Nine Months Old!

Hi Family and Friends!

I am nine months old now and cuter than ever!! I have so much to tell you about - mostly that I'm a thriving, happy boy who is having so much fun! Here's a glimpse into my life:

• I officially sleep unswaddled now! If you remember, right after I turned eight months mommy tried unswaddling me to see if I would like it better. Guess what? I DO! I now sleep in a sleep sac, but I still have so much room to kick my legs and my arms are free. Most nights, you'll find me asleep with my arms straight out to the sides like a "T"! 
• I sleep 13 hours a night (7pm-8am) with two naps...a long morning nap (1.5-2 hrs.) and an afternoon nap (1-2 hrs.).
• I make so much noise now - especially high squeals because I'm so happy!! Even though I haven't said my first word, I have my own language. It's called Ethan babble and I do it all the time! Mommy and Daddy say I tell really good stories.
• I love to blow air - I think it feels funny on my mouth. You'll catch me throughout the day just blowing...and I think it's even funnier when mommy blows back in my face! 

• Do you know how cool ceiling fans are? I'm quickly learning that most rooms have ceiling fans and I love when they are turned on!
• One of my new tricks is rocking back and forth while sitting up. I hear this may be a sign of crawling soon (at least my own version of crawling). Sometimes, I rock back and forth so much I fall forward and end up on my stomach.
• Major developments in the food area!! I am such a big boy and LOVE to feed myself tiny pieces of food now. I haven't mastered the "pincher" grasp yet, I more so prefer a whole fist full of food. As soon as there is food on my tray, I frantically grab the food and try and shovel as much as possible in my mouth. Granted, only about 5% of it actually makes it in my mouth, but hey, I'm learning. I love eating tiny pieces of bananas, strawberries, blueberries, peaches, whole wheat bread, carrots, broccoli, cottage cheese, and shredded chicken. My mommy is going to the grocery tomorrow to stock up on more baby-friendly table food...I can't wait to see what she feeds me next!

• I still love pureed fruits and vegetables too. I eat pretty much everything, but sometimes when I don't like a certain flavor combination (or if I'm just full), I purse my lips and refuse to open my mouth. It always makes mommy and daddy laugh.
• I'm such a laid-back baby,  however I am becoming a little more emotional. Before, I would maybe bang my head or hit myself in the face and not cry. Now, I'm all out crocodile tears!! I used to like the loud noise the vacuum made. Now, it scares me. It's okay though - mommy or daddy is always there to comfort me. 

I say it every month, but I have so much to look forward to. It's amazing what I learn month-by-month and how much I change. I go in for my nine month check up on Wednesday. I'm so excited to see what my stats are - I will definitely make sure to post them! I can't wait for Dr. Newby to tell me what a good job I'm doing and to keep up the good work! Until next month...

Love,
Ethan =)

Oh Good Grief! ENOUGH with the pictures Mommy!

Ethan's New Cousin - {Kaleb Joseph}

Kaleb Joseph Smith

To say this past weekend was a whirlwind is a complete understatement!! Let's start with Saturday morning. Ethan and I had plans to head to Indianapolis for Kristen's "sprinkle" shower - we were going to have pedicures and lunch with a couple of our girlfriends. I get a call about 8:00am from Jeffrey that said the sprinkle is cancelled because Kristen might be in labor. We went ahead and proceeded to drive up knowing deep down she was probably going to have a baby later that day. I get a text message from Kristen as we're driving that says she had a baby this morning. Haha, it was so blunt coming from her that I seriously did not believe her. She calls me right then and proceeds to tell me how the morning transpired and I still don't believe her - she's like, "Jamie, I had a baby boy this morning. 8 lbs. 9 oz...can't you hear him crying in the back? I had to call you because I knew you wouldn't believe me."
After Jeffrey called me Saturday morning, they headed straight to the hospital and basically made it with 8 minutes to spare!! She was fully dilated, gave 3-4 pushes, and they welcomed sweet baby Kaleb into the world!

Kristen and I had been talking for weeks about what we "thought" would happen - all of our family in the waiting room, Jayden would walk out with something telling us if it was a boy or girl, etc. We thought we had it all planned out. Ha! The only thing I was right about was it being a boy! Every niece/nephew is so special and I'm thrilled that Eric and I are the proud aunt/uncle of EIGHT little munchkins! And to think we're adding three more in the next couple months!

