I have neglected to take pictures or make my posts for the 52 weeks My Kids and I project. Here are weeks 6, 7, & 8

And a sneak preview of Ethan’s Mardi Gras experience. I will have more of these later

When I’m not the one driving, I get really bored in the car. If I end up sitting in the back with Ethan, I pass the time by harassing him with the camera. He can’t get away when he’s buckled into his seat.

We have really big plans for Mardi Gras this year! Lots of exciting activities going on between now and Tuesday.

The first big item is that Aaron and I are going to parades tomorrow night without Ethan. This means that Ethan will spend his first night away from home! He will stay with Grandma Tina and Pops, and I’m sure that he will have lots of fun. I hope that he behaves himself and sleeps well and that he doesn’t try to keep them up all night. And I also hope that my boobs don’t explode from missing nearly 24 hours of nursing.

The second big item is that Uncle Matt is coming to visit! I know Ethan will be thrilled to see Uncle Matt. He has plenty of new skills to show off, like walking, talking, and headbutting. He has lots of headbutts waiting for Uncle Matt. LOL

#3 – Ethan will attend his first Mardi Gras parade on Sunday. We’re taking him to the coast for the Pass Christian parade. Sorry, no NOLA parades for Ethan this year. I wanted to take him at least one day, but its not working out.

And the last item – the really big item – Aaron and I get to ride in a parade this year! Woo hoo! We’re going to ride in Elks Orleans on Fat Tuesday in NOLA. Yay! I hope we have lots of fun. We have to leave really early in the morning on Tuesday, so Ethan will be staying another night with his grandparents. Let’s hope he behaves himself on Friday night and that he doesn’t wear out his welcome!

Here are some random snapshots from the last week or so…

He was too busy playing to let me button his jammies and put him to bed.

This is what happens when I take the toys away

Happily playing with his laptop

A week ago when he came home sick from daycare. Sweating (and drooling) off his fever. Seriously, look at the pool of drool he left on me.

Little Hooligan. He loves to wear hats. His STL Cardinals hat finally fits him well enough. He loves it! He thinks he is sooooo coooooool!

Did I mention he likes hats? He refused to let this one go the other morning. He wanted to wear it in his classroom at daycare.

hmmmm….. really, do I need to explain?

They were helping me pick out a swimsuit for Puerto Rico. sure…

here are the details + rules:

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me – something crafty or yummy, who knows?! Most likely, it will be photo related

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SO, REMEMBER… Pay it forward!

Tonight I was trying to think of all the different words that Ethan says now. The list keeps growing longer and longer, and I find it difficult to remember everything that he says. He really surprises me when he says something new.

A list of Ethan’s vocabulary:

mom
momma
dad
daddy
hey
hi
bye
kitty
kitty cat
Sister
Eris
doggy
thank you
woah
oh
nah nah – “no no”
nak – the word he currently uses when he wants to nurse. I guess he’s saying “Milk”
more
shoes
hat
juice
snack
outside
night night
cup
this
that
and I think he said potty today when he pooped this morning.
and oh my gosh I almost forgot his favorite word:
cheecheese – that is the word he uses for cheerios, cheetos, cheese – anything with a chee sound.

I know I am missing some. Its hard to remember them all!

And yes, he pooped on the potty again. I’m wondering how long this will last. Right now he thinks it is the most awesome thing ever and he gets terribly excited when its time to poop on the potty. I have always heard that boys potty train at a later age than girls, so this potty business at 16 months seems too good to be true. Before I had to actually deal with a baby, I had my hopes up that he might potty train by 18 months like I did. I see now that is not realistic, but I do have hope that maybe he’ll be potty trained by 2? Anyone know of a boy that has potty trained that early?

Ethan slept in his own bed every night this week! I think he actually likes his bed because it has been fairly easy to get him to sleep there. I had to lay down with him a few nights, but not every night. Tonight we laid down while he was wide awake and bouncing off the walls, but within 10 minutes he was out. and he didn’t wake up when I got out of the bed and left the room. Yay!

He developed a sinus infection and a little cough at the end of the week. I gave him a couple of breathing treatments to help clear his chest. He has always hated his breathing treatments and I usually have to sit on him to get him to sit still. He totally amazed me this week. He was so good and still and quiet! He sat still like a good boy and let me give him the treatment. The only time he protested was when he wanted to hold the mask. Yep, he held the mask on his own until his treatment was finished. He is such a good boy! When his treatment finished this evening, he didn’t want to let go of the mask, so I disconnected it from the chamber. That was not to his liking at all. He reconnected the mask to the chamber and tried to turn the nebulizer back on!

