Months 16-17

Wow I kept thinking I needed to blog month 16 but time just kept getting away from me. I can't believe he will be 17 months in 4 days. The last 2 months have been amazing. He sleeps until around 6 am every day. Sometimes he will still wake up once. In the beginning of the month when he would wake up for his 3:30 am feeding I just had to refuse and then he started sleeping through the night! He is so smart! The other day I had one shoe and said Ethan where's my other shoe? (He had brought one out into the living room). He went into my bedroom, into my closet, and grabbed the correct matching shoe! He can do this as well with his own shoes. He knows which pairs he wears in his shoe drawer, and how to find and match them. He can also bring me his wipes and a diaper off the dresser if I ask him for them. He learned the word "Back" so when I say put something back, he will yell "Back!" as he puts it back. He loves to run around in adult shoes now. Especially combat boots and heels! He follows instructions like "close it or close the door". Lately however he has started when he doesn't get his way to run to something--like a chair or toy and smack it once. So that gets him in time out a lot lately. I'll tell him to be gentle so he'll show me the sign for gentle. He also FINALLY says mama now and it means ME!!! :) That makes me so happy. He also gives hugs and kisses. He loves to vacuum. He loves sliding down his slide. Just before I sat down to write this I was changing his dirty diaper and I said Yucky! and so now he started saying "Ucky!" He can throw things away if you tell him to. What else? He loves Scout still. and Blue's Clues and is starting to get into Curious George a little bit. He also is finally starting to fit into clothes his size. He weighed 22.0 lbs at 16 months and over the last month he had a crazy growth spurt so he only fits in the longer 12 month jeans. He also shakes his head no now, and when an accident happens he says "uh!" like (uh oh!). He often shakes his head when you try to feed him because he likes to feed himself now, so in the mornings he feeds himself oatmeal and whatever else he may eat (like an orange or gluten free french toast stick). He loves pasta salad and basically anything bread-like (crackers, bread, etc.)---this is not ideal in my book, but what can you do.  He also says "cracka!" He still primarily eats his baby food puree, but likes sauteed onions and peppers. Still hates meat, I do my best to avoid giving him any dairy because I don't believe human babies should drink cow's milk. He doesn't really drink almond milk, sometimes if I remember I'll make his oatmeal with it, or he likes the almond coconut milk blend a little better. His hair's getting a little long in the back so Wes wants me to cut it or he says he's going to! Which is not happening. So I'm reluctantly going to have to oblige that soon. He also says doggie and looooves this little stuffed doggie we got for him. He just walked behind me hugging it and saying "daggie". He has a pretty good arm on him. He likes to throw the ball to Duke outside. He also says "buh bye" and waves. And anytime he seems my grandma he tries to bring her cane to her. He also learned please. So when he's hungry he will sign "more" and say "peas!". And I think that's about it. He got his first Hep (B?) shot last month as well. He also rode a horse for the first time (with me--my first time too!). And he sat on a pony by himself at McKee Ranch for Halloween. He also went trick or treating for the first time and he LOOOOOVED it. He'd go up to the scary houses too by himself and wasn't afraid. He did great. The other night was SO funny. Love this little baby so much!

15 months

Ethan had his 15 month check up yesterday (Sept 24) he turned 15 months on the 13th. Yesterday he weighed 20 lb 13 oz and was just shy of 31 1/2 inches. He signs "all done" and "more" and yesterday Yiayia taught him to point to his mouth and say mouth... or "mau" as he says. We went to Palm Springs for our 2 year anniversary. It was hotter than Vegas and was definitely not kid friendly...there was really nothing at all to do there so we just ate a lot at upscale restaurants. At one breakfast place called Norma's inside an awesome hotel called "the Parker" we sat outside on the veranda and there were birds and Ethan said "birdie" for the first time. He also has been in TERRIBLE pain cutting his bottom right molar and it finally came through a couple days ago. Now the bottom left is swollen and should hopefully come in soon. So he has the top right molar, both front teeth and cuspids, and the bottom right molar so 8 total! He got his iron checked yesterday as is customary at 15 month visit and it was 10.8 and anything under 10.6 is considered low so we have to try to add some more iron rich foods. He also got his Hep B shot yesterday so it was a rough day but he's doing great today. He is SO fast on his feet. He likes to stack things now---he puts a baseball on top of a water jug hole, he stacks tupperware, he gives hugs, so sweet. Still waking up at night to nurse but down to a 3:30am nursing and sometimes that's it, sometimes one about midnight if he goes to bed early, and sometimes one around 5 or so. He likes eggs now and ate macaroni today for the first time, and ate a TON of steamed veggies the other night so I was happy. He still hates meat. and on that note, it's time to take the tri-tip out of the oven. This weekend he gets to meet his grandpa (wes' dad) for the first time when we go to Sedona for their wedding. AND he gets to meet his new cousin Norah--and it'll be fun to see him play with Aiden now that he's old enough to play! Looking forward to seeing everyone and meeting Korey (Ethan's soon to be grandma) for the first time. :)

