Ethan's turns 1!

I can't believe the day finally came when my precious baby boy turned 1 on December 4.  This year has flown by! It just seems like yesterday when Ethan entered this world and I had no clue what to do. We've come such a long way from nursing, to teaching him to eat, crawl, talk, sleep through the night & walk. And we're still working on the walking and talking thing. He hasn't gotten the confidence yet to walk on his own without holding our hands. As far as the talking goes, he basically just babbles in his own language right now. He does say mama and dadda but that's basically it. Oh and he definitely knows how to get his way when he wants it. It's amazing how they just figure that out. Yep, thinking back on this past year has really made me think how blessed I am to have just such a wonderful boy. And now I get to do it all over again! :)

For Ethan's birthday we had a small party with some friends and family members. We definitely had more people than I really anticipated but we all had a great time. Ethan didn't hesitate at all when it came to eating chocolate cake. He just dove right in like he was a natural. Ishmael even questioned me if I had given him chocolate before! It was a great day to visit with friends and family and to see Ethan's face light up when he opened his birthday presents! 

Oh and if you haven't heard, we're having another boy! So Ethan will get to have a brother to play with! I'm excited for him b/c I knew how much my brother really wanted to have a brother to do things that I wouldn't do with him....Which was a lot b/c we are complete opposites. But anyway, 2 boys! I'm going to need lots of prayer :)

11 months old

Where does the time go? I can't believe my baby boy is 11 months old today.  Ethan has changed so much in the past month that I can't imagine what new thing he's going to be doing next. He is pulling up on everything now and it'll be soon when he starts walking on his own. He loves to walk in his walker and especially with his daddy. He has started eating table food the best he can with only 3 teeth :) Recently he started eating bananas and the one day he wouldn't pick them up anymore so we let him bite the banana while we held it and that's the only way he'll eat it now. He's so funny how picky he is. He doesn't like for us to feed him baby food because I think he enjoys feeling all grown up by picking up his food. He has also discovered drinking out of a straw. The other day we were out to dinner and the waitress brought us our drinks and I forgot to order him one and he just went crazy. I had never seen him get so upset over something so minor. So we got him his own cup just so he could suck through the straw. While he was drinking, he started blowing through the straw and so this created a new thing for him. When we finally had to take it away from him b/c he was getting water everywhere he definitely through a fit. So I'm beginning to think the boy likes to have his way and if he doesn't get it, he's going to let us know. These are just some of the few things that make us love him so much more. I have to laugh when he goes through these stages because I know it's just his personality developing and that is just who he is. He is so special to us and I can't wait to see what new thing we get to experience next. 

Up before the crack of dawn!

So I am writing this post at 4:45 am in the morning. Crazy huh? Ethan woke up around 3:30 for his bottle as usual and so I got up, fixed it, gave it to him and went back to bed. Not too long afterwards, he started crying again. This is unusual because normally when we give him his bottle, he'll just go back to sleep. I went in his room and quickly made another bottle because I thought he just didn't get enough milk. I tried giving it to him but he just pushed it away. I picked him up and tried calming him down but no success. My only guess was that his teeth were bothering him. Eventually Ish came in the room because Ethan just wouldn't settle back down. So I changed him and Ish just talked to him and held him and he started to calm down. We layed him back in his crib and gave him his bottle again and he took it. Success! So we went back to bed. Well at this point it was about 4:30 and Ish and I were wide awake. We could still here Ethan moaning as he drank his bottle and was just waiting for him to fall back asleep. He then started talking and within seconds he was quiet. It was funny because Ish and I weren't really saying anything to each other because we were trying to go back to sleep. Finally Ish said he was wide awake and I was too. He decided to get up and go watch tv downstairs and I was going to force myself to fall back asleep. As soon as Ish turned to stair light on, Ethan sat up in his crib with excitement. Ish of course goes into his room to mess with him. At this point I am still in bed trying to go back to sleep and all I hear is Ethan laughing and babbling. I was starting to get mad because I had thought Ish woke him up and I guess he technically did by turning the light on. Well at this point I could tell there was no way Ethan was going to go back to sleep with all this excitement going on. So that led me to getting up and getting on the computer while Ish is entertaining Ethan downstairs. I can honestly say that this has never happened before and it is very strange to me. I guess I'm not too worried because I know he'd normally be waking up in a couple of hours anyways and it may be a good thing so that he can get an early nap in before we go to church. And usually he needs a nap before we go to church but it can be very difficult some Sundays. So maybe having him up at 4:45 in the morning might not be so bad afterall. Of course if I wasn't wide awake I'd be thinking differently. Happy sleeping everyone!

