Ethan's New Toy

So, today after Elliott got home from work we decided to put together one of Ethan's toys that he received at the baby shower. Well, actually I decided to try and put it together and after I stared at the directions for awhile and made alot of noise trying to snap things together, I resorted to asking Elliott to "help" me (which actually meant putting it together while Ethan and I watched..lol...what are husbands and daddys for if not to help out their wives and children??) So, Elliott was successful in putting together this Baby Einstein walker gym thing, so we put Ethan in the little seat thingy and see how he liked it. I was actually convinced Ethan was going to scream and cry right away since it was something new and he wasn't being held, but to my surprise, he did really well! He didn't fuss or anything. He stayed in the walker for about 20 minutes or so and was staring intently at the toys and smiling while Elliott and I oohed and aahed over him and took a bunch of pictures. (We of course have to document all these "firsts") He really couldn't "do" anything since he's still alittle too young to know what to do, but it was still exciting to see him atleast respond to all the sounds, lights, and colors of all the toys.

My Boys

Look how cute my two boys are. They seemed to enjoy themselves while Mommy was at work Thursday night...alittle father-son bonding time!

Returning to Work...Grrrrrr...

So, I have to say, as I sit at my desk at work typing this, going back to work is one of the hardest things I've had to do so far since having Ethan. It's a different kind of hard than dealing with a crying baby in the middle of the night or trying to make a bottle as fast as you can when there's a screaming baby in his bouncer waiting for you or when all you want to do is sleep, yet your baby doesn't seem to want to nap and on top of it all you have tons of house work to do yet surprisingly, no time to do it! No, this kind of hard is 10 times worse because you have to leave your sweet little baby boy at home while you return to work to people who don't even appreciate you, when you know that little baby at home would appreciate every second you were at home with him. I wish I were a stay-at-home mom...enough said.

My Trip to Right Start

Yesterday, I found out that the store Right Start located in Partridge Creek was going out of business and everything was 50% off.  I've been to that store a couple of times and there was always things there that I wouldn't mind buying for Ethan even if he couldn't use it for awhile.  So, my mother-in-law, Sue, picked Ethan & I up on friday around 6:30 pm and we headed out to Partridge Creek.  We saw a bunch of stuff there (there was a good amount of merchandise left) and I bought a sling so I could use to hold Ethan and an elephant toy that bobbles and rattles. After we were done, we went home and I kept thinking about something Sue said about buying something now for Ethan's 1st birthday and just saving it for 10 months.  I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to buy Ethan something nice for only half price. So saturday morning, Elliott stayed home with Ethan and I went out again.  This time I picked up an activity table, that lights up & makes noises, for Ethan that he can use when he's 12 months, a wooden train set, and 2 foam cars and a plane...and everything was 50% off. And I do have to say, I'm glad I went this morning, since now, as I look out the window, its snowing like crazy!

Ethan's 2 Month Check-Up

     So, Ethan went to the doctor's office today for his 2 month check-up.  Unfortunately, he had to get three shots while we were there and one oral vaccine.  He got his Hepatitis B shot, Tetanus shot, Inactivated Poliovirus shot, Rotavirus shot, Pneumococcal shot, HIB shot, and Diphtheria shot. Obviously,  some of those shots are combined into one actual shot, which makes it alot better, since I'm sure it would have been ten times worse if he had to be poked 7 times instead of three. I have to say, Ethan did alot better than I thought he would.  He cried only for a few minutes at the doctor's office and slept for most of the ride home. At home, his thighs seemed to be bothering him (where he received the shots) so we gave him some baby tylenol, which I think helped a bit, and he slept for a good amount of the day.  At the doctor's office we also found out that he weighs 11 lbs 14 oz,  is 23 1/2 inches long, and his head is 16 cm around.  So, he's in the 50th percentile for weight, the 75th for length, and the 75th for head size.  So, since his last visit at 4 weeks, he gained 3 lbs 12 oz and grew 2 1/2 inches and he's almost doubled his weight and grew 4 1/4 inches since he was born!  So, needless to say, Elliott and I were very happy with the way the doctor's appointment went and Ethan needs to go back April 24th for his 4 month check-up and a round of more shots unfortunately.  

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...