.Happy 3rd.

Last month Ethan celebrated his 3rd birthday!  We didn't get to have any family come for the occasion, but were able to enjoy the company of good friends.

At 3 years old Ethan is still a sweetheart.  He can be a total handful at times and LOVES to get into mischief.  He is constantly in the kitchen and has to be told repeatedly to stop climbing and looking for goodies to eat. 

He loves to snuggle and will come into our room atleast twice a night for some cuddles with Daddy.  He has been a hard one to break of this as he if often cold, kicking off his sheets and blankets in his bed and coming to us when he wakes cold.

I think I can seriously count on 2 hands how many times this little boy has slept through the night.

He loves fruit, brocolli, pizza, yogurt and ANYTHING sweet.  He is a sugar lover. 

His favorite shows are Curious George, Calliou and anything with Snoopy.

He thinks he loves Mario, even though he has never really played any Mario games to speak of.

Ethan is an animal lover adores Cooper, our dog and will chase birds, kiss our friends dogs, has no fear in going to the pet shop and asking to hold the kittens etc.  He is a lover for sure and it melts my heart.

He really enjoys other children (Cade is the initiator in this as he is so confident with younger children), and just yesterday he and Cade were tending our neighbors little girl and walking her everywhere holding her hand, it was darling!  He is SOOOOO excited for a baby brother and asks daily when he will 'pop' out.

He loves nursery and his teachers.

Hates loud noises and freaks out if the smoke alarm sounds in our kitchen.  (I know what you're thinking...no, I don't burn things.... when we bought the house it was really touchy and would sound for no reason at all and wake us at all hours and would sound as soon as the oven preheated)

Is awfully shy at times even to things he really enjoys, like story time.  He will insist on sitting with me while stories are read but will get up and dance with the other children when they do that.

Will cry when you tell him no.  It gets old really quick and he gets in trouble for it.  I swear, as soon as they turn 3....

Plays great with Cade and buys into his imaginary games.  They are fun to watch and listen to and are such great brothers.

Rides his bike and scooter like a champ.  He is fast and has no fear.  Makes me happy that he enjoys it so much.

Will not keep undies on for the most part.  If he goes potty through out the day I have to remind him to get his pants back on.  It is just a bit of laziness on his part and I think he struggles to get them on so just chooses to leave them off.

LOVES the bath or shower.  If he hears his dad or me in there you can hear him run to the bathroom and say ever so sweetly, "Can I have a shower with you?" even if he just finished getting ready for the day or showering himself.  He loves water this one.

Ethan is trying to learn all his letters and count as high as Cade can count, and Cade loves to play school teacher and help him along.  He is a smarty and catches on quick.

He still has his little lisp and it's pretty stinking cute.  I asked the speech therapist from Cades Kindergarten screening if it was just age appropriate or if I should be doing anything and she said it was totally normal, not to be concerned but just have him doing silly saying like, "The silly snake slides sideways" to get that tongue hidden behind his teeth.

Favorite song by far is 5 Little Monkeys and he can sing the whole thing. It is to.die.for cute!!  He also really likes, "Shortenin' Bread" but we only know and do the chorus.

I could go on and on about my bubba Ethan that is now my 'Big Bruffa' as he calls himself.  We are so lucky to have him and count him as a blessing each and every day.

Lovin' that fake smile!

And just for good measure....

 Minutes old

 1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

.Ethan.

I haven't done an update on Ethan in a while and figured it was time to give him a shout out.

ETHAN IS POTTY TRAINED!! YAAHOO! WAAHOO!

He was a total rockstar. Woke up one Monday morning and went potty, came to me and said, "I a big boy, I wear big boy undies and go big potty!" Literally that was all it took. We are into our third week of dry nights and are going strong! I go cold turkey when it comes to potty training, they wear a diaper that first day, just to makes sure the successful day wasn't a fluke and then a towel down the next two or three nights. He still wakes in the night, I don't think he has slept through the night in his life, so he wakes and takes himself potty or asks us to turn on the light. Rockstar!

I am so thankful.

I had to include a photo of his cute big boy undies sticking out! What a spunk!

.Big Boy.

All things Ethan...

We have a little graduate on our hands...

...Ethan is now paci free! YAHOOO
He is also...

sippy cup free to go to bed at night! WAHOOO

We also have a learner on our hands...

He is keen to potty train. He takes himself poop, and will pee on the potty, just doesn't know the sensation in time to take himself pee as yet. What a little champ!

Our baby boy is getting so big!

