Friday, December 28, 2007

December 07


It's hard to believe that this year is almost gone, but as they say, time flies when you are having fun. This has definitely been one of the best years of my life and I am excited to see what the next year has in store for us.

Using the spoon to eat peas and carrots



We rescheduled Ethan's tube surgery to January 10th. It appears we will be having a little party that day! Gram, Nana, and Aunt Meme are all coming up to spend the day with me and Ethan after his surgery.


Hanukkah was a lot of fun this year. Ethan had a great time opening his presents and playing with his new toys. Aunt Robyne and Uncle Rich bought him a Radio Flyer scooter. He's not quite big enough for it yet, but he stood on it and waited for someone to push him around.

Ethan opening his lawn mower

A few weeks ago we spent the day with Jimmy, Hilary, and Hailey. Ethan and Hailey had a great time together. Ethan would try to give her a hug, but it looks like he was falling into her. Hailey is almost 9 months old and is already almost as tall as Ethan!! She's going to be a heart breaker for sure!


Ethan giving Hailey a hug

Look how tall she is!


Me and Hailey

This past weekend Ethan and I flew to Florida to spend Christmas with Grandpa, Lulu, Christine, and Jimmy. The weather was so nice compared to Georgia. The days were in the 70s and Ethan had a great time playing outside in his shorts. One Sunday, Lisa and I took the kids to the zoo. Ethan got to feed the goats and didn't seem the least bit interested in the elephants. He went on his first train ride around the zoo.

Ethan & Lulu feeding the goat


Looking at the really big turtles



Ethan, Jimmy, and Christine in the car on the way home from the zoo


Grandpa bought Ethan an old metal firetruck pedal car. Ethan loves to climb in and out, but his feet can't quite reach the pedals. He also had a great time trying to ride my old tricycle.


Flying was interesting to say the least. The airport was packed and our flight was delayed an hour on the way to Florida. Ethan lost it for a few minutes right before takeoff, and then fell asleep. On the way home, the plane was only about half full, so Ethan got his own seat by the window.




Ethan's vocabulary is rapidly expanding. He can now say: no, yeah, more, bye bye, night night, mama, dada, nana, boo, oh boy, and Sabo (at least that's what it sounds like). He is also using sign language for "more," "please," "hat," and "done." Our current favorite dancing tune is "Hokey Pokey" and he loves to sing "Baby Bumble Bee," "Itsy Bitsy Spider," and "The Ants Go Marching."

Using sign language for "more"


He ate two bananas with breakfast


We hope everyone had a fantastic Hanukkah and/or Christmas and wish everyone nothing but the best in the New Year!

Friday, November 30, 2007


Ethan in his rocking chair...this was my chair when I was little.

What a busy month we’ve had! I thought things would calm down after Ethan’s birthday. Boy was I wrong!!

The weekend before Halloween Ethan was part of a parade in the neighborhood. All of the kids get together and walk through the neighborhood. That night, we went to a block party. Ethan had a wonderful time playing with the other kids on our street. Our neighbors’ have a son, Carter, who’s almost 2. He and Ethan got along great throwing the football.

Halloween was a blast!! Ethan was Yoda and got so many compliments on his costume! He wore his costume to school and they had a parade and searched for pumpkins. We took him to a few houses on our street. He was a little confused about what was going on and just wanted to run around in the street. Then we came home and Ethan helped Marc hand out candy.


We went back to the doctor at the beginning of November and it appeared that the ear infections had cleared. A week or so later, Ethan was really sick so we took him back to the doctor. He was so stuffy he could hardly breathe at night. Turned out that the ear infections were back, so we made an appointment at the ENT and he went back on another antibiotic. The antibiotic made him so sick. Every side effect that was listed, he had. Poor thing.

We went to the ENT on Wednesday and the good news is that the infections are clear. He still has a good amount of fluid in his ears, so she suggested tubes. She explained to us that the fluid is almost like what is in a blister and it can muddle hearing and speech. The real danger with ear infections is how long it takes them to clear. The longer they carry the infection, the more scar tissue that can build up. The more scar tissue, the more damage to the ear.

Dr. White also told us that the tubes don’t totally prevent infection, but they are less likely to happen and easier to treat. She said that the surgery would take about 10 minutes once Ethan is asleep. They use a gas to make them sleepy. Once he’s out, she’ll make a tiny puncture in the ear and insert the tube. By the time we walk from the room to the waiting area, she’s done! The tube allows air to get into the ear which decreases infection. Ethan would come home that day and could go back to school the next day. If he does get another ear infection, we would use drops in his ears to treat it instead of the nasty medicine he’s used to.

We just scheduled the surgery for December 13th. They do the procedures by age, so right now he is first in line at 7:30 am. We have a pre-op appointment on Tuesday to make sure everything checks out.

The weekend of the 10th, Ethan spent the night with Nana and Papa while Marc and I had date night! We went to pick him up the next day and had dinner with the family. Ethan decided that he only wanted corn for dinner…

Marc’s birthday was on the 14th. We went out to eat that night and then went to see The Police the following Saturday with Felicia, David, and some other friends. What a great show they put on! Ethan stayed home and Gram and Tom came up to baby-sit.

We spent Thanksgiving at the Spectors’. It was also my mom’s birthday. We had a great day hanging out with all of the family. We spent the night and Judi and I went shopping the next day. We spent the rest of the weekend just hanging out around the house.

