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At the beginning of November, Mike, Ethan and I all went down to Arizona for my grandpa's surprise 80th birthday party. My dad and Pam were already down there visiting and most of the rest of my family came down the day after we arrived. It was Ethan's first big trip and I think he had a lot of fun. We were really worried about the plane ride. Luckily, the lady who checked us in found us a row where there was and extra seat. We were in the very back of the plane but at least we had the extra seat. It allowed Ethan to move around and play without disturbing anyone. Although we were expecting him to play with his toys, he was much more interested in looking out the window and playing with the seat belt.
Eventually, it was time to nap. He drank his bottle and went straight down for a nap without any problem.
When he woke up, he played for a bit, but was ready to get off the plane. We landed shortly after but had to wait on the tarmac for a whole hour. Mike entertained Ethan with peek-a-boo and sticking out his tongue and luckily it worked! We only had a couple of little fusses but fortunately the people around us were more than understanding.
Needless to say, Ethan was happy to have landed and be able to be outside (especially since it was almost 80 degrees).
After landing, we spent one night at the hotel with my dad and Pam. The next day, the entire family went over to my grandparent's house while they were out shopping. When they returned, we all jumped out from behind a big bush in their back yard and surprised them. We spent the day playing games and chatting. We had a birthday party and of course took a bunch of pictures of the entire family since it doesn't happen very often that almost everyone is together.
The whole crew..
Just the cousins...
It had been over a month since we had seen my dad and Pam. Ethan was really excited to see them and spent most of the week we were there attached to my dad.
As you can tell from this pic, it was pretty warm in Arizona. Ethan was exhausted from all of the traveling and took a 2 hour nap the first day. This is what he looked like when he got up :)
Throughout the week, we all spent a lot of time just hanging out. This was on Sunday, when the Packers played the Cowboys. We had a lot of fun rooting our Pack on! Ethan had fun clapping and yelling for them too.
During the first game, Mike and Ethan were having fun running and kicking a small foam ball to Dean, my uncle.
Here he is standing for the first time all by himself!!
The next day, a group of us went to a fall league baseball game where young players from major league teams play in the off season to gear up for the real thing. There were players from the Brewers, White Sox, Reds, etc there.
Here is our group (minus myself).
Ethan got a little restless during the game because he is always wanting to MOVE! Mike and my dad took him way out into the outfield to burn off some energy. As you can see, it was a really nice and new stadium.
Toward the end of the game, Ethan got really tired. I fed him a bottle and he was out! My uncle Rick had been working all week to be able to hold him. This was his chance and he jumped on it. Ethan spent the rest of the game sleeping on Rick's shoulder. P.S. This is also the uncle that taught Ethan how to rub his hands together (which soon became one of his favorite ways of showing off)
Every night after dinner, we would head back to the hotel so Ethan could have some quiet time. In the morning my dad and Pam would come to the hotel to have breakfast then we would go out for more family time. Here is a pic of Pam and Ethan one night just hanging out. We thought he looked like quite the grown up in this pic.
I'm pretty sure one of Ethan's favorite parts of the trip was playing I'm gonna get you every night. One of us would "get him" by tickling him and he would giggle like crazy. Here's a pic of his grandpa getting him.
On one of the afternoons spent in the hotel room, Ethan decided to take his first steps. He walked from Mike to my dad for a total of about 3 steps!!
On the last full day we spent in Arizona, we went to the Phoenix Zoo which was unlike any other zoo we had been to. The exhibits were set up like their natural habitat so they had the giraffes in with a bunch of other animals in a really large exhibit. It was a huge zoo with sprawling exhibits. It was definitely some good exercise along with being lots of fun!
Overall, we had a really great trip. We were a little worried when we checked in on the way home because we did not have the extra seat we had on the way down. Luckily, the lady next to us was really nice and Ethan loved her! She even held him so he could look out the window on the way up. So, we definitely won't be as worried for our next trip since Ethan did so well on this one!
Ok, I'm going to try this whole updating thing again :)
In October, Ethan learned how to walk behind a number of things. He would hang onto and walk behind his toy box, his cousins' doll strollers, or his favorite, this toy made for learning how to walk. Although he was pretty good at walking in a straight line, he had to have one of us turn him or he would continue to ram the front of the toy into the wall, waiting for one of us to notice that he was stuck.
