all done!

We're all moved in, and as an added bonus, Ethan has started regularly waking up just once at night, instead of twice. Yahoo! We're on the way toward sleeping all the way through...

T minus 22 hours

We're moving tomorrow! I used to think moving was fun, but it's so much more of a pain this time around. I can't really get much packing done when Ethan's awake, so I pretty much just have nap-time and bed-time. Thankfully he goes to bed at 6:30. 22 hours until we get the keys!

haha

Ethan was in his Jolly Jumper a few minutes ago, and I was pouring dry pasta into a container. He seemed very agitated and was looking at the half-bag of pasta, so I gave it to him to hold. Apparently that was exactly what he wanted! Then he started trying to jump, without relinquishing his hold on the heavy bag of pasta, so he could barely move! Ahaha.

half birthday-day!

I can't believe my little guy is 6-months already! He's halfway to 1! Ack!

He's such a relaxed kid - he's pretty much happy anywhere you put him, and if it's someplace new he'll just look around curiously.

Right now he's on his tummy on the floor where he's pushing himself backwards and in circles.

And he likes to sit and play with toys (with my supervision so he doesn't find himself on his head!).

He's not getting up on his knees - he prefers to balance hilariously on his tummy with his legs and head in the air. I think he's practicing to be a seal.

He eats pretty much any food I put in front of him, so I have to be careful what to give him! Those two little teeth are coming in handy!

Happy half-birthday Ethan!

leaving on a jet plane...

We'll be back on Monday! Just Ethan and I though, Jon gets to stay home and work. What a bummer.

big day part 2

Apparently all that work today made Ethan super hungry! Within an hour, he ate 3 cubes of sweet potato, 2 of green beans, an entire banana, and he nursed me dry.

!!!!!

big day

So Ethan went to his first community meeting today and lasted for about 45 minutes before getting cranky. I was impressed. And I think he's finally figured out the turning over thing - he turned from front to back 6 times with about 5 minutes. And now he's spinning himself on his belly to get to something he wants. He's also pushing himself backwards though, which I think is totally frustrating him because he's moving AWAY from the toys. hehe

to sleep, perchance to wake up to screaming...

So I'm discovering that much of so-called "parenting skills" is really a crapshoot. Seriously, how do you know what's going on in a baby's head? For example, a couple times this week Ethan's been waking up around midnight, absolutely inconsolable. I try to let him cry it out, aut after 20 minutes I just can't handle it anymore. But he wails when I try to feed him, a clean diaper doesn't help, we walk around, put him in the swing, nothing. Finally an hour or more has gone by and he finally falls asleep.

At first I thought it was the food we gave him. On Sunday we gave him avocado for the first time, and that's when the first episode happened. And yesterday we gave him banana for the first time and it happened again. But he went for his shots today, and the nurse said it was highly unlikely that the food was the cause because he was eating the new foods in the early afternoon, so if he had an upset stomach or gas, it would show up long before midnight.

Then I realized that both nights this happened, he had a giant poop the next morning - the first poop in a few days.

Then I thought maybe it was a growth spurt, and he was just starving, and so upset that he just couldn't settle down to eat. But he got weighed today and he hasn't even gained an entire pound in the last 2 months, nor has his length increased by more than 2 cm. So apparently not a growth spurt. (He went form 97th percentile to 75th in two months! I think it's all brain growth, but that's just proud mama talking :)

The nurse thought perhaps the problem was teething. But he already has 2 teeth and they popped in with barely a grouchy afternoon, and I heard that the first teeth were supposed to be the worst.

So this evening he did it again, around 9. We thought maybe he really is teething, and it's just being different this time. And since he had his shots today (so this legs might be hurting), we gave him a bit of infant motrin. Still no calming down, although I know drugs aren't instantaneous.

