Happy Valentine's Day

Let me start off by saying what a nice Valentine's Day Elliott and I had this year. Isn't it funny how much better everything is when you have a child. Even though Elliott and I didn't really celebrate Valentine's Day with Ethan, he still makes everything so much more enjoyable. I guess he just makes me realize how much more I appreciate things now. Anyways, Elliott and I had our first "date night" on Valentine's Day since Ethan arrived. We of course have had times where we would drop him off at Grandma Marie's house, but before it had been because we needed to do some grocery shopping or I wanted to have some time and clean the house, but this time was purely so we could spend some time with just the two of us. So, we dropped Ethan off at Grandma Sue's house between 3:30pm and 4:00pm, so we had at least half of the day to ourselves. We were thinking about going out to eat, but with it being Valentine's Day, I knew all the restaurants would be super busy, so I suggested we stay in and I cook dinner. I had Elliott choose what we had for dinner and he chose steak and lobster tail. So, that's exactly what we had! We also had mashed potatoes, asparagus, salad, and a heart-shaped yellow cake with chocolate frosting for dessert! I have to say my favorite part was the cake of course. After dinner, we cleaned up a bit and watched Star Wars Episode III and Star Wars Episode IV...Elliott's choice again. It was nice to have time to ourselves and not have to worry about watching, feeding, and changing Ethan...but I have to admit, I really, really missed Ethan, which I'm sure is just normal. After today, it made me realize how hard it's going to be for me to go back to work in a couple weeks. I always knew it was going to be hard to leave him 5 days a week, but right now I can't even imagine it because it was so hard leaving him for only 1 day! So, needless to say, it's really nice to have him home again...no matter how much he fusses or cries. :o)

Big Adventures for Me, Ethan, and the Car

     So, last friday (February 6th) I was home alone with Ethan and really bored. I was throwing around the idea of venturing out to the mall because I wanted to look for some good deals on 3 to 6 month clothes for Ethan.  So at the start of the afternoon, I decided I didn't want to sit around the apartment any longer, so I got Ethan ready to go out and we ventured out to Somerset Mall.  Even though Lakeside Mall is right down the road from us, I decided to go to Somerset because they have a Pottery Barn Kids, Gymboree, Baby Gap, and a Janie and Jack store, so there's alot more baby stores to look at.  I think we arrived at Somerset somewhere around 1 pm or so and I strolled Ethan around for awhile.  After alittle bit, Ethan started getting fussy and I had to take him out of his stroller and bounce him for abit, but he still didn't want to fall asleep or settle down.  So around 2 pm or so, I decided we had a long enough outing because I knew Ethan wasn't really going to cooperate for me and we left to go home.  

     Now, here's where the fun starts.  I got in my car and started driving in the parking structure.  Before I even got out of the parking structure, I stopped at a stop sign and all of a sudden my car stalled out.  So I tried to restart it and it wouldn't start so I put on my hazards. After about 5 minutes and many times trying to start my car, it finally started.  So I get onto Coolidge and I call Elliott to tell him what happened and not even a half mile down the road, my car gives out again and stalls out in a turn around.  So, I repeat what I did before...put on the hazards and try to start the car...and after 5 minutes, it starts.  So after that I immediately pull down a side street and park since I was afraid it would continue to repeat this awful cycle. So I was on the phone with Elliott this whole time and after that, he decided to drive over to where I was.  After getting off the phone with him, I called Kevin, my stepdad, and he set up the tow truck and talked to the Saturn dealership for me, which was awesome and saved me alot of time.  He also decided to drive over to me so he could drive me to the dealership and back home since Elliott would have to return to work. 

     So to make a long story short, there I am sitting in my car with a very upset, crying Ethan in 30 degree weather waiting for someone to get to where I was and help me out.  So after approximately 45 minutes to an hour, Elliott finally gets there as I just get done feeding Ethan in the car, and about 20 minutes after that, Kevin gets there.  So, in the end, Kevin, Ethan, and I follow the tow truck to the dealership and finally get home around 5 pm. 

