I didn't have anything creative or wonderful enough to donate to Craft Hope so I'm still shopping. Did you see Craft Hope's Etsy shop has raised over $27,000 for Doctors Without Borders in Haiti? That is fantastic!
We watched the Hope For Haiti concert on television last Friday night. We were finishing preparations for Ethan's first birthday party at the same time and I couldn't help but have a heavy heart. All this wonderful excitement over my son turning one year old then listening to stories about those suffering. I cried over the story about a man who waited 6 days and didn't give up hope that is wife would be found alive under the rubble from a collapsed building. When they found her she told the rescue workers to tell her husband that alive or dead, she loved him. That was just one story. I kept thinking about how there are so many other men, women, and children in Haiti hoping to find their loved ones, medical care, food, shelter, etc, etc. It's very tragic.
Ethan's daycare is gathering supplies to send with Missionaries to Haiti. We'll be picking up some things from their list this weekend. Every little bit helps.
I'm eyeballing some other cute things on the Craft Hope Etsy shop.
I wish this shirt was bigger.
How CUTE is this book?!
I wonder if Ethan would like Rufus?
Someone has to buy this beautiful necklace!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Months 10-12
The past two months have included some of my favorite developmental stages. We have been enjoying watching Ethan make so many connections.
What has Ethan been up to? So much that I probably should have split this into two posts. Ethan has been BUSY! He ...
-Learned to dance. I was really surprised by this one. He loves music and I dance around with him, but I didn't know he connected the word "dance" with moving his own body rhythmically. Matt was watching a Pearl Jam concert on television (the same one Ethan clapped to) and we asked Ethan if he wanted to dance. He started rocking back and forth! Now he bounces up and down when he hears the word "dance".
I tried to upload a video of this a few times but I can not get it to work.
-Learned to climb stairs. First he climbed just 2 and by the end of the month he learned to climb up our staircase fairly quickly.
{He was so proud after he made it to the top!}
-He is becoming more consistent with signing. He signs for milk whenever he hears the word. He also started asking for milk by signing. He has signed for "more" and has his own special sign for "all done". It looks like he's signing for milk or waving with both hands.
-Attended our family's annual Cookie Baking Day. He was quite a distraction and not nearly as many cookies were decorated as previous years but it was a great time!
-Saw his first snowfall and was pulled in his sled for the first time outside of the house.
-Learned to comb his hair. He was playing with a comb and knew to put it to his head when I said "can you comb your hair?". Again, I'm amazed at all of the verbal connections he is making!
-Showed us that he knows his socks and shoes go on his feet. He lays them across the top of his feet when he's trying to put them on himself! It is cute!
-Saw a new allergist and tested positive for allergies to milk, egg, wheat, cat, and dog.
-Learned to pull up and get himself back down. There were a few days in between where he would get frustrated because he couldn't get back down but it didn't last long.
{Yes, those are Penn State baby legs! They looked ENORMOUS when they arrived more than a year ago. I can't believe they fit him now.}
-Mastered moving himself from lying down to sitting up. I expected him to do this a long time ago but he took his time to do this.
-Started giving objects, like stuffed animals, hugs and kisses. He likes to give hugs and kisses to us too. They're still big, open mouth slobbery kisses and his hugs resemble headbutts some days but we love them.
-Ate Kix cereal for the first time and is now currently obsessed with it.
{We do have those "snack traps" and love them but obviously didn't use one here.}
-Dropped to one nap a day. He went back and forth between one and two naps for a while and at nearly 11 months old he stopped taking his second nap.
-He started to give up an afternoon nursing session, but I was sick and my supply dropped so he picked it back up.
-Ethan's upper right first molar broke through! The week before his first birthday a corner of his upper left first molar broke through. His first upper left Cuspid is about to break through any day now too! So, that would total 11 teeth at age 1! He also has 2 other swollen white bumps (lower right Cuspid and lower right First molar) which I'm sure will break through by my next update. I'm glad his teeth seem to be coming in all at once because then teething will be over sooner!
-Learned to blow kisses. He hasn't done this very often but we're continuing to prompt him to try.
-Celebrated his first Christmas, New Years Eve, and BIRTHDAY!!! Lots of pics of those events in separate posts.
-Fell in love with the vacuum. He is afraid of the dust buster though.
{He chases the vacuum around when we use it.}
-Ate buckwheat cocoa cake for the first time. We trialed it so he could have it on his first birthday. He didn't have any noticeable reactions aside from a sugar high (1st time eating sugar too). After he ate it he climbed up all of the stairs for the first time then spun around in circles.
Edited to add that he also trialed an icing recipe for his birthday cake and began eating chick peas ... for protein.
-LOVES to throw balls and throws them far!
-Started saying "Boo" or "Boom" for ball. Whenever he sees or throws a ball he says it.
-Puts his face down to blow bubbles in the tub. He did this on his own, without prompting.
-Started resting his head on us and cuddling more often. It's very sweet.
-Went to his friend, Eva's first birthday party at Gymboree and loved it.
Went to his friend Kora's first birthday party, which solidified his love for balloons!
