Ethan's 18 Month Check-up

Happy Leap Day! This morning Ethan had his 18 month well baby check-up. He was 24lbs 2oz and is 33 1/4 inches long. He has moved up to the 25th percentile for weight (the highest he has been since birth!) and is around the 75th percentile for height. He had to get one vaccination (Hep A), but otherwise the visit was uneventful, and he is doing very well! The pediatrician recommended that we purchase a potty seat to put in the bathroom so that Ethan can get used to seeing it and understanding what it is for. I don't plan to attempt to potty train him for awhile (probably not until he is at least 2 or really shows signs of readiness), but we'll let him get accustomed to at least the sight of it anyway!
In other news, recently Ethan has sparked an interest in letters of the alphabet. He has a shape-sorting toy that comes with A, B, C, and D pieces. He really enjoys putting the letters in the shape sorter and trying to identify them. He usually gets B and D correct. He also loves it when we draw letters on his magnadoodle and tell him what they are. He often carries the magnadoodle over to me and requests letters, usually "D". He likes for us to identify letters on our clothing too. For example, Dan wore a Colts sweatshirt this weekend, and he wanted to know what the names of each letter were. He caught on to "O" right away and repeatedly pointed that one out. I opened a LeapFrog alphabet toy for him recently and think that it is very educational, but unfortunately it came with 2 volume settings: loud and louder. The alphabet song has been ringing in my ears ever since! He really enjoys it though and seems to be learning a lot from it.

Life is Much Easier...

with a minivan! We have been researching and visiting dealerships, and we finally purchased a 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan. Our 2000 Grand Prix is pushing 135,000 miles, and we're not sure how long it is going to last, so we were in the market for a new vehicle so that Dan can commute with the 2003 Grand Prix when the old one dies. I was much more inclined to look at small SUVs (like the Equinox or Torrent), but Dan and other friends of ours convinced me on the practicality of a minivan. We really only considered the Honda or Toyota minivans, and the pricepoint for what we wanted in a minivan was better from Toyota. We picked it up from the dealership this weekend, and Dan moved Ethan's carseat to the van just last night. So, Ethan and I drove together in the minivan for the first time today. I absolutely LOVED it! It handled really nicely, and it was SO much easier to get Ethan in and out of his carseat. In the Grand Prix, I practically had to "throw" Ethan into his carseat because of his weight and the carseat being in the center of the backseat. It is so much roomier too-We are all going to really enjoy it! On somewhat of an ironic note, I drove the minivan and Dan drove our 2003 Grand Prix home from the dealership. On his way home, the check engine light came on. On occasion the light has come on as a fluke and goes off after the engine cycles a few times, but so far it has stayed on despite driving it 10+ more times. We haven't seen any evidence of an issue yet, so let's hope it's nothing serious. How ironic that the check engine light came on when we were on our way home with the minivan??

Bouncin' Around

Today Ethan and a friend got to check out a local facility that has indoor, inflatable bounce equipment for kids. There is a room with 3 bounce houses designated just for toddlers, and there are 2 larger rooms with humongous inflatable slides, mazes, climbing areas, etc. primarily for older kids. Ethan was very uncertain when I first climbed into a bounce "house" along with him in the toddler room. After cautiously watching some other kids jump around, he started crawling, and then began walking along the inflated surface. When he got the hang of walking on it, he had the hugest, silliest grin plastered on his face. It was adorable! I tried to capture it in a photo, and I'm not sure that I captured his pure glee on film, but it was so much fun to see him so thrilled. We spent about 45 minutes on the equipment in the toddler room and then another 45 minutes in the rooms with the larger inflatables. I carried him and climbed up a large one twice so that we could go down a slide together. That was a lot of fun! After 1 1/2 hrs, he was exhausted. It is definitely a place that we will visit again in the future.

