Best Week Ever

One of these babies is having the best week ever.



We had a very busy week. It started last Sunday when Graham and Sally came to visit:



Later that day Kelvin and Julee dropped by:

Kelvin is showing Ethan the importance of his ....booster seat buckle

Then Mike came to stay for a few days. Ethan loves it when Mike stays over, especially when he lets him play on his computer.

After Ethan successfully destroyed Mike's keyboard (his little fingers are surprisingly adept at popping off the keys and even the mouse eraser was soon a goner) we all went out to lunch. Our first restaurant experience. Ethan happily played with his toys while we ate our appetizers. =) We had to get the rest take out because he became a bit tired.

Then Allen came to visit followed by Michael (Chiu) and Martguerita. On Friday we went up to visit Sungsim, Erika, Alex, and Matt. To end the week, Angela, Perkin, Christina and Wayne came to visit. (Will update later with pictures). All in all, a fun week!

Playtime is fun (kind of)

Today we took Ethan to Gymboree. So many toys and babies to play with! He loved bubble time because he could grab at the bubbles and also liked watching different colored balls as they rolled down a slide. He however did not like to roll on a ball or slide down the slide himself. =)

Look, I'm a pendulum!

Wow, this ball is ginormous.

Unfortunately, I think being around so many new things and people overwhelmed him. Ethan likes meeting new people, but a large group is difficult for him. Every time we take him out where there are lots of people (the mall/church/playgroups) he gets a bit upset. This does not bode well for our move to Hong Kong where there is such a dense population in such small quarters. Poor baby. Well, character building will start early in this household.

Din Din Time!

This post is more of a product rave. When we first started solids I thought that bibs were unnecessary (such naivete!). Ethan happily let us feed him and we never got a mess. However, Ethan has now decided that he wants to feed himself. He grabs at the spoon and can actually get it neatly into his mouth but in-between bites he will want to eat his hand and then will wipe the food from his hand on his face/clothes/hair/chair. You get the idea. We found the best bibs at Ikea - they have sleeves and are waterproof and after eating we can just rinse it off and are good to go. Now if only they have something that automatically catches utensils from falling on the floor. Even though the tray of his booster seat is RIGHT THERE Ethan always decides to let the spoon go only over the floor.

Aha!

Lately we have started to hear music playing during the middle of the night and whenever we put Ethan down for his nap. Hmm...which little baby keeps turning on his mobile during lights out time? I finally caught the cutie on film (note: please see post below on what happens to non-nappers!).

Not happy with just turning on the mobile he next started eyeing the kangaroo.

That sure looks tasty.

Gotcha!

Here is a video (Ethan is definitely partial to Mr. Roo and will just wait until he comes around):

Crime and Punishment

The Crime -

Fighting sleep and boycotting daytime naps.

Ethan hates to sleep and loves to play. This would be great as I would love to play with him all day but for the following reasons: 1) he is tired (duh) and therefore will just want to lie around on his tummy as he doesn't have the energy to even lift his head 2) he becomes cranky and generally a big fusspot as the day goes on. Baby always wins in our house however and so if baby wants to play, baby gets to play. But only on mommy's terms. Which leads us to....


The Punishment -



Baby has to model a ridiculous outfit.

We received some hand-me-downs from our cousin in Taiwan. Don't get me wrong - I love me some freebies and clothes are clothes. But this picture can't really convey the ridiculousness of this outfit. The bottom of the overalls are like parachute pants. If Ethan could stand he would not be able to walk because of the sheer amount of material hanging off of him. Apparently Asia (or my cousin) has a very different fashion sense and likes to model baby clothes off of bowling balls. Or miniature clowns.

Bring on the funny outfits! (Don't worry, Ethan will get back at me for posting these pictures during the wee hours of the morning).

I don't know what happened.
Someone suddenly just started attacking me with red pom poms.

Better watch out or my butt is gonna eat you!


Oh this? They give you a kimono after the manicure.


Mommy, puffy sleeves went out in the 80's.
I'll be remembering this...ohhhh, is that a balloon?

