Ethan's 1 Year Pictures

Ethan turned 1 on November 12th. I can't beleive a year has gone by so quickly. His pictures turned out so well!

Thanksgiving

Ethan was fascinated with little Braedon.

Alex and Ethan playing in the dishwasher.

Playing with grandpa.

Testing the baby-proof cabinets

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year. The immediate family was there, and Jim & Beth, Aaron, Lark & Braedon joined us as well. It was so nice to spend time with them all...and the food was good too :-).

Alex and Ethan were so cute together. They both R-E-A-L-L-Y enjoyed helping grandma with the dishwasher. Ethan was also quite taken with Braedon.

Happy Birthday Ethan

Playing with his toy from Uncle Mikey and Aunt Rachel

Ethan's reaction to cake.

Ethan's personal-sized cake.

Ethan's "real" birthday cake--actually made up of cupcakes.

We had a little family birthday party for Ethan today. He enjoyed himself and loved his presents!

First Haircut

After

During...the hair falling tickled his nose--hence the look

This is actually the first picture of the group...Ethan's initial reaction was to cry.

Ethan got his first haircut today. He wasn't too thrilled about it at first, but he did ok once he got used to the idea. He looks like such a big boy now. My little boy is growing up on me...sniff.

Update on Mike

Thanks to all who have been praying for Mike. He came through open heart surgery successfully on Thursday, October 22nd. His aortic valve was repaired (he was born with a birth defect that progressively worsened over the course of years). He came home on Monday afternoon, only 4 days after the surgery and was on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, he develop pericarditis, which is the retention of fluid and inflation of the pericardium around the heart. So, he was admitted to the hospital again on Thursday--one week after his surgery. They changed his meds and sent him back home on Saturday. Hopefully this time it's for good!

He's doing extremely well, considering what he's been through. He's pretty thin though (weighing 138 pounds).

Here's a pic taken yesterday evening of his chest. It look pretty good for 11 days post-op I think. The two slits beneath the long incision are from where his chest tubes were inserted.

Beth & Seth=Love Forever

Johanna and I waiting for the pictures to be over.

Phil, Seth's Cousin, and I walk down the aisle.

The platform...the tress have candles in them and were gorgeous when lit.

The vestibule.

The beautiful bride and Sarah...getting ready for the ceremony.

Lark, Aaron and little Braedon. He was such a sweet little guy!

All ready for the wedding to start.

Ethan wanted the petals after the wedding.

Planning something devious.

Beth is now a married woman. She was absolutely beautiful, and the wedding was amazing. Seth teared up when she came down the aisle, which was very sweet. I am so happy for my dear friend and know she is incredibly happy. Congratulations, Seth and Beth! (By the way, I stole these pics from Kurtis and Johanna, so they may look familiar :-)

Ethan's 1st Halloween

Ethan celebrated his very first halloween this year! We dressed him up as a monkey, since that seemed the most appropriate fit for his personality. He is an extremely curious little guy :-). Obviously, he didn't get to eat any candy this year, but he still had fun. Most of the evening was spent at Beth Buntain's rehearsal. I'll have to post pics of her wedding in my next posting.

Balloons

Ethan has developed a fascination for balloons. Everytime I take him shopping he stretches out his little arms and reaches for the balloons...so of course I buy him one :-). What can I say, he has me wrapped around his little finger. Yesterday he was walking around with two balloons. It was so cute that I had to get a little video of it on my cellphone.

Also, our little guy LOVES the phone. Yesterday during lunch he was playing with my mom and dad's home phone. Well, when we were finished with lunch we noticed that their message machine was blinking that there was a new message. When my dad played it, it was just Ethan jabbering away. I have no idea how he managed to leave a voicemail! It was such a cute recording that I'm going to try to figure out a way to save it.

Catching Up

Ok, I know it's been a while since I've posted, so I have a lot of catching up to do. Since August (the last time I posted), Ethan has started to walk. He is soooo cute. He still is not super confident in his new skill, so he generally will only take a few steps in a row. It's hard to believe that he is growing up so fast!

He continues to be a fabulous sleeper :-). He generally sleeps about 11-12 hours each night and then naps for about 1.5-2 hours each afternoon.

I've finally moved down to part-time and am absolutely loving it! I have so much more time to spend with Ethan, and it is such a blessing.

The picture attached is actually from several months ago. Steve's dad is restoring a 1947 Chevy. Ethan got to "drive" it. Doesn't he look good behind the wheel?

Also attached is a little clip of Ethan playing ball with his daddy. He is REALLY into playing ball and will just go back and forth forever if you let him.