March 3rd, 2010 Update

Jeez... the last post was August 4th... What gives with the slacker Mommy?

Today was a trying day so far. It is only 12.30pm, mind you.

I have started keeping a bowl of clean de-stemmed red grapes in the fridge for Ethan. Anytime the fridge is open and he wants to grab some, he can and does. Well, this morning when I opened the door to get his milk, he tried to slide in and grab some grapes, but there weren't many left, and I wanted them to be available for his breakfast instead. So, I said "No."

Now, I guess in some strange way, I expected him to understand my reasoning. Save these last grapes for later. Who am I kidding? All I can say in my defense is it was early and it sounded reasonable to me.

To Ethan, not so. He hollered and cried big, fat tears. He threw himself onto the ground. Mega Tantrum-style. He babbled incoherently about the grand injustice of being denied his right to grapes.

I know it will get old at one point. I know I will get fed up with the tantrums. But it is still at the point where he is SO adorable... I can't help but smile and think I should run and grab the camcorder to preserve this for future generations. Or at least to show his future love interests for my amusement.

He did get over it, but decided he did not want to sit in my lap while drinking his milk. He did not want me to hold the bottle for him. He is a big boy now and can do it himself (while stabbing me in the heart, nonetheless).

Later, I decided to take him to our very first Lapsit at the public library for kids 3 and under. There were many kids there. He did not know what to think at first, but as we sang songs and had books read to us, things were going well.

Ever concerned about everyone, Ethan was handing out books to people who did not have them. That was cute, right? It was until he started getting very excited and throwing them. Then he did not want to sit in my lap.

The best part was the end... when the woman brought out the bubble machine. She was like the Baby Pied Piper... I am convinced those kids would have followed her ANYWHERE. Who needs candy to lure kids? Just buy a bottle of bubbles and you are set. You could see it in all the kids' eyes: "Mommy who?? I LOVE BUBBLES NOW!!!"

It was pretty adorable and it was great to see a bunch of zombie babies and toddlers trying to catch the bubbles.

One more mini-meltdown for Ethan after leaving and walking into the house (just who do I think I am anyway, trying to stop him from dragging a large bucket and snow brush into the house?!) and probably the MILLIONTH mini-meltdown for Mommy... and I was happy to see naptime come.

"Ahh....."

Ethan's busy Monday!

In this picture, he is protesting the speed with which Mommy was getting his milk. Ethan pulled himself up to a standing position in his pack-n-play, so I had to grab the camera. He was very into climbing and pulling himself up yesterday. He even practiced "cruising" on Mommy. I was laying on the floor in his room and he pulled himself up and held on to me while he walked towards my head, then proceeded to use my hair to help himself up on top of me. Lovely!


"What kitty, Mom?"
Yesterday, my Mom was over and we had chicken for lunch, so my Mom gave him a clean chicken leg bone to suck on.


This picture is of Ethan at one of my bookcases. I had asked him if he would like to read a book, so I went into his room to get one of his, but he crawled over to my books instead and tried to pull down my Psychology text book instead. What a smart boy!


Here is a random morning picture of Ethan in his bedroom. I thought that it looked funny... Like the giraffe is whispering things into Ethan's ear...



This is before bath time. I had made Red Velvet cupcakes and I grabbed one to eat. I had also grabbed Ethan at the same time after his dinner. On the way from our kitchen to our front room, Ethan grabbed the cupcake and ate 1/2 of the top of it (note the red on his face and shirt). He was a pretty happy boy about that. I have created a cupcake monster.

Ethan at the Zoo...

This was our second visit to the zoo and we had a lot of fun! Ethan and I rode on the carousel! Yay! Ethan rode on a clouded leopard cub that went up and down and as Ethan did not cry or otherwise freak out, it was a success in my book!


Here is Ethan taking in the sights from a new height.



Ethan was having a great day at the zoo. While we were in the Perching Bird and Reptile House, he started crying however, but then I heard what I thought was another baby crying as well, but it was really a Trumpeter Hornbill Bird that was communicating with Ethan! We were right by their enclosure and the bird had gotten as close to us as he could and was looking at Ethan.
Want to know what they sound like? Here is a link:
http://www.xeno-canto.org/africa/species.php?query=Bycanistes+bucinator
Go towards the bottom of the page. Ethan's friend sounded like this, but only more so like a baby crying.

Ethan really enjoyed seeing the birds and the camels.

"Dr. Doolittle" also made some more friends at the zoo.... Here is a little chipmunk peeking up to say "howdy!"

We also enjoyed lunch on the grass and Ethan's seagull friend wanted to dine with us, but he wasn't happy with our food selection, so he didn't hang around long.

