2.5 years old (month 30)

Well not much has changed. Ethan turned 2 1/2 today! He was 28.2 lbs and still 36 inches (but I weighed him at the end of the day). He loves playing with choo choos and is so good at playing independently. Since Wes is home with him while I work part-time he prefers to play with daddy more. If I try to touch his trains or play with his trains he asks me "why did you do dat?" So, to him, Momma and Daddy have very distinct roles. I turned the tv on last night and national geographic channel was on and Ethan said "no. Daddy's show". If something's broken he wants daddy to fix it. But I'm who he goes to for stories and well...bathtime. He is still a great helper at church. He always cleans up after all of the other kids. He is speaking in usually 5 word sentences. I haven't been working with him too much lately on colors/numbers/letters...so he's probably about the same there..can count through the teens. But we went to the Polar Express and that was a blast. He asks to watch that movie every day and he can recite many of his favorites shows theme songs. Still not much interest in the potty...which...is what it is at this point. We didn't wind up going to NJ because I hurt my back. It turns out I need another surgery...especially before we try to TTC again my doctor said. I'm supposed to be in physical therapy but find it hard to find the time with everything going on with the holidays and with Wes' doctors appointments and with holiday traveling. Ethan finally met Santa though so that's pretty cool. Otherwise not much to report!

Month 27

This month Ethan is 27.6 lbs and 36 inches. He grew 1 1/4 in since last month!! I started working with him more formally on his letters two days ago. We are working on b and m even though he knows and can identify more letters than that. Last night I found out he can picture sort different pictures based on what letters they start with. I'm pretty proud of him for just turning 2 in June. He is still into all the same stuff..still really into trains and his robot. But now he's starting to point out "Elmo" not sure how he knows him since we don't watch sesame street! Also, he says thank you God before he eats and says Amen on his own. :) He also knows his Bible and we are reading to him from it every night. He got bumped up to the Lambs class from the nursery where instead of getting to do his own thing and play he has to listen to a story, and do circle time, and a craft so that's been a little hard for him adjusting to being in a new classroom but he's getting better. I started training this week for my reading tutor job and am going to be at a new school this year. We are also going to NJ soon to visit family and friends and we are going to see the 9/11 memorial in the city and go to the boardwalk so I'm super excited for that!

Months 25 & 26

Ethan says so many words now it's not even funny. The amount he's grown intellectually in the last 2 months is crazy. He is putting together 5 word sentences now ex. "Oh no mommy what happened? " He repeats basically anything you say. He is very good at recognizing animals. He is starting to recognize numbers. He can count to 12 or 13 I can't remember. He was saying the alphabet to G but he kinda lost interest lately. He is really into Scout still. He just started getting into Dinosaurs "Rawr!". We took him to the Childrens Discovery Museum and bought him a little dinosaur there. Compliments of Wes and Shark Week he's starting to get into dolphins and sharks a little bit. We are going to San Diego for a dr appt for Wes but we aren't going to Seaworld bc it's twice the price of the Zoo so we are going to take him to the SD Zoo while we are there and possibly go to an aircraft museum on an aircraft carrier. IDK that Ethan will like it so much since the planes aren't in motion, but I'm sure Wes will like it. He's never been on an aircraft carrier! Aside from that as of yesterday when he turned 26 months, he was 27.2 lbs and he's about 34 3/4 inches. So he grew about a half an inch in the past 2 months. He better get to 36 inches at least before we go to Disneyland! We are going to go to Knotts Berry Farm too and that's the height requirement for a lot of the rides. He's been watching Finding Nemo "Meemo" in the car and he likes it. He's really into "feefees" fishies still. We took him swimming at the lake last week. He likes to "kick! kick! kick!" his feet. I think he likes splashing. :) Oh, I also havent nursed him since the day before yesterday...so who knows if he's done or not. I'm really trying to wean him. He's 2 years old and I really want my body back...esp before we have baby #2! Anyway, nothing else new to report. Two is an exciting yet challenging age!

