#200

That's right! This is post #200. And I don't have much to say.

First, I just discovered that because I post photos that come from large, higher quality files, you can click on them and see Ethan up close and personal. Great when he is making his crazy expressions.

Second, I'm in Montreal, enjoying some relaxation. And you're not. ;)

The Beach! Sorry, no, Plimoth Plantation

We spent a great day at the beach today. Good enough waves for John to go bodysurfing, lots of sand for Ethan to dig, and plenty of friends for me to talk to. All of us came home a little pinker than planned, but who can remember to reapply sunblock when you're having fun!

As usual, we forgot the camera. So here are a few pictures from our trip to Plimoth Plantation last month (and yes that is the correct spelling.) This is a favorite of ours particularly because the first person to step off the Mayflower, Mary Chilton, is an ancestor of mine. It's fun to go ask questions of the actors and learn more about what life was like for her and her family. You can easily spend hours talking to them if you want! This trip we talked quite a bit with a gentleman about their religious practices. So interesting!

Anyway, here are a few shots of Ethan enjoying the trip.

Ethan running around in a canoe at the Wampanoag homesite. This native american tribe makes the canoes by burning out the interiors of tree trunks. You can see the smoke house in the background. Their regular homes are similarly built, but much larger.
Ethan's favorite part of the trip. Pushing his stroller. This is in the 1627 Village, set seven years after the Mayflower arrived so that we could see a semi-established community. It's really interesting to learn how interdependent they were, while each family was also so self-sufficient.

Ethan and John's cousin Ben. (Congratulations on getting into med school!) This is also at the village, walking along one of the smaller streets.

The boy loved this cannon. Not sure if he really loved the big gun or the red cart... This was part of the little fortress building at one end of town, able to see over the protecting walls. I think to protect from Indians. It appeared to be used more as a meeting house.

Playing below decks on the Mayflower 2. This is a full-size re-creation of the original, and they have actually sailed it across from Britain! It's amazing to see the living conditions that they endured. What you see here is all the space an entire family would have had for the voyage. And they were rarely allowed above decks.

Random Photos 2

I opened Photoshop Elements to do something else and realized that John had uploaded photos from the camera recently. So here are a few random shots. I'll post some more later.

Ethan hugging Mags

Mags hugging Ethan

The boy and his bear in diapers - look at those scrawny legs!

Shooting some hoops

Playing with mom before bedtime

Motionsickness

If only this baby were really as calm as the one floating in the little bubble. I remember seeing Ethan during his ultrasound and being grateful that I couldn't feel all that action. Not so lucky this time. I'm weeks away from my ultrasound and am feeling so many flips and kicks it's been making me nauseous. Not looking forward to when this baby gets big and fights against being cramped in there.

No ears

Hopefully this will counteract the big monkey ears my family has.

So is he using the potty?

Hmmm.... Sometimes. After the one great day, we've been doing ok. We've been out of the house so much it's hard to keep him in underwear, or even pull-ups for that matter. (We use the feel-and-learn ones, so he wants to be changed immediately after he pees.) I just don't feel like running for a bathroom at this point when he can only hold it in for a few seconds.

So peeing in the potty is going well when we're at home. He's even started keeping his swim diapers dry (weird, I know) and peeing when we come home from the spray park. I think he's realized that they don't hold in pee, so because he doesn't really like to play in the water, the pee is obvious when it runs down his leg.

Pooping is another matter. He has been telling us, and trying to do it on the potty, but it's not as easy as it seems. Even when he clearly has a poop coming, something about sitting instead of his usual squat is keeping it from happening. It may also have something to do with the ridiculously small hole in his potty. He sits really far back to pee so that he has room to watch, but isn't happy about scooting forward so that he can poo. Maybe this will have to wait until we try to get him back on the big potty.

G Diapers

Thinking about using G diapers with this baby. Some of the earthy benefits of a cloth diaper without being a cloth diaper. They have a cloth outer, a liner to keep the outer clean when diapers are messy, and use flushable inserts. I probably would only use one or two a day, and I wouldn't start until the Medium size (the small just isn't worth the investment with our big babies). Even if I throw away the inserts rather than flushing them, they are still so much more biodegradable.

Anyway. Still just thinking about it. Finances may determine that we stick to our Pampers, but I like the idea of these diapers.

Skybus

Just found out about this new airline called Skybus. They guarantee at least 10 seats on each flight will only cost $10. Then the price increases slowly as more seats are purchased. You can even pay an extra $10 per seat for priority boarding (it's a no seat assignments type deal). Currently all flights have to go through Columbus, and you have to pick up your baggage and recheck it if you are going on, but for ten bucks, I'll totally do it. We're already on the watch for when they post schedules for next fall when we plan to head to Disney.

By George, I think he's got it!

Our boy is consistently peeing in the potty instead of his diapers! Most of his attempts before were twenty minutes of reading books and making silly faces. We still have a few of those (when you spend half your day in the bathroom, you're bound to), but it's becoming a much quicker thing.

I think the thing that did it is the next car hanging on the fridge. So far, he hasn't recognized the cars until we told him who they were. And he earned them with a single pee on the potty. (Now, he gets a ViewMaster story for peeing, but I think that will quickly change to just a jellybean.) The car currently on the fridge is Doc Hudson. Ethan has to poop on the potty to get him. He has been trying soooo hard. This has lead to the great peeing on the potty, and Ethan trying to convince us that gas is poop.

I'll let you know if he keeps improving, or if this is really a short term thing. Hopefully, were on our way to not having two in diapers. (Cross your fingers for us!)

Update: For what happened that evening, see John's comment

Scary FYI

Google has now integrated it's reverse phone # search with Mapquest. Handy right? Not if you have kids. If your child gives out their phone number, anyone can type it in and not only get your address, but also a map with directions to your house.

Luckily, you can get your number removed. Go type your phone number (555-555-5555) in the search bar and see if your address pops up (it shouldn't for cell phones.) If it does, click on it and then click "Request to have your name removed from this list". You fill out a form and it takes a few days to take effect. (Mom, I already did yours.)

Sometimes this information age is a little scary.

The Quickening

I think that's what they used to call it. Anyway, I thought I'd pass on to the grandparents that this baby is just as active as Ethan was. I've been feeling little kicks and stretches on occasion for the last two weeks or so (I know! Crazy early!) I'm only certain that I'm not making it up b/c I feel it every day now. I get little kicks right in front where the baby spends most of its time (I think that means the placenta is in the back padding my spine. Yay!) and occasional pushes against my already sore round ligaments on my right side. This baby clearly knows where it prefers to hang out. Picky already.

