Playing Around in the Big Chair

Tonight Ethan was having an especially good time playing around on the big chair in the great room. Here are some cute pics of him in his jammies sitting in the chair like a big boy. He's learned to anticipate the camera flash, so lately it's been difficult to get pics of him without his eyes tightly closed!

We Survived the Drive... Fun in Oklahoma City!!

Hello everyone! Sorry for my hiatus from blogging-it's been a bit hectic around here! Dan, Ethan, and I really enjoyed our stay in Oklahoma City. We were there from Sunday the 23rd until Saturday the 29th. We did decide to leave very early (4am) from Carmel, and that ended up working out really well. We were able to drive for 5 hours before Ethan even woke up. We made the 750-mile trip in just under 12 hours with only 2 stops. We were so happy that Ethan did really well on the trip with just one short-lived "mini meltdown" because he was hungry and tired and we were in the middle-of-nowhere Arkansas trying to get to the next exit ramp. Ethan also napped pretty well in the car, and he looked so cute and comfy, we just had to take a couple of pics:

During this trip was the first time since Ethan was very tiny that he slept in the pack and play, and he did not adjust very well the first few days. He slept and cried off and on at night and completely boycotted naps during the day at first. We brought a mattress to put in the bottom of the pack and play, but it occurred to me that Ethan's favorite sleep position in his crib at home is to be cuddled up with his face and body right against the crib bumper. I thought that adding a pillow in the pack and play might help, and *THANKFULLY* the pillow was like magic. He immediately fell asleep snuggled up with it, and we didn't have any issues with sleeping at night or napping after he had the pillow with him! Hopefully this trick will work as well when we go to North Carolina in November...
We were very blessed to get to spend time with Dan's family and friends throughout the week.
Giving kisses to Daddy!And Ethan went on his very first trip to the zoo! It was really fun to show him some "live" animals that he has learned the names of from his Noah's ark toy. He got to see zebras, giraffes, elephants, and tigers (just to name a few), but he called them all "D D D" which he generally says in reference to Waggles!
On the way home we were driving beside a car with an interesting Ohio license plate (Dan noticed it):
Dan zoomed the camera in as far as possible, but in case you can't see it, it says "WAGGLES". I thought that was so funny that someone had our doggie's somewhat unique name on their license plate!!

Learning Names for Animals and Body Parts

First a quick update to my previous blog about Ethan's cold. I ended up taking him to the pediatrician on Wed (after being up most of the previous night with him as he hacked away with his cough and could only sleep upright with me in the glider). Sure enough he has an ear infection in the left ear and the other ear is inflamed. We started him on amoxicillin Wed. night and have seen some improvement with the ear pain, but the congestion is hanging in there. Thank you all for your suggestions on how to make him more comfortable! Since this is the first time that Ethan has had amoxicillin, I thought that I wasn't familiar with it. When I opened the prescription to give him his first dose and caught a whiff of the bubblegum odor, all these memories from childhood flooded back! Funny that a scent is tied to memories- I do remember taking this stuff as a kid after all!

Ethan has absolutely loved playing with the new toys that he received for his birthday. He especially likes to carry around (and sometimes chew on) the animals that came with his Noah's Ark and his shape-sorting barn. We have been working on teaching him the names of these animals, and it is so much fun to ask him to bring the zebra to Mommy and watch him toddle off to the toy room and bring the zebra back! So far he is pretty consistent with the pig, cow, and zebra (although sometimes we still get a chicken instead). We are also working on naming body parts. He loves it when you ask him where his toes are. He knows toes, feet, and knee, and we're working on belly and nose. Nose is a bit problematic though with its similarity to "toes" ;)

He is also enjoying saying "hi", especially to Waggles. Sometimes, if he's in the mood, he'll say "hi" on the cell phone to family or friends. It's really neat to listen to his babbles as he's figuring out this whole "word thing".

