn't the job.

John made quite an impression in this group. When one of the guys who keeps the site running (read: makes sure that the server space is payed for, usually through donations from players) wanted to start an online magazine about RPGs (role playing games), John's name was suggested. So John is now editor-in-chief for World Forge Magazine. This doesn't really make us much money, but it's great experience for John. He decides what goes in the magazine, edits some of the articles (he has an editing team to help out), and is responsible for making sure the magazine is ready to go each month. I'm so proud, and excited that John is doing something that he loves, and that I believe is the direction his career should take.

If you want to see what the magazine is about, check out WorldForgeMagazine.com (unfortunately it requires a subscription to read the full magazine, but John set up the front page so that you can get the idea.)

Pretend Play

At Ethan's 15 month checkup, the NP asked if he started "pretend play". I thought about it and said that he imitated us in play alot, but I hadn't seen him creating his own little stories yet. When she left to go make up his shots, Ethan sat on the table and talked to his doll. I watched as he cuddled it, rocked it, kissed it. When we came home, Ethan fed Baby some raisins (I later fished them out with tweezers) and gave him a wagon ride. I guess I hadn't realized that Ethan pretends all day. He's growing up so fast!

BTW. He was just under 33" and 26lbs. He's still growing steadily, but has come down to the 75th percentile. (Thank goodness.) All his developmental milestones are right on target, if not ahead. And he couldn't be more healthy. We have good friends whose son is one week older than Ethan. He started chemo last week. As we help them and keep them in our prayers, we are constantly reminded of the blessing Ethan's health is. We are eternally grateful for it.

I love my husband

John posted on his blog about the "new" bike his brother got when they were kids. As he was telling me about how he had been asked to not tell his brother it wasn't new, he had tears in his eyes. I love that he has memories (like mine) of the lean years when we would make do and try to not let the younger kids know that they were missing out on anything. And I love that he was even more emotional when he talked about doing the best we can for our kids. How can I not love this man.

Baby Talk

We've tried to be careful about not using baby talk. Let me rephrase that. I'VE tried to be careful about not using baby talk. Getting John to use real words is sometimes difficult. He usually just repeats what Ethan is saying (which Ethan loves), but it's hard for him to learn words when he never hears them. This isn't really what I meant to write about, but the situation taught Ethan an interesting lesson.

Ethan has discovered that people talk differently to babies. They usually speak in higher pitched voices and say nonsense words. I discovered that our boy was so observant when I asked him to get Baby (his doll). He immediatly raised his voice and made little noises while looking for it. When calling for Baby worked and he found it, Ethan picked up the doll and cooed at it. This baby talk has expanded to all dolls, stuffed animals, and occasionally his little people and horses (they go with his castle playset). What a cute boy!

He's a Fish (almost)

As Ethan's first swim lesson started, he was a little nervous. After a few minutes he had a grip around my waist with his legs and around my neck with his arms. He wasn't crying, but he wasn't sure he liked it yet. Once we started a little bouncing around in the water, he loosened up a little. (I think it felt like when we dance around the house.) Then splashing with his hands was a big hit. And by the time we were doing sitting jumps from the wall, he was trying to swim away from me. He didn't want to leave when class was over.

So, all in all, it went well. And I got more snuggles in that 30min than I usually get in a week! We can't wait for next time!

Swim Lessons!

Ethan starts swim lessons tomorrow morning. He has never even been in a pool. I'm hoping he has the Gibson genes for swimming and takes to the water like a fish. We'll see! And although I am dreading putting on a bathing suit, I can't wait to get into the water. I'll post about how it goes!

Comments

No one is using the comments, so I am thinking of getting rid of them. But before I do, I thought I'd ask all of you lurkers to post and say hi! Let me know that you are here, your opinion on leaving the comments, and anything you'd like me to write about.

"I was a young scientist"

That's what Ethan's new bucket says. He recieved it as a thank you after he participated in two behavioral studies this morning. (To Ethan this meant getting to play with new toys.)

