My Funny Valentine

It's been a sweet, sweet eighteen months since his birth, which means it's time for another Ethan stats update!


- Is impossibly cute, as seen above, but has a new and inexplicable blinding fear of camera equipment and strobe lights. This made our photo shoot quite difficult, as a screaming, crying, blotchy baby wasn't exactly what we were going for. Luckily, Daddy is a professional, and managed to get a few good shots!
- Weighs a whopping 28 pounds. TWENTY EIGHT POUNDS! Sheesh. Do you realize how close 28 is to 30? I'm honestly quite shocked that I don't have more obvious muscle mass from lugging that big lug around for the last year and a half.
- Measures 35 inches tall, unless you (like I do) think that the nurse miscalculated at his last checkup. I'm giving him a credit of one inch and am calling him an even three feet.
- Uses running as his primary mode of transportation, and as a result has recently split open his lip, scraped up his forehead, and incurred countless bruises.
- Has begun to develop manners, and will spontaneously say "thank you" when you give him something, and ask for "help, please" when he's frustrated. It's sounds more like "tae coo" and "bup, peas" but we know what he means and it's good enough for us!
- Has a mouth full of teeth and a head full of hair, and has received three official haircuts to date. We're still waiting on his two year molars... at least I think we are. I would try to feel his gums at the back of his mouth, but he gets all Little Shop of Horrors on you and clamps down now. I've analyzed the risk vs. reward, and have decided I just don't care enough to know for sure whether or not all of his teeth have broken through.
- Loves all vehicles (the bigger, the better), ride-on toys, bathtub crayons, knocking over blocks, playing musical instruments, and reading books. He also likes to pick up toys, place them in a bucket, and then violently shake the bucket until all of the toys fall out. Peek-a-boo, games of chase, and piggy back rides are also big hits in this house.
- Dances to every type of music imaginable, including muzak in the market, hip hop in the mall, and ballads on Kleenex commercials. He likes tunes with a steady, thumping beat, and will turn around, bob his head, bend his knees and shake his booty, and run in place a la Flashdance.
- Is no longer Mama's little baby, though I must admit I still try to cradle and cuddle him like I did when he was a wee thing. I'm learning to embrace the fact that my sweet baby is a little boy now, and am cherishing every minute of his boyhood... because I know that before I know it, he'll be all grown up!

Smooth Move(s), Mama.

*Disclaimer - those with weak stomachs should proceed with caution.

Oh, man, doctor's appointments can be brutal.

We took Ethan in today for his 9 month check up. The experience was probably doomed from the beginning, as his appointment was scheduled for 4:00. Those of you who are familiar with my color-coded, spreadsheet-worthy, regimented sleep schedule (and really, who among you haven't memorized it?) know that Ethan's afternoon nap starts at 3:30. Sharp(ish). So why, you may ask, did we schedule the appointment for 4:00? It's definitely not because that time is best for my schedule. Surely I didn't choose my wants and needs over those of my baby.

Not me.

As one could predict, 4:00 came and went, as did 4:10, 4:20, and 4:30, and we were still sitting in the waiting room (one of us spent those thirty minutes eyballing everyone who coughed, obsessing about swine flu... guess which parent that was). We had done everything but stand on our heads to keep Ethan from a major meltdown. For the record, when he's tired Ethan is not amused by an aquarium full of fish, a handful of Cheerios, Mama's silly faces, or those toys that EVERY pediatrician's office has with the wooden beads that you push along the twisted wires. Harried and out of ideas, I finally went up to the receptionist and asked how much longer the wait was. Three people were still ahead of us. Yikes.

I explained that we only had a few minutes before my baby would turn the peaceful, fish-tank-bubbling ambient sounds of the waiting room into the background track of a horror movie, and begged that she do whatever she could to move things along. After not so subtly suggesting that it was somehow our fault for choosing the 4:00 appointment time (a comment that my rightfully-so perturbed husband couldn't let slip by without a justified retort), she said she would see what she could do. We were called a few minutes later. It's a good thing, too, because I had already decided that I would move closer to the reception window if Ethan started wailing.

The nurse came in right away to weigh (23 lbs.) and measure (29 in.) him, and assured us that the doctor would be in shortly. She was. As usual, she had glowing reviews about Ethan's development, and baby big boy got a clean bill of health. There was only one more hurdle left - the most dreaded one of all - a needle. Well, two needles, to be exact. In addition to an immunization (yes, I do work with kids with autism, and yes, we did decide to vaccinate our child), he also needed a blood test. One "simple" finger prick later and Ethan's little baby hand was gushing an adult amount of blood. While he was screaming, the nurse fumbled with the bandage before giving up and asking me to apply pressure instead. She moved on to the shot, which was met with the same amount of crying, albeit a lot less gory. His finger still bleeding, she finally applied a band-aid and rushed from the room. We followed quickly behind.