Ethan 12-14 months

Sorry this is LONG overdue. We went on a retreat in July--well it was supposed to be a retreat using recreational therapy but Ethan gave us all a stomach bug so I was sick the WHOLE time and the recreational therapists cancelled on the day they were supposed to come. Anyway, he gave us ANOTHER bug that we are just getting over now. I also started babysitting two additional boys (Joshua aged 3 and Jacob aged 3 months) so I've definitely had my hands full. On to Ethan:
He took his FIRST steps on his birthday!! Wes saw but I missed it because I had my back turned cleaning up in the kitchen from his party. He stopped crawling on the 13th of July (the day he turned 13 months old). His second word was "doggie!"--which he LOVES to say whenever he sees one on tv or in a magazine.or the real ones that we have. Consequently, he's really into this dog and deer playing video on youtube right now. He says buhbye! now and daaa/da-da. Hardly ever says mama though. I just noticed yesterday he cut one of his molars! And it looks like the other 3 are bulging. He also went for his first dental appointment after he turned one. The dentist made a mention of the extra skin under his lip that he has--so who knows if that'll be a problem in the future or not with space for his teeth--it was for me so I had to have it removed. Aside from that, his weight is up to an acceptable amount. I guess he was tracking on the 10% line but then when he got sick I guess he wasn't even on the growth chart anymore. he's about 20 lbs and last I measured about 31 inches. So he still has an inch left in his infant seat. :) What else? When he says movie now he claps his hands. He likes oatmeal, doesn't like carrots anymore because he's too obsessed with watermelon. Doesn't like any type of beans or meat, but we went to olive garden and we have since discovered he likes salad! with italian dressing! So that's neat..and unusual. He still nurses a ton but luckily he's down to only waking up for usually 1 night feeding about 5am..and then he goes back to sleep til sometime b/w 6-7am. He REALLY loves little cars--like matchbox cars. He's also starting to really get into his "Scout". I guess the other night he brought his scout and a stuffed animal to Wes and climbed up on his lap and went to sleep. He also throws the ball to the dogs now and has started the last few weeks to realize the difference between what goes and doesnt go in his mouth--it's still a learning process! But at least he's not trying to drink the baby bottles anymore or put the dog food in his mouth! :)
As far as Wes & me/the family--we are trying to go to Yellowstone for our anniversary--hopefully we can swing it financially-trying to get a veterans organization to help with lodging. And that's about it for updates. Still waiting on pending claims from the VA---fingers crossed and prayers for us that they resolve soon and in our favor!

Ethan Turns One!

This last month has just been amazing. About a week ago Ethan starting saying "bye... or buh". My grandma taught him it so he says it when he answers/hangs up the phone. Now he says it when someone leaves. He's so smart. He LOVES blueberries very much right now and he likes carrots, but not broccoli or cauliflower. He also obsessed with his gigglebellies. He says movie everytime he sees the computer or when he wakes up and wants to watch on my phone. I want to try to get him away from that because at 1 I don't want him addicted to tv, but it's hard because now he's able to sit in his little bass pro shop lawn chair and watch tv and just stay there so I can get stuff done in the kitchen. This is NEW! and exciting! But at what cost? But maybe I'm being too hard on myself. I do need to get stuff done afterall. Anyway, his birthday was yesterday and there was a huge turn out (like 37 people!). So much better than the turnout for his baby shower! I guess people can't resist a tractor/country themed party. He had a Gluten free strawberry cupcake to celebrate. I think the party was a little much for him because he was very clingy and wouldn't let me put him down. Maybe he just wasn't used to so many people in his space. I think i'll go a little smaller next year, with just my/his closer friends. He got a water table which he loves, from his Auntie Kristen & a firetruck which he really loves too from our good friends in Wes' MOPH chapter, Eileen & Dan. He has his 1 year well baby appointment tomorrow afternoon so I'll be able to post growth stats. :) He also does this super cute thing when he's listening to music he sways his index fingers around like he's conducting & he will point at you and smile from far away, like he's calling you out. He's so silly and I love him! xo

11 Months/Mother's Day

Ethan turned 11 months and I had my first mother's day yesterday. He is 19.6 lb and 28 1/4 inches. He seems so long though! The last month was my favorite. He was so fun to be around...but now he is getting EXHAUSTING! We moved into the new house and it is still in disarray and he gets into the logs in the fireplace, the cabinets, takes everything out one by one (like his dad used to as a baby from what I hear). He can outcrawl Wes! I just wish he'd stop trying to eat shoes, dog food, and paper!!! He "bear crawls" and then to get off the bed he will repel down from the sheets! He is a tough kid. He also said his first real word which was "movie"...mobie or mmmmba he'll say. Love the little boy so much though! He had blueberries for the first time yesterday and took his first ever food induced nap. He loved them. He's also had organic mango and pear puree. I would love to give him all organic but when we are out sometimes that's just impractical. He also has his sweet potato puffs and his strawberry puffs (which in retrospect I'm not sure I should've given him because strawberries is a no-no food til 1 year..but it's a puff so I guess it's okay! Wes got me some beautiful flowers for mother's day too yesterday! 

