Recent Entries
D is for Drums
August 2nd, 2009
Ethan really likes drums. He's always walking around hitting things and saying "Play the Blums! (drums)" One of his favorite videos on his They Might Be Giants DVD is "D is for Drums" (video shown below)
So when we recently finished a canister of oatmeal, we let him beat on that with some chopsticks. "Play the blums!!"
Because he was having so much fun with that, when we finished a canister of baby formula, I thought I'd let him play with that too. But as I looked at it, I realized that with a little work, it might become something more. Here's the final result.
Ethan loves playing with them. The best part is, it's mostly made from things we were going to throw away anyway.
This should hold him over until we get Beatles Rockband. Then I'm sure he'll want to play with the drums controller that comes with it.
Alex 0.3 - Baby Blessing, Hands, and Smiles
July 19th, 2009
Dear Alex,
It was a big month for you. We blessed you on July 5th. You smiled through the entire blessing. Lots of family came down to enjoy this occasion with you. At the gathering afterward, you were all smiles for your great-grandma.
(video: Alex smiling at his blessing)
You discovered your hands this month. You found that if you can work them into your mouth you can have something to suck on. You also found out that you can use them to reach out and interact with objects
You're smiling a lot more now and we can even get you to laugh sometimes, which is a great feeling--you have the cutest laugh.
You're not as aware of your brother as he is of you. We try to get you two to interact more, but for now you're just doing your own things.
Most of the time you're still just sleeping. You're a really good sleeper--you're almost making it through the night (as in, we put you to bed around 7:00 and you wake up around 5:30--not too bad, but still just a little earlier than Mom and Dad want to get up).
We love you a lot Alex. You're so sweet and charming. We can't wait to see what you have in store for us next.
Love, Mom and Dad
Ethan 2.3 - Keep Talkin' Happy Talk
July 19th, 2009
Dear Ethan,
Your language skills are really improving this month. You're really good at parroting what Mom and Dad say to you. This has led to some interesting times--for instance at IHOP when you dropped something and said, "Oh crap!" (except that you pronounced it, "Oh clap!") "Shoot!" and especially "Dang it!" are frequent utterances lately too.
Where last month you learned all the letters in the alphabet (we're very impressed by the way) this month you've turned letters into an obsession. You love putting together your letters puzzle and reading your Dr. Seuss alphabet book. You find letters everywhere and recite them, spelling things out (sometimes forward, sometimes backward).
(video: Ethan playing with letters -- Warning: 6 minutes long)
You also seem to have an amazing memory. When we read to you, we leave out words for you to fill in. You do an amazing job with this and you seem to enjoy it alot.
You're also as active as ever. You love to go to playgrounds and climb on the structures there. You've also invented a fun game to play on the bed with dad (see video below).
(video: Playing on the bed)
We've been trying to find new toys for you so that you can expand your mind. We found this bath toy for you and you love how the water makes the wheels spin.
(video: Bath toys)
You were really sick at one point this month. We went to visit Uncle Nathan and you threw up pretty bad when you were there. We came home and you spent the next few days sleeping and laying on the couch.
It's too bad that you were sick, because you're still having a bit of a weight-gain problem. You have us all worried because you're even losing a little bit of weight. We try to feed you all the time, but you just don't seem interested in eating more than a few bites of something. The only way we've found to get you do eat is through reverse psychology. "Don't you eat that cookie!" we'll say. Then you grin and shove it in your mouth. "Oh! Dang it!" we say in mock frustration. You love this game and are willing to play for a few extra bites.
Speaking of games you love, you're still into the Mother Goose computer games. We're impressed at how good you're getting. You seem to have an understanding of the game map and how to get from point A to point B. Also, you're understanding the objectives of the game and you're able to do most of it on your own.
Grandma and Grandpa Rock came over to visit for Alex's blessing and you got to play with them, which you loved. Because it was also the weekend of the 4th of July, you had your first experience with sparklers. At first you were a little nervous, but you wanted more "Fire" (or as you pronounced it, "Firo"). Soon we had you hold the sparkler yourself and waving it around.
(video: Playing with sparklers)
You're relationship with your new brother is interesting. You've started to acknowledge him more, pointing to him and saying "Alex" (or "Ag-gex"). But you're also aware of how much attention we pay to him and you don't really like it. Whenever you're tired of being ignored you say, "Baby to bed."
We love you so much Ethan. You're so fun to be around lately. You're always making us smile.
Love, Mom and Dad.
Presents!
June 26th, 2009
My aunt made some new pajamas for Ethan and Alex. You can see pictures of them on her sewing blog, Sew Forth and Sew On.
Recently they went to Sea World and we got some nice postcards from them. They also sent Ethan a Shamu lunch pail, which we're using to keep sidewalk chalk in. Here's a video featuring Ethan with his new pajamas and the lunch pail.
They also sent a cute handmade stuffed elephant.
Thanks guys!
Ethan 2.2 - The "Better Late Than Never" Edition
June 15th, 2009
Dear Ethan,
Since we last wrote to you, there have been a lot of changes in your world. You got a new brother, for whom you have mixed feelings. And you also moved into a new house. Moving into the new house was a little more difficult to adjust to. The first day when we moved in, you walked up to us and announced: "I want to go home." It made us feel bad to have to tell you that we actually were home. For a little while, you started night-waking because it was so strange to be a in a new room, but now you're used to the house. You especially love the unfinished basement where you can run around and make as many messes as you want.
As usual, you've been growing quite a bit these last few months. You can recognize every letter in the alphabet and your favorite thing is to call out any letters or numbers that you see anywhere we go.
Your language skills are also improving every day and you can even form simple sentences. The most complicated sentence you've said so far is: "I want to watch a show about dogs." (That means you want to watch Lady and the Tramp II.)
But the most common phrase I hear from you most days is: "I need help!" You say this ALL THE TIME all day long. You say it whenever you're frustrated with something you can't do yourself, such as taking a lid off a container or moving the kitchen stool so that you can reach something. But you are also very fond of saying "Self!" a lot too. (That means you want to do it all by yourself.) It's fun to see you exploring the limits of your own autonomy.
You've discovered a few new things that you enjoy these last few months. One is that you like arts and crafts. When Grandma Rock was visiting, she bought you some markers and let you color on some wooden craft toys. You thought that was wonderful! Markers are one of your favorite toys now.
You've also developed a taste for video games. You love the game to play the game Mixed Up Mother Goose on my computer. You've figured out how to navigate through the world of nursery rhymes and can sometimes solve the game's little puzzles. You've also taken a keen interest in our new Playstation 3, but you haven't quite figured out how to maneuver it just yet. I can see you're going to become a video game addict if we're not careful.
Well, we sure do enjoy having you around. You're definitely more high-maintenance than your new brother is, but I wouldn't trade you for anything. You make us all laugh at your crazy antics and we often marvel in awe at how quickly you're developing. Thanks for all the fun you bring into our lives.
With love,
Mom and Dad
