Standing up

Standing up. That is pretty much all Ethan does right now. The only reason for him not to be standing up is so that he can move to a different location and stand up there. Now we know the secret to happiness. It has been so fun. He has even started to cruise a little and takes baby steps along the couch, but only ever one or two, never more than that. He is always crawling to me and pulling himself up my legs (it really makes me feel loved even though I know it is because he wants me to take him around the house to look at things). The only problem with his new discovery is that he has learned that he can now stand up in his crib. He used to be such a good napper but now he just wants to play in his crib! Yesterday we put him down for his 1:00 nap but he didn't go down until 3:00!! Will the novelty of standing up just pass and he will start to nap well again? Answers anyone? I can only hope so.
Also, on Friday I got to babysit my friend Valissa's baby boy. Natalie and I have been friends with Valissa and her older sister Melea since we were 2 and Melea was 4. Last year Valissa and I found out that we were due within a week of each other (me with Ethan and her with her second child). What are the chances! Anyway, her and her husband were down here for a sealing and I got to watch Talis (her little boy that is Ethan's age)! Here are some pictures of our fun adventure.

A first and a second

I know I wrote yesterday but I just have to write two new things today. First of all, Ethan is pulling himself up to standing everywhere. He was doing it all morning and actually fell and hit his head three times because he lost his balance. Then, a few minutes after we laid him down for his morning nap we heard him talking and went in to see him standing in his crib. That was the first time he has done that, and I am sure that it will continue. I cannot say that I am too happy about that development!

We also discovered today that he is getting a second tooth! I keep feeling everyday to see if there is a new one and sure enough, tonight I felt the second one and I could barely feel the little ridges sticking up. You can see that it just broke the skin. He still has yet to be fussy while teething so I feel pretty blessed about that. He does have his tongue constantly hanging out of his mouth though as he rubs his tongue along his new teeth. I am sure he is wondering what is going on in there!
Anyway, I just needed to write these in here tonight. Everyday I am surprised at the new things he is doing and learning. I always knew I wanted to be a mother, but I never thought having a kid would be so much fun!

10 month old little boy

Ethan turned 10 months old this week and he is EVERYWHERE. It doesn't bother me really. I think it is so fun to see him exploring and checking things out. He is starting to pull himself to standing, open drawers, and follow us from room to room. The hardest part about it is getting him to eat! He will drink for about 30 seconds out of his bottle and then he is off and running. Today in church I had to strap him down tight in his car seat to get him to take his bottle! He fought me and kept crying out but eventually he got the idea that he better eat. I am a little worried about his weight gain now that he is more active and eating less. I might have to do a lot more strapping him in the car seat ;).
Ethan has now figured out how to pull open drawers. I followed my mom's example and put the Tupperware in the bottom drawer so that he can't break anything in it. He sits in front of the drawer, pulls it open, and tries to put his little arms over the top (so he really can't reach much). It is fun to watch him explore though.

Ethan was pretty sick this week. He woke up in the middle of the night crying for several nights in a row, refusing to take a bottle (which has never happened in the middle of the night) and I did not know how to comfort him. It was amazing though. I really felt like the Lord prompted me on ways to help Ethan calm down. I did things that I never would have done normally. For example, I never bring Ethan out into the light during his sleeping hours but when he started crying like that I just felt like I should I woke him up completely, playing with him reading books to him until he finally calmed down. Then I would rock him, transitioning slowly back to a dark room so he wouldn't started screaming again. There were other little things too and I know the Lord was helping me know how to handle and help Ethan without letting him cry to much. I am so grateful for all His help. It is so hard to be in school and have a kid and although I know that many people have it a lot harder than I do, I know that He watches out for me and cares about my small concerns. This was just one more testament of that.
Ethan is also starting to be more vocal. It is funny to watch him learn a new sound and have that be the only sound that he makes for days on end. The first sound he made was ga-ga, then da-da, then b-b (no vowel, really just breathy b's), then ba-ba, and this past week he started saying ma-ma. I know that he has no idea that ma-ma means me, but seriously, it still melts my heart when he says it! I just think it is so precious! When he was sick in the middle of the night this week he would say it crying maaaa-maaaa (if you can imagine)...my heart almost broke. I felt like he was calling out to me saying, "Mama, I feel so sick, please make it better." I know he was really just crying but I couldn't help but say, "Mama's here sweetheart." As a side note, I, of course, don't like it when he is sick, but it is kind of nice to have him be all snugly again like when he was little.
Here are some more pictures.

This shot was taken right after Ethan threw up all over me. Cute.

Weird faces.

The big mirror that Ethan LOVES.