Despite his cold, he seems to be feeling better today. I can feel that one of his bottom molars has cut through the gums finally. I think the other one is through also, but the gums are so swollen, I can’t tell for sure. He was pretty hysterical for his nap today, but other than that he has not seemed very bothered by the teething. He ate like a piglet today and he was wild and crazy and in a great mood.

Ethan said a few new words recently. Outside, Sister (for sister cat, not that he is expecting a sister, so don’t get any ideas!), cup, more, night night. He also tries to snort like a pig. I ask him what the piggy says, then I snort. He responds by making a guttural hiss. He hasn’t figured out how to snort in through his nose, so he pushes the air out in a hissing noise. Its really funny and cute!

Ethan has also gotten much better about sitting in his high chair to eat. Today he even asked to sit in his high chair when he was ready for his snack. He also likes to use a plate and utensils to eat. I took some pictures of his this morning, enjoying his breakfast and being goofy. Sorry these pictures are really dark. I need to reedit them.

He was really such a good boy today. Very agreeable and in such a good mood.

Ethan is doing all sorts of big boy stuff lately. Potty time, sleeping in his own bed (not a crib, but a bed), trying to run and jump, cutting molars.

On Sunday he pooped in the potty again. I knew he was about to poop, so I took him to the bathroom and put him on the toilet. He was so excited! He did a little dance, kicked his legs and giggled, and shook his head around like Stevie Wonder. After the excitement faded, he knew what he had to do and he took care of business. I knew he was finished when he kept trying to lean over to see what was in the toilet. I know he’s young for potty training, but I really do think he understands what is going on. When he’s home, we’re going to work on familiarizing him with pooping in the potty. I don’t expect them to work with him on it at daycare for quite some time, but we’re going to try it at home and see how it goes. I’m not sure about teaching him to pee in the potty, so we’ll work on that part later.

Also on Sunday, we converted his crib to a toddler bed and put up a mesh bedrail. Before the bedrail went up, he was thrilled with his new acquisition. He climbed into the bed (with a little help) and bounced up and down. After the bedrail was up, he was not as impressed. However, he did prefer the bed to the crib. Sunday night he slept in his bed for about an hour before he woke up scared and crying. Aaron tried to put him back to bed in his room but it was not successful. Last night he slept in his bed until 3 in the morning. He woke up a few times and cried a bit, but he went back to sleep. At 3, he stood up and shook the bedrail and cried “mmmmaaaaaaa maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa”. He wasn’t putting up with it anymore. Tonight seems to be going well. He wasn’t fully asleep when I put him in his bed, so I laid down with him until he was settled. It took about 30 minutes for me to finally leave the room. He cried for a bit when he realized I was gone, but then he settled down on his own and went to sleep.

He’s been really restless in his sleep lately due to all of the stupid molars coming in. The two on the top are mostly in, and the bottom two haven’t pushed through the gums yet. They are so close and he is so miserable. He had an awful day at daycare today. They said he chewed on his hand all day and cried. So unlike him. He is always the cheery one in his class. If he’s upset, especially without provocation, they know that something is up. I hate that the stupid molars take so long to come in. He has been miserable for so many weeks now. It seems like forever.

Now that Ethan has been walking for a while, he’s getting faster and faster and he’s trying all sorts of crazy stuff. He tries to run and usually ends up falling on his face. He doesn’t mind though. He generally just giggles and immediately tries again. He is also walking backward and sideways and he turns on one foot in a circle. He also stomps his feet when he’s dancing. The craziest thing is that he is trying to jump. He understands that he needs to squat and stand back up really fast. He just can’t figure out how to launch himself. Except when he’s on his bed. Then he can jump! But he tries so hard to jump when he’s standing on the ground. He squats and concentrates, then pushes himself up really fast and yells. Its very cute. I’m sure he will get it before too long.

Well that is about it. This post is long and boring without any pictures. And I should go to bed.

Yesterday afternoon we visited the Crosby Arboretum. We all had a great time getting out of the house to enjoy the beautiful weather. The arboretum was very beautiful, but it is unfortunate that it is so close to the interstate. It would be a lot more peaceful if you didn’t hear the cars rumbling by constantly. I took ALOT of pictures, so enjoy…

The Pinecote Pavilion

He looks a bit bewildered

This is completely out of focus, but that doesn’t matter to me. There is something about it that I really love

Look at what a big boy we have!

Exploring the trail. He wanted to walk and he wanted to go in his own direction. He had no regard for what we wanted to do!

We think its funny how he walks with his hands up

Non-Ethan pictures

We had a visit from Grandma and Grandpa Head and Grandma Estes today. Uncle Andy and Elise are also visiting this weekend. I usually forget to pull out the camera, so I made sure to take some pictures before everyone went home.