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!