Ethan

Update, October 30, 2001

Welcome back.  Again, it's been almost 3 weeks since the last update.  I have no excuses, only that things have been busy...

This past weekend was Ethan's great grandpa's 75th birthday.  We traveled to Iowa to help him celebrate, but Ethan didn't like that too much at all.  He seems to have developed some sort of aversion to travel.  Every time we go somewhere, he gets sick and cranky.  It's too bad, too, because people don't get to meet the happy boy that we know.  I'm sure as he gets older he'll adjust to travel a little better.

Also, this past weekend, Ethan's mom broke her foot, leaving Dad as the sole caregiver.  OK, I'm not the sole caregiver, but I am the only one that can walk with Ethan now.  Good thing he loves his daddy!!!

Ethan is growing so fast all the time now.  We had him at the doctor a couple of weeks ago to check out his belly button which still hasn't healed entirely, and he weighed in at 17 pounds 15 ounces.  That was three weeks ago, so I can only imagine that he is in over 18 pounds now.  The reason for the weight is probably largely due to the fact that Ethan loves to eat!!!  He has been on cereal since his 4 month birthday, and recently he has progressed into other solids.  Last week, he got to eat applesauce, and this past weekend he has started in on sweet potatoes (which may have made him sick), and carrots, which he absolutely loved!!!  Soon he'll get to try pears and bananas, and probably some other kind of vegetable.  It's nice to feed him solids since he enjoys it so much, but it's not as nice to change the diapers!!!  Oh, the price we pay...  Another thing Ethan has taken to is beer.  No matter what shape it's in, whether it is in a bottle, a glass, or a can, Ethan loves beer.  He's been seen reaching for and putting his mouth on beer containers on several occasions, now...  Don't tell social services.

Ethan is also sitting almost entirely on his own now.  He can sit for several minutes before crashing back to earth.  He absolutely loves playing with Barley.  Barley tolerates him pretty well, but has been getting a little more testy as Ethan finds things like Barley's eyes.  He also likes to put Barley's ears in his mouth and chew on them.  OK, so he's no Einstein...

That's about it from Ethan-land today.  Check in next time when we'll have updates on Ethan's current illness, as well as his new attempts at mobility.