February 08

February was a fun-filled month!! Lori, Karl, Reece, and Aunt Debbie came to visit a few weeks ago. We spent the weekend down at Nana and Papa’s…Ethan and Reece had a great time together! Saturday, we went to a pageant and then to Hunter’s soccer game. Alyssa and Lexi won their divisions and Hunter played a great game! Sunday we took Ethan and Reece to have their picture made together at Target. Ethan wasn’t very happy, but we got some good shots.

Ethan and Reece in the tub

That Monday we went to Pine Mountain for the Wild Animal Safari. We all piled in a van with no windows and Aunt Meme drove us through the park. The animals would come up to the windows asking for food. Ethan wasn’t too sure about it at first, but then he got into it and really seemed to enjoy himself. The highlight of the day was when one of the giraffes stuck his head through the drives side window to get to Judi sitting in the passenger seat. It really was amazing to have this huge giraffe head right in front of your face!

Marc and I both have new jobs. Marc is now a consultant for Software Link and I am working for Synovus Financial as an Accounting/Tax Associate doing AP work. It’s so awesome to work 15 minutes away from home. I get to sleep later, get to work earlier, and pick Ethan up about an hour earlier than we used to. I love having the extra time in the evenings, especially now with the time change.

One of his favorite meals...SPAGHETTI!!

Ethan seems to be learning something new everyday. He repeats just about anything we say, so we really have to be careful!! He can now say: Mommy, Dadda, Nana, Papa, Meme, RaRa (that’s what he calls Robyne), banana, ball, bat, hat, juice, milk, shoe, out, down, please, thank you, night night, Mickey (for Mickey Mouse), Pooh, Manny (Handy Manny), bottle, yellow, purple, blue, green, red, eat, two, eye, belly button, baby, book, bath, Sabo, dog, duck, fish, agua, otter, giraffe, up, owl, bib, beep beep, cookie, more, no, sit down, drop it, bear, waffle, apple, and mine. I'm sure there are a few more words that I've left out.

Now Ethan points at the cat and says “Meow” and he can tell you what a chicken says (bak bak), what a rooster says (doodle do), what an owl says (hoo hoo) and what a duck does (he’ll flap his arms and say duck duck). He’ll point out Marc and I in pictures and anyone that’s smaller than him is a “baby.” Occasionally, when you ask him what a monkey eats, he’ll say “banana” but not consistently.

He’s almost mastered doing a somersault on his own. His new favorite thing is to climb onto our big green chair, lie on this tummy, and flip off the chair. We’ve been working on catching a ball and he’s have a blast kicking the soccer ball. Ethan is also picking up on commands really well. He likes to put all of his books on the floor, but we’ll tell him “pick up your books and just bring one over here” and he’ll do it. It’s really amazing how quickly he’s picking up on things.

Marc and Ethan reading "Little Spot of Color"...the book of choice for the moment

This is why Ethan won't be moving to a "big boy bed" anytime soon! He'd fall right out!

Happy New Year!

What a crazy year this has started out to be!! We spent New Year's at home with Ethan. He went to bed around 8:30 and at midnight, we gave him a kiss in his crib and back to sleep he went!

Doing the Hokey Pokey

"Row row row your boat"

I didn't do it, I swear!

The surgery to put his tubes in went great!! The doctors and nurses were wonderful...we couldn't have asked for better. Gram spent the night with us the night before and Aunt Meme and Nana met us at the surgery center. They took us back into the waiting room and explained how everything was going to go. Then they put me in a gown and I walked Ethan back to the surgery room. He wasn't thrilled with having the mask on his face to help him drift off into la la land. But just like that, he was asleep.

At the ENT the week before surgery

I went back to the waiting room, and about 10 minutes later, the doctor came out. She said that everything went really well. There was a lot of fluid built up in both ears that she drained before putting the tubes in. About 10 minutes later, he was awake and we got to go see him. Honestly, you would have never known that they did anything. He was acting just like his usual self. Gram, Aunt Meme, Ethan, and I went home and Marc went to work. It was just like any other day!

After surgery in the recovery room

At home after surgery
Ethan's cool orange ear plugs

Hanging with Gram after surgery

We took a trip to see Doctor Heaven last week. Ethan's up to 33 1/4" tall and weighs in at 26.5 lbs. He's still in the 95% for his height! And you know what that means? We've had to buy a new wardrobe!! Ethan's stylin in his new duds from Aunt Megan!!

We go back to the ENT on Thursday for the 3 week followup appointment on his tubes. Everything looked great at the pediatrician, so hopefully they will say the same thing!

Ethan had a run-in with a toy box at school the other day...and the toy box won! I had just gotten to school to pick him up and was talking to the owner when it happened. He didn't act any worse for the wear, but that shiner looked painful! The next morning he woke up and looked like he was wearing purple eye shadow.

The bump (and red face from crying)

Another look at the shiner starting to come out

A little over 24 hours later. The swelling went down and the purple came out

Whoever said that the brain is a sponge wasn't kidding! This child picks up on just about everything. He can show you his belly button, his eyes, his nose, and his ears. He also knows that his shoes go on his feet. We've added a few words to the ever expanding vocabulary: "No more", "Sit down", "Mine", "Meow", "Dog", "EIEIO" (he'll say this when you start singing Old McDonald had a farm), "Belly Button", "Eye", and he can tell you what a monkey says. It's amazing!! Ethan has also learned how to brush his teeth and take his shirt off.

Brushing his teeth (and holding a tape measure)

At school playing with Olivia

One of Ethan's best buddies...Gabriel

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!

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!