Almost There!

Nothing is safe anymore!

Love those big blues

Loving the playground at Bradbury Park

Auntie Sarah hikes Bradbury with us

Up on all fours

Hmmmm, looks interesting

Almost there...

Water bowl

This is fun!

We love having visitors! This week Auntie Sarah came from Connecticut to play with us. It so interesting to watch Ethan's reaction to people that are not present in his everyday life. He gets shy and gives an adorably cute little coy smile. He watches the new person but makes sure that Pete and I are still close by. He warmed up to Auntie Sarah in no time when he discovered that she would roll around with him on the floor, make funny sounds, and build blocks with him. We had a great visit! One of the highlights was taking Ethan on his first hike. We have a small state park very close to our house called Bradbury State Park. It is the perfect place to take a short hike and reach a beautiful summit. They also have a great playground and Ethan loves the swings. We put Ethan in our baby backpack, and he was completely content to take in all of the wilderness views. A great day had by all!

Ethan is so close to crawling! In fact, last night he took four crawl steps and then fell to his belly, but we haven't seen him do it again since. Any day now, he is going to be taking off! He has mastered the art of combat crawling to get what he wants, as evidenced in the pictures of him getting into Barley's water bowl. We can't take our eyes off of him for a second! He is also beginning to realize that not only are there fun things on the floor, but there are surfaces above him that contain interesting objects as well. He is beginning to pull himself up on furniture or at the very least teeter on his knees to check out the higher elevations around the house. This week I've had to save the computer, camera, and a water bottle- all items that I thought were safely stowed and out of reach!

In food news, we've discovered a new, healthy favorite. Ethan loves Quinoa! It's a grain that is high in protein. I've mixed it with fruits for breakfast and veggies and cheese for dinner- he really enjoys it in any form.

We are so very close to Ethan really getting moving- check back for videos of the real deal when it happens!

Low Key Week, Just the Way We Like It!

Playing after bathtime

My babies...

Ethan and I on Mother's Day

We've had a great week. Grandma and Grandpa Fowler came up to visit for Mother's Day weekend. My mom treated me to a Mother's Day massage on Saturday so Ethan got to have

some "guy time" with Daddy and Grandpa. It was nice for me to be able to relax knowing that Ethan was in such good care- and Pete and Grandpa knew that if all else failed, and they couldn't console Ethan, that Ben and Jerry's was right down the road! Saturday afternoon we had my brothers and their families over for dinner. Ethan had a great time playing on the floor with his cousins, and they had fun playing with all of his toys!

Sunday we celebrated my first Mother's Day. We had a nice relaxing day, and I recieved my very first artwork from Ethan. Too cute! Pete went out and got crayons and let Ethan color in a card for me. Pete reports that he was really getting into it and is convinced that he is left handed. Maybe we have an artist on our hands!

Ethan is moving more than ever. His newest accomplishment is that he can go from laying down to sitting up on his own. He is also working on a bit of a combat crawl- if he really wants to get to something, he will either drag himself on his belly over to it, or he'll roll to it. Needless to say, we can't take our eyes off of him for too long, because he is qiuckly discovering the benefits of mobility!

Last week we were concerned over a reaction that Ethan had when we gave him eggs. I've spoken with the pediatrician and she says that it sounds like an egg allergy. She gave us the option of going to an allergist right away, or waiting a while (until he is 1) to try them again. We have opted to wait it out and just stay away from eggs altogether for now. Geuss I'm going to have to look for recipes for an eggless birthday cake once August rolls around...
Other than having our weekend visitors, we've had a pretty low key week. We've taken some walks, played in the yard, and swung in our tree swing. Yesterday we met a friend at a nearby state park and played on the playground. It's been so nice to be able to get out and enjoy our yard and the local parks.

I'm so lucky that I get to be home with Ethan. So far, spring has been wonderful! We are really looking forward to summer when everyone else will be out of school and available to play!

Fun Games and Good Friends

Hanging out in my swing

Teething biscuits- we generally need a bath after one of these!

Double Duty

Beach!

The Whole Gang

First game

Barley enjoying the shade in the stands

Walking the field before the game

"Hey, I know you!!"

The Fam

What a fun week! Whatever was troubling Ethan last week has passed- and no new teeth! We really have no idea what was bothering him. He is back to his pleasant old self and is mostly sleeping through the night again, with generally one feeding around 3 or 4 in the morning. I'm not sure what the problem was, but am glad that Ethan is my happy little guy again.

Over the weekend we had our friends Andrea, Joel, their baby Sam, and their dog Otis come to stay with us. We went to Bark in the Park. It's a fund raiser at out local minor league baseball stadium. Fans get to bring their dogs, walk around the field before the game begins, and sit in the stands with the pooches. It was a beautiful day, and we all had a great time. Barley and Otis were happy to once again, like old times, before babies, be the center of attention! I think that the babies had fun too, watching all of the people and pups.

We had a great weekend. It's so nice having friends who are at the exact same point in their lives- 8 month old baby, 3 year old dog- very cool! We all enjoyed watching the babies play and interact. We are hoping that Sam observed some of Ethan's eating habits, and that Ethan got some pointers on crawling from Sam!

Ethan continues to try and move. He is getting more and more curious about the things around him, and therefore, more and more motivated to get moving. He continues to lean forward from a sitting position, but most times can't get his leg out of the way to get up. Yesterday, for a brief moment, he did however get up on all fours and move himself backwards a bit before flopping down. He's on his way!!

In food news, we are thinking we may have a potential egg allergy on our hands. I've given Ethan egg before, but he hasn't eaten much of it in the past. On Monday night, I scrambled an egg with a little milk, and some cheese. As he was eating, I noticed little red spots all around his mouth. About twenty minutes after he was finished eating, the spots were gone. I've put a call into the pediatrician, and am waiting to hear back. For now, we are steering clear of eggs!

This weekend we will celebrate my first Mother's Day. I feel so lucky to be a part of "the club." Since becoming a mom, I have felt more joy, and love than ever before- it truly is an amazing experience...

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!!