18 Months Old

I can't believe that Ethan is already a year and a half old!! Time has just been flying by...
Here are some highlights of our day:

*Lately Ethan has been into developing his fine motor skills, and he especially enjoys building towers with a set of wooden blocks. I was quite impressed today when he showed me this little tower that he put together all by himself with three tiers (the top two tiers were tall and had narrow bases, but he managed to balance them nonetheless).
*I attend a mom's group that meets weekly at our church, and during our meeting Ethan is in their childcare (with kids who are walking to 19 months old). I ask how he did each week when I pick him up, and the childcare workers have told me that he is a joy and one even wanted to take him home with her! ;) I was touched this morning when they told me that Ethan is their little helper. Whenever anyone drops their blankie, sippy cup, or pacifier, Ethan hurries over, picks it up, and hands it to whoever dropped it. They said that he takes care of all of the other kids. I am so happy to know that he has a tender heart for the kids in his class and wants to help them whenever he can. I hope that, as he grows up, he always displays such a heart for others.
*When Daddy got home from work, he gave Ethan a ride on his bean bag chair. This was the first time that Ethan has been pushed and pulled around on the bean bag, and it can slide pretty fast over the carpet. He had a blast!
*Tonight Ethan got his first taste of Homemade (the brand) cookies and cream ice cream. Dan gave him one bite at first, and then Ethan kept making the sign for "more" and saying more-more, more-more. He had quite a few bites before he and Daddy finished it off and was very disappointed to hear us say "all done".

Reaching New Heights

Sometimes Ethan can hike his leg up high enough, get a good grasp on the fabric, and manage to climb onto our furniture, but this has rarely happened. My mom brought a small cushioned stool that Mike and I played with when we were little to our house for Ethan, and tonight I showed Ethan how to use it to assist him in getting up on our furniture. The thought did pass through my mind just before showing him this that I might regret it in the future, but I guess we'll have to wait and see! He quickly got the hang of it and was up and down, on and off the furniture for the rest of the evening before his bedtime. It scares me a bit that he doesn't pay very close attention to where the edge of the furniture cushions are yet, and I am keeping a close eye on him to prevent any falls. He is very proud of his new accomplishment, and I took a couple pics of him tonight climbing up onto our chair and then sitting on the edge holding his sippy cup:

I'm in Love with...

clearance racks (and my hubby, of course)! I have recently been shopping the clearance racks at Kohl's and JCPenney and am very excited about the deals I've found. (I get very excited about bargains-those of you who know me are already well aware of that! :)
For all of those other thrifty shoppers out there, Kohl's currently has clearance racks that are marked down 70-85%, these clearance items are now an additional 25% off, and if you have a Kohl's charge, you get yet another 15, 20, or 30% off at the register. This makes for some super deals! I went to Kohl's on Sunday with the intent of just returning a sweater that I had received for my birthday, but I wandered over to the infant/toddler section and couldn't help myself. I bought Ethan lots of items, including a $6 pair of Skechers (they are 3 sizes up, but I will stow them away until he grows into them), and several pajama sets and other clothing items ranging from a dollar to 3 or 4 dollars.
I hadn't previously found very much at JCPenney's for Ethan, though I do like the style of their Arizona Jean and OshKosh clothing, but the trip I made there today was quite productive too. I got 17 items, including cargo pants with adjustable waistbands, very nice button down shirts (like Daddy wears to work), long sleeve fleece hoodies, etc. for $42! Many of these items are sized 2T and up, so Ethan won't be able to wear them for awhile, but I enjoy taking advantage of sales now to get great deals that he can grow into.
I also heard from a friend last night that Meijer is having some great clearance sales on toddler/kids clothing. Ethan and I will probably check that out tomorrow (we desperately need to make a grocery run anyhow!)

A Belated Valentine's Day Celebration

Dan returned home safely this evening after being overseas on a business trip for a week. We were relieved and happy to have him home safe and sound. My mom had babysat for Ethan on Tuesday while I went to a Mom's Night Out activity with friends from church, and she brought a Valentine's gift for Ethan. We saved it to open when Daddy came home (since he was gone over Valentine's Day), and it was fun to see Ethan's reaction when I handed him the gift. He must have remembered from Christmas, because he knew exactly what to do when it came to unwrapping the gift- he did it all by himself! He was very excited to play with his new set of vehicles, signs, and traffic cones. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa G!! Here are a few pics of him unwrapping the gift by himself:

