Ethan has had so many milestone moments this month it is amazing how much he has grown! He is a crawler now (much to Momma's surprise...I thought we'd never get there) and is getting faster and faster daily as he works those muscles. He's also getting faster as he learns that he can get into things before Momma notices if he does so quickly! He definitely likes to explore and has learned what he's allowed to touch and what he's not allowed to touch. This doesn't mean he sweetly just looks at the Christmas tree and ornaments without touching. It means he waits until Momma and Dada are preoccupied with something else before making a beeline to the tree! Whereupon you hear a VERY loud big-brother Caleb say, "No, NO Ethan. No touch!" Just waiting for Momma and Dada to come scold Ethan. (It's no wonder older siblings are bossy; they feel the need to help parent/police their younger siblings as babies and then it sticks!)
Our very smart baby has also learned that brother's toys are much more fun than his own and he'll move like lightning to get something of Caleb's. We've started gating the playroom so that Ethan doesn't get into the small toys in there, but didn't want to "lock" Caleb in so we were only gating one side. Smart baby figured this out and if he finds the gate on one side he crawls all the way around the house to the other side to get in. We are working on a way to block off both entrances and still allow Caleb the freedom to come and go from that room. (Ah, the challenges of having two children that you don't even think about!)
Ethan has also learned to pull up to his feet, but then he's stuck. He hasn't quite figured out what to do with his feet once he's gotten up on them! So he'll pull up to grab something he sees on the table and then be stuck because he neither knows how to move around it, OR how to sit back down!
Eating is still a challenge each day. Smooth baby food goes down easily now, but anything with texture in it Ethan seems to gag on. He should be ready to start eating "big people" food, but he really has no idea how to! It's actually kind of funny to give him a puff, watch him pick it up and play with it, but NOT put it in his mouth! Everything that's not edible goes right in the mouth, but any food he just holds onto! The times we've tried to stuff one in his mouth to eat he doesn't seem to know what to do with it. He gets it stuck on his tongue and tries to push it back out, but it gets stuck in the back of his mouth and he gags on it and throws up everywhere. Not pleasant! We've tried puffs, soft banana, crackers, half of a pea skinned, cheese shreds, and graham cracker, but to no avail! I tease Caleb that we'll have to blend up his birthday cake for him just so he can eat it! We'll see what next month brings.
Ethan's two front teeth have finally burst through his gums and he's seemed so much happier since! He smiles, laughs, talks, and plays so much better without fussing all the time. This has not changed how "serious" he is when he meets people outside of our house. (No one gets a smile from him!) But if you come for a visit on his home-turf he'll smile and babble and play with you like you're his best friend! He'll even wave good-bye to you if you wave first. And yes, this month, I know it's deliberate!
Ethan loves to read his books and will spend a very long time looking through all of them. Surprisingly he has a favorite. The book Ten Little Ladybugs by Melanie Gerth is the first one he pulls out of his basket and will look at it again and again and again! He really loves it! Playtime is also a lot of fun with Ethan. He loves to knock down block towers and will play "roll the ball" over and over. Though he doesn't roll the ball he throws it, he expects you to roll it back to him! Peek-a-boo is still a favorite game for him and sometimes he'll even initiate it by holding his washcloth over one eye and then pulling it down and laughing! He loves sounds and tries to mimic any sound he hears and tells long, elaborate stories that only he (and Caleb!) seem to understand!
Nighttime sleeping has finally gotten much better and Ethan will sleep through the night usually only crying for a minute or two around 10/11 when he's lost his pacifier and has to go "find" one of the (four!) extras Momma puts at the head and foot of the bed. Naps are still hit-and-miss depending on how busy we are going here and there for Caleb, but Momma can deal with short naps as long as she's getting a full night's sleep! Praise God for His gift of sleep.