Ethan

I have been awful with my monthly updates on the growing boy. I have been awful updating in general. Times will change I hope...

Anyway, Ethan is still our little delight. Well he is not so little anymore (he is 19 months today actually) at his 18 month appointment he was 25lb 6oz (45th percentile) and 33 and 1/2 inches long (just over the curve of 75th percentile). He had to have 4 shots, thanks to missing his 15 month wellness visit. He was sore for about 2 days, didn't want to climb the stairs etc. Poor Ethan.
~ Developmentally Ethan is doing great. He can say quite a few words, thank you, yeah, no, bottle, paci, up, all finished-"Done, Done", down, puppy, bird, fish, cow, kitty, ouchie, better, tooth, breakfast, off, jelly beans, poo poo, tubba, and the regular, momma, daddad, Nannan (nanny), Al (Allison my sister who is also visiting. I have yet to hear him say Cades name clearly. He is so good at communicating. That little pointing finger lets you know his wants and needs and he will nod and shake his head to let you know if you are guessing right.
~ He has started to show a real interest in Cades toys (and this has caused some fights and tears to arise... arrrrggghhh) they for the most part play well together thankfully but there are times where it is not so pleasant and I threaten to put toys away if it doesn't stop. He seems to really have learnt to put sounds to cars, planes etc. Just this week he started to climb out of his crib so we put the bar up instead of leaving it down, we'll see how long it takes him to master the bigger climb!
~ Ethan LOVES dogs. He has about 6 stuffed toys that are puppies and he loves them. He is not often seen without one under his arm. It is cute. He gets so excited to see puppies (real or toy) anywhere, in public, at the store.
~ Ethan is teething... ALL.THE.TIME. He is getting 5 teeth at the moment, his canine eye teeth ALL.AT.ONCE and his top left molar. For this reason he is still our Jekyll and Hyde when it comes to night times. We have yet to have a full week of Ethan not waking at night.
~ He has shown signs of wanting to potty train and has been happy to come sit on the toilet but nothing has been left behind as yet.
~ Ethan is the smiliest little man. We often get comments that he is so happy and always smiling and that a smile is never far away and it is true. He is a spunk!
~ He loves to kiss. He gives smooches and is so affectionate. Sometimes he is a bit of a scrooge with them though, holding out. He also still loves to sit and snuggle which is so nice.
~ Ethan likes to sing, be sung to and be read to. He particularly likes anything with animals.
~ He loves shoes. Will run and get his shoes and socks if he thinks we are going anywhere or if I have asked Cade to get his own shoes.
~ Ethan loves to be out and about. Whether it be outside running around, where he is in his total element or shopping. He is a great little shopper and I hope he stays that way!

We got family photos this week and I got Ethans hair cut pretty short and I spiked the front and on my goodness, I lost my little baby. He is a total little boy. He still has that sweetness of a baby and it is good for me, makes me not want for another just yet :)

We just so love our Ethan. All my family that have visited have an affinity for Ethan, he snuggles, cuddles and listens! Cade just adores him and pacifies him throughout the day. They are quite the little buddies.

*photos to follow*

Meanie

I have two little boys crying at the moment. I have for the last 3 hours put up with said two little boys playing/fighting over an empty tote and I had enough!
I threatened, "Any more tears or growling at each other and I am taking the tote!"
Well follow through I did! Hence the crying and begging faces at the window in the door while I put the tote away!
I am so fed up today, not sure what's the go there, but the tote got it! Early night for little men tonight I am thinking! Yep, I'm a meanie!

P.S. Cade just immerged, "Mommy, I miss boxie! I miss the box!"
Me, care factor of zero~!

Ethan 13 Months

I have a lot to catch up on with blogging...

Ethan is now 13 months old. He has really grown in the last month. He is walking and trying to run from me. He has become playful and independent in a lot of ways. He finally cut a tooth and it is still a lonesome one... you can see about 4 or 5 more wanting to peek through, just no show at this stage. I think the only reason he even cut this one tooth, which is his top right, is that he bumped his mouth twice in one week and I think it cut his gum which allowed the tooth to come on through.

He bit me with that little toothy today and all the boys (Cory included) got a good laugh out of that. Ethan likes me to look for teeth now and giggles with delight when I do. Good thing, I check as I check it almost daily.

Here are a few news worthy things about our Ethan boy...

