Ethan at Twelve Months

Ethan is officially ONE!  He had a busy month leading up to his first birthday, with travel, holidays, and one super birthday bash.  Here are the highlights.  Oh, and by the way ... the past 365 days with E have been pure. joy.


He can

Stand on his own, without holding onto anything.  I am so proud of him.  He will even push himself into a standing position from kneeling and sitting down.  And did I mention he'll stand on his own and dance? Adorable.

Wave "hi" and "bye" appropriately, like when Mike or I enter a room or are heading out of a room.  He still doesn't always wave back if other people initiate the waving, but I love, love, love seeing his little hand wave to me when I come downstairs.  Who could ask for a better welcome?

Use a spoon to eat his own yogurt.  Not that he's always in the mood to eat his yogurt, mind you, but when he is, he spoons the yogurt out of the cup on his own and puts it in his mouth.  He also likes to dip things, like his graham crackers into cinnamon dip or his chicken nuggets into sauce.

He knows

Where his head is.  We'll say, "Ethan, where's your head?" and he'll put his hands on either side of his head.  We'll clap, and then he'll clap, too.  After all, knowing where your head is is pretty exciting stuff.

He eats

All his usual faves, but we've added veggie sausage into the mix and he gobbles it up.  He's actually chewing food and swallowing it now, too.  I don't know that he's actually swallowing all that much, but food is being chewed and swallowed, so I'm one happy Mama.

He went


















On a little trip this past month, for his Uncle Kevin's wedding.  We flew into Philadelphia and drove around Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware for the wedding and then visits with friends and family.  Ethan did so incredibly well on the plane.  He had his own seat and he napped, ate his snacks, and watched Sesame Street like a good boy the entire way there and back.  It was great for him to visit with family, and we had a blast showing him all around Philly where Mike grew up.

Trick o' Treating!  Mama picked a shark costume for E's first Halloween outing.  I didn't think he would want to wear the hat part, but he was actually fine with that but hated the body part with a passion.  We ended up taking the body part off and just walking him around with the shark head - still pretty cute, if I do say so myself.  He didn't really get the idea of Halloween at all, but we did go to about ten houses just for the fun and experience of it.

On a road trip with Mama and Daddy to southern California to pick up our new puppy.  He was a total trooper for the four hour drive and entertained himself by pulling tissues out of a box and taking in the views.

He says

Lots and lots of gibberish.  He is working so hard on his sounds, and putting sounds together.  I feel like we're going to get some more consistent words really soon.

I am 80% sure he is trying to say "Elmo."  Whenever Elmo comes on the screen during the opening sequence of Sesame Street, he makes the exact same sound, unique from other sounds he makes.  It's kind of an "Eeeehhhhhllllll" noise, but hey, "Elmo" isn't the easiest thing to say.

He celebrated

Halloween!  The only candy he wanted was a Tootsie Roll, which he preferred to chew on through the wrapper.

This is E showing us where his head is in between bites of Thanksgiving dinner.

Thanksgiving!  He ate sweet potatoes, turkey, green beans, and asparagus.  He loves veggies and I'm pretty sure he actually swallowed a decent amount.



















His birthday!  We had a party for him the weekend before, and on his actual birthday we opened presents and went to his fave restaurants.


He sleeps

Totally through the night, as per usual.  He still sleeps on his belly, often with his booty scrunched up in the air.

He plays

With his Fisher Price CD player, a new fave.

His Peter Rabbit stacking blocks.

A lot of non-toys, like kitchen things and random items he finds around the house.

He loves

His chapstick.

Veggie sausage.

Getting flown around the house by Mike while the Superman theme song is being sung.

Dancing and music.

Sesame Street.

Going on walks.

Riding in shopping carts and his stroller.

He hates

Getting his face or nose wiped off.

When Mama or Daddy leaves the room.

Apparently birthday cake. ;)



















In honor of E's first birthday, I'll be doing a series of posts celebrating my little boy.  There will be posts on his birthday party, a "day in the life of E" post, and some others. Thanks for reading about our first year with Ethan and all of his milestones!

Birthday presents!

What could they be?

An Elmo lunchbox

Handmade Dr. Seuss quilt from Gigi

Chomping on a Little People lion

Little People Noah's Ark and Elmo lunchbox 

On the move! 

Ethan at Eleven Months

My baby boy is 11 months old today.  That means there is only one more month, or four weeks and three days, until his very first birthday.  I am totally not ready for all of this 'growing up' nonsense! I need to think of a way to keep him a baby forever ... but in the meantime, here is an update of our last month.

His expression in this pic - I die!

He can

Say 'Dada' and 'Ball'.  I didn't think he would ever talk! We've finally got some words, said appropriately.  Good job, E!

