Ethan Sits Up!

While we were in Florida, Ethan really started to master his sitting skills. He still falls, and gets really mad when he falls backwards! I took several pictures within a few minutes and I just loved all the different expressions I caught. I just couldn't resist posting all of them!

Florida 2010

We had a super trip to Florida this summer. Kaitlin had lots of fun running around and being silly with her cousins, Kyler and Kohl, and I'm pretty sure she didn't want to come home! We visited the Broward Fire Academy where the kids got to climb on the firetrucks and Uncle Kenny turned on the lights. Kaitlin wanted to take a ride, but there was a class going on...maybe next time. Kaitlin also went fishing with PopPop and caught a fish. She seemed pretty excited about it at first, but you'll see how she really felt about that fish in the pictures! We also went to the beach for breakfast one morning, but I didn't get any pictures. Kaitlin and I had a blast "jumping" the waves just like I used to do with my Dad. The water was really rough that day so we had some big jumps to make!

Unfortunately, while we were in Florida, our beloved Harley got sick. He started out drinking a ton and going to the bathroom all the time, then he started throwing up and even stopped eating. We took him to the vet as soon as we could (and even made the drive in one day instead of breaking it up like we had planned). The vet can't find anything wrong with him. All of the tests and x-rays are normal. Our vet has even consulted with the vet school about his condition and they just can't seem to find anything. Harley is still at the vet on IV fluids and medication. After three days, we are missing him terribly and are really worried about him.

On a lighter note, here are the pictures from our trip.

Big Sister

Kaitlin is a great big sister! She loves to help feed Ethan his baby food (and Ethan looooves to eat it)!

 

Virginia July 2010

We went up to Virginia for Robbie's first birthday and the 4th of July. It was lots of fun! Ethan got to meet Aunt Kim, Uncle Rich and his cousins for the first time. Aunt Kim and I couldn't believe that he was almost 6 months old before she met him! Along the way, we stopped to visit Great Grandma ELois and Aunt Judy in Albemarle, NC. We were very surprised that "Welcome to Albemarle" sign didn't say anything about being the home of Kelly Pickler from American Idol! She does have a street named after her in Albemarle though. We had a lot of fun visiting with family and Kaitlin and Sarah just wore each other out! It will be fun to see how Ethan and Robbie play together when they get a little older. On the way home, we visited with Keven's friend/colleague from graduate school in Raleigh and with the Snyders outside Atlanta.

Wow!

I am constantly amazed at all the things that Kaitlin is learning and remembers. This morning we were driving over to church to drop off a casserole for a funeral and on the way Kaitlin saw a squirrel. She said something like this: "There's a squirrel. Squirrels eat acorns. But sometimes they don't. Sometimes they bury them and come back to get them later." Now, I know that Kaitlin learned that from one of her Wild Animal Baby videos, it just always amazes me to hear it come out of her mouth and to realize how much she really does pay attention and learn. I just felt like sharing that little tidbit. Hopefully I will have a chance to post some pictures from our trip to Virginia soon.

Tummy Time!

Kaitlin enjoys having "tummy time" with Ethan. Ethan adores his big sister.

Thumbs Up!

It looks like we're going to have another thumbsucker. I know some people try to avoid this, but I am all about some self-soothing. Maybe this is one step closer to sleeping through the night!


I love this one...it looks like he is trying to hold it in there!

Sometimes Ethan sucks his right thumb and sometimes he sucks two fingers on his left hand so we're not sure yet which it's going to be. I don't care as long as it helps him sleep!

Ethan's Four-Month Checkup

I almost forgot to post Ethan's 4-month stats! He had his checkup on Thursday, May 20 and weighed in at 14 pounds 12 ounces and is 24 1/4 inches long. He's in the 25 percentile for weight. The doctor said he looks great and gave us the OK to start some rice cereal. I was thinking I would wait a little while since he's growing so well on just breast milk, but I'm not sure how much longer I can wake up every 3 hours at night.

We always said that Kaitlin spoiled us by sleeping through the night at 3 months and boy were we right! Occasionally Ethan will give us a 5 or 6 hour stretch, but he usually does it for two nights and then goes back to waking up every 3 hours. I'm exhausted and I have a pretty bad attitude by 5 or 5:30 when he's waking up again and I still feel like I haven't gotten any sleep. The doctor also said that most babies don't sleep through the night until they are 4-6 months old so I think we'll stick it out for another month or so and if he's not doing any better it might just be time for some cereal!

Vote Now!

We have entered Kaitlin and Ethan in a local photo contest. If you have a minute, please click here and vote. Scroll to the bottom to vote. Kaitlin is #11and Ethan is #26.

You can vote for one picture a day until 11:00AM on Monday, May 31, so vote as much as you can! Thank you!

Ethan Videos

I got some video of Ethan making his favorite noise the other day. If he's awake and not eating, he's probably making this noise! Such a boy! I was able to catch a little bit of a giggle as well.

My boy can make fart sounds:



My boy can giggle: