We Have a Walker!

Ethan took his first steps two days after he turned one. Then he did a pretty good job walking for about a week. Then he stopped. He refused to do anymore walking or even standing really. For two weeks he would just scoot around- not even really crawl. Then two Friday's ago he started up again all on his own. By the next Tuesday he had it down.

Let me present to you our walking baby:

First Hair Cut

It had been obvious for a while that this kid needed a hair cut. The hair would hang over his eyes and ears. He even had a nice rat tail growing in the back. I was too nervous to do anything about it. Finally one day I just decided it was time.

Ethan hated every second of it. The second we put him in the chair, he started crying. I ended up having to hold him for most of the cut. He made it through and was so proud of his sucker in the end.

The hair cut is growing on me. I do miss it long. It will be a while before we get it cut again.

11/12 Months

I figure now that he is 13 months it would be a good time to do his 11 and 12 month update. Ha! It is a long one, and it will also be that last one. I’ll still update the blog from time to time, but I’ll stop with the monthly updates.

Month 1 vs. Month 12

(Is that even the same kid?)

Height 31 1/2 inches 95%

Head 19 1/4 in 97%

Weight 24 lbs 6 oz 73%

We have a big boy on our hands. I am reminded of this every time we go play at the children's museum. Ethan will hang out with kids his size and then later I discover those kids are not 12 months, but 21 months. We love our big boy.

Not walking by his first birthday. 2 days after he turned one, he took his first steps. He did great walking on his own for about a week. Then it stopped for about two weeks, and he went back to crawling every where. Actually his crawling changed to more of a half scoot/half crawl. He is a funny kid. (He is walking now. I’ll get to that in another post.)

The refrigerator and dishwasher are like magnets to him. Within seconds of either one being open there is Ethan to take everything out.

He is quite the mess maker. In fact we call him ET now. The Ethan Tornado. Some days I wonder why I bother to clean as he is right behind me destroying away.

He is becoming more independent. He likes to sit on the couch all by himself. If you sit next to him he pushes on your leg until you get off.

He is off formula now and I am trying to limit his use of the bottle as well so he only gets that before bed.

This month he learned to give hugs.  He wraps his little arms around you and says “awe!” The best thing ever! He also loves to snuggle and blow kisses!!!

He says mama and dada. I think he may even know what they mean now. Of course, Aaron is still the favorite. The second he hears the door opening at night, he darts for it screaming for Aaron to pick him up.

He also goes uh oh, or awe when he drops/throws something.

He can hoo like an owl, woof like a dog, and vroom like a car. He knows the difference between all of that.

He loves to sing. Popcorn popping is his favorite song. He loves to do the actions with it. Now anytime we sing any song, he sings along by saying pop, pop, pop.

He loves to dance. This kid will bob his head, shake his body, sway back and forth all in rhythm to the music. He is quite the dancer. He really loves music and musical instruments. He loves his drums and his maracas.

He also loves to conduct music. Anytime we are at church or whenever we hear choir music he gets that arm moving. He picked that all up on his own.

He loves to point at everything. Luckily I don’t have to read his mind. I always know what he wants.

He is still the slimiest and friendliest baby. Although, he still has no sense of boundaries. He preferred method of play with other kids is to poke their eyes and mouths. And then pull their hair. I am hoping that is something that he grows out of.

He still loves to read. He will flip through every page of book, point to all the pictures and then all of the words. If there is ever a bear or monkey he will kiss it. I have no idea why, but it is dang cute.

*Did I miss anything? Probably. I just love seeing Ethan grow and learn. I love watching the world through his eyes, because everything is just so exciting.

One Year With Ethan

I went through and tried to pick my favorite picture with Ethan for every month of his life- sometimes I had to pick two. I can’t believe how much he has grown. Every month has been an adventure, and I am so grateful for every single one.

First days of life

Month 1

Month 2

 

Month 3

 

Month 4

 

Month 5

Month 6

 

Month 7

Month 8

Month 9

 

Month 10

Month 11

 

Month 12

Yay! We did it Ethan! We made it through one whole year together. I am so excited to see what year two brings.

Twins

I am finally starting to see a little of Aaron in Ethan, but I still think that Ethan is about 98% Wray.

Here is my dad at 12 months.

 

Look familiar? I think if I gave Ethan a hair cut, they would be twins!