Another development this month...Ethan FINALLY had his first tooth poke through on October 9th!!
Although it was October, it was especially warm one. We all tried to take advantage of the warm weather while we could. Ethan loved going to the park to swing. Mike and his mom also spent one day (while I slept) at JSOL which is a local nature preserve with trails. It is especially nice to go there in the fall when all of the trees are changing colors.
The end of the month, on the other hand, was pretty chilly. Even though we were pretty cold, Mike, Ethan, my mom, Kileigh, and I did take a day to go the market down the street from my mom. They have little wagons for the kids to ride in and set up a bunch of little displays for Halloween. This year they had some that were scary (zombies, aliens, etc) but they also had a few pretty cute ones. They also had displays with the Sesame Street characters and a whole Cinderella one too. We go there to pick out the perfect pumpkins and of course some butternut squash (Ethan is obsessed).
Just had to throw this one in there. I have turned Ethan into a Packer fan! Every game day we dress up in our Packer gear and root our team on (even though Mike doesn't appreciate it). Ethan likes clapping along with me when the Pack scores.
The night before Halloween, Mike and I spent some time carving out our pumpkins. I think they actually turned out pretty nice!
Finally, came Halloween! We were really looking forward to Halloween this year, but also remembering last year. We all remembered how I was uncomfortably pregnant, running up the hills with Kileigh in her stroller, trying to get something to happen. This year, we got to bring our little man out with us, all dressed up in his costume. Before we went out trick-or-treating, my mom, Courtney, Chuck, and Kileigh all came over and had a quick meal. Ethan was all dressed up in his "I Love My Mummy" glow in the dark shirt from grandma.
September seemed to be the month when Ethan's true personality really seemed to blossom. Here are some pictures that pretty much sum up the things Ethan has learned to do and his favorite activities.
BATH TIME! Now that Ethan can sit really well, he loves crawling around and splashing in the bath tub. His favorite part is pulling down all of the soap bottles into the water.
Post-bath hair brushing - he LOVES it!
Cuddling during bottle time (As I'm sure you can tell, Kileigh was very proud of the first time she got to feed her little cousin his bottle. Up until this point she could only pretend with her "baby.")
Play time with his girlfriend, Emelia. Although their playing has quickly turned into fighting over the same toy.
Standing up and pushing his toy box around (Of course after he did it once, I couldn't catch him doing it with the camera)
Testing Mom and Dad. Yes, that is right. The testing of his parents has truly begun. Ethan loves to play in the baseboard heaters. We have been working with him on this for all of September since we know the heaters will soon be on and hot. Well, after many times of telling him "No, No" he now crawls over to the heaters, looks at us, and touches the heaters while staring directly at us and gets a big grin on his face. This particular time, he touched the heaters and the metal inside much have sliced his finger. He was bleeding like crazy, so I cleaned it up and put on a band-aid. As you can see, he didn't like it very much!
Chasing after,
and kissing his Boo (which he now says). When we ask Ethan for a kiss, we now get a nice open mouth slobbery kiss!
Roughhousing with Mom and Dad! He loves getting tossed around, playing peek-a-boo, and hanging upside down.
I always thought the newborn stage would be my favorite. I am quickly changing my mind as Ethan grows up. At each stage, I have said to Mike, "This is my new favorite age." I love love love all of the fun, personality, and new ways of showing affection that come with each new age!
