More Christmas Fun!

The Christmas fun just keeps on going! On Friday, mama's friends Kyra and Theresa came over along with Ethan's buddies Isaac and Lily. Here they are, all decked out for the holidays! Look at these two buddies! I can see years of mischief in their future! They will keep their mamas on their toes!
Yesterday, we went to Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike's house for the official Christmas with the family. It was super fun! Here is Ethan and Oliver checking out Ethan's new musical instrument!
Here are the cousins in their matching Christmas PJs and their proud mommies.

Another Christmas . . .

Today we celebrated Christmas with Great Grandma Lue and Great Grandpa Glenn, Mama's Uncle Tim, Rose, and Cousin Lauren. Ethan had a blast playing with everyone . . . and the best part was that Santa made an appearance!




Thank you to everyone who helped make Ethan's first Christmas so incredibly special! He is one blessed little boy, with so many amazing people in his life . . . and the Christmas festivities aren't over yet!!

Christmas Day!!

Christmas morning finally arrived! Our first gift was that Ethan slept until 8:30 which made mom and dad very happy! It was fun watching Ethan open and enjoy his gifts. This is the little bulldozer that he can ride, that Santa brought for him. Mom and dad got him clothes, books, and some blocks.

Later, we went to Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike's house for a delicious Christmas Day Brunch and Santa had also stopped there with a little sled for both Ethan and Victor! We were so excited, especially since it started snowing a beautiful, fluffy snow in the afternoon.
Here is daddy pulling Ethan down grandma and grandpa's driveway, with Sheba along side them. It was super fun!
And here are grandma and grandpa with 2 of the 6 grandsons. We had such a perfect Christmas day in the snow with Aunt Michelle, Victor, grandma, and grandpa!

Christmas Eve, Part 2

Mom, Ethan, Grandma Mary, and Aunt Michelle went to church at St. John's on Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful service, but mom didn't get to see much of it as she spent most of the time in the nursery with Ethan, since he would NOT sit still! He was poking at the people in front of us, wanting to squirm and walk around, and making loud noises. When Grandma Mary tried to help by holding him, he kept trying to take off her glasses and earrings. Mom was sweating profusely and the whole ordeal was exhausting. However, I am glad I got to share a Christmas Eve service with my close family.

After church, Ethan, Daddy, and Mama headed to Grandma Sandy's for Christmas Eve with Grandma and Grandpa, and Shelley, Jason, Andrew and Camryn. Mom was very lax with the camera and only got a couple shots . . .

Ethan LOVED this lion he got from Grandma and Grandpa- he can push it around and it sings and says "roar!" He also loves his Sit 'n Spin from his aunt, uncle, and cousins. We had a very fun Christmas Eve!

Christmas Eve, Part 1

It is such a beautiful Christmas Eve day here today, with the sun shining on all the new, white snow. Daddy had to work this morning, so Ethan and I decided to take a drive to Great Grandma and Grandpa's house for a visit. It was so fun, and I am so glad we went. I have so many special memories of spending Christmas Eve with my wonderful grandparents . . . .

Here is Belin, Grandma's helper, playing with Ethan. She is so good with him, and he loved this game she is playing with him - she made a swing for him with her arms! It was really cool!
Here is Ethan sitting nicely with Great Grandma. She loved seeing him walk and kissing his cheeks! It was also fun to see Great Grandpa, but we forgot to get a picture with him!

Snowed In!

It's a snowy and blustery day here today. Mama had to venture out to church this morning, because she was signed up to be greeter - good thing church is only about 1 minute away, because the roads are quite treacherous, which is why we had to cancel our Christmas get-together plans today. We were going to visit Ethan's great-grandparents, but since they roads are bad, we decided to postpone.

So, Ethan is hanging out in his pjs all day, daddy is shoveling and watching the Packers, and mom is recovering from a little flu bug she caught.

Ethan is so happy! He just toddles around and smiles. It's so fun! He is definitely the light of my life.

I had to add this picture of Ethan chilling out, watching a movie with mom, dad, and his snowman. I love this cozy family time!

Walking like a pro . . .

Now that Ethan is on the move, one of his favorite things to do is rearrange the dining room chairs. Here, you can see his handiwork in the background!

Here is a very brief sample of Ethan's walking skills. Don't worry, I will stop posting videos of him walking, but I had to post one that you could actually see!

Christmas in Milwaukee

This weekend was the big family Christmas - (Grandma Mary's side of the family). It was fun to bring Ethan to his first big Christmas Celebration!