Life is full of changes

My little boy Ethan! He is just changing everyday...sometimes it's for the good, but there are times that I'm wondering what in the world is going on. Last week he went through this stage of not taking naps. It's like he just went on strike and refused to sleep in his crib. It was frustrating at times because you could tell that he was so tired and that he needed his rest. I was beginning to think that he was trying to cut out one of his naps, but then I was also thinking that maybe it was because he was teething and it was causing him to act like a different child. Who knows..but, this week has been a little better.
Teeth. Now that's an interesting story. I feel like Ethan has been teething for 6 months. For months I would see signs that he was teething but no teeth ever showed up. Finally at 10 months old he has started getting his first 2 teeth in. I was so excited because I have been waiting for them to come through for so long. BUT, those 2 teeth have been sitting in the same spot for like 3 weeks now. I thought that they would just pop on out and whala! but no, they haven't grown any and it seems it's taking forever. I just wish he would get his teeth in so he can start eating real food. He can chew a lot with his gums but there are just somethings that I know he won't be able to chew. So while most 10 month olds are eating chicken, noodles, pizza, etc. my baby is still eating smashed jar food. I just hope his teeth will come in by the time he turns a year old! At this rate, we may only have 2 teeth by then :)
On another exciting note, Ethan has started pulling himself up more. He's definitely getting more brave every time he does it. A couple of times he lets go and falls back and hits his head. And when he does, he lets you know that he is not happy! I guess he hasn't figured out that he has to hold on to things in order to stay standing. It's definitely cute seeing him stand up like a big boy. He's so tiny so it looks funny seeing this baby crawl and walk around (with mommy's help of course.)
Although we may struggle with Ethan's wonderful sleeping habits and still might have trouble getting him to eat his baby food, I remind myself that he's not going to last this way forever! These are just minor things in his life and I need to not worry about it so much and just enjoy being Ethan's mom. He definitely keeps me on my toes and some days, I am just exhausted! But no matter what, I love our happy and adventurous little boy and I can't imagine my life without him! He is the happiest baby and is always smiling. When I'm in the grocery store or shopping, Ethan is constantly getting attention from men and women. He just smiles at them and tries to act shy. You can tell that he loves the attention just like his daddy. Well once Ethan finally gets those teeth to pop on through I'll let you know!

"What's the big deal with the pumpkins?"

Right now I am missing my baby boy. My parents came up to visit for the day and took Ethan for the weekend so that Ish and I could get some house projects done while Ethan is gone. It was sad seeing him go but I knew he was in good hands. When Ish and I got home this evening he told me he missed his boy and I totally agreed. It's amazing how empty you feel when your baby is gone. Sometimes it's nice to have a little break to do something as a couple, but we still miss him!
Today we took Ethan to the pumpkin patch for the very 1st time. I was so excited to see how would act and couldn't wait to pick out his pumpkin. As soon as we got there, we immediately went to the bin full of the baby pumpkins so Ethan could see them. He acted very interested at 1st and wanted to touch them. Because I wanted to take pictures with the pumpkins around him, we sat him down in the grass next to the big pumpkins. Well Ethan has never really sat in the grass before ( I know, weird!) but he just started crawling so there has really been no need for him to be in the grass. Anyways, b/c of this he was very intrigued with the grass touching his legs and not interested in looking at the pumpkins, much less the camera. We tried everything to get him to look and touch the pumpkins but he just wouldn't do it. At one point we tried to get him to stand next to the pumpkin and to hold himself up with it. But when I picked him up off the ground, he just left his legs in the sitting position and wouldn't stand up! Ethan was acting very strange and not himself. It was like he was scared of the pumpkins or something. We tried to get as many pictures as we could but he never did look at the camera and acted more interested in other things besides pumpkins. I felt like Ethan was saying to me, "Mom what's the big deal with the pumpkins! Seriously!" Even though I didn't quite get the reaction I wanted from him, we still had a good time. We eventually picked out a baby pumpkin for Ethan and decided not to get one for ourselves. I just couldn't find one that I really liked. All of them were really big and I'm just way too picky. Maybe I'll pick one up at the grocery store if it catches my eye. So that was our eventful day and a good memory to put in the scrapbook (if I ever start it!)