We started with an imitation study. The first toy was a rain-stick that Ethan didn't want to turn over like they showed him because you could make the noise by shaking it, and that was more fun. The second was two blocks covered in pictures. The prompters were trying to get Ethan to match two pictures on the blocks, but Ethan would just grab them, stack them, and look around like "I did it. What next?" After that, they moved on to toys that had been specifically built for these studies. (Boxes with a knob or button that made something happen.) The two prompters would each bring out a different toy. They would show Ethan how to use each one, and then give him a duplicate of one of the toys. I think the objective was that he imitate the correct motions to make the toy 'work'. He did really well!

The second study was about handedness. Ethan is definiatly a righty. They started by putting toys one at a time directly in front of him and recording which hand he used to grab them. Then, using the toys he liked most and that took the most coordination to use, they began putting them on one side or the other. By the end, the prompter was putting all the toys to Ethan's left. Ethan would grab them with his left hand and then pass them to his right to use them. They then wanted to put a sock over Ethan's right hand, but he would have none of it, so we were done. I discovered that Ethan LOVED putting little pegs in the holes in a board. We will definiatly get something like that for him to play with at home.

This study was a little strange for me. It was run by college students who seemed so young, but really aren't that much younger than me. And I couldn't really talk to Ethan at all during the process. He sat in a chair attached to the table and I sat in a chair behind him. When he turned to me, I could reassure him and tell him he did a good job, but I couldn't give any type of instructions.

All in all, it was fun. Only 30 min and I felt like we were contributing something to the world. If they have another study that Ethan qualifies for (mostly he just has to be ther right age), we will definiatly go!

All About Me

I've been working on a little, quick scrapbook about ME! I've kind of stalled in my ideas for Ethan's book and needed something to jumpstart the creativity. The page layouts are done and now I'm focusing on what I want to put on them. (This is a strange way to scrapbook, but I kind of like it.) It's weird to turn things around and look at my own life. I'm working on a page that focuses on my life right now. Compared to what I've done before, I feel like I'm not doing a whole lot. Raising Ethan is bigger than anything I've ever done before (and it wears me out), but something more personally rewarding would be nice. I think I'll look into taking a ballet class.

Our little vegetarian

Ethan doesn't eat meat. Not for our lack of trying, but he just doesn't like it. We try to sneak it in, but he catches it, spitting out the meat, and eating everything else. We've even tried fun things like chicken nuggets and fish sticks. But no, no meat. The only way he ever eats any is in ravioli. Gerber makes these ravioli with pureed meat and vegetables inside. He like the pasta so much, he barely chews them as he shoves them into his mouth. So we give him those ravioli a few times a week to get some real protien into him.

The boy is definiatly not a vegan. He would live on dairy foods if we let him. It takes a concious effort on our part to make sure we hide the sippy cup a few times a day so that he isn't always full of milk. And Ethan feels that yogurt and cheese are necessary in a daily diet.

Our boy is crazy. But so are we, so we love him anyway.

Snow update

The official snowfall for our town was 19 inches. Not horrible, but it came fast and furious so the cleanup is progressing slowly. Roads are clean for the most-part and people are slowly getting themselves out and about.

John and our Home Teacher dug out the two cars they needed to get to work, but us wives are stuck at home today. We can't even go for a walk b/c the sidewalks aren't clear. Yuck. At least we are supposed to be back in the 40s by the end of the week.

Snow!

Today is a SNOW DAY! From church that is, so it's not quite as exciting. We're stuck in a blizzard. There are about 12 inches of snow already and it's supposed to keep snowing for another 4 hrs or so. The blizzard conditions also mean that the snow is drifting. This buries our cars b/c our parking spots are next to a fence. John is going to get a workout tonight! Actually, our Home Teacher lives upstairs, so they help each other get all the cars out. We should be back to normal tommorrow, except for the big mountains of snow everywhere.

1 Nephi 3:7

Someone must have felt that by missing most of my church meetings, I have been deprived somehow. And I needed something to refocus me on spiritual matters. That someone must have told our bishopric because now I have to speak! (Either that or our bishopric is inspired. Sometimes I wish they weren't so good.)

So I am speaking on 1 Nephi 3:7 - "And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto my father: I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded, for I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."

