First Snow Sighting

Being in the holiday spirit, Dave and I started decorating for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving!! He decided to put up the outside lights yesterday and it started snowing in the middle of the effort, so we decided to take Ethan outside for like 2 minutes to capture pictures. I love his little bear jacket!!

New Toy

We purchased one of those bouncy seats with toys in the front before Ethan was even born and he can finally use it, so we got it out this weekend. He still leans to one side or the other sometimes, because he obviously isn't sitting up yet, but he really likes the seat and will sit in it for at least 20 minutes smiling quite frequently. Daddy captured the moments as best you can on a regular camera.

Plenty to be thankful for

Well, Ethan survived his first Turkey Day and he definitely was a trooper, being that we traveled to Wisconsin (an almost 2 hour drive one-way!!). I was a bit bummed to start out the day because I had bought a really cute outfit for him to wear with a turkey on it etc. and it was too big. I guess you never know how infant clothes are going to fit! So, we resorted to the frog theme instead of a turkey. Dave and I timed it perfectly so Ethan would eat and have his tummy full before we left for my Grandma's and Ethan slept the whole way there! On the way back, he was a bit fussy, but mommy sat in back to keep him company. Overall, Dave and I were amazed at how good he was the whole day.






The day after Thanksgiving was spent with my side of the family at my Dad's. I was again bummed when I had put Ethan in a cute little outfit my coworker had bought me and right as Dave changed his diaper before we left, he of course peed on the outfit...ugh! So, we again went to "plan B", but I at least captured photos before he dirtied the outfit! Now, there should be a third Turkey Day celebration with Dave's side, but unfortunately his parents were getting over colds, so we'll be celebrating this next weekend. I'm sure he'll be just as well behaved for Grandma and Grandpa next weekend.

Hangin' with Mommy

First, let me just announce that this post is my 100th post!! My gosh, I can't believe I have so much to say! :) But, on to the topic of the post for today...

Of course, Ethan is happiest after he gets done eating. I usually let him lay against my legs in front of me and we have a good heart-to-heart conversation. These are pics from this morning. Some are blurry and close up, because I was trying to take them without him being distracted by the camera in his face!!

This is his after meal "I'm pooping" face

Some smiling pics

And then a sleepy yawn

Week 5 Photos

This past week Ethan met even more new faces...we had the Great-grandparents in town last Monday, which was a nice treat. We didn't get to spend enough time with them on this visit honestly, but at least they were able to meet Ethan and there will be many more (longer) visits in the future. They drove up from Urbana especially to meet our little sweetie.
Ethan also met Bella, one of his future girlfriends! :-) Sure, mommy is setting him up now, at the age of 5 weeks, we'll see how I feel about it when he turns 16 and wants to have a girlfriend! (A sentiment I'm sure little Bella's parents agree with)
Last, but not least, some "oh so cute" pics of Ethan sleeping. The left photo demonstrates his fly-catching ability and the one on the right is his "I'm so angelic" sleeping pose.

Just an update from his 1 month doctor's appointment this week, he was 9 lbs, 2 oz and 21.5 inches. He's right on track with his weight gain! I swear he's already grown another inch since his appointment last Monday, he is just looking so long to me lately!!

1 month old!

Ethan officially turned 1 month today!! He was a very good boy on his 1 month birthday if I do say so myself! Yesterday was a bit of a rougher day, but he made up for it, in his angelic ways today!! Here is a pic from today vs. his 2 day old pic from the hospital












Here are some other photos from the weekend. Ethan having a conversation with daddy and Ethan waking up from a nap. We've got our 1 month appointment tomorrow, so I can't wait to see how much he's grown!

Almost 1 month old!

I can't believe that our little boy will already be 1 month old on Sunday! It's amazing to see how he's grown and is becoming more alert to his surroundings! I don't want to wish his early days away, but I honestly can't wait until he's interacting with us even more, sitting up, etc. This past week Ethan was visited by Grandpa Rochford and Uncle Patrick a few times. One time Grandpa got to play with him for quite a long time on his playmat and the other day, he slept the whole time!! We're still not on a schedule by any means, but we do have a cycle of eat, play, sleep. Amazingly last night he slept from 10:30-4:30 a.m. straight thru (although it took us almost 2 hours to get him to go to bed he was so fussy)!! I woke up at both 2:30 and 3:30 when he was stirring, but he never officially woke up. We bought this swaddle blanket with velcro that is basically a "baby straight-jacket" that I think helps him sleep longer. I felt bad putting him in it at first, but they say babies like to be swaddled. I just feel like it's abusive. He does look pretty cute in the thing though!






















This weekend Uncle Breck is coming to stay with us, so that should be fun. Ethan will also meet some more of our friends; people are slowly trickling in to see the little cutie.

Ethan has rolled over three times from his tummy to his back during tummy time...here he is in action









Today, I fed Ethan and tried to put him down for tummy time and he decided he'd rather nap! I was all paranoid because they always preach how babies aren't supposed to sleep on their tummies. I let him sleep for 30 minutes like this (while I checked him every 2 minutes almost) and then decided to take him out and let him sleep on me for his nap!

Tummy Time smiles...etc.

Yesterday Ethan gave Daddy lots of smiles while he had some tummy time. Dave took so many pictures trying to actually capture the smiles that I felt like we were at a photo shoot! But, his diligence paid off and we had a few that caught a grin.












I also took Sasha out for a walk yesterday to get a little exercise and let Dave have some bonding time...well, I came back to quite a cute picture opportunity with Daddy and Ethan both sleeping on the couch!
A couple days ago we tried the Baby Bjourn. It was a bit hard since Ethan doesn't have total head control yet, but he stayed in it while I ate half of my dinner, which was nice. Although I was paranoid during every bite I took if Imissed and spilled on his head..ha ha

Ethan also likes to play with his fish toys. This pic is from a week ago or so, just hadn't posted it. He is pretty attentive to the toys for at least 10 minutes. Every now and then, he realizes if he lifts his hands he can touch the toys...