News and more news

Well it's been a while since I've posted anything but it's because we have been super busy! Just to catch everyone up on things the 1st thing is that Ethan is definitley crawling now. He started crawling on the day he turned 9 months old. It was so funny watching his little body just move across the floor. Right away he noticed the cable box and dvd player and can't seem to keep his hands off the buttons. No matter how many times we say no, he continues to touch them. I've started to put something in front of the boxes so he wouldn't be tempted to touch the buttons, but if we're watching TV, we can't change the channel b/c we're covering up the sensor.
Another major thing that has happened is that we just moved into our very 1st home on Sept 15! We are so thrilled to finally own our very 1st home. We've only been in here for about a week and half and are still unpacking boxes. It amazes me that we were able to fit all of our stuff in a 2 bedroom apartment for so long. I definitely keep myself busy with trying to organize everything and keeping an eye on Ethan as he explores the house. I can't say I actually get much done during the day but I try not to worry about it. The last major thing that has happened is that I'm pregnant again! I am about 12 weeks along and I am feeling pretty good. I haven't had morning sickness like I did with Ethan which is causing me to just eat whatever. This is not good! I am trying to eat healthy like I did with Ethan but it's been really hard. The due date is April 10 and we're really excited and nervous at the same time.
Well, I'll try and update this blog more often but these days I've had hardly anytime to sit down and think!

The sweetest thing

Now that Ethan is 8 1/2 months old he is exploring more than ever! He hasn't actually started crawling forward yet but he is so close. He can crawl and scoot backwards and likes to scoot around in a circle. You can tell that he gets frustrated that he can't get to where he wants to go. The other day, he managed to scoot himself backwards into the sofa chair. His legs and butt got stuck under the chair and he couldn't get himself out. It was pretty funny b/c I didn't see him do it and just found him that way. Ethan definitley makes me laugh with all the funny things that he does. Recently he started saying Mama but he started rambling nana and then mama got mixed in there. Then about a week later he was having a rough night and wouldn't stay asleep so I just picked him up and held him while rocking side to side. He eventually stopped crying and just got quiet and within a few minutes he said Mama in the sweetest little voice. It was the most precious thing ever. It made me just want to enjoy that moment forever and never let him go.

Ethan's 1st words

Every day when Ish gets home from work he'll grab Ethan and start playing with him. While they are playing Ish is always telling Ethan to say Daddy. I thought this was a good idea because how else is he supposed to learn if we never say it to him. So for the past couple of days I've been trying to get Ethan to say Mama. Well lastnight I had a friend over and we both were trying to get him to say Mama. He would move his mouth but the words just wouldn't come out. As it got later, I put him in his crib for him to go to bed. Ish had to work late that night so he was disappointed when he didn't see Ethan in the living room. He went into Ethan's room to give him a kiss goodnight and saw that he was still awake. As I was watching a movie, out of the corner of my eye I see this michevious look on Ethan's face just peeking around the corner. It was so funny because he knew he was supposed to be in bed but when daddy gets home, he thinks he gets to stay up later. As Ish was holding him, Ethan was wired with energy. Ish said to Ethan, "Say dadda" and Ethan started bouncing in his arms and slapping his hands on Ish's arms and said "dadda, dadda". My heart just melted. It was the sweetest thing. I had to laugh because I had been trying to get Ethan to say Mama all day and as soon as Ish says dadda to him, he repeats him. Amazing. So now, I'm continuing to say Mama until he says it. He gets so close too!

