Signing

I've been teaching Ethan to sign for several months now and it's so neat to see him really understand what he's saying. I think the 1st thing I taught him was the sign for milk. I'd show him his bottle and then show him the sign and after a while he'd repeat the sign, but I never really knew he got it until one morning after he got up he started doing the sign for milk and when he saw his bottle he'd get really excited. One day, he saw me pumping and then did the milk sign to me, I about fell off my chair laughing, but he was absolutely right!! (Obviously, that was a several months ago). Anyway, he now knows the sign for "more" and "drink" and "eat" and I think it's so cute! Today, I was blowing bubbles for him and was about to put them away when he started doing the "more" sign so I'd blow a few more and the second I would slow down he'd do the sign again! Verbally, he's not saying much more then "Momma and Dadda", although I think he's trying to say Daisi now. He'll point or wave to her and it sounds like Dye, Dye or sometimes Dizzy. And we're not sure, but we think Grandma Bonnie maybe "Nanna" hard to tell, but we'll keep ya posted!

Busted!

Ethan LOVES to empty drawers and cupboards now! Here he is emptying "his" tupperware drawer!

Tantrums Already?!

I'm not sure, but I think my strong-willed little guy is starting to show his "will" now. The newest thing he's doing is, what I call, head-banging. If he doesn't get what he wants in the high-chair (of if we can't seem to figure it out), he throws his head back against the chair or he'll hit his head with hand! He'll also throws his head into me if I pick him up from whatever he's doing and he's not ready to stop. I've already gotten a nice fat lip! The other night, I'm not sure if he just wasn't ready to go to bed or what, but he was almost completely inconsolable! He wanted me to hold him and the minute I'd pick him up, he pushed me away. I'd sit him back on the floor and he'd bang his head on the floor (all the while screaming), then come over reaching for me to hold him and it went on like this for at least 15 - 20mins. I thought maybe his teeth were bothering him or he had an ear ache or something, so I gave him a dose of Motrin, which he took w/o any trouble, but as soon as we got back in his room, it started all over again. I finally thought he was just going to have to cry himself to sleep. But when I put him in his crib, he stood up and started hitting his head on the crib! It was so loud I could hear it in the kitchen! Finally, about 40mins later he was so tired from screaming that he crawled in my lab and almost instantly fell asleep. Every night since then he's been fine to put to bed (thank goodness). I really don't like this new thing and I'm not sure if it's a tantrum-type thing or phase or what to think of it! If it is, I hope he outgrows fast! He's also discovered grinding his teeth....ahhh! I can't stand it! I try not to make a big of it when he does it, but sometimes I can't help it! Anyway, that's what's new and that's my new stressers!

My Little Dutch Boy!

As promised, here are some pictures from Tulip Time and Ethan as a little Dutch Boy - minus the wooden shoes! We did get some wooden shoes for him, but not in time for the day we went down there! Oh well, he pulled them off right away anyway! He actually kept his hat on all day, which was really surprising.

Off with the shoes!

That's what he REALLY thinks about his Dutch Costume!

Ethan and Grandma Sue!

The eyelids were getting pretty heavy here, I thought he wasn't going to make it to the parade.

But then the parade started and he loved the bands!

He was clapping, kicking and laughing!

Sorry it took me forever to post these. My computer is wicked old and seems to work when it wants to, plus it takes me like 15 years to upload images!! Anyway, bear with me. Hope it was worth the wait!!

I thought it was April Showers!

Hello everyone! (if there's anyone that still checks my blog that is!) I'm sorry it's been forever since I've blogged! It's not that I didn't have anything to say, my hold up was that I wanted to upload pictures with my entry and I can't seem to make that happen at the moment so I guess you'll have to wait on those, but I'll post some soon....I promise! Let's see, Ethan is really getting into everything now! He loves to stand up on, well, everything! Some of new fav's are pulling open my drawers in the kitchen and emptying them all out, standing up on the TV and then banging on it as hard as he can (Daddy especially loves it when he does that!), putting toys on the end-tables and banging on them, and pushing anything/everything around that he can; cups, spoons, bowls, cars, the entire dog tray is his favorite - it's so cute! Last night he was standing up in the bathroom holding onto the closet door buck naked and dancing his little heart out, oh I wish I would have had the video camera at that moment, I just laughed! Little things like that I hope are forever burned in my memory.

