Squirmy baby = Happy baby!

Ethan seems thrilled when he squirms away from me! I end up with 100's of blurry pics and he scoots away with a smile on his face! Here he is showing me his adorable, "What, Mom?" face, playing with his feet while I was trying to get some sitting up pictures, and showing off a sideways smile. I love the little guy - cooperating or not. At least we have fun with our attempts!!

7 Months... you crept up on us!

Of course Ethan is growing and the time is passing quickly, but the time period between 6-7 months went exceptionally fast. Each month is more fun than the last, especially because he learns so many new skills. He is now sitting up really well, reaching and grabbing for things (and actually getting them), and even trying to crawl! Instead of getting up on all fours, he does a sort of "army crawl". He inches forward and then uses his arms to drag his lower body around. He has also slept exceptionally well these past week - I hope he keeps it up!!

Sunshine, oh how we love you!

We've had some beautiful weather these past few days. The sunshine is awesome, but sometimes the wind makes it a little chilly, so Ethan has to wear his hat. I love how it shows off those chubby cheeks. I thought his facial expression was so cute in this picture and I love seeing those bright blue eyes!

Lions, Monkeys, & Elephants - Oh my...

Here is Ethan playing with his first puzzle. I love that the pieces are slobber-proof and each one does something. His favorite to play with is the lion with a spinning mane, but he also loves to stare at the pink monkey that lets out a squeak.

I love toys that don't require batteries - all those lights and sounds can be annoying (I know... we've just begun)!

No peas, please...

Well, apparently Ethan doesn't like peas. He is normally a very good eater - swallows every bite with very little mess on his face and a perfectly clean bib. Today was definitely the exception. While he was napping, I steamed and blended up a few pounds of green beans and 2 bags of frozen peas. We decided to try out the peas... 90% of it ended up on his clothing. He also decided to use his hands to spread the mess into his eyebrows and on his eyelids. I just had to take pictures of his messy eating.

In the last photo, he's trying out his new sippy cup (the doctor suggested some prune juice, hence the dark purple liquid). He has gotten a few drops of water out of it before, but mostly he just chews on the spout.

Sitting up...

Ethan definitely doesn't like to sit, so I have to distract him with toys or he arches his back in protest. He prefers to lay down or have us help him stand, but that gets tiring for both of us. Here he is hanging out with Mom, sitting up like a big boy!

"B" is for Book!

Ethan is really soaking up his environment now, so we're trying to teach him the importance of books. Some might think we're crazy, but we also do flash cards at least once a day; Ethan usually sits in my lap while Pat shows him the card. He holds them near his face, pronounces the word and points out the photo. Most of the time, Ethan giggles, thinking Pat is playing peek-a-boo with him. Either way, it's a great time for all of us!

We also frequently sound out basic words (Ba... book, ball, baby, etc.). I'll consider both a success if he learns to get some enjoyment out of learning. Education is important to both of us, so we want definitely want to pass that along to our children.