Stand on his own for about 15 seconds or so, even though he doesn't do it too often.  I think it's more of a confidence thing than anything, because seeing him standing, barely touching something, his legs are just so sturdy.  I try to practice with him every day, but I think, as with most things, it will happen when he is ready for it to happen.  He likes to do things on his own and be independent, and whenever we try to force something he just laughs at us. ;) I will say that for the last week, we've gotten an independent standing moment every day.

I think I'll also mention that he is waving appropriately more and more, too.  It's definitely not all of the time, but he's getting better and better at waving at people when it is time to say "hello."

He eats

He'll try most everything, but his favorites are tofu, apple slices, carrot sticks, and pretzels.

Not too much sweet (where did this kid come from?!), but he will chew on cookies occasionally.

He loves

Opening and closing doors.

His (sealed) tube of Chapstick - his favorite toy. Ha.


















Peter Rabbit stacking blocks from PopPop and Gigi.

Dancing.

Clapping his hands.

Music (which, if it floats his boat, he'll dance to).

Sesame Street.

Walks in the stroller and sitting in shopping carts.

Playing in water.

Pushing the crosswalk buttons, the garage door opener, and the Tivo button.

Target and Safeway.  He flirts with everyone there and always makes friends.

He hates

Getting his faced wiped off after meals.

When Daddy leaves for work.

He got

A fourth tooth! His top right tooth finally popped through.  He now has his fronts (top and bottom).

His first haircut!  He hated the process, because Mike and I had to hold his head still, and he so desperately wanted to look at our hairdresser, Sonya.  He thought she was just so super cool, and didn't like that he couldn't turn to keep looking at her.  Can I say, he looks like such a big boy now?  Every morning I put a little bit of Mike's hair product in his hair.  I say, "Okay Ethan, time for Mama to do your hair like Daddy's hair!" and he patiently waits for me to "style" his hair.  Adorable!


He had

A stomach bug for over a week. Poor baby!  His demeanor never actually changed, but the stomach bug caused lots of extra diaper changes, which in turn caused a horrible bout of diaper rash.  This caused him to really hate diaper changes, and caused lots of extra tears.  It also caused him to wake up in the middle of the night often, because he was so uncomfortable.  After talking with both the nurse on call and then also taking him into the doctor's, we're finally, finally seeing some major progress.  Less diaper changes, the diaper rash is almost gone, and we've got him transitioning to a new formula to give his tummy a break.  Phew.  He was a trooper!

He went

To the pumpkin patch!  For his first pumpkin patch adventure we went all the way, out to the country to a full on pumpkin extravaganza.  There were train rides, pumpkin picking, a petting zoo, and lots of fun to be had.  We didn't actually get a pumpkin this year since we'll be out of town for Halloween, but we did get some really cute pictures and some great memories.

To the Discovery Kids Museum in San Francisco.  We've been to the one in Las Vegas before, and this one was pretty great, too.  At both, his favorite has been playing in the water rooms.  He loves splashing and feeling the water rush over his hands.  He really could stay at that one part all day, but we did explore some other areas.  He got to crawl through a waterfall!  I'm sure he'll find places like this even more exciting as he gets older, but for right now, a good time was still had.

Big Events this Month

A visit from PopPop and Gigi!  The stayed for a little over a week and we got some really great quality time in with them.  They came with us to the pumpkin patch, to the Discovery Museum, and on lots of walks.  We can't wait to see them again when we visit the east coast and for E's first birthday!

We got family portraits taken, which was such an amazing experience.  I am forever grateful to our photographer, Ivan Makarov, for capturing these moments for us.

Thank you little boy, for making our family complete. 

Ethan at Ten Months

Every day, as I look at my baby boy, I see traces of the little boy he is becoming more and more evident.  It might be his gorgeous hair, dark blonde with a hint of red, that gets brushed to the side of his forehead, that makes him look so grown up.  It could be the way he sits and plays with his fire truck and his legos while he gibbers away to himself, occasionally raising his eyebrows in surprise, that make him look like a big boy.  Most likely, it is that I see how much he is growing and learning, becoming more and more skilled and aware of the world each day, that makes me realize his baby days are passing us by.  Any way I look at it, I have such an amazing little man on my hands, and there isn't a moment - a slobbery kiss, infectious giggle, chubby-armed hug moment - that I would take for granted. Here are some of the moments we've shared this past month.

Ethan can

Cruise like a champ, around the house, all day long.  He is on the move people!

Walk with his push walker independently, for longer distances than last month (from one room in the house to another, for example).

Drink from a straw cup all by himself!


















Clap his hands.  Adorable.

Feed himself crackers, bread, veggies, fruit slices, and various other random bits of food that he takes an interest in.

He eats

Yogurt like it's going out of style.


















Pretzel sticks.

Apple and orange slices.

Graham crackers, saltines, animal crackers, and butter crackers.