Ethan's Valentine

Nicole and her daughter, Kara, came over today to play, and we took the kids to Chilis for lunch. The kids had a great time playing, and it was fun to see that they are getting to be much more interactive in their play. Ethan enjoyed playing "peekaboo" with Kara, and I was able to capture a few cute pics. We joked that Ethan and Kara were each others' valentine. :) We took them to Chilis for lunch and left for the restaurant at a time when both of them were usually napping. Surprisingly, they both did wonderfully at the restaurant despite being sleepy. They shared a kids meal and loved hanging out with us at the table. Dan and I have just recently started feeding Ethan in a high chair at restaurants (his stroller usually worked really well), but Ethan is more interested in being up at the table and hearing and seeing everything that is going on now. I am a bit of a germophobe, so I bought a high chair cover for Ethan as well as a reusable placement with suction cups that stick to the table. Both worked out really well for us today, and we had a very fun lunch! Here are a couple of pics of Ethan with his valentine, Kara:

Sesame Street-aholic

Ethan is completely obsessed with Sesame Street. He is adamant that an episode be playing on the TV at all times (which I don't often indulge, but since he's been sick for several days, I've let him watch it much more than usual). He now knows the characters: Elmo, Ernie, Bert, Big Bird, Cookie Monster, Grover, and sometimes Zoe (still getting to know that one). I recently purchased a collection of sixteen Elmo and Sesame Street videos from Craigslist, and he has already watched 4 or 5 of them. He just can't get enough of Sesame Street. I saw in the paper on Sunday that Sesame Street Live is coming to a local venue, and I knew that he would be ecstatic to see the characters that he loves so much "live". So, I bought tickets today for a show at the end of March, and I can't wait to see his reaction when we go. Hopefully those who sit near us are prepared to hear "Elmo" and "Ernie" chanted over and over and over. I'm really looking forward to getting to take him to the show. I'll post pictures after we go!

You Know You're Tired When...

you get ready to make yourself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch. You get the jelly, PB, and two slices of bread out, and then proceed to spread peanut butter on both slices of bread. Yes, this afternoon I did not even notice that I was making the sandwich without the jelly. This is primarily due to the fact that Ethan has been sick since Thursday, therefore has not been sleeping well at night and not napping well either. Since Dan is out of town on business, this means that mommy gets very little sleep! Fortunately Ethan is on the mend and hopefully will be back to 100% soon. In the meantime, I'll enjoy my very peanut buttery sandwich ;)

Talkin' About Moles (the Animals)

I have not been very good so far this month at updating my list of Ethan's words... He has been adding to the list so quickly that I'm not sure that it will be possible to keep up. I guess I'd need to stop recording them sometime anyhow, and we're approaching (if not have already hit) the "word explosion" stage. He loves learning new words and wants us to name lots of things for him. He is constantly pointing or gesturing to get our attention so that we'll tell him what something is called. He especially loves any and all animals. The first three syllable word that he said clearly and consistently is "animal" (which is also often spoken when he's requesting some yummy animal crackers). He has an animal book that has large, colorful drawings of animals on each page, and he enjoys turning the pages and going over and over what the animals are called. The funny thing is that the first one that he repeatedly found in that book and said is "mole". Now, how often is that one of the first animals a toddler learns to name? I guess they are often overlooked animals and aren't included in most toddler animal books, but I thought it was funny for him to choose that one out of all of the animals. He also enjoys pointing to and saying "bear" and "bee". He can point to many animals if you ask for him to look for a specific one, but he is actually clearly saying just a few names at this point. It's so much fun to watch him learn and for us to be able to communicate more!

Blankies Galore

The pictures below were taken on the 6th, but I didn't get around to uploading them until today. Anyhow, I blogged about Ethan's new found love for blankies awhile back, and now he loves to carry them with him all around the house. He definitely has at least one with him during his nap, and he usually wants to hold it when you get him up, so then it comes downstairs with him. Then the next day, I get out another blankie for him during his nap (because I don't remember to take one that has already migrated downstairs back upstairs with us for his nap). In this manner, the amount of blankies that accumulate downstairs is astronomical (ok, not really, but there sure are a lot them! ;) Here Ethan has gathered probably six of them together and wanted to have all six covering him at the same time. He also enjoys "hiding" under them and playing peekaboo.