One Year

March 26, 2010

March 26, 2011 (close enough)

 

I can’t believe that it has already been a year. I almost don’t remember what life was like with out him. Ethan has brought so much joy into our lives. We love you Ethan! Happy Birthday!

Trying to Escape

The other day I was doing the dishes and I looked up from the sink just in time to see Ethan trying to escape out the front door! Haha! I guess he doesn’t like to be at home.

10 Months

*I completely forgot to take Ethan’s 10 month photo. I am hoping that by posting this will be the motivation I need to get the photos taken. You’ll have to come back for the photo.

He learned to share this month. He will eat a Cheerio and then he will feed you a Cheerio. Although this really applies to anything that he puts in his mouth. He will put his bottle in his mouth and then try to put it yours.

He also learned to play peek-a-boo! He knows to put the blanket over his face and then to take it off to get the BOO reaction. Also, anytime you say “Where’s Ethan?” He covers his eyes with his hands. So cute!

He learned to wave hi! Anytime he sees you he will wave hello.

He cruises all over the place. Not only is he a speed crawler. He loves to walk around the furniture. Although I think he believes that he can actually walk(he can’t) because he will keep going even though there is no more couch to hold on to. There have been plenty of accidents this month.

He also learned to clap. Anytime we start clapping or anytime we say YAY he will clap right along with us. He loves to clap along to “Patty Cake.”

 

The kid loves to eat. He could eat all day and never be satisfied. 

He now sleeps on his stomach, well kind of. It looks more like he fell asleep in the middle of  crawling. Knees bent, bum up in the air, face squished into the mattress. It is adorable.

He moved up to a big car seat. I wanted to wait until he was a year, but he had reached 23 pounds and the weight limit on his other seat was 22 pounds. Plus he couldn’t fit in it anymore. I couldn’t even buckle him in.

I know I mentioned this in a previous post, but his favorite place to hang out is on top of the dishwasher. I can no longer do the dishes while he is awake or he will climb aboard.

He also learned to go from laying to sitting. He already knew how to go from sitting to standing. Now every time I go to get him after a nap he is sitting up or standing up in his crib waiting for me. It still kind of freaks me out. I haven't gotten used to that one yet.

Just for Fun!

I haven’t done a good job of keeping up with the blog lately. So I thought I would share one big post about what Ethan has been up to lately.

Ethan loves to read! Anytime he gets his hand on a book he will lay on the floor to read it. Adorable!

Here is Ethan getting in his daily work out. I think this kid can do more pushups in one day then I have ever done in my entire life.

Lunch time is always more fun for Ethan when Mommy has planned bath time for dessert. (And that is avocado, not what you are probably thinking it is.)

 

My little shopper. The other day Ethan came out of my room with a bag around his arm. It was hilarious. He just dragged it with him all throughout the house. 

I’m not sure what this one is about. He is probably mad at me for putting him to bed. He hates nap time now that he knows how to sit up and stand up in his crib. And Hey, do you see those two teeth? His bottom two are in and the top two just broke through this week.

 

This is almost a daily occurrence in our home now. Ethan loves to open and close doors. He frequently will close a door and get stuck in a room all by himself. Then he will sit directly behind the door crying, because he wants to get out. Luckily we have hard wood floors. I gently push on the door, as the door pushes him back far enough so I can get in the room to rescue him.

My sewing helper. He loves to push on the pedal as I sew.

My mess maker. We have finally started gating him in so I can do things like go to the bathroom without him destroying the house while I am gone for two seconds. He now loves to pull himself up on the toy shelf just to dump everything off of it. At least it is a contained mess.

I know these pictures are blurry, but they tell the story perfectly. Ethan loves to sing his ABC’s. He always sways back and forth as we sing. He even tries to sing along. He is always so proud of himself afterwards. He gives himself a be round of applause.

 

The Climber

   

Ethan almost over night has become very mobile! He is a speed crawler. Plus, the kid thinks that he can walk. He pulls himself up anyway that he can. Then he cruises around the furniture. When the couch or the bench or the chair ends he keeps on going- well tries to at least. There have been plenty of accidents this month. He doesn’t even walk yet and I already feel as if I spend my days chasing him around the house. Yikes!

Here is his latest adventure- climbing. Yesterday I turned my back for a second to pull something out of the oven. When I turned around he had climbed onto the dishwasher! Oh how I love this little boy!