Ethan is ONE!

My boy is ONE! Are you kidding me? Sweet boy! We love you so very much. You are all over the place these days.  You started walking around 11 months and have been running ever since.  You still have just two teeth but it’s not holding you back from eating, you’re a good eater. 

We took you to get your first haircut on your birthday and you did great.  The blow dryer scared you once but other than that, you sat perfectly still while Mrs. Kelly trimmed everything up.  I think it is the cutest little style for you.  You had a cupcake after dinner but someone those two events are the only things I captured on your special day.

Pictures of January

Three year old well visit and first trip to the dentist. First sucker for Ethan…loved it! Last minute trip to the zoo.Candids…always so blurry! We love Regal! First hockey game with friends!And just because I love my kids to the moon and back!

West Farm…with Jack and Sam

West Farm is always such a fun time.  This year we are going twice and I can’t wait. I didn’t get good pictures of the animals since so I tried to do better with the pumpkins. I love pumpkins! Picture after picture, I could not get one that wasn’t blurry or blog worthy but this is the best I could get.  Daddy was out of town so we didn’t get a fall family photo this time. I promise they enjoyed the hay ride but it sure was hot!This year, there was a new giant tire-sand castle-slide that was a huge hit.  Kendall and Jack were princess and prince of the mountain for a bit. These two couldn’t get enough of all the sand.Or the slide…The corn box was a lot of fun for Kendall, Jack and Sam, although Ethan wasn’t too sure. Excuse his ragamuffin look, he wasn’t feeling quite himself.  I took some pictures with my phone but nothing compared to my sister’s that she took with her nice camera. Please see her blog for a bigger selection, there is a video and two posts. Thanks for taking all the great pictures, as usually, Seester!!

Some firsts..

I realize Ethan is wearing the same outfit in all of these beginning pictures, however, slacker me does not remember if they were all on the same day.  I have to do better!!

This was Ethan’s first time trying a sippy cup, his first wagon ride and the first time he held his bottle on his own.  He still needs a little help with that if the bottle is full. First time shopping with mommy!First time at Publix in the “car” cart. First time in a NFL jersey. Please forgive the quality of some of these photos.  My iPhone tends to fail me sometimes.

Michigan trip- Part One

Yes, I am aware it has been a while since I have blogged.  I can’t keep up with it as I would like to but yet again, better late than never, I say.

We took our annual Michigan trip this year, leaving SC on July 14 and returning home July 23. I must admit, I was nervous as to how the car ride would go with a potty trained toddler and a 5 month old new traveler.  They both far surpassed my expectations.  I took along a potty chair that fit fine in between the two car seats for those potty breaks that were no where near a rest area, gas station or fast food joint.  Kendall thought that was the coolest thing to go potty in the car.  She would say, “stop the car, grandma!” as we were on the interstate.  Please know these were the fastest potty breaks and she was safely buckled back in her car seat very quickly.  I did have to sit in the back a few times to assist with DVD’s, feed a bottle, console a bored baby and my favorite, color but all in all the trip was great.

I took a lot of pictures with my phone so I will just post them for your viewing pleasure and only use words when needed.

Four month well check

When we went in for Ethan’s appointment, Dr. Nordby said, “wow he’s a big boy.”  She asked what he was eating and I told her he was still just nursing, she was quite surprised.  I didn’t get too many pictures because little man did not like to be on the scale nor did he like the table paper.  Not to mention big sister was tagging along.Ethan checked out healthy as a horse although one small diagnosis was given.  He has torticollis, also known as wry neck.  This condition is due to the tightening of a muscle in the neck.  He will require some outside physical therapy along with the help from everyone around him at home, to help strengthen and stretch this muscle.  It does not bother him and it is not painful.  Dr. Nordby said this condition is easy to fix and should only take a few months to correct itself.

