Ethan - 14 Months

Wow, it's been a long time since I updated this site, huh?! Well, sit back because I have a feeling this is going to be a long post!

Let me start by saying that I have tons of pictures and videos to share, but as my computer died it might be awhile before I am able to get everything uploaded. Yes, my hard drive crashed and evidently by the time you buy a new one and pay for the installation you are looking at just a little bit more to have a whole new machine. Great. Just when my work slows down to nothing my computer bites the dust. Oh well! I now am using a spare c. 1990 machine that is super slow, makes noise all the time, and oh, did I mention that Ethan managed to pull off the "D" key from the keyboard and since this computer is so old it's not one of those kinds of keys that can easily be snapped back into place? I am sitting here typing with a big hole where the "D" is supposed to be and pressing on it everytime I need to use that letter. You might be amazed to realize just how many times I've already used a "D" already in this post. So. Not. Fun. As soon as my work picks back up again I plan to buy a new laptop, but in the interim this workaround is going to have to suffice.

Our outside cat Charlie died this past week. I am so very sad about this. Charlie found us about four years ago, and we've been taking care of him ever since. Charlie never wanted to come inside (we tried many times) and he was a true outside man. He loved our huge backyard, and he played in the woods behind our house and I would periodically see him on the walking trail in those woods. He would sleep in the front bushes beneath our front bedroom windows, and I would always look there for him when I drove up to our house. He took his naps on our front porch mat (or the outdoor heating pad we put out there for him in the winters) and he would be faithfully waiting there each morning for his breakfast. He would let Patrick and I pet him (something we worked up to over the years) but he stayed away from most other people. He would sit under the peach tree when I would bring Ethan out there to read or play, and he purred for me when I would pet him. On Tuesday morning I opened our front door to bring Charlie his breakfast and saw him sleeping on our front porch mat through the glass storm door. He is usually sleeping when I go to feed him breakfast and jumps up as soon as I open the front door. I thought it odd that he hadn't moved and then I noticed that he didn't seem to be breathing. A few panic stricken moments later I confirmed that our precious Charlie was no longer with us. He looked very peaceful, and I am choosing to believe that he died in his sleep. He had been eating, drinking and playing the day before, and gave no indication that he was sick.

I called Patrick in tears and he came home from work shortly thereafter so we could bury our beloved friend. I'm still not used to the idea that Charlie is gone for good. He was such a part of our routine, and I find myself looking for him lounging on the patio furniture, sleeping on the front mat, and most of all when it is time to feed the rest of our brood I miss my little trip outside to take care of Charlie. I miss him so much and I just hope he knew how much he was loved. Our inside kitties loved watching Charlie outside (I think they were secretly jealous of all the great adventures this wild man got to take!) and Spot especially stares out the front door looking for her buddy. A piece of our family is now in kitty heaven and while I knew this would happen one day it still hurts a bunch.

Okay, wipe away tears and regroup....

Okay, I took a break and am ready to continue. We went to the beach for a week with my in-laws a few weeks ago and had the best time. The place was gorgeous and was so family friendly. There were several pools (Ethan liked the one with the fountains best, although there was another one that he could crawl right into that I thought would have been his favorite), grills and hot tubs all over the property, fire pits where we roasted marshmellows and made s'mores, not to mention the beach! It was so relaxing and it was really nice to get away. There are so many pics I have to share from our trip, so I'll try to get those posted as soon as I have access to Patrick's laptop for an extended period of time (there is no way this ancient machine can handle uploading pictures, that's how behind the times it is!)

Ethan seems to have grown up overnight. One of his favorite toys now is his bounce & spin pony. It has a receiver that hooks into the television and when he bounces different characters show up on the TV screen and songs play through the TV speakers. He has learned so much from this toy, and his new tricks are "soooo big" (where he stretches his little arms as high as he can reach), he moos when he sees the cow, and just this week he started saying "duck." I bought this toy at the huge Raleigh consignment sale at the fairgrounds for only $20, and it has been worth every penny!

Ethan still isn't too interested in his baby Einstein DVDs (or TV in general), but he has started doing a few signs. He does the sign for "more" all the time, he can sign for "mommy" and "daddy" and puts his little hands up in an "all gone" motion when he's done eating (but I'm not sure that counts as an official sign.) He will also put both hands on his forehead and shake his head when you say "oh my goodness." What a nut!

It's really fun watching Ethan understand more and more of what we are asking of him. If I ask him to turn on his fridge DJ, he will crawl over to the fridge and turn it on. (He loves, loves, loves this toy! It was a gift from his godsister Morgan on his first birthday.) Ethan responds when I ask him if he wants milk or water to drink, and he definitely understands when I say no...although he doesn't necessarily listen - ha!

Ethan has been walking more and more lately, although he still prefers to crawl when he is trying to get somewhere quickly. He will walk holding my hand a lot of the time, but he will only take a few steps on his own. I'm in no rush, and I know that the day where he no longer crawls is coming sooner and sooner and this mommy is just not ready. I miss all his little baby things so much already! He is a pretty funny little toddler though :)

The past two weeks have pretty much brought an end to the twice a day nap. On a typical day, Ethan wakes up around 7 and he'll hang out playing in his crib for 20-30 minutes before he's ready to come out. We'll eat breakfast (his favorite now is scrambled eggs, well, egg beaters) but I vary his main course as much as I can. He also likes toast, oatmeal, bananas, cheerios, yogurt...he's not too picky. After breakfast we'll typically take a walk and feed the ducks, and then we come home and play for a couple hours (or run errands if we need to go to Target, the bank, the post office, etc.) Ethan typically eats lunch around 11:30 and then he is ready for his one and only nap. He'll go to sleep around 12:15, and he's been sleeping for between 2 and 3 hours. The other day he slept for 3 1/2 hours, and I started worrying that he wasn't okay...but if had only slept for 20 minutes I think I would be complaining about that too. He wakes up in the best mood and so then we play until it's time for dinner, bath and bedtime.

Ethan has started giving real hugs lately, and he will pat my back while giving a squeeze...it is so sweet! When you ask him to give you a kiss, he kind of licks your cheek. I'm not sure that it quite counts as a kiss, but it is really sweet in any event.

Okay, I know I said this would be a long post and I have a ton more to catch up on, but I've got to run for now. I will hopefully be able to finish catching up on life here soon. Until then...