I think that I'm going to speak about how choosing to follow the Lord's directions is making a covenant. We promise to do what he asked, and He promises to help us do it. As I've been studying a few examples, it's struck me that the Lord (although he doesn't say it) also promises that it will be worth it. Even if we don't see how, the effort will be worth it.

It's been a good reminder that even when life seems hard, most of the things I am trying to do (church, daily scripture study and prayer, visiting teaching, pay tithing, work, be a good homemaker, keep the spirit in my home, and yes, even raising Ethan) are things that the Lord has asked of me. He will find a way for me to do it all, and it will be worth it.

Have I mentioned that Ethan is HEAVY?

He doesn't look it anymore. He's much leaner and has lost the football player look. But that boy is still solid. I was reminded quite dramatically the other day as I was lifting him into his highchair and my back decided it had had enough. Ethan made it into the highchair uninjured, but I can't say the same for me. I'm healing slowly because I can't just let Ethan fend for himself. But I am healing. I'm blaming our genetic heritage. So those that gave it to us (yes, that means you grandmas) need to come take a turn carrying him around for a while.

Ethan and his Schedule

I know we've been obnoxious about Ethan's schedule. I know it's bothered people when we've visted, or they've come here. But I don't care. It works. And Ethan is even catching on. He always knows what comes next and has started telling us what we should be doing. This includes leading us to his highchair and making the sign for eat, bringing his baby into his room and looking for the nap book, and even pointing at the TV when dad starts getting ready for work (we always watch 'The Wiggles' while dad gets ready).

Both sides of the family are crazy and could never stick to a schedule. I on the other hand, always need to know when things are happening. (You can see where this could be stressful. Mostly for me.) So I wanted to let you know that I am raising a child to like a schedule, just like me. Deal with it. Bwa ha ha.

A SHOWER!

Ok. I do shower on a daily basis. Just not usually when I'd like to. I normally have to wait until Ethan is napping. And if I need sleep too, well, I have to make a choice. Wait until the 2pm nap to shower, or skip my nap. This has frustrated me to no end. And with the switch to one nap looming ever closer, the non-naptime shower is becoming more and more important.

So, I did it today. I haven't tried it in months because it made him mad to be shut in the bathroom with me, and it made me mad that he kept trying to climb into the shower. But today, we came home from the grocery store and Ethan was mad that we weren't staying outside. So I put on his Blue's Clues DVD to appease him. The boy completely ignored me while I put the groceries away. And it occured to me that maybe I could do other things while he was thus engaged. I went for it. I was smart enough to leave the bathroom door open, but block it with the gate, so that he could wander over and talk to me, but not come in. It worked GREAT! He would walk into the hall evey minute or so and yell, I'd say something back, and he'd go back to his show. I'm so excited!

Now that I have the magic DVD, what else can I do without interruption? Scrapbook? Cook? Nap? Well, not nap. But I feel like I've discovered a secret. He he.

I Miss Church

I do actually make it to Sacrament meeting, but I haven't been to Sunday school or Relief Society in a while. I miss the spiritual boost from studying the gospel with a group of people with different perspectives, and especially from our society of strong, amazing women.

Part of why I've been heading home after the first meeting is Ethan's nap. (He is such a great, happy kid because I refuse to let him miss any sleep. When he does miss a nap, life stops being fun at our house.) The other reason is that John teaches the 4yr olds in Primary. So if I did stay, I'm on my own with a boy who really likes to explore EVERYTHING. You'd think that our ward of young families wouldn't mind him crawling behind chairs and digging into diaper bags, but we have just enough elderly and handicapped to make free roaming impossible. The constant vigilance means I miss out on things even when I stay.

But nursery is only 18 Sundays away. I can't wait!

Congratulations!

This past week, Ethan's aunt (my sister) was engaged! Congratulations to Dorothy and John!

Kisses

I had a rough day yesterday. It wasn't really a bad day, but I just wasn't dealing with things well. I'm sure that I spent too much time yelling, and not enough time playing. So when John came home, he gave me a big hug and kisses. I was holding Ethan at the time, and he found this very interesting. As soon as I turned and looked at him, he leaned forward and planted a big slobbery kiss on me. It (almost) made up for the bad day.

