Ethan at Three Months

Our precious boy is another month older!  He is so much fun to watch grow and learn.  It's even more fun to explain things to Caleb about what Ethan can and cannot do and see Caleb get excited by things.  Like the time that Ethan was on a blanket playing and grabbed a toy, Caleb ran to tell me and was so excited.  The brotherly love is adorable to watch!  At mealtimes Ethan will just watch and watch Caleb and if Caleb happens to look his way or say something to him, Ethan will smile and coo back at him.  There has even been occasional moments of laughter when Ethan will purposefully laugh at his brother's antics!

Ethan is opening his hands a lot more and not making little fists anymore.  He loves to hold his hands together and try to fit them in his mouth.  Of course, he'll even try to fit the pacifier AND both hands in his mouth at the same time.  So far, he's not been successful!  Though when he holds his hands like that Caleb is sure that he is praying.  Ethan would be the poster child for 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 since he can usually be found praying continuously.

Thankfully the swing is now a favorite place to hang out!  This gives Momma and Dada a little more freedom to run and do a few things without having baby hindering one of our hands.  Ethan will smile and coo at the mobile as he swings and listens to music.  It's really fun to watch.

He if finally able to hold his head up (for the most part) which has made Momma's life SO much easier!  I can hold him on my lap while I eat if needed as he watches every bite go into my mouth.  He'll even move his tongue like he's trying to mimic what he sees!  A newer development has been his rolling from his back onto his side.  He will pull his legs up into the air and let them drop over to give himself momentum to get on his side.  It's really funny to watch his eyes get real big when you clap and tell him "good job" for rolling on his side.  He's not quite sure what to make of all the fuss!

Ethan has decided to grow a goatee like his Daddy.  Though his is made entirely of bubbles!  If you can catch him with his hands away from his mouth, you'll see the spit in a perfect triangle hanging on his chin.  Pretty cute!

We still have a very easy-going baby who is so alert and eager to learn things.  We have been so blessed!  Thank you to all of you for praying for our family as we continually learn to balance the needs of everyone and for the great advice as well!  Keep the ideas coming! :)

April Doings

Not a whole lot of exciting things to say about the end of April, but since I have two very cute kids, I still have pictures to share!

I thought I would try and post a couple videos this time.  Below is of my two boys dancing!  We were having a dance-a-thon!

One of our special activities was playing with shaving cream on our table outside.

We took turns pretending to be the three pigs or the big bad wolf and retelling the story in the shaving cream.  Of course the best part was clean-up...Momma surprised Caleb when she sprayed him with the water hose to "wash him up"!  The look on his face was priceless!  He eventually did get clean, but it took some running back and forth in the yard.

Grandma Brandon requested updated pictures of the boys for her birthday, so we took a few outside in front of the pretty flowers Mike planted.  Some of them were hilarious as Ethan slowly slid down Caleb's arm and began to look very uncomfortable!

Here Caleb is "borrowing" our neighbors beautiful flowers as a backdrop for this picture.  Our neighbor has one of the most enviable yards I have ever seen.  It looks like it's out of a magazine!

Ethan wasn't very fond of being put on the prickly grass.  I don't blame him, poor thing!

This video is pretty typical of our evenings.  That small window of ten minutes where Ethan is done eating and is "playing" on the floor next to Mike and Caleb.  Watch Ethan's face as Caleb interacts with him...it's hilarious!

Ethan's just a cutie...it's so much fun just to take cute photos of him.  These are only two of a billion!

And now we are caught up!  As of today there are no more photos or videos on the camera!  Time to take more.

Sweet Sticker

Our pediatrician's office has a basket of stickers at the check-out desk for all the "good little kids".  Well, on out way out from Ethan's two-month doctor's appointment I told Caleb he could have a sticker for Ethan if he wanted.  He chose a sticker and took off the backing, but didn't put it on.  When we got outside he said, "Wait a minute, Momma."  And placed the sticker on Ethan's blanket.  What a great big brother!!

Ethan at Two Months

Ethan has quickly become a sweet little part of our family. We really can't imagine him not being here! He is absolutely in love with Caleb and follows him with his eyes and head wherever he goes. Mike often takes Ethan into Caleb's room for the nighttime routine and Ethan is so content until the moment Mike leaves Caleb's room!

We are falling into a pattern of mealtime, playtime, naptime and it's becoming easier to read his signals. He still doesn't coo a whole lot but his face is very expressive and he's definitely taking the world in with his alert and curious eyes! Ethan's beginning to open his hands a little more and will "grab" things in his fingers. It always surprises him when he pulls his pacifier out of his mouth using the ribbon on the pacifier clip in his carseat. He's almost holding his head up on his own all the time. It will happen any day now and he continues to be very strong in his legs and his little arms.

Bathtime is something Ethan is still figuring out. He seems to enjoy it, though it makes Momma laugh because every time you put the washcloth on him he sucks in a breath like he's surprised! It's so adorable!