     Now, jump ahead to this past Wednesday.  I pick up my car and they said it was my battery. So all's good and I drive home.  So this friday, I go out with my grandma and Ethan.  We go to lunch and decide to stop at Babies r Us so I could buy some formula.  So we get done with that and head home. In the parking lot of Babies r Us I stall out again!  I couldn't believe it!  What's with me and fridays?  Curse of the fridays....I think so!  So there I am again stranded in my car, but this time I have my grandma with me...lol.  So again I call Kevin and he comes to my rescue, but this time we drop my grandma and Ethan off at my place and we leave to wait with the car for the tow truck.  So, tow truck comes, follow the car to the dealership, they say it's the computer, and they give me a rental car until Monday, which is when me car should be fixed.  I finally get home again at about 5 pm.

     So, the question is....Should I even go out in my car with Ethan on fridays anymore?  I don't know....I seem to be alittle reluctant.  We'll see what happens...

Picture Time!

So, ever since Elliott & I got a picture (by mistake) of Ethan smiling, I've been taking tons of random pictures of Ethan during the day hoping I will get lucky and catch another one on film. The problem with Ethan's smiles are that they last for a split second, maybe a couple seconds at most and I never have the camera ready. So lately, I've had the camera next to me at all times just in case. Plus, we've been taking more pictures lately because Elliott and I both agreed that for the last couple of years we haven't been taking alot of pictures and we regret it.  So I know we both agreed to really document Ethan's life and take a ridiculous amount of pictures of him and really the whole family together.  So, Ethan...here's the start of having to deal with an embarrassing mom who always has a camera afixed to her face! ....Sorry Ethan....

Mission Not Impossible

Today I finally ventured out into the outside world with Ethan all by myself.  I'm actually pretty proud of myself, albeit, this is probably way overdue considering Ethan is almost 7 weeks all ready.  But an overdue accomplishment is still an accomplishment nonetheless.  I've actually been out with Ethan quite a few times, but all of those times I've been with other people, whether it's Elliott, Sue, my mom, or my grandma.  I am pleased to announce that our outing was indeed a success.  In preparation,  I made sure I fed & changed Ethan before we left the house, so I wouldn't have to do either of those things right away when we got out.  I think the thing that scared me the most about going out by myself were the car rides to and from my destination.  I was worried that once we were off and running, Ethan would lose his binkie and start crying and I wouldn't be able to do anything for him since his car seat is rear-facing and in the backseat.  But to my surprise, Ethan slept the whole way there and back and even slept through me singing to the radio! I even stopped for gas on the way there and to pick up lunch for my mom and I!  I have to admit, now the idea of outings involving only Ethan & I aren't nearly as daunting as they were before...that is until I have a horrible experience and never want to leave the house again, only kidding...well kind of ;o)

Smiling Baby

Ethan's first of many smiles caught on camera! But I do have to say, he looks alot different in this picture as opposed to all his other pictures.

Ethan Photo Shoot!

So yesterday, Elliott's mom Sue came over and while she was here we decided to do a photo shoot of Ethan. We love taking pictures of Ethan, plus we were wanting to take pictures of him for his birth announcements that we plan on sending out probably within the next month...hopefully. I think we still plan on taking some more pictures but I think our first attempt came out really well and it doesn't hurt when you have the perfect little model! Here's a look at some of our work:

Ethan's Busy Weekend

So on friday, Elliott and I took Ethan to his 3 week check-up with the doctor's office. As of friday, Ethan weighs 8 lbs 2 oz and is 21 inches long. So in 3 weeks, Ethan has gained 1 lb 3 oz and grew 1 and 3/4 inches. The doctor said his jaundice is almost completely gone (even though he had a really mild case of it), which is good and said Ethan looks great! So Ethan left the doctor's office with a clean bill of health! Afterwards, we took Ethan to my work to show him off and took my mom out to lunch to the Original Pancake House in Birmingham. And on sunday, I took Ethan out to lunch with grandma and great-grandma to Macys at Lakeside Mall and then we went shopping for a little bit. Ethan did so well and I'm so proud of him. He was a perfect angel at the mall and practically slept in his stroller the whole time. We had a good time and I think grandma and great-grandma had a good time strolling him around as did mommy. Plus, Ethan got to wear one of the outfits mommy bought for him and he looked adorable! He had on a white onesie, brown pants, and a blue, navy, and tan fleece hooded vest. I made sure I took a couple pictures of him in his outfit before I left! So overall, Ethan had a pretty busy weekend!