Prayer request...

Please pray for my friend Theresa's niece who is currently at Children's in the NICU (her name is Olivia). She had fluid on her lungs and struggled to breath when she was first born on Tuesday. She has since been taken off of the respirator and breathing on her own, so that is great.

MANY of you who read this blog know the stress and anxiety that go along with having a baby in the NICU so please keep this family in your prayers. With Ethan's birthday coming up next week I'm reminded of our week there and how much we were blessed by other's prayers and support.

I'll give you any updates as I receive them.

Signing Fool

Sometimes I get a little frustrated or disappointed that Ethan doesn't use sign language as much as I would like. Then I remind myself that I need to do it ALL the time so that it is reinforced in his little mind. Well, I've made an effort the last couple of days and boy has it paid off. Today at Walmart Ethan signed that he was hungry, then asked for milk. Later when we were in the checkout line he was slowly clapping his hands. I thought to myself, that's curious because nothing exciting has occurred. Then I realized that he had finished his cracker and he was asking for more!! I'm going to make an effort in the next week to "catch" him signing on film. In the video below he does sign that he wants to eat right at the end, but I'd like to have a few more pictures of him communicating with us.

I've also started to introduce new signs (as you can see on the right). Introducing these new signs helps me remember to sign often and then Ethan will too! I would suggest sign language for any family. It empowers your child to communicate with you before their little mouths and tongues are able. I've really enjoyed the "Sign with your Baby" book and DVD.

Getting caught up...

Okay, so I have been busy, but now I'll take a chance to get everyone caught up. Two weekends ago (June 7th) Ethan began feeding himself with a spoon and fork. He gets upset now when he does not have utensils of his own at meal time.

Even though this picture shows him "eating" a pear,
he actually spit them all out.

So from the 9th to the 13th I organized a Science Academy for elementary and middle school teachers in the county. Everyday Ethan went to Carmen's house and spent the day with Carmen and her mom Nancy. Carmen is now 6 months pregnant so that is exciting! They had a blast. Ethan even helped out with their garage sale. The Academy went really well, but as always when planning a big event I'm glad it is done.

Since then Ethan and I have been recovering from our big week. I'm still going to stroller strides three days a week and that helps us get up and out of the house. On Wednesday we had a play date at our friend Betsy's house. Her twins are two and half months older than Ethan and she also has a three year old. She is my model mom. She has a couple of great blogs including "full tummies", "LiterariTea" and "The Tarnished Teapot".

Last weekend Ethan had his first full day of finger foods. It is awesome! He likes green beans, hot dogs, canned peaches, canned pears and we discovered last night that he LOVES Chef boy-r-dee ravioli. I cut up about six of them and he wolfed them all down! We have also dropped all bottles (better now then when he is attached to them) and since Walmart was out of formula, we also have made the switch to real milk. I filled up his cup yesterday with whole milk and he never missed a beat. So good-bye Avent, Similac, and Gerber. We'll catch you on the flip side, or maybe we won't!

I think that is it for now....the next week and a half will be all about planning Ethan's birthday bash and prepping for my mom and sister to visit. That'll keep me busy enough I think.

Going Down?

While at our friend Carmen's house today Ethan climbed all the way DOWN the stairs! Yeah for going down!

(Betsy: your tip worked so thanks so much for that!)

Busy Mommy

Last week I was working for the county and it has been really hard to not post with all of the new things that Ethan has been doing. I've posted some new pictures on flickr. Here is a new video that shows off Ethan's dancing, waving, and his sign language (look for "eat" right at the end).



New things include feeding himself and a record of 6 steps!

Funny Face and Video

There is a picture of me eating Lemon Meringue when I was little. I would make a terrible face, but then I would open my mouth to take another bite. Well, little Ethan and I were at our neighbor's pool and I was eating a frozen lemonade. Even though Ethan didn't seem to like it he kept opening his mouth for more!

Now also, is a really funny video (at least it was funny at the time):


Since this video we are learning that it is not okay to throw food from our tray. It is a hard lesson to learn :(