family walk at the botanical gardens

We had a fun morning at The Botanical Gardens with Ethan's cousins Julian and Brookelyn along with Aunties Sara, Beth and Rachel and Grandma Denise.

Here we are getting the kidlins all ready to go.

Ready to head in to the Gardens. And yes, we held up traffic while Papa Pete took these shots.


And we're in! And on our way! The Botanical Gardens have been one of me and Ethan's favorite activities (free on Wednesdays and Saturdays and only a couple blocks from our house!) and so we led the pack.


Beth and her daughter Brookelyn.

And here is nephew Julian (Sara's son). We gave him the knit hat that was way too small for Ethan's rather large melon. The benefit of Ethan having a cousin who is only 2 weeks older than he is!


Grandma Denise and Brookelyn, enjoying the view from the top.

And then my boy Ethan, who fell asleep shortly after we started our walk. Must have been all that Fall fresh air!

a whirlwind couple of weeks

Boy have we been busy these past few weeks! We took a trip up to Minnesota last weekend for my sister's wedding shower and we were sure on-the-go the whole time! Ethan was beloved by all of our family - many who were meeting him for the first time! I got to have a bit of a break as he was passed around from grandparents to aunts and uncles and cousins. Even though it was my sister's shower, Ethan also came home with quite a few presents as well - we sure are blessed to have such a loving family! Sunday morning we had our first official family photo session with the best and most talented photographer we know - Andrew Vick (www.vickphotography.com), who also happens to be my cousin's husband! Ethan was so tired after such a busy weekend that he quickly started melting down and was practically hysterical here and there as we tried to get through the photo shoot. My usually very mellow and even-keel baby boy was not having it! But, we made it through and are excited to see the final photos in a few weeks!
A few pictures from the big weekend - our camera battery died and so we didn't get as many pics as we normally do but here's a couple highlights...


Once we got home (a nice 10 hour drive ending at 1am!) it was another week of preparing for my sister's St. Louis wedding shower, which we had this past Saturday at our house. Another whirlwind and very busy weekend but we sure had a good time!


I'm pretty sure Ethan has had a little growth spurt this past week too. He is comfortably fitting in carter's size 12 months (and 9 months too) which were a little too big just 2 weeks ago or so. We moved him up to size 3 diapers this week. He also has discovered that his crib mirror not only shows his reflection but is an actual object! He has been waking up and reaching out to play with the mirror, smiling away!
This is a Blues outfit that Pete got Ethan a few months ago from a thrift store - I squeezed Ethan into it this week as it is already too small - but it made his papa happy to see him all decked out in Blues gear!

And, last but not least, we may be witnessing the start of the "roll over".... His pilates (as we call them-he wakes up and raises his legs in the air, slamming them back down over and over) have an added twist as of the last week or so - legs up in the air and then down to the side...

the little gym

Ethan had his first gym class today! My friend Melissa and her baby Violet have been taking a "Bugs" class for 4-10 month olds at the Little Gym in South County and we decided to try it out! Ethan got a chance to do some stretches, clap, play with sticks and balls, practice rolling over and even did a somersault! He was smiling and giggling most of the time and every now and then had a look on his face that said "mom where the heck are we?" He enjoyed it so much that we signed up for the rest of the classes and will be going every Tuesday at 1:00pm! The only thing we're going to have to work out is how to get him to nap sometime - today he woke up at 10am which is normal for him but didn't nap before the 1pm class and so as soon as we started driving home at 2pm he was conked out! His little exercises tired him out!

A little bit more of Ethan

Here are a few more pictures of Ethan over the last few weeks...

He tried out his new exersaucer a few weeks ago. He was a little hesitant at first - kind of just "leaned" and didn't move but now he has started to play with some of the toys and stand up and bounce once or twice.

Tummy time

Ethan's first visit to the St. Louis Zoo





More tummy time



And some time with the cousins



Finally, we've been preparing for fall. I bought a knit hat for him that was a bit too small.


Luckily I had another hat from my aunt Janeen that she gave him at my baby shower. It's a little big (not surprising as it is size 12-24 months), but at least it covers his ears!

My 4 month old baby boy Ethan

Okay, so I have been lazy in the blog department lately but we've had a busy household lately. We have been busy making invitations for my sister's wedding, getting our stairwell wall fixed, and preparing for a couple of wedding showers for Miss Lindsay. Pete has been busy traveling to Seattle for a conference at Mars Hill Church and is in Minnesota this week for the Twins playoff games to sell tickets. And through it all we are also adjusting to life without bulldog.

Ethan turned 4 months old yesterday! Unfortunately he had a not so fun day by getting his 4 month shots. :( He is currently weighing in at 17.4 pounds (90th %) and 28 inches in length (way off the charts). His head is 43 cm (70th %). He is such a growing boy! A few things about Ethan at 4 months -
*tummy time is getting longer and longer, usually up to 15 minutes at a time. He still hasn't rolled over but is starting to push up his hip every now and then and so I think we're getting close. He has great neck strength.
*boy does he loves his hands! That is all he seems to do these days - chew away at his hands. He is pulling toys to his mouth too although his fingers usually win out in terms of what he wants to chomp on.
*my boy has some fair, sensitive skin. He's starting to get some freckles around his hairline and he has what we think might be eczema on his neck. He likes to "mutilate" his eyebrows. They get all red and splotchy when he rubs his forehead when he's getting tired.
*he loves to smile, laugh, babble sounds like "goo" and "oh."
*he really loves to sit outside on the porch.

Here are a few 4 month pictures. He was in a "quiet" mood as he had just gotten up for the day. I wanted to take his pictures before we went to the doctor's office as I didn't know what the rest of the day would be like after getting his shots.