Then I thought that perhaps he was hungry. He had only eaten 2 1/2 hours previously, and usually once he's eaten before bed, he doesn't need to eat again until 3ish. But he ate ravenously. So maybe he's finally hit that 6 month growth spurt.

So, all in all, we still are in the dark. Can you say, "crapshoot"?

PS Looks like the financing has finally gone through for our house. We hit a snag because the appraisal came in at lower than the price we agreed to pay and there were some various issues surrounding that. But it meant that we didn't sign the documents right away, so now it looks like we're going with another bank (one that doesn't require an appraisal) and we'll be getting an interest rate of 3.99% instead of 4.19%. I have to say, sometimes God is weird.

Yum yum!

I tried some food today. It was YUMMY! I've had tastes of food before, like some tomato sauce from daddy's finger and some lemon and carrot, but never like this. WOW! First I tried some kiwi. I wasn't supposed to eat it, mommy just gave it to me for a lark. But I loved it so much! I was really mad at her when she took it away!

Then tonight I got to try CEREAL. Was that ever amazing!

I really liked it. Can you tell?

Swimming!

I went swimming for the first time today. I thought it would be lots of fun, but it was kind of scary at first. There were so many people and it was so loud! And then mommy tried to put me in this floaty thing, but I didn't want to. Not yet. So we just hung out for a while. Then mommy spotted her cousin, and she's so pretty, I just had to smile at her. Then I started to feel better about the pool. I like splashing mommy, and my favorite is when she lifts me up real high and then back into the water. Weeeee! We stayed for a long time!

Good grief!

I can't believe! I had Ethan on his tummy in his room, and I quickly went to the bathroom. When I came back, he was on his back. I missed it - his first rollover! Then he was on his tummy for another 10 minutes when I was in the room, and he wouldn't do it again. Sigh.

surprise!

So Ethan's been kinda weird with eating this week, doing lots of fussing and whining when I'm trying to feed him. Otherwise he's been fine. And he's been waking up more often at night (3 or 4 times instead of 1), mostly just to cry. Last night he was chewing on my finger and I thought I maybe felt a tooth, but I couldn't get in there to look. This afternoon the ridge felt a little bigger and when I finally got his tongue aside I discovered not one, but TWO teeth! I'm sad that his super cute gummy grin will be gone, but I suppose a toothy grin will be cute too :)

sleeping

We heard Ethan goofing around in his crib at nap-time but thought little of it. Then Jon beckoned me to see something funny. When they say "sleeping like a baby", this must be what they meant:

I have to say, it looks wildly uncomfortable, but apparently it doesn't matter!

dum da dum dum

We think we've found a house! It's about a 3-minute walk from Jon's workplace so we'll be able to simplify a bit and sell our second car. It's a super cute little 2-story that's across the fence from Sobeys, so we'll never have to worry about running out of milk! There's also a Tim Hortons just across the fence, so I sense an addiction to Iced Coffees coming on...

We can't make an official offer until Jon starts work, because he's not at full time yet. But according to the chat we had with the owners yesterday, we'll probably be moving mid-October. Our first house that's OURS. (well, the bank's actually, but who's going to quibble? :)

My big road trip

I took my very first long roadtrip this weekend. Well, I've been to Grandma and Grandpa's place a couple times, but that drive is just the length of a long nap. This one was serious business. I even tried sitting in the driver's seat, but I can't see over the dashboard yet. Maybe next time. Then I'm really gonna zoom down the road.

We made a little pit stop at a teeny weeny town, where I got to inspect a tree real close up. Someday I'm gonna be a scientist. A scientist Nascar driver.

Maybe I will also be a food taster. I'm practicing lots on daddy's thumb. I think it's my favorite snack flavor so far.

Mommy thinks I'm going to be a sweet boy, but I'll show her! Look at me tear apart this napkin!

But maybe for now I'll just concentrate on learning how to do things like sitting. I guess every great man has to start the same way, whether he's a Nascar driver, a scientist, or a ragamuffin.