Sick boy...

Ethan's come down with a little bit of a cold. :( He has a cough that sounds like he's been smoking 5 packs a day for the last 30 years, and he's been snorting like a little piggy. It's so sad!!! We went to the doctor just to be sure there wasn't anything else we could be doing to help Ethan feel better. Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do for an infant with a cold. We bought a new humidifer for his room and have put his crib mattress on an incline. Hopefully he'll get to feeling better soon!

Oh, and Ethan got weighed at the doctor's office - he weighs 10.5 pounds. What a big boy!

(These pictures are actually from a few days ago, so they don't really match the post, but they're too cute not to post! And ignore the blotchy complexion - our camera's been doing weird things lately, and making everyone have blotchy skin!)

Ethan's Role Models

It is so comforting to know that these are some of the male role models that Ethan will have as he is growing up to be a man...
(in case you can't tell - that would be Daddy and Uncle Dustin)

Can you sense my sarcasm???? Luckily, Ethan was sleeping and didn't see what was going on outside. :)

So here's the story...

We decided that we needed to cut back some of the limbs so we can have more sun shining on the pool in the summer. At the end of last summer, Lonnie tried to do this on his own by putting a six foot ladder on top of the picnic table (visualize that, if you will). Since that didn't work, we were going to borrow Dustin's scissor lift. But it was broken, so the boys decided to just use the tractor, by standing in the bucket.

Isn't it encouraging to know that these men will be around to help Ethan know right from wrong as he's maturing into manhood????

All I can say is this...

I'm glad Shad wasn't there! Who knows what kind of trouble they could've gotten themselves into with ALL three Lamp boys conspiring together. (and we all know Shad's the true trouble maker anyway)

Here's the great ending to the story - after cutting down one limb, they decided maybe this wasn't the safest way to cut down the limbs, so they're going to wait until the scissor lift is fixed and use that. Ha!

**And in case you're wondering about the trashcans in the pictures - they're there to protect the plants from falling limbs.

Quality Time

Ethan is 6 weeks old today!!!! Here are some pictures of Ethan enjoying some quality time with some of his favorite people...

*Daddy...

*Mommy...

*Cousin Caden...

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS PICTURES...

*The lone Easter picture... (oops! we only took one picture all day long)

*Assuming the sleeping position...

*Cutie patootie!

*Practicing karate...

We've had a pretty good week here. I've worked really hard to get Ethan on a better schedule. He'd been doing great at the 3-hour schedule, but it was never at the same time each day, which made it hard for planning anything. So we've started our day at 7am each day this week, and it has helped so much! Now I know that every day at 7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm, 7pm, and 10pm, I am sitting in the recliner feeding Ethan. Then I can plan my outings around that. Of course, I'm not letting it control us - if I need to be out, then I'll bottle feed him while we're out. But since he's been doing so great with his feeding schedule, I can usually count on him to eat (45 minutes), play, (30-45 minutes), and sleep (90 minutes), on each rotation, which allows me to plan my errands and whatnot. Babywise also says this should help him sleep through the night sooner, so cross your fingers! We're not even close yet. He still wakes every 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours, but he almost always goes right back to sleep, so I can't complain too much!

That's about it for us. My parents will be here on Saturday for my Mom's Spring Break, so I'm sure Ethan will get spoiled in the upcoming days! Ethan is very excited to meet his Grandpa for the first time, and to show his Grandma how much he's grown since she was here last!

Smiley Face and Tummy Time

Ethan has learned to smile!!!! He actually started doing it a couple of weeks ago, but he is doing it a lot more frequently now. I've learned that first thing in the morning is his best time of day (just like his momma!). After his morning feeding, we read books and sing together (well, mostly just me, but he'll join in eventually!). That's when I get the best smiles out of him. I've had a hard time capturing his smiles, but I finally learned to hide the camera behind the book and sneak it up to take a picture. I love this time of day! We usually do that for about an hour before he's ready to go back to sleep.

Enjoy my smiley boy!!!!

We also have tummy time first thing in the morning. His neck muscles are getting SOOOO strong!!!! He still bobs his head around, but I can tell he's gaining a lot more control.

(I just got some GREAT pictures of Ethan having tummy time on Daddy's tummy, but I'll have to post those another day.)

One month old

My, how time flies. I cannot believe my sweet baby boy is already a month old!!!! It's amazing how much he has changed already. He has begun to smile (when he feels like it - not when we do something to try and get a smile out of him), he holds his head up quite well, he is becoming more alert and interested in his surroundings (including the TV when it's on), he is certainly beginning to "fill out" (double chin, chunky thighs, chubby cheeks), he loves to read with me, he will sometimes go 4 hours in between feedings at night time (which we LOVE!!!!), and is the BEST cuddler in the whole wide world! (just ask Aunt Rachel).



We weighed him on our scale the other day and he weighed 10 pounds! Holy cow! We were so concerned about his weight the first week so we fed him as much as he would take, and now it's hard to stop him!



The past week has been a little rough. I had been so proud of the great sleeper that Ethan was, until this week. I guess he decided that sleeping at night is not a priority in his life right now, and gave it up. For about 5 or 6 nights in a row, he was up about every 30 minutes at night. He'd go to sleep, then wake up screaming 20-30 minutes later (and, of course, we knew he was fed, burped, changed, and should be content). So we'd get up, put his pacifier back in, then he'd fall back asleep. For 30 minutes. Then I'd get up and rock him and he'd fall back asleep - for 30 minutes. Anyways, you get the picture. Thankfully, we got a little break yesterday. Our friends Alan and Melissa came over around lunch time so Lonnie and I could go on a lunch date/sanity check. After that, we dropped off Ethan at Lonnie's parents house and we went home to take a nap. Wow, was that needed! Then all of a sudden last night, he decided to sleep again. He slept for 4 hours, then woke up to eat (although he stayed up for another hour), then went back to sleep for another 3 hours. It was wonderful!!!!