                                                        Height: 26 1/2 inches – 90th percentile

                                                 Weight: 16 pounds 12 ounces – 70th percentile

                                           Head circumference: 44 centimeters – 98th percentile

The beach

I have been curious how Kendall would handle the beach this year so we packed up some things and made our way to the Isle of Palms with grandma and grandpa.  What an adventure!

Kendall was all about playing in the sand and loved having her bucket filled with water. However, getting in the water was a different story.  I tried once and so did grandma but it wasn’t her favorite thing.  Maybe, when we try again she’ll have warmed up. Ethan slept for the first few hours of his first trip to the beach but then joined us for some fun.  He didn’t mind the water or the sand between his baby toes.  A wave caught him off guard but he just sat there and watched as the water trickled over his little legs.  Such a content little boy! I do believe Kendall’s favorite part was smashing sand castles with grandpa.  We made sure the people who built it were gone and she went to town.  Silly girl! We had a terrific time.  Thank you to my parents for making this a fun, enjoyable experience for all.Until next time, beach.  Thanks for the fun in the sun!                                                                                      (Please overlook the quality of all the phone pictures).

Take me out to the ballgame…

We decided last minute to join some friends at the Charleston Riverdogs game and I am so very glad we did.  Ethan stayed with Grandma and Grandpa and Kendall went on her first mommy and daddy date.  She had a blast and it made me so happy to watch her little eyes take in all of the excitement and watch the fun she was having.  This was her first game but surely won’t be her last. 

She wanted some cotton candy before we even got to our seats and she couldn’t sit down fast enough to have it opened.  She was good at sharing with her friends too.    Phone break and self portraits! I tried multiple times to get a picture of my baby and me and this is all I got (don’t mind my blue tinted lips from the cotton candy).  Can you see her finger almost jabbing me in the eye in the third picture? She was over the pictures!And a stadium cup of diet coke (only a few sips) to finish off the night and wash down the cotton candy while watching the fireworks.  The fireworks were too hard to catch on my camera but she sat so still for the entire display.  I can’t wait to take her back to another game.  What fun!!

Oh, day care!

Today was my first day back to work and boy was I dreading it.  I knew the day would come but when the reality hits, it’s just no fun.  I am going to miss being home with my sweet baby boy.  The past twelve weeks have been so much fun, productive and memorable.  Babies grow up too fast and you can only enjoy their littleness for so long.  I brought Ethan to day care once a week for the past two weeks although it was not for an entire eight hours.  Doing that definitely helped ease me into today but I still didn’t like it.  Thanks to all of my family and friends for the words of encouragement, we all survived the eight hour work/day care day.  Ethan was a lot happier to go to day care then I was to go to work. Don’t you just love his smile? I think it’s one of the best ones I know!

Elephants and tigers but no bears

The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus came to town for four days and we decided to go on opening night.  The tickets were half price and I wasn’t sure how Kendall would do for two reasons, mostly because it was so close to bedtime but also she would have to be in a seated area for a lengthy amount of time.  She did great!  It was incredible and to say Kendall loved it is an understatement.  She had a blast and so did her momma and daddy!  There was only one time I thought we were going to have to leave.  There were horses performing and she wanted to go touch them.  We explained to her that we had to stay in our seats with our friends and she was okay with that.  Kendall, Stryker and Faith all were treated to a glow necklace by daddy.  Can you tell they were a hit? The lights flickered in different colors and patterns, it kept Kendall quite occupied!Can you tell they are into it? (Please forgive the red eye, I need to learn to edit). So much fun!Kendall did not hold still for many pictures at all. This is the best we could get of the three of us, with the iPhone, using self portrait, with Kendall shoving cotton candy in her mouth. And, the way home. Zonked! She was awake and smiling the entire show.  I think we will be going again next year, for sure!  Our seats were great, on the second level and too far away for good pictures but perfect for a bouncing two year old.  All of the kids could stand up if they wanted  which was just what we needed since it was a two hour show.  I know I cant wait until next year.