Auntie Allie came over today to give Ethan his very first haircut. The weather was so nice, I decided to take the white backdrop out under the carport and do a photo session too. We took some pictures with the Wildcats jersey, then some “Happy Birthday to me” pictures, and then we turned the first haircut into a photo session as well. After you look at these pictures, scroll down and look at the other post I made earlier this evening.

Hanging out with Auntie Allie

He might not make a game this season, but apparently he’s still a fan

Poor little guy has chapped lips from his cold and sickness

Best buddies… be sure to read the post below this one to learn about Ethan’s first word

My turn in front of the camera

In serious need of a haircut

Cool as a cucumber

A little off the top

He behaved very well for his haircut

Or did he??

Finished product!

Ethan is starting to feel much better. I took him back to the doctor on Friday because he was still feeling awful and he wasn’t peeing very much. One of his ears was still very infected, so she switched him to a new antibiotic. She also looked in his mouth to make sure he didn’t have a sore throat and discovered that he is cutting new teeth. I knew that he was working on some, but I expected it to be the bottom lateral incisors. Turns out he is already cutting his top canines. I would not have looked for those to come in, but when the doctor pointed it out, it is very obvious that the top right canine is just about to come through. His gums are very swollen and red and you can see a white dot in the middle of the swollen red mass. It will be so funny when they come through because he will have 6 on top and only 2 on the bottom!

Its a good thing that Ethan started feeling better this weekend because we had visitors. Tim and Alex drove in from Florida on Friday. Matt was over on Friday too. We went out to eat and then hung out for a while on Friday night. Ethan was too excited to go to bed. He stayed up way past his bed time.

On Saturday, Tim and Alex had something to do in Baton Rouge, so Ethan, Aaron, and I went to New Orleans to see Mike and Marissa. We took advantage of Smithsonian Museum Day and we all went to the Children’s Museum. Here are a few pictures from the Children’s Museum.

After the Children’s Museum, the whole group of us (me, Aaron, Ethan, Mike & Marissa, Tim & Alex, and Matt) met at the Abita Brew Pub in Abita Springs. I got a ticket on the way there. If you ever go to Abita Springs, watch out for the speed trap on Highway 59. It is hard to see the sign that declares the speed limit changes to 25 MPH from 45 MPH. The sheriff deputy parks right after the sign, so after seeing the sign you don’t have time to slow down before he pulls you over. Nice. I was going 41 in a 25, so it is obvious I had already started to slow from the 45MPH zone. Jerkface. We had a good time at dinner regardless of the stupid ticket. Ethan was a little piglet and ate half his grilled cheese sandwich, some french fries, some of Aaron’s quail, lots of our grilled zucchini and squash, and some mashed potatoes.

We are being super lazy today now that all of our guests have gone home. I would like to pull down the white backdrop and take some birthday pictures of Ethan, but I’m not feeling terribly motivated. Today would be the best day to do it, but all I want to do is sit on the couch and rest.

I almost forgot about Ethan’s new word! Allie and her friends came by for a little while on Friday night. While they were playing with Ethan and Eris, they said they heard him say “Eris”. I didn’t really believe it because I didn’t expect that yet, but they swore that he said it twice. Later that night Tim and Alex heard Ethan say Eris. Finally, last night, I heard him say it too. Its funny – he really is saying Eris! It sounds like “eh-hisssss”.

Ethan might feel like crap, but he still looks cute. We went to Jack Read Park early this morning to get a few new pictures. Ethan tossed and turned all night long and finally, at 5am, I couldn’t take it anymore so we got up. I decided that since we were up so early and the weather was going to be nice we should go to the park at sunrise.

Another not so fun first…. Ethan’s first ear infection. And its not just one ear, but both are very infected. yuck. Poor little guy is absolutely miserable. He’s hurting and feverish and so sad.

Saturday morning, Ethan and I went to the Louisiana Children’s museum to meet up with some of friends – Pam & the triplets, Mary & Fletcher, Celeste & Lucy, and Jennifer & Jack. I had not been to the Children’s museum since I was a kid, so I was excited to see it again and take Ethan. We had a lot of fun. There is an area upstairs just for babies and toddlers. It was a really great place to meet up because we were able to let the kids do whatever and not worry about them crawling or running away. All of the moms and kids had a great time. I hope we can do this more often!!

Mary & Fletcher

Ethan playing with Linus

Celeste and Lucy

Pam and Linus, Oliver (being squished) and smiley Miles

Ethan and Oliver

I feel kinda bad because I didn’t get a single picture of Jennifer and Jack. And I didn’t get anyone to take a picture of Ethan and I together. Oh well, I’m sure we will do this again!!

Ethan’s uncles are visiting this weekend. Uncle Andy arrived today. I noticed that he and Ethan have the same haircut, lol.

Ethan was very happy to see Uncle Andy

He did not, however, like sitting in the grass.

I should really go to bed now. As much as Ethan is entertained by his uncles, I know I will need a break. When Aaron and his brothers get together, I am likely to go crazy if I don’t get away for a bit. Ethan and I are going to meet some pals in NOLA tomorrow morning, so I really should be sleeping.