2nd Birthday

Ethan turned 2 years old two weeks ago. We took him to Legoland for his birthday. There was an aquarium there we took him to as well. Legoland is in Carlsbad, CA. The weather wasn't all that great and the trip was pretty short so we didn't get to have beach time. We did take him once for a little bit just to feel the sand and the waves. Overall, I think he was just too young for the trip because he is only 34 1/4 inches and he could only go on about 5 rides. He LOVED the Legoland Express which was a little train that just went in a circle, but any of the "real rides" like the airplane and the helicopter, he was scared of. We think he may be a little afraid of heights. We also bought him this Step2 Corvette Toddler Bed for his birthday and I made him a healthy chocolate cake. Kristen and her boyfriend Anthony came over on Saturday (his bday was Thursday but we were out of town) and she gave him a mickey mouse trike which he loves (he can't reach the pedals yet though). She took some pictures of him, And on Sunday (Father's Day) we had his dedication at church. In my opinion, this day was monumental and I'm so glad Wes and I decided to do this for Ethan. Wes and I spent like a week painting and decorating the walls of his room. One wall is Mickey Mouse characters, another is Max & Ruby, and the other two are an ocean scene of Finding Nemo. He really likes fish "feefees" and Max and trains (choochoo) and Dora the Explorer. He had his well check appointment the other day. He was 25.8 lbs and 34 1/4 inches. He's in the 46% percentile for height and like the 25th for weight. He says A TON of words.
 Up to Month 23: oh mommy/daddy/Wes"  " a bahbeball (basketball) "Abee (airplane) peas, thank you, more, mkay, back, bubble, hey, shoes, ca-ca, yucky, no, uh huh, yiayia (Gma in Greek) doggy, horsey, Bahh & quack quack, and wawle (waffle), Jew (juice), peekike (pancake), mih (milk) , wawa ( water), ee (eggs), mome (oatmeal), snacks, meme mou (mickey mouse), scou (scout), max, doh (Dora), and fefe (fishy), kitty, and see you.  Lah you (love you), meh meh (good morning ),& sorry, choo choo, daisy, dew (duke), mess, car, food, peepee, backpack,

month 23 uhmow (remote), sock , breaksa (breakfast), Kiki (piggy), ow (owl), meme (muffin), away (throw away), Buh fly (butterfly), uh (up) , pull, how (help), ba (bath), poo (pool) and he will basically repeat whatever you tell him to on his own. But those are the words he says on his own spontaneously. 

He also is starting to ask to go play in the pool every day, but he doesn't really like swimming in it, just putting his feet in and splashing and throwing toys to the dogs. He also got his first big boy haircut this month! 

23 months

Well I just wrote a super long blog and as I was trying to attach the pictures/video. I closed out of the window deleting the whole thing. Anyway to recap, Ethan turned 23 months today. He is 25.0 lbs and 34 1/2 inches. We are taking him to Legoland for his birthday next month and I hope he will be tall enough. He seems to be growing about an inch a month. There are 5 rides he can ride at 34 inches but another 7 if he's 36 inches. He is still skinny (wearing some 6-12 month shorts today) but just tall. He is starting to put together phrases like "buh bye see you" and "thank you mommy" and if he wants something he says "mkay" mkay" because he got used to saying "mkay" to wes when wes would ask if he wanted to watch his movie (in the truck). We are starting to try to get away from that though because he had 2 meltdowns over his movie and we realized we needed to do away with the movies in the car if he was going to get that worked up over it! Oddly enough, he just sits there so quietly we thought he was asleep the last few times! He is still rear facing for safety reasons. He's also still nursing about 2-3 times a day. He still calls wes by his first name, but the cutest thing he does is say "oh mommy" or "oh daddy" or "oh wes!" I also love when he says "mama e daddy" i don't know if he's saying e like the spanish "y" cuz he learned it from Dora? I'm sure that's it. He also says "feefee" now for fishie. He will ride on the dogs and say Horsey! and every animal sound is "Bah!" except duck which is quack quack! The last two months had been really challenging for us, especially Wes as he's the one home all day ( I work 4 days a week about 5 hrs a day so not too bad). Ethan is just becoming more independent and testing his boundaries. He actually threw my phone into the bath tub a few weeks ago..pretty much just because I was frantically telling him not to do it. The last week or two he's been listening a lot better though. I just asked Wes and he agrees. I think we are both anxious/excited for me to be off work soon for the summer. I only have a week in a half left. This month Ethan browsed around the library for the first time. We have also been trying to slowly get him comfortable with the daycare/pre school at church. We have been hanging out with him in there because I don't want him to hate going to church. I want him to feel safe and comfortable. So hopefully next week he wont need us there. Mothers Day was yesterday so we went to church and then to get my rings sized/engraved at town square and ate at california pizza kitchen. On Friday, I went and used my birthday massage voucher from Kristen and while I was gone Wes and Ethan went out and picked up the pineapple upside down bundt cake he orderd me, and some flowers and a balloon (that Ethan picked out) and the card was so thoughtful it brought tears to my eyes. Anyway Ill also catch ethan counting when he doesn't think anyone's listening but when I ask him to count he'll say "no!" and I necver hear him go past four. But aside from that nothing new to report. He still eats EVERYTHING and puts everything in his mouth. I wish he would grow out of that stage soon! He's also super fast and has a frustrating habit of dodging and hiding under the kitchen table lately when i'm trying to change his diaper or get him dressed--but he thinks it's the funniest thing ever! We're working on that now, but otherwise he's such a sweet and loving boy. He gives everyone and everything kisses and will give hugs and blow kisses and say "love you!"

