9 months old

We had our 9 month pediatrician appointment yesterday and we were very excited to find that you don't get any shots for this well care visit. In addition, we weighed in at 20 pounds and gave credence to my theory that lifting Ethan all day did count as a gym workout. The doctor was very pleased with E's progress and he was in the 50th percentile and has 2 new front teeth breaking through the gum. He can scoot and is starting to try to crawl and can pull himself up on anything. He is babbling like a brook (and going nowhere) but does say Mama and Dada indiscriminatly.

On Saturday, before we left for Seattle, our cousins from NY came for a visit. Ethan got to hang out with his cousins Sydney and Olivia. Olivia is one month older than he is and is an absolute doll. She is so petitie and light and I am thinking of sending Danielle the Ethan diet so she can do the gym workout like I do. Ethan eats whatever I have on my plate...or he shrieks. Lately I have been giving him apple pieces, orange slices, steamed carrot sticks, mashed potatoes, rice, meatballs, graham crackers, bananas, and cheerios. He will barely even look at his formula these days and feeding him a bottle is an adventure in and of itself. He would much rather drink out of whatever glass I am using.

Hopefully we can start weaning him back to regular formula now so the transition to milk won't be as hard. We are hoping the colic and need for soy have both abated.

Sean, Jenn and the kids visiting the horses 

Sydney, Olivia, Ethan 

Olivia and Ethan 

Olivia and Ethan (who is not so sure about this girl thing....) 

We have all moved in to the homestead

December and January were nutty so I apologize for not posting. Hopefully my updates over the last few days have brought everyone back up to speed (if you are even still checking). We are finally settled for the most part and have only some boxes in storage and window treatments left to do. We brought our new barn cat (Helen Wheels) home the end of Feb and Easy and her friends home March 4th. We are expecting to get our dog MArtini from the adoption agency in the beginning of April. I will post some pics of the barn and pastures when I can.

We spend a lot of time at home now enjoying our animals and Ethan now. He is finally loving his room and toys and getting used to the routine. The jury is still out on Easy. He shrieks everytime she so much as looks at him. To be honest, a part of us misses living with Mom and Dad since it was so nice to have the help and all the little extras they always provided. On the other hand this has been really good for us and Ethan and Jeff are still in one piece so I can't be doing all that badly. And we still have occasional poker games. :-)


Wet but landscaped 


Garage door 

Screened in porch 


Screened porch ceiling 


Covered back deck and view of the pastures just starting to come up. 

Living room 


Living room 


Passthru to kitchen 

Front Hall 


Den from front hall 

Kitchen (shown with exersaucer which is sold seperately) 


Breakfast nook 

Dining room looking into kitchen with transoms. 


Dining room....with the dark ceiling. 

Master bath 

Ethan at 9 Months - they really DO grow fast

I know I have been bad about posting. Things are nutty. the horses are home, the fencing is almost done, we are planning a trip next week to see Jean and it has all been so busy at work for all of us. Throw in a wedding to plan and you get nervous breakdown 101. As far as E goes, he has 2 more teeth starting in on the top and he can crawl a few steps before getting frustrated and sitting on his bottom. He is sleeping through the night more regularly and having fewer temper tantrums. I just keep trying to tell myself that he won't be this little forever. I enjoy the baths, the reading time and when I watch him giggle. My heart just bursts when he is happy and breaks when he cries.

Here is Ethan with Jeff in our kitchen and a few of him wearing Jeff's hat from when he was a kid. Notice the 2 teeth on the second picture if you click on it. Just watch your nose though...if E can get a hold of it with his mouth he will chomp on it.



This Friday we go to the pediatrician for our 9 month checkup. We seem to be outgrowing everything pretty quickly and getting increasingly vocal and active although the use of Mama and Dada is still very sporadic.

Here are some pics in our army greens. Ethan can pull himself up now on everything! We had to lower his crib and put some topys in it with him to keep him from trying to esacpe. Can you put kids in stalls? Kidding! It was very scary the first morning I went upstairs to find he was sitting up in his crib. Downright frigthening the day he was standing smiling at me.




I think my favorite part now is his jabbering. He doesn't say much but I love to hear his voice as much as he loves using it. I could do without the rasberries. He makes an incredible fish face and now can clap his hands and dance.

Here is a pic of his first time eating blueberry pancakes. Jeff makes them every weekend and we finally let Ethan try some.