~ Yep, he's walking and does fantastic at it
~ One toothy peg, top right
~ He gives kisses by tipping his head toward you. Initially it was a 'lazy' kiss as he didn't want to take out his pacifier, but now I say, "Kiss, Kiss?" and he leans toward me for kisses on the forehead usually. I love it! Very sweet.
~ He still loves his bottles and still wakes once in the night for one
~ Ethan is a talker. He responds really well to questions, with a "Yes!" "this" etc. He also lets you know when he wants something, usually food that Cade has with a protesting yell out that I have forgot him.
~ He is a smiler. He gives the cutest of smiles and I was looking at him in the rear view mirror today and he was so sweet with his smiles. What a happy little soul.
~ Ethan loves his tongue. He clicks with it and blows raspberries. Just today I caught him checking himself out in the mirror moving his tongue about and he got all embarrassed and mad at me when I spotted him.
~ He loves stuffed toys. He cuddles and loves on them. When he wakes from a nap, he points toward a hidden paci he wants and then his love that he took to bed or that Cade made sure Ethan had for bed. It is super cute.
~ My boy is happiest in a routine it seems which I am totally fine with. He likes his own bed and takes 2 naps a day. Just lately he has woken early and we have brought him in bed with us and he will sleep for another hour or so. BLISS. Cade did this all the time as a little bub and it was lovely. Ethan is an early bird and we had hoped for some sleep in time like this. Not sure it will last as he hasn't done it in the last 2 days...
~ Ethan's favorite foods are fruits. He loves oranges, grapes and watermelon. He loves pasta and peanut butter sandwiches. Ethan is such a messy eater, but so enjoys to feed himself and he will not eat without a fork.
~ He still loves cuddles and snuggle and loves to be read to.
~ Ethan is quite the little dancer. He LOVES music, if I sing to him in the shower or something, he hums along with me. If I have music playing he will bop up and down and hunt me down to pick him up and dance with him too. If he doesn't like the song, he stops, if he likes the song he will bop along. If I stop and he does not want me to he wriggles and shakes himself until I do it again.



Ethan boy with baby cousin Kinley

Do I Have Something On My Face....?!

Happy First For Our Second

WARNING... might be a bit of a long post.... but there will be photos!!

Today is Ethan boys 1st birthday!

Can you believe that.... I can't. (that c-section is still very real in my mind)

At 8:02am on this day, a year ago, a 7lb 12oz baby boy made his appearance. I remember thinking he was huge (with that 37cm head it was deceiving) and looked like my side of the family. I was just so, so happy that he came with hair, not sure why, I just never thought I would have a baby with hair, and dark hair at that. I kept talking about it I remember. Funny thing to be focused on but... I was tickled.

Ethan is a beautiful, happy (most of the time), smiley little man and we just adore him. He and Cade are the best of buddies (most of the time) and we so enjoy the little spirit Ethan has added to our home.

Here are 12 things Ethan is doing...or not doing... at 12 months old!! A YEAR... CRAZY

- Ethan loves the tubby, he loves water period. He is fearless and would swim in even cold water to his little hearts content. It was fun to watch him this spring break getaway swimming and just loving every bit of it.
- A few of his favorite eats are fish crackers, grapes, blueberries, carrot cake, pumpkin and pears baby food, yoghurt, ice cream and oranges.
- He loves balloons, balls, his pacifiers, pillows, climbing and squealing!
- Ethan is totally not into his baby food anymore, is very willful and lets us know we he does or does not want something.
- If we ask him where something or someone is he looks, points and says, "Daretis" as if he is he saying, "There it is!" Cory was the one that noticed this and we were impressed!
He tries to say certain things, and mimics the sounds we make alot. I swear that while one the phone with my mum the other day he said "Brother" but has not said it since, thankfully mum was a witness to it while on the phone or I would think I was a bit nutso!
He says, Mummum, Momma, Daddad, bubbub, ball, hittis (here it is), daretis (there it is) Botbot (bottle).
- Ethan still does not sleep through the night... grrrr. We have been doing the 'hard love' route this week and letting him cry a little more in the hopes he will self settle better. I am sorry to my poor neighbors that have to hear a screaming baby at 2am in the morning, it will be worth it in the end!!
- Ethan is alot of fun, he is funny, likes to bump his head on things on purpose. If he is sitting by the door or a wall he will tap his head backward to make a noise and crack up at it, easy pleased!
- If you take something from his 'death grip' he will cry the biggest crocodile tears and chuck a fit that you pried it from his hands. He is a determined little mite and it is a struggle sometimes to get things from him!
- He STILL had NO teeth...grrr. I said to Cory, what a waste of him weaning, we could have made the most of this no teeth thing!
- This little boy loves to cuddle and snuggle and we just love it. He will still lay his head on your shoulder for a good cuddle too. He likes to be by you and will go get what he was playing with and come back and sit on your lap to play with it.
- He, for the most part plays really well by himself or with Cade. Lately I think he is going through a seperation anxiety thing with me and will want me on the floor playing with him which is new.
- Ethan is not walking yet but will stand for longer periods of time balanced without noticing he is doing it. He is a climber and a few of his favorite places to climb are on our TV stand (it is not a high TV stand as our TV is wall mounted), on Cade's tool bench, over the couches and on Cades bed. I found him 2 days ago on the second shelf of Cades bookcase, SCARY!

