19 months....

Ethan is 18 months....oh wait, no he is actually 19 months. 19 months snuck up on me and has been off and running--- quickly. Ethan at 19 months:

• still working on those I teeth, yes still. Just a smidge of his top ones have broken the gum


• learning the work "no" occurred in our 18th month, now we are using it on a regular basis! wink


• is a quick little runner, sometimes mommy forgets how quick he is now days


• has typically one large meal a day


• gets very excited over anything "Thomas" (the train for you girl moms). I thought he was going to take Thomas wellie boots off a little boy at the library the other day!


• is very particular about what book he wants you to read to him. Lately, it is "Going Lobstering" a book that details lobster buoys, life vests, and the appropriate sizes of lobsters that are 'keepers'. Maybe he will be a fisherman?


• loves to look at photos of family and friends, especially of his cousins


• the geese in the neighborhood are quite the entertainment to him! He now flaps his arms and acts like he is flying imitating them


• can't get enough of Alex our dog! truly a toddler's best friend


• loves pickles and cheese together, just like his daddy. He will take to the fridge and point and grunt until a pickle is found and placed on his tray.


• we are in the process of weaning the paci. Any mom who has done this to a paci lover knows it can be a bit of challenge, especially in those long line moments at the mall and the 5pm grump hour. Goal= by 2 years no paci at all.


• weighs right around 27 pounds, 33 inches tall and growing by the second. Wearing 2T pants and 18-24m shirts.


• loves to play with his new firetruck and trains with his daddy

• imitates everything: especially funny when we let him watch American Idol for 5 minutes and he was imitating everyone screaming! Funniest little guy ever!

• worked so hard, but can now finally jump and get air!

hard at play

Ethan's concentration face

favorite little chair to sit and do some independent reading:)

bubbles in the big tub

a stop and rest with alex

where he spends 70% of his day....cooking up a storm

"morning mommy"

protest face

blue berries in his ears, funny kid

hazel or brown? Mommy's vote hazel, Daddy's vote brown

BFF

a little boy + a lovable dog = best friends

Ethan was a little under weather the week leading up to Christmas. Everytime I turned around, my little boy was cuddling with our sweet golden retreiver, Alex. Lately, Alex has been Ethan's favorite play mate and cuddle bug. It is a good thing Alex doesn't mind an elbow in the face or a tug of the tail.

winter cleaning...

You may be wondering what I have been up to with the lack of blogging in the new year. I kicked off 2011 with a few busy shifts at work and a loooong list of projects to do around the house. I felt like the tubs all needed a scrub, the floors mopped, the sheets changed....you know the stuff that gets pushed aside during the rush of the holidays.

One of the first projects on my "20-eleven" project list was tackling the playroom. I noticed that Ethan was not interested in playing in the playroom even will all this new toys. I decided it was time to use those "cubbies" that we built in when we were drawing up plans for the house for storage of toys. I pulled several toys from the playroom and put them in the storage "cubbies." I plan to start cycling the toys when he seems uninterested with what is out. It worked like magic....I guess too much of a good thing, can be too much sometimes. Cleaning and re-organizing the playroom is just the start. I hope to eventually add a bookcase and more storage for all of those new toys. David's project list may be getting longer....

Early in the days of designing our house, I put up a big fight for Ethan's bathroom: the toilet needs to be completely out of the way of the tub when you have little ones to bathe (recessed). Well, David listened and I have enjoyed Ethan's bathroom, but it needed more color than a shower curtain. I used the adorable bath wraps from Potterybarn that Ethan has outgrown and his bath mitten to add color to the room. I found this adorable print on etsy. I picked this particular silhouette because it was called the "wyatt" and it reminds me of the way Ethan marches around when we dance to music. I ordered my nieces the same thing for Christmas. It was one of my favorite gifts I gave this year.

Speaking of David, he has been busy tackling one of the projects that has been on his list since we moved in. He had wired the house for surround sound/speaker system and installed the speakers and receiver. I have loved listening to it already, and we still have a couple speakers to buy for other rooms in the house. I must say having a handy hubby has its perks.

This week I hope to tackle this blank wall in the family room. I have been wanting to do a symmetrical arrangement of photos since the drywall went up last Spring. I have been adamant about having Ethan's milestone (newborn, 3m, 6m, etc) photos taken but have little displayed. I have them safely stored on smugmug with lots of plans to use them. My dad surprised me for Christmas (with help of my mom) of ordering the rest of my 8 frames to finally complete the wall. Hanging them symmetrically, will be, to say the least, a challenge. Oh and picking just 9 photos to hang! I will let you know how it goes.

snow day.....

We are loving the snow old man winter has given us this year. We have spent the day playing in the snow and then warming by the fire....then repeating the entire process. Thank goodness Nana found that snow suit for Ethan! He was warm and toasty when it came time to come inside. Ethan had a blast sledding for the first time with his next door neighbor, Hannah. Our senior golden, Alex, acted like a puppy again frolicking in the snow. I'm just hoping this lovely snow doesn't give me too much trouble getting to work in the morning!

check out my bibs

lunch: pipping hot french onion soup

eleven...

Happy New Year! After the rush of the holidays, I am starting this new year out wishing I were beach side watching Ethan make sandcastles. My favorite moments of 2010.....singing happy birthday to Ethan, watching David design and build our house, and the simple moments that come with every day with a toddler. The hardest moment....walking out of our first home for the last time after we sold it. Here's hoping twenty eleven will be one to remember! I know I have long to do list already: potty training, weaning a paci, countless hours of photo organization.... So lets ring in the new year with a smile and a strong cup of coffee.