Not a Rough and Tumble Boy

Talking to a friend today about boys and realized I don't have a stereotypical boy. (My weirdness probably plays a huge part in this.)

First of all, he's cautious. He's not shy or wimpy, just wary of new situations and new people. Just like his mom.

Second, he is obsessive about cleaning off his hands and face while he's eating. As soon as he sits down to eat, he asks for a paper towel. He has even been know to wipe pretend crumbs off of our faces.

Third, one of his favorite times of day is storytime. We happen to have multiple copies of one of his favorite books. Lately, we'll each take one and read it together.

Fourth, some days he would rather spend at home rather than the park or with friends. Of course they always fall on the days when I most feel like I need to get out of the house....

Anyway, the point is that Ethan is not what I think of when I think "boy". And I like it.

Just what I needed to hear today

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?
Actually, who are you NOT to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
We unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
-1994 Inaugural Speech, Nelson Mandela

Thanks Bryn.

Just for Stew

I'm going to leave both tickers. Because I know how much you love them. I'll also be sure to post pictures of my pregnant belly. (Still don't know why it weirds you out so much.)

I win!!!

Did anyone else watch the Daily Show? Jon Stewart interviewed Bruce Willis and said "People are excited about . . . Willis throwing nice comedy and nice action together." HA!

Also I win b/c I figured out how to get Ethan to use his potty. He earned a little matchbook car (thanks to Grandma G's purchase of a bag full) for going pee. They are 'Cars' the movie themed. We started with the general racecars. When we get to the recognizable characters it will take more to earn one. We are keeping the next car hanging on the fridge in its packaging as an incentive. Ethan had been trying for the first for 3 days and he finally peed in his potty this evening. He's already excited to try for the next one tomorrow.

We must have done something right...

We went out to dinner this evening with Grandpa G and Aunt Hannah. The check came, along with 5 little chocolate candies. We were busy talking and not paying attention to the boy. When Ethan noticed the candies sitting there, he picked them up. Walking around the table, he put one in front of each of us before sitting down to open his own. I swear. He didn't stick them in his pocket. He didn't stuff them all in his mouth. He shared them. With zero prompting. What a cute kid!

Votes

First, I can't decide between the baby ticker at the top and the one on the side. The one at the top is kind of funny and I've already had it for a while. But the one on the side is nicer looking, shows the growth progression better, and has a cute floating baby . And click on the # of days left to see how you can change it. Tell me which you like better.

Second, John and I have having an ongoing debate. Maybe it's just me, but I think that the Diehard movies are comedies. I know they are in the action genre, obviously, but I also think they're hilarious. Tell us what you think.

Day 3 - New Potty

The way that Ethan has been reacting to sitting on the potty is making it clear that we are pushing too hard. He really doesn't want to do it. So today I thought I'd try something new.

We went out and Ethan picked out a potty. We've been using one of those seats that fits on top of the toilet, mainly because I don't want to have to clean a potty. But if the boy will try it, so will I. It was hilarious to watch Ethan and his friend Mags fight over who got to sit on it. We ended up taking 1 minute turns for what seemed like an hour! They couldn't get enough of it. Although this was fully clothed, it's a step in the right direction.

So we'll back off on the underwear and asking so much, but we're going to make sitting on the potty part of our routine. It will probably be a fully clothed activity for a while. When he's used to it, we'll push a little more.

I refused just like this. It was because letting my mom change my diaper was so much easier. This is one of those times I wish he was a little less like me.

Day 2 - Someone thinks I'm Psychic

Could someone please tell my husband that I can't read his mind?

He apparently changed Ethan into underpants before leaving for work. I had no idea, so in my groggy state, I stumbled out to the couch and curled up for a little more sleep. Ethan was happily playing back and forth between the living room and his bedroom, so I slept for a little longer than I anticipated. Suddenly, I realize it's been quiet for a few minutes. Not a good sign. I hopped up, ran into his room and found him standing next to a wet spot on the carpet. "Mommy, I made a pee-pee." Yikes! Off to the bathroom for cleanup where I discover that peeing was not all he had done. Even Ethan was grossed out.

After another hour, we went to playgroup and then came home for a nap, so we've been in diapers. Hopefully we can have a better afternoon.

No More Diapers?

Ethan freaked out last friday when I mentioned that we were almost out of diapers, so he would have to start using the potty. He pulled out every diaper we had left to prove that we still had some. We used our last one Saturday night.

We're not actually going without diapers. He wore pull-ups to church and while sleeping until I could get to the store today. So now we have more. But he only gets to wear diapers during naps, at night, and when we go places mom doesn't want to deal with accidents.

Today, our first real day of potty training, wasn't as bad as it could have been. We stayed home all day so that Ethan couldn't just hold it until I put a diaper on him to run errands. He did manage to sneak a poop into his nap diaper (but I'm grateful for not having to clean it up off of the floor.) We had three accidents and no successful potty attempts. I was asking him every 5 or 10 minutes if he needed to make a pee-pee, but he always said no. When he did need to pee, he called me as he was going. (Thank goodness for training underpants that catch most of it.) It seemed like he wasn't really aware that it was coming, but John reminded me that he stops and poses before peeing in the tub, so he knows it's coming. I think he was just too busy playing to pay attention. He'll learn. And if it's taking too long, we'll switch to regular underpants so that the mess is bigger. (He didn't like that the pee could leak out and run down his leg.)

So, all in all, a good start. Lets just hope it gets better and not worse.

Amazing Video

Check out this music video by Sigur Ros, an Icelandic band. The setting, filming, and theme just take your breath away. Be sure to watch all the way to the end!

PS- This may seem like a weird thing for me to post, but I really like it. The setting is stunning, the camera work is incredibly well done, and the ending creates this abrupt change of emotions that I just love.

Who's the parent?

Ethan has been cracking me up today. This morning, he was sitting on the bench in the hall and we had this exchange:

"Ethan, get your shoes so that we can go to the grocery store."
"I can't mom, I'm in climb out!"
"Do you mean time out?"
"I'm in climb out, mom."
"Why?"
"Because I wasn't being nice. I was biting you at the store."
"Ok. That's a good reason."

After the grocery store, I was trying to unpack the food while eating my lunch. Ethan promptly yelled at me to "Sit down while you're eating, mom!" I quickly obeyed, because it is the rule. (We never yell, but maybe our stern voices need toning down.)