Here he is with Auntie Mimi and Cousin Orion. Mimi was really working with him on his walking and he was taking lots of steps for all the relatives.
Here's Great Grandma Betty and Great Aunt Geri.
Daddy and Ethan by Auntie Lizzy's Christmas tree.
We got home tonight, and Ethan wanted to try out the new toys he got! Here's his baseball game from Auntie Cathi. He loves it and is concentrating very hard!
And here's his baby palm pilot from Aunti Lizzy. Good thing he has one of those to keep all of his appointments straight! He loves this too!
Although we had to drive through a snow storm and got very lost, Ethan did a great job in the 5 hour car ride. We also had fun meeting Uncle Luke for lunch in Madison on our way home.

Big Boy Walking!

Tonight was a very big night for us! I know I posted before that Ethan had taken his first steps, which was true, but tonight he was a walking MACHINE!!! Usually Ethan goes to bed between 6 and 7 pm, but tonight he was in such a great mood, and so full of energy, we kept him up until almost 8:30, just playing with him and enjoying him - - - and working on walking! It was so fun. As you can see, he still needs some practice, but he is definitely walking! Yay!

If you turn your head and squint a little, you can see the video just perfectly!

What a Busy Day!

Ethan and mom and dad had a very busy day today. First, we took pictures of Ethan for our Christmas card, then we went out and about around the town. We went out for lunch, dropped a bunch of stuff off at Goodwill, and went shopping.

Unfortunately, it was probably the most frustrating shopping experience of my life because Ethan was NOT in the mood for Christmas shopping and was very whiny. It's really embarrassing when people look at you like, "Can't you make your kid stop whining? It's totally annoying!" Plus, the stores were completely crowded.

Luckily we came home for a nice peaceful evening and a long nap for Ethan. It is 8:20 PM - Daddy is at a gig, Ethan is down for the night, and mom is doing laundry, but ready to hit the hay! Gone are the days when weekends mean staying up late and getting up let. Having a baby has made us morning birds, and I am usually asleep on the couch by 9:00. Kind of pathetic, but I'm also turning 30 and drive a minivan.

He Came!

Yes, St. Nick did come and fill our stockings. Ethan was not in the best of moods when we were opening them . . . His favorite gift, by far, was this little ornament with his name on Rudolph's bow. It is surrounded by jingle bells, and he LOVED putting this in his mouth, and shaking it.

Here he is showing off his new Christmas PJs.
No, we do not let our 10 month old eat candy - he is trying to get at the candy cane through the wrapper - but to no avail, which explains the sad eyes.

Waiting for St. Nick . . .

My family has always celebrated St. Nick's Day (Dec. 5) and we hang our stockings and await them to be filled by St. Nick over night. When I met Travis, he thought my family made up the tradition because he didn't know anyone else who celebrated it . . .

Here are our empty stockings, waiting to be filled by St. Nick. . . .

Now that I am teaching 3rd grade, we are doing a unit called "Christmas Around the World" where we learn about the Christmas traditions in various countries. Come to find out that this is a Dutch tradition . . . Am I Dutch???? Nope. Also, you're supposed to put your shoes out - stockings are from England! Good ol' Americans, morphing the traditions of 2 separate countries into one holiday. To be fair, I think this day is also celebrated in Germany and my family is German, so that's probably where it came from . . .

Anyway . . . . My 3rd graders expectantly put out homemade wooden shoes (made from empty milk cartons, of course!) and wrote a letter to Sinterklaas (or St. Nick) hoping he would stop by. Let's hope he finds his way from Holland to our classroom or I will have 17 very disappointed 8 year olds to deal with in the morning!

A Big "First!"

Ethan took his first independent steps today! He did it for Daddy over his lunch break, and again for Mama while waiting in line to see Santa. It's official - we have a walker on our hands!

In other big news, Ethan had his first visit with Santa today . . . . it was really funny to watch him sit on his lap - he was almost in a trance - he just stared at mom trying to make him laugh. Finally, he did smile . . and pull poor Santa's beard!

It was especially fun for Ethan to go with his cousins! Of course it is impossible to get a good shot of all of them together, but I must hand it to Santa- he was very gracious and patient - as Santa should be!

Ethan's First Christmas Tree

We decided it was time to get our tree, so the whole family made the trip about 3 blocks down the road to a little tree lot to pick out Ethan's first Christmas Tree. He was a very good helper, and we decided on a small, cute tree in no time!



We did have a bit of a dilemma deciding where to put the tree in our home due to space constraints and a little stinker toddling around who I'm sure would love to taste those little pine needles. Therefore, we decided to put it in the computer room, where there is a door with windows that we shut so Ethan isn't allowed in here anyway. This is the perfect set up, because we will be able to see in through the doors, but not touch the tree or presents underneath!

