Whew. Christmas is over. And we survived.

We had a great time out in Albany. There was so much family to see and we were excited that we got to see everyone. I don't think anyone was missing... I'd have to check with Mia.

Ethan was a little ball of energy. He had fun ripping open his toys on Christmas morning, though after getting into the first he was more interested in playing with it then opening more. I'll give a rundown of his loot this weekend, there was a lot of it.
Unfortunately being at other people's houses meant that he didn't sleep as well. I had to hold him for each of his naps. Which was fine as I got to nap along with him. :) He's cute once he falls asleep but getting him to go down without his crib takes a while.

When he was awake he discovered that he loves to climb stairs. I couldn't believe that he did it so well, but any time he got near a staircase he wanted to go up. Then, once he was at the top he'd look back down and want me to carry him down for another trip. What a boy!

We can't believe that the year is ending so soon. It seems like just yesterday Ethan was born and we were bringing him home from the hospital. I guess it will be like that every year, even when he's old enough to move out.

Christmas is almost here. We are so excited to have Ethan's "first" Christmas. We know that it really isn't but it's the first one he will really be aware of, so we are counting it.

Well, the boy hit another milestone today. It's a good one, but the timing is bad. He learned how to climb up onto the couch.

Why is that bad you ask?

Because our Christmas tree was in a corner between the two couches to prevent him from getting to them. There was also a little gate covering the gap between the couches.

Today at work I got a call from Mia telling me that the boy had gotten himself onto the couch and promptly crawled to the arm and tipped himself over. He tried grabbing the tree, the ornaments, and the presents. Anything within reach before his mom could pull him back out.
Then, after he was extracted, he cried all day because he wanted to get back. When I got home, I sat on the couch with him to take off my shoes and had to restrain him as he wailed and tried to grab ornaments off the tree.

Sadly, our Christmas tree came back down tonight. We got a few pictures, so it won't be totally forgotten.

I can't believe what a busy month December is. You would think that with the holidays coming you could get ready to relax, but it just seems to add to the pressure.

The shopping is pretty much done, so that's not creating any stress, but there are just so many other things that pile up. And now that Ethan can walk on his own pretty well, it's even harder to keep the house clean.

But we manage somewhow, and the boy just keeps getting cuter, so we don't mind so much.

Well, Ethan is one year old. And what an active boy he is too.

He can pretty much walk whenever he wants. That isn't all the time, but when he is in the mood he can really go. So, he was definately walking before one year. I don't know that it means anything, but at least it makes us feel proud of him.

His birthday was a pretty simple affair, on Friday we had Linda over and opened a few presents. He had a cupcake but mostly he just smeared it around his tray rather than his face. It was fun to sing to him and watch him look around at all of us as we waited for him to do something messy with his cake.

On Saturday, David, Chris, and the boys came out to visit. We opened a few more presents and again had a fun day. Ethan loved playing with Bryson especially. We think that Ethan viewed him as close to his own age (5 years apart) and so wanted to be a show off. We have some great video of him wrestling that consists of Ethan standing up and then falling onto him. Very cute.

So, now we officially have a toddler. I'm sure our lives are going to change in so many ways because of this.

Well, Thanksgiving went great. It really is one of my favorite holidays.

When I lived in Utah, Monica and I, along with our cousins, would pile into the car each year and drive down to California to visit Grandma and Grandpa Jo. Those were great trips, and having the big dinner with them was always fun.

Since we have been in Boston, we've done Thanksgiving with our friends. It's a whole different experience when you have to do the cooking and cleaning at your house. I'm still trying to get all the dishes clean from Thursday. :)
This year was Ethan's first Thanksgiving and he absolutely loved it. He loved getting some of the Jell-o fruit salad and being around all the people. He's such an active, social boy that being around so many people really wound him up.

Even today he was so happy and talkative. He walked around (with his car or a chair) so much today. He wanted me to chase him around the house when he was crawling. And he took two really, really long naps. We think he must be growing again.

I'm taking some video this week, I want to get some good footage before his birthday, then I'll make tapes and get them out to the family for Christmas. You can then show off the cutest boy in the world to all your friends :)

Our little boy just gets cuter and cuter every day. We were in the living room this weekend and Ethan was being quiet by himself looking at a book.
All of the sudden he makes about three short quick breathes. Mia and I both look over, and he has his book open to a page that has 10 dogs on it (it's a counting book).

Well, in a different sign language for babies book, their is a page for dog, and the sign is making a panting sound. Mia and I both do this when we read to him, and it was so cute to see him doing it on his own.

When we went over to look at what he was doing, he did it again. I can't believe how fast he is growing up.

So, I didn't get to see much of Ethan walking yesterday. He took a step or two, but still knows it's faster to crawl around.

However, he very much enjoyed standing up. He got next to one of our couch pillows on the floor and kept pushing himself up on it. This is different from using something taller than him to pull himself up. So, it's quite a big step... well, not step exactly, but it's big.

We are trying to get some video of him walking, I think we are going to end up with alot of him standing around before we get anything :)

Well, today was a big day for Ethan. According to Mia he took about 4 steps today and didn't fall over.
He's napping right now, but I'm excited to see this for myself. I'll keep you posted on how he does.

