Thankful for....

So much! First of all, our little boy used the potty two nights ago! Wow. We aren't expecting this to happen on a regular basis from now on, of course, but he knew just how to ask for it, where to go, and even wanted his diaper off. (We've been putting him on the potty for awhile now with the diaper on...) Go Ethan!!!

Thanksgiving was great, though a tad chaotic at first. Ethan's fever shot up again on Wednesday afternoon, prompting my fury to spike as well, since this poor baby has been sick so much this Fall, and all his doctor wants to do is let his little body take care of it in time. (Um, apparently that isn't working!) Luckily, we saw a very very nice pediatrician during her evening hours, and she told us what to do next - if Mr. Ethan's ears aren't totally free of fluid after the current round of drugs, we are going to get his tubes reinserted. I'm not anxious to have him under the knife again anytime soon, but I'd rather get this taken care of instead of having him on antibiotics every two-three weeks.

This round of drugs is gradually clearing up the cough that he's had on and off for about two months, but didn't do it in time for Thanksgiving. :) You will notice that Ethan is wearing a couple of different outfits in the following dinner pics. So am I. That's because his cough had gotten bad enough to make him lose all of whatever he recently ate - over and over and over again. But he had a pretty good time anyway! There were many people to run to and play with that evening.

My daddy thinks it's funny to take pictures of me that look like I'm drinking a bottle of beer....

My Auntie Andrea is watching me waste lots of water...

Awwww....I'm sorry for puking on you, Mom!

The rest of the weekend was fairly stress-free, which was nice. Brian's mom and sister were staying with us, and we discovered that Brian's mom isn't Grammy, as she is with the four other grandsons, but "Mimi". (He has continued to ask for Mimi since she left on Saturday!) We can't figure out if he has a name for Aunt Kim or Gramma (my mom), but we'll work on that. My mom, especially, is really ready for Ethan to acknowledge her in some way. :)

My Holiday Plan

I was getting some very well-deserved crap at a department meeting this week for my blogosphere absence, so it's time to get going.....sorry, everyone, but all I feel like doing since the weather turned cool is be really lazy in the evenings....zzzzz.....

Ethan, Brian and I are getting all ready for the holidays. Can't wait! And I still do remember two years ago when Ethan was a tiny newborn, and wanting the holidays to just GO AWAY. But now I'm totally into it. Ethan doesn't have any idea what he's in for, but that's great, because we have at least one more year to do whatever we want and not be bossed around by our kid. :)
First of all, there's Thanksgiving. Fall is absolutely my favorite season, and is there any other time of the year when the leaves are pretty, the temperature is just right, and society encourages us to eat everything in sight??? Even all of the veggies that I'm planning on making as side dishes are sweet and delicious. Love it.

Then, there is the cookie party that Brian and I are hosting once again. We gave it a two year hiatus for a very cute, bouncy, blond reason, but it's time to bring back the sugar and butter and invite some friends over for a good time. We had to request nut-free cookies from our friends, but luckily I work with people who see this as an opportunity to get creative. (Thanks, guys!)

And lastly, we get to Christmas itself. Our families haven't been too into the present-giving thing since Brian's nephews