Fisrt Time

Today was the first day that Ethan met his Grandpa Rick.It's been about 3 years since Drew and I have seen my dad and it went very well. Ethan was a happy baby and even smiled for a couple pictures too. My dad and his finance Tammy came to our house and we visited for a couple of hours . It was nice to see my dad with Ethan and pray that they can have a great bond someday.

Grandpa Rick brought some really neat presents for Ethan. A soft rhino stuffed animal, a baby phone and a farm sound board. Ethan loves his rhino.

Later that day ....

I went up stairs to get something and when I can back down

Eric and Drew had made Ethan a cape out of his blankie and were playing with him. I thought it was so cute so I just took a picture. Eric LOVES Ethan and every time Ethan sees Eric he always smiles at him. We call him Uncle Conway.

Can't stop!

I can't stop taking pictures of my baby!

He's a natural!

just a few

We did it!

Now that Ethan is sleeping like a champ I have much more time to blog and exercise! Hurry back size two... yeah right I wish :)

At Ethan's last doctors appointment one of the questions came up "how is he sleeping?" . I said "sleeping???? What's that ?" Dr. Brown and I bonded that day ...she talked to me about how important it was for Drew and I to sleep to give Ethan the best care . Not only that but Ethan needs to sleep too. She told me she's not a big fan of crying it out, but in some cases (like ours) it was probably worth a valid effort. Drew and I have tried it 2 times now and caved both times because we felt so bad to see him so sad. This time we felt like we had the "OK" to do it and so WE DID IT!!! I don't know how proud I should be that I let my baby cry , but I just felt like it was the best thing for him. We just made sure he had everything he needed before hand , diaper change, food in his belly and a comfy fuzzy blanket to sleep on. The first night I laid him down drowsy and of course he woke up immediately after I put him down. So this time instead of picking him back up again I rubbed him back briefly and told him I loved him and that it was OK. I let him cry for 15min and I repeated what I initially did and left. I went in again after 20 more minutes and told him he was OK from the door. I just let nature take it's course after that. He cried for a total of about 2 and a half hours and fell asleep. The second night only took him 30 minutes to sleep and tonight was only 15minutes. He usually sleeps for 5 straight hours and wakes for a bit and then back to sleep until about 6:00am.. I feel like a new person and I am so proud of myself, Ethan and Drew for getting through this together. Next it's on to nap time!!!! This was my baby blanket that Ethan is laying on. I only have a handful of baby pictures and items from when I was a child so it's pretty special to me that he uses this. My grandma Rose made it for me.I also just got my rocking horse back from my grandma that I loved as a little girl, and I put it in Ethan's room.

Grandma Cyndi bought this Curious George jack-n-the box for him and he loves it. I still get scared every time it pops open, ha :)

I am trying so hard to upload the video of Ethan saying "dada" but it's just not working. Hummm?

Last day of summer.

Drew, Ethan and I went for a stroll this evening after dinner just around our neighborhood. We noticed that a lot of the trees are already turning and loosing their leaves. I LOVE fall, it's my absolute favorite time of year. I'm not sure if it's cause it's around my birthday, anniversary and Halloween(my favorite holiday next to Christmas)or if it's just the weather. Either way I love it!

This is the Mississippi River.

The start of fall.

Daddy pushing the stroller! Ethan really likes walks. Either he will sit back and enjoy or he is sitting up straight and making sure he notices EVERYTHING.

By the way Drew hates this picture of himself... he said he's going to start a blog and post pictures of me I don't like on it. haha. Too bad that will never happen. Drew is truly a character. Sometimes he makes me laugh so hard it actually hurts. Most of the time I just can't breath I'm laughing so hard.

Laughter and faith to me is really what makes a marriage strong.

6 month wellness

Ethan and I just got back from his 6 month appointment and all is well. He weighs 18lbs and is 50th percentile for weight. His head is also 50th and his height is 27 1/2 inches which is 75th percentile. Our little Monkey is getting tall!! He got 4 shots, 2 in each leg and one oral shot. One of those shots was a flu shot (just in case). Drew and I will get our first ever flu shot this year as well to help prevent Ethan from getting it .When Ethan had his 4 month shots he cried for almost 2 hours later that night so I'm praying that it doesn't happen again. He only cried for a minute when he actually got the shots this time, he did so well. The doctor commented on what a well natured baby he was so that made me feel good:) He has all the makings for starting to crawl, but we just wonder when that will be.

His new favorite toy!He could spend hours in this if we let him. He's gettin some air in this picture. I'll post some video of him jumping later on when I get a second to edit it as well as a video of Ethan saying "dada".