Finally, it was naptime. Ethan beat me into his room and sat down next to his little couch in my spot. He said, "Mom, I'm going to sit here and you can sit on the couch. I'll read you stories." So Ethan read me three books and then turned off the light so that we could take our naps.

I like when it's clear that Ethan understands the routine and the rules, even more when he does it himself!

If you hear grinding...

...it's my teeth. Ethan has decided that it's time to test our limits. ALL of our limits. We should have seen it coming. He's been inching up to it, but he hadn't really crossed the line until recently. Today it came to a head. (I should mention that this all happened after an ok morning and a good nap.)

First at Target, where I literally needed two things. It took us more than half an hour b/c someone decided that he needed rest breaks every few feet, that running away and hiding between the racks was a fun game, and that biting mom was a great way to pass the time. I finally managed to make it out, my two items in one hand and Ethan on my other hip, facing away from me to avoid being bitten. When we arrived home he was slightly annoyed that I refused to take him to the park, but decided dad would so it was ok. Apparently not a good enough punishment, so I also banned playing in the car in the driveway and TV. Many fits ensued. He was repentant and we'd talked it over by the time dad got home, so they did go to the park for a little while and then played in the back yard while grilling dinner.

Ah, dinner. Ethan flat out refused to fold his arms for a prayer (something he's been doing more and more often), so we decided no one could eat until we'd said the prayer, and we couldn't say it until we were all ready, i.e. folding our arms. This ended with me holding his arms so that we could eat. (We wouldn't have pushed this, but he's been folding his arms since he was 12 months old. This is just pure rebellion.) Then we had to enforce the rule about sitting at the table or sitting in time-out during dinner several times (and the one about sitting in your chair while you are chewing, even if it's your last bite.) By the end of a very tear-filled meal, Ethan had eaten only three bites.

We've also been fighting the "I don't want to do what you're asking, so I can't hear you" syndrome and the distraction tactics.

Our little angel is becoming quite the punk kid. Somehow I just can't get myself excited about doing it all again tomorrow.

Another Shout out for Libby

So I order one of the skirts I mentioned in my last post. I decided to try a small b/c I read somewhere that the mediums are significantly longer. It came not four days later and is soooo cute! But not big enough. So I emailed Libby to ask how long the mediums are and she said she'd had a few requests for customs lately and she'd gladly cut me a medium skirt at the small length! So not only will I have the cutest skirt ever, I'll have it custom made! I haven't even worn one yet and these are already my favorite skirts. If you haven't checked them out already, GO!

Loving this

Found these adorable, reversible wrap skirts. Loving blue sky girl, but choco milk bubbles is a little more fun. So hard to choose. Maybe if I get a medium instead of a small I'd be able to wear it pregnant too!

New Sidebar

After weeks of research, John and I have made a list of what we know we need for this baby. Surprisingly, it's really short! Because we are so far ahead of ourselves, rather than just buying everything, we thought we'd throw out ideas for the family. There is a new sidebar with what we know we need this time around. These are the things we will definitely buy if no one else does. Don't feel obligated to buy us anything.

Because we've researched these well, I include the disclaimer that we will not accept substitutions. If you want to know why these particular items, call and I will be glad to tell you. The biggest reason for all of them is that they fill our needs exactly and are reasonable priced.

I do remember that I have a 2 year old...

Sorry that I've been ignoring Ethan on the blog. Here are a few pictures.

At the zoo. The picture where the gorilla turned and looked at us didn't take :(

Our boy's favorite pastime

The big kids lay down their bikes when they go play. So Ethan does too.

My Magic Pill

It's doxylamine, also known as Unisom. I know it sounds weird. But it's a part of the medication Bendectin that was used to treat nausea back in my mom's day. (The other part of Bendectin was B6 which I'm also taking.) You can still get it in nearly every country of the world, but because of a scare many, many years ago, it's not available in the US. It's since been proven to be one of the safest things a pregnant woman can take. And I sleep better too! For anyone with morning sickness, I whole heartedly recommend my magic pill.

3rd time's the charmer

Ethan as he's laying in bed tonight -

"Mom, you're wearing your glasses.
Where are my sunglasses?
The sun can't get in here.
The sun goes away when it gets dark.
The sun goes away when it's raining.
(With his hand on my cheek) Mom, I'll stop the rain."

He loves me so much. Maybe I should love him a little more. (Kidding.)

Our new fight

Ethan doesn't really eat. I guess I've been trying to not notice, but while he was sick he really ate only a handful of bites a day. Now that he's improving, we decided to set some dinner time rules. First is one we've had all along. You don't have to like what's for dinner, but your only other option is PB&J. Second is the big one. Dinner time means you have to sit at the table. No playing with toys, no running around the house, no distractions. Ethan chose time-out rather than the table three times tonight. And didn't eat a single bite of dinner. I think I'm not going to give him his sippy cup tomorrow to make sure he can't fill up on milk. We're going to get this boy to eat if it kill us.

Sick again...

No, not me this time. Ethan had a fever of 102 on Friday night. He seemed fine (and we forgot about it!) the next morning so he went to a birthday party and came home exhausted. I know we're horrible parents. When I checked that afternoon, still 102. Sunday, 102 and finally showing some signs of being sick, Ethan stayed home from church and a call went into the Dr. Of course, the night/weekend nurse typically leans on the "if it's not life-threatening, deal with it" side of medicine, so with no real advice, we drugged our boy up. We'd already been doing the motrin, but we started alternating it with Tylenol and added a decongestant. I even picked up some children's Mucinex as his cold was threatening to move into his chest.

Monday, not really better. And b/c the decongestant isn't as yummy tasting as the motrin, Ethan started refusing his meds. (We fixed that by adding it to his milk. To him, milk is milk, even when it's pink and funny tasting.) To make John's day off even better, my stomach decided to have a bad day. We spent the entire day at home, pretty miserable. Happy Memorial Day!

Tues Ethan's fever finally broke. Just in time for us to avoid the Dr. Still really congested and coughing up a storm, but better. My stomach on the other hand... I started to worry that the new meds I'd added on Friday had lost their usefulness just like the last ones.

Finally, we come to Wed. Ethan is well into the upswing, though still coughing when he lays down. I've come down with this virus of his, but because I am willing to blow my nose, I'm doing better than the boy was. Also, I've decided that it must have been the beginning of the cold that set my stomach off. It seems to be back on an even keel. If it stays good for a few more days, I'll tell you about this magic pill I've discovered. It's actually kind of crazy!