Where's Ethan??

There he is!

Bye Bye Stent

Many of you may remember that Ethan had to have a stent placed in his left tear duct in October because the duct was moderately blocked and caused constant discharge and matting of his eye. FINALLY today we had the appointment for the stent to be removed-Hooray! I was nervous to take him by myself (Dan is traveling for work), because they are not put under anesthesia for the removal procedure, and I wasn't sure how traumatized Ethan would be. Thankfully, things could not have gone more smoothly! Ethan was surprisingly calm (even when I held his arms and hands down so that he could not grab at the doctor's equipment), and he did not cry at all during the procedure. He cried for less than a minute when I picked him up off the exam table, but then was back to his smiley, friendly little self. The doctor and nurse marveled at how calm he was and were amazed that he smiled and waved "bye bye" to them as they left the exam room. The doctor had answered all of my questions and done his paperwork before the procedure because he said kids are almost always crying and hysterical during/after the procedure so he can't even hear or talk with the parents afterward. Ethan was definitely a pleasant exception to the norm! :) Here is a picture of his eye this morning before his appointment (his last picture with the stent)! If you look really closely, you can see the reflection of the flash on the stent (it runs from the top lid to the bottom lid a short distance out from the corner of his eye. (If you click on this picture, it should enlarge).

Illness Strikes Again

We have been very fortunate this cold and flu season that Dan, Ethan, and I have been able to stay healthy since just before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, our luck ran out this week as Ethan began with a raspy cough Thursday morning which progressed into a runny nose and a high fever by Friday morning. I took him to the pediatrician today because his cough sounded so deep and raspy, and he had two coughing episodes that caused him to spit up a little bit. He also did not sleep well at all due to periodic coughing episodes Thursday night. The doctor said that most of his symptoms are viral, but he is starting to get another ear infection, so he was prescribed an antibiotic. He was pretty perky considering all of his symptoms until tonight. He has been listless and feverish, and he coughed so much that he vomited... all over me...twice. Now maybe I should consider myself lucky that, as a mom of a 1 and a half year old, I had not yet been vomited on, but I didn't feel very lucky. Not to be too graphic, but he did get me, let's say, very thoroughly. Both of us required an immediate complete outfit change, clothes went in the washer ASAP, and the carpet had to be cleaned. Poor little guy is miserable, but we're hoping he'll bounce back quickly!

Adventures with Storms

I can usually sleep through even the most intense of storms, however the ones that came through last night were an exception. The flashes of lightning were so bright, they illuminated our room even with the blinds nearly all the way closed!! And the booms of thunder were much louder than any 4th of July fireworks display I've ever been to. It sounded as though the source of the thunder was just outside our window (which is probably pretty true, since the flashes of lightning were very close to our house). Anyhow, I was sure that Ethan would wake up, either due to the thunder or Wags's whining- our doggie was terrified of the storm. It didn't help that the power went out for a short time, so our humidifier (aka white noise machine) turned off. Apparently Ethan inherited his ability to go into a deep sleep from his mom, because he did not even stir throughout the hours of storms. Unfortunately neither Dan nor I could get back to sleep which made for a groggy morning this morning!

Finally a Date Night!

Dan and I have not had a date night in quite some time (sad, but true), and both of us really wanted to see the sequel to National Treasure, so Mom and Dad volunteered (actually jumped at the chance :) to watch Ethan for us this evening. We enjoyed dinner with Mom, Dad, and Mike, and then Dan and I got to see the movie in an actual cinema (Woohoo!-yes, this is a rare event). We really enjoyed the movie, and Ethan had a blast playing with Grandma, Grandpa, and Mike. He usually goes to bed around 9pm, and when we got back to my parent's house at quarter til 10, he was still awake and wired. We thought that he would fall asleep quickly in the car, but he stay wide-eyed until we got home and even ran laps around the kitchen table when we first walked into our house. Must have been running on grandparent-induced adrenaline :) He is currently zonked out, and I imagine that he'll sleep in pretty late tomorrow morning!