Poor little Ethan has a cold. And a yeast infection. And his cheeks are chaffing.

Needless to say it's been a rough week for the little guy. We have been trying to do what we can to comfort him, but it isn't always easy. Especially since he can't really blow his nose, so it either runs down his face or down his throat. I think the down his throat option has been what wakes him up at 4:00AM.

But, it's been about 3 days and he is on the mend. I think he got my immune system. :)

In other news, he will let go of whatever he uses to stand up and just stand by himself for a few seconds (quite a while it seems like) before sitting back down so he can move. We've been trying to help him walk to things, but he knows that crawling is still faster.

So, now that Mia is back, I've stopped blogging as much. D'oh.

This has been a pretty exciting week. First, it's been great having Mia back, even though Ethan makes quite a fuss in the morning when I leave for work, or even go to the shower for that matter. I feel so bad when I head out the door because he starts crying.
If you know Ethan, he doesn't cry very often. Only when something has really upset him. I'm glad that he loves me, but it's sad that he doesn't understand that I'm going to come back for him. I don't want him to think that I'm leaving for good.

I also got some good news at work. After having my review with my manager, she's decided that with the job responsibilities I've been taking on, I haven't really been a Marketing Assistant. So instead of giving me a raise, I got a promotion and salary adjustment (read: better than raise).
She said that it was easy to sell our CEO on the idea because he's been very happy with the work, suggestions, and improvments I've been able to make. I'm glad to be with a company that I can contribute to in a meaningful way.

Today was another big day for me and the boy and I.

One little story, I was changing his diaper and he has been so fussy about that. He squirmed and rolled himself right off the changing table. Fortunately, I was holding one of this legs to try and keep him on his back, so caught him. There he was dangling with a poopy butt and me trying to figure out how to get him back onto the table without making a mess of both of us.
I worked it out quickly and didn't leave him upside down for too long.

We also went to a birthday party for two of the little boys in our ward that just turned one year old. It was right when Ethan normally takes a nap, but I've been pushing him back to adjust for daylight savings ending, so he wasn't too tired when we went.
But he was very clingy. He didn't want to play with the other kids, or even let me put him down. It was very odd, but I guess we have been spending so much time together this weekend. Eventually, he started getting better about being down, and finaly, when I thought we would need to leave, he started jabbering and playing and crawling around. Kids!
So we stayed an extra half hour and watched the eating of the cake :) That was fun.
I have some pictures of Ethan in a cute cow costume to post to the site now.

While we were at the party, it started to snow. Not just little snow, but big flakes that were heavy and wet. The news had predicted only flurries, and this was much more than that. It had covered my car by the time we were leaving. I had to brush it off, and keep the wipers on pretty fast to stay clear.
Of course, by tonight it had stopped and the snow is all melted. That's Boston for you.

I'm very excited to see Mia again tomorrow. This has been a fun weekend, a long weekend, but it's definately easier to parent when you have a partner to help. I'm glad Mia and I are doing this together.

Wow, what an exciting day we had.

Ethan woke up happy as usual, and after being super active, he took a two and a half hour nap. It was great, I showered, cleaned and even vacuumed. She slept right through it all. After feeling very productive, I took Ethan to the thrift store to drop some things off.

For the last few weeks Mia has been driving me to work while one of our cars was being fixed. So, Ethan has come to think that when he gets in the car with dad, it's because he is going to leave him. So I load Ethan in the car, and had to run back into the house for one more box. When I came back he was crying and looked so sad. Then, after I get into the car and calm him down, and realize that I forgot my glasses. It makes me sad when he cries.
Then when I was dropping stuff off at the thrift store, I could tell he wasn't going to handle it well and got one of the workers to unload. Then, we tried to drive home, but the roads were being worked on and I had to drive around to finally get back to the house.
Ethan was so happy to get back home and play with me. He gets over things very quickly, which I'm so glad for.

Then later he wanted to play one of his favorite games. He crawls into his room and shuts the door (with you on the outside) then, after you knock, he makes a noise and you open the door and say "There I am"
He promptly shuts the door again.
We have played this game for 10-15 minutes at a time. Usually he gets bored earlier and crawls into his room for you to chase after him. But he sure does love doors.

Finally, we went to the ward Halloween costume party. Ethan was dressed up as a cow, but the costume is much too large. We didn't stay long as it was past his bed time, but he liked looking around at the other kids. I think it will make a big difference when he can walk on his own, and when he's not so tired.

So, we had a big day. And tomorrow we are going to have a big day as well. I'm having fun, but I have to say, I can't wait to see my wife come home.

Well, we made it through our first day.

It was pretty uneventful. Ethan slept in later than expected, which was nice. And he had a great morning.

After his first nap, we went for a walk, paid off the deductible for our car (which came in way under what we thought it would be) and went to the park to play on the swings.
Now, we have done the swings before, a few months ago. And he kind of liked it, but we really had to hold him to keep him upright, even in the baby swings that have a gaurd all the way around them. This time however, he held onto the chain himself, and LOVED me pushing him back and forth. Not hard, but enough for him to feel the motion. We are definately doing the swings again tomorrow.

