Our little Pumpkin

Ethan's First Halloween was a success! We had so much fun with him. Patrick was able to come home early from work to dress him up for the evening. We all sat at the front door watching the trick or treaters. Ethan loved seeing the kids. We can't wait until next year when he can go out and get us some candy.

Time flies...

It is amazing how quickly time flies by! I came across these pictures only to realize how much Ethan truly has grown in just 6 months. Life is such an amazing miracle.

Ethan is certainly not a completely helpless baby anymore. He definitely has his father's brain, his mother's stubborn streak, and is all boy! Because he can walk holding our hands he is always on the go! He knows where to find the dogs, where his bathtub is (which he loves to play in with or without water), the exit to his bedroom (a gate that he thinks he can climb), his books (which he pulls off the shelves and tries to eat), and the telephone- oh how he loves the telephone!

Late breaking news... at around 7:00PM this evening he started commando crawling. He only went around 6 or 8 inches but I think we are very close to having to completely baby-proof the house.

My baby is growing up too fast!

New tricks but not all treats

Ethan has learned a few new tricks. First he is walking like crazy (with assistance) and stands on his own holding on to something (crib, wall, sofa), and is mastering his walker. Unfortunately he has also learned how to manipulate his way into Mom and Dad's bed at 2AM.

When he was sick two weeks ago I slept with him in the spare bedroom a couple of nights because he was practically up all night and Patrick had to work so he needed his sleep. Now he has decided that when he wakes up between 2 and 3AM he needs to find a more comfortable bed and will scream for up to 2 hours- that's right folks, I am up from 2-4AM. Finally I crumble like a cheap muffin a carry him off to bed. We have tried changing the diaper, feeding him, giving him tylenol (suspecting teething), rocking him, everything! No matter what, even if he falls back asleep he is up every 15-20 minutes thereafter until he wins. This weekend we attempted tough love with letting him cry for 15 minutes then going in briefly only to let him cry again. After 2 hours we gave in. I spoke with the doctor today and since she saw him last Monday she said she thinks it is behavioral and we will just have to suck it up and let him cry for up to several hours, yes HOURS, to break him. Lord help us.

So I'm a little behind...

Well, its been a little while so here is the scoop...

We are back from Columbus and Michigan and had a fabulous time at both places. In Columbus Ethan and I were able to visit our old friends and neighbors Jerry and Sharon and Julie, Jason, Kate, and Erin, and my friend Amy and her adorable daughter Ava. We stayed with my very pregnant friend Debbie - who is looking fabulous for 8 months pregnant- Go Debbie!

In Michigan Ethan and I stayed with Grandma Lucy for a week but were fortunate enough to see Grandad, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Tim, Kaylee, Jenn, Shelly, and Carrie. We had a wonderful time visiting in GR. Then we went to Detroit for Brian and Michele's wedding- Congrats!- and saw Grandma and Grandpa Hurford. Ethan had his first night with a non-related babysitter. Thank you Mrs. and Mr. Huntington! He was is great hands. We had a great trip except Ethan got sick for the first time. He had croup this week. Not fun.

Now we are back in NY and dealing with the daycare situation. Tomorrow is my first official day back to work- YUCK!!!- but I don't even have a job assignment yet. Ethan started daycare on Thursday- just two hours with me there. On Friday he was there from 9:30 until 1PM and it nearly killed me. I couldn't even leave the room without crying. I literally started thinking about his day and had to hand him to the worker and leave the room. What sealed my coffin was Ethan flashing me a huge smile as I was sobbing out the door. He did not nap for them and apparently cried quite a bit. They say it is normal but I know he is sad because he is so accustomed to getting one on one attention and being able to move around all the time. It is very hard right now. They keep commenting on how advanced he is for his age and I keep thinking how he will fall behind now that he is there. Someone please tell me he won't turn into a moaning blob like the other kids in his room appear to be.

Anyways, I'll let you know how tomorrow goes. Half day again. We'll see...

New Shoes

My big boy finally got a new pair of shoes. Someone told me to get shoes on him now so he can get accustomed to wearing them before he walks so we went to stride rite and got a fancy pair for crawling/ standing. I learned he has big feet though- already size 4! He doesn't quite love them yet but will deal with them in small doses. I'll post pics as soon as I can.

Video Challenged

So, apparently I am more challenged than we all once thought. After everyone was saying they couldn't see the video, yet I could see it from my computer, I finally figured out that I had it marked private so no one but us could see it. I fixed it. So if you tried to see the videos and couldn't, try again. I think it works now. If anyone sees it, please leave me a comment so I know it works.

Other than that Ethan is doing great just getting bigger and stronger by the day. I will put new pics up soon and some funny video- if it works.

A boy and his dog

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Ethan loves Emma so much he just smiles whenever she comes around. If the truth be known, Bella loves him more and is truly his protector and best friend. For some reason though, Ethan just laughs at Emma.

Ethan Sitting

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Ethan is now sitting on his own. He is doing even better now that it has been about a week or so. He does "fall", I think he throws himself, backwards but it is quite cute

Video Help Needed

Apparently the video did not come through. For any bloggers (Stef, Emily, Jenny, hint hint) could you please tell me how to get a video onto the blog posts if it shows up in the preview but not on the actual page? Or another way to get a video saved to the computer onto the blog. I tried the help page and now have spent way too many hours trying to do this myself. I am sure this is a no brainer dah moment but HELP!

Ethan's first bites of cereal- August 6, 2007

Now he is a pro!

Okay, this is my experiment with video. I think it worked so I will try to add more videos in the future!

Thanks for your help Tim! By the way, I shot the video with one hand and was feeding with the other- no comments on quality :)

Even More Michigan Pics...

Hanging with my cousin Nick

I love Kaylee

Who can go to GR without going to John Ball Zoo

Grandpa's office

Meeting Great-Grandma McCarthy

More Michigan Pics...

Grandma reading to Daddy and Ethan

Aunt Jenny (aka the Godmother) and Ethan

Patrick on a Camel, anything for his niece (For those of you who know Pat, need I say more?)

Great-Uncle Ben

Grandad, Ethan and Kaylee

Our Michigan Visit

My first Tigers game with Daddy

My new friend Chase

Why does safety have to come first? I don't like life-jackets!

Storytime with Grandma and Kaylee

Finally Home!

After being around what seemed like the entire state of Michigan since August 15, we are finally home! We had such a wonderful time visiting everyone that we were able to see. Unfortunately we ran out of time and were not able to see all the friends and family we would have liked to. Don't worry I will be back in October and will try to catch up then :)

I will write more and post pictures as soon as I can get them up. Today we are unpacking and taking care of house issues. Yes, the money pit struck again- we returned home to a smelly, broken fridge and freezer.

In the meantime, we were able to get Ethan's pictures taken while in Michigan. Here is a sneak peek. I will post the link as soon as they all come in.

Making "Raspberries"

Ethan has discovered how to make the "raspberry" noise blowing bubbles out of his mouth. It is the funniest thing! He is also rolling over now from his tummy to his back and can just about get over from his back, but not quite yet. We are going to have to drop his mattress down though because last night I found him scooted around with his legs up on the rail- not good! Otherwise he continues to love his exersaucer and is getting bigger by the day. He is now in the 90th percentile for height and the 50th for weight although I am told that really means nothing at this point as long as he continues to grow. He is still the happiest baby I have ever seen which of course makes Mommy and Daddy happy!