Random Ethan

Ethan LOVES his peaches (white only, no yellow please!) that we feed him in his mesh feeder. Uncle Bill says that we should feed him more substantial food through his "washcloth," like sausage. Ethan said that he would love to try chocolate cake in the feeder!





Reach out and touch someone! Ethan's Mommy takes so many pictures of him that Ethan thinks cameras are the coolest things. Mommy has even helped Ethan take some pictures of his own composition. Very artsy stuff. Maybe one day Ethan will make a lot of money for his family.



Again with Mommy's cell phone! You might think that all Mommy does is gab gab gab on the phone all day, which is why Ethan likes to pretend he is doing that as well. BUT... the reality is Mommy also uses the camera function on her phone alot, so that explains Ethan's love of Mommy's cell. Oh look, he is trying to do a self-portrait with the camera phone!

Random Ethan Images and Update

Ethan is pictured here modeling his snazzy bath robe. Please to notice the lovely alligator. His Auntie bought him this and it was a pleasant surprise for Mommy, especially since it matches his alligator hooded towel. I like to think this is his bachelor "Smoking Jacket." Just needs a bubble pipe now and some fine "champag-nyah" a la the Continental (a role Christopher Walken played a few times on SNL). Go google it. I will wait. It is hilarious. Love me that Walken.



This is Ethan inserting his toy elephant into his mouth. Mmm... Elephant tastes like... chicken?



See? This picture above is proof positive that I am not the only one who loves Ethan's little piggies. He is quite taken with them as well. Quite.

~~~~~~~~~ (Insert general update now!) ~~~~~~~~~ =)

Goodness... has it really been THAT long since I last posted anything on this blog? Being a Mommy certainly is all-consuming! I don't know how some people manage, especially anyone with more than one child. What is your secret anyway?

Ethan is coming up to his 6-month birthday on June 30th. Time to schedule a round of pictures. He will also have to go to the pediatrician for his favorite activity... SHOTS! And guess what? Silly Mommy was not using the half of a brain she actually has left and scheduled shots for the day before the Fourth of July... He has been crabby and tired for a day or two following his previous shots. Ugh. Hopefully this time will somehow be magically different. I can hope, right?

He can sit unassisted for a few moments and loves... LOVES... to stand. He doesn't need much support, either. He has recently started getting on his hands and knees and rocking back and forth. Oh my gosh... he could start crawling any day now. My little boy!!! Where does the time go? Didn't I just give birth to him???

He is also a charmer, too. He absolutely melts all the ladies with that winsome smile and huge eyes of his. Future Ladykiller... I just know it.

Grandpa bought Ethan a....

Harley Davidson!

Doesn't he look adorable on it? Now he just needs to get some chaps...

Birdhaven Greenhouse

Today, Ethan and I decided to go to the Birdhaven Greenhouse in Joliet. It was a beautiful day for it!

Since Ethan was asleep when we first got there, we went for a walk in the woods.

Ethan woke up so we headed back to the Greenhouse. He really enjoyed looking at all the plants and see the koi ponds and the waterfall.


Ethan still cannot sit unassisted, so I was thrilled that he remained upright on the bench for some pictures with the flowers.

Hi from the high chair!

The Wonderful Life of Mr. Green

Cleanliness is next to kitty-ness! That is why Ethan starts his days with a cat bath courtesy of Akasha. Exfoliation is important for babies!

Ethan loves to listen to Mommy's ever-so-funny jokes. He thinks that Mommy is a laugh riot!

Naps are an important part of the day, too!

Ethan also likes to play with Daddy. Here they are acting out "Hop on Pop."

Finally, Mr. Green loves to unwind at the end of a hard day and lose himself in a good book!

3 Month Update

So, Ethan officially turned 3 months old at the beginning of this week and one gift that the Gods bestowed upon him was his first cold. Huzzah! The poor little guy is sneezing and congested, but he is already learning some very good values, such as sharing. Now, Mommy and Daddy are sick, too!

Ethan picked out a really cute elephant humidifier for his room while we were at Target today. They had a cute red dragon one that I fell in love with, but Ethan wants what he wants. It was a tie between the elephant and the frog.

We also had some 3-month pictures done at Sears this past Tuesday and spent too much on pictures, but... What are you going to do, right? My Mom was with me and said, "He is only three months old now and there are more pictures for the future," as a way of cautioning me not to spend so much and get so many.... but I took from that utterance that he will only be this age once, so I used that as mental justification for the cost.

He has been sleeping through the night since Spring began (another gift from the Gods!) and that has been a blessing. His crying is also so much better... It is nice to see him have a good time and be happy.