20 Months Old!

Hi Family and Friends!

Hi. It's me. Ethan.

Wow, has it been a busy month for me! I want to fill you in on everything I'm doing now that I'm 20 months old!

• I must be a really good boy because mommy and daddy let me have ice cream on two different occasions in the last month!! My cake on my first birthday is the only other treat I've had so this was double the yumminess. First, we celebrated mommy's birthday last month and the restaurant brought her a big bowl of brownies, ice cream, and hot fudge. I just dove right in with my big spoon and gobbled up all the hot fudge. It was so sticky and I had it all over my clothes, but I didn't mind (and neither did my parents)! My second treat came when me, mommy, and daddy went to the Chocolate Moose. That's an ice cream place here in Bloomington. We were celebrating daddy's last day of work at his old job. He let me lick off his chocolate ice cream cone.

  

  My first ice cream cone!

  
  

  

  Don't mind if I do!

• I am becoming quite the helper around the house. Most of you know I love to clean. Not only do I love to clean, but I love cleaning supplies like brooms, mops, and vacuums. You can only imagine how much I was in heaven when I saw this at a restaurant...

  

  WHOA.

  it stopped me dead in my tracks and I just stood there and stared. I couldn't believe how many brooms and vacuums were in one place! I help mommy close the dishwasher door and also "help" with laundry...although most times I just unfold all the clothes she folded or put the clean clothes back in the dirty hamper =)

  

  Who doesn't clean with bunny ears?

• I have learned what "hot" means. I know that candles are hot, a fireplace is hot, and so is the oven and iron. When I see something that is hot, I wave my hand in front of it and say "AHH" (which means hot, but I can't talk yet). Sometimes I know my food is hot so I blow on it to cool it down.

  

  Just sittin in the sink. Brushing my teeth.

• Mommy and daddy are very proud of me because I finally started using my sign language. They've been trying since I was a baby, but I just decided to start signing "more" when I want more food. I have also learned the sign for please. I usually pat the couch and then rub my chest which means I'm trying to tell my parents I want up on the couch please. 

  

  Picking dandelions for mommy.

  
  

  

  Skinny mini!

• I take a 90-minute nap in the morning and a 90-minute/2-hour nap in the afternoon.
• I still like to eat blueberry waffles, toast with raspberry jam, deli meat and hummus, cottage cheese, pasta and/or chicken with red spaghetti sauce, and cheerios. I actually started eating my cereal in a bowl with a spoon! I eat it like mommy and daddy do now!

  

  I'm so big now!

• I have become quite attached to the little doggy that sleeps in my crib with me. It's called a "lovey" - an item that babies/toddlers can become attached to that brings comfort. The doggy has been in my crib since I was born, but I never paid attention to it. Now, I cuddle with it every time I lay down and like to hold it while I sleep. When I wake up, I like to hug the doggy.
• I like airplanes. Although I've only seen one in my entire life. I hear them a lot at my house and I get excited.

  

  Practicing my words with daddy...I like to dress like him.

• Something I don't really like? Wind and rain. The wind makes funny noises sometimes when I'm in my house. It makes me scared so I crawl up in mommy or daddy's arms. I really don't like being in the car when it's raining. Maybe because I start having flashbacks of when mommy took me through the carwash and I was scarred for life.
• This is my whole family. Mommy and daddy put pictures of everyone on the back of my door so I could look at them every day. I have a big family. Just within my immediate family I have 30 people to remember! I do such a good job remembering everyone's names...mommy and daddy quiz me and I point to their face. It makes me happy to see my family.

  

  I love my big family!

• My parents keep telling me about this baby sister I'm going to have in a couple months. I still like to lift up mommy's shirt and poke her belly button. I do lay my head on her belly sometimes and that makes mommy happy. I have become very protective of mommy at her doctor's appointments. I don't like when they take her blood pressure and I really don't like when she gets up on the table and they listen for baby sister's heartbeat. This past week, the doctor let me sit up on the table with mommy. Then we listened to the loud heartbeat in mommy's belly. Mommy's belly is getting big.

My parents tell me all the time what a great boy I am. Getting older is fun because I'm learning all sorts of new things. Thanks for reading my blog - hope you'll come back and visit soon!

 

9 More Weeks To Go!

30 Weeks!

I mean...9 more weeks, are you kidding?! Doesn't even seem possible right? I tell people that and they respond, "Didn't you just tell me you were pregnant?!" Not too much to report on our end - the only baby related thing we've done lately is put a dresser together for little girl's room. Now that the dresser is completed, I am excited to start organizing all her clothes and putting them away. Eric is traveling for work the next two weeks so I'm also hoping to get some decorations up on the wall so he can come home to a semi-completed nursery! We've got a quick check-up at the doctor in the morning and am looking forward to hearing that sweet heartbeat!

How Far Along: 30 1/2 weeks!

Size of Baby: Baby is about 15.7 inches long now and weighs almost 3 pounds - about the size of a coconut!

Development: Her eyesight continues to develop and she's about to head into a growth spurt! She can turn her head from side to side and her arms, legs, and body are beginning to plump out as fat accumulates underneath her skin.

