Toddling

Ethan took his first real steps on November 27th (he had taken 1 or 2 before but those were more "controlled falling" than walking).  It was exciting and he has gotten so much better just in the past few days at toddling.  Now he can stand up by himself and walk across the room.  He holds his hands up and moves in a very Captain Jack Sparrow manner.  It's so cute to watch and he is so proud of himself too!

Here he is on one of his first nights of walking: 

And here he is on December 2nd:  

Trip to Illinois

Having fun with Great-Grandma Poteet

 Ethan finally got to meet his Great-Grandma Poteet last weekend.  On Saturday morning we left home and drove about 7 hours to Bloomington, Illinois.  Ethan did great on the drive -- sleeping, babbling, and playing almost the whole way.  He got fussy about the last 30 minutes, which made us happy that we had already decided to stop for the night in Bloomington instead of heading the extra 30 minutes to Morton, where his Great-Grandma lives.

Sunday morning we headed to his Great-Grandma's house in Morton.  It was a quick and easy drive and it was exciting for us to introduce Ethan to his first great-grandparent.  We visited with grandma and Ivon the whole day and had a good lasagna for lunch and apple dumpling pie for dessert.  Ethan had fun meeting them but especially loved playing with their cat.  He giggled and chased the cat everywhere he could; luckily, the cat was faster than Ethan.

Ethan also loved this puppy statue
(and it couldn't run away from him)!

After leaving Morton, we went back to our hotel for an afternoon nap before meeting The Arendells for a delicious dinner at Beningo's Restaurant.  It was fun to catch up with them and Ethan had tons of fun playing with them at the dinner table.  We came home on Monday so it was a short trip but it was great to catch up with everyone we saw in the short time we were there!  Plus, Ethan got to spend time in two new states:  Kentucky and Illinois!

Creamer packets are fun toys!

Dan showed Ethan how to use a pen and a fun hand-stacking game.

Bamm Bamm Rubble for Halloween

Everyone had fun Trick-or-Treating!

For his first time Trick-or-Treating, Ethan dressed up as Bamm Bamm Rubble in a costume made by his Grandma Wade.  His cousin, Mackenzie, came over to Trick-or-Treat with him and the two of them had a lot of fun.  Ethan doesn't know what candy is yet, but he sure was selective in picky out pieces to take from all the pretty colors and textures available (Cayne and I are going to have sugar overloads for a while, I think).  This was also Cayne's first time Trick-or-Treating and pumpkin carving so we all had a Happy Halloween!!!

Our inspiration!

Our Bamm Bamm had to wear an undershirt, pants and socks to stay warm.
Nashville doesn't have the same climate as Bedrock!

Mackenzie was a cute butterfly, but she didn't like having her antennae on.  

Aunt Sarah tried to scare Mackenzie and Ethan with her pumpkin mask!

Both Cayne and Ethan are ready for their first time Trick-or-Treating!

Hmmm...these things look interesting!

Pretzel bags taste yummy!

Bamm, Bamm, Bamm....Bamm, Bamm!!

Grandma, what are you doing answering my door?!

Everyone liked Cayne's kiwi Jack-o-latern!

Happy Halloween!

One-Year Check-Up

I took Ethan in for his one-year check up at the doctor today.  He was a great patient who had both his doctor and nurse giggling with him at his baby babble.  He even showed the doctor how he can say "hot"...she was impressed with his ability to make the "h"-sound.  He passed his exam with flying colors and even handled the shots pretty well.  He had to get four...one in each leg and one in each arm.  We both got flu shots so hopefully we'll avoid that nasty bug this winter!  While he has remained around the 50th percentile for height, he has dropped to the 25th percentile for weight, only gaining about 1.5 pounds in the last 3 months.  The doctor wasn't concerned about this, though, which is good.  Apparently, lots of babies drop a little when they get super active (and Ethan is definitely active).  She said we might see him go down a little more before his next visit at 15 months as well but that we should keep offering him food until he rejects it and add some snacks between mealtimes to replace nursing.  Hopefully he will start eating chunkier foods soon, too!