First Bout With a Cold

We have been so fortunate that Ethan's general health has been excellent since we brought him home from the NICU. I think that the only fevers that he has had were related to vaccinations, and he has never even had a runny nose. This is probably at least partially due to the fact that I have been a bit overprotective and have not left him in the church nursery until two weekends ago... ;) Poor Ethan got hit with a whammy of a cold this week. He seemed groggy but happy on Saturday morning, and that evening he started getting cranky, congested, and developed a low grade fever. The congestion has gotten worse and worse, and he is now running a moderate fever when the Tylenol Plus Cold and Cough wears off. He can't take his bottle very well at all because he can't breathe through his nose, and I am surprised (sorry to gross anyone out) that it is possible for such a little nose to be so snotty! We've been encouraging him to use his new sippy cup with a straw instead of the bottle, but he thinks that it is more fun to suck liquid into his mouth and let it drip out all over himself and any surrounding objects than it is to swallow it. Therefore, we've only given him water in his sippy cup since we don't want milk all over him and all over the house too! We're hoping that Ethan gets well soon as we prepare for our first "real" trip with him this weekend. We'll be driving out to Oklahoma City to visit Dan's parents for a week. Up to this point, the furthest Ethan has been from home is about a 2-hour drive away. Should be an adventure! We are toying with the idea of leaving ridiculously early (like 2-4 am timeframe) so that we can get a good chunk of the trip out of the way while Ethan is sleeping and avoid making stops until he wakes up. We'll see how that goes. If any of you all who are much more experienced at traveling with little ones have any tips or advice, please let us know. Thanks!

Halloween Sneak Preview

I bought Ethan's Halloween costume today from a posting on Craigslist. It is a two-piece furry lion costume that is so adorable. I wasn't sure how he would react to having a hood on as well as elastic straps on the hands and feet that help keep the costume in place. I tried the outfit on him tonight to make sure that it fit (and that he would tolerate it), and he absolutely loved it! He ran around the downstairs for about 15 minutes smiling, squealing, and laughing. I think that he looks so cute in his costume!:

Looking So Grown Up (from Labor Day Weekend)

Dan, Ethan, and I stayed over at my parent's house Sunday to Monday over Labor Day weekend. Mom and Dad and some friends enjoyed Symphony on the Prairie Sunday night, and Dan and I enjoyed hanging out with my brother Mike. On Monday we had expected my Uncle from California to visit, but due to some extenuating circumstances he was unable to stop by my parent's house. I had dressed Ethan up to see his great uncle (who has just met him once before when he was less than a month old), and Dad took some pics of him in his cutie pie outfit. Mom thinks that he looks more like he is 2 or 3 years old instead of 12 1/2 months in this picture.

Mom and Dad got some of my and Mike's old toys out of their attic, and Ethan enjoyed playing basketball for awhile. He learned very quickly how to put the balls through the hoop and hear the "ding" sound when the bell rang. No fancy electronic toys from back then, there is just a lever that hits a bell when the ball goes through the hoop!

Dad tried to get a family pic for us too. This one turned out ok, but who knows what I was looking at in the next one (and Ethan was distracted by the basketball)!

Ethan's First Forward-Facing Car Ride

Ethan has officially met the guidelines to turn one of his carseats from rear-facing to forward-facing. For those of you who are not familiar with these guidelines, convertible carseats generally can be turned around once a child is 1 year old and at least 20 lbs. We have a primary carseat that we purchased new installed in my car (where Ethan rides about 95% of the time) and a back-up carseat that we purchased from a neighbor for our other car. Unfortunately the manufacturer of our primary carseat states that it can only be turned around once a child is 22 lbs, so Ethan needs a little more weight gain before we can turn that one around, but we turned the back-up one around this evening and took Ethan to a local outdoor mall for a walk and to grab some dinner. At first he seemed perplexed as to why he was facing the same direction as mommy and daddy, but he loved it!

Mesmerized by the Weather Channel (this continues) and Oh, My Aching Back!

Funny as it is, Ethan continues to be mesmerized by the Weather Channel and sometimes gets upset if you change the TV to a different channel. Dan and I think that he likes the colors of the radar and the upbeat, cheesy music. This evening he was once again fascinated by the radar, so I took some pics of his avid viewing habit :) Maybe we have a future meteorologist on our hands?
When I uploaded the pics from this evening to our computer and viewed them, the picture below struck me as a bit humorous. Ethan's stance looked as though he were elderly and experiencing back pain. See what you think: