Sprinkler Fun

Since it was so warm today, we decided to try out Ethan's new sprinkler (the pool is still WAY too cold). This was a first for Ethan, so he was naturally a bit skeptical. I think after a few more tries, he might like it! He did take his hand and splash in the water a bit.

Other stuff going on...

-Ethan's starting saying a few more words. When I ask him what a cow says, he says 'moo'! (well, like 30% of the time). He can also say quack, bear, bubbles, and shoe (which sounds more like Jew or dew).

-He's been MUCH more happy lately. Just the occasional crankiness now. I think it may have been in part to his allergy medicine. He's been much more "agreeable" since he stopped taking it.

-He's been having some other sort of allergic reaction the last few days. He's been getting red rash-like spots all over his body. The spots get red with a white spot in the middle, kind of like when you first get a mosquito bite and it swells up a bit. Friday was the worst it's been and daycare even called us because they were concerned. Today has been better. It's so strange - it comes and goes and we have no idea why. He woke up with weird spots, mostly on his face, both yesterday and today, but they go away shortly after getting up. Then today they've popped up in one spot, then disappeared 10 minutes later. Then they pop up in a new spot, disappear, and so on. But, it hasn't seemed to bother him at all, so I need to stop worrying. But, at the same time, it's definitely not normal!

-He has two obsessions: bears and shoes (which is why he can now say both words). He has 3 bears that he sleeps with and he LOVES to cuddle with them (see picture below). He also loves his shoes - he will carry them around the house and ask us to put them on him.

-He is GREAT at cleaning up! We were working in the nursery at church on Sunday and we had around 7 kids, all older than Ethan. When it was time to clean up, Ethan was the ONLY ONE to help out! I was so proud of him.

That's what we're up to lately. Only two more days of school! (with kids, then 2 more without kids.) Sooooooooooo excited for Friday!

I'll leave you with my sweet, snuggly boy!

This is TOOOO funny!

Fifteen Months

Ethan had his 15 month check-up today. It couldn't have come at a better time, since we had a lot of questions for the doctor! Ethan just hasn't been himself since this allergy flare-up two weeks ago. Once we started using Zyrtec, his symptoms got better, but they've gotten worse again the last couple of days. And a baby that doesn't feel good equals CLINGY, CLINGY, CLINGY!!!!!! But that's beside the point. So our doctor gave us some Singulair to try the next few days, in addition to the Zyrtec. He seemed kind of surprised to hear that Ethan's been dealing with allergies so young. He said most kids aren't affected by allegies until they've been exposed to it 2-3 times (meaning 2-3 allergy seasons). But I know several babies that are on allergy medicine, so who knows! But he said that once Ethan turns two we can do the "official" allergy test and find out exactly what he's allergic to. Oh, how I remember that test! Can't imagine how a two year old will handle it!
We've also wondered if Ethan had another ear infection, and the doctor said his ears didn't look good, but they weren't quite ear infections. (maybe in our future?)

SOOOOOO... let's pray that this new allergy medicine will help and Mr. Crankypants can become my sweet boy again!

Ethan's 15 month stats:
Weight: 26 pounds (70th percentile)
Height: 31.5 inches (60th percentile)

What Ethan's up to these days:

