little fish

I'm so proud of Ethan! We've only been to the pool a handful of times, and everytime we go he freaks out and clings to me most of the time. But this time, he was quite interested and even giggling! He even walked around quite a bit in the kiddie area. And one time he fell and went under, and when I pulled him up he sputtered a bit, but didn't cry! He even willingly went into the part that's "rainy" and totally loved the slides. I think we stayed for an hour and a half, we had so much fun! Then we both got hungry so decided to come home. :)

And now he's driving his fire truck around the basement. Seriously, we have not encouraged him playing with cars any more than with anything else, but he LOVES driving his cars and trucks around, so we just had to get him some more! (hooray for the Salvation Army :) I think it's what he spends half his days doing. I find it interesting that as much as we say that boys and girls are the same, they're really not. I've met a lot of children, and most little boys gravitate towards cars and guns, and girls gravitate towards dolls and dress-up. There is some crossover, and there are indeed lots of things that both boys and girls like to play, but you really can't deny that there truly is a difference in the way they're wired!

Scoundrel!

Ethan is starting to get into EVERYTHING! In the past 45 minutes, he has eaten mud, harassed the bird we are pet-sitting, emptied the DVD cupboard, tipped over a play car, and just about pulled one of my tomato cages out. I haven't minded too much (except when he was harassing the bird and my tomato plant) since he's not putting himself or anyone else in danger, nor is anything he's doing "wrong" per-se. And frankly, I don't feel like following him around the house saying "no!" all the time.

But what do I do when he really is doing something I think is wrong? He was banging on the bird's cage and scaring it, so I pulled him away and sat him down on the chair, thinking maybe I'd try this time-out thing. But he just laughed like a mad-man and I almost started laughing too! What to do, what to do...

words!

So we may not be making a ton of progress on the moving front, but Ethan is definitely learning some words!

He knows that the dog next door is "doggie" and when he wants up (or is up) he says "uppie", dad is "dada" or "daddy", he says "hi" and "bye" and just now was learning to say "clock" (one of his favorite things to look at), although it sounds more like "cok" right now :) He doesn't say "mommy" much, but at least I still know he loves me!

barking

Ethan totally scared me today. He woke up from his nap early and was breathing heavily, so I cuddled him for a while, put him back down, and went downstairs. Half an hour later I went back up and he was crying, but quite faintly. I went in and he was lying on his tummy, reaching out with his arms like a parched man reaching for a pool of water. And he was weezing like the air was being sucked out of the room. I scooped him up and brought him downstairs, told Jon to get off the phone and just about started bawling! Thankfully Jon kept his cool and we took him to the medicentre. Poor guy was barking/coughing like a 90-year-old smoker and "talking" like Al Pacino! I'm happy that they got him in to see a doctor right away, instead of having to wait for an hour.

Turns out he has croup, which is something I thought disappeared in the 60s along with polio and mumps! Guess not. We gave him a little steroid pill to take down the swelling in his trachea and took him for a walk so he could breath some cool misty air (for once this cruddy weather was perfect!) Anyway, he's sleeping now and seems to be breathing mostly ok, although a bit heavy. Poor guy. Poor mommy!

About time!

We were at our friends' farm on Sunday, and I was walking around with Ethan holding onto my finger. The ground was pretty uneven so he more...lurching...rather than walking. But then I let go and - surprise! - he took 2 steps. And then a couple more! And then he was off and running! Just kidding, no running :) But still, progress has been made! Considering that he's almost 14 months, I'm ready for the walking stage.

Mother's Day

Last year Jon got me some books so I could take some time for myself. This year, he and Ethan painted a picture frame for me! I can't wait to see what Ethan will make next year, when hopefully he'll be capable of making things all by himself. :)

learning!

It sure feels like Ethan is learning at a breakneck speed. Once he started doing new things, he just kept going!

Now he knows how to put things IN, as well as take things out. Puzzles, shape sorters, buckets -- they all have new possibilities now!

He can go DOWN stairs as well as up. And when he gets to the bottom he is immensely proud of himself.

He can stand on his own (no, still no walking yet).

He says "hi" whenever we say it to him.

He loves opening and closing doors. Seriously, a single door can keep him occupied for 20 minutes!

He plays peekaboo on his own, with his hands over his eyes, or with his blanket.

He can do the "indian-yodel thing" (for lack of a better phrase) all by himself. You know, the thing where you open your mouth and sing while patting your mouth with your hand. It's pretty hilarious when he does it on command!

