August- Month 4

Here are some pics to finish out August. Everyone here has a cold. I tried so hard to keep Ethan from getting sick, but no way to avoid the inevitable. Fortunately, he seems to be doing lots better today- it's been so hard to see him sick. All you want to do is give him tons of kisses and cuddles, and Tylenol helps a bit, too. Just the other day, Ethan got to enjoy his first highchair meal- a little bit of runny rice cereal. He had some more today and he ate it like a champ. I'm waiting for the, "Mom, where's my foie gras?"! Bon appetit, baby.

"You want to see me get the rest in?"
"I've never seen a bear in the mirror before."
Ethan's cute little fleece teddy outfit from GAP. It is a size 6-12, but he's only got an inch left in the torso area. Looks like we'll have to get a bigger size for winter!
It's been so cold out, on top of us having colds, that I put his stroller bundler on for buggy rides.

ETHAN'S MONTH 4 PICS.
I took these over two days because, well, as you can see, his hands have a mind of their own. Chomping on fingers is certainly way more enjoyable than sitting cute for pics.
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... Finally! Cute pose without the fingers! It only took about 50shots.

Ribbit!

Ethan sitting in his highchair right before he gets served his 'first meal'. Doesn't he look excited? Poor little thing and his runny nose.

Entertainment

This child loves to be entertained.Waiting patiently for his toys. Hope he is this well behaved when he starts school.
Here come the toys... The butterfly is 'crinkly' and he loves the noise.

Oh, and there's a quick glimpse of his little neck that is usually hidden by all that pudge.
oops. The butterfly flew away.
Guess it's time for the rattle. Check out the chopstick grip.
PS. Thanks Liam for lending us your 'Bumbo' seat!!

And, he loves to talk. Here he is babbling away at his mobile.

He has been increasingly entertained by funny looks or repetition games. This is a video of him laughing away while I play peek-a-boo with a placemat. He's been smiling/giggling since week 5, and his laugh become very boisterous- it is adorable.
His new rattle.
He loves to stand! Here he is supporting himself against the ottoman.Ethan meeting Mrs. Gomez for the first time. Hope she'll get to see Ethan grow up as much as she has me.

After an hour or so of learning and games, this one is ready for a quiet stroller ride.

Happy 3 Month Birthday!!!

Well, we made it the first three months, and we have a very healthy, cheerful, intelligent, growing baby boy!!

Ethan's stats:
16lbs and 25.25in!!!!!! Yep, we're almost ready for 6-9month clothing.

Within the last two weeks he's discovered wiggling phalanges (anyone else a "Bones" fan?) which have evaded the camera for pics, grown by leaps and bounds, enjoyed tummy-time a bit more, laughed to the much entertainment of Mom and Dad and those lucky enough to share in the delight, held his head forward if in a reclined position, babble along as I sing him the 'ABC's', hold a 'cooing' and 'ahhing' conversation, blowing bubbles, bat at toys above his head and reach out for books being read to him, as well as his Teddy, and consistently sleeping 7-8hours at night (except for last night, of course). One of the most adorable things lately is that he has started to get 'clingy'. He loves to be carried around all the time, and will hold on tightly to our shirts. It goes without saying though, that now it is rather difficult to take him on walks since he'd prefer to see the world in my arms rather than sitting in his strollers. Walks have now become stroller ride for 10minutes and then tired mommy-arms for the remainder of the time. Let's just say that my 20-30miles a week have decreased to about 5. He's also a bit timid- I love it when the neighbors come cooing at him- he gives a little cry and wants to cuddle in my arms. Such love.

There's a reason for the delay in post. Ethan decided to have a nursing strike the past week- and it's taken all my effort, perseverance, patience, advice from friends, family, doctors/midwives, and neighbors, and the incredible support and comfort of my husband to deal with it and not succumb to exclusive formula feeding. All of a sudden my ample supply decided to shut off seemingly overnight. The exact cause unknown. We made the hard decision to give Ethan only the choice to nurse, and after hours of rejection and hunger he gave in. As difficult of thing to do, we joked that we knew Ethan had enough fat storage to get by a day or two ;) My supply is still minimal, but with taking herbal supplements and teas (much more than recommended), eating a whole, much savored, batch of oatmeal cookies (supposedly oatmeal is supposed to help, so what could be better than eating oatmeal cookies?!), drowning myself in liquids, gaining a couple of pounds, and nursing/pumping every couple hours, I'm confident that my supply will be 'fully operational' before long. Truth be told, I haven't enjoyed nursing nearly as much as I thought I would, in fact, sometimes I find it a bit uncanny (maybe this has something to do with being a vegetarian); but, after this incident and nearly losing the ability to provide nourishment for my own child, I am more determined to nurse Ethan as long as I can. It's not easy, the bottle tempting, but the ability to provide all the nourishment your child needs: priceless.

I am also immensely proud to mention that Brian got a much well-earned and highly-deserved promotion to Assistant General Manager, and during the middle his 11 day vacation!! He's come so far during the last 2.5years with the company that he truly enjoys working for. All his hard work and long hours are certainly paying off. Now the question is how many years to Regional General Manager and/or part-owner of the company?? Congratulations, sweetie!

Dad with the little one on his first day back to work as AGM after a long, relaxing stay-cation.

Soooooo big!

Me and the little lad.

Across the river.....

...and through the woods. I took Ethan on a short hike, to gear him up for next season's hiking and camping trips. Of course, the stroller ride became a "carry Ethan in the carrier and mom push the stroller with one hand" hike.

He is mesmerized by the green T-R-E-E-S and L-E-A-V-E-S.

If he concentrates long enough he can connect his growing synapses just long enough to coordinate a 'hand meets toy' batting session.

Oh, this pic would be so much better if it wasn't so obvious that a little support on the rock wall was needed ;) How many climbers have a paci in their mouth?? My boys were goofing around on the playground.

"teddy, paci, what-ever-that-is I'm staring at"- super content.

"Ah, the ever-camera-evasive things Mom calls hands and fingers. How many did she say I have?"

Camera flirt. "Thanks, Grandmom Rita, for the cute polo! Mom and Dad have me wearing it pretty much every other day."

We Have Lift Off!!!!

About time! We've had the worst time with tummy time since he was born, but as of this afternoon... he finally layed on his tummy and showed off his neck muscles that we all knew he has (hidden under all that pudge)! I figured it out. It had to be clandestine- I showed him how to roll over and over, which he just loves. Then decided to stop him half way through the roll (when he was on his tummy), and he seemed 'ok' with it. I guess the pediatrician will be happy now.
Two Tid-Bits: I weighed him- 15lbs! A lady at the park was shocked to find out he's not quite 3 months yet. She thought he was 6months.

Going up.Lift Off. "Hah, look, Mom, I did it!!"
"This is an interesting perspective of my toys." The little lad sitting up. He's getting better at this every day."I love colors! Mom and I organized the colors into little piles.

We even say them in French and Spanish."

All smiles. Such a fun day.