Casey, Ethan, Alyssa, Jacob, and Hunter


I swear Ethan’s brain is a sponge!! He can show you his nose and ears and he can tell you what a cow says. He fill also make a fishy face when you ask what a fish says. His new thing is to give a “big squeeze” and it’s hilarious! He puts both arms around me and squeezes and makes a little grunting noise. I love it!! Last night he finally got the hang of drinking from a straw. And don’t get me started on the appetite!! That child can pack away some food!! The only thing he won’t eat is olives. Other than that, it’s getting eaten.

Ethan’s favorite activities are throwing a ball (and anything else for that matter), dancing (the child will tear up a dance floor), helping Marc feed the fish, opening and closing the cabinet doors (and any other open door), and playing with the phone.

Ethan loves his blanket that Aunt Bernice made!


We hope that everyone had a very happy Turkey Day. Until next time, be happy and stay safe this holiday season!

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Ethan's 1!!!

We started here...


And are now here...

Ethan turned 1 last Sunday and what an eventful weekend! Friday they celebrated Ethan's birthday at school. The kids had cupcakes, donuts, cookies, and chips and the teachers decorated the room and let him wear a special hat!

The party table



Gabriel, Ava, Ethan, Olivia, and BJ


Ethan and his cool hat!


Saturday, we had Ethan's pictures taken at Picture People. When I made the appointment, they told me to bring in a little cake and they'd take pictures of his digging in. I was a little hesitant at first, but now I'm really glad I had them done! And of course, he had a blast making a mess!!

Saturday afternoon, we had lots of house guests! Grandpa and Christine were waiting for us when we got home. A little while later, Cindy and Kacey got here with Olivia and Harrison. There was definitely a houseful, but we had a great time!!



The comes Sunday...party time!!!! Ethan was certainly the life of the party in his "Birthday Boy" shirt. He was blowing kisses and giving High 5s left and right! When it came time to open presents, he dove right in tearing up the paper and reading the cards with Daddy.



But nothing could top the cake. Oh, that chocolate cake!!! I was a little spectacle because it was chocolate and I knew it would be messy. But my cousin Mitzi said "Don't worry. Most kids don't get into it. They just play with the icing a little." Boy was she wrong!!! After there was no cake left she told me that she'd never seen a child go that nuts with the cake! But I must say, it wasn't messy! It was all over him of course, but there were just a few little globs of icing on the floor. But rest assured, there was NO cake left on the tray. He either wore it or ate it!




As soon as the cake was gone, we threw Ethan in the tub for a quick bath. He was still having a ball!!




The day was wonderful and we were so lucky to have so many friends and family members join us to celebrate!


Last Monday, we went to the doctor. Ethan now weighs 24 lbs (50%) and is 31.5" tall (90-95%). He got shots for Chicken Pox, Prevnar, and the Flu and we discovered that once again, he has a double ear infection. The doctor wants to try one round of antibiotics and if they don't clear, we will go see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor.

Ethan at school...maybe he'll grow up to be like Cousin Reid!



Ethan is still learning so many new things and is imitating us a lot as well. He tries to say "Book" but is sounds a little like "boo" and he says his version of "dancey dancey dancey" while he gets his groove on. He also loves to play peek-a-boo and run circles around the house with his popper...or just to chase the cat. He's also mastered going up the stairs, and Marc is working on teaching him how to scoot down them. My favorite is him blowing a kiss or giving a kiss. He's such a little ham!!


A few weeks ago we went shopping and Ethan got his first real tennis shoes. We discovered that he wears a 6W and here we were trying to squeeze his poor feet into 4s!!!! He loves his new shoes!


That's the update for now. Sorry it's a little late. We wish everyone a safe and very Happy Halloween!!

Love: Amanda, Marc, and Ethan

Friday, September 14, 2007

11 Months Done...1 More To Go!


It is so hard to believe that Ethan will have been with us for a year in 1 month! Time really does fly when you are having fun. We are in birthday mode...planning a party that he won't even remember, but hey, that's what you do!


Ethan's new ride...


And the new toy he's already mastered

This past month we have been busy building on what he already knows. Ethan can stand up on his own now without help from anyone or anything. He still loves to eat! Last night be tried cheese rice and, just like his mom, loved it. I still don't think he's tried something he didn't like. Right now we are making the transition from formula to whole milk. So far, so good. We've started doing a half and half bottle and he doesn't seem to know the difference.

Ethan's first "big boy bath" without the duck



Over Labor Day weekend, Ethan spent the weekend with Aunt Meme, Casey, Jake, and Uncle Mike while I went to the beach with the girls and Marc did stuff around the house and watched football.

So tired after a fun weekend
Sporting the red and black...GO DAWGS

This weekend Marc and I are going to work on decorating Ethan's room. The plan is to paint some images of Curious George doing different things around his room. We've rented an overhead projector from the library and Gram is coming up to watch him while we tackle this project.

Still loves those cups

This past weekend we had the pleasure of having Helen and Hal over to the house on Sunday. It was great to catch up and spend time with them. Gram came up and we all went to Outback for dinner. In true form, Ethan ate all of his dinner...a grilled cheese sandwich and a ton of green beans. He also had his first piece of steak.

Using Sabo as a slide

Other than that, we are just enjoying our time together. I'm still getting used to being home every night and on the weekends. It's working out really well. Ethan is at school Monday - Friday and seems to be enjoying himself. One bit of funny news...we had Samantha shaved. Her hair was just too long, and she seems to enjoy the new look!


Samantha's new do

We would like to wish our Jewish friends and family a very happy New Year and to everyone else, be well!

Love,
Amanda, Marc, and Ethan