Also, Ethan went to the doctor today. He was snotty and coughing, so I wanted to get him checked out to make sure he wasn’t coming down with something. It turns out that its just seasonal crud. No sickness. The downside is that we have to do breathing treatments and allergy medicines now through the end of winter. But that is better than getting sick, so I can’t complain too much. Ethan was weighed and measured at the doc today. He is still 17 1/2 lbs, but he has gotten a lot taller. Almost 29 inches!!! Time for a new carseat.

Ethan’s sleeping in his crib in his bedroom tonight. Yay! The last couple nights he has tossed and turned in the bed with us and I couldn’t take it anymore. When he tosses and turns at night, he wakes me up then he wakes up and cries. I haven’t slept very well because of all of his wiggling.

I didn’t nurse him to sleep tonight either. I’ve been trying to brush his teeth at night and not nurse him after that, but sometimes he throws a fit and I end up nursing him a bit anyway. Tonight I nursed him till he was sleepy, then brushed his teeth, then rocked him in the dark in his room until he was asleep. When I put him in the crib, he woke up and cried, but he only cried for a few minutes before he gave up and went to sleep. I hope its this easy every night.

A few other things that are going on with Ethan:

* Ethan has 6 teeth! 4 on top and 2 on bottom. The 4th top tooth finally broke through the gums. He’s in a much better mood too.

* We are planning the details of Ethan’s birthday parties. Yes, multiple parties. We will have one in Jackson on October 11 and one at home on October 18 or 19. I’ve got to figure out all the details, then we’ll be sending out invites.

* Ethan officially likes his new daycare. It only took one week for him to adjust. Yesterday morning, he cried for about 10 seconds when I dropped him off then he was all smiles. This morning, he didn’t cry at all. It made me feel much better about leaving him knowing that he was happy to be there.

* We started going to the gym this week. We are planning to join Crossgates in Slidell, but we are doing a 2 week trial period before joining. It is really awesome – even more amazing than I expected it to be. I was afraid that it would be too difficult to find the time to go to a gym so far away, but it has worked out really well the past 2 days. We made a plan at the beginning of the week and it was easy to stick to it. It also helps that they have a cafe at the gym, so we ate dinner there before heading home this evening. I can’t wait to take Ethan to the pool this weekend.

It has been a while since I posted anything about the new things that Ethan has been doing lately. Here are a few new items:

Ethan has 5 teeth and #6 should be through any day now. The mysterious molars still have not appeared, but they still bother him off and on.

Ethan says mama and dada and Hey!!!!. He likes to say “Hey, Da!!!!” when he sees Aaron. Its very cute and funny. I think he also says No and Don’t, but I can’t be sure. He does know what No means, and he generally laughs at me when I tell him No or Don’t Do That. Aside from actual words, Ethan does a lot of baby babbling. He entertains himself with all sorts of noises and jibberish.

Ethan also sings to himself, especially in the morning. On the way to daycare this morning, he was playing with his toys in the backseat and singing his sweet little baby song.

Ethan loves to give kisses and hugs. Big slobbery kisses all over your face. If he’s really in a kissing mood, he will grab you by the ears and plant one right on your mouth.

Ethan walks along the furniture really well and he walks behind his walk-behind toys. He’s not stable to stand on his own, but he is very motivated to walk. He can crawl super-fast also.

Ethan eats all table food now. No more baby food. And he eats a LOT of food. He loves pretty much any vegetable that you put in front of him. He is a huge fan of pickles, which I find really odd. He will eat an entire pickle spear if you let him. And he tries to share his food. If he is eating and you look like you might be hungry, he will try to hand you a bite. He really wanted Aaron to have a taste of his teething biscuit the other day.

Ethan really loves attention and he is a huge flirt. He knows that he is cute. He has a huge personality.

Ethan is starting to throw fits. When he doesn’t get his way, he lays down on the floor and screams. At least he is not kicking and screaming yet.

Ethan no longer enjoys bath time. I’m not sure what happened, but when we got to Memphis, he decided that bath time was the most awful time of day. I thought maybe he just didn’t like the hotel bath, but I was wrong. He has freaked out about bath time at home too now that we are back. Oh well…

Here is a random assortment of pictures from the past few weeks. There are even more in the 10 months web album.

Playing in my office in Memphis

Napping in my cubicle

Gobbling down the tostones at Bahama Breeze

Napping with Auntie Vicky

Goofy face

He loves to swing

Gobbling down the black bean soup at Bahama Breeze

Breakfast with Great Grandma and Grandpa Head

Looking at the tortoises at the Saint Louis Zoo

Hanging out with Grandpa Head

Snuggling with Aunt Kathy

Cooling off with Dada and Elise

Smiling at Grandma Head

Hanging out with Dave and his new friend Kirsten

Aaron and Dave and all the kids. And Ethan stole Kirsten’s cup

Watching the ugly fish

Enjoying the swing

Cute baby

Napping in the car with his new penguin friend from the zoo

Gobbling down the avocado at Margaritas

Ethan is a goofball. He poses for the camera. I have so many pictures of him posing for me. When he sees the camera, he will pause whatever he is doing to smile for the camera. Check out the evidence:

Posing for Aunt Kathy too

Posing before he takes a bit of sherbet

Posing before his sip of water

We made it back home this weekend.

Yesterday was our 5th wedding anniversary.

Ethan is 11 months old today.

the end…. for now….