So all in all, we are getting better. (Until John gets the cold!)

It's a ... Baby!

So glad that the little picture on the ticker finally looks like a human. The little zygote is just so strange, it's hard to go "awwww". But now it's officially a fetus, so feel free to think my baby is adorable. (Because you know it really is.)

How We're Doing

I'm doing better. Not great, but better. Well enough to get by most days. And because I had still managed to gain weight since I saw my Dr a few months ago, I can't really justify stepping up to the prescription. Hopefully it doesn't last as long this time.

Ethan is glad to be getting out more. He's happy that he's going to be a big brother, although I don't think he knows what it means. We've been talking about it and when he bumps into my stomach he kisses the baby better, but I don't think he gets that there will be a real baby. Once when I mentioned that I would go to the hospital to have the baby Ethan said "I go to the hostible when I hurt my tummy and get a baby!" To translate that, the only thing he knows about hospitals is that ambulances take you there when you get hurt. So apparently, when you hurt your stomach, the ambulance will take you to the hospital and they give you a baby as a gift. I think I like that method better.

John is excited about the baby but is feeling a little put out at the moment. More is required of him around the house and he gets none of the attention. I love him for it, but it's still rough. If you get the chance, show him a little love.

There is other little news, but that's all I feel like writing at the moment. I need to finish dinner. And we'll have John's cousins staying with us for the next week or so, so if I'm a total slacker about updating everyone, I promise I'm busy.

I'm in Love...

...with my Dr! I got an inkling of how good he is when I saw him about our fertility problem, but now I'm in love. I told John I'm not leaving Boston until this baby is born b/c I'll never find another like him.

First, he gave me several options for dealing with all the sick, so I'm starting with the combo of OTC stuff before I spend the money on a prescription. (One of the things I'm doing is switching from a full prenatal vitamin to just folic acid. The full prenatal causes nausea, and if I can eat, I can get the nutrients from food. Such a great tip!) Second, he suggested that I probably didn't need several of the screening tests (early Downs syndrome check and AFP quad), so if I didn't want them, we didn't need to waste our time and money. Because they wouldn't change anything for John and I, we totally agreed. And finally, the best. We talked last time about my delivery with Ethan and decided to induce the next one two weeks early. Today, he said we'd do it at least two and a half weeks early. So that puts the delivery date for this baby around Dec 10th. Yay!

Anyway, I could go on all day about how great he is. I need to thank the friend that referred him again. It's so good to know that he is just as concerned about me having an easier time this go round as I am.

Sick

I'm sick. Really sick. And I've been this way for a month. Hoping to get some relief from the Dr today. If I do I'll post a real update on how we're doing.

OH! And I'm due Dec 28th, but this Dr agreed to induce me early so it'll be around the 14th. Still a risk that the baby will be too big for me, even a pound lighter, but he'd rather induce early than schedule a c-section.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

In what has become a Mother's Day tradition for us, we have an announcement! If you haven't figured it out yet, look closer.

More on how we are all doing, feeling, etc later.

Pictures at the Park

I sent John and Ethan to the park with the camera. They did a pretty good job! (My favorites are the third and the fifth...and the second because of the crazy angle on Ethan's laugh.)

Easter Pictures

Ethan and his "bunnies"
(Is is weird that all of his friends are girls?)

The dads hiding eggs for a Saturday egg hunt

Hunting eggs with best friend Mags

"I got it!"

Easter morning

Potty Training? What's That?

Yea. So we've kind of backed off on the potty lately. Ethan stopped going while he was sitting there and then started screaming and kicking when we tried to put him on it. Needless to say, he didn't want to use it. We decided a break was needed.

Today we tried again. And we introduced bribes. So when Ethan has peed on the potty eight times (earning himself eight stickers on his little chart) he'll earn a trip to the aquarium. That was enough that he climbed onto the potty himself. No pee, though, so no sticker. We'll try again tomorrow. At least he's sitting on the toilet again.

Random Photos

(plus updates to the sidebar)

Playing Chef

Riding Grandpa

Celebrating after making a huge mess!

Playing his first computer game
(I can't believe how shaggy I let his hair get this last time!)

Changes

I wanted to be able to keep track of Ethan's age (without having to think about it), so I added the ticker. Unfortunately it meant changing the template so that it would fit. Don't know if I love it yet, but we'll see. I apologize if I'm messing around with it for a few days.

Pictures!

I uploaded some pictures last night and discovered I hadn't done it since Feb. (Wow we have a huge memory card!) So I'll pass them on in small bunches as I have the time. To start, some snow pictures.

Finally Warm

So I love the Northeast. Love it. But I'm not a big fan of the cold. Last week we were still in the 30's! But Monday, it was nearly 90. (And because it's so early in the year, not humid. Yay!) Ethan and I celebrated by going to the zoo. The rest of the week has been in the 60s and just beautiful. (It did rain once, but I'm trying to block it out.)

Besides being more fun for Ethan to be out, it's making me feel so good. We can have all the windows open and feel less cooped up when we are at home. It's re motivated me to do a thorough clean and purge of our house. (Why do we have so much crap???) It's even made me want to eat more fresh fruits and veggies. And all the time we're spending outside is going to give me a great tan!

Green Bean Screams

Ethan loves green beans. LOVES them. They've begun taking part in little games. While eating dinner last night, Ethan started by "biting their mouths off" (meaning their heads.) Then, the green beans started screaming because a monster was eating them. John and I were cracking up while Ethan alternately screamed and viciously tore off bites of green bean. I wish we'd gotten it on video, but we were laughing too hard.

Growth!

Finally, Ethan has gained enough weight and added enough height for the drs to back off a little. He's jumped on the growth charts this last month so we don't have to go for another weigh in until August. Yay!

Ahhhhhhhhh........

Ethan is at Grandpa's house for a few days. He's loving it b/c his uncle Bryson (7) has just as much energy as he does. We're loving it for the above reasons. Don't call before 10am!

Enunciate

Ethan has been working on e-nun-ci-at-ing. He can say just about anything now and only has trouble communicating when he's upset. (Who doesn't?) He is actually very clear, but apparently he felt like he wasn't saying his l's right. So now when he says them, he very deliberatly pushes out his tounge. It's hilarious to hear him talking along and then all of a sudden (when he comes to a hard 'l') sound like his tounge has swollen up. It kind of freaked me out the first few times, but now I have a hard time talking to him without laughing! Try it. Read this post outloud to someone, pushing out your tounge on the l's, and see if they can keep a straight face.

