Love to clap!

New Zebra!

So, the newest thing that one of my co-workers tuned me into was a website called "freecycle.org". It's a place where people post items that they want to give away or need and everything is you guessed it...FREE! Anyway, my great find for the weekend was a little zebra toy for Ethan. The only thing remotely wrong with the thing is one of the hand grips was chewed by the previous owners dog a little bit. But, we're just going to tape over the end a bit so the sharp edges don't hurt Ethan and it's as good as new. We tried it out today and he seemed to think it was pretty neat. Soon enough he'll be moving his little legs and riding the zebra all over the house I'm sure!

I have some video clips to post, but will probably do this during the week...these last two nights have proven a bit rough on the sleeping for Ethan. I think those two top teeth are ready to burst because he's really rubbing his mouth and is just not sleeping like his usual self.

Latest tricks Ethan is doing...he loves to push any button that makes sound. He really uses his little index finger and pushes down hard. I think it's cute - as if the harder he pushes the louder or better the sound will be?? I've been standing him up on furniture and to play with some of his taller toys so he gets used to the standing position. His favorite is the coffee table - when you pound your hand, it makes a lot of noise! He's getting very good at putting different shapes in his "cookie jar" of shapes. As long as you show him which hole each piece goes in, he really tries. The circle is his best, but Dave got him to do 3 other shapes as well. On the crawling front we're still not there, but it seems that he made what I'd call progress this weekend. If I hold my hands on the outsides of his knees (to keep him in the crawling position) it helps him stay up - otherwise he slowly spreads his legs and ends up in the belly flop position again. He actually lifted his hand a few times and put it a bit forward and then I moved his knees to mock the movement of crawling. All in good time...he'll get there.

I'll try to post the videos tomorrow night...

9 Month Stats..

Ethan had his 9 month doc appointment last week Wednesday. He weighed 20 lbs, 12 oz and was 28.5 inches long. This tracks almost exactly with where Dave was at 9 months! I completely forgot to ask the doctor what percentage ranges this landed him in, but assuming it's around the 50% like last time? Luckily no shots this time and the doctor actually just examined him while he was on my lap the whole time. This was nice because Ethan was a bit leary of the doctor. Last update on Ethan is that his top two chompers should be popping thru his gums any day now!

This weekend wasn't as busy as last for us. Friday I got to go to happy hour with some co-workers and Ethan and Dave has some quality bonding time together. Saturday we went to dinner with some friends for a birthday (Ethan was an extremely good boy considering we were again, out past his bedtime!!) and then Dave went and joined some friends to watch the UFC fights. Today, we visited Grandma and Grandpa Hickman's house where Ethan got to try out the new tree swing! Judging from the smiles, I think he liked the ride.

Daddy, can you buy me a race car like this toy when I grow up...
Visiting at the Grandparent's house...up on hands and knees, but no crawling...YET!












This is the bestest tree swing ever! Thanks for hanging it Grandpa!

Ethan's 9 month Pics!

Wow, I got these faster than usual...here are a few of the photos!

Ethan's favorite Bunny "Blue" - I know, I know - we're so original with names!

A few of my favorites..

No More Pacifier?

It seems as of yesterday, Ethan no longer wants his pacifier! We had no intention of "breaking" him of this habit anytime soon, but if he's taking the lead - we're going to roll with it. I'm not sure if it was the chain of events from Saturday or if he's just made a decision, but I'm thrilled if we can get rid of it without a fuss from him!