After his second nap, he was fussy for the rest of the afternoon. I think his second top tooth, which has started pushing through, has been bothering him still.

But, we made it through, and he went to sleep without too much fuss.

I'll see what tomorrow brings.

Tonight is my first night alone with Ethan. Mia and her mother have gone to a scrapbooking conference in CT and I'm taking care of the boy until Sunday.

ALL BY MYSELF! YIKES!

I'll be sure to keep this updated on how I am doing.

Today went pretty well (for me). He got dropped off at a friends house right around his nap time. Well, of course that made him scream and cry. He finally cried himself to sleep for an hour, then woke up and played with their little boy for a while. Then, after hearing the phone ring (I called to say I was on my way) he started crying again.

When he saw me through the window, he really lost it. I could see that he nearly jumped out of the arms of our friend who was holding him. It took a while for him to calm down, I just held him and let him know that I wasn't going to leave.

Once we got home, he was as happy as ever. Smiling and playing and trying to walk. What a cute little boy we have.

Not as much to say tonight, so I'll just mention that Mia is going to a scrapbooking conference next weekend with her mom. She is in a couple of different "tracks" and will be making a 1-year scrapbook for Ethan. It should be fun for her, and the book will be nice to have for Ethan.

He is as cute as ever. We keep a big down blanket in the living room, and he has this game he likes to play with it. He will crawl over, look at you, and then face plant into the blanket (bunched up by the couch).
After rubbing his face around for a bit, he rolls over onto this back and cranes his neck around to look at you again. Of course, while he's doing this, he has one arm sticking straight out and sometimes up.
Then he rolls around some more to try and get into a position to crawl or start over with the face plant. I love watching him do that and will go lie on the blanket with him.
We're going to try to get pictures of that soon.

I have a lot of things to talk about tonight, but first I need to give a quick re-cap of Monica and Zack's visit. They came up on the train (after many delays) and missed seeing Ethan their first night. This was disappointing as everyone who comes to visit us wants to see Ethan right away. :)
The next day, they got to play with Ethan in the morning, and after his initial "Who are these people" reaction, he warmed up to them. Monica and Zack headed into the city to cruise around while I went to work.
On Friday, we all went into the city. This was, I think, Ethan's first trip into downtown Boston. We drove in (we were feeling brave) and parked near the Aquarium. Our first stop was catching the ferry over to the USS Constitution because you can walk around it for free. Of course the ferry was 12 dollars each, but they gave a nice tour of the harbor on the way, so it was worth it.

We toured the battleship from WWII and Old Ironsides both of which were very interesting. We'd like to go back for a longer tour of the ship, including the below deck section. We couldn't on this trip because another group was coming and Ethan was starting to fall asleep in his stoller.

After getting back across the harbor we had lunch at Quincy Market. What a great place to eat. If you have never been to Boston, Quincy Market is kind of like a food court. And by kind of, I mean it's two long (think, really long) hallways that aren't all that wide and little food counters on both sides. In the middle of them is a seating area that is always full (even the standing room is taken). You can get pretty much any kind of food you want. Seafood, Indian food, pub food, hamburgers, steaks, steak sandwiches, it's all there.
Then, parallel to the food court on both sides, are rows of little kiosks selling all kinds souveniers and Boston Red Sox gear.
Then, on the outside of the building, since it's right downtown, there are areas that street performers set up. There are jugglers, break dancers, singers, we saw some guys with bells attached to their legs clapping sticks (I think it's some kind of Folk Eurpoean thing).
And then, surrounding this all are more mainstream retail shops. GAP, Discovery Store, Godiva Chocolate (we get desserts there alot) and so on.
So, all in all, if you are coming to Boston, this is a great place to visit.

After all that excitement, we just hung out on Saturday and played a game called Lost Cities, that Monica and Zack picked up for us at a local game shop. It's a fun game and great because it's two players.
I drove them to the airport on Sunday morning and they were off to Colorado.

So, that's that.

Now, onto the good stuff. Ethan!

He's got another tooth, this time on the top. It's so cute to see this little tooth poking out of his gum. It hasn't come in very far yet, and we think the one next to it is trying to push down as well. Ethan has been kind of fussy and crying and hasn't been sleeping as well. I hope that whatever has gotten into him will pass soon.

Besides the tooth, he's also standing up alot more often. Mia and I decided to get him a birthday present early because of this. We got him one of those little toys that works as a ride-on and a walker. It's a little car with a phone on the front. We gave it to him yesterday and he has been having so much fun with it. At first he tried to lean too heavily on it and he couldn't stand up in time. He would "walk" behind it on his knees. Today, Mia said that he has been getting better about not leaning so hard on it and has been actually walking around behind it.

He's cute when he does. He gets this big grin on his face and has the best time moving around. We love to encourage him because it makes him so happy.
I'm going to try taking some video with our little camera and see if I can get some up onto my site.

I know that I still need to update my blog with some stories from Monica and Zack's visit. That is on the way. But not tonight.

Tonight, instead of watching TV (except Alias of course) or playing games I uploaded and updated the picturing section. You can now see Ethan in all his 9 month glory.

