Goofball Ethan Videos

Here are some recent videos of Ethan. The first is of him laughing. He has this ticklish spot on his knee and he usually laughs when you get it just right...I think his laughter is just about the best thing ever. ;o) 

The next video is Ethan in his early Christmas Present. We found this jumperoo on Craigs List and we were able to get it for pretty cheap. So, James picked it up yesterday. Ethan already has a hang of it! He also has been squealing a lot lately (as you will hear a little in the video). I couldn't figure out how to rotate the video - so you will have to "rotate" your head, instead. ;o) 

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Ethan's Baby Dedication

I had always meant to post the pictures of Ethan's Baby Dedication and never got around to it. We had his dedication at the end of November. We were very happy to share this experience with all of my family, James' Mom, Sister (Traci) and Trent and Joel. Luckily Ethan was cooperative that day! :) He got dedicated and then went into the nursery for his Sunday Nap in their swing. 

God has blessed the union

Of a James and I

With this beautiful little baby

Bringing joy into their lives

For Ethan is a  blessing

Sent from God above

A precious gift heaven sent

An expression of God’s love

On the foundation of this love

May Ethan truly grow

Discovering the truths of God

And to one day come to know

That Jesus Christ is Lord of all

And He has an awesome plan

A destiny only he can fulfil

As he takes Him by the hand

And walk with Him every day

With God’s vision for his life

And godly passion to fulfil

The commission of Jesus Christ

Ethan is 5 months on this snow day!

We can't believe that Ethan is five months already! He is so much fun...and we are really looking forward to our first Christmas with him. He is getting used to daycare and seems to like his time there. The only problem is that he is having a hard time sleeping there - so he comes home exhausted. That...and...he has had a cold pretty much since he started. I feel so bad for him when I hear him cough and how congested he is. We are hoping this clears up for the holidays. Our doctors says that he will either get these cold now, or in Kindergarten - so I guess it is inevitable. 

Ethan is a pretty happy baby these days. He loves to jabber at himself in the mirror, and his friends at "school" (I prefer to call it school rather than daycare). =) He enjoys playing in the exersaucer at home and the jumperoo at school. We think we are going to cave in and get him a jumperoo for Christmas - they look like a lot of fun - and good exercise for our big guy! He seems to be teething, but who knows. He is drooling a ton and constantly has everything in his mouth. The teachers at school say they feel some teeth moving around in there - but who knows how long it will take before they cut. 

Today we have a ton of snow - so I got a snow day! It is perfect timing. I am enjoying my day at home and looking forward to having the next two weeks off with Ethan. I have a feeling it is going to be tough to go back all over again. 

Here are his five month pics (taken today) and some other recent ones..

My little "Mr." - Prof Pics

So much to be thankful for!

I was just talking to a good friend on the phone and realized just how much I have to be thankful for.... Jesus Christ, James, Ethan, an amazing family, great friends, a church I love, jobs (yes, James just got word that he got the job in Ann Arbor), our health, and the list goes on and on. I am very blessed and thankful....

We are all doing very well. James is enjoying his time home with Ethan - and he is doing a great job being a stay at home Dad. He has a week and a half and then he will go back to work and Ethan will head to daycare. 

Ethan is changing every day. He is now 4 months and still huge! He just had a doctors visit and he is 18 lbs 6 oz (96th percentile) and 27 1/2 inches long (99th percentile)!! I guess he is going to be tall like his Mommy. =) He is now rolling over (from his back to tummy) and grabbing everything. He loves to hold his toys and put them in his mouth. He is laughing and talking all of the time. He has been eating cereal for some time now - but just two days ago he started eating bananas. He is loving all of this solid food. So far I think I am going to try to make all of his food. The bananas were easy...just mash them and add some liquid. He also is sleeping longer periods at night. In fact, the last two nights he actually slept ALL night - 11 hours! He also takes pretty good naps during the day. What a great baby! 

Speaking of - he is waking up from a nap right now. I will have to quickly add some pics and sign off. =)

James took this picture for my Birthday - and he made me a great Shutterfly book! 

Here is Ethan trying to roll over. 
This isn't the cutest picture - but it was Ethan's first snow. =) 

I made it through the week...

Since James lost his job, and hasn't found a new one yet, I had to go back to school a month earlier than I expected. I was very nervous...but the first week back went much better than I expected. I think it was good that James is home with Ethan, now. It is a nice transition before we have to put him in daycare. I hate leaving him in the morning, but at least I get home pretty early. I think I will REALLY hate putting him in daycare. However, I enjoy my evenings with him even more. =) Tonight, for the first time, in a long time he just let me hold him and he relaxed. Latley he doesn't like to cuddle - he always wants to look around and play....so I enjoyed the cuddle time. This boy is continuing to GROW - on Monday he had a doctors appointment and he was 17 lbs 2 oz. 

The last few days he has started to actually giggle! It is so fun to hear. Daddy is the only one that can make him laugh right now. =) He finds Daddy hilarious and FUN!

Here are some recent pictures. 

Feeling crafty...

The past few days I have spent a lot of time scrapping, stamping, and card making.  I recently got new pictures developed of Ethan, so I spent a lot of time making more pages to add to his scrapbook. I am trying to stay on top of this task so that I don't get too far behind. I must admit, I am not a "master" scrapbooker. Most of my pages are pretty simple - but I am happy with them. I especially liked the 3 month page that I scrapped as a halloween theme. I thought it turned out cute (but maybe that is because I LOVE these pictures)! 

I also recently got some new Stampin Up! stuff! I was excited to dig in and use my new stamp set and cards. I purchased these cute scallop mini cards and I thought these made a cute set. I love the colors! These are perfect cards to put on top of gifts. 

I spent a lot of time making something else - but it is a surprise for someone special - so I won't ruin the surprise! =) 

I even had Ethan join in on the fun - he stamped his hand. Unfortunately he didn't agree that it was "fun." I wanted to get both hands, but one was hard enough. =) 

I have one more thing on my mind that I want to tackle. I have summer and winter coasters, but I would like to make some fall coasters. I have the perfect stamp set to use - I just need to go to Home Depot to pick up the tiles. I am hoping to work on this today. 

(I did ended up making these today - I wasn't as pleased with them as I thought I would be - put here is how they turned out)

For me, all of this stamping, scrapping, and crafting is therapeutic. I love it! =) 

Happy 3 months to Ethan! ;)

I can't believe that Ethan is three months today! Here are his 3 month pics... ;) 

Ethan also had a pretty exciting weekend with family. On Saturday morning we went to the cider mill with his Grandma, Papa, Aunt Jeanette, Uncle Larry, and his cousins Rece and Brody. Saturday night we went to Grandma and Papas house for a campfire with the family. Rick also had his camper there. With all of the fresh air, and busy day - Ethan slept his longest straight stretch last night - 10 hours!! Wooo hoo! Here are some pics from the fun day...

Grandma, Papa, and Rece drinking cider...

Uncle Lar, Aunt Jeanette, Rece, and Brody

Papa and Brody

Rece, Uncle Rick, and Cooper...

Starting to grab toys!

Today Ethan was sitting in his high chair..a new thing for him. There was a toy on the tray and for the first time he grabbed it and brought it to his mouth. He had fun for quite some time sitting here... =) I know...we get excited about all of the little things! =) 

Here he is "knocking fists" with Daddy...