My Handsome Boy

I couldn't help snapping a few pictures of Ethan after church today. He looked so handsome in his new sweater!

Ethan has done surprisingly well with the Christmas tree. It took him at least a full 24 hours to get anywhere near it - he just looked at it from afar. Now he's getting a bit more curious (and daring) and wants to explore with his hands, rather than just his eyes. But when he starts reaching for it, usually a simple 'no-no, Ethan," works. He's learning those words quite well these days! We really want Ethan to learn self-control, right from wrong, all those good things. So instead of just removing all the temptations around the house (like a pretty Christmas tree!), we want him to learn that some things are not for touching. We'll see how that goes!

And some extra Saturday fun - who know laundry baskets were so entertaining???

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving with Lonnie's family. I know this is WAY too many pictures, but they're just too cute!


Hmmm...Thanksgiving in Michigan/Indiana never looks like this:

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends!

Entertainment

In our hunt for things to entertain Ethan today, we found an unopened toy from one of our baby showers. Our lucky day! It served for good entertainment for Ethan, and possibly even more for us! We loved watching him chase that tractor around. Even more entertaining is watching him get distracted by the doorstop, which is apparently more exciting than any toy. Enjoy! :)

House Arrest

AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! We're going stir crazy around here!!! You can only play with the same toys over and over again for so long. So we've had to come up with new ways to entertain our sick, fussy boy.

The next best thing to playing outside:

(oh, and in case you were wondering, sick boy=Mommy doesn't have to take a shower or put on real clothes all day)

Next best thing to taking a walk outside:

Ethan's fever has been better today - we've only done Tylenol a couple of times. He's just super cranky - you can tell he just does NOT feel well. He's not eating well or napping well, either. But I think the end may be near. He definitely slept better last night. Hopefully he'll be back to his normal self soon so he can enjoy his first Thanksgiving!

Any ideas on how to keep us from going stir crazy until then?

Poor Baby!

We ended up taking Ethan to the walk-in clinic this afternoon. The Tylenol/Ibuprofin combo wasn't working anymore to take his fever down. Turns out he has an ear infection. The doctor was also concerned about Ethan's wheezing and did an X-ray to be sure he didn't have pneumonia (which he didn't). After 2 1/2 hours, we left with an antiobiotic for the ear infection, and a steriod and inhaler for the wheezing. Let me tell you, trying to give an inhaler to a 9 month old is quite an experience.
We are praying for a VERY quick recovery. The last 24 hours have been very trying, to say the least. We are completely exhausted, both physically and emotionally. It's so hard seeing him so miserable. He's been a diffferent child the last two days. We're hoping for our sweet, loving, smiley baby boy back soon!
(Thanks Jenny and Rachel for all your advice)

Sick Boy

We got a call from daycare around 4:25 yesterday afternoon saying Ethan had a temperature of 102 degrees. Ironic, since I was at home sick, too (puking, not a fever). Luckily, Lonnie was only about 5 minutes away from picking him up anyways. After getting some Tylenol in him, he did okay most of the evening (paranoid me though, of course had to have Rachel come over and check him out). We've had to keep Tylenol in him all day today, too. His fever keeps creeping back. On top of his fever, he has a HORRIBLE cough and drippy nose. Poor baby.

It's been a long day! Lonnie had to work, so luckily I was feeling better and could take care of Ethan (but that didn't keep me from calling Lonnie about 20 times asking when he was coming home!). He's been really cranky this evening, and we actually just put him down at 6:00.

Lonnie enjoyed some extra cuddly time with his little man yesterday after picking him up.

We're hoping for a good night's sleep for Ethan (and us!) and that he'll feel better soon! We can't stand seeing him feel so crummy.

Nine Month Stats and Teeth Pictures

Ethan had his nine-month check-up this afternoon. He weighed 21.6 pounds, which puts him around the 60th percentile. (He's really slowed down on his weight - I think he's starting to thin out a bit.) He was 28 1/2 inches long, which is around the 55th percentile. Here are his monthly pictures:

One month:

Four months:
Nine months:


And yea! Ethan finally let me get a picture of his two teeth. Lovely picture, I know, but hey, you can see his teeth!

Ethan's Buddies

Have I mentioned how much I love our Life Group? We were SOOO excited to have Carl, Crystal, and Camden join us this week. I took WAY too many pictures, as usual.