No really. Whose child is this?

A little before lunchtime, Ethan came up and asked "Can I have some lunch, mom?" So we had lunch. While we were watching a little post-lunch TV, he said "Can I sit with you, mom?" So we snuggled. And when I turned the TV off, he asked for some milk (a little less nicely, but more like his normal self). When I gave it to him he walked into his room, sat on his couch, and asked me to turn off the light. He was starting his naptime routine!! So I turned off the light, read him a couple of books (a few more than usual b/c I couldn't believe how good he was being), and tucked him in. All about 15 minutes early!

This clearly isn't my child. But if he's yours, too bad. I'm not giving him back.

Autism Awareness Month

April is Autism Awareness Month. I spent several years working with autistic children and I wanted to pass on a little tribute to their mothers, from one of my favorite authors.

Ode to Special Moms

(by Erma Bombeck)

Most women become mothers by accident, some by choice, a few by social pressures and a couple by habit. This year, nearly 100,000 women will become mothers of handicapped children. Did you ever wonder how mothers of handicapped children are chosen?

Somehow I visualize God hovering over Earth selecting his instruments for propagation with great care and deliberation. As he observes, he instructs his angels to make notes in a giant ledger.
"Armstrong, Beth, son, patron saint, Matthew. Forrest, Marjorie, daughter, patron saint, Cecilia.
"Rudledge, Carrie, twins, patron saint, give her Gerard. He's used to profanity."
Finally, he passes a name to an angel and smiles, "Give her a handicapped child."

The angel is curious. "Why this one, God? She's so happy."

"Exactly," says God. "Could I give a handicapped child to a mother who does not know laughter? That would be cruel."

"But has she patience?" asks the angel.

"I don't want her to have too much patience or she will drown in a sea of self-pity and despair. Once the shock and resentment wear off, she'll handle it.
"I watched her today. She has that feeling of self and independence that is so rare and so necessary in a mother. You see, the child I'm going to give her has his own world. She has to make it live in her world, and that's not going to be easy."

"But, Lord, I don't think she even believes in you."

God smiles. "No matter. I can fix that. This one is perfect. She has just enough selfishness."

The angel gasps, "Selfishness? Is that a virtue?"

God nods. "If she can't separate herself from the child occasionally, she'll never survive. Yes, here is a woman whom I will bless with a child less than perfect. She doesn't realize it yet, but she is to be envied. She will never take for granted a 'spoken word.' She will never consider a 'step' ordinary. When her child says 'Momma' for the first time, she will be present at a miracle and know it! When she describes a tree or a sunset to her child, she will see it as few people ever see my creations.
"I will permit her to see clearly the things I see...ignorance, cruelty, prejudice...and allow her to rise above them. She will never be alone. I will be at her side every minute of every day of her life, because she is doing my work as surely as she is here by my side."

"And what about her patron saint?" asks the angel, pen poised midair.

God smiles. "A mirror will suffice."

15 min of play

On the living room floor: a bowling set, duplos, a firetruck puzzle, and a stuffed dragon. Now let me tell you about 15 minutes of playtime this morning.

Ethan asked me nicely if he could set up his bowling pins in the living room and then proceeded to stand them up very carefully. They weren't always in a triangle, but each time he stood them back up, he spent extra time making sure they were spaced evenly. (He's showing my random obsessive tendencies already!) After bowling, he moved on to the duplos. I now have a dog with a very large tail sitting on the couch next to me. Next, Ethan noticed his firetruck puzzle on the floor. It took him quite a while, but he did it! A real puzzle! All by himself! Finally, he "attacked" me with his dragon, then saved me. Because the dragon had scared me, he brought me some balls to make me feel better and then read me a story. What a cutie.

He seems to be growing up faster every day. I don't want to miss any of it, but I also can't wait to see what he'll do next!

Eragon - Two Thumbs Down

Let me start off by saying that I liked the book very much. No LOTR, but a good read. The movie on the other hand...I can't believe I actually finished watching it. I'm pretty convinced that the screenwriters never even read the book. They jumped through the story so much that it didn't make any sense. They threw in characters willy-nilly without explaining who they were or why they were important. Even though I knew the story, I was confused. They even changed the basic rules of the world!! And don't even get me started on the obvious changes they made simply to save money. (Human Urgles???)

So, don't see the movie. EVER. Not even if it's free and you're bored out of your mind. But do read the book.

GI

Somehow, I forgot to mention Ethan's appt with the pediatric GI. Besides the fact that we had to wait TWO HOURS to see him (he was on time until the patient before us!), it went great. He is in agreement that Ethan is most likely just adjusting to his genetics. So no more tests for now. But he does want to follow him for a while. And because he works closely with our regular pedi (he actually sees patients as a regular pedi himself at our office), he has learned to trust her instincts. So, just in case her gut is right, he gave me a list of things that he would want to know about right away and his personal pager number.

So that's it! Ethan's a healthy boy. My assumption is that if he continues to not gain weight the next step would be a close monitoring of his diet, rather than tests. Whew!

"I'm Stuck!"

Ethan's current favorite game is to be 'stuck'. It began as a game while we were holding him. We'd squeeze a little, he'd yell "I'm Stuck!", and then we'd tickle him or pretend to be the kissy monster. Now, Ethan will tuck himself into little places (or even pull things together to create little, tight places) and yell out for us. He is never really stuck, but it's just so dang cute!

So Tired....

I've given up on getting anything done this week. Between the couple of thing that I just can't ignore (dr's appts, eating, etc.) and the show, I'm pooped. We've had rehearsal every night this week, and the show opens tonight. Luckily, we cleaned the house for playgroup at the beginning of the week, so I'm just letting it go for now. Ethan and I are spending the mornings doing what we have to do for the day. Then, after we both nap, I shower and get ready for the show while he watches a movie. (If my hair didn't take so long, this wouldn't need to take hours!) Then I get dinner started so that when John comes home I can eat quickly and head out the door, not to walk back in for another 5 hours, most of them spend standing under the lights. My legs are going to give out by the second show on Sat! I don't know how those in shows with longer runs keep it up.

Actually, I'm loving this production. It's a privilege to be a part of it. But I'm tired.

Favorite Word

Our current favorite Ethan word is "camtpur". It means computer. We think it's extra hilarious because Ethan is usually very understandable and is good at big words. (He tells us things are delicious all the time.) I wanted to write it down before he figures out how to say it correctly and I forgot how cute it was!