Crib Play

I used to wonder what other moms were talking about when they would talk about playing in the crib instead of napping. If Ethan was in his crib, he was either sleeping or crying for us to come get him out. This changed in the last few days. Now, when I put Ethan down for a nap, he plays for a while before falling asleep. He is hilarious. He talks to his baby, plays with his blanket, and even runs around in circles. And he has been asking to play in his crib at all times of the day. If we go into his room, he wants to be in the crib! What a weird kid.

Hmmm.... Maybe this will allow me to sneak in a shower while he's awake!

The New Baby!

No. I'm NOT pregnant. I'm talking about Ethan's new doll. At playgroup last week, Ethan was obsessed with the baby dolls. You know, the ones with a soft body and plastic extremities. He would carry them around, kiss them, show them to the other kids, etc. I told John he needed a doll. "As long as it's a boy doll" he said. So I sent the boys out yesterday to buy a boy doll. It's actually a girl in blue clothes, but when you take off the headband and the frilly frock, it's in a blue sleeper and looks enough like a boy. Ethan LOVES it. I almost put the little bottle away, thinking Ethan wasn't ready for that kind of play, but then I changed my mind. I asked Ethan if the baby wanted a bottle. He walked over, grabbed it, tried it himself first, and then fed the baby! (I know that this represents a developmental milestone, but I can't remember what it's called right now.) He's growing up so fast!

So loungy

I know loungy isn't a real word, but we use it all the time. When Ethan is playful, (or imitating us) he will lounge around on his little couch, a throw pillow, a blanket, etc. It's so cute to see him throw himself down, get a little grin, and wait for us to say "Look at Ethan! So loungy." He thinks it's so funny! And watching him nuzzle into a blanket or draped over his couch is so cute, we can't help but encourage it.

Scrapbook

I'm moving forward quickly on Ethan's scrapbook (finally). I'm about halfway done, and at this pace, I'll be done in a few weeks. Yay! Then I'll figure out how to scan each page in (they're 12X12 and our scanner is letter size, so it may take me a while to match up my pieces) so that I can show them off! I'd show you the pages I have finished, but b/c it's based on the alphabet, it works better all together. Watch for it probably early March!

(I'm saying this so that it will push me to finish it. So go ahead and bug me to see it.)

That Look

John and I were given "The Complete Calvin and Hobbes" for Christmas, and I am slowly working my way through the first tome. I very quickly came upon my favorite strip ever. And it's even better now that Ethan gets the same look when I tell him to stop destroying something.

Check it out (you will need to copy and paste this)
http://www.progressiveboink.com/jon/images/calvinhobbes/jon6.GIF

He said what??

We just realized that Ethan has been saying "Mommy" and "Daddy". Don't ask how we missed this, we just did. He's been saying Mama and Dada for a long time, and we don't say mommy or daddy, so we're not sure where this came from.

I discovered it when John was in the bathroom and Ethan was outside the door yelling at Dad to come out, as usual. We tend to not really pay attention to the babbling, so it suprised me when I realized Ethan was saying the same thing over and over, and it sounded familiar. It was Daddy, without the D's. It sounds kind of like "ahie". And Mommy is "awie". Now we notice it all the time. When he wakes up, he calls for us. If he thinks we are in the bedroom or bathroom, he yells at the door. Even when I'm at the computer and he is peeking over the gate at me, he is saying "awie". This is his first really consistent word usage and we are so proud!

Cute Naked Boy

As John was getting Ethan's bath ready, the boy escaped and ran around the house naked for a few minutes. His little bum jiggling as he ran away was the cutest thing I've ever seen! I love my chubby little naked boy.

Is that a chew toy?

I've found myself sorting through Ethan's toys once again. This time, asking myself if each toy is OK to be gnawed on. I started this after I found a big chunk missing from the Nerf football. I found most of the foam Ethan had bitten off, but I think he managed to eat some. I'm also a little concerned about the electronic toys. Will the batteries give him a shock? (Would that be a bad thing?) Anyway, I'm doing this for the second time in as many weeks, and wondering what Ethan would do if I only left out one toy at a time. Hmmmmm.......