What do you mean I'm nekkid? I'm wearing my towel!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Bob and I took Ethan a few weeks ago to a Valentine card making party hosted by another Rivermark mom. It was a fun concept - stamping Ethan's feet into the shape of a heart to make a V-day card. We met a few other babies that were near Ethan's age. Everyone was pretty happy to take pictures together, but then being the adventurous babies that they were, they started to grab each other. Ethan cried leading to the other Ethan crying and finally Austin decided to join in as well. I wish I got a video of it, it was pretty funny.

Why am I the only one that has to sit in the bumbo?

Mmm...my hand sure is tasty.


Austin has a secret he wants to share, do tell please.

Ack! Respect my personal space please!


That's right. Back off!

Daddy and Ethan

This one is for daddy. Since Bob is on another trip away from home (just me and Ethan for a whole week!), here are some pictures of the both of them so daddy doesn't miss Ethan too much.

Oh yum! It's a nose!

This is also yummy.


Wait...I can't see over this ginormous head.


Much better. Man, I hope my head is just as big someday!

Baptism

Yesterday we took Ethan to get baptized into the Catholic Church. The baptism took place at the Stanford Memorial Church. It was group baptism and there were 5 other children that joined Ethan in this rite. This was also the first time we attended mass as a family. Below is a video clip of part of the baptism where the priest poured consecrated water over Ethan's head. It was an amazing experience! Ethan was a bit overwhelmed however. He was the only baby in the group to cry and we had to take him outside for a bit during the mass. He was great during the actual ceremony however whenever it was his turn to be blessed, anointed, and baptized. =)

Mike came to attend the baptism with us. Afterwards Ethan enjoyed some major uncle/nephew bonding time.

6 Months Old!

Ethan is 6 months old! I can hardly believe it. He is already his own little person and can express himself pretty clearly - when he is happy he smiles or laughs, he coos loudly (woahowaohoah) when he is bored or if he wants attention, and if he is unhappy he will express displeasure by actually squawking and swinging his arms down (this can also mean excitement, but if he does it repeatedly that means he doesn't like something). To celebrate this milestone we took him to see the doctors. =P Everything looks great!

6 Month Stats:
Weight: 17 lbs 4 ou (50%)
Height: 27.5 in (84%)
Head Circumference: 43.2.1 cm (30%)

I love tummy time!

Ethan loves being on his tummy (but still doesn't like to sleep in this position) and spends most of the day 'swimming' with his arms and legs. I think he is trying to move himself forward, or maybe he even thinks he is actually moving but alas this is not the case. He will sometimes bend his knees and poke his butt in the air, but he can't lift his head and butt at the same time so he will alternate between the two. He has gotten really good at reaching and grabbing things and can also shuffle his body when on his side close enough to the object that he wants. He constantly reaches out to himself in the mirror and seems disappointed that he can't touch the 'other baby'. We have a little toy elephant that is a part of his gymani and when you pull it down it will vibrate as it travels back up the string. Ethan isn't strong enough to pull it himself but he will hold the elephant out to us to let us know that he wants it activated for him.

A few of my favorite things
Favorite Food: Sweet potatoes
Least Favorite Food: Pears
Favorite Book: Fluffy chick or any sparkle book. He is good at flipping the pages of board books if you lift the page high enough for his hand to grab. I think he is actually trying to eat the page, but because the pages are attached together he can only swing it in one direction and so he ends up flipping the page for us.
Favorite Toy: Baby Leap. This stuffed frog sings the alphabet and Ethan always gets excited when he sees him. He will open his mouth wide and swing his arms up and down in excitement. He will even dance for a bit to the alphabet song (it's really cute! he shimmies his shoulders and head) but as with all toys it soon finds way to his mouth.
Favorite game: He loves peekaboo and has gotten really good at realizing what direction sounds come from. We usually play when he is in his crib, so I will duck below his bumper and talk for a bit at various places around his crib. When I peek at him by lifting up the bumper he will already be facing in my direction! Don't ask me how he moves around - I think he somehow shuffles when on his side. He can do a complete 360 in this way by arching his back and bending his neck forward.
New sounds: He actually has stopped babbling for the last few weeks but his new thing is to fake cough and blow raspberries. If he hears you make new or funny sounds he will think it's the funniest thing. But once he has heard it before it no longer becomes funny. Sigh, so hard to entertain!