We are letting the tree dry out before we decorate it, since it got snowed on in the big storm. Those of you who have visited our home in the winter know that it is REALLY cold in our computer room because it doesn't have any heat! It's more like a sun porch that we turned into an office. Anyway, I am noticing that the snow is melting so you will be happy to know that it is warmer in here than it is outside!

The Answers are Revealed!

Kyra, thank you for participating in the quiz! I'm sure you are all on pins and needles wondering what the answers are . . .

1.) C - Ethan only has 2 teeth. We're thinking that all he wants for Christmas are his 2 front teeth! The seriously should be coming in soon!

2.) B - The weather forecast always catches his attention - I think it's because of the colorful radar maps.

3.) B- "DADA" is what we hear most around here (unfortunately for mama!) He also says "ADA" a lot, which we have interpreted to mean many things such as "All Done" and "Ethan." Or, maybe he's just babbling . . . .

4.)C - Ethan loves his Spot Goes to the Farm book with the pictures taped in by Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol. I'm sure he'd love the other titles mentioned, but does not own any of them!

5.)E - Ethan loves all of these foods, and he loves eating! He really prefers foods he can feed himself, like cheerios, rice cakes, bananas, and graham crackers.

6.)E - I can get a kiss when I ask for one, and Ethan is great at waving "bye-bye" now. We have him wave "night-night" to various things in the house before bedtime and nap times also - this is a little trick we picked up from Grandma Mary to get him ready to go to bed.

It is a winter wonderland around here. We got 6 inches of snow. Mom decorated the house for Christmas last night and tonight wrapping gifts is on the agenda. I love this time of year, but unfortunately daddy doesn't share my enthusiasm since he is the one who has to shovel, put plastic on the windows, haul in the Christmas tree (hopefully tomorrow), etc. Ethan and I are hoping to get him in a more festive mood :)

10 Month Quiz

With all of the excitement of the holidays upon us, mom completely forgot to post an official "10 month" posting for Ethan! He turned 10 months on the 24th of November.

I am going to steal the idea for a little "blog quiz" from my good friend, Theresa. Here are some questions for you about Ethan at 10 months . . . .the answers will be posted tomorrow! Good luck!

1.) How many teeth does Ethan currently have?
a. 4
b. 5
c. 2
d. 3

2.) What is Ethan's favorite thing to watch on TV?
a. The Golden Girls, with mama
b. The weather forecast
c. The Packers, with Dada
d. Baby Einstein movies

3.) What is Ethan's favorite thing to say?
a. "mama"
b. "Dada"
c. "ball"
d. "bye-bye"

4.) What is one of Ethan's favorite books?
a. Good Night, Moon
b. Guess How Much I Love You
c. Spot Goes to the Farm
d. Spot Goes to School

5.) What is Ethan's favorite food?

a. Turkey vegetable dinner

b. Graham Crackers

c. Cheerios

d. Bananas

e. All of the Above!

6.) Ethan now knows how to do which of the following:

a. Give a kiss to mama on command

b. Wave "bye-bye"

c. Walk independently

d. Feed himself with a spoon

e. Both a and b

If you so choose, you may post your answers in the comments section . . . . Otherwise, you can take the quiz in the privacy of your own home :)

Here's Ethan with a stuffed snowman we got as a gift last year. He LOVES it and keeps tackling it to give it hugs.

More Thanksgiving . . .

This morning we went to church for our pastor's final sermon, as he is retiring. Daddy played his trombone for the event, and Ethan was super good for about 1/2 of the service, then just could not hold still any longer, so we had to go to the back where he could crawl around.

After church, we went to Aunt Shelley and Uncle Jason's house for another Thanksgiving dinner. The food was wonderful, and it was great to spend time with the family. Here is Ethan with Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Les.

Ethan wasn't feeling the greatest, and was very tired, so it was tough to get a good picture of all the cousins . . . Look at how sweet and attentive Cousins Andrew and Camryn are to him!
They brought out some of their old toys to keep him occupied. Very thoughtful! Finally, a decent cousins shot!

I am Thankful!

Happy Thanksgiving! This is my first Thanksgiving and I am very thankful for many wonderful things in my life! I'm thankful for my mom and dad who love me very much . . . .

I'm thankful that I get to climb the stairs at grandma's (with someone following close behind, of course!)
I'm thankful for my wonderful aunts, uncles, and cousins. . . .
I'm thankful that I have fun cousins to play with and get into trouble with . . . .
I am thankful that we got to spend lots of time with family these past couple days . . . And there's more to come!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving at Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike's house. Mom got up early (4 am) to go shopping the next morning with Aunt Cathi, her cousin Lizzy, Great Aunt Geri, Grandma Mary, and Aunts Jenny and Michelle. I stayed at home and played with daddy during the morning and a sitter came to stay with me for the rest of the day. Mom came home exhausted, carrying lots of packages!