Bread, as long as the crust isn't too hard.

Chicken strips (grilled and crispy).

Tomato slices.

Carrot sticks.

Tortilla chips.

Guacamole, hummus, and some other "spread" type items.

Pouches, favorites being the apple, raison, quinoa and the pumpkin, date, and chia pouches from Plum Organics.


















Apple sauce.

He sleeps

Through the night, with his early morning wake up/feed totally weened.  He cut them out himself within the first few days of the month, and they've never returned.

From 8:00 pm - 7:30 am, on average, with a morning nap and an afternoon nap throughout the day.

In his crib without bumpers.  He has great control of his body at this point, and has no trouble getting his legs or feet untangled from the crib rungs if he gets stuck, so there was really no point to the bumpers any more.

With his booty in the air, and twilight turtle shining his stars onto the ceiling.

He plays

With the most random things, like a tube of chapstick or a box of tissues.  He seems to love the "non-toys" (as Gigi dubbed them) better than actual toys.  Keeping on with his love of non-toys, he gets the biggest kick out of pushing buttons on our land line phone and hearing a dial tone, and pressing the play button on the built in answering machine so he can hear the voice say, "No messages!"  He also likes my iPhone, and will press the button so Siri will talk to him.  Hilarious. A tub of wipes will keep him occupied for at least 20 minutes, and opening doors and drawers is a fave.

With a few actual toys, like his fire truck.  He likes spinning the little wheels, over and over.

We read

His fave book, Superman to the Rescue, at least a few times a day.

Moo, Baa, La La La


















Touch and Feel books

Eric Carle books

Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?

Where is Baby's Belly Button?

He is allowed to

Push the buttons to open and close the garage door, for crosswalks, and in elevators.

Turn the handle to open the door for Mama.

He wears

Size 12 month tops, or size 12 - 18 month everything else.

Long sleeves since it is getting cooler out, which he seems perplexed by since he's worn short sleeves for so long.  He bites at the sleeves when I first put them on and tries to pull them off, but is okay once I roll them for him.

He went

To Las Vegas at the beginning of the month.  He was a total doll on the plane, although he could not sit still for a single moment.  No crying though, so we were happy!  He slept in the hotel crib for his naps and at night, although he did get to sleep with Mama and Daddy the first night since he was a little freaked out by the new surroundings.  He went on the Strip, to the Las Vegas Discovery Museum, and got to meet lots of Daddy's friends (we went for a photography conference that Mike likes to go to each year).

He talks

All the time.  It's mostly gibberish, but we do get some good Mamas and Daddies every once in a while.


















He has

Three teeth - his front two bottom chompers and his left front tooth.

Less stranger anxiety than last month, thank goodness.  He still won't let most people hold him, but he doesn't freak out hardly at all around new people anymore, thank goodness.

He loves

Mama's keys.

Mama's chapstick.

Daddy - he is super obsessed with Mike and won't leave his side each night once Mike gets home from work. Heart melted.


















Riding in shopping carts and sitting in high chairs.

Pretzel sticks.

Drinking water from a straw.

Sesame Street.

Superman to the Rescue! book

Phones, like Mama's iPhone and the house phone.

Pushing buttons (literally, not figuratively).

Climbing on people.

Pulling wipes out of wipe tubs and tissues out of tissue boxes.


















He hates

Getting his face wiped off after meals.

When Daddy leaves for work.

He is

The love of our lives and our little ray of sunshine.

Modeling his new bike helmet so he can go on rides with Daddy. 

Ethan at Nine Months

Little boy is a whopping nine months! I cannot believe we are three quarters of the way through his first year.  Here's the monthly update on our little super baby.


He can:

Stand up.  Which he does all the time.  On every single possible thing imaginable.  Even the toilet, which Mama explained is not a toy. Super, super gross. ;)

Cruise.  E will move along the couches, his crib, his pack and play, the tv stand, and most other objects that he can hold with his hands and move along.  I have to admit, it is pretty cute to watch him on the baby monitor cruising along the rim of his crib, and to see his little hands reaching out to grab onto that next object.

Walk, with his push walker, independently.  He will pull up on his walker to standing, and then push it around the living room.  He doesn't go all over the place yet, and isn't super fast, but he can definitely do it.  So far we've gotten about 15 steps or so at a time, and this is all by himself with me across the room.  He'll also push his other walker (the one he is supposed to sit in) around the kitchen, totally not using it how he's supposed to, but that's okay.  He even still beeps the little horn, ha.




















Wave.  Although it's not directly to people and not at the right times, he can do it.  He mostly chooses to wave at ceiling fans and lights, go figure.  He is getting better at waving back when we wave to him, although at this point he still doesn't wave to people when we're out and about.