Ethan's Best Friend EVER

Ethan told me today that Maggie is his best friend EVER. I have no idea where he even learned that phrase, but it's just so darn cute. To see his friend Mags, go here. It's an old video, but shows our favorite side of her.

EDIT: If you couldn't tell from the top video of Mags eating her birthday cake, we love to watch her eat. It's endless entertainment. Scroll down to the banana video. It's even better.

He did it!

He pooped on the potty! I should admit up front that it wasn't intentional. He started to go while in the tub, so John grabbed him and we wrangled him down onto the potty. Then he sat and we made faces at each other until he went. So regardless of how he got there, he did it!

We've been talking with Ethan about this for weeks. We have a little video and book that he loves and we even take him with us when we go. (He is always so proud that we did it.) So maybe we this was the kick we needed to get him on the toilet. Wish us luck!

And on to the specialist we go

Ethan had his weight check last week and I've been putting off posting this until I knew when the next step would be happening. He was exactly the same weight as before, meaning he has gained nothing in 8 months, and less than 2 pounds in over a year. His doctor said she just isn't comfortable giving him more time, just in case it is a big deal. So Ethan has an appointment with a pediatric GI in about 3 weeks. Both the pediatrician and I agree that he is probably just adjusting to his genetics and the GI won't find anything, but we can't risk the chance that we might miss something major. We're not worried, so no one else be.

Holy Sickness, Batman!

If you haven't read it yet, read this first. And then come back to read what happened from someone who was coherent the whole time, though not always present.

John came home from work on Friday pale, and not looking so good, but not horrible. So, knowing that he would get some rest before Ethan woke up from his nap, I went to work. Skipping the parts I was at work for, I came home when my mom called saying that he definitely needed a blessing, and maybe needed to go to the ER. I can't adequately describe what John was like when I got home, but I'll try. He was sitting on the floor, propped against the wall. He kept wincing and yelling out as waves of pain hit. And he was so exhausted that his eyes were only half open and he could only mumble. He was even brought to tears by the pain on several occasions.

I should mention at this point that not only have I never seen John like this, I've never seen him sick. He doesn't get sick. EVER. Needless to say, I was really freaked out.

I knew that, shy of making him more comfortable (which our great friends helped me do), there was nothing I could do for him. I spoke with the dr about options, but she agreed that this wasn't life-threatening, and he would probably be most comfortable at home. She did prescribe some meds to help with the nausea and help him sleep, but they wouldn't help with the pain. John finally fell asleep before we picked them up, so he never needed them. (Thank goodness! I didn't even want to think about giving a grown man a suppository!) So I just went to bed with him, calming him down every time the pain woke him up. It was a long night, but I managed to get a little bit of sleep, and John was nearly back to normal by morning. And now, on sunday, you'd never know it happened. (Except for all of the nasty laundry I'm still getting through!)

It was apparently food poisoning from a seafood salad. This is one of the many reasons I don't eat seafood!

Come to the Play!

For everyone who could feasibly make it to Boston, plan to come see this show! (Click on the poster to see a bigger image and to read the details.)

So Sad :(

I am sitting in the office listening to Ethan crying. We had friends over for dinner so he stayed up past his bedtime. He was easy to get ready for bed. Wanted to change into pajamas. Wanted to read a book. Even wanted to lay down and pull up his blanket. But actually sleep? No way! After we prayed and I held his hand for a minute, I got up to leave and he flipped out. I know that he will eventually calm down and climb back into bed to sleep. He'll even pull up his own blanket. But for now, I have to listen to him calling for me. I think it would be easier if he was just crying, but the pleading is rough. "Mommy, you need to hold my hand for a few minutes now." "Mommy, you need to hold my hand for a few minutes please." "Mommy, ...." You get the idea. So right now I'm sad. Because if I go in, it will be worse tomorrow. But I so want to go in....

Happy Valentines Day!

So I had big plans for you all. Ethan picked out cards, colored on them, and decorated them with stickers. He even decorated the envelopes. But when I went to get them in the mail, I couldn't find my address book. I know it's in the house somewhere, but I haven't found it yet, and it's a little late to send out Valentines Day cards.

Then I wanted to put an audio clip of Ethan saying "I love you berry much" here on my blog. Unfortunately I am not as computer savvy as I thought. So I will keep working on it. Maybe video would be easier.

I hope everyone had a Happy Valentines Day!

Fattening Up

I realize that we have relaxed, but anyone who hasn't seen Ethan recently my still be worried about his weight. He is still skinny, but you can't see his ribs anymore and his face has filled out. Even his arms and legs don't seem as scrawny as they did. His official weigh in isn't until the end of the month, but I wanted to pass on that he's just fine.

Babies

Yes, it's time for Ethan to have a baby brother or sister. We agree. We have felt that way for over a year. So for anyone wondering what we're waiting for, read this.

EDIT: If you read John's post first, I think it sounds like we are announcing that we are beginning to try to have a baby. Not so. We have been for nearly a year. Things just don't always go as planned. Sorry if you got excited.

Superpowers

Ethan's favorite movie is "Superheroes" (better known as 'The Incredibles'). We watch it everyday. His favorite character is Dash, the headstrong blond son with superspeed. He's the reason we "Run so fast" around our house all the time. Earlier this week, Ethan came up to me and said "Mommy, I need a superpower." Me too Ethan, me too. We've decided that being nice and helpful is a superpower, and that Ethan's kisses are his secret weapon.

Indoctrination

While shopping at Target last week, Ethan decided it was time to sing. I love it! But I started to get embarassed when he chose to sing "Scripture Power" at the top of his lungs. After a few dirty looks, I wanted to shush him. But then I stopped myself. Should I be embarrased? Or should I be proud? I decided I was more proud, so when he asked me to sing along, I did! (Quietly.)

I've become aware of a movement (at least in the section of liberal America we live in) to let your kids make their own decisions. Great! I'm all for it! But for some reason, this movement involves not forcing the decisions that you've made on your children. I am constantly shocked by the people who are not teaching their kids about their religion at a young age. They say they are waiting until they are old enough to decide on a religion for themselves, and teaching them younger would be indoctrination. WHAT??? If it's indoctrination, I'm all for it. I can't imagine anyone learning to make good decisions without a firm moral grounding. One that religion is wonderful at teaching.

As I left Target that day, I realized that I was proud to smile back at the people giving me dirty looks. I am glad that my son already knows that he can gain power from the scriptures, and wants to tell everyone else. At least when I let him make his own choices, he'll know which ones are the good ones.