Ethan's 10 months!

Ethan turned 10 months a few days ago. In the past month he gained 2 lbs and grew 3 inches and got 2 more teeth ( he got two bottom then one top then this month the other top and the cuspid on the right). He is 27 inches and 19.2 lbs. He is standing for a few seconds on his own but then doesn't trust himself and sits himself back down or crawls. He's getting so big! He gives kisses (with an open mouth). He has also, unfortunately, started biting A LOT it's making nursing very...miserable. But in other good news we get the keys to the house today and I can decorate a room for him and we also got a new pontoon boat we took him out on and he loved it--crawled all around! I need to figure out a theme for his first birthday!

Baby food!

So today was interesting. I forgot the diaper bag at home when we went to town square..luckily there's a whole foods there so I could still get ethan his organic diapers...on a whim I bought him some Earth's best baby food first foods "Sweet potatoes". Wound up giving it to him in the car ride. He would SCREAM when I took the spoon away. I couldn't get it in his mouth fast enough. He loved it. Glad he likes sweet potatoes after all! It wasn't homemade baby food which would've been ideal..but it was still a good organic time :)

Month 9

Well considering that post was only about 2 weeks ago or so, not much has happened EXCEPT Ethan has both bottom teeth AND one top tooth and the other one is about to cut through. He turned 9 months 3 days ago and weighed the same 17.2. He says bababa A LOT and likes to bang on things and LOVES straws! Magically since he turned 9 months hes starting to sleep better through the night (5-6 hrs at a time) and go to bed earlier (like 1030 or so). Oh he also loves things that are small enough to fit in his hands that he can shake and make noise with (gum container, sprinkles, etc). Other than that nothing new here!

Month 8

Ethan turned 8 months old a week in a half ago. He is still exclusively breastfed. and weighs about 17.4 lbs. I think it's about time to retire his 0-3 onesies now and today I noticed it looks like he may be outgrowing the "feet" in his 6 month footed pants. He has this fake wheeze he does now like darth vader when he's happy/excited. He also is standing now and will let go for a few seconds. He says "gaga goo" and if you ask him to give you a high five he will. He also has the LONGEST tongue and sticks it out all the time and we say "lizard lizard!!". I left him alone with his da-da overnight for my birthday and he seemed to do ok without me but wes said he didnt get any sleep all night. I didn't either ironically enough. I was on "Ethan's schedule". He got his first polio vax last month and I think that made him not feel well. A few days later he got a stomach virus and was sick for an entire week straight..and passed it on to Yia & Wes. He also went to his first baby friend birthday party over the weekend Ryann Hanrahan my friend Carrie Nielsen's daughter. He cut his first tooth (the bottom middle one) but it still only halfway in I think (and it's been a month). Today I felt and his second one right next to it cut through! I think that's it for updates. I think/hope he'll be walking next month! :)

Months 5-7

I'm SUCH a slacker. Well..not really, but it's been haunting me that I haven't updated this blog. Ethan had RSV when he turned 5 months old. It was horrible. He had a cough for a couple days since Monday night. One of the girls I babysit for had a cough on Friday and then I got a sore throat monday and went to the dr who said it was just allergies and then Monday night Ethan got a cough but Wes didn't want me to be one of those paranoid parents and bring him in for everything By Saturday he had a fever and when I counted his respirations he was breathing like 70 times a minute. So we went to the ER. They gave him a breathing treatment and then on the next Monday we got the positive RSV result at his follow up. So he had a home inhaler he used a few times. It took about 2-3 weeks for the whole thing to run its course so that kept me pretty busy month 5. Ethan had his well baby check up about a week in a half ago. He was 16 lb 11 oz and they measured him at 26 1/2 inches long..but I dunno cuz I measured him at 27 like an inch prior. Anyway, He can crawl. Sit up on his own. Pull himself up..he can even stand one handed now. Last night I saw him sitting up on his knees with no support. He's so strong. He says "Da-da" "yia" "ba ba". He learned the sign for milk before Christmas and his Auntie Kristen thought he was waving to her! I was so proud. He also does the sign for toilet/potty but I'm not sure he associates it yet. He also is getting his first tooth. It's in the bottom in the middle, it started poking through about a week ago but progress seems to have stopped..which is fine by me because I'm not sure how much I'll like nursing him with teeth!He turned 7 months on Fri (6 days ago). He is still exclusively breastfed (as in he doesnt eat any food yet at all). I'm soooo proud of myself for being able to keep him strictly on breast milk and for this long. I will continue as long as he keeps gaining weight and seems satisfied by it. :)  He still is in his 0-3 clothes today I noticed his 3 month carters pants seemed a little short, so it may be time to retire them! He loves his Scout and this basketball hoop toy I got him for Christmas. He also apparently likes Dumbo "Elephants on Parade" I left him with his dad for the first time this past week to go to my new part-time job. It was so hard I had such bad anxiety I cried! Wes couldn't believe it. I was ok once I got there, but I never thought it'd be so hard leaving my little baby!

Here are some pics from his 6 month/Christmas photos!