This weekend was busy for us and Ethan was such a trooper with tagging along (and getting in and out of the car all weekend)! Friday evening we went to Yorkville to watch my Dad do a demonstration in the park for his kickboxing class and then we went to dinner with him and some of the people in his class. Ethan was up past 8pm, which is definitely past his bedtime! But, he was all smiles for everyone as usual! Saturday we had swim class and then went to a bbq up north, which was over an hour drive. We first stopped at my Mom's place to say a quick "hello". So, the story on the pacifier on Saturday....Dave and I knew we'd be out past Ethan's bedtime again and so we stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up a few extra pacifiers to keep in Ethan's diaper bag for the night as well as future use. Well, they didn't carry the normal brand he's used to, so I picked up another brand that looked similar. Well, when it got to be around Ethan's bedtime Saturday I tried the pacifier and it was almost a game with him - he kept spitting it out. Eventually, he just didn't even let me put it in. He fell fast asleep on me while I was just rocking him at the party and didn't need the pacifier, but I think that experience "left a bad taste in his mouth" for using a pacifier maybe??!! Like I said, if he's done with the pacifier this early and on his own terms - the more power to him! Although, it's only been one day, so we'll see how it goes. Sunday we took him to get his 9 month pics at JCPenney and they are adorable (will post once I can get them online in about a week or so). He woke up from a nap right before the pics and was in the BEST mood.

I always try to think of random "Ethanisms" or things that he's doing, so here goes:

*We are trying to teach him "what does a cow say" and we say Moo and he makes a noise to mock us - it's more like "uhhhhhhh" - but it's still fun to hear him mock us.
*Adult food we've tried with him to date: peaches, pears, mandarin oranges, cheerios, noodles, turkey deli meat, green beans, carrots, watermelon, strawberries. He seems to like most everything. Of course, who wouldn't if past experience was only pureed food, right?
*He now grabs at his spoon and puts it in his mouth if you hold it just in front of his mouth. He doesn't really know to take it back out of his mouth once it's in there, so it's funny - but he's trying!

He goes for his 9 month appt on Wednesday, so i'm excited to see his stats. Thankfully no shots this time!

As far as Dave and I go....I took off my thyroid bandage last night and the scar is barely visible!! I'm so excited. I go to the doctor today to see if I can go back to normal (i.e. workout again - I've never gone 2 weeks without working out. Although, I cheated a bit when I did the elliptical real slow a few days). I also have a job interview with another company on Wednesday. I've been casually looking for a new job because BP will be moving downtown in about 2 years and I'm not willing to do the commute and lose time with Ethan (and Dave)! :) Dave is busy as usual at work and being a GREAT Daddy, so not too much new to report on him.

Would you be scared...

If this was coming towards you...

This is from last Thursday evening with the storm front rolling in - pretty cool - yet a bit creepy! I was waiting to see a twister from the sky!

4th of July Weekend

Before I get into what the weekend brought, just a few new tricks that Ethan has mastered. Last weekend out of nowhere, he started clapping his hands. I guess he saw me clap my hands each time he tried to feed himself and maybe caught on? Anyway, he claps his hands and mocks the sound "yay" that we say to him. He's also been "flopping" a single arm sometimes as if to say "hi". He's also mega interested in self-feeding now. He's big on mandarin oranges, puffs, cheerios, bread/toast, peas, carrots. I wish he had more chompers so we could give him more variety!! Speaking of chompers, we're wondering if he's going to get some more because he started his drool-fest a few days ago. So, maybe in the next few weeks we'll see some new pearly whites. On the crawling front, he's definitely not there yet, but he will lay his head down on the ground and stick his butt in the air and sometimes get up on his knees. I'm not too worried about it, he'll get it all in his own time.

Can you believe Ethan is going to be 9 months next week!! My gosh, I just can't believe our little boy is growing so fast.

We had quite a busy weekend for the holiday. We went to a 4th of July bbq at our friend Sara's house, where Ethan was a very good boy considering his afternoon nap was about an hour shorter than we thought it was going to be. The whole family was dressed in red, white and blue and I meant to get a family photo, but forgot until after I had put Ethan's pj's on. Oh well, the photos are still cute!

Here's our friend Mark helping Daddy feed Ethan while Mommy chats with the girls.

Cute family pics

Today we braved the warm weather with Ethan and went to the Ribfest for a few hours. We went with Grandpa and Grandma Linda. Ethan was quite a good boy considering the heat. He even taste tested a few greasy french fries. Ethan's reward was a "Sgt Oink" sticker from the rib vendor we ate at.