Now a fully 90 minutes past nap time, battle-worn and hungry, Ethan was loaded into the car. I hesitated for a moment, deciding whether or not it would be a good idea to take off his bandage for the ride home. What was the bigger risk - blood on the car seat, or an ingested band-aid? I chose to keep it on, which was probably the wrong call... within two minutes of pulling out of the parking lot I heard the sound of what I would later learn was my baby sucking all of the blood out of his band-aid. Ew.

Hey, at least it was organic.

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)

Owie Teefies!

Wow - it's been so long since we've posted! A lot of things have happened in the last few weeks. Ethan's first tooth broke through, and he wasn't too happy about it. Our good little sleeper refused to take any of his naps, and cried all day when his tooth first came in. He got over that quickly, though, and was back to his sweet self in no time.

He also recently had his six-month doctor's appointment. His current stats: 19.5 lbs. and 27.5 in., which is in the 90th percentile for both. Perhaps it's because we think he's a genius, but we were convinced that Ethan recognized where he was and remembered previous doctor's appointments. As soon as it was time for his shots, we placed him down on the table. He immediately started crying, perhaps in anticipation of what was to come. The doc said that most babies eventually do figure out the correlation, but not usually this early. It both made us proud and broke our hearts - it's not fun to see him so upset!

Ethan is trying his best to sit up, but he hasn't mastered that skill yet. He can tripod sit, supporting himself with his hands, and he can also sit if we're propped up behind him. His mass is working against him - Ryan likens it to trying to balance a watermelon on the end of a pencil. He'll get it eventually, he just has to keep practicing! He is rolling and scooting all over the place, can transfer toys from one hand to the other, and babbles up a storm. It's so much fun watching him discover new things!

A big new discovery today was food! We started Ethan on rice cereal, with much more success than we anticipated. He wasn't a huge fan, but he definitely didn't hate it. As with all of the new milestones, Sarah enjoyed it about ten times as much as Ethan - notice the giant, goofy grin on her face, in contrast to Ethan's confused grimace.





























We'll keep working on developing his taste for food... if his obsession with milk is any indication, he'll be eating like a champ in no time!

Our Big, Big Boy!

Ethan had a pediatrician appointment today, and has definitely grown a lot since birth. He now weighs 12 lbs. 13 oz. and is 23.5 inches long. That's exactly four pounds and two inches more than he was when he entered this world! The doctor assured us that not only is this much growth okay, it's a really good thing. Sarah did some quick math, however, and determined that if he keeps growing at this rate, we'll have a one-year-old that weighs over fifty pounds and stands almost four feet tall! Thankfully, his growth will not continue in such outrageous spurts... and if it does we'll at least have the privilege of calling Guniness to see if he qualifies for a world record.

In other growth and development news, Ethan is continuing to build his strength and is doing really well with supporting his own head. While he's not able to consistently master this skill, he's certainly spending a lot of time practicing. He also is able to roll onto his side and has discovered his hands and feet. He enjoys toys now, especially rattles and anything with flashing lights. The most exciting new skill of all - he is smiling! He's smiled here and there for the past couple of weeks, but he's now deliberately smiling as a reaction to things (and people!) that he likes. It's such a heartwarming thing to see!

Speaking of heartwarming things to see, here's another pic from Ethan's one month photo shoot. We have a few more, and will post them soon. The round two photo shoot attempt was much more successful than the first, thank goodness!



We're getting really excited for Grandpa Emerson's visit this weekend, and will soon be counting down the days until Grandma & Grandpa Ventura and Aunt Kelly arrive! It's hard to be so far away from our families, and we feel very thankful that so many people have been able to come out for a visit!

Almost a Month Old!

Wow - it's hard to believe that it's been almost a month since Ethan was born! He's changing so much each day, and has grown a LOT. Weighing in at 8 lbs. 13 oz. at birth, he lost weight in the hospital and got down to 8 lbs. 1 oz. At his last weigh in, he was closing in on 11 lbs. - that's almost a three pound weight gain! Needless to say, nursing is going well and our hungry little boy is a good eater!

He's made progress in other areas of development, too. In addition to the new facial expressions we've been seeing, Ethan has started to track movement. His big, bright eyes followed as Daddy walked around the bouncy chair the other day, which was a first! He's discovered and delights in mirrors, and loves to stare at himself during diaper changes. Thanks to our recent introduction of tummy time, Ethan's neck muscles are getting stronger and he'll sometimes support his own head for short lengths of time. We've seen some hints of a smile out of him, and can't wait until he starts laughing. He's an amazing little guy, and shows us something new each and every day!

Our big photo shoot will happen in the next few days, to commemorate Ethan turning one month old. Be on the lookout for those pictures, and enjoy these in the meantime!

He likes tummy time, but often falls asleep on the job. Lazy baby.


Is he throwing a massive fit, or just rocking out? You decide.