Being One

Ethan had his first birthday a month ago. To us he is an amazing little guy. So smart and funny, he picks up on everything so quickly. He has many words/gestures that he uses to communicate with us. When frustrated with a toy or something he cannot do he asks for help, saying "elp". Of course "up" sounds almost the same! He walks around the house looking for "Ah-da" quite often and misses her greatly when she is at school. When Len comes in from work he ( and Audrey) squeal in delight and call for "da-da-da". Ethan's love of books grows each day and he never tires of his favorites, which have been memorized by all of us, even Audrey. When he disappears into the den we know he is going for a book and he comes back handing it to you saying "baaa"and we happen to have something else in our hands he will gladly remove it and replace it with the book of his choice. He is trying his best to jump, but just cannot get off the ground but does get all excited as he bounces up and down and then claps when he falls on his bum. He loves to use a fork and spoon to eat his meals and even eats off of a plate these days too. Ethan loves Audrey and adores playing in her room. Its so funny to see!


I feel like I could go on and on with all he is learning and teaching us! His smiles and laughter are contagious!

As for his one year stats:
Height 29 inches (25%)
Weight 23.8 pounds (65%) This has gone down due to his constant movement!!
Head >99% - This was our red flag at out last dr. appt. Ethan's pedi. sent us to Children's Hospital to see a neurosurgeon. We were floored, they just told us our little guy was perfect and so smart, then this red flag! After a visit to an amazing facility, we are just watching the growth of E's head and go back in a month to make sure he is staying on his new "big head" curve. The current diagnosis is that E just has a big head.

fancy and fun

The kids keep us on our toes all daylong. With Ethan cruising the house non-stop we have had to gate the steps and lock the cabinets. Audrey now disappears into the bathroom to touch-up her make-up! I have no idea what will come next, but this is the best adventure life could offer us!

Our happy guy jamming to his tunes on his own "MP3" player!

Mom and E self portrait!

"Hmm...I think they forgot to put my paints on!" Check out those legs!!

Audrey after applying her own eye shadow and lipstick, she was SO proud!

Getting around

Ethan is now walking 90% of the time, its faster than crawling and oh so much fun! He has yet to master running but I know that in no time it will come. He really began this new skill the night before his birthday. There's no stopping him now!

cell phones and pigtails

As I always say the kids are just growing like crazy. If I could keep up with all their daily antics I would love too! They say and do some of the funniest things that make most days just fly by. Ethan is like an old man in a little guy's body. He loves cell phones, remotes and COFFEE!!! He is learning new words daily and really can understand so many things. Its amazing to me to watch him in action. However, even though he knows and understands the word "no", he chooses to ignore it when he wants to climb the stairs. Hmmmm! And Miss Audrey amazes us daily with her vocabulary and her helpfulness to Ethan. She just adores him! She loves role play, I love to sit back and watch her with her dolls, her stories are so elaborate! She has also become quite the artist and loves to draw and paint.

Ethan making an important call on his new cell phone. Thanks Aunt Cindy!

Audrey and one of her many masterpieces!

Audrey and Len's snowman!

Two crazy kids!

Cake!!

Ethan had a blast at his birthday party! His favorite part: EATING!! He absolutely loves Chick-fil-A nuggets and fries and loved his cake. Our big guy is one! This past year has flown by, we are so proud of our sweet boy!

And we're off!

Ethan has been practicing his walking skills and cruising along walls and furniture for the past few months. But with his birthday only 2 days away he has really stepped up his game!

Baking

Since we got our new kitchen range I have been going crazy with cooking. I absolutely love to cook and create in the kitchen, everything from breakfast casseroles, homemade pizza, chicken pot pie and a variety of sweets. There are several cooking blogs that I also follow,and I found these cute little cupcake pops that were just too irresistible to pass up. Below is the outcome! These have a vanilla cake center with dark chocolate and vanilla candy coating. Audrey, Len and Ethan all gave the "mmmmmm" approval!