Unless you're talking about bank accounts or stock portfolios, it's never a good thing when you can compare your baby to Trump. Over the past fourteen months Ethan's mop top has turned into an unintentional tribute to the Donald. If we had waited much longer, our little boy would have looked like a mini Billy Ray Cyrus or an itty bitty Dog the Bounty Hunter. Ryan and I finally decided to say goodbye to his wild locks and took Ethan to get his first haircut. It was time, don't you think? Even Ethan agreed, as evidenced by his saucy post-haircut grin. The salon was equipped with fun seats, TV screens at each station, snacks, and wall murals. Ethan got to sit in a snazzy red car that just so happened to match my dress.
Ethan seemed very interested in the whole process, and when the shininess of the situation wore off he (thankfully!) was very interested in his snacks. The stylist remarked several times that his first haircut stamina was quite impressive.
It only took about ten minutes for Ethan's mullet-in-the-making to disappear. It's definitely a huge improvement, and I'm so glad we did it! Still, a little piece of me is sort of hoping that I'll get to see those cute little curls again one day...
When Ethan was a newborn, I kept data on everything. Perhaps I went a little overboard, but hey - occupational hazard. I tracked his feedings, recorded his diapers, and tallied his sleep hours. As he's grown up, the era of presenting his pediatrician with such detailed information has passed. All I have left now is counting his teeth and tracking his weight and height stats at his checkups.
After graphing the "normal" stats, I started to think about what else I could visually represent. I was right in the middle of a good train of thought when Ethan let out a blood-curdling scream, followed by a satisfied chuckle. It was then that inspiration for the following graph struck:
I figured Ethan's volume has ranged from 0dB (the weakest sound that can be heard) to 95dB (the level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss). Don't bother yelling at me for making a graph using estimated instead of empirical data... I can't hear you.
Ooh, this is fun! Should we try one more?
Ethan and Max are pals. Most of the time. Some of the time. Well, Ethan likes Max, at least. Unfortunately, Ethan's form of lovin' is shown in swats, tail pulls, and eye pokes. Usually Max is pretty tolerant. Considering the fact that Ethan plays with the dog's toys, crawls into the dog's bed, and has taken away most of the dog's attention, Max has the patience of a saint. Dogs will be dogs, though, and sometimes he can't resist teaching the boy a lesson:
You'll see that Max does get in a few good licks here and there. While much more infrequent, the dog's wallops pack a bigger punch. On Friday, Ethan fought the dog and the dog won. Ryan is calling Ethan "Scarface" while his wounds heal - though he assures me that the scratch on my baby's face will not result in a permanent mark. I guess you can call this our first taste of sibling squabbles.
So what does the analyzation of this data show me?
1) My boy is growing fast. 2) I need to invest in earplugs. 3) Maybe we'll wait a bit longer before thinking about baby #2.
Do you remember this post? Back in May, I was amazed by all of Ethan's changes in the span of a little over a week. After the new things I witnessed yesterday, the list of changes from that old post seems like nothing! Here's what our little goober accomplished in one short day:
- Said "banana" to request his favorite food - Said "hi" to me when I entered his room after nap time - Waved "bye bye" every single time he was prompted - Slid down backwards off of the couch instead of nose-diving
Oh, and today he accomplished one more thing... Ethan started to walk. He can WALK! He took three steps in a row tonight. Hurrah!
Ethan is 13 months old, has 16 teeth, weighs 25 pounds, and is 32 inches tall. He can say Dada, Mama, baby, yeah, hi, thank you, nana (or banana, depending on his mood), gege (for doggie), baa (after we ask what sound a sheep makes) and blah (the sound that his dragon toy makes). He crawls at lightning speed, eats as many finger foods as he can get his hands on, and rejects all things baby. He's a big boy now...
... quite possibly the most gorgeous big boy in the world.
I've developed a lot of obsessions over the past year. There are baby products that I couldn't live without. There are tools of convenience that make mommyhood, well, more convenient. There are Ethan's chubby little toes and sweet chipmunk cheeks that beg to be squished, pinched, kissed, and tickled.
And then there's the iPhone 3GS. More specifically, the video function of the iPhone 3GS. I was hooked from the moment I pressed the record button. It's sleek. It's accessible. It's easy. I'm obsessed.
It's become a bit unhealthy, I must admit, as I'm starting to view my life in video clips. Instead of simply enjoying the moment, I frequently think, "Gee, I should really grab my phone and take a video of (insert heartwarming or funny baby behavior here)."
Not wanting to be unproductive, I've decided to make use of my newfound obsession by posting some of my favorites for your viewing pleasure. To make it a bit more interesting, I've also decided to challenge you to come up with a witty title for the last video clip. Leave your best idea in a comment on this post, and the winner* will be chosen and announced for all to admire. *Note - the "prize" for the "winner" of this "contest" is an ego-boosting dose of pride.
Don't be daunted by the amount of videos below... most are only fifteen to thirty seconds long!
Ethan cozies up with his toys
Learning how to walk
Saying "gege" (E's form of "doggie")
Playing in the park with Dada
Learning how to play fetch
Max doesn't want to share
Grass feels super icky
Contest clip - take your best shot!
Well, what are you waiting for? Name! That! Video!
Did you know that 2+2+2 = 1? It's true! When you combine...
~ 2 family visits full of fun
~ 2 yummy birthday cakes
~ and 2 sets of presents to open
You end up with 1 unforgettable experience for a super lucky birthday boy!
Thanks to Pa-Pa, Aunt Mary, Great-Great Aunt Anne, Great-Great Aunt Wanda, Mima, and Poppa (and all other family and friends who were with us in spirit!) for making Ethan's first birthday so memorable!
One year ago, Ethan James Notch was born. 365 days later, my heart has at least tripled in size. 8760 hours have passed since our lives have changed in beautifully complicated ways. 525,600 minutes of incredible memories have been captured both in mind and on film, thanks to my fabulous artist husband. 31,536,000 seconds have been spent thinking about, loving, protecting, relishing, playing with, smelling, feeding, bathing, diapering, snuggling, kissing, teaching, learning from, and being thankful for my beautiful baby boy.
I've been thinking a lot about birthday wishes lately. This is probably due to the hours spent agonizing over the logistics of a party for a one-year-old who could care less about unwrapping presents or blowing out birthday candles. To him, it's just another day, perhaps slightly more overwhelming, but normal nonetheless. To me, it's so much more.
Since Ethan doesn't understand birthday wishes yet, I figured I should make some for him.
I wish you a lifetime of happiness spent with those who love you.
I wish for you the tools to get you where you want to go.
I wish for you to always find joy in the little things.
I wish you a life full of excitement.
And, finally, just in case you get your Mama's sweet tooth, I wish for you to get your Daddy's metabolism!
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*
The salon was equipped with fun seats, TV screens at each station, snacks, and wall murals. Ethan got to sit in a snazzy red car that just so happened to match my dress. 