Of course, as in every year, the highlight of August is our trip up to Rhinelander (and surrounding cities). This year we went back to the same camp we went to in 2009 in Phelps, WI. This year, however, the trip was particularly special because we got to bring Ethan along for the trip. He made it through the 5-6 hour drive like a dream! Our only problem during the week was that he had a terrible cold. Add to that a new place with new surroundings, sleeping in a pack and play, and mom and dad just around the corner and you can probably guess Mike and I didn't have the greatest sleep for the week. Apart from that, we had a ton of fun. Here are some highlights from the week:
Spending time with cousin Lainey
Meeting new friends
Fishing with Daddy
Learning how to crawl (well...sort of)
Boating (Ethan loved the boating, especially when he got to sit with Grandma and play)
Hanging out and playing with family
The sandbar (This was a really cool part of the lake we did not see last year. Nestled in between two islands, there is a sandbar which spans the whole length between the islands and is about 20 yards wide- per Mike. Although the water was a little chilly, in warmer weather it would make for a super fun place to play)
Hanging out in the bar at night (although we didn't do too much of it this year)
Eating crackers like a big boy in Lainey's super cool hippo chair (Ethan was very proud the whole time he sat in this chair)
Hiking (These were the same falls we went to last year - when I started feeling those mysterious cramps - which ended up being preterm labor :))
While we were in the beautiful surroundings up north, we decided to take a family picture in memory of Mike's dad. Notice the shirts which say LIVESTRONG on them.
After vacation, we worked a lot on crawling. On August 11th he finally mastered it! We were at a friend's baby shower and when I set him down to show off his creeping, he crawled perfectly across the floor! When he first learned how to crawl it was almost a hobble. He would use his left knee, but on his right side he would use his foot.
Another pic of some cousin love (I think Kileigh missed him...)
9 month old stats:
Weight: 18lb 15oz (25th percentile)
Height: 28 inches (42nd percentile)
Head: 47 cm (95th percentile)
What can I say? We have big heads in our family!
Eventually, it was time to nap. He drank his bottle and went straight down for a nap without any problem.
When he woke up, he played for a bit, but was ready to get off the plane. We landed shortly after but had to wait on the tarmac for a whole hour. Mike entertained Ethan with peek-a-boo and sticking out his tongue and luckily it worked! We only had a couple of little fusses but fortunately the people around us were more than understanding.
Needless to say, Ethan was happy to have landed and be able to be outside (especially since it was almost 80 degrees).
After landing, we spent one night at the hotel with my dad and Pam. The next day, the entire family went over to my grandparent's house while they were out shopping. When they returned, we all jumped out from behind a big bush in their back yard and surprised them. We spent the day playing games and chatting. We had a birthday party and of course took a bunch of pictures of the entire family since it doesn't happen very often that almost everyone is together.
The whole crew..
Just the cousins...
It had been over a month since we had seen my dad and Pam. Ethan was really excited to see them and spent most of the week we were there attached to my dad.
As you can tell from this pic, it was pretty warm in Arizona. Ethan was exhausted from all of the traveling and took a 2 hour nap the first day. This is what he looked like when he got up :)
Throughout the week, we all spent a lot of time just hanging out. This was on Sunday, when the Packers played the Cowboys. We had a lot of fun rooting our Pack on! Ethan had fun clapping and yelling for them too.
During the first game, Mike and Ethan were having fun running and kicking a small foam ball to Dean, my uncle.
Here he is standing for the first time all by himself!!
The next day, a group of us went to a fall league baseball game where young players from major league teams play in the off season to gear up for the real thing. There were players from the Brewers, White Sox, Reds, etc there.
Here is our group (minus myself).
Ethan got a little restless during the game because he is always wanting to MOVE! Mike and my dad took him way out into the outfield to burn off some energy. As you can see, it was a really nice and new stadium.
Toward the end of the game, Ethan got really tired. I fed him a bottle and he was out! My uncle Rick had been working all week to be able to hold him. This was his chance and he jumped on it. Ethan spent the rest of the game sleeping on Rick's shoulder. P.S. This is also the uncle that taught Ethan how to rub his hands together (which soon became one of his favorite ways of showing off)
Every night after dinner, we would head back to the hotel so Ethan could have some quiet time. In the morning my dad and Pam would come to the hotel to have breakfast then we would go out for more family time. Here is a pic of Pam and Ethan one night just hanging out. We thought he looked like quite the grown up in this pic.
I'm pretty sure one of Ethan's favorite parts of the trip was playing I'm gonna get you every night. One of us would "get him" by tickling him and he would giggle like crazy. Here's a pic of his grandpa getting him.
On one of the afternoons spent in the hotel room, Ethan decided to take his first steps. He walked from Mike to my dad for a total of about 3 steps!!