Rachel is going to give us another break tonight. She's going to do the night shift for us and let us sleep ALL NIGHT LONG!!! Yea for sisters!!!! I just hope Ethan decides to sleep for her - I'd feel really guilty if Rachel's up all night long. (But she does owe me - I did that for her when Caden was just a few days old - yikes!)

But during the day, Ethan is great! We're getting into a pretty good routine of eating, waketime/playtime, and sleeping. And, as you know, he does great when we go out anywhere - he just sleeps the whole time.

We went to The Picture People on Friday night to get some one month portraits done of Ethan. You can see them at the following link:



http://smilestore.picturepeople.com/pn/tpp/claim?em=margaretiw@yahoo.com&acc=005bdca493

The password is 'ethanlamp'


At the bottom of this post are pictures of the frames that we bought - too cute!!!!





Here is Ethan at 1 day old:

Ethan at one month old: (oops - I didn't realize he was wearing the same outfit! How embarassing!)

Here are the frames we bought:

I LOVE this one!

A close up...

A close-close-up... Ethan has our wedding rings on his toes. :)

Best Buds

We were able to go visit Crystal and Camden this afternoon. These second-cousins had a blast together, can't you tell?

I think it is so awesome that these two get to grow up so close to each other (literally only streets away!). When I was growing up, my closest cousins were 7 hours away, with a whole bunch more all the way down in Florida that I hardly ever got to see and get to know. Ethan is SOOOO blessed to have so much family around. In fact, I think I'll do the math...

Within a 15 mile radius, Ethan has:

-4 cousins (Cade, Keira, Lexi, Logan)

-7 second-cousins (Camden, Dakota, Cassidy, Elizabeth, William, Josh, Garrett)

-2 aunts (Rachel, Joanna)

-3 uncles (Curt, Shad, Dustin)

-1 Grandma (Shirley)

-1 Grandpa (Danny)

-1 Great Grandpa (Carl)

-1 Great Grandma (Judy)

-2 Great Aunts (Betty, Bev)

-2 Great Uncles (Rick, Randy)

-10 First Cousins once removed {I had to Google that one! - (Cliff, Carl, Crystal, Danielle, Hannah, Derrick, Scott, Sandy, Christy, Ashley)

Wow!!!! (hope I didn't miss anyone)

Ethan got some special lovin' from his Great Aunt Laura...

While Camden got snuggle time with Great Aunt Betty.

How did Ethan react to a great day of family fun??? Zzzzzzzzz....

My new favorite picture....

Need I say more???????

Happy Birthday, Cousin!!!

Ethan had the priviledge of attending his very first birthday party on Saturday. Caden turned five years old (holy cow! where does time go????) and had an awesome party at Chuck E. Cheese. Look at how much fun Ethan had!!!!

That's right...he slept through it all. I think that his car seat is somehow connected to some sort of magical sleeping gas. He's out like a light the second he gets in it. (and no, I'm not complaining)

Happy Birthday, Caden!!!! Loved the party!

Ethan's new buddy

Ethan got to meet his brand new second-cousin today.

Camden Ryder King was born on March 5 at 8:35pm. He weighed 8 pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long. We're so glad you're here, Camden! We love you already!

Great job, Crystal! (see? no 10 pound baby! yea!)

Ethan got some snuggle time with Aunt Joanna at the hospital. He's showing off his big muscles!

Yesterday we made it to school for picture day (and yes, I was showered, make-uped, dressed, and EARLY!! We got there 30 minutes ahead of schedule!) And, big surprise, Ethan slept through the whole thing.

Sweet Faces

How could you not love this sweet, sweet boy????? What adorable faces he makes...

I'm a big boy!

Ethan had his 2-week check-up this morning.

He weighed 9 pounds, 1 ounce. Yippee!!!! It's good to know that he's getting what he needs. He was 21 1/4 inches long.

The doctor said Ethan looks great. We'll go back at 2 months for a check-up (and shots, yuck!).


We went to school this afternoon and Ethan sat through his first faculty meeting. He got passed from one person to the next, and enjoyed every minute of it. We'll go back to school Wednesday morning for picture day! Let's hope he cooperates, because I have to be picture-ready (meaning actually showered, hair done, make-up on, and not wearing pajamas) by 7:45am at the latest. Yikes! I'm hoping for a sleepy boy that morning.

Church, Round Two

Sorry it's been a long time...

I've realized there's not a whole lot to take pictures of these days. Either I'm feeding him (which no one wants pictures of) or he's asleep in his crib - nothing too exciting. But here are a few other moments I've captured in the last few days.



We got a great cousin picture this morning at church....

So what do you think - we've got the Willis genes and the Lamp genes. Who do you think Ethan takes after?

Ethan would NOT wake up to finish eating the other day, so we decided to give him a bath. Before we began, we had to test his new bathtub. Fits great!

And it doubles as a baby hammock...

As you can see, the bath didn't really wake him up. Still asleep (or half asleep)...

We actually had a little outing on Friday. The guys from church always get together for lunch on Fridays, so we decided to crash. Big surprise, Ethan slept through the whole thing.

I just think Ethan looks so cute in his crib. I LOVE going in to get him - you never know what you'll see!

I love this outfit on Ethan - it's newborn size (one of the only outfits that really fit him). BUT...he's outgrowing it!!! Look at his feet, when he stretches out, you can see that he's too long for it! Hard too believe. I can tell he weighs more, too. We go back to the doctor in the morning, so we'll see how much weight he's gained.