Happy Belated Birthday!

We officially only have 1 more day of school! It has been a hectic week with that, plus Ethan's party - no time to blog!

Ethan started the week grumpy, which we attributed to teeth. On Wednesday, he had an awful day at the nanny's house; he threw up his lunch and had a fever. We went straight to the doctor's office and found out the poor guy had an ear infection. He had never pulled at it so I never would have guessed. He is on an antibiotic (I can't remember which one - it's something different since he gets hives from the normally prescribed drugs). It figures - right before his birthday party, he'd get sick.

We were worried for nothing - Ethan had a FANTASTIC time at his party! He never even took his second nap that day, so we were pretty sure he'd have a meltdown. Luckily, there were 30 people around to coo over him and distract him. He also got to eat some good stuff - hamburger, cake, fresh fruit, and Nanny's Chex Mix :-) It was a wonderful day - perfect weather and company. Special thanks go out to Aunt Sally & Uncle Bryan for cooking! When it came time for cake, Ethan was pretty indifferent. He touched the cake a bit with his finger, stared at it, then looked at me, bored. He would rather have his cake fed to him, I guess! Anyway, it was a great day - thanks to all who showed up to share Ethan's big day and brought him such wonderful gifts!

It's hard to believe that a year ago, we had just brought home Ethan. He was 6 lbs, 7 oz and 17.5 inches. Now, he is 22.3 lbs and 29.4 inches. Crazy! 

He is talking well - he has mastered 9 words (baby, Mama, Daddy, Bailey, doggie, boogie, birdie, bye-bye, no) and knows a few others - ball (ba), Elmo (ba-bo), light (i-eet). We went for his 1 year appointment today and the doctor was so impressed with E's verbal skills. Like he would be anything BUT a talker in this family! Most babies at 1 say 1 or 2 words. Not our little chatter-box :-) 

He can stand alone and......TOOK HIS FIRST STEPS TODAY! He took about 5 at the nanny's house (yeah, a little bummed I didn't witness the actual first steps). But, he kept trying tonight - you can see him really concentrate to get his balance and then he just takes off for a few steps. Of course, he gets big applause each time, which is causing him to get overly proud of himself. On one hand, I am so excited to see him walk and not have to hold him when we go places. On the other hand, he's my baby. I won't get to hold him all the time! And, knowing our ornery child like I do, I know that with walking comes brand new levels of chaos. 

When we first brought him home, he was up every three hours, like clockwork, for food. Now, the big guy goes to bed at 7 and sleeps until 6ish in the morning. 

He loves playing outside, chasing a ball, splashing in water, pouding objects off of every surface in our house, and playing peek a boo. He has a wicked sense of humor - he thinks really odd things are hilarious (i.e., pulling string off of AJ's head, loud noises, when we put hats on) and is REALLY ticklish (another bad trait he got from his mother). 

He has an insane amount of hair that we just can't bare to cut. He's got 8 teeth, but really shows off the bottom 2 when he smiles. 

He loves doing things after being told not to. But, his face just lights up when he sees us. In short, he's a pretty remarkable kid. We'll keep him :-) So, Happy 1st Birthday, Ethan. We love you! 

I apologize for the lack of pictures from the party. The week is just too chaotic with the end of school happening. I promise, this weekend, there will be pics and video of the walking :-)

One final note: Happy 3rd Birthday to my favorite nephew, Cainan. My sister-in-law adopted Cainan from China 2 years ago. He has grown and learned so much; he is quite the lucky man to have been brought into such a wonderful family. He has turned into such a kind, gentle boy with the cutest little voice ever. So, Cainan, Happy Birthday. We are looking forward to celebrating with you this summer!