Auntie Kyra and Maddux

Ethan and mama had fun visiting Auntie Kyra and her parents today. We also got to see Aaron and Maddux, their puppy. Maddux and Ethan had a great time playing together, and Kyra got Ethan all riled up! He was so tired when we left that he fell asleep immediately in the car!

Here is Maddux giving Ethan kisses on the hand!
We love hanging out with Auntie Kyra!! She is sooooo much fun!

Ethan's Song, Take 2

Here is another try at posting daddy singing and playing guitar with Ethan.

We had a wonderful, lazy Saturday. Ethan and mama took a 3 hour nap together this afternoon! It was so wonderful snuggling together and listening to the wind and rain outside.

Tonight the family went to Culver's and Target - a big night out on the town!

Ethan's Song

Here is Ethan helping daddy play the guitar.

Daddy is singing the song he wrote for Ethan.

I realize the video is sideways and very dark, and I debated even posting it, but you can still get the idea of what's going on . . . .and hear Trav's lovely voice!

8 Months Old!

I'm officially 8 months old today!
Mom just gave me a bath and brushed my hair and I'm in my jammies ready for bed.

A Day at the Zoo!

Ethan spent another day with his cousins today. We all went to the zoo! Mama loves this picture of cousin Ben sitting with the gorilla!

Here's Ethan with Grandma in front of her favorite animals - the giraffes!
Here's the classic cousin shot.
Did I mention we love the giraffes??
We also saw lions, tigers, polar bears, and sea lions. One of Ethan's favorites was the fish because he could get right up close to them in their tank. On the way home we stopped at Once Upon a Child and got a new winter coat and a couple outfits for Ethan. Another fun weekend done :(

Apples and Pumpkins

Ethan had a super fun day with his cousins today! First we went to an apple orchard where a tractor pulled a big wagon through the orchards for a ride!

Then we looked at all the pumpkins!
At the next orchard we got to pick our own apples and pumpkins! Here's Ethan under an apple tree!
We also went through a corn maze. Grandma had fun with her boys!
Back at Grandma's house Ethan and mom took a long nap together. What a perfect fall day!

Explorer

Ethan loves to explore the house by crawling and climbing. Here, he climbed into the end table and sat on the bottom shelf. Of course I ran and got my camera . . . and took the picture . . . and then about 2 seconds later he fell out . . . right on his forehead. I felt TERRIBLE! Not my best parenting moment. In the future I will be more aware of my child's safety and less concerned about getting cute pics for the blog. But to my defense, if you look at him sitting here, you'd never guess he'd decide to turn around and fall forward! Anyway, he was crying so we tried to put a bag of frozen corn on his head. That totally helped - not because of the cold on his head, but because he grabbed the bag and was totally into playing with it and was distracted from his boo-boo. He is fine and well now. I don't think there's even a bruise or bump. whew.

mullet

I've had some requests for a picture showing Ethan's mullet and I think this one is the best I can come up with. He is totally flaunting his mullet for Lily. You have to look closely because it kind of blends in with the background, but it is definitely there. Cast your vote on the poll!!

Standing Up

While mom was posting the last blog, Ethan was hanging out in his pack 'n play and decided to stand up. He thinks he's hot stuff now that he's such a big guy!

Lily!

Ethan got to see his little girlfriend Lily today! She and her parents Angela and Tyler were visiting Madison all the way from Denver! It was so fun to get together with them!

It was nice for mom and Angela to catch up too!
Lily talks like a pro and calls Ethan "Baby E." She was such a nice friend by giving him toys, sharing her snacks, and playing with him.
She even gave him lots of hugs and kisses!

Ethan's First Concert

Today mom and Ethan went to watch daddy play in a Dixieland Band. We sat right in the front row with Grandma Sandy, Grandpa Les and Great Aunt Florence. Ethan loved to wave his arms around like he was conducting the band. Everyone commented to us after the concert about how they enjoyed watching the little band conductor. We was so good through the whole hour long concert and did not make a peep!

Ethan and Grandpa Les are clapping to the music!

Little Musician

Daddy is getting an early start on teaching Ethan how to play the guitar. He holds a chord, and lets Ethan strum.
Candace (Ethan's sitter) reported that he had a 4 hour nap today so we took a chance and went out to eat as a family - something we haven't done for a very long time, since Ethan has been going to bed between 6-7 every night. Ethan was so good at the restaurant, we even went to Target afterwards to get some warm clothes and pjs.

Ethan looked so darn cute all bundled up, and we thought it was hilarious that he couldn't move his arms, just like the kid in The Christmas Story. By the time we got home at 7:45 he was completely zonked out, after being such a good boy and not even making a fuss when he got tired (something rare!)

He was so tired that after mom took him out of the car seat, upstairs, and changed his clothes, he was still asleep! These moments are precious and far between when bed time is so easy!

Fun Day at School

Today we honored our local heroes at school. One fun thing about teaching 3rd grade is that they get SUPER excited about everything . . .so today was very exciting for them - they got recess early and got to eat ice cream - and see real fire fighters and police people! I thought this picture of raising the flag turned out neat so I wanted to post it. God Bless America!

Little Stinker!

Here is a picture daddy took on Monday Morning . . . . Learning to stand up in his crib!

Ethan was with Grandma Mary today and he gave her a run for her money! I have to say (sorry mom) that Grandma looked pretty exhausted when I got home from work. Ethan is crawling everywhere, especially into the places he knows he's not supposed to be, and he is pulling himself up and getting into things. Grandma was nice enough to take him to the library, and it was reported to mom that he was all over the place there; very excited, (which is great! - Glad he's excited about books!) pulling all the books off the shelves, and putting the puzzles in his mouth. He also didn't nap for Grandma - who can blame him? Grandma is just too much fun!

Tonight I think we witnessed his first temper tantrum. Yikes! He was screaming and just beside himself for almost an hour! Finally, between mom and dad, we got him settled down enough to listen to a story and have a bottle and I think now (an hour and a half later) he is finally sleeping. I'm not sure if he is overtired, missing his grandma, or is mad at mom and dad for leaving him every day to go to work.

Mama's Packer Backers

The whole family hung out and watched the game today. Ethan and Daddy were sporting their full Packer gear - they must have been good luck for the team! He's taking after his Grandpa Steve who was convinced that wearing his Packer Zoobas on Sundays were good luck for the Pack. Let's hope those never come back in style!
Just a side note, we picked up this little Packer outfit at a thrift sale when mom was pregnant and it is a size 24 months!! We thought he'd be wearing it next year!!
It was so nice of Ethan to take some time out of cheering for the team to help mom with the laundry.
We had so much fun today - mom is sad thinking about returning to work tomorrow - how can I leave this little dumpling??

Grandpa Bob Turns 80!

Mom, Dad and Ethan took a quick trip to Milwaukee yesterday for Great Grandpa Bob's 80th Birthday Party. Great Grandma Betty shares the same birthday, and turned 79 this year, but she ended up in the hospital due to a minor heart attack so wasn't able to celebrate with us. However, knowing those crazy Gonwas, the party must go on . . . . We celebrated at Grandpa's favorite restaurant. Due to Grandma's hospital visit, the "surprise" element of the party was eliminated, but Grandpa had a wonderful time with the family . . . .

Here is Mom, Grandma, and Great Grandpa celebrating.
We had fun seeing Uncle Tom and Aunt Lit and it was their first time meeting Ethan. Here, Daddy and Uncle Tom are talking baseball . . .
Here is Aunt Carol, Ethan, Auntie Mimi, and Cousin Leah. Leah and Ethan are enjoying playing with their spoons . . .
Although the rest of the family rented pontoon boats after the party, we decided to head home since we were all pretty tired and wanted the entire day today (Sunday) to rest up for the rest of the week. Ethan did a great job riding in the car for 8 hours all in one day. Today we are all enjoying a day of rest!

1 week down . . .

We've got 1 week down of being back in the swing of things with mom back at work. Ethan is doing well with his sitter and seems happy as ever. Mom and dad are a bit exhausted because he's been waking up at 4:30 am just ravenous, needing to eat, and it's hard for us (mom and dad) to get back to sleep after feeding him.

Tomorrow we are heading to Milwaukee for Great Grandpa Bob's 80th birthday party. We will make sure to post some pics of the fam!

Mama's Day

I'm going to borrow Ethan's blog to tell you how teaching is going! Yesterday was our first day, but it was an open house where we got to meet all the parents and they brought in the kids' supplies and put them in their desks, etc. It was so fun to meet all the parents - about 3/4 of them new Trav and/or went to high school with him. Very fun!

Today was the "real" first day. My class was wonderful! Can I just say that I love 3rd graders! They are super fun! Granted, we haven't done anything academic yet, but the activities we did today went well. The kids are just so endearing and fun! yay! I have been warned that this is the "honeymoon" period, but I really hope the rest of the year goes as well! Oh, I forgot to mention the downfall of the day - it was 90 degrees out, no air conditioning. Believe it or not, it was so hot in my room that when I walked outside (into the 90 degree weather) it actually felt good! And it was picture day - yikes. My face was bright red, hair was wet with sweat and frizzy. That will NOT be a in a frame - I am certain of that.

Just as I began writing this, Trav came home with 2 bouquets of flowers for me! Yay! He also brought a talking "Office" pen with Michael saying some funny quotes. What a great day!

Ethan also had a great day. Candace, who babysits for him, has a ton of baby toys that are just perfect for him, so he has lots of fun there.

Baptism and a Bar-B-Q

Ethan had a very busy day today. This morning, he and mama went to Clear Lake for Lily and Isaac's baptism. It was very fun to see the twins and they were so good in church -they didn't make a peep! And I must say, Ethan was a very good boy as well. Here is the happy family. How special that Isaac and Lily's daddy got to baptize them! Later this evening we went to Elk Mound for a Bar-B-Q at Cousin Ben and Oliver's house. Aunt Michelle and Victor, Grandma and Grandpa, and of course Aunt Jenny and Uncle Drew were there also.
Ethan LOVED playing with his big cousins, crawling around on their deck. He also enjoyed borrowing Oliver's swing.
He got to watch Uncle Drew, Ben, and even Grandpa Mike on the skateboard ramp.
Cousin Victor has such a sweet smile!!