Ellie's New Haircut

Ta-dah! We've been talking about cutting it for awhile and just decided to go yesterday and we love it! All night Ellie was looking for reflective surfaces so she couild admire "her beautiful haircut"!

Cuteness Overload

Playing "toesies"...you would never guess looking at this display of sibling love that they both had ear infections would you?!? Yep, I took this picture this morning about a half hour before we went to the doctor. They have had colds on and off since we got home from Florida and they were pretty bad this weekend, so I took them in to have them checked and Ethan has an infection in his left ear (and sinusitus!) and Ellie has one in her right ear! The craziest thing is that they are on the same exact dose of Amoxicillin - they weighed them again this morning and Ellie only outweighs Ethan by 3 pounds!

It's kinda hard to see, but yes, this is Ellie inside the Exersaucer at Nana's...she was looking at herself in the tiny mirror.

Oh, there are no words to describe how precious he is!

Yes, Auntie Janelle, I think Gymnastics lessons will be the perfect birthday gift!

He is getting really good at posing for the camera.

Little E sitting in a big chair...

And

Big E sitting on a little chair!

Ethan Claps

So many firsts!

Clapping has been the best way to calm him down for a while now and he even tried to clap when we were in Florida, but this past weekend he just started clapping all the time. He loves to play pat-a-cake (and peek-a-boo) and even will clap when you say "yeah!". I think Ellie might actually pay some attention to him now that he can clap for her antics.

Ethan Speaks!

Watch first, then scroll and read.

Yep...he just said Da-Da...I know, everyone says they all say it first, that it is easier to say, blah, blah...Mommy's trying not to be bitter.

Bargain Shopper!

Ok, so actually I am just cheap. I HATE to pay full price for anything and rarely buy anything unless it is on sale. This is even more true now that I am not working. So, I just thought I would share some of my recent shopping successes.

I took the kids to the mall Monday to walk around cause it was raining and gloomy. Children's Place was having a huge sale, but I can't really shop with them - they don't have the patience, can you believe that! So, I went back by myself last night after Ethan went to sleep. Well, here's what I got...for $30! Can you believe it!

For Ethan: Two pairs of pants, a sweater, a sweatshirt, a fleece coat, a long-sleeve shirt

For Ellie: A sweater, three long-sleeve shirts

I also got two baby gifts for friends

That is 12 items for $30 - Unbelievable!

So here is my grocery shopping trip of the month...all this food would have cost almost $70, but I only paid $29...woo hoo!

My sweet girl with her Abby Cadabby friend...she is going to dress like her for Halloween this year - yes, I am going to make the costume (I think) and we are thinking Ethan can be cookie monster.

My little man reading the Sunday paper.

Tim will probably kill me for posting this picture, but it is just too funny...and I don't think he looks at this all that often, so maybe he won't even notice. Here he is taking his Sunday afternoon nap...on my nursing pillow, covered by one of Ellie's blankets...hysterical!

Just a few more cute moments

I made oreos today and we really enjoyed them after dinner of rice and "chicken fish".

Ethan was pretty tired this afternoon and fell asleep in the jumperoo.

Ellie wanted Ethan to try on Daddy's hat. Tim got a really cute picture!

Ellie has worn her Elmo bib backwards for a while now. She calls it her cape. She decided that Ethan needed to put his bib on backwards so they could both have capes.

Like Sister, Like Brother

The first video is of Ellie, December 2006. The second video is Ethan that we took tonight. They are both about a week from 7 months old. We are constantly pointing out how different they are, but then we see this and see that they are a lot alike.

Little E...Plumber in Training

I thought that Ethan looked like me, but now I am not sure... I think he is starting to take after his Auntie JuJu!

I don't want to jinx it, but I think Spring is here!

We had a great morning at the library and park. It is beautiful outside. Hard to believe one week ago we had 6 inches of snow!

Auntie JuJu is Here!

I have no explanation for this picture.

Grrrr....

Mom has a picture of me that looks just like this!

Starting to hold his own bottle...soon he will be breaking into the fridge.

Oh, and a sippy too!

We love when our family comes to visit (hint, hint - you are always welcome)... this weekend we are blessed to have Auntie JuJu here. She has been a huge help. We went to the Dr. for Ethan's 6 month checkup on Friday and it was so nice to have an extra set of hands. The office was extremely busy, but they got us in and out quickly, thank goodness. Since I know you are all anxious to know (and some of you were taking bets) here are Ethan's new stats...

Weight - 19 pounds 2 ounces - this is almost the 90th percentile
Height - 27 inches - between 50th and 75th percentile

He is a big boy! JuJu has been working to "teach" him how to crawl forward (that is when she puts him down) so soon we will be all over the house and getting in to everything - we will see how big sister reacts when she finds him slobbering on her toys!

Enjoy the new pictures!

Head Over Heels in Love!

Auntie JuJu was watching the kiddos this afternoon so Tim and I could do our taxes. She and Ethan were playing and I think it is pretty obvious that he LOVES her!

Sick!

Ethan has his first illness! Don't worry, it's just a little cold - probably picked it up on the airplane. He fell asleep in the highchair yesterday afternoon while "helping" me make dinner. He is ok, just looks pathetic with his runny red nose. Poor baby! We head to the Dr. on Friday for his 6 month check-up, hopefully it won't turn into something worse!

Ethan's Crawl

Florida is truly a magical place. For some reason, my kids seem to master major physical milestones while they are visiting Grandma. Ellie took her first steps during our last visit and this past week Ethan not only perfected his sitting up, but also started to crawl backwards. It is really funny - he presses his face into the floor and lifts his bum and just pushes off - not long and he will be up on all fours and then we will be in trouble!

We're Back!

We had a great time in Florida visiting Grandma Ruth. She was so excited to see Ellie again (she hadn't seen her since our last visit when Ellie was 9 months!) and to finally meet Ethan. She held onto them as much as they would let her. Many thanks to Grandpa Chuck for the wonderful trip!

Ethan's first plane ride

Ethan getting the customary smothering from Grandma!

Ethan eating his 1/2 birthday cake...he turned 6 months on Saturday.

Feeding the ducks...it's tradition!

Grandpa pushing Ellie on the swing...we visited this playground three times!

Following her blanket down the BIG slide!

Rocking! This playground really was amazing.

Ethan...the Strawberry King!

Ellie - February 2009

and

March 2007