A smorgasbord

Just some various tidbits.

He's seven weeks old now. I'm still off of dairy. Sad, sad, sad. He smiles a lot now! We haven't gotten it on camera yet. He sleeps 5 1/2 hours- 6 1/2 hours in a row at night. I think that is a blessing from the Lord because He knows I am seriously dysfunctional without sleep.

His first time at the zoo. 3 weeks old. Look how much he enjoyed it!

Holding his head up

Poor guy's losing his hair. But not on the sides. A little friar tuck. He's so pious!

And on a non-Ethan related note, how does this happen?
5 socks and not a single match.

A new hair color. Ross did a good job!



Why I love summer. Or at least when it's summer
in California. I think the only thing that would make this bowl
of cereal better is REAL milk.



Back to Ethan.




He always sleeps with his little bum in the air.
He has the hardest time falling to sleep in any position other than on his stomach.
So usually I wait until he's asleep and then turn him on his side or back.

Life Update

Okay, so maybe I was a little premature in saying that I can lead a normal life now. I think I meant to say that I can lead a normal life when I have family around to help me. How on earth does anybody get anything done? The littlest things take me FOREVER to get done! And you can forget the big things like scrubbing the shower, and cleaning out the fridge, and scouring the oven. I actually broke down and asked my mom to watch him for a couple of hours while I tried to catch up on some of those things.

So he's doing really well. We had a rough week or so when he was really colicky. Lonna, (if you read this) I don't know how you do it! It's tough to have a baby cry for hours in a row! We went to the pediatrician to see if he had any advice and he told me to try going off dairy completely for 3 days. Well I did, and it was like night and day. No more inconsolable crying spells. It's wonderful. On the other hand- do you know HOW MANY THINGS HAVE DAIRY in them? Pretty much everything. I had to say goodbye to my three bowls of cereal a day, and to all of the cheesy snacks I usually have, and to every good dessert that's worth having. I feel so sorry for lactose intolerant people. I don't know how they survive. The doctor said I should be able to re-introduce dairy slowly into my diet, but I'm not sure when to start. I tried a little sour cream the other night- but he had a hard time with that.

He's in the 80th percentile for height and weight. He had gained two pounds by his third week. I'm glad about that- because it's really hard to know how much he's getting to eat. But apparently he's eating pretty well.

I also have a lot of pictures. My dad took some of him, and some of me with him, and then I have a couple I took also.

I'm still enjoying being a mom. I love his little smile. Even if it just means gas!

One week, two days later

Phew!

We made it through our first week. It's been wonderful and it's been tiring. When we first brought him home I thought to myself, there is no way people can lead normal lives and have children at the same time! Well I've learned that that's possible now. Another thing I've learned is patience. I'm usually the type of person who likes to get things done as efficiently and quickly as possible. But of course with Ethan, things need to be done at his pace. I can't hurry him along with eating, or make him burp any faster... I've learned to just enjoy the experience and relax.

Ross' family all came to Manhattan this weekend, and so we blessed him on Sunday so that they could all be here for it. Ross did a great job. Ethan was perfectly content before the blessing. About a minute into it though he let out a few squeals! And then when Ross sat back down with him he was content again. Kind of funny.

He is sleeping and eating really well. He sleeps 3-4 hours in a row at night. I don't really have anything to compare that to, but it seems good! And he goes back to bed after eating with hardly a fuss.

Here are some pictures from his first week. I'm in love.

Ethan Ross

Wow. I can't even explain how much love I have for this new little guy. It's incredible.

He was 8 lbs. 13 oz. Born 1:08 am March 1st! And that's okay (that it's not on leap day). We're just glad he's here.

We're both doing really well, and we just made it home from the hospital a couple of hours ago. Ross has two tests to take today-- lame.

Here are a few pictures from day one. Plenty more info. and pictures to come I'm sure.

Thanks everyone so much for the warm wishes and compliments on the nursery!

Nursery

Sorry there are so many pictures. We worked pretty hard on it, so I have to show it off.





We were lucky enough to get all of the furniture second-hand. The crib is the crib that my parents used for me and my brothers. So that's kind of neat. The dresser is from Ross' parents house. I'm looking for new handles for it. The changing table was given to us, and the rocking chair was given to us by a great family in the ward. I made new cushion covers for it. That was my first sewing project (with the help of my mom).




Ross made all of the frames, and I painted them. The two orange ones are prints that I bought while on study abroad in London. Babar and Winnie the Pooh. The blue one is just some cool paper my mom found at a bookstore. I wanted to frame it since I was kind of going with a vintagey alphabet theme in the room. The mobile was bought by my mom for Sam during one of her travels. But Sam's letting me borrow it while he's gone. (I haven't asked him yet though...:))



And I made this name plaque. Ross cut the wood to size and I painted and glued and trimmed and decided how I wanted to do it. My sister-in-law Becky helped me do some painting and sewing for it.

It's probably not exactly the dream nursery I had in my head, but we were able to save lots of money this way! And we had fun doing it! I'd say I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. I'm so excited to have a little person to use this nursery! And did I mention I'm tired of being pregnant??

Yep, still pregnant!

Thanks for all of the encouraging comments everyone. They're so much fun to read!

So...... We are officially inducing on February 29th!! Leap day! I know, I know, some may say that that is the worst thing to do to a child. But I personally think it's awesome! Who will ever forget his birthday? And when it IS his year for a birthday, it's a HUGE deal, and when it's not he gets to choose when to have it. Ross thinks maybe we can convince him that he really only does have a birthday every 4 years. Just kidding. (Well I am at least). That would be mean.

Anyway. Probably because we've talked so much about it he'll come early or it will take me longer than 20 hours to have him. Either way I will have a baby in less than a week and a half! Crazy. It still hasn't hit me- but we are certainly READY.

My dad took some moody maternity pictures of us a week and a half ago. I think they turned out well. We do have some smiling ones too, these just happen to be my three favorite.

Oh- and the nursery is officially done. Pictures to come.

Belly update!

Well I think I can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel! I'm due in exactly 4 weeks from today. We are sooo excited¡ Ross was so cute today and brought home a little outfit for him to be blessed in. I'm almost done putting the nursery together. Just one more project to go.

We just finished our birthing class. Wow they give you LOTS of information. I guess I'd rather know more than less, but some of the pictures they show you I'd just rather wait and deal with when they come. I've been having some "fake" contractions, and I get nervous every time I feel one. But nothing is ever consistent or long-lasting.

There's definitely less and less room in my stomach for the baby. He almost always has some body part poking out. It's really fun to watch. Ross and I can be entertained with that for a while. It's getting harder and harder to sleep at night- I think this is just preparing me for the lack of sleep to come! But I seriously can't wait until I can sleep on my stomach again!

My co-workers gave me a little surprise baby shower yesterday morning. I thought I had to get up early for a meeting, and grudgingly showed up to work, but then they brought out presents and breakfast! It was so nice of them.

Here are some pictures that Sam sent us too from the mission. It sounds like he's doing great! He's in a pretty small area though, and they've tracted it all out already. It makes me sad he won't be here for the baby, but I know he's where he's supposed to be.