Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Mom turns the big Three Zero and Ethan is 5 months

I have officially left my twenties and entered into the dreaded thirties.  No worries though.  Like wine, women get better with age.  Thanks to a great husband, sister, mom, and BFF neighbor, the seven days of Kristin were fantastic.  Day 1 - Robert treated me to a massage while he took care of Ethan.  Day 2 - I got this giant glass to prepare for holiday wine drinking. 

                  

Day 3 (my actual birthday) - Ethan and I had a great day of birthday shopping and lunch with Sherri.  Then we had a low-key night with pizza with Robert and Kristin for dinner at the house.  Fast forward to Saturday and Carissa, Mom, and I went to see the fourth installment of the Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn part 1.  It was awesome!! 

                     

Then when I got home there was party of friends and family waiting for me to celebrate.  Thanks to everyone for coming out to celebrate my big day!!  And to round the week out nicely, we got up early on Sunday and went to breakfast at Our Place with Kristin and Jason. 

Ethan's 5 month birthday was also on Saturday.  He doesn't have a doctor's appointment this month so these are only estimates from a squirmy baby.


Estimated Stats:
Weight: 20.5 pounds
Height: 26.5 inches

He is getting so big and gaining such a great personality.  Everyday he seems to be a different baby.  Over the weekend he worked on his full push-ups, all the way to his toes.  He always looks so proud of himself when he does it.  I guess I should start baby proofing soon.  Evidently, leaning back is for babies.  He only likes to sit in my lap now.  He has been perfecting his tripod sit over the last couple of weeks.  He has also found new interest in his four legged brother.  If Turk is sitting on the chair with us, Ethan is sure to "pet" his head or tug on an ear.  Turk takes such rough abuse. 

Look at me sit up

I love you!!
What are you doing, Turk?

Gentle pet......
Grab an ear!!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Ethan's Baptism

Saturday was a big day for Ethan.  He was baptized at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  His closest family and friends were there to witness the occassion.  All of his grandparents, Aunt Carissa, Uncle Mike, Uncle Chris, Aunt Diana, Cousin Emma, "Uncle" Chris and "Aunt" Kristin were all there.  I know that his great grandparents who were not able to make it were there in spirit.  He and the rest of the babies there were perfect little angels.  In fact, he slept through the entire ceremony.  Well, that was until the end when the water was poured over his little head.  What a rude awakening for him.  But, he still didn't cry or put up a fight.  Uncle Chris has the honor of being Ethan's godfather while Aunt Carissa will be his honorary godmother (honorary in that the Catholic church doesn't recognize non-Catholics as godparents, but we do).  It is a good thing we had the ceremony when we did.  That cute outfit will not fit him too much longer.  After the ceremony we all went to Cousin's BBQ for a delicious lunch.  Thank you to everyone came out for Ethan's big day.  You all mean so much to us. 



A little shocked waking up to water being poured on his head.  Uncle Chris and Dad looking on.

Mom, Uncle/Godfather Chris, Dad and Ethan

The only picture really proving he was awake for some of the day

The Jackson Family


The Flynn Family


Aunt/Godmother Carissa, Mom, and Ethan


"Aunt" Kristin and Ethan post ceremony/pre nap

And just because I think he is so cute. 

"Daddy, you are so funny"

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Bananas, Apples and Pears...Oh my

Our baby boy is growing up too fast.  We have been working on solid foods for a couple of weeks now.  He is still unsure of what is going on, but he gives it a try everyday.  We started out with cereal.  He refused to eat it.  After 3 days of that, I gave up and moved on to veggies and fruits.  I spent a few days at Mom's house a couple of weeks ago.  I spent one of those days cooking, processing, and freezing fresh fruits and veggies.  The house did smell delicious with the baked pumpkin and butternut squash (or as Ross Gellar calls it, Squaternut Baush.)  For his first foods I made pumpkin, squash, pears, apples, green beans, bananas, and sweet potatoes.  I now have a couple of months worth of food ready for Ethan to try.  After trying a few different options I finally found one that he loves.....Bananas!!  He LOVES them!  Others I tried so far: avocado, pear, green beans, and squash.  He is indifferent about most so far.  He wasn't too excited about the green beans and squashSince I started writing this post he has changed his mind about the squash.  He ate it all tonight.  I have tried most of them.  I was surprised at how good most of these are without adding any extra ingredients, especially the squash. 
Banana is just as good on your face as it is to eat
                                                 

Other milestones:

We now have a rolling baby.  As of this morning, Ethan can roll from his tummy to his back.  He seemed pretty pleased with himself.

                                             

Yesterday he endured a full day of shopping with Mom, Aunt Carissa, and Gram.  He was such a good baby.  I don't think we heard an unhappy peep out of him unless it was time to change a diaper.  He suffered through picture torture and trying to take a nap at Target.  He actually fell asleep sitting up.  I couldn't let him sleep slumped over so I made a minor adjustment.  He was quite surprised when he woke up.

Baby for sale at Macy's.  1/2 off!
A little confused what was going on when he woke up from a nap at Target.
For those really big Ethan fans that made this far into the post.....As of this evening he is now enjoying a jumper.  He loves it.  A big thanks to Uncle Chris, Aunt Diana, and Cousin Emma for loaning it to us.

                                                        

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Halloween

Ethan's first Halloween was a success.  Obviously, he is too young for trick or treating.  So, we hunkered down at the house to pass out candy to the rest of the neighborhood.  While scouring Pinterest, I found a cute little costume that I thought would be easy to make.  The costume may not be as great as my original inspiration.  But, for the novice seamstress like it isn't too bad.  I haven't used a sewing machine since high school.  I do intend to practice and get better in the future.  It may be a little big and it may look more like a dress but, it was cozy.  I didn't sew the bottom because I didn't want to mess with it when it came to change his diaper. 

Side note:  Does anyone else feel that kids are kind of rude now?  Some of them didn't even dress up to trick or treat.

We spent the rest of the day playing at the house.  He has changed so much in the past week or so.  New expressions and personality.  He has started puffing up his cheeks like a chipmunk and purses his lips.  He is also starting to become a little more independent over the past week.  I can sit him down on the ground to play and he will entertain himself long enough for me to make dinner or clean the kitchen.