1st Halloween

Happy Halloween!!!

Standing Up

Ethan finally figured out he can stand up on his own, but he still doesn't know what to do after he gets there. He took one step yesterday, but fell right after. Hopefully he'll be walking soon!

Monkey Play

Since it was our last playgroup before Halloween, we decided that we would have the kids dress up in their costumes. Ethan's is dressed up as a monkey which I think resembles the monkeys on Wizard of Oz. His Grandma Teresa made it especially for him and it has truly come out wonderful. I was a little anxious about him leaving the head piece on but he did really well and didn't mess with it. There are some pictures of him at playgroup with some of the other kids. We tried to get them all in the picture but with this age it is a hit or miss. We can't wait for Halloween. Thanks again Grandma Teresa for a great costume, xoxo.

Lazy Weekend

The weather is too cold to enjoy the outside so we just lounged around all weekend. It was quite nice to enjoy the weekend instead of using it to get ahead. Besides being lazy we had a great dinner at a friend’s house on Saturday. They have a son who is the same age as Ethan, so they were able to play with each other. However, our son has assumed the role of being the bully, because he takes toys away and then crawls fast in the opposite direction to get away. We had to keep reminding him to be gentle because he loves to slap his hands on heads. I may say “gentle” a little too much because the other day Ethan was slapping Eric’s head and before I could say anything it sounded like Ethan was saying gentle. I thought that maybe I misheard him but Eric said he heard it too. He still didn’t stop hitting so I doubt he knows what it means. He must have associated it with hitting and has assumed that is what you call it. I may need to come up with a different way to get it across.

Mischevious kid

It seems I may have jinxed us because ever since I posted the last message Ethan has been falling all over the place. He is trying real hard to stand and balance without any help from the furniture. Unfortunately, he has not been too successful because he is constantly falling down. I try to help him, but of course he wants to do it on his own. He has a purple bump in the middle of his head that just makes me cringe.

We have a video to share of Ethan and his adventures. Click here to see it.

Bumps

Our little explorer has once again proved to us that he is a risk taker. He has been walking along the furniture lately and is getting very good at it. Yesterday we were in our bedroom getting Ethan ready for bed and he started to walk along side of the bed. Well at one point Ethan must of gotten brave, because he decided that he didn't need the bed and made a leap to the nightstand. Unfortunatley, he came down on the nightstand hitting one of the nobs with his head. He was screaming and Eric and I tried hard to comfort him. Now he has a little bump on his head near his right eye. I just kept reminding myself that there are going to be more bumps as he learns how to balance himself. I just hope that he doesn't get too hurt. Poor little guy:(

Family Pictures

Grandparents,

Be expecting a package with our family picture that we had taken a few weeks ago as well as a Halloween present from Ethan.

Playing

Who is throwing styrofoam at me?

The day started out pretty cold at 21 degrees but we still went to playgroup because it is not only playtime for Ethan but a chance for mommy to get a break and get out of the house. Once we returned home the day got a little warmer but not by much. After putting Ethan down for a nap I went outside to throw the trash. While I was out there some white stuff was landing on me that looked like broken up Styrofoam. I actually turned around expecting to find a person throwing Styrofoam on me (why I have no clue, I am just weird). Of course, no one was standing there and the ditz that I am realized that it was snow. Yes, it was snowing! Thankfully, it didn't stick but I am really starting to dread that it is the beginning of October and already snow. I can safely bet it isn't snowing in San Angelo. One good thing is that I have already gotten Ethan a thick winter coat in case the weather gets worse.

Little stinker found the toilet paper.

Iowa

Crawling in the Hanger
Four Generations

We went to Iowa over Columbus weekend to visit Grandpa and Grandma Haut as well as that side of the family. It was about a seven hour drive but we enjoyed seeing all of them. Ethan got to meet his great grandparents and warmed up to them like he has known them forever. During the weekend we looked at old pictures, heard some hilarious stories, toke a boat ride on the Mississippi River, doubled our money at the River Casino and ended it off with a plane ride from Great Grandpa Haut (Eric and I went on the plane ride, Ethan stayed in the hanger). We had so much fun and hopefully we will be able to make it out there again.


Oh yeah, Ethan turns 9 months today.

Military Wife

The good Lord was creating a model for military wives and was into his sixth day of overtime when an angel appeared. She said," Lord, you seem to be having a lot of trouble with this one. What's wrong with the standard model?"

The Lord replied," Have you seen the specs on this order? She has to be completely independent, possess the qualities of both mother and father, be a perfect hostess for four to 40 with an hour notice, run on black coffee, handle every emergency imaginable without a manual, be able to carry on cheerfully, even if she is pregnant and has the flu, and she must have six pair of hands."

The angel shook her head. "Six pair of hands? No way!"
The Lord continued. "Don't worry, we will make other military wives to help her. And we will give her an unusually strong heart so it can swell with pride in her husbands achievements, sustain the pain of separation, beat soundly when it is overworked and tired, and be large enough to say, "I understand" when she doesn't and "I love you" regardless.
"Lord," said the angel, touching his arm gently, "Go to bed and get some rest. You can finish this tomorrow."

"I can't stop now," Said the Lord. "I am so close to creating something unique. Already this model heals herself when she is sick, can put up six unexpected guests for the weekend, wave good-bye to her husband from a pier, a runway or a depot, and understand why it's important that he leave."
The angel circled the model of the military wife, looked at it
closely and sighed.

"It looks fine, but it's too soft."
"She may look soft," replied the Lord, "but she had the strength of a lion. You would not believe what she can endure."
Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek of the Lord's creation. "There's a leak," she announced. "Something is wrong with the construction. I'm not surprised that it has cracked. You are trying to put too much into this model."

The Lord appeared offended at the angel's lack of confidence. "What you see is not a leak," he said. "It's a tear."
"A tear? What is it there for?" asked the angel.
The Lord replied, "It's for joy, sadness, pain, disappointment, loneliness, pride and dedication to all the values that she and her husband hold dear."
"You are a genius!" exclaimed the angel.
The Lord looked puzzled and replied, "I didn't put it there."

Author Unknown

9 month check up

Today we had Ethan's well baby check-up. He now weighs 20.3 lbs, and his length is 28 inches. He has lost some weight but the doctor said it was due to him crawling. Thankfully there were no shots at this visit, but Ethan reacted as if he was given a shot. He is going through this whole seperation anxiety thing and the nurse or doctor could't get close to him without him clawing on me. It got worse when I placed him on the scale and stepped back. He started to cry so bad it sounded like a growl. The doctor said we should try leaving him with a sitter so he can get used to being around other people.