Growing, weaning & eating more

Ethan will be 7 months next week! I just can't get over how time is flying by and how fast he is growing up. The other day I went and visited a friend who just had a baby a couple of weeks ago and it was so hard to believe that Ethan was that tiny not too long ago. I actually couldn't remember how it felt holding him when he was that tiny! It's amazing how the little things just slip by you but when you're in that stage of life all you can think of is how you want them to grow up. I'm trying to cherish the time I have with him now because I'm realizing how fast he is growing. The other day when I was nursing him I just rubbed his little arms and legs and tryed to take in that moment. Right now I'm actually trying to wean him and so I know that I'm not always going to have that special moment with him.
For the past 3 months I've been trying to get Ethan to take formula just so it would make it easier for me when I would leave the house, but he just would not take to it. Well my mom came for a visit and she was determined to get him to take formula. She started off giving him canned milk (which is what I was raised on as a kid) and Ethan hesitated for a while but eventually he took to it. After being persistent, he drank 8oz! That's the most he has ever drank! I was so suprised. So after a few bottles of canned milk we switched it to the ready made formula and he drank it right away. I was so estatic! Well as soon as my mom left that weekend, I fixed him a bottle of formula the next day and he would not drink it. Everyday for a week I would try and I would always get the same reaction from him. Not only was I having to nurse him but he was very moody and fussy. It seemed like he just wasn't happy unless I was holding him. I was having a hard time because he never acts this way. My first reaction was that he was teething and that it would eventually go away. Well my mom decided to come up for again for the weekend to watch Ethan while I went to work. I told her that I needed her to get him used to the formula again. After being very persistent and Ethan crying for about 20 min., he eventually drank it. While I was at work, she fed him the formula and he drank 6-80z and was the happiest baby all day long. So we came to the conclusion that he just wasn't getting full off of my milk so it caused him to be fussy. So now, I'm just trying to get adjusted to this new eating schedule. The hardest thing for me is deciding if it's even worth me nursing him anymore if he's not getting full. You would think he would eat more baby food if he was so hungry but that's not the case. He seems to go through fazes with the baby food. Some days he eats really well and some days he just eats a few bites. I'm assuming that one day he'll just take to it and want to eat more so I'm not trying to worry about it. There's no need to try and force him to eat more food right now b/c he'll eventually get to the point where milk just won't be satisfying to him and he'll want more food. So that's where we are right now...but the boy loves him some bananas. When all else fails, feed him some bananas!

Ethan's 1st beach trip

Ethan went to Myrtle beach for the 1st time and loved it! He didn't really have a reaction at first and just kindof sat there and took it all in. After awhile he started to put his hands in the sand and would try and catch the waves as they came up on shore. It was soo cute. Ishmael had a great time interacting with him at the beach. Ish would lay Ethan on his boogie board and pull him around on the water. Every now and then it made me nervous thinking he was going to roll off the board when a big wave came. Thankfully Ish caught him in time! So I would say that Ethan enjoyed his time at the beach. He did get exhausted and had a hard time napping on the beach but he managed to get a cat nap in every now and then.
Ethan has started to eat really well and so far likes anything I give him. I thought he was going to be a picky eater like his daddy but I kept introducing it over and over and eventually he grew to like all the vegetables. Now I'm starting to give him fruits and I know he won't have a problem with those since they are much sweeter. As far as the sleeping goes... well, he got really spoiled on this beach trip because I didn't want to keep our friends up all night with him crying. But as soon as we got home I have been trying really hard to stick with his routine and to not nurse him when he wakes up in the middle of the night. Most of the time he's not hungry and just wants me to nurse him back to sleep. Last night he only woke up twice crying but he eventually fell back to sleep. So we are making progress! Hopefully this time he'll stick with it and not go back to his old ways! The boy is 6 months old and growing fast. I cannot believe he has hit the 6 month mark. It feels like just yesterday that he was a newborn and I was wishing he was 6 months old and now it's here!

Why me...