Last week we braved the crouds and impossible parking and headed to Tulip Time! This is something for the past several years I have avoided at all costs. I guess I needed a break after being part of it for most of my life! Anyway, my mom and I went down on Thur for the children's parade. We took some pictures of my little Dutch Boy in the Tulips at Central Park and then went down-town for a junk food lunch. Mom and I ate at Subs and More ( I know, not a vender, but it sounded good) and Ethan didn't really want much to with what we were having so we got him a corn dog from one of the venders and he really liked that! Then we ran into a friend from work, Julie, and her family in front of their family's store. They invited us to watch the parade with them, they had some spots reserved. I wasn't sure we were going to make it to the parade b/c that's usually when Ethan's napping, and for a while I thought he was going to zonk out in his stroller. He came close, but when the parade started he got his second wind and just loved it! He was clapping and rocking back and forth to the bands, it was really fun to watch him. (Here's where I would have included the pictures....)

I guess that's all for now, I can't wait for the weather to cooperate so we can do some more exploring outside!!

So Many Things...

I know I am probably the most boring blogger ever, but oh well - I really do try! This week has been super busy with Ethan! This is my long stretch off of work and what a terrible week of weather we've had to be off, huh?!! On Monday and Tuesday we went to Tunnel Park to play in the late mornings. Ethan LOVED the swing!! He was too little last year, so all this stuff is new to us! He just kicked his legs and giggled. Then I put him down in the sand and started pooring sand over his bare feet and onto his legs. At first, he just sat there as still as can be with hands in the air and wouldn't touch the sand. I was a little worried for a minute, but then he finally reached down and touched it and then it was all over! He was picking up handfulls and dumping on his lap, his head, me. It was really neat to watch him discover something new. Fortunately for us, we have a sandbox at our house....although it doesn't look much like a sand box anymore! It's been a little neglected and Derek needs to do a some repairs to it. I cleaned it out, but we are also in need of some fresh new sand!

Ethan also started pulling himself up to his feet now over the past couple weeks. It was just a couple times that I saw him do it before this week, but since he's been bare foot, he's been pulling himself up on EVERYTHING! I can't believe how quickly he got it! Yesterday, he even took a few steps along Grandma Bonnie's dresser and over to her chair and along our couch too! We're in big trouble I'm affraid! I caught him pulling himself up on my ladder shelves the other day too, I'm so glad I made Derek attach those to the walls! This morning he was throwing a bunch of his toys in the bathtub and then pulling himself up to look at them, then he points at them and says "eh, eh" until I take them all back out again. Well today, I guess I didn't pull them out fast enough for him and went to reach for them and took a header in the tub! I was right there too, and it was so fast that I couldn't catch him before he went in!! I think it scared both of us more then anything, but I just feel terrible when things like that happen! I think I need a helmet! Anyone know where I can get a small enough helmet?

Germs

Well, since becoming a mom I have DEFINITELY become more aware of germs. I'm still no Marcy, but I'm definitely working on it! However, me and my infinite wisdom of being a mom for a whole year now, had to come to the conclusion that there's just so much you can do. My attitude adjusted since Ethan started crawling...I have 2 long-haired dogs remember! I have to vaccume almost every day to keep up with them and still I was constantly washing his hands after I saw dog hair or dirt on them, but now I just wash them before he eats and if I see them go in his mouth (if I see them is the key word). The reason I had to write about germs today is because I caught him LICKING the slider today!! You may wonder why I flipped out. Well, my dogs are Cocker Spaniels so their slobber is right at his level! He didn't pick a clean area to "lick" either, he of course was licking right where the dogs slobber and dirty paws have smudged the glass. Fortunatly, I had just cleaned it last week, but still....YUCK! After thinking about my little "window licker" (I hate to call him that!), I realized...he's a BOY and I'm sure he's going to put much worse things in his mouth, but hopefully I won't see it!