Month 22

Ethan turned 22 months on Saturday. He weighs 25.0 lbs and is 33 1/2 inches. He grew an inch since last month and gained .6. This month he started called daddy "Wes". Needless to say, daddy is not a very big fan of that at all. We are trying to break him of the habit. He is really into Chugginton now "Choo choo" he calls it. I discovered he can count to six pretty much on his own. He is also still into turtles since the Roos and More outing. We haven't done much this month for family days because Wes and I have been sick. I guess the biggest news is I got a new engagement and wedding band set :) since my other engagement ring broke. So a lot of free time this month was spent looking at rings! He loves this Eric Carle book that his Aunt Melissa bought him... He especially loves the sheep that says "BAAAH!" He runs around saying BAHH BAAHH BAHH all the time... He can say a few of the animal sounds when he sees the pictures (Neigh, quack quack, baah, meow) He also will say "Daddy? Dada?" And when Wes answers he'll say "Oh Man!" Aside from that, not much new I can think to report right now!

Month 21

Today my baby turned 21 months! He is 24.4 lbs and 32 1/2 inches! Yay! He loves bbq and will usually eat fish or chicken or meat if it's in a little sauce. He does like rotisserie chicken though. He's just not a huge meat eater though overall. He is still nursing about 3-5x/day depending on if it's a work day or not for me. Every morning he wakes up and says "mama" and signs milk and I tell him to get my phone and my glasses and my water and his sippy and he brings them all to me before he nurses. He's a very happy baby except the last few days he's started this...what seems to be "fake crying" where he covers his mouth with his hand and whimpers. His dad and I are not fans of that. He loves this show called "max & ruby" he can even say "max" which I think is incredible that he can say the X's. We've finally been able to get him to keep sunglasses and a hat on (we got some with mickey mouse on them). He says so many words now and will repeat any word. He still won't say "Yes" but this month we've gotten him to say "ok" and to say "yee" instead of yes. So it's progress. Wes also got him to start nodding his head yes. He also knows the color blue and can pick it out/identify it... Wonder if that's because of Blues Clues? We still have to work on the other colors though. It's amazing the things he knows just maybe can't articulate yet. He loves balls and he will say " a ball" so interesting that he's using articles. Also he will occasionally say "my daddy" so that's cool he can use pronouns too. I'm trying to get out of the habit of talking in the third person to help him understand pronouns. The only thing I wish is that he hadn't had so much tv exposure under age 2. Wes thinks he will be fine & says he doesn't watch that much tv but I'm always so paranoid. Aside from that, not much to report. I am working for the school district part time about 5 hours a day 4 days a week tutoring reading. Wes has some MRIs coming up and his knee is still giving him trouble since his surgery in December so he goes to see the surgeon Monday. Wes and Ethan play this game now where Ethan loves to drive his little firetruck under Wes' legs and they chase each other around the house. They're really bonding since Wes is playing "Mr. Mom" now. Otherwise, things are pretty good. We started a "family day" tradition on Sundays a little while back so this past week we went to Roos n More the zoo in Moapa. He pet a lot of animals and really seemed to like this big desert tortoise the most. He was pretty interested in the pigs too. Looking forward to taking Ethan to LegoLand for his birthday in June! And maybe next year to the San Diego Zoo.

Months 18-20

Today Ethan is 20 months and 31 1/4 inches. He started saying "ball" for the first time today--out of nowhere. He will repeat so many words now if you say them. His new favorite thing is Mickey Mouse. He calls him (MeMe or MeMe Mou) & he likes watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. He also still loves Scout. He calls him "Scow". He can point to his nose, head, give kisses and hugs on command, says please and thank you without having to ask him. His feet are a 6.5 and he is OBSESSED with planes ever since the air show in November. He calls them "ABee" instead of "airplane". He LOVES eggs and is still nursing and he sleeps through the night but he gets up at like 7 am and signs "milk" and whines until I nurse him. He also doesn't go to bed until super late. We have been trying to start having family days on Sundays after church so we went to Rainforest Cafe last Sunday at the MGM. We were trying to go to the Lion Habitat but it closed down. We were trying to see if Ethan liked the big animals to get a feel for if he would like to go to the San Diego Zoo. He did like the motorized leopard though at the Cafe. He called it "kitty"..but he kinda rolls his t's into almost an l sound when he says it. He saw a cat at the neighbors house on the super bowl and really liked it.

Our measurements aren't perfect I guess because at 19 months I show his stats as 31 3/4 inches. and he weighed 23.0 lbs.

He also got his first (and second) haircuts (by Mama). Still waiting for it to grow in on the top sides though!

And at 18 months his head circumference was in the 35 % weight was in the 30th percentile and height was in the 25th percentile (meaning his head is bigger than 35 percent his age, weighs more than 30 percent his age, and taller than 25 percent). I'll try to find the sheet from the doctor with the actual stats. I'm having a hard time loading the other pics from 17 and 20 months so...To be continued!

Ethan at 19 months