Here are some other updates:

• He is cruising.  He likes to walk behind his walker (he can't turn it around yet, though) and from furniture piece to furniture piece.  He sometimes walks while holding our hands but isn't confident when he does this.   We've seen him try to stand a few times but it only lasts a few seconds before he falls.  
• He can say "hi", "hot", "dat" and "dada".  Sometime he squeaks out a "mom" but he makes me work very hard for it.  He babbles other syllables all the time.  
• He can sign for "milk" and clap his hands.  We've seen him do the "clean-up" sign once and he has also started to wave "hi" and "bye" sometimes.  He also puts his hand on his head when someone says "oh no!".  
• Ethan weighs 20 lbs, 11.5 ounces. 
• He is 29.75 inches long. 
• His head circumference is 45.75 centimeters.  
• Ethan loves to head-butt things, especially his mommy and daddy while playing.  
• His favorite books are Dr. Seuss books.  
• His favorite new toy is the ball his Grandma and Grandpa Wade gave him for his birthday.  He likes to head-butt it too.  

• He has been in 6 states:  Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee.  
• He has been to 2 National Parks:  The Grand Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains.  He's also been to lots of National Monuments in Arizona.  
• He has 4 teeth (2 on top and 2 on bottom).  
• He likes to feed himself cut up carrots, bananas, avocados, green beans, and peas and crumbled ground beef.  He loves whole milk and yogurt with some fruit mixed in.  
• He has started to put shapes in his shape sorter (I just have to show him where they go).  
• He is a great shopping companion...he flirts with all the salespeople!  
• His bedtime is around 7:00 and he sleeps 11-12 hours a night.  He sleeps with a stuffed giraffe rattle (to keep him occupied when he wakes up in the morning).  
• He has 2 naps a day (on most days, anyway)...one around 9:00 and one around 3:00 -- he will nap anywhere from 1-2 hours each time.  
• Cayne and I still sneak into his room every night to check on our sleeping baby just like we did when he was a newborn.  We are giddy parents and can't help but smile when we see our little pumpkin snuggled up in bed looking so cute.  Sometimes we accidentally wake him up and have to go running out of his room before he sees us and thinks it's time to play, though!  

Birthday Boy: One Year Old!

Ethan turned one year old today and I am still wrapping my head around the fact that somehow my newborn baby turned into the cutest, sweetest one-year-old boy ever!  We had a little party for him with family and I definitely think he had a ton of fun.  He got to play with his cousin, his aunts and uncles, and his grandparents.  He got to eat some delicious cake (even though he got tired of it and didn't eat too much) and got to open his presents.  Well, ok, so he was more interested in playing with the tissue and wrapping paper than he was in unwrapping the gifts, but that's OK... he loved the toys and books and puzzles once he saw them.  The big hit of the night was definitely his new ball from his Grandma and Grandpa Wade.

Happy, Happy Birthday, Ethan.  We love you!

Aunt Ashley, I'd like some of Mackenzie's cottage cheese
for my birthday, please.  

Mackenzie, can't I have a little taste? 

May I see your license and registration, ma'am?

MmmMmmm!

Lots of pressies for me!

Ethan has his one-year check-up on Friday so I'll post his updates once we get home from that appointment.

Pumpkin Farm Fun

On Saturday, we met Russ, Ashley, and Mackenzie at Gentry's Farm for some Fall pumpkin fun.  We wandered through the corn maze where Uncle Russ kept us from getting lost and the Munchkin (Soybean) maze where Mackenzie kept us on track.  Ethan had lots of fun on the hayride to see cows and getting up close with other farm animals after the ride.  We even picked out some pumpkins to take home...we'll carve them for Halloween.  The best part was that the cousins got to have fun playing together!

In the corn maze.

Hey Mackenzie...we could totally be farmers!

With Aunt Ashley...getting ready for the hayride.

A COW!!! MOO!

In the Munchkin Maze.

Here's a cute one of the cousins I stole from Aunt Ashley's site.