Well, I always feel a little guilty when I do this, so for the sake of disclosure, I've gone back and updated my blog for the last month. So, since about Sept. 16 is all new content, just waiting for you to read :)

One of the best things the Church has done is set up audio feeds of conference on the Internet. Especially now that we have a baby, I'm not sure how we would make it to conference otherwise.

Today, Ethan slept through an entire session. Two solid hours, which is highly, highly unusual for his naps. But, we weren't complaining or about to wake him up.

One thing that impressed me during the Conference sessions so far has been the emphasis on the Book of Mormon. I know that it is the keystone or our religion and that it is never far from the counsel we receive, but I feel the Saints have been energized by Presdient Hinkley's challenge to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year. I decided to finish it from where I was (near the end of Alma). This was an inspired way to encourage more Church members to read the Book of Mormon instead of just telling us how important it is. I'm glad we have a prophet to lead us.

I might be setting myself up for a bit of teasing here, but as I mentioned a few months ago, I play computer games. Spefically I play Neverwinter Nights. (And I've got AJ playing with me.)

Well, part of my hobby is playing online in a world that someone else has created. It's been fun, and they have a section for Fan Fiction, which I have been using to kick my writing back into gear. My Mom took a piece around this summer that I did using this game/world as inspiration.

Some time ago, I started writing a short story about this world, and it's turned into a much longer piece. Right now it's all hand-written in a notebook right now, and needs some major editing, but I've been putting off writing the ending. I'm hoping this will give me a better timeline because when it's done, I'll send it off to anyone who's interested in reading it.

I really like writing and just wish I had the dedication to sit down every night and do more of it. But with Ethan, cleaning, and trying to spend time with Mia (Read: Watching TV together) I haven't been doing very well.

There's always tomorrow though right.

Our cute boy has decided that he has a new favorite bath time activity. He stands up by the facuet, and tries to turn on the water. Mostly he just smacks at the knob, but the whole time he is shouting at the top of his lungs because it's just so exciting.

For him anyway. I have to keep one hand on him to make sure he doesn't fall, and try to keep soaping him off with the other.

But, adding a bath to the bedtime routine has been wonderful. He loves being in the water, and he knows that when it's over he gets dressed and then gets a bottle. By the time his clothes are back on, he is usually whining to get the bottle.

After sucking down 4-6 oz. (on a good day) he starts rubbing his face, or just flopping back, while I try to read him Good Night Moon.

Then I put him down, he rolls onto his stomach, and is asleep before I leave the room.

I've been listening to Eldest, the sequel to Eragon, on tape. It's a good book, but my friend Tyler and I agree that the first one was better.

The second one has much more of a feel that this is a young writer. Not that the story isn't interesting, it's that he's getting himself lost in the description. Now, normally description is a fine thing to include, but the over-use of eosteric words to describe mundane things or events (like the rain in Carvahall) takes you away from some of the immersion.

On the other hand, I have found that these kinds of issues are magnified when listening to a book rather than reading it. I started listening to The DiVinci Code and in the second or third chapter after I'd heard about the "parkay floor" at The Louvre for the 500th time, I decided to turn it off.

Our boy has been having a big month. He's standing up so much more these days. He loves to crawl over things (especially us) and he is a big fan of shouting. Not screaming when he cries, but shouting when he's excited about something.
It's so fun to watch him grow up and think of all the things we still have to look forward to.

I think that I'm beating my wife to this post, but I'll do it anyway. As I was leaving for work this morning Ethan waved good-bye to me. We have been trying to teach him to wave for a little over a week now.

We think that we have seen some attempts, but this was a full wave and recognition that I was leaving.

And of course when I came home tonight, he was crawling so fast through the kitchen to come see me. That's one of the best parts of my day.

Well, this is a much quicker update. I hope to get back into a better rythmn of posting and keeping things updated.

Things are going great on this front. We have had my cousing staying with us before she goes to college and having the extra hand around the house has been great. Ethan is so active and likes to get into everything. Seriously, everything! But we love him and when he crawls over to one of us all excited to see us, it practically makes us melt. He is definately the boss around here.

We are looking forward to getting a bit of quiet, if not rest with such an active baby, on Monday. Since Mia is working this weekend, it will be nice.

I can't believe that it is September already. Where has this year gone.

Alright, since this month is over and I haven't posted much, I'm going to try to make a long post about all the things that went on this month.

First, as I mentioned we have had lots of company in town. At the beginning of the month, my parents came for a visit with their grandson... and us too I guess. It was great to see them since they only make it back to the states about once a year.
My dad and I went into the city of Boston and got on one of the hop-on tour buses. I didn't even realize they had these in Boston (not thinking of it in tourist terms) but it was a nice trip and we learned alot about the city. We also stopped in the North End, or Little Italy, to get some fresh canolis and gelato. Hmmm, that was good.

All of us, including Ethan, went for a trip to Lexington as well. We made it just in time to watch a demonstration of how a musket was fired. It was quite the process to get it loaded and set-up. And the slug was huge! The man (dressed as a colonist, of course) told us that the point of a mustket was not to be accurate but to have lots of them shooting at the same time.
Ethan was a bit startled when the musket was fired, because he had started getting sleepy around that time, but he didn't cry and we were able to put him into his stroller for a nap while we all had a pinic lunch. It was very nice.