I want to say this past month has been quite interesting. Ish and I decided to go out of town to Hilton head for the weekend and left Ethan with my parents. Over that weekend Ethan developed a terrible cold and so he just wasn't himself at all. All the hardwork it took to get him sleeping through the night slowly went out the window. He woke up in the middle of the night crying and my parents just couldn't get him to calm down. Poor thing was just miserable. The only thing that calmed him of course was eating. So needless to say by the time I got him on Sunday he was still sick and needed comfort throughout the night. Well ever since that week I have not been able to get him back on his good sleeping schedule. Ethan is almost 6 months now and he's still not sleeping through the night! I am trying so hard to get him back where he was but when he wakes up he just cries and cries and no matter what I do, the only thing that calms him down is to be fed. I didn't mind doing it for a while because I knew he was going through a growth spurt, but seriously it's been like 4 weeks now!
On a good note, I have been feeding Ethan oatmeal 3 times a day for about a week and I think he's finally getting used to it where he'll open his mouth and eat it. It has definitely taken him a while but he's getting there. Pretty soon we'll start some veggies!
It's so hard to believe that Ethan will be 6 months next week. It's amazing how fast he has grown! The neat thing is that he's getting more exciting everyday. I love how he can sit up and play with his toys now. He is constantly reaching for things in front of him. He's a curious little booger. It's so cute how the littliest thing can be so exciting!

5 months and sleeping good!

Hallelujah! Ethan has been sleeping through the night now for a couple of days now. I think I have finally trained him to not want to eat every 3 hrs in the middle of the night. It definitley took a lot of patience and prayer. When he would wake up I would just give him his paci and just pray that he would go back to sleep. So now, if he wakes up he can pretty much fall back asleep on his own. So proud of my little boy! And the best thing is that it's soley on breastmilk. So now I know that breastfed babies can sleep through the night, it just takes a little extra work getting them on a good sleeping schedule. Now our next milestone will be getting him to eat cereal or oatmeal. He hasn't perfected it yet and still is not interested so I'm hoping that he'll eventually enjoy it.
One more thing, Ethan is sitting up pretty good now on his own. He still tumbles over every once in a while but he loves to sit up and play with his toys. Can't believe he is 5 months old! Time is flying by so fast!!

Just a few new things

It's been about 5 days now that Ethan is only waking up once a night to feed. It has been wonderful! I can't believe that he's been doing so well. I really hope that he sticks with this and that this isn't just a faze. Now all I have to do is try and eliminate that one feeding...that should be fun! Ethan finally turned over from his stomach to back the other day and I missed it! I had put him on his tummy and turned my head for a second and saw that he had flipped over onto his back. I was so excited and tried to get him to do it again but he didn't. Finally today I put him on his tummy a couple of times and each time he rolled onto his back. Now he just needs to roll from his back to his tummy. Ethan is also grabbing his feet now all the time. I had been waiting for him to do that and last week he started doing it. Finally! I can't wait to see what new thing he's going to do next. Everyday it seems to be something!

Could it finally be?

Lastnight I put Ethan to bed around 8:00 and I went to bed at 9:30 because I wanted to get in as much sleep as I could. Usually Ethan wakes up about every 3 hours so I was expecting to get up as usual. To my amazement I woke up around 1:30 and realized he was still sleeping. I was so glad but I still thought he would wake me up soon. I heard him cry a couple of times but it was only for a few minutes and he fell right back to sleep. Well the next time I woke up it was around 4:30 and he was still sleeping! At this point Ethan had been sleeping for about 8 hrs without me having to feed him. I was so estatic! I kept thinking to myself, "Could this finally be the day that he sleeps through the night?"...Well, I spoke to soon b/c around 5:00 he woke up crying so I had to feed him. But I wasn't complaining b/c that was the first time I had gotten 7 straight hours of sleep since he was born! I felt so refreshed when I had to get up but I still went back to bed after he fell asleep again. Ethan decided to sleep until 8:00 this morning so I definitley got plenty of sleep lastnight! It's amazing how much energy you have when you get the amount of sleep your body needs and my body has been craving it for 4 months!

Ethan's 4 month checkup

So I took Ethan to the doctor today for his 4 month check up. I was kindof nervous because I don't like getting the vaccination shots done. Last time he didn't handle it to well so I was expecting Ethan's reaction to be a lot worse. I gave him a little tylenol before the doctor saw him and requested to only get some of his shots done today and to do the rest later. The nurse came in and gave him the shot in his leg and Ethan wimpered for about a second and then was completely happy afterwards. It was the strangest thing b/c I was waiting for him to let out a huge scream like last time but instead he started spitting bubbles out of his mouth. Now I just have to go back in 2 weeks to get the rest of his vaccinations. I think by splitting them up, he was able to handle it better. By the way he weighed 13lbs and is 25" long. He's only in the 25% with his weight so he's tiny compared to the other 4 month olds!