Just a Note about the Site

I activated the comments links. Don't feel pressured to comment. I was catching up on the blogs of some friends and realized that I liked to be able to say something when they posted a really cute picture of their kids or did something really fun. If no one uses them, in a few weeks I'll deactivate them. If no one even reads my blog, I'm Ok with that too. I like that I'm recording the little stuff somewhere, even if it's just for me. :)

Missing Out on Snuggles

John always puts Ethan to bed. We started this because I work evenings and we wanted to be consistent. It's also a great time for the boys to spend together. (And the bath is hard on my back, tired at the end of the day.)

Tonight, John is babysitting for some friends. Their little boy goes to bed late, and I needed the break, so John went. (It seems like we've been doing a lot of babysitting lately doesn't it. But we get our fair share in return.) I got to put Ethan down. The bath was tough, but I loved to watch Ethan bounce around in his crib while I was trying to get his PJs on. (John doesn't like trying to catch him, but I just think it's so cute!) Then we settle into the rocking chair for a bottle. Ethan was so tired tonight, we skipped the book and song. After I finished saying a little prayer, he snuggled into me. Those little hands tucked in and he immediately fell asleep. I had to hurry and put him down so that I didn't wake him up with my tears.

Ethan is a snuggly boy in general, but he doesn't fall asleep in my arms anymore. I miss holding my little sleeping angel. Maybe I'll put him down more often, so that I don't miss out on that closeness.

3 kids for 2 days

A friend went out of town on thursday and asked if I could watch her kids while her husband was at work. So for 6 hrs on thursday, and 9 hrs on Friday, I had a 1yr old (Ethan), a 2yr old, and a 5yr old. It was easier than I expected (her kids can be tough sometimes). Ethan was the most difficult of the bunch. He wouldn't let me leave the room without him, so I frequently had to carry the two youngest up the stairs together to avoid screaming. Needless to say, I'm exhasted and my body hurts everywhere.

But it gives me some hope. It will be so nice to be able to make lunch without Ethan clinging to my legs, dragging him around the kitchen. And get anything done without Ethan trying to "help." And maybe go to the bathroom ALONE! I'm looking forward to Ethan growing up. This is a fun stage, but trying sometimes.

Evolution vs. Intelligent Design

I know that this isn't about Ethan, but I have the forum, so why not use it.

I was just reading a blog entry from a while ago discussing intelligent design and feel the need to vent a little about the debate.

First, I am frustrated that the people who are the most vocal about these issues see them as mutually exclusive. As a member of the scientific community, I decided to ask around to see if people really thought that way. Surprisingly, EVERYONE I talked to agreed that the theory of evolution seems to be accurate, but evolution had to have had help. Just look at how complex we are.

Second, and more important, I don't expect that to be taught at school. God is not a scientific theory. Science in school should teach the theory of evolution. It is a key part of understanding biology. So who teaches my kids about God, you ask?
ME!
ME!
ME!

It's sad that parents sometimes need to be reminded that school isn't a substitute for parenting. I'll get off my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.

Sleep cont.

Ethan remembered today that he likes to sleep. I think the last few days were bad because of teething and dad being around to play with. With dad at work (I'm just not as fun apparently) and a little motrin, naps are back to normal. And mom is managing to hold on to her sanity. (Sort of.)

Not so big

The other day I saw a baby in the store that looked about Ethan's age. I asked the grandmother how old he was, only to discover that I was looking at a 25 pound, 32 inch SIX MONTH OLD! I'm grateful that Ethan's growth has slowed down. Just thinking about caring for that baby makes my back hurt.

Sleep? Why would I want to do that?

In 2005, our church meetings ran from 11am-2pm. Ethan usually naps from 9-10:30am and 2-3:30pm. This was a wonderful schedule for us. In 2006, church is from 9am-12. Naptime. Yesterday, we took Ethan to church with the hope that he might sleep during sacrament meeting. No such luck. Ethan ONLY sleeps in his crib. But, not to worry, we were prepared. John and I drove separate cars, so I headed home to put Ethan down for a nap. It was hard work keeping Ethan awake the entire drive home. (If he falls asleep in the car, he wakes up as soon as you stop and won't go down again.) Ethan made it home awake and proceeded to scream for 15 min before finally falling asleep. It was a short nap, and the afternoon nap was hard-fought as well.