• Climbing! He can independently climb up the rock wall on our playset, independently climb up the stairs of our deck, and is getting pretty good at going down the steps using the rails, but he still needs an extra hand to hold onto.
• Talking - no huge gains, but is starting to repeat words a little more. Words he's repeated - Grandma, Grandpa, diaper, water, Keira, amen. Words he actually says on his own - ball, Mama, Dada, moo (new one!), uh-oh, thank you, no-no. (Not a huge talker, as you can see!)
• Playing hide and seek, peekaboo, and doing ANYTHING outside - the boy loves the outdoors!
• Cleaning up - he will now help pick up bath toys after his bath and his other toys before bedtime. Yea!
• Sorting shapes - we have one of those shape sorters, and he can put the shapes in almost independently! Sometimes he needs help knowing where to put them, but if I point to it, he can put it in all by himself.
• Recognizing people - he knows most of the important people in our lives. He can't say their names, but if I ask "Where's Aunt Rachel?" he'll turn and look until he finds her. People I know for sure that he recognizes - us, of course, Rachel, Curt, Cade, Keira, Dustin, Joanna, Lexi, Logan, Grandma, Grandpa.
• Dieting - ha! That's my positive spin on him not eating well. Some days, the boy wouldn't eat a thing if it weren't for cereal bars and raisins. Other days, he scarfs down whatever we give him. I've learned it's really not about what we feed him, it's more about his attitude at the moment.
• Testing the limits - whew! We've learned he doesn't care about the words "no-no." Let's just say we've had some very frustrating moments at our house lately! Mainly at feeding times - he loves to throw food on the floor, pound on his tray, and spit out food. It's soooo hard, because I think you all know how much I want our children to be well-mannered, kind children (because of all the kids I have at school that are NOT that way!). I just didn't think we'd be dealing with this kind of stuff so soon! I also thought that I would know what to do when stuff like this happens, and I don't! But we'll make it...

I guess that's about it. We're gearing up for lots of fun this summer! Public library, Gymboree, pool, HERE WE COME!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Little Monkey

I never in a million years would have thought that my FIFTEEN MONTH OLD BABY would be able to do this!!!!! He can climb up the rock wall, get on the platform, and go down the slide ALL BY HIMSELF!!! Holy cow!

Splish Splash

Ethan has finally figured out how to TRULY splash in the bathtub. He's splashed before, but nothing like this! This video was taken after he had already been vigorously splashing and laughing hysterically for at least 5 minutes, so he's starting to slow down a bit. But it's still funny! (It's a little long, so don't feel like you have to watch the whole thing!)

Where's your Belly???

Dear Grandpa Willis...

Why did you have to pass on your allergies to me? I'd rather not have puffy, red, runny eyes! I look like I'm crying all the time, but I'm not! And I don't like the drippy nose and constant sneezing. But it's okay, Grandpa...I still love you!

Love,
Ethan

P.S. Mom's not that happy about the allergies you gave her, either.

This picture does NOT truly capture how miserable Ethan looks. He's had red, puffy, watery eyes all weekend, but I almost didn't recognize him when I picked him from daycare today. His eyes were so swollen! The ladies at daycare said he was not himself today at all. After getting a quick consult from nurse/soon-to-be pharmacist Aunt Rachel, we headed to the pharmacy to get some allergy medicine. Hopefully that will kick in soon!

(Oh, and of course he also fell and whacked his head on the concrete this evening and got a HUGE goose egg, so he REALLY looks like a mess now!)

Pearly Whites

We finally got around to getting Ethan a big boy toothbrush. We had still been using the baby kind that you put on your finger. He LOOOOOOVES watching us brush our teeth, so I knew he'd love having a real toothbrush of his own. And I was right! He cried when I took it away after we were finished. If you know me very well at all, you know I like clean teeth! So having a boy that loves to brush makes me so proud!!!!

***Oh, and our tooth count is suddenly up to seven! We noticed another one on the bottom today. So now he has four on the bottom and three on the top.

Daredevil

Ethan has suddenly become Mr. Daredevil. He refuses to sit on his tricycle anymore - only standing or squatting. He surprisingly has not hurt himself yet! (small falls only...)

Dancin' Girl

I had the pleasure of going to Keira's dance recital this afternoon. It was sooooo fun and soooo cute! Keira looked absolutely adorable and did a great job! I'm working on getting a video up - Blogger is finicky with videos sometimes. (I hope it works because you all need to see how much Keira looks like me in the video - it's almost scary! It's like she's my child, not Rachel's!) Way to go, Keira!




Check out Rachel's blog later for pictures of Keira in action. During the actual recital, I did the video on my camera and Rachel took the pictures with hers.

Dancin' Girl ~ Video!!!

Okay, is that not me????