Blow raspberries and bubbles like a champ.  If it were an Olympic sport, he would win gold medal, for sure.  It cracks us up to hear him in his carseat (and everywhere else!) just blowing raspberries to himself for minutes on end.


Climb stairs.  This isn't new, he could do this last month, but he's gotten good at it to the point where it is easy for him and one of his favorite things to do.

Dance.  Hilarious!  He'll bounce up and down while listening to music or if I tap out a beat.  We were rocking out to "Blurred Lines" just today! Lol.


Use his sippy cup by himself.  Love it!

He has:

Two teeth!  The bottom left tooth sprouted at the beginning of the month, and just last week the bottom right tooth popped through.  So cute!  He handled teething like a champ, too, with only a day of minimal fussing before each tooth.

Some stranger anxiety, which bums us out.  He doesn't like it when new people try to hold him (some people go better than others), and if someone he doesn't know sits in the back seat of the car with him he freaks out.  He definitely likes knowing Mike and I are nearby.

A bit of a cold, poor boy.  Full on congestion in his nose, alternating between stuffy and super runny, and a bit of a cough.

He eats:

About 12 - 20 ounces of solid food a day, supplemented with bottles.  He likes any flavor puree pouch we give him, and loves key lime flavored Greek yogurt (although he'll eat any flavor except the orange creamsicle and blueberry).  Our typical feeding schedule is bottle in the morning, a Greek yogurt for a mid-morning snack, bottle for lunch, a pouch for an afternoon snack, a bottle and 1 - 2 pouches for dinner, and then a small bottle before bed.  I can't even say what his favorite flavors are because he'll eat all of them with no problem and doesn't really show a preference.

He still does not like anything chunky in texture, although we are making progress in this area.  He will chew on orange wedges, pickles, asparagus, chicken, and cucumbers.  I'm not sure how much he's actually swallowing, although he is getting some.  He gets the most of the orange wedges, for sure - he can chew off and swallow most of the flesh.  I'm just super happy he's willing to put those things in his mouth and actually seems interested in "eating" them.  He also eats guacamole, refried beans, and some chicken and stars soup.  We're getting there, slowly but surely!

He sleeps:

Through the night, as per usual.  He goes to bed between 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm (closer to 9:30 is the norm) and then sleeps until anywhere from 5:30 am to 6:30 am, wakes for a bottle, and then goes back to bed until around 8:00 am.  Last month I thought he was weaning himself from that early morning feeding since he would skip it every other night or so, but we're back on them now.  Growth spurt maybe?  We only skipped one or two of them the whole month this time.

On his belly mostly, with his butt up in the air.  He now will sometimes sleep on his side, too.

With a bib clutched in his hand and twilight turtle on.

He wears:

Size 12 month mostly, although he can still fit some size 9 month t-shirts.  He's all stocked up for the fall and winter with size 12 - 18 month clothes, which should last awhile.

He went:

To Los Angeles for a weekend!  The flight out did not go well, he was so tired and couldn't get comfortable, so he cried for about 20 minutes.  The flight home went great, he fell asleep on Mike and slept the entire way home.  He had fun crawling around and exploring the hotel room, and went all over the city.  He did great being off of his normal schedule, although really he goes with us everywhere so this wasn't too different.  Our little jet setter has already been on two flights, and we have another one coming up before his first birthday!


He plays:

With his activity table, he loves, loves, loves it.

With his push walker and his sit-in walker.  I have to mention, when he is in his sit-in walker, he actually turns the steering wheel, beeps the horn, and when he backs up, he looks behind him and puts his arm over the back, just like he is going in reverse in a real car.  I kid you not, it is hysterical to watch.

With his wooden puzzle toys.

With his play tunnel, although his favorite thing to do is go under it.


















At Gymboree every Friday.  We switched to the music class.  Of course we love it, we get to dance and sing!

Peek-a-boo with Mama and Daddy, although he is the one who lifts the blanket over his face and lowers it down, over and over.  So.stinking.cute!

With any door that will open, such as cabinet doors, buffet doors, built in doors, the doors on our media table, dresser drawers, etc.  He'll sometimes even pull things out, if anything strikes his fancy.

He loves:

Mama's keys.

The inside of the refrigerator.

Standing, cruising, climbing, and being active.

Yogurt.

Twilight turtle.

Sitting in highchairs.

Sitting in shopping cart seats.

Roughhousing with Daddy.

When Mama makes funny faces or animal noises.

Exploring.

He hates:

Getting his nose cleaned or getting his face wiped off after meals.  Nothing even compares to this, it is like pure torture for him.

Staying still.

The ice machine on our fridge, the one where you get ice from the door.  If he is in his walker he'll actually zoom away from the noise.  It totally freaks him out.

He is:

The best, sweetest, most adorable, loving, and wonderful baby a Mama and Daddy could ask for!