Then, on Friday afternoon we went back to grandma's for leftovers and to watch movies with the whole family again. It was so much fun! Tomorrow we get to have another big Thanksgiving feast with daddy's side of the family!

Going for a walk with Daddy . . . . .

I just can't decide which one to read next!

Daddy Day!

Ethan and Daddy got to spend some quality time together yesterday while mama went to make cards with her friends for the day. Mom had a great time getting away, and dad and Ethan had a wonderful time together also. Ethan was a good little guy!

E is finally getting the hang of waving "bye-bye." After he and mama went to visit Great Grandma Lue on Friday, he waved bye-bye to her with gusto! Now he also is starting to wave "Hi" and is giving high fives.

Mom is looking forward to the short work week which translates into more family time! Thanksgiving has always been one of our favorite days! However, Ethan will be spending the day on Friday with a sitter while mom, Grandma Mary, Auntie Lizzy, and Auntie Cathi go Christmas shopping. This is a tradition that has been around for about 20 years, and I don't think Ethan is a hearty enough shopper to handle it. Mom is hoping to get all of her shopping done on that day - we'll see how it goes!

He's Quick!

It is getting more and more difficult to get good pictures of Ethan because he is so curious about the camera, he just won't sit still - he always wants to get up and crawl to where the photographer is to get a look at the camera and put it in his mouth.

I was able to capture him a couple times tonight . . . drool and all . . . .

He is starting to get more daring in standing without help. Tonight he walked a few steps with mama just holding on to one of his hands.
On kind of a personal note, mom was really struggling today with having to work and not being able to spend much time with her baby. So, she decided that after Ethan had been fed and was ready to fall asleep, she would steal a few extra minutes with him by laying together in mama's bed. We both fell asleep at 6:30, after singing Ethan all of his favorite songs, and mom didn't get up until a couple hours later. It was some nice "snuggle" time.

Here is a video that captures what I mentioned earlier about being Ethan being a quick little crawler!

Kissing all the Babies

Ethan is continuing to enjoy kissing the pictures in his book. Grandma took him to the library today and they picked out a book called "Global Babies" which shows pictures of babies from around the world. Ethan likes to kiss the baby on each page. He especially likes the one from Peru!

We had a rough day yesterday and a rough night last night, as Ethan hasn't been feeling well. He woke up pretty upset at 3:30 this morning, and was difficult to calm down. He's been tugging on his hear, has a cough, and a runny nose. When I called the triage nurse, she didn't think it was necessary to bring him in . . . Let's hope we all get some sleep tonight!

We LOVE Saturday Mornings!

Today is a great morning! Ethan woke up at 5:00 to eat, and then went back to sleep until 8! When I heard him and woke up, I couldn't believe I was actually able to sleep until it was light outside!

We're all hanging out in our PJs and Ethan is busy reading his books and playing. Here he is with his Spot Goes to the Farm book that Uncle Bob and Aunt Carol made. He is obsessed with this book.
He likes to kiss the characters! Awww . . . .
He took some time out from reading and playing to give mom and dad a concert on the piano . . .

A Beautiful Fall Day

It was a beautiful fall day here, so after the Packers won (yay!) we bundled up Ethan and took him out to crawl in the leaves.
Here is is sporting his green and gold! We decided it was a good idea to keep his nuk in his mouth because otherwise lots of leaves and other random items were going there . . .
(By the way, we later found a whole, undigested small leave in his spit-up! Mmmmm...!)

Welcome Home, Daddy!

Each day after work and daycare, mom and Ethan get home about 1/2 hour before daddy. We sit in the living room and look at books or play with toys. As soon as we hear the door open, Ethan gets a huge smile on his face, because he knows it's daddy! He then crawls as fast as he can to greet daddy in the dining room, and pulls himself up by daddy's pants legs . . .

He loves it when daddy lifts him up and says, "Hi, buddy! How was your day?"

Ethan's First Halloween!

Last night, Halloween night, mom was so tuckered out after the big day that she went to sleep at 8:30!! So, we apologize for the delay in the halloween post!

Here's Ethan with Great Grandma Lue and Grandpa Glenn (he's over to the side)
Aunt Michelle and Cousin Victor came over to trick-or-treat! Victor looks adorable in the chick costume we had originally gotten for Ethan!
Aunt Jenny, Cousin Oliver, and Cousin Ben came too! They were the Man in the Yellow Hat and Curious George. Super Cute!!!!
Mom and her friends, the other 3rd grade teachers, were the 3 blind mice! We were a hit - especially our tails with bandages on them - they did get cut off by the farmer's wife, you know!
It was an exhausting day for all!