Then, after my parents left, we were visited by Linda and crew including Mia's sister, two brothers, and both their girlfriends. Nathan, who just came back from a mission was being visited by the girl he had dated his freshman year of college. Her name is Shelly. We took everyone into downtown Boston (Ethan's first subway ride) and checked out some of the sights and sites. Ethan started getting very tired, and poor Mia got wiped out during the trip to the Aquarium, so we decided to come home early. After leaving here, they were all headed to Florida after a few days for the rest of their vacation.

On the weekend of my wife's birthday, David and family came to visit. We decided to go canoeing in the Charles river because there is a boat shop near to our house. Unfortunately Ethan didn't like the lifejacket and had to leave after about 10 minutes. I stayed for the boating and he went home with his mom for a nap. The canoeing was fun, we went about 2 miles up river and saw a heron and a hawk, as well as some turtles. It's amazing that wildlife can continue to thrive with the city sprouting up all around it.
Afterwards, the adults were going to head out to dinner, but first we had to pick up my cousin Charity from the airport (or so I thought). After poor Mia waited 3 hours at the airport we were finally able to track down her brother in Utah and find out she wasn't coming until a week later. D'oh.
So, she came home and the four of us ate lukewarm Mexican take-out around our kitchen table while the kids slept in the car. Much more memborable this way :)

And finally, we had a shipment of furniture arrive to our house. This was stuff that my parents weren't able to use since they moved to a smaller house, including a couch, an over-stuffed chair, a rug, some baby toys (why they had them at their old apartment I don't know :P ), and a nice TV. I'll be taking some pictures of the new house to show it all off.

So, as you can see, we have had a busy month. We're looking forward to having a bit of time off... after my cousin stays with us for a week.

The past few weeks have been pretty exciting for us. We had a lot of family come into town. Ethan loves having visitors (even though it makes him more clingy to Mom and Dad afterwards) and he started crawling just before everyone arrived.

Literally about 2 days before people started visiting he finally took his first few actual crawling motions. He had been up on his hands and knees rocking, but never could master moving forward and staying up. Now he goes everywhere, especially if we are going there. He's so cute when he follows after us, or crawls towards us when we come into a room.

I'll write more about all the company later.

We were out in New York this weekend for Nathan's homecoming. I can't believe that his two years are up already. But I remember how quickly my mission went, and I guess it's not so hard to believe after all.

Nathan gave a great homecoming talk about missionary work, testimony, and the power of the Spirit. It made me remember all the feelings I had when I got off my mission. It's amazing to think of all the missionary work that we members could be doing. Sadly, I know that I'm not doing half as much as I could and should.

But, the weekend was fun. We went to Great Escape and I got to relax in a wave pool. Just being in water for the first time this summer made me want to go to the beach very badly. We are planning a trip for the upcoming weekend. I can hardly wait to feel the saltwater.

I love the beach!

I've been reading the latest Harry Potter book, and while I don't want to give anything away here, I plan on writing up my thoughts about it once Mia has finished reading it also. It will be at the reading section of my site. A section I haven't updated in far too long.

I need to get back into the habit of adding things on those pages. I've been reading and writing some interesting stuff lately. It should be available for people that are interested.

We keep thinking that our boy is going to start crawling at any moment. He gets up on his hands and knees, rocks back and forth, gets up onto his toes, and then falls back down and puts his head onto his hands. That final pose is so cute, but I know it means he is frusterated about not going anywhere. We try to encourage him all we can, but on the one hand, it's nice not to have to keep up with him.

At least that's what we keep hearing from parents with kids just older than Ethan.

I was released from my old calling of Marriage and Family firesdie coordinator and called to serve as a primary teacher. I'm teaching the CTR 5 class along with another brother in the ward. The first two weeks (remember this post is being written at the end of July) have been pretty good. The kids are actually good kids, they follow directions pretty well and aren't too rowdy.

Being a primary teacher is not like anything I have done before, and really not something I ever expected to do. But, I have seen our Bishop deliberating with his councillors over callings, and I know that they are guided by the Spirit. I'm sure that I will learn many, many things that I'll be able to pass along to Ethan in this calling.

I wish that I could say I have been good about blogging this month. But really I am cheating and using the date changing function to fill in July. It isn't that we have been all that busy, but just that after working all day and taking care of Ethan at night, then trying to clean the house, well I just get tired.

So, the 4th of July weekend was relaxing. We were alone and we cleaned up the house. It needed some thorough cleaning, and de-junking. We send quite a bit of stuff to the local thrift store and feel pretty good about the rest of the house.
We also had a BBQ with some friends of ours in our small backyard.

Mia worked on the 4th because she was getting paid her normal pay plus the bonus pay for an open shift plus holiday pay. So, since we couldn't do fireworks anyway, it was a good day for her to work.

And of course, the boy was cute as ever. He is 7 months old, and I have been better about getting some pictures of him up.

It is surreal to me that June is over. I can't believe how quickly the year is passing us by. Ethan is nearly 7 months old and before we know it he'll be hitting one year. I can't even imagine him being a year old.

