Laughing and Sledding

Ryan took some cute videos while we were at the cabin over New Year's. This one is of Ethan's first sledding experience. Before you get worried, Sarah tested the "hill" (more of a speed bump, really) sans baby prior to going with Ethan. She did not, however, practice getting up from the sled with a baby in her arms, as you'll see in the video. Another thing you'll notice is that for all of our preparations (buying a saucer, building a little snow hill, and conducting several test runs), Ethan is not really into sledding. Oh well, it was lots of fun for Mommy, Daddy, and Max!



The next video is of Ethan cracking up during a game of peek-a-boo. He was having a great time with his daddy for a few minutes before we grabbed the camera. Max moonlights as the "dog-that-is-sooooo-not-amused-by-this-whole-baby-thing" (as you'll see by his icy stare at the end of the video).



Despite his apparent contempt for the uninvited house guest who refuses to leave, Max and Ethan are really becoming great friends. They play together a lot now and Ethan thinks Max is super funny. Max will hop into Ethan's playpen, Ethan will pull on Max's ears and try to shove them in his mouth... Max is a baby's best friend!

Oops!

Sorry, Aunt Mary... how could we forget to post this picture?


Ethan loves his Aunt Mary so much! He misses her a lot, but when they do get to spend time together it's always a lot of fun. She's such a cool aunt!

Eastern Excursion & Western Winter

We had a great time visiting our East Coast family for Christmas! It was quite a whirlwind vacation - we had less than a week to make stops in Pittsburgh, Washington D.C., and Charlottesville. We did a lot of driving, but it was absolutely worth all of the time on the road. We were happy to be able to spend time with so many people we love, and introduce Ethan to more family members he hadn't yet met.

Here are some photo highlights from our trip:

Ethan had a lot of fun playing with his Grandma!

Not fun, however, was Ethan's first experience with Baby Orajel. Teething is yucky on so many levels.

An Emerson family tradition, Pa-Pa showed Ethan all of the bells and whistles on this year's Hess truck.

Our goofball with his Great Great Aunts Anne, Wanda, and Nancy.

We arrived home on the evening of the 29th, and turned right around the next morning and drove to a small town in the Sierras for New Year's. We've rented a cabin and spent some time in the wilderness for the past several years as a post-holiday travel decompression. It's so beautiful and secluded, nestled high in the mountains in a forest of Redwoods and Pine. Ethan got to see snow for the first time, and even tried sledding on Mommy's lap (down a very small hill).

When we arrived we discovered that our cabin was buried in a good amount of snow!

We bundled Ethan up and took him outside to explore the Winter Wonderland.







Ethan absolutely adores being up on Ryan's shoulders.




















Daddy is so much fun!
























It was so cozy on the couch in front of the fire, and we spent a lot of time cuddled up with Max. Ethan is learning how to pet the dog, though he still tugs on Max's ears and legs a lot. Max is so patient with him, and the two of them are fast becoming buddies.

We hope everyone had a holiday as nice and relaxing as ours was. Happy New Year!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

We got a really sweet book from Ingrid, and thought we'd share some of it in our holiday post. It's called, "Once Upon a Baby's First Christmas," by Anne McEvoy. It's a tale of a little bunny that has a lot of questions upon discovering a cradle in the woods that contains a strange, unknown creature.

"What is it?" Bunny whispered, on tiny tippy toes.
"A baby," came the answer, with a lot of oohs and ohs.
"A baby?" asked the Bunny - "so what are babies for?"
"For cuddling," said the others, "and to snuggle and adore."
"It's tiny," said the Bunny, "it can't be very strong."
"That's so you can pick them up and rock them all night long."
"And what's this baby thinking?" They all looked and stared a while...
"Must be something sweet to make that precious little smile."
Thinking hard, the Bunny asked, "What do babies do all day?"
"They fill the world with wonder and steal your heart away."
"A baby is like Christmas," the Bunny finally sighed.
"It makes the world seem brighter and your heart feel warm inside..."
The others nodded slowly as the snow began to fall...
And all agreed a baby was the sweetest gift of all.

We send our warmest wishes, and hope that your holiday season is filled with love, joy, and wonder!

Leaving on a Jet Plane

By the time you read this, we'll be on our way back East for Christmas (or already there!). As we write this, however, we're still in the Bay Area, frantically completing our last minute preparations. We learned a lot about traveling with a baby when we flew to Minnesota for Thanksgiving, and are hoping that this knowledge will serve us well on this trip. We'll be flying into Washington, D.C. to see Ethan's Pa-Pa, Oma, and lots of aunts and uncles. We'll also make our way to Pittsburgh to visit the Ventura family, and Charlottesville to see Ethan's Grandma. We're so excited about this trip, and are almost all ready to go. Thank goodness Ethan is around to help us pack!

I'm Watching You...

Once upon a time, we could put Ethan down somewhere, say in his bouncy chair or in his crib, and he'd stay put. Well, those days are over now! Ethan is constantly moving and exploring. His hands are reaching out to grab everything in sight, he rolls around from one end of his crib to the other, and is attempting to sit up on his own. He's also lifting up his head super high when he's on his belly. Ryan noticed that Ethan was stretching up his neck to peer over the walls of his play mat, and snapped a few pictures of our little spy.



Before we know it, this little guy will be crawling. Let the childproofing begin!

Gobble, Gobble!

We're back from Minnesota, still full from our delicious Thanksgiving feast! Ethan was happy to see Grandma and Grandpa Ventura again, and enjoyed meeting the rest of the family.

Ethan and his Grandma Ventura resumed their singing duets!

Cousin Logan (sporting Great Grandma's rain bonnet) tried to teach Ethan how to play with cars.

Ethan was a big hit with his ninety-year-old Great Great Aunt Frannie!

Ethan did a fantastic job with his first flight! He was sweet and quiet for the entire ride to Minnesota, but had a bit of a meltdown when we arrived. We think his ears were bothered by the landing, so you can't hardly blame him for howling. The plane ride back to California was a different story. He did a fantastic job for the take off and landing, but was very clingy for all of the parts in between. He was fine as long as Mommy held him and walked the aisles!


Ethan had his four-month doctor's appointment today, and received another glowing review. We're so thankful to have such a healthy boy! He weighs 17 lb. 14 oz., measures 26 3/4 inches in length, and is in the 97th percentile for both weight and height. Ryan jokes that Ethan should be in the 100th percentile. "Ethan is bigger than 100% of all babies on Earth," he quipped earlier today. "Call Guinness!"