My favorite development this month is that Ethan is now smiling! His beautiful smile lights up his whole face and completely melts his Momma's heart! What a cutie! Ethan is very social and refuses to sleep when we are out and about because he's too interested in what's going on. He's such a happy baby and very content most of the time. God has truly blessed us with such a sweet little baby!

Easter Fun

Easter weekend was filled with fun activities as we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, our Savior!  Our church's Easter egg hunt should really be called an Easter Festival because they go all out!  Not only do we do the hunt, but there are bounce houses, little carnival games with prizes, a car show, some animal races, and a free hot dog lunch.  This year Mike's mom, Debbie, and sister, Amy, were able to join us.  Mike and his dad, Kendall, even stopped work on the patio long enough to come for the egg hunt!

Caleb picking out a tattoo to wear with Amy's help.

Caleb and Daddy waiting for the egg hunt to begin.

Momma and Caleb waiting for the egg hunt (Caleb is too concerned with all the eggs to look at the camera for a picture.)

The Brandons are not fans of getting their photos taken, so I have to snap them while I can!  Here's Amy, Kendall, and Debbie watching Ethan while we wait for the egg hunt to start.

Caleb collecting eggs.  He was really good at it this year and filled his basket fast!

Ethan even found a few eggs too!  Poor kid, Momma wouldn't let him eat any of the candy!

Here's Caleb "fishing" for a prize.



Though none of the balls got where they were supposed to, Caleb was at least consistent and hit the same mark all three times!

This bounce toy was set up as the game Twister, but as the big kids hunted for their eggs, they let the little kids just bounce around.  Caleb had a blast!

Too much excitement for Ethan!

Picnic lunch, yum!





Ethan had a blowout of a diaper right after his catnap and we had the delight of cleaning and changing him in a very inconvient spot...the blanket!

After a much needed nap, Caleb went to work on coloring Easter eggs.  He had a great time making them all rainbow colors.

Checking his egg...over and over and over again.  That egg was a VERY dark blue when it was done!

Easter morning we went to the yummy Easter breakfast at church.  It was delicious!  Pancakes, sausage, bacon, fruit, muffins, juice, and milk.  Yum!  Afterward we went to a joyous celebration of our risen Lord!  What a fabulous service!  We swapped "photo ops" with our friends, the Davises.

Here's Caleb, Ian, and Christopher taking such a nice Easter photo!  Too funny!!

Before church Caleb got to hunt for his Easter basket and have a treat!  (Nope, not in the dryer this year either, Uncle Rob!)  After church he got to hunt for some Easter eggs in the yard.  Such fun!

Then we went inside and rehid the eggs a dozen times!  Ethan even participated.  Can you find the egg he's hiding??

Here's Momma's favorite Easter basket!  What adorable boys! 





Playtime

We've been busy learning how to play differently the last couple of months.  A lot more snatches of playtime for Caleb with Momma and Dada while Ethan is happily on the floor!  Momma has also tried to do at least ONE fun/different thing a week with Caleb to let him know he is still loved and important.  Of course for him, that is never enough! :) 

Caleb thought he would lay next to Ethan to "play" like Ethan does.  It also shows you the difference four years makes in size!  Our first-born is definitely not a baby anymore. (Momma sighs!)

Here the boys are webcamming with Grandpa Grothe and Grandma Jan during our weekly "chats".

One week Momma made Caleb a fort to play in for the day.  It was a big hit!

He even let Ethan and Momma come in to read a story together (with a flashlight, of course!)

One morning, Momma was busy feeding Ethan and Caleb decided to build his own train track, which he has gotten VERY good at!  Just look at this creation!  We thought Uncle Rob would be especially impressed since he likes to help build tracks when he's here.

Ethan has FINALLY decided that the swing is okay, at least for little bits at a time.  Here he is fascinated by the hanging things.

What a cutie!

Ethan really moves his arms and legs a lot during floor time, though he's not a fan of "tummy time" at all!

The pillow helps him try to hold up that head, but even though he was so close to holding his head up in just the first two weeks, he still just doesn't want to work those muscles.  Someday he'll get it!

Caleb Quips

We've been doing Lenten devotions with Caleb the last several weeks and he has said a couple of things that made us giggle and you might too!

While we were talking about the Passover Mike mentioned that Jesus is the lamb for us.  He is the "Lamb of God".  Caleb thought this was great and said, "When I get to heaven I'm going to say, 'Hi, Lamb of God!"  He then proceeded to laugh really hard.  He thought it was a funny nickname for Jesus like Mike calls him Chimichanga and Silly Goose!   Will you call Jesus any funny nicknames when you get to heaven?

Another day he asked if Jesus has eaten peanut butter and jelly.  Neither Momma or Dada knew how to answer that one...has He???  Well if not, Caleb decided that he would bring them with him to heaven and share them with Jesus when he gets there!