Amidst all the baby chaos, Jeffrey and Kristen were scheduled to move Saturday afternoon. Thankfully, with the help of family and friends, we were able to get the rest of their old house packed up and get everything successfully moved into the new house (with the help of movers). We keep laughing because NO ONE knew what they were getting themselves into when we were driving up to Indy. It was such a big undertaking, but we were SO happy we lived close enough to help. That's what family is all about. We spent the next couple days trying to get the house 'liveable' for when Kristen and baby Kaleb came home. One thing is for sure, Kaleb's birth story will be one we will never forget! I'm sure I could write pages upon pages about everything that happened the last couple days, but all that sticks out is the beautiful new baby that entered our family. We all say it, but we feel so blessed and so lucky to have such an amazing family that keeps growing and growing. I can't wait to head up to Indy soon and love on baby Kaleb again =)

First Cousin Picture! 

Not sure what to think of his new cousin!

Just playing in Aunt Kristen's hospital bed!

Our First Family Vacation!

We feel so fortunate we were able to spend last week in Seacrest, Florida with Pa, Gigi, Aunt Heather, and cousin Eli! This was a trip we were certainly looking forward to because it was going to be our first family vacation! Another "milestone" reached =) We couldn't wait to introduce Ethan to the beach - a place that will always be dear to our hearts since that's where his (and our) journey began! We were excited to see how he reacted to the sand, what he thought of the waves, and most importantly - for his mommy and daddy to get a T-A-N! Well....let's just say mother nature had another plan! It literally rained, misted, or was overcast every.single.day. What are the chances?!

"I thought you said I would get a tan, Mommy"!!

Let's start from the beginning - the trip down. I had the genius idea to drive down with Ethan by myself...because, well why not, I can do everything, right? WRONG!! Note to self in my mommy book: never do that again! Our goal the first day was to make it to Knoxville, TN (usually a 5 1/2 hour drive without baby). The plan was to stop in Lexington, KY at Grandma's house for a feeding break (served as the halfway point). I left right after our first morning feeding and thought Ethan would fall straight asleep in the car for his morning nap. He obviously knew something was different because about 45 minutes outside of Bloomington, the crying began. And it did not stop. For hours. I pulled over, made sure he was okay, gave him his paci, etc. but nothing was soothing him. Keep in mind, he's
been on three other roadtrips, but both Eric and I were present so one of us could always be in the backseat. Ethan rarely cries or fusses so when he does we know something is wrong. The cries coming out of the backseat were something I had never heard before - it was stirring up emotions in me I had never felt before! Needless to say, the day ended with us in Knoxville like planned - 9 1/2 hours later - with one exhausted momma and baby! I was terrified of Day 2 which was supposed to be a 7 1/2-8 hour trip. However, Ethan was an angel - he must've realized we were in for the long haul! I stopped about every two hours to feed him, stretch his legs, play, etc. We had several good pit stops in truck stop bathrooms and hotel bathrooms - pumping, feeding, changing - ahhh memories! =) 12 hours later we finally made it to Florida!!

I think it took Ethan a couple days to recover from the long trip because he was such a tired baby. He was sleeping 12-13 hours and taking 2-3 naps during the day for long periods of time. I guess it was a good thing it wasn't sunny outside! I was determined to get pictures of Ethan on the beach for his first vacation. One day, there was a break from the rain (so we thought!) so we headed down to the beach for playtime.

He never actually touched the sand because we had him on a sheet, but he seemed to like sitting on it! It started to sprinkle and the dark clouds looked like they could unleash at any moment (which it did a couple minutes later), but I HAD to get a picture of his little toesies in the ocean!! Eric dipped his toes in when a wave came up and well...you can see his expression!! Haha! He arched his back, straightened those legs, and was not too happy!!

While I didn't get all the pictures I had envisioned before we left of our sweet little family of three on the beach, we had a fabulous week with our family! Since Pa and Gigi live in Tennessee and we don't see them as much as the other grandparents, it was a special trip to take with them (with an extra bonus of seeing Great Grandma Ann on the way down)! We promised Ethan we would take him back to the beach one day and it would be sunny =) For now, we're so thankful for the memories we made!

One of the few smiles we caught on the beach!

Me and Mommy

Kisses for Gigi

Beach Bum

Having fun with daddy

First Family Vacation

Vacation Recap Coming Soon!

It's been a busy couple days settling back into our normal routine after being gone all last week! I hope to get all my Florida pictures uploaded soon and will post them next week!