Sunday, December 11, 2011

Happy Birthday - ONE YEAR OLD!!

Ethan turned ONE YEAR OLD on November 29th and had a wonderful time celebrating on Thanksgiving weekend. Grandma Gloria came to visit, and we had a beautiful Thanksgiving weekend with wonderful food and plenty of playtime at the park near our house. The Saturday afterwards, Ethan hosted his first birthday party and had several small (and big) party goers. He received so many nice things and has had lots of fun playing with all of his "big boy" toys. He's been a little miffed that the Christmas tree is now standing in the place of his toy box, but he has adjusted and is loving spending more time downstairs playing with his Thomas the Train tunnel (thanks nanny Brittany!), his basketball hoop, his legos, his new drums, and all of his other fun gifts. He spent his actual birthday with mommy during the day and just the three of us that evening. In celebration, he got to enjoy all of his favorites that day - grilled cheese, bean with bacon soup, pizza, and cake, of course. He continues to absolutely love books, and he enjoys music, dancing, animals, and sledding in the snow. He started to walk a couple of weeks before his birthday and has been on the run ever since. It's hard for mommy to even catch him for a hug. But he is still his momma's boy and runs to the gate at the top of the stairs, yelling "Momma!" every time he hears the garage door open. He's a pretty vocal (and sassy!) little boy and repeats lots of sounds and points to animals in his books when you ask where they are. Talking is just around the corner. We can't believe an entire year has gone by. Our baby is more like a toddler every day! One year well check = 26 lbs, 12 oz. and 32 1/2 inches. 90th percentile for both!

First snow fall.

First snow angel!




Party time with buddy Audrey.

First piece of cake!


Loves the Nick Jr. moose.


Actual birthday - I'm ONE!!

On the run.



Loves his hoop...

...and is very good at shooting baskets!


More cake!



Inside Thomas the Train.

Building with the lego blocks.

Now I want to walk up the stairs.

Not so sure about this tree in our living room.

Grandma time!

Hello?


Turkey time!

In the race car cart.

Snack time with daddy.

I know mommy is in there!


Awesome pics courtesy of cousin Amanda Benz!







Did good with Santa!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

10-11 Months

One more month, and Ethan will be one year old!! It's hard to believe almost an entire year has gone by since he was born. Ethan has been a very busy boy these last two months. He loves balls, electronics, Nick Jr., clapping his hands, playing mommy's piano, dancing and singing to music, and voicing his opinion. He is very good at throwing balls (a future baseball player perhaps!) and pressing every button he can find. He's such a smarty with cause and effect and loves to see what happens when he pushes buttons. This is great when he plays with his toys...not so great when he's constantly grabbing for our phones, laptop, and TV. Climbing up and down the stairs has been another favorite these last couple of months and hasn't been without a few tumbles along the way of course. But he's learning and is pretty fearless for the most part. He continues to walk along and between furniture, stand on his own, and take a few steps here and there (when he really wants something), but so far crawling is his preferred and fastest mode of transportation. This last month, he spent some time at Como Zoo with his nanny Brittany, he travelled back to N.D. and met his new baby cousin Aubrey, and he picked his very own pumpkin at the pumpkin patch. He also got to spend some time with Grandma Gloria, and he has been quite the "busy little bee" going to two Halloween parties. We love every moment with our busy, busy little boy and can't wait to celebrate his first birthday next month!

PICTURES

At the zoo.

Cuddle time with grandpa!

Baby Aubrey

Aubrey snoozing with daddy Jon.

Ethan thought that looked comfy and decided to try it out!

I love this - thanks Jon and Dina!

Playing with cousin Kella.


Picking grandpa's apples.


Yummy...and feels good on the gums!

Cousin Delani came to play too.

Cuddle time with auntie Cherise.

Dina and Aubrey & Mommy and Ethan

My first pheasant feather!

Spending the day with grandma.


Pumpkin carving time!

Weeeee~

The final product.

Trying out our costumes.

The bumblebees!


First toddler Halloween party.

Ethan the bee with neighbor Audrey the calf.


Helping daddy put the new TV stand together...big helper!

Nap in the E.R. after a tumble down the stairs onto the hard floor. (Everything was OK thankfully!)











What little boy doesn't eat dirt I guess?





Daddy's lap is big enough for Ethan and Audrey!

After the flu shot...no big deal.



Sooooo big!!