-Continues to "army crawl" but has crawled short distances on his hands and knees. He uses his arms and legs to army crawl but doesn't push up to his knees often. He's the fastest army crawler I've ever seen :)
-Learned to use this toy. At first he pushed the balls through the sides and down the inclines but now he knows how to pound them down through the top with the mallet!
-Responds with "mmm" whenever we ask him if he is hungry, if he wants to eat, if he hears the word Kix or sees the Kix box!
-Knows the word mouth. I tell him to put his food in his mouth when he looks like he's about ready to throw it. He usually stops then puts it in how mouth. He can also point to our noses when we ask him to but not consistently yet.
-Said "tee" for tree whenever we showed him the Christmas tree. If you asked him where the tree was he would look at it or crawl over to it. If you asked him to say tree he replied with "tee".
-Started saying "saay" for see. This lasted for about two weeks in January. He moved on to saying "a-dat" which reminds us of "what's that" whenever he wants something he sees.
-Learned to put phones to his ear/near his ear.
-Moved to the "Young Toddler" room (1-2 year old room). He's adjusting.
-Learned to make a clicking noise with his tongue and other various noises with his mouth.
-Has moved to eating more finger foods and few purees. His favorites are peas, sweet potatoes, and apples. He refused pureed peas but loves to eat whole peas. He really enjoys sharing apples with his daddy.
-He continues to give us a cheesy smile on cue. When we ask him to do too many things in a row he gives the cheesy smile too. I think he gets confused as to what "trick" we're asking him to do. We were teaching him to use a toy (pushing buttons, raising and lowering things, etc) and then asked him "where's Daddy?". He just threw his head back and smiled instead of looking at Matt.
There have been so many changes in just two months. One thing that hasn't changed is that he is still our greatest gift ;)
What has Ethan been up to? So much that I probably should have split this into two posts. Ethan has been BUSY! He ...
-Learned to dance. I was really surprised by this one. He loves music and I dance around with him, but I didn't know he connected the word "dance" with moving his own body rhythmically. Matt was watching a Pearl Jam concert on television (the same one Ethan clapped to) and we asked Ethan if he wanted to dance. He started rocking back and forth! Now he bounces up and down when he hears the word "dance".
I tried to upload a video of this a few times but I can not get it to work.
-Learned to climb stairs. First he climbed just 2 and by the end of the month he learned to climb up our staircase fairly quickly.
{He was so proud after he made it to the top!}
-He is becoming more consistent with signing. He signs for milk whenever he hears the word. He also started asking for milk by signing. He has signed for "more" and has his own special sign for "all done". It looks like he's signing for milk or waving with both hands.
-Attended our family's annual Cookie Baking Day. He was quite a distraction and not nearly as many cookies were decorated as previous years but it was a great time!
-Saw his first snowfall and was pulled in his sled for the first time outside of the house.
-Learned to comb his hair. He was playing with a comb and knew to put it to his head when I said "can you comb your hair?". Again, I'm amazed at all of the verbal connections he is making!
-Showed us that he knows his socks and shoes go on his feet. He lays them across the top of his feet when he's trying to put them on himself! It is cute!
-Saw a new allergist and tested positive for allergies to milk, egg, wheat, cat, and dog.
-Learned to pull up and get himself back down. There were a few days in between where he would get frustrated because he couldn't get back down but it didn't last long.
{Yes, those are Penn State baby legs! They looked ENORMOUS when they arrived more than a year ago. I can't believe they fit him now.}
-Mastered moving himself from lying down to sitting up. I expected him to do this a long time ago but he took his time to do this.
-Started giving objects, like stuffed animals, hugs and kisses. He likes to give hugs and kisses to us too. They're still big, open mouth slobbery kisses and his hugs resemble headbutts some days but we love them.
-Ate Kix cereal for the first time and is now currently obsessed with it.
{We do have those "snack traps" and love them but obviously didn't use one here.}
-Dropped to one nap a day. He went back and forth between one and two naps for a while and at nearly 11 months old he stopped taking his second nap.
-He started to give up an afternoon nursing session, but I was sick and my supply dropped so he picked it back up.
-Ethan's upper right first molar broke through! The week before his first birthday a corner of his upper left first molar broke through. His first upper left Cuspid is about to break through any day now too! So, that would total 11 teeth at age 1! He also has 2 other swollen white bumps (lower right Cuspid and lower right First molar) which I'm sure will break through by my next update. I'm glad his teeth seem to be coming in all at once because then teething will be over sooner!
-Learned to blow kisses. He hasn't done this very often but we're continuing to prompt him to try.
-Celebrated his first Christmas, New Years Eve, and BIRTHDAY!!! Lots of pics of those events in separate posts.
-Fell in love with the vacuum. He is afraid of the dust buster though.
{He chases the vacuum around when we use it.}
-Ate buckwheat cocoa cake for the first time. We trialed it so he could have it on his first birthday. He didn't have any noticeable reactions aside from a sugar high (1st time eating sugar too). After he ate it he climbed up all of the stairs for the first time then spun around in circles.
Edited to add that he also trialed an icing recipe for his birthday cake and began eating chick peas ... for protein.
-LOVES to throw balls and throws them far!
