A Year of Memories and Forgotten Glimpses

This time last year, I was anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little boy. I was as big as a house (check out this post for photographic proof of my prodigious pregnant belly). I was uncomfortable, but excited. I was on constant contraction alert, and did the "freeze-count-wait" thing about ten times a day, wondering if I was going into labor. I took naps whenever I wanted whenever I could get comfortable enough, knowing that my sleep patterns were about to drastically change. I obviously knew that I loved my baby, but I had no idea how deep that love would become. I feel like I remember this time last year like it was yesterday.

But recently, I discovered that memories that are oh-so-sweet can be oh-so-fleeting.

Our friends Matt and Laurie recently celebrated the arrival of their second precious baby boy. Holding a floppy, gurgly, cooing, tiny newborn again made me realize how much time has passed since Ethan was born.

There are things I can't remember:
~ how intense my labor was (I read this to remind myself)
~ living in a world of equal parts euphoria and insomnia
~ Ethan's newborn noises, smell, mannerisms, and habits
~ how often Ethan nursed and napped in the first few months
~ putting him down and knowing that he would stay in that spot
~ Ethan weighing under twenty pounds

There are things I hope I never forget:
~ my baby's sweet disposition and joyful laugh
~ watching him figure things out and discover his world
~ the excitement of his "firsts"
~ what his smile looks like with only a few teeth
~ how incredibly grateful I am for this little boy

Luckily, I've got a photographer/filmmaker on permanent retainer, and he's madly documenting each and every phase. Here's Ryan's latest project:



*If video is jumpy, pause it and let it completely load, then restart from the beginning*

Babies Look Cute Dressed As Old Men

I realized that I haven't done an Ethan stats update in a while, so here's a quick run-down:

- Weighs at least 22 lbs. (as of last weigh in about two weeks ago) and is at least 27 inches long (as of last measurement two months ago)
- Has had his diaper changed more than 1560 times (and yes, fellow mommies, my husband DOES do diapers and is responsible for changing at least 1/2 of those!)
- Is not crawling yet, but can roll across rooms to get anywhere he wants to be (will employ snazzy 3-point turns if he needs to change directions)
- Doing lots of babbling, and frequently refers to Ryan as "Da-Da" (then again, I am also referred to as Da-Da... and so is Max... and the occasional preferred inanimate object...)
- Is eating a ton of different foods, his favorites being anything orange (sweet potatoes, carrots, squash, etc.)
- Has four teeth, two on top, and two on bottom (and perhaps more coming in - lots of drooling and finger chewing going on)
- Is starting to play with other babies by reaching out to touch them, handing them toys, and accepting toys handed to him (oh, and pulling hair - we're working on that one.)
- Laughs, laughs, laughs all the time, especially at ANYTHING that Ryan does (apparently he already realizes what a goofball his father is)
- Super good buds with Max, and loves to pet him, pull on his tail, and grab his paws (much to Max's chagrin)
- Is the apple of his mommy's eye, and the subject of his daddy's photography (though this is probably not news to loyal blog readers, it does act as a nice segue to the following image)

Chillin' in My Hood

It's been so rainy and yucky lately that we jumped at the chance to spend some time outdoors during a brief dry spell. Ethan has pretty much mastered the art of sitting up unassisted, even when he has the interference of a dog sitting on his lap!




His sitting isn't the only thing that's changed in the short time since our last post. He has four teeth now, and loves eating his oatmeal cereal. He'll crane his neck forward and open his mouth in anticipation of the spoon. My, how things can change so quickly with this little guy! Sarah started making and freezing the next few foods that Ethan will be introduced to. This weekend he will have his first taste of sweet potatoes. Hopefully he hasn't inherited his Daddy's disdain for veggies, otherwise we'll be stuck with a freezer full of baby food mush!


Another new trick Ethan learned is blowing raspberries. He takes a deep breath in preparation (which gives us a two second warning to shield our faces), and then lets the spit fly. We know we shouldn't laugh... but it's so darn cute that we can't help ourselves! He's already discovered this is a great way to get a rise out of us, and it's encouraging him to find every opportunity he can to soak Mommy and Daddy. He squeals with delight every time he does this, which makes us laugh even more. He's such a funny boy!

Heads Up!

Remember the post not too long ago where we said that it took Ethan about 20 minutes to roll over? He's made so much progress since then. Not only is he rolling over almost instantly from his back to his belly, we also recently discovered that he can roll back the other way! His routine when we put him down in his crib is as follows:

1) Roll over to his side
2) Insert thumb into mouth
3) Hang out for a few seconds
4) Take thumb out, roll over to belly
5) Reinsert thumb and fall asleep

It's pretty cute.


Ethan has also made a lot of improvements with his head control. Gone are the bobblehead days - this boy is doing a great job of using his neck muscles to hold up his head! Check it out:



He was doing this for about ten minutes yesterday before Ryan picked up the video camera, so he had lots of practice! Ethan is also practicing his laugh, and has tried out several different squeaks and squeals in the last week or so. He cracks himself up, and gets caught off guard by the sounds that come out of his mouth. He's such a funny boy!