A Case of the Giggles

More teeth?? Growth spurt? Or Just Plain Cranky?

Ethan's new swing

He loves it!

I know what we'll be doing this summer!


He loves to stand!


Ethan and cousin Jack

Ethan and Mama

Ethan and Daddy

Hanging around

Ethan's entrance into month eight has been a challenging one! Remember how I mentioned that he was sleeping through the night so well? Not so anymore! Over the past week and a half, Ethan is back to waking throughout the night. We've also noticed that he has been much fussier during the days, though we are trying hard to stick to a pretty regular nap schedule. Finally, we are noticing a lot more drool! Our natural conclusion is that more teeth are on the way (at least we are hoping that that is what is going on!!) Despite the challenge of keeping our little guy happy, comfortable, and content, we've had a really nice week.

Saturday we spent the day celebrating Bob's birthday. It was a beautiful day, so we were able to hang out on their new deck and play. We really enjoyed being outside in the warm weather, and Ethan enjoyed playing with his big cousins.

On Sunday, Pete put up Ethan's tree swing. We didn't have any great tree limbs that would support the swing in our yard, so Pete attached a support beam, and an A frame to one our trees. After all of Pete's hard work, we were happy to see that Ethan loved his new swing! We've used it a few other times this week (between bouts of rain) and Ethan gets a huge smile on his face whenever he starts swinging.

Ethan is still trying to figure out the whole crawling thing. This week he is doing a lot more lunging forward from a sitting position, but his legs get in his way, and he flops down. He doesn't seem to be too bothered by this, though he is seeming more and more motivated to want to get to things that are out of his reach. I think that if he had his way, he'd go straight to walking, as he loves to pull up to a standing position (with help) and gets upset when we set him back down again.

Despite Ethan being a bit crabbier, we've had a great week. Hopefully our prediction of teething is right, and in the next few weeks Ethan will be more comfortable... we were just starting to really enjoy sleeping through the night!

8 Months Old!

Happy 8 Months Old and Earth Day!

Peeking through the bars of his crib

Learning to pull himself up in his crib


Playing

Sam and Ethan

Ethan is 8 months old today!!! We constantly ask ourselves where the time has gone? Hard to believe that in 4 short months we'll be celebrating Ethan's first birthday- everyone warned us, and it is so true- cherish every second because they are fleeting. We feel so lucky that we get to be a part of this little person's life!

We've had a great week. The spring weather has returned and we've taken full advantage. We've walked every day and taken short tours around the yard to see what new flowers and trees are blooming. Viewing the world through a baby's eyes really helps you stop and take in all of the little things that you would normally take for granted. I've never taken such an interest in each blade of grass in the yard, or flower in the garden. One of Ethan's favorite games is kicking the ball with Daddy in the backyard. Pete will hold Ethan and kick a ball around and Ethan laughs hysterically- pretty cute! Ethan (and Barley) have discovered the joy of bubbles. Ethan begins to squeal when he sees me pull out the bottle- I think that Barley and I have as much fun as Ethan watching them float in the air and trying to catch them!

In food news, our little guy continues to expand his palate. This week we have tried some more elaborate recipes- thankfully our hard work was appreciated! We made a tomato, butternut squash, pastina and cheese dish that he loved. We also made a meal with carrots, tomato, tilapia, and cheese. Ethan is eating more involved meals than we are these days!

On Tuesday we headed down to Portsmouth to meet up with Andrea and Sam. We had a great time! We found a grassy park, layed out a blanket and let the boys roll around and play. It was very entertaining to watch them interact. I think that a friendship is blossoming, though we need to give Ethan a few lessons on being more gentle with other babies! He was so excited to play with Sam that he kept grabbing at his shirt, face, hair- whatever he could get a hold of! It has been so much fun watching the babies grow and change- each time we get them together they interact a little more. Hard to believe that this fall they'll be running around together!

The past 8 months with Ethan have been the most amazing, most enlightening, most challenging, most humbling, most wonderful! Pete and I have learned so much about ourselves, each other, and where our priorities lie. We thank our lucky stars each day that we have such an incredible little family!

This was the first day that Ethan began to pull himself up in his crib- as you can see, he was getting a little bit frustrated by the process!

Back from our Hiatus!

Easter on Long Island with Great Grams and Grandma

Ethan loves to be on Daddy's shoulders

Another haircut!

Ethan loves splashing in the sink, he barely noticed Grandma cutting his hair

Merry Go Round

Ethan stole Grandma F's pear!

Great Grandma Fowler

Easter Bunny

Ethan loves his sippy cup!

We've taken a brief "blog hiatus" due to some technical difficulties and traveling. Now we are back after a few fun filled, busy weeks.

For Easter weekend, we headed south. Saturday we went to Long Island to celebrate the holiday. We had a great time visiting with family, and enjoying the spring weather. Sunday, we celebrated Easter with the Fowlers. It was great to catch up and enjoy each other's company. Ethan was a trooper through all of our travels and welcomed all of the new faces.

Ethan and I spent the week in Connecticut with Grandma and Grandpa Fowler. We had lots of fun! We went to the Bronx Zoo where Ethan rode his first Merry Go Round. He loved it! Looks like we're going to have to find one this summer in Maine. Ethan was mildly impressed by the different animals, but I think that he liked being pushed around in his stroller and watching all of the people best.

Ethan continues to amaze us with his growth and development. One of my favorites new things is that he reaches for us when he wants to be picked up. It is so sweet when he reaches up with his little arms! Another big development is that Ethan has begun to sleep (mostly) through the night! Up until now, he was waking every two to three hours- this made for a very tired Mama! While we were in CT, he began sleeping straight through until about 4 am, eating, and then going right back to sleep until 7 or so. I though that perhaps it was just being over stimulated and missing naps, but since we've been home, he's been following the same pattern. I don't want to jinx anything, but could we possibly be getting to a point where sleep won't be quite so elusive??!! Hope so!

Ethan has perfected sitting up and playing with his toys. He will lunge forward for things, but inevitably falls down to his belly- no signs of crawling yet. The other day Pete and I looked around our living room and decided that we were in no rush for Ethan to become mobile- that would require much more organization on our part!

While Ethan hasn't mastered the whole crawling thing, he is working hard on the food thing! He continues to love his puffs, and likes to have them on his high chair tray so that he can nosh on them between bites of baby food. We've tried other finger foods,but so far, puffs remain the favorite. Lots of the finger foods that we have tried tend to be slippery and eventually cause Ethan to become frustrated because he can't pick them up. We've attempted bananas, pears, tofu, and eggs. We'll keep trying to think of foods that he can get a good grip on- any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Ethan wants to eat anything and everything that we are eating! He opens his mouth up wide whenever we are eating- it's so funny! If he doesn't get a taste, boy does he get mad! There is no doubt that he is our child!!