-Started saying "Boo" or "Boom" for ball. Whenever he sees or throws a ball he says it.
-Puts his face down to blow bubbles in the tub. He did this on his own, without prompting.
-Started resting his head on us and cuddling more often. It's very sweet.
-Went to his friend, Eva's first birthday party at Gymboree and loved it.
Went to his friend Kora's first birthday party, which solidified his love for balloons!
-Continues to "army crawl" but has crawled short distances on his hands and knees. He uses his arms and legs to army crawl but doesn't push up to his knees often. He's the fastest army crawler I've ever seen :)
-Learned to use this toy. At first he pushed the balls through the sides and down the inclines but now he knows how to pound them down through the top with the mallet!
-Responds with "mmm" whenever we ask him if he is hungry, if he wants to eat, if he hears the word Kix or sees the Kix box!
-Knows the word mouth. I tell him to put his food in his mouth when he looks like he's about ready to throw it. He usually stops then puts it in how mouth. He can also point to our noses when we ask him to but not consistently yet.
-Said "tee" for tree whenever we showed him the Christmas tree. If you asked him where the tree was he would look at it or crawl over to it. If you asked him to say tree he replied with "tee".
-Started saying "saay" for see. This lasted for about two weeks in January. He moved on to saying "a-dat" which reminds us of "what's that" whenever he wants something he sees.
-Learned to put phones to his ear/near his ear.
-Moved to the "Young Toddler" room (1-2 year old room). He's adjusting.
-Learned to make a clicking noise with his tongue and other various noises with his mouth.
-Has moved to eating more finger foods and few purees. His favorites are peas, sweet potatoes, and apples. He refused pureed peas but loves to eat whole peas. He really enjoys sharing apples with his daddy.
-He continues to give us a cheesy smile on cue. When we ask him to do too many things in a row he gives the cheesy smile too. I think he gets confused as to what "trick" we're asking him to do. We were teaching him to use a toy (pushing buttons, raising and lowering things, etc) and then asked him "where's Daddy?". He just threw his head back and smiled instead of looking at Matt.
There have been so many changes in just two months. One thing that hasn't changed is that he is still our greatest gift ;)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Happy Birthday to Ethan!
It's hard to believe that it's been one year since our little miracle arrived. Every day I think I couldn't possibly love him more but then my heart grows with each special moment.
Today, at 11:17am, exactly one year since he entered this world, I was nursing him to sleep. I looked down at his sweet face. His eyes were closed. He was so peaceful. I cried.
I can't even describe how perfect that moment felt.
I have posts about his 10-12 month development and his birthday bash in the works but for now, here is the slide show of Ethan's first year that Matt and I created.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7CJk6la5sg
Today, at 11:17am, exactly one year since he entered this world, I was nursing him to sleep. I looked down at his sweet face. His eyes were closed. He was so peaceful. I cried.
I can't even describe how perfect that moment felt.
I have posts about his 10-12 month development and his birthday bash in the works but for now, here is the slide show of Ethan's first year that Matt and I created.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7CJk6la5sg
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Helping Haiti
I wanted to pass this along in case anyone here didn't read about Craft Hope on flythroughourwindow.
I chose to buy this cute treat for Ethan from their Etsy shop.
Visit the donor who crafted this here.
Wishing I was crafty enough to create and donate. I'm going to try to come up with something because I want to do more to help.
A college friend of mine and his wife went on a mission trip to Haiti a few months ago. They helped out at an orphanage and got to know some special kids living there. Thank God all of the children have been accounted for but their orphanage has been destroyed and they are sleeping outside.
I hope everyone will do what they can. They need our help, our prayers.
I chose to buy this cute treat for Ethan from their Etsy shop.
Visit the donor who crafted this here.
Wishing I was crafty enough to create and donate. I'm going to try to come up with something because I want to do more to help.
A college friend of mine and his wife went on a mission trip to Haiti a few months ago. They helped out at an orphanage and got to know some special kids living there. Thank God all of the children have been accounted for but their orphanage has been destroyed and they are sleeping outside.
I hope everyone will do what they can. They need our help, our prayers.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Ethan loves puppy dogs
It's really a shame that he is allergic to dogs because he loves them. One day I had the Martha Stewart show on in the background while we played. Martha was featuring some dogs who were up for adoption. Ethan caught a glimpse of a dog and was sold. He wanted that dog.
He tried to climb up the television stand to get to the dog :)
We have visited friends with dogs. Ethan either shows no allergic reaction or gets itchy around his eyes and mouth, depending on how much interaction he had with the dog. This weekend we stopped in to see friends and allowed Ethan to pet their dog. He didn't show a reaction this time and he loved her.
We hope he'll outgrow this allergy. I can't imagine him growing up without a pet.
He tried to climb up the television stand to get to the dog :)
We have visited friends with dogs. Ethan either shows no allergic reaction or gets itchy around his eyes and mouth, depending on how much interaction he had with the dog. This weekend we stopped in to see friends and allowed Ethan to pet their dog. He didn't show a reaction this time and he loved her.
We hope he'll outgrow this allergy. I can't imagine him growing up without a pet.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
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