Now for the photos....
Birth


One Month


Two Months

Three Months

Four Months

Five Months

Six Months


Seven Months

Eight Months

Nine Months

Ten Months

Eleven Months

1 YEAR OLD

11 Months

11 months... 11 months! My oh my...

This little boy of mine is just a joy. He loves his brother, is a total mommas boy and wrestles with Daddy and Cade and holds his own. He is still a Jekyll and Hyde when it comes to sleeping, angel during the day, terror at night, but we love him to bits!

At 11 months Ethan is
- Squealing, and whoa does he have a set of lungs...
- Crawling up on hands and feet
- Standing for a few seconds before getting wobbly and falling
- Teething like crazy but still no teeth to show for it
- He shakes his head, "No" when he doesn't want to do something or is mad
- Crys when you scold him, tender heart
- LOVES to climb, came by this honestly as Cade was the same. He finds it such a sense of achievement to climb on Cade's bed or on the couch.
- Crawls to you and sits up reaches for you and flaps his arms if you are too slow at picking him up
- He is FAST when he crawls, speedy. He will put his head down and jabber like he is talking to himself on his way to where he is heading, it's funny
- Ethan is a snuggler, and we LOVE it. He rests his head on your shoulder and just cuddles.
- He loves snacks. Fish, puffs, fruit loops, baby chips.
- His new favorite foods are oranges and bananas.
- If you feed him something he likes he responds, "MMMMMM" like he is loving the taste of that
- Ethan has to be holding a spare paci when he sleeps, it is like his softy love. Cade was partial to his blankey, not one in particular, he had about 3 he was partial to, but Ethan, he would be a happy boy with a paci in his mouth and one in each hand. He will often crawl through the house and find 'paci treasures' and spit the one he has and take on the new one with an "mmmmmm"!
- Ethan LOVES, LOVES Cade! They play all day and it is so wonderful to me. Cade introduces Ethan, "This is Ethan, he is my best friend" and what a blessing that is to hear. When Ethan wakes from naps I say to Cade, "Look Cade!" and he with much excitement says, "Hi Etan (Ethan), you woke up!" Everyday he does this, it is a nice habit!
- This little boy loves his face covered, he will often find a shirt in the folding up (usually Corys) and put it over his face, I think he must like the feel of it. I play it with him often with a burp cloth and he is hilarious, if I take too long to put it back on, his is pulling it from my hand to do it himself.
- He so enjoys playing with toy balls, he will scout them out.
- Ethan would live in the bath if we let him, Cade was also the same. He is so much more confident in the water. Fearless.

We sure are happy to have this little treasure in our home and it honestly feels like he has been here along, just fits, which is the way it should be in my mommy opinion!

And if I could figure how to get videos on here, I would show this boy off... but you will just have to settle for photos ;)

10 Months

Ethan at 10 months is just so fun! I distinctly remember with Cade, that I found 10 months really hard, I don't know why that was, perhaps because that was the month his teeth finally popped through or because that was the month Cory went back to another semester of school and along with that an even busier schedule, but I seemed to find 10 months difficult. I would have to say that is not how I feel now. 10 months is busy yes, but just a great age for me. I LOVE the newborn stage and would keep that stage a little longer but this Independence and still the love of a good cuddle I really enjoy.

Here are 10 more things Ethan is doing at 10 months...

Ethan has started to say a few words, he says "Mama" "Dad dad" "Bub Bub" and "Bott Bott" and says them specifically. When he wants to be picked up he will crawl to you and say, "Mama, bub bub". It is so stinkin cute!

Ethan now shakes his head 'No' especially when we are wanting to feed him at meal times. I think he has learnt that if he does that he thinks he is done, but he is hungry at the same time so it is proving a little messy.

He loves to climb, he prefers to go the hard route over items as opposed to around them and it is fun to watch him rough house with Cade and Cory.