I still feel like it was just yesterday when the hospital sent us home with a pat on the back to take care of this precious little life all on our own. We've made it this far, but as I said, I still feel like this new father who isn't sure what to do with a real child. A child living in our home. All the time. Every day. It is so surreal.

But, when I come home from work, and see him sitting on his blanket, looking up waiting to see me. And then he smiles and gets so excited until I come over and he can give me a big hug and try to eat my shoulder, that's when I remember that it has been 7 months. That's when I realize just how much Ethan loves us and how much I love him.

Our boy just keeps growing and growing. This week, we swear he is on the verge of crawling. He can easily arch himself up with his arms to look at someone standing over him. And in the last few days he has even managed to get up onto his knees, but can't seem to get anywhere after that.

Today he's made great progress pushing himself backwards, but that doesn't help him get to the toys we put just a little out of reach to encourage him to crawl. Well, I'm sure he will get it in good time.

My company launched a new site last Thursday, but I was out before it went live. So I got to see the updates over the weekend from home, but didn't hear the story about it until I came back to work today.

Mostly everything went smoothly. For the size of the change we made to how our site was structured, built, and referenced on the Web, it was pretty smooth. Now we are getting back to prioritizing what needs to be done. And that includes writing a lot of new pages.

This is exciting for me because I want to have a job that is heavy on the writing. I'm getting a better feel for my company's voice and tone, as well as learning about image formats (there are a ton). It's a great learning experience for me. We are both very glad that I was able to find (and get) this job because we feel like we can finally feel more settled where we are. Which is good because our house is getting filled up with stuff and I don't know how we would move it all.

Mom got in today on her way to her master's classes this summer. We were excited to see her and she was excited to see Ethan.

Even though she was only in town for one night and one day, we had a great time. Ethan loved the attention (he always does) and Mom loved getting to spend so much time with the boy.

It is amazing how much he has changed since Christmas. He is so much bigger, more alert, and seems to learn new things every day. This weekend he decided that he wanted to laugh just as much as possible. Every time someone picked him up he would smile and laugh. He has the cutest laugh too. Mom caught some great pictures of him smiling, something we have been trying to do for a while.

I find going to the dentist to be almost relaxing. Maybe that is quite the right word for it. Let me explain.

Once I am in the chair and the dentist is in the room, I fold my hands across my stomach, with the fingers interlaced, and close my eyes. As long as I don't see the needle going into my mouth I am fine. Once I am numbed up, the rest is easy for me.

I had a root canal done today. At least the first part of it, and I think that I dozed off near the end. So, maybe relaxing is the right word after all.

Another thing that I find interesting about the Dentist is how oddly sensory it is. Like I said, I close my eyes so vision is gone. And the dentist numbs your mouth pretty well, so most touch is gone as well. Our dentist uses the rubber dams to keep stuff from getting into the tooth he is working on, but it also keeps his work from getting into your mouth, so taste is gone too.

This leaves only hearing and smell.

The smell of getting dental work done. It's impossible to describe the exact smell of hot tooth as the dentist drills, but I find it very distinctive. It's an interesting smell that reminds me of where I am. Hearing the drill whir and smelling the smell of teeth getting heated from the friction is a powerful memory of my dentist visits.

However, even though I can relax during it, I'd still much rather not have to go to the dentist for fillings and such. Just regular cleanings and check-ups.

Well, today is my first Father's Day. It's quite the feeling to know that I have a little boy to take care of for the rest of my life. I'm glad that we have him though. He is such a cute boy and brings so much to our family.
Sometimes we get a little worn out trying to keep up with him, but when he laughs or smiles or plays with us, we forget about all that and it's worth it. The last couple of days have been especially fun because he has been getting all excited to see me when I get home from work.

He starts waving his arms and smiling at me and making faces. We usually play until it's time for him to go to bed, then I get him ready and put him down.

He is such a cute, cute boy and so much fun to play with. I look forward to being here with him as he grows and develops.

Ethan slept through the night!!!

I have been sleeping on an air mattress in the living room the last few nights. Fortunately it's not for anything I did :)

We are trying to get the boy to sleep through the night on his own. Up until now his mother would get up and feed him once or twice a night to calm him down and put him back to sleep if he woke up. We decided that this needed to change because neither of us was sleeping very well.

He is actually doing alright. He still wakes up but he also has been putting himself down after a couple (read: 20) minutes. So, Mia was able to get some sleep and I am hoping to catch up once he stays down for a full night.

We went up to look at some pictures of Ethan today, and we also decided to go to the beach. It was quite an adventure. We layed out our towels and set Ethan down to get some sunscreen on. He promptly kicked sand all over himself, including up by his eyes which he then started to rub. He was already a little tired, and fussed and cried while we put the sunscreen on him. Once that ordeal was over, he was a little happier and we took him out to the water.

He has really grown to enjoy bath time so we thought he would like the water too. He didn't mind it, but it wasn't his favorite. And if I took him out to where it started to get cold, he really didn't like it.

So after about half an hour we packed up our bags and headed home. It wasn't quite the beach trip we had hoped for, but next time we will know better what to do.

First I should mention the new pictures of Ethan that are up. There are some cute ones, but then it's hard not to take cute pictures of our boy.