Four out of five babies looking at the camera isn't too bad!

Awwww...Peyton and Ethan bonding...

Boys and their racecar book - they shared so well!

I think Ethan is going to be WAY more popular than I ever was (which, surprise, surprise, isn't that hard to accomplish). :)

Nine Months Old

Wow...nine months! As much as I want to be sappy, I think I'll save you all from that and just stick to the facts. Here's what our little man has been up to this month:

• Crawling around like crazy
• Pulling up on everything
• Getting into everything - doorstops, cords, etc.
• Spitting while eating - VERY frustrating for Mom and Dad!!!
• Learning the word 'no' (due to the afore mentioned items)
• Reading - he loves touch and feel books and books with sound
• Clapping
• Waving
• Talking - he's started saying dada, along with the /g/ and /n/ sounds, and saying 'brmmm, brmmmm,' all day long!
• Growing teeth - 2 within one week!
• Watching Mom and Dad cook - he loves sitting in his Bumbo seat on the counter and watching us (I know that's not safe, but I promise we watch him closely)

I hope to get his pictures and measurements tomorrow. We tried tonight, but he will NOT lay down long enough to be measured and have his picture taken.

Tooth Number Two!

That's right - Ethan is now the proud owner of two bottom teeth! He was more fussy than usual last night and woke up several times during the night screaming - we could definitely tell he was in pain. But after a couple bouts of rocking, singing, milk and Tylenol, he finally fell slept the rest of the night. So this morning I checked his gums, and sure enough - tooth number two! He's been happy as can be today. I think he's proud of his accomplishment. :)

Trying to get a picture of it is VERY hard, though, but I'll post one when I get one!

Red Lobster

Back to our weird Lamp tradition...grand openings! We made it to the grand opening of Red Lobster yesterday. Lonnie got there early and scored us a huge table in a little room by itself, which was just perfect for us. Luckily Rachel is home on her Fall break from school, so she was able to pick up Ethan from daycare for us and meet us there. It was delicious! You just can't beat their cheesy garlic biscuits! (I ate WAY too many)

And just a random picture from bath time tonight. Our boy needs a haircut!

Oh, and how could I forget? ETHAN GOT HIS FIRST TOOTH!!!! (That's right, nine months old and finally getting his first tooth.) We noticed it on Sunday. I've been dreading the whole teething thing because I've heard so many horror stories of endless screaming, but Ethan handled it like a man! Looking back, I guess he was a little bit more fussy than usual, but not bad at all. We've tried getting a picture, but you know how hard that is. I'll post one once I get one! :)

Fall Leaves

Since the backyard is COMPLETELY covered in leaves, we thought we'd let Ethan do some exploring and playing in the leaves. Unfortunately, the wind was bitterly cold, so it only lasted a couple of minutes (long enough to get a few good pictures). Ethan didn't really know what to think of the leaves. He pretty much sat there and, of course, tried to eat them.

If anyone has an urge to rake some leaves, feel free to come on over! :)

I Love My "Dada"

Quite a Busy Week!

So, Ethan just said "da da" for the first time yesterday. Then he started pulling up today. I can't believe all the new stuff he's done in the past week: crawling, waving, clapping, saying "da da," pulling up. Holy cow!
(this post is really just for me so I'll remember all that)

But I know it's not nice to post without a picture, so I'll leave you with a picture from the Bender's Halloween party. We tried to get as many of the babies together as possible, and this is the BEST picture we got:

Growing Up (sorry, a little sappy)

I was watching Ethan play with his little activity table this afternoon and it hit me how grown up he is. He will just stand there and play and play and play - all on his own. And Lonnie and I have both noticed that since he's started crawling, he's so much more content with just playing by himself. Sure, he still loves to talk to us and play with us, but it's hitting me that he's growing up into his own little person!

Look at how big he is!

And then, just one hour later, we put Ethan down for his nap. A few minutes after that we hear pounding on his wall. We walk into his room and see him sitting up, pounding on the wall. Then he gave us the biggest grin, like he's saying, "Look what I can do!" He's never sat up in his crib before. It freaked me out a little - he was practically dangling his head over the side. So needless to say, the nap got postponed while Lonnie lowered his crib. I had meaning ask Lonnie to do that for awhile, but I guess there was no sense of urgency! Ha!

My baby's growing up!