On to today. Ethan woke up before 5am. I had promised John that he could sleep in, so I got up, did the little routine, and put him back down. It always works for John, but not for me. So John got up and tried. No luck, Ethan was having none of it. Back to me. I got to sit on the couch and hold him while he slept. I should be sleeping to right? Ethan is just to big for me to hold comfortablly, so I sat awkwardly for an hour so that Ethan would get a little more sleep. On to the morning nap. Oh wait. What morning nap? All we had this morning was screaming.

What happened to our champion sleeper? I am hoping that he is sick. Or miraculously switching to one nap on his own. Either way, when John goes back to work tomorrow, it won't be a good day.

Ethan's cup overfloweth

Ok. I know we all love Ethan. But what are we going to do with all this stuff??? John and I spent a few hours last night cleaning out old toys, opening the new ones, and putting some in storage to pull out later. When Ethan came out this morning and saw a few of the new toys lined up against the living room wall, he got so excited. He is in toy heaven. So I guess it's worth it. Maybe this glut of toys will help me convince John to paint the basement and put in more lighting so that it's a more usable storage space. We sure need it!

Packing...And packing...And packing...

You would think that packing for three days would be easy. John and I can share a small suitcase. No big deal. But packing for Ethan takes days of planning. If we don't make lists we forget things we need. (Last time we forgot a sheet for Ethan's portable crib!) So I began the list on Tuesday. Wednesday I rechecked the list, added a few things, and did all the laundry so that Ethan's cutest clothes would be ready. Thursday was crazy packing day. Nearly everything is packed. Today (Friday) is load up the car day. This is a big job because we have to fit the Christmas presents in! I know that it seems like I've stretched this out, but our schedule (mostly my work schedule) keeps me from being able to fit more in. So today, John is going to come home from work early so that we can load up the car before I have to head to work. I should mention that I work 3pm-11pm. This means that I will come home tonight and crash at about midnight, have to get up early so that we can pack the last few things we've still been using, get ready for the day, and be on the road by 9am. Yuck! But at least it means we get to spend Christmas with family. Next week, maybe I'll post "Unpacking".

Explosion!

Explosion of new things I mean. Apparently Ethan had a minor ear infection for a few weeks. No fever, no pulling on his ear, no unusual fussiness. But we now realize that he wasn't trying new things. As soon as we discovered it and treated it, we had a different boy on our hands. Our shy, cuddly guy is suddenly social, and not afraid to wander off in large groups of people. He has also become very assertive and throws tantrums or refuses to eat if things aren't going his way.

The one exciting change has been an increased vocabulary. Almost everything is now a "book", except for diapers ("yuck"), and "milk". Ethan has also started making new signs. The sign for 'baby' is to rock your arms like you're holding a baby. Ethan holds his arms out and twists his body. SO CUTE! He also signs 'more', 'eat', 'all done', 'dog', 'flower', and he just signed 'cat' last night.

We are so proud! (And exhausted.)

Blowing Kisses

Ethan and John were so cute last night! Ethan makes a lip-smacking sound that sounds like a kiss. Last night, he was in the kitchen pulling cans off of shelves when he made the sound. John was down the hall and heard it, and made a kissing sound back. For the next several minutes, my two men (little and big) blew kisses at each other across the house. SO CUTE!

Laughing

This morning, as I was reading "Bob's Busy Wrench" for the umpteenth time, I started adding motions to "he twists it to the left, he twists it to the right..." Ethan thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. His hysterical laughter made me start laughing. Then he began imitating the motions I'd been making, and we both laughed until it hurt. This began the 'Day of Laughing'. Ethan thought everything was funny. And he has developed this little rough laugh that sounds like he's crazy. I loved hearing it whenever he found something funny. It was a great day.

Excited about walking

I'd forgotten to write about Ethan's new skill. I know that John already posted, but he still hasn't seen more than a step or two, so I am the one with the real info.

Ethan went from one step every-other day or so last week, to four on friday. I was holding some apple in my hand and Ethan wanted it, so he just walked over! As soon as I got excited, he realized what he'd done and gave me a big hug. I then used the apple as incentive to try again, and HE DID IT AGAIN! This time he just stood there, so excited he was shaking. He started to clap for himself once, but nearly knocked himself off balance, so he just grinned from ear to ear and let mom clap for him.