We also had to put in our ACs this weekend. Amazing that the weather was so cold and rainy up until about a week ago. This week has been pleasant and then the weekend hit and it's humid and hot. That's Boston weather for you.

But fortunately they are easy to install (especially since this is my third time doing it). And we are up and running without too much trouble. We are a bit worried about Ethan's room, because it gets so humid in there, but we are working with fans to see if we can figure something out.

We were going to clean our house all day. The living room is mostly done, just needs a good dusting. So in the morning I started on the kitchen and she started on the bathroom. I went through all our cupboards to see what was useful and we was not. We are making an effort to get rid of all the things in our house that don't get used. It feels good to know that next time we clean there won't be as many things to worry about. So, I took care of the kitchen, and did the toliet.

Then we got a call about going with some friends for a Memorial Day barbeque. We decided to take a break and had a great time cooking some steaks, eating some watermelon, and playing frisbee. Getting outside on such a beautiful day was just what we needed.

Both of us had been feeling pretty exhausted after our trip, especially with nothing but a day of cleaning to look forward to. It was nice to talk with some of our friends (most of whom are now pregnant) and relax on the holiday.

We went out to Albany this weekend for Dorothy's graduation party. She is going to be working as a Nurse and once she passes her board exams will be an RN. David hosted a barbeque for the family and friends. The weather cooperated and it was a very nice evening.

After that we spent the night with some friends who just bought a house in the Albany area. It was a nice split level home with a backyard, high ceilings in the living room, and plenty of bedrooms. It made us wish that we could afford to buy a house of our own. Of course, we also talked with them about the repairs they have to make to the house, and the extra taxes they have to pay, and quite a few other headaches that come along with owning a home. So, we are happy now with our apartment, especially happy with our rent for the area we live in.

The car ride out and back went pretty smoothly. The boy slept most of the time both ways. The couple of times he did wake up, he was not very happy about being in the carseat and we had to pull over so that he could be fed and calmed back down. Overall, the trip was not bad, but we don't know if we would want to do much longer with him.

So another thing that he has been doing this week is taking a bottle by himself. He's very funny about it though. We lie him on his back, and then put the bottle into his mouth and rest it on his chest. He usually starts to suck, but doesn't grab it. We have to keep holding it, or picking it up if it falls, for a minute or two. Then after that the boy will grab hold of the bottle and start to drink (or play with it) on his own.

The funny thing is, if we try to hold him while giving him a bottle he won't take it. But if he is doing it himself, then he's fine. Kids are weird. :)

Ethan has started learning to roll himself over this week. It's so cute because he can get himself up onto his side without any trouble. Then he starts to look at things, especially if there is something he wants to grab, and reaching for them. But sometimes he can't quite get himself all the way over, so just flops back. Usually he is on his back when he tries this.

We have been encouraging him to try rolling more often. We will put a toy just out of reach, or one of us will sit near him. It's good exercise for him to do things like this and he needs it. His little legs are still so fat. But once he starts to get active, we know all that will change.

Friday's are the day that I come home at 2PM to take care of the boy so my wife can go to work. We were both a little hesitant today because he has not been sleeping very well.
I wasn't sure I would even be able to get him to sleep at his bedtime without his mom being there to nurse him and comfort him before bed. He will eat with me, mostly his solid foods like rice cereal, strained fruit (he loves pears) and other strained vegetables like peas and carrots. But, when it comes time for bed he still likes his mom to feed him and then he usually falls asleep in her arms, or mine, right afterwards.

Tonight, some co-workers at the hospital wanted to see Ethan, so about the time he was starting to nod off I loaded him into the car. By the time we got there he was totally asleep. But when we got there and woke him up, he was just a happy little guy. He got to talk with everyone and all the people there said he was so much cuter in real life than in his pictures. I kind of agree, he is such a cute boy.

When I got home he was asleep again, and so far as stayed that way. Here's hoping for a peaceful night.

Ethan didn't sleep well on Tuesday night, or Wednesday night. It made for some very long nights and very long days. We just don't know what to do for him other than try to give him liquids so he doesn't dehydrate (he's been having a little bit of diarrhea) and hold him so he can sleep.

The hardest part about yesterday was that Mia was working and Ethan just did not want to go to sleep. I held him for an hour while he cried and cried. Finally he calmed down and I held him for 2 more hours just to make sure he got some rest. Finally when Mia got home I put him down and about an our later he was awake and crying again. He didn't wake up as much as Tuesday, but it was still too much. We were both very tired today, and my wife had to work again! And she works tomorrow!

Fortunately Ethan is still asleep, so this is the longest he has gone in the last couple of days. I am hopeful that he will sleep through the night and we might be getting clear of his sickness.

I stayed home from work today because Ethan has been sick and Mia is exhausted from taking care of him. He hasn't had a fever or ear infection (thank goodness) but is all congested and has a cold. It makes it hard to breath, which makes it hard to sleep.

I stayed home so that we could trade naps and taking care of Ethan, but we ended up spending the day doing chores and errands. They were things that needed to be done, but it still made for an exhausting day.

We did finally finish putting together a new TV cabinet that is much safer than the one we currently are using. Once the boy is up and walking around we don't want him to start hurting himself with dangerous furniture.