I know a lot about kids, and have taught/played with/baby-sat hundreds of them, but nothing compares to watching the daily changes in a toddler!

gripefest

Why is it that bad stuff comes all at once? This week we've had one bout of the stomach flu (both ends), one bout of diarhhea, 3 head colds, a cancelled summer course and a cancelled fall course (meaning Jon has to further put on hold his dreams of finishing his BA), a water leak, AND a broken sump pump. AGGGGGGGGG!!! We're going to have to pay a plumber and probably install new carpet in the basement. Again I said, AGGGGGGGGG!!!

zzzz

Sleep, sleep wonderful sleep! Tonight, for the first time (or at least the first time in a super long time), Ethan slept ALL NIGHT! We're talking 13 hours here! Previously he didn't wake up a lot, but he was still nursing once a night. I was tired of getting up so I thought I'd wean him off that, seeing as how he's plenty old enough for weaning anyway.

I tried in January but he cried for an hour and a half (on and off) and I gave in and then never bothered again. But this time I had nerves of steel! The first night he cried off and on for an hour, and I went in to him using the Ferber method...the second night he woke up at two separate times and the second time was 6:30 already, so I caved and nursed him. The third night he cried for 30 minutes, and last night, NOTHING! Not a peep for 13 hours. Phew!

Snow Day

We went out to enjoy the sunshine...

...and I thought I'd enjoy a little snow as well...

...it tasted a little strange...

...but I just had to try it again!

That's me giving Mommy's friend a look of extreme disgust.

I think she suggested that Mommy make me snow cakes for dinner.

more goofiness

I love the goofy little things that Ethan does. Recently he's taken to stretching out his arm with his fingers outstretched - I think it's his new way of pointing at something he wants. Except that it looks like he's trying to summon it to him. :) And sometimes he does it to a person and it looks like he's blessing them.

He's also discovered how to carry things around when using all 4 limbs to crawl...use the mouth! He is always carrying things around in his mouth, like a little puppy. Then he'll stop, sit, and grin at me while still clamping onto his ball, box, or toy.

hooray!

Since the return of the afternoon nap, Ethan has been in a great mood! Today I took him to work for a couple hours and he just crawled happily around in the church basement, playing with the nursery toys, exploring classrooms, and watching mom. Hooray for naps!

every good and perfect gift

I just love Ethan. We've talked so many times about how we just love to hear him yawn - he's so loud, it's like he's singing. He's always done like that. I love the way he crawls, hands pattering on the floor. I love the way he gets so excited when I come into the room. I love watching him eat - sometimes he takes a piece of food and almost throws it into his mouth, like he's afraid it'll disappear if he holds onto it too long. I love getting him in the morning and seeing him standing in his crib, grinning. I love nursing him, because when he's done he just lays back and smiles at me, like he is absolutely and completely content. I love how he always checks to see if I'm watching when he's playing, and comes crawling over if I'm not paying attention. I love his giggles when I hold him upside down.

But I know I'm not the first parent to ever fall in love with their kid. If most parents love their kids like I love Ethan, it just blows me away how there can be so incredibly much love in the world! It really is a gift from God.

Dentist?

Ethan loves looking at and touching my teeth. It's a recent obsession. Today I was laying on the floor and he was poking my teeth and suddenly decided he wanted to (like with everything else), taste them. So he essentially gave me mouth-to-mouth. So funny!

one story

The man on the left, William Estrada, is amazing. He is the pastor of a church in an impoverished rural community. He lives on whatever the church gives in offerings, which is about $4-5 per week (his church has 280 people in it, which gives you an idea of how poor they are). He also uses that money to help his community. He talks about times when his family hasn't had any food to eat, and instead of despairing, he tells them that they are going to fast and pray. He also has a story of when his car was needed as the ambulance, but he only had 1 gallon of gas left and that was to take his very pregnant wife to the hospital when she went into labor. They discussed it, and since the lady was going to die if he didn't take her, his wife said that he had better take this woman to the hospital, and she would just deal with labor at home. Well, when he got back from taking the sick woman to the hospital, he discovered that someone had left a gallon of gas on his doorstep! Honestly, when he was sharing, I felt like I was listening to the Apostle Paul.

Some of the team in front of William's house. The smoke you see is from burning garbage.

A child in William's community.

The family pet.