Now that he knows he can do it, he's been walking when he only has a few steps to go. Give him another week or so and he'll be running! YIKES!

Scrapbook

That last post was something I've been thinking about for a few days. I finally realized I needed to write it down before I forgot, or before I came up with too many things to narrow it down. I want to be able to put the list at the end of Ethan's scrapbook, with letters from his dad and I.

The scrapbook production is stalled at the moment while we rearrange a few rooms in our house. We are aiming to have the moving around finished by Thanksgiving, so work should begin again that weekend. Which reminds me that I haven't recieved ANY of the quotes/well-wishes/whatever I requested from Ethan's aunts and uncles! If you happen to talk to any of them, get on their case so that I can finish that page!

Can you tell that scrapbooking has rubbed off on me more than I expected? We'll see if it lasts.

10 things I love about Ethan

1. The way he crosses his ankles when he's sitting
2. His slobbery, open-mouthed kisses that go on forever
3. The way he answers questions with a screech or "mm-hmm"
4. His big smile and hug when you get him out of his crib
5. His messes are easier to clean up than his parent's messes
6. The way he crab-walks to protect his knees when crawling on a hard surface
7. That he loves his dad and mom sooooo much
8. His love of books
9. The way he sits and talks to himself when he thinks you're not listening
10.His excitement and pride when he walks like the big kids

FIRST STEP!!!

We've been saying for about 2 weeks that Ethan would do it any day, but the actual first step still suprised us. He was standing next to the coffee table looking at a toy in his hands. He held the toy out to me, a few feet away, then took a step towards me! He then stood there for a few seconds longer before deciding that crawling would be much easier. Our little guy is growing up so fast!

"Vacation"

John mentioned that I went to a scrapbooking conference last week. I love his daily reports on being a stay-at-home dad for a few days. They did so well, I should go away more often!

I left for CT Wed afternoon. This meant leaving Ethan with a sitter for a few hours. That was the worst part. Ethan is very attached right now and screamed so much it made me want to cry. But he apparently did OK after he took a nap.

Then I spent the next 3 days scrapbooking. Those of you that know me well enough, know that I'm not really crafty. I cross-stitch, but that's just following directions. I'm not creative. So needless to say, I wasn't so sure I would enjoy this conference.

I had a GREAT time. It was focused on albums, so we had one large one, one small one, and six mini classes. The mini classes taught different techniques, but we always finished with some sort of mini album (or got part way through). The small album was 'My Favorites' and each of the pseudo-celebrities that was teaching at the conference planned a page. They rotated so we each finished with 9 pages. This was a great way to see the different styles (and to get more free stuff). Did I mention that we got free stuff? In every class, we walked in to a stack of supplies that were ours to keep, and at each larger event, we received a tote bag full of supplies! Our tuition was cheaper than the cost of all stuff we left with! (If you are looking to stock up, I recommend a CKU conference.)

OH! The big album. This was the reason I went. I decided to work on Ethan's First Year. The album that mom and I chose was 'About a Boy/Story of a ' (She was doing my sister Hannah) taught by Kolette Hall. It was our second choice, but I am so glad we didn't make it into our first. Hers was the longest album and the biggest at 12x12. Kolette's layout are beautiful. I'm not a big fan of pastels or overly done pages, so her class was perfect. I did have to alter things a bit because her album focused on celebrating how the person became who they are. That doesn't really work for a baby. But I think I did a good job. It was also a wonderfully uplifting class to be in. Kolette's husband is a paraplegic and they have great stories and an amazingly positive outlook on life. (If you are ever looking for a motivational speaker, I highly recommend Jason Hall.) They have a very hard life, but it never stops them.

OK. I keep veering off track! Ethan's album. It's so cute! Well, the 7 pages I've done are so cute. Only 19 more to go! I'm doing 'The A-Zs of Ethan's 1st Year'. I finished Arrival, Johansen and Gibson Families, Uncles Aunts and Cousins, Outings, and Pals. These are 12x12 pages so our scanner isn't big enough, but I will try to take some pictures and post them.