It would be harder to go back to work on Monday's except that I really like my new job. Even with Ethan waking me up at 5:30 each morning (I never set my alarm clock anymore) I don't mind getting up and leaving for work by 7:15AM.

My schedule works out very well for us right now, I work from 7:30AM to 5:00PM Monday through Thursday and then leave at 2:00PM on Fridays so Mia can go to work. We've been very grateful for a job and company that would let me do that.

For my actual job I am helping move a Web site over to a new system, it's one that will be easier to manage the content and control who can contribute to the site. We are hoping it will help keep our messaging consistent and our content reliable for customers. The site isn't going to change for another two weeks, but you can find our current site, and a little about what I do at www.snowbound.com

I am learning a lot, and have plenty of room for initiative. It has helped me to focus on what I want to do with this position, giving me more opportunities than at either of my previous jobs. It's a very good place for me to be right now.

Saturday's are interesting with a baby. Ethan wakes up about 5:30, but then falls back asleep with me holding him usually until 7:00 or 8:00 AM. Then he wakes up, a little bit spacey, and just wants to be held for a while. Once he is fully awake, he likes to sit up and play. We usually sit on the ground so that he can have acces to all his toys. He is getting better about not dropping face down into them, instead picking them up and bringing them to his mouth for chewing and drooling on.

His hands are also very fascinating to him, he will hold them out in front of him, or above him, and stare at them before trying to bring them into his mouth. Sometimes he does the same thing with his feet if he is lying down. He will bring his legs up and stare at his feet then try to grab them and bring them into his mouth.

Yikes, it's Friday the 13th.
We were supposed to launch the new Web site for my new job but the company helping us made a major mis-communication and we can't actually change to a new site until about two weeks from now. But it is exciting getting to work on a Web site again, and I am learning alot about CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). They are pretty amazing and powerful and I don't want to ever create another site without them.

The boy is doing well. He flucuates from really happy to very fussy. Of course, he only really gets fussy when he is sick (and now he has a cold) so most of the time it's just between really happy and whiny because he is tired.

He is growing so fast. If you put him in a sitting postion he can keep himself up without support (most of the time). He loves to play with his mom and dad, especially if he gets to chew on one of us. He still loves to stand up when he can, and if his mom is there, he makes happy faces and reaches out to try and grab her. It is so cute.

Mia and Ethan and I are all very happy right now and excited to see what is in store for us the rest of this year.

I can't believe it's May. I can't believe Ethan is so big.
I can't believe that I have a new job. Or that we are still living in Massachusetts.

This year has been good so far. While I was unemployed I picked up some contracts and freelance work that was very rewarding and interesting. Currently I am working for a company called Snowbound Software, we do Document Imaging software and learning this industry is quite interesting.

I have decided that it only takes me five minutes to do a quick post to my blog and that I should do it daily. I know that I decided this back in January also, but I hope to be better about it this time.

Ethan has some great pictures at the other side of my site, I recommend checking out what a cute boy he is.

I have been meaning to get better about posting here and with the new year, I am resolved to do so.

Let me begin by saying that the boy is healthy and happy. He is especially happy when he is eating. We went to the pediatrian on Friday for our one month visit and Ethan weighed 11lbs 5oz. He gained almost 2lbs in his first month, needless to say he continues to top the charts for weight in his age category.

In other Ethan news, we think that he is on the verge of smiling. Currently he will give a rare open mouth expression that isn't a cry. We consider it the beginnings of a smile. Also, when he has gas he makes a sound that we think will be similar to his laugh when he learns to do that.

As you can tell our lives are still ted by the little boss that moved into our house. But we love him so much that we don't mind.
And besides, having been around some other children, we have a wonderful baby. He rarely cries, and when he does it isn't very loud, more of a moan or whine. But once someone is holding him (and standing) he calms back down.
Playtime is getting more fun. We lay him on his stomach and he can lift is head up a little bit. If you get him up on your shoulder, he will arch way back and lift his head high, but in that position he pushes his legs in against you for leverage. When he is on the floor he flails his legs, but they don't do much for him. Then he strains to lift up his head. And if you put your face next to the back of his head and talk to him, in small steps, he can work his head over to the other side to look at you. It's great.

I am still home, but hope to find a job now that the New Year has passed. With the holidays over I am hopeful that companies will begin to search for candidates to hire again. My resume never fails to impress people, and my interviewing skills have been getting some practice lately, so I am hopeful that something will come my way.
On the other hand, I am not just looking for the first job that pops up. I still want to make sure that I pick a job that will let me learn and progress. I need something that I can use as the foundation of a career. I have some great experience but need a solid position to solidify my ability to work in corporate America. Of course my dream is to work outside the mainstream, but until I can do that I have to make a living somehow.

My wife is doing great. She loves to hold Ethan and play with him and take care of him. She went through a brief period of post-partum mood swings, but no major depression. We think that is in part because I am home (and because Ethan is just so cute). We will keep an eye out when I go back to work, but are not worried about it. She looks great, and I am not the only one telling her that. She feels great, her recovery is going well and she has really enjoyed getting to hold Ethan and do so many things with him.

Well this has gone on for long enough. Needless to say our 2005 is looking like a great year.