Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wild Man

Well, it's been a wild few weeks with Mr. Ethan! First of all, the boy is getting yet another tooth...or two. And this one is not coming without a fuss! Poor little boy, "cutting a tooth" really means that those little sharp things have to push their way through his little gums, and I think we're all glad that we can't remember how that feels. But I can't figure out if it's going to be just one or several...he's got a couple little bumps on his gums that look like they're ready for business.

Besides that, he is so ready to crawl! Since he's had such strong legs from a very early age, there was some discussion among the family that he might walk before crawling. However, he walks like a drunken sailor, and only with lots and lots of hand holding, of course. :) I think he either needs to work on his balance or lay off the vodka. He's been much happier on his belly these days, because he's learned to go from a sitting position to his stomach, inch his way along the floor, roll when he wants to go sideways, and even get on to his hands and knees and rock front to back! That is so funny to watch...Today, I tried to capture the experience, but he loves the camera so much (yikes) that he would usually stop whatever he was doing when he knew I was taking a picture. So I just put the camera on the floor, watched him squirm toward it, and took mystery pictures. They are better than I could have imagined! (Cue the music to Jaws...)

Brian and I are totally encouraging this crawling thing while not having done more than the barest childproofing around the house. I have a feeling that we'll be doing it in a huge rush very soon!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Happy Birthday, Brian!

One week ago, Brian had his x0th birthday. I'll leave it at that. :)

To celebrate, he wanted to go to Chicago. We haven't been since last year when our car was broken into and we had to drive back to CU with a bubble wrap and duct tape window. (But it's mostly because we just had a baby that we haven't been back since - we weren't really mad at Chicago.) Anyway, we did all of our favorite things with Ethan this time - a run down by the lake, a trip to the Apple Store, and breakfast from Corner Bakery! But this time, Corner Bakery delivered so that we could enjoy it with all of the friends and family that joined us in our hotel room. Brian's sister and mother drove all the way from Cincinnati, my parents came up and stayed with Anda, and Brian's nephew drove from Madison to join us for the morning. It was a great time!


Most of Brian's gifts were gag gifts, and we're really lucky that he has a sense of humor! But he did get some really thoughtful pictures, books, and even a PowerPoint that a friend of his made with lots of old (not that old) pictures. In it he referred to Brian as the "man who doesn't age". I agree!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Simple Pleasures

Things have been a little hectic around Chez Jewett-Jones recently, so I haven't taken many pictures at all! A pretty busy week was spent at work during our history grant Summer Institute on Reform (coolest topic ever) - this week included a trip to Chicago for some tours and a visit to Hull House, which I just loved.

So we took it pretty easy here this weekend! The weather in CU is gorgeous right now, and we spent almost all day outside - weeding (desperately needed), a short jog for Mr. Ethan and me (also desperately needed), and a nice walk at the end of the day for all of us. While his parents weeded the front yard, Ethan was a great little boy who played with his super books and plastic rings. We've recently discovered that he loves to see things fall - I thought it was the bouncing of objects as they hit the ground, but nope, they just need to fall....