A Few Changes

Made a few changes to the blog. Still trying to figure out what all these options mean. Tell me what you think.

Good visit to the Dr

Ethan has managed to get even skinnier in the last few weeks. With all the vomiting and the yuck, I'm not suprised. But even the Dr found the change a little shocking. You can see his ribs, his little baby belly is gone, and even with a diaper on he no longer has a butt. Seriously. I had to drop him back down a pant size so that they wouldn't keep falling off.

So, we still had this follow visit scheduled to prove that he could gain weight. HA! I decided to keep it so that I could see where we were starting from now. Suprisingly, he had gained enough before the sickness that he is back to the same weight. Good news. (He is skinnier because he added height.) We will still follow up in another month to actually prove he gains, and will still push protein and some extra fats, but no more stressing about it. Except that I miss his baby fatness.

Can't Stop Giggling

I am taking an online scrapbooking class (my big Christmas present) that is more about sorting so that usable photos and ideas are visible than it is about scrapbooking. So I've been spending most of my evenings with photos spread out all over the living room floor.

I just can't stop bursting out laughing!! Both of our families are hilarious! My favorite pictures this evening are of Hannah at about four years old. Ethan makes the same faces! I'll scan them in and post side-by-side pictures later.

So anyway... sorting through boxes and boxes of photos has been more fun than I expected. My abs were sore last night from laughing.

Why won't he sleep!!

Ethan has decided that he doesn't need naptime or bedtime. They get in the way of playing. He literally screams "I NEED TO PLAY!!!" when we put him down. We've tried just about everything. Finally, last night, we just left him in his room. He played for 2 hours. TWO HOURS! Then he slept in until 9am. Such a weird kid. But I'm a night owl, so maybe he's just becoming more like mom. I don't know. I like the sleeping in thing, but John and I miss our quiet evenings and it takes me hours to stop clenching my teeth after putting him down for a nap. Anyway, he's driving me bonkers! (And not helping my stress level AT ALL.)

Solid!

If you are easily grossed out, STOP READING!

The most exciting thing happened today. Ethan had a solid poop! After nearly a week of nastiness, it was a welcome sight. It means we're done with this. Yipee!

A Variation....

Ethan just started singing "Jesus is coming..to town" instead of Santa. What a cutie!

New Years Resolutions

I'm trying to focus on something other than Ethan for a few minutes. (He's doing marginally better. Check John's blog for more updates.) So here are my New Years Resolutions. Hold me to them.

1. Sing more - I've already started this one by joining a production of "Savior of the World". I didn't actually audition b/c of my work schedule, but I've performed with the music director before and she asked that I join the ensemble to help out the altos. So don't expect much from me the next 3 months. I'll be busy.

2. Stick to a budget - Not just make one. Actually stick to it.

3. Go to bed earlier - It's nearly impossible to get 8hrs of sleep when you go to bed at 1am. So that needs to change.

4. Read more - This one will be the easiest (except when Heroes and Stargate start back up again!)

We're back! But not so good...

We have been back from our vacation in UT for a day or so now. Most of our trip was great. We spent it visiting family and friends, and just relaxing. Nothing is better than that.

But then, Ethan started throwing up. We ended up in the ER for an anti-nausea shot. This was the day before we were scheduled to fly home. So we tried to change our flights. We tried for hours. We talked to many, many different people. We even told them that if they didn't change our flights, we would be taking a very sick and probably very contagious boy onto the plane. They simply didn't care. We ended up flying while Ethan had a fever of 103 and didn't even have enough energy to stay awake. So, we will never be flying United again, and we are telling everyone we know about it. They have the absolute worst customer service in the business.

So now that I've gotten that off my chest, how is Ethan doing now? Well, his fever came down at home. I think just being a home is making it easier for him. But he has switched to explosive diahrea. The one upside is that he is asking to sit on the potty! (We have to look for a silver lining somewhere. This has been miserable.) And it's now Sunday morning. He made it through the night without needing a diaper change, so that's a good sign. And when he woke up he was hungry and thirsty. Not sure if the improvement will last the day, but we are hoping and praying for it. Keep our little guy in your prayers. He really needs them right now.

The end of the day

Getting Ethan ready for bed can be trying on the best nights. He just wants to play! But after he's in bed, you can't help but love him. Once you leave the room, Ethan lays in his bed talking about the day and singing songs to himself. He never gets out of bed to play (even though his room is full of toys), just talks and sings. John and I just sit and listen sometimes. He's just so darn cute!

Something New

I know. It's again been too long. So, rather than try to catch up, here's something new.

I just finished "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy. In this book, the US (and possible the world) has been completely destroyed, leaving only remnents of our current civilization. Few people survived the unnamed tragedy, and most have been driven to horrible things in trying to survive. The story is about a father and his young son, who was born after the tragedy. They are on the road, searching for hope and good people. As this father struggles to find food and warmth for his son, you can't help but dwell on what you would be capable of doing for your children. And the comparison between a man who remembers his life before, and a boy who knows nothing different is a striking undertone.

This was, hands down, one of the best books I've read in a long time. The images and simple discussions simply brought me to tears many times. And it is incredible well written. The ending is what you would expect, but it doesn't really matter. It's the journey that's important here.

My Great Provider

John's boss had a baby this last summer. So that meant maternity leave. During her leave, her son had colic. Since she's been back at work, he's had pneumonia and croup and who knows what else. The poor guy has just been struggling. And so has his poor mom. She's been trying to be at work as much as she can, but has used up all her vacation and sick time already. So this time, when her son was sick again, she decided something needed to change. No, she didn't quit. She just said she'd be taking a few weeks to let her son get really healthy. Way to go! I can't imagine how hard it is to split home and work life as a mom. (It makes me feel really lucky that I don't have to.) John said the best thing about it this evening (and this is why I'm posting). He said "She's the kind of person you want to work for. When she sets her priorities, her family is first." And he's the kind of husband I want providing for my family. His family comes first. I love this guy.

No Problems

All of the labs they managed to run came back normal. So rather than redrawing right now for the couple of very unlikely things they didn't get to run, we are going to wait. We have one month to fatten this boy up to prove that he's ok. What we are actually trying to show is that he doesn't have an underlying problem that is keeping his body from using the food he takes in. If he gains, we've proved there's nothing wrong. If not, it'll probably mean lots of tests that are much more unpleasant than a simple blood draw. So we're really pushing all that extra fat and protein! Keep our little guy in your prayers.