How I'm Feeling: I feel like I say this every two weeks, but overall I feel really good! I'm happy that I've been getting out and walking with Eric and Ethan and it's a definite mood booster. I have lower back pain when I walk, but it's not enough to slow me down quite yet. I've been wearing my compression stockings about 15 hours a day and it feels like pure bliss every night when I get to take them off =) The most noticeable 'symptom' lately has been how tight (and somewhat painful!) my belly is getting. I've been saying for a month now that I feel like baby girl is already running out of room and have no idea where she'll go in the final months. I can just feel the skin stretching and when she lays certain ways and her head (or tush!) are protruding out of my belly it can be a little uncomfortable! She is still so, so active and know I'm in for some kicks under the ribs pretty soon!

Cravings/Aversions: Nothing actually! I haven't had any major "must-haves" lately and feel like I've done a good job balancing healthy, normal eating with sweets and yummy treats! =)

 

30 Weeks with Ethan and Baby #2!

 

Our Cute Bunny - Happy Easter!

We had such a wonderful weekend celebrating Easter with all our family in town. We hadn't seen Laura, John, Aidan, and Sydney since Christmas so we really enjoyed all the down time we were able to spend with them. Friday, Ethan and I met them and Papaw and Ginka for lunch downtown at Scotty's. Ethan was in such a great mood - showing off for his older cousins I think =) Or maybe he was in a good mood because Papaw was feeding him sweet potato fries dipped in sweet caramel sauce!

Saturday, Eric and I had plans to take Ethan to his first Easter egg hunt held at a local church in town. There were hundreds of people there and such an amazing turnout...but, we quickly learned Ethan was a little too young for the event. All the eggs were gone in literally two minutes and kids were running around everywhere trying to "win" the most eggs.

 

We headed out to Papaw and Ginka's house that afternoon and got to spend the rest of the day with Kristen, Jayden, and Kaleb. The last two weekends we've really gotten a glimpse into how sweet these three boys are together! They are actually interacting with each other and we even got our first picture of the three of them without any tears!! Success!!

Best Friends!

 

Ethan and Kaleb hit the jackpot - egg filled with Puffs!

Sunday was the big Easter egg hunt out at my parents for Aidan, Sydney, Jayden, Ethan, and Kaleb. We thought for sure Ethan would love the concept of an egg hunt because he likes to pick things up and put them away. Let's just say he was less than impressed. He walked right past all the eggs laying on the sidewalk, went straight to the landscaping, sat and played in the dirt.

 

We kept trying to encourage him to pick an egg up and put it in his basket (which he wasn't holding), but he wasn't having it. He was too busy hugging trees, listening for airplanes, and enjoying the sunshine!! My little outdoorsman! =)

 

The highlight of Ethan's day was probably when he threw his Easter basket on the ground causing all the eggs to break open and spill puffs, animal crackers, and coins in the grass...which he then proceeded to pick up and eat one by one! Again, he's probably still a good year away from grasping the whole concept of an Easter egg hunt, but he sure made this year entertaining. That evening, we had Grandpa Joe over for a cookout where he got another Easter basket full of goodies! The weather was absolutely gorgeous so we soaked up every ounce of sunshine we could before calling it a day. We got loads and loads of pictures with his sweet cousins and can't wait until the next time we're all together again!

Our last holiday as a family of three!

 

What would a cousin picture be without Ethan crying??

Hello Third Trimester!

I'm a week behind in posting as I officially hit the seven month mark last week! Wow! Really puts things in perspective when I think we only have two more months to go. Let's see...we need to finish the nursery and think of a name - ha! People ask me all the time if we have names and I respond with, "Yep, we've got about 12 of them"! We've got plenty to choose from, but nothing is standing out at this point as a front runner. My top three and Eric's top three don't match so we've still got plenty of negotiating to do =) I honestly don't mind if this baby isn't named until the day after she's born - we've got time and I know something will come to us when the time is right. Here's a quick update:

How Far Along: 28 1/2 weeks

Size of Baby: baby weighs around 2 1/4 pounds and measures about 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels (about the size of a large eggplant)

Development: She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She's also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

How I'm Feeling: I feel great as I start my third trimester! I think it's kinda funny that I'm just now hitting my stride this late in the pregnancy. With the weather being so nice right now, I've taken full advantage of getting outside and going for walks...usually only a mile because being 7 months pregnant, pushing a stroller, and going uphill is quite the workout! =) Just my overall energy is in a good place and I'm resting/taking naps when I can. My mother-in-law got me a prenatal massage for my birthday so I'm looking forward to using that soon!

Cravings/Aversions: orange juice, mushrooms, peanut butter, and lots of ice cream and/or brownies! Haha - it's really not that much, but I certainly have 'allowed' myself to indulge in plenty of sweets.

I've got a doctor's appointment this Wednesday and I'm looking forward to a good checkup!

 

7 mo. w/Ethan - 7 mo. w/Baby #2!

 

A Visit from Pa and Gigi!

I love my Pa and Gigi!

We were so happy to have Pa and Gigi come visit a couple weeks ago and I wanted to share some cute pictures! We enjoyed a really low-key weekend and Ethan got in lots of good time with his grandparents. Gigi was so thoughtful and brought Ethan an Easter basket and the bunny ears were quite the hit! He didn't want to take them off and he continued to wear them the entire week after they left!

Best Buds

My new bunny ears

Pa makes me laugh!

Every bunny loves a carrot!

Say cheeeese!

Happy bunny!

 

See you in a couple weeks!

Wait, don't all bunnies wear ears to get frozen yogurt?

Our little bunny cleaning...making sure he doesn't miss a spot!

Lunch time for bunny

Most handsome bunny I've ever seen!