He is tough! He really doesn't cry when he gets hurt when playing, it is only if Cade hurts him unawares and I hear Cade run away saying, "Sorry Ethan, sorry Mommy!" and then I know it was a definite hurt.

Ethan really only cries when you take food from him that he has totally goobered or a toy he is not meant to have that he is chewing on. (And he cries at night... can't forget that little gem)

He is like the human vacuum. If something is to be found on the ground however minuscule, he will put it in his mouth, I was eating dinner tonight and dropped some rice on the floor when I was cleaning up and he was there in a shot to try and get it! Gross.

Ethan walks along furniture and is constantly on his feet. He does this bending and straightening of his legs like he is dancing. He stood alone twice today and that was pretty amazing to us.

He knows when he is being naughty or doing something he is not meant to, he will look at you with his sweet as can be eyes and smile and laughs at his naughtiness. He loves to tease Cade. He will purposely stand in front of the TV to block him and has learnt to turn the TV on and off so we have had to tape the switch so he can't get it. Funny little boy. He

He is F.E.A.R.L.E.S.S in the bath. He just crawls around in there like no ones business and lays on his tummy and blows bubbles. He stresses me out just watching him but he has an absolute ball in there!

He loves me to take photos of him and totally hams it up. He likes the red light reduction that comes on and squashes his face up as you can see in the photos.

We are just totally in love with this boy and Cory says daily, "What would we do my boy without that smile!" Cade loves him, he is gentle and kind and caring and talks to him in a special sweet voice. I hope they are always so close. Don't get me wrong, they have their moments but thankfully they are just moments and they just love each other to bits the rest of the time.

9 months

It's funny to think now that 9 months of this little man inutero went so much slower than 9 months with him here.

Ethan is growing, growing which was a bit of a surprise to his Dr as he was very anemic in his blood draw today. I thought it was strange too considering he is eating meats (in baby food form) and on iron fortified formula now, but he now has to take supplimental iron for a couple of months until he is anemia free. She said it could very well be genetic and I did suffer from anemia alot as a child and in my early teenage years.

Ethan is 20lb 5oz (50th percentile), 29 1/2 inches long (80th percentile) and has a big noggin at 46.8cm (85th percentile). He is doing great, apart from being anemic. The Dr said it will be interesting to see if his sleeping habits get better once the anemia is controlled, we'll see I guess.

Not alot has changed since last month developmentally except that he has started to squeal and communicates his frustration and want for food or other things we might have. He had his first Christmas and loved every minute of it. He was such a good boy all day. Loved his presents and his brothers presents too!

We just love this beautiful blue eyed boy. He is always getting compliments on his 'big deep blue eyes' and we sure love him to bits.

8 Months

Today Ethan boy is 8 months old. OH MY GOSH... 8 months. Today was a terror day for him but I do think it was that he missed his morning nap as I took the boys to playgroup, and the fact that he is teething. I can feel his bottom tooth just under the gum but that does not mean it will be poking through anytime soon (lesson learned with Cade).

Ethan this month has finally started to crawl on all fours but when he is on a slick surface he still army crawls. He loves to blow raspberries and squeal. He is fun. He also does the most darling excited sucking noise. I can't do it, it makes me cough everytime, but it sure is endearing. We love it. He kicks and smiles the most beautiful smiles when he sees you and I just love that. He is a sweet little boy (with the exception of today hehe) and is growing like a weed. We do not have his next appointment until he is 9 months but he is still a chunky monkey and we love him to bits!

On a sad note, Ethan decided he is too big (nosey and impatient) to nurse anymore. We had a good run with breast feeding and it is always so bittersweet when my boys decide they are done. I had a friend tell me to be thankful they ween themselves as it is one less thing I have to teach them not to want or get rid of, but at the same time, I love that time, I love to breastfeed and there is truly nothing like it for me.

Well, the child that has possessed my once so calm and placid boy is crying for the 100th time today... duty calls.... COME ON TEETH HURRY UP!!

Ethan... photos

Well, I finally got some photos of the growing boy for those that had mentioned wanting to see some pics (Netty) hehe!!

Ethan is SOOO close to crawling. In these photos I could totally deceive and say he was as it truly looks like he is, but alas it is not so. He is constantly up on his hands and knees but when he wants to get anywhere is still army crawling. He is the master at that, very quick. I love that he is happily mobile without the pulling and climbing on things. That was Cade all over so Ethan is less of a stress (at this stage) when it comes to that! Phew!!


Enjoy the boy...






**See mum, in the second last photo you can really tell Ethan no longer has the comb over 'crazy professor hair' going on!