A 2yr Visit to the Doctor Means More Bad News

Ethan is 2! I love what John wrote on his birthday. Today, being 2 meant a visit to the doctor for Ethan. He's leaps and bounds ahead in his verbal and cognitive skills. Perfectly normal in his physical ones. The strange (and possible worrisome) thing about our boy is his growth. He spent nearly a year of his life off the charts for height and weight. He's now down to 75th percentile for height and 25th for weight. Not abnormal for an active kid with parents who were scrawny kids. But...

He's actually lost weight in the last six months. He weighs less than a pound more than he did a 12 months. He is getting taller, so we're not worried about a growth hormone problem like I had. But because he is taking in enough calories to be gaining more weight than that, we get to start the high fat diet and lab tests. What a laundry list of tests! A thyroid screen, iron studies, cbc, cmp, lipids, hormone levels, allergy panels, genetic screens, etc. I run these at work all the time, but it makes me sad that Ethan needs to have them done. They tried to draw enough blood for all the tests while we were in the office, but Ethan was too strong for us to hold still that long. He blew out a vein in his arm, so they are starting to test for the most likely issues. If they all come back negative, then we go back for more blood. If anything is wrong, then we go back to talk about what we do next.

The diet is disgustingly high in fat. If any of the rest of us ate like this, our cholesterol levels would skyrocket. They want me to add cream to his whole milk, use olive oil on his vegetables and pasta, push more meat, have him dip veggies in cheese sauce or ranch dressing and fruit in whipped cream, etc. She was particularly strong that I shouldn't feed him too many fruits and veggies. She wants to make sure that he gets the fat and protein he needs for growth. I'm disgusted just thinking about all that fat. But I'm going to make a grocery store run this afternoon. Yuck. Hopefully we only have to do this for a month or so.

Ethan isn't in a very good mood because his arm and leg hurt. (He got his flu shot too.) He didn't like the doctor's office before, but I think today will make it a much feared place. I'm pretty confident that he is just fine. Both John and I come from families that have big babies who often become scrawny little kids. But because it's such a drastic drop in growth, we are going to make sure nothing else is wrong. We wouldn't want to ignore it and later find out that there was a big problem.

I'll keep everyone updated as we know more. We'll have the first round of labs back by the end of the week.

Tithing

We had tithing settlement last night. The bishop had asked us to bring Ethan. Thinking it was silly, but knowing that he wouldn't have asked without a reason, we took him. And the bishop did it. He explained tithing in a way a two year old could understand. He and Ethan counted out ten pieces of candy. (They counted together. So cute.) Then he said Ethan could have them, but only if he gave one back. Ethan got it. He picked one up, handed it to the bishop, and grabbed the nine left. It hadn't occured to me to teach the law of tithing at 2, but now is a great time to start! We have a great bishop.

Hair-loss

Most of you have only known me with long hair. I can't really remember the last time it was short, but I'm pretty sure it was about 11 years ago, in high school. So I was a little sick of it. Two weeks ago, I made an appointment and had it chopped off. Literally. I walked in and said "I don't know what I want. I just want it cut off." And this amazing hairdresser, not only gave me a great cut, but also a lesson in how to use the natural curl. So my hair is short and curls into ringlets! I LOVE IT! It's really freeing to lose nearly a foot of hair. (Our camera is acting up (again), so no pictures of it yet. I'll get some from mom's wedding next weekend.)

Big Boy Bed

He did it! We'd backed off the transition from crib to toddler bed for a few weeks. Yesterday, John decided Ethan was ready and we took down the crib. Gutsy move, I know. But it worked. Bedtime took about an hour longer, with Ethan coming to his door and crying. John was great and immediately figured out what it would take to keep him in the bed. We had expected to be up several times during the night, but he did it. Once he was down, he stayed down. YAY! What a big boy!

Too long

It's been too long since I've posted. I know. I'm a bad blogger. I will try to make it up to you by posting some pictures. Yay! I uploaded photos going back to June, so I don't know when some of these are from.

He just never stops reading!

The new haircut (new as of august)

They just have so much fun together

Snuggling with mommy in bed

At the butterfly garden

On a Roll...

When I come up with something I want to tell you all about, but I've already posted that day, I usually put it off and then forget. Today, you just get to hear from me a lot.

Ethan's singing is just sooooo cute. He knows about half the words to "Teach Me to Walk in the Light" (or 'Teach me'), "Give Said the Little Stream" (or 'Stream'), and "Clean Up" (a song he learned in nursery, I don't know where it's from.) And he also makes up his own songs. Usually they consist of lyrics about trucks. Something like "garbage truck, garbage truck, garbage truck, dump truck, garbage truck...." I find myself singing and playing music more, just to get him going. It's just too cute. We need to try to catch him on video.

EDIT: The clean up song is from Barney.

Parrot with a memory

We have great new examples of Ethan's language skills every day, but I particularly like what I just heard. Ethan had been standing on the seat of his tricycle and then jumped, spreading his legs so that he landed standing over the seat. John said that he was a crazy man. Ethan looked over and said "Crasin mon." He kept repeating it until he got it right. The boy repeats nearly everything we say. And the best part is, we will hear it again later, usually in the right context!

(This was only a minute or two after Ethan said "I'm gnna ride my bike." So amazing!)

Family Resemblance

Ethan is constantly reminding me of my cousin Zach. He is a few years older than Ethan and one of the cutest kids alive. Several years ago, John taught Zach and his siblings to play 'Go Fish'. He was really too young, but we were endlessly amused by the many ways Zach could say, yell, or whisper "Go Fish". As Ethan has been learning to count, he'll whisper some numbers, say others, and always yells "SIIIIIIIIIIXX!" Loving this family resemblance.

EDIT: There are tons of other similarities between them. They are both such happy, fun-loving kids. They both would rather be running, jumping, and being crazy than anything else. They both have these heart-melting smiles. And they both have their moms wrapped around their little fingers. But this use of many voices is my favorite one.

Trees

Every time I drive down Rt 30, I'm reminded of why I love the Northeast. It's the trees. This particular road is like driving through a tunnel of trees. In the summer, the abundance of green makes me feel peaceful, invigorated, and puts a smile on my face. In the fall, the change to reds, yellows, and the occasional pinky orange is like watching a changing piece of art. In the early winter, the stark structures of the trunks and branches reaching for the sky are so complex and so simple at the same time. And when the snow falls, leaving each individual branch with a white frosting, I am simply in awe. Then spring comes, bringing new buds and the promise of green trees again.

Wherever we end up, there had better be a lot of trees. I simply can't live without them.

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.