Thursday, October 20, 2011

Deep fried anything + giant man in a pair of Dickies + good weather = Texas State Fair

This is something that I look forward to each year.  My first memory of the fair was 1987.  It was just a couple of my months after my fabulous baby sister was born.  I was 5.  It was a great night of family fun with mom and dad.  While Carissa stayed with my grandparents, we had corn dogs, cotton candy, and they bought me one of those plastic blow up animals on a stick.  I have been in love ever since.  We went every year as a kid.  Sometimes mom and Ramona took us on fair day and we would repeatedly ride the Love Bug.  Some years it was a family event after Dad got off work.  Once Robert and I started dating it became a tradition for us to go.  This is where he was introduced to Frito Pie.  A staple for this time of year.  2011 was the seventh year for us to check out the car show, have a corn dog, and buy dips or knives or anything that we don't really need.  Each year is the same, each year is different.  This is a tradition I plan to keep with Ethan.  Today was his first State Fair.  He did AWESOME!!  He let us push him around in his stroller most of the day.  He was enthralled with all of the people.  He seemed so at ease to be outside most of the day.  I was a little worried since he has been fussy the past few days.  But, he did great.  I look forward to many more family fair days in the years to come.  Next year we will try out the petting area and the go to the Dog Shows again.  If you are wondering, this year's fried food was mashed potatoes and oreos. 

Here are some of my favorites from the day.







Here is a little bonus footage of Ethan's first real big laughs.  Sorry about the poor shooting quality.  I will get better with time I hope. 
Back story: Robert was sweet and decided to make dinner for me.  Ethan and I went to see how is was doing.  The Australian accent came out and he loved it.  The first one is funnier, but I kept cutting him out. 



Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Ethan is 4 months old!

Growing, growing.....into the 99th percentile.  Ethan's four month doctor's visit was this morning.  He did great.  There was minimal crying after his shots.  The doctor says that he is not actually teething like we assumed.  He just likes to chew on his fingers and everything else.....very baby normal.  Evidently, we blame too much on teething.  Good to know.  I am glad because I really love his gummy smile that he has right now.  Why ruin that with teeth right now?  I guess his late night fussiness is to be blamed on a possible viral infection that has already passed through his system.  The doctor said the spots on his chest are a sign of that.  We will be starting rice cereal today and veggies in a couple of days.  Any suggestions on what veggies to start with?

He hasn't rolled over yet, but he is getting closer.  He has rocked himself to his side a few times, but fallen back down to the original position.  He is starting to sit up.  He loves to be in the sitting position.  I think he really likes the feedom it gives him.   

4 month stats

Weight: 19 pounds 14 ounces; 99th percentile
Length: 25.5 inches; 73rd percentile
Head circumfrence: 44 cm; 90th percentile



Fair Day is tomorrow so check back soon to see his first trip!

Saturday, October 15, 2011

Robert is 28!

He is catching up to me.  This also celebrates the anniversary of the day we found out we were having Ethan.  To celebrate we went to Top Golf tonight with the JC Crew and a few others. 

Ethan and the birthday boy

JC Crew with the newest addition

Family photo....too bad Ethan didn't feel the need to look to the front


For his birthday, Robert's parents and I got him some stadium seats that were in Comiskey Park.  After a  little scavenger hunt to find all of the pieces, he finally found them in our friend, Kristin's garage.  He has now set them up in his office.  I like to picture him bringing them out to impress his friends when they come over to watch ball games.  You know he will do it.  That is why we love him.

Congrats to the Rangers for back to back World Series.  

No more changing table!!

I finally finished painting Ethan's dresser...and within my set deadline.  Woo Hoo to me!  I bought this dresser on Craigslist for the great price of $40. 
                                         
Since baby boy is not girly, the flowers and ribbon had to go.  I had originally wanted to paint it white with a stained top.  It looked terrible.  So, I painted over that and painted some of the drawers green to match the walls.  Lucky for me I had left over paint from that project.  I painted the knobs white and added some dots last.  That alone saved me $36.  Now I have plenty of extra space for his cloth diapers and a place to put his wipes and extras on top.  I am pretty pleased with the results.  So is Ethan!





I also love the drawer liners.  After searching for the best method for me to make drawer liners, I finally settled on using some fabric left over from my no sew curtains.  So, for the cost of some liquid fabric stiffener I was all set.  Plus, I can get some use out of the leftover fabric that would otherwise be taking up space in my extra closet.  Bonus!!




Ethan update:  He is starting to sit up a little better.  He really likes to sit up when he can, especially at restaurants.  He can look around to check out what is going on.  He is starting to elongate too.  See how much his extra chin has gone down....I don't know if I am happy or sad. 

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Fall is finally here!

The weather has finally cooled.  We are finally starting to see a little bit of rain.  The Rangers are in line for ALD Champs for the second year in a row.  We are really looking forward to the fall and holiday season this year.  It has been great being able to take Ethan for walks in the morning.  And I am hoping for some cute pumpkin patch pictures if he will cooperate in the next couple of weeks.  This past week Ethan and I went to stay with Gram and Pa Pa in Red Oak while Robert was in Atlanta.  For those that are curious, it still smells pretty bad in that area from the fire at Magnablend.  While we were there we went to visit Nana and Pop.  Ethan has been in a very good mood lately when his gums aren't bothering him.  So he was able to chatter away while he was visiting his great grandparents.  I only wish that we knew what he was talking about.  He is always so animated when he is talking to us.  When he got tired though he wanted to fight taking a nap.  Pop was able to sooth him into a peaceful slumber though. 



Last weekend we had a BBQ for the JC Crew.  It was a great turnout.  The weather was amazing that day.  It is always good to see our college friends.  Meggs is working on redeeming himself for calling my little man the Puft Marshmallow Man -- not cool.  He brought Ethan a very cute lantern that sings and lights up.  Ethan loves it.  So thank you Meggsy.




Pinterest Challenge Update

I will admit, I haven't done as much as I originally set out to do.  I have at least made a few cute onesies for Mr. Ethan to sport.  We can now suit up with the best of them.  Who says you need to have somewhere fancy to go to look nice?  He looks absolutely adorable to me!  Turk agrees!



The camera purse from this post has taken a backseat to my newest project.  I plan to sand this dresser and paint it to put in Ethan's room.  I am excited to get started on the project.  I even bought myself a new sander to tackle this job.  Plus, I got this great dresser for the low price of $40 on Craigslist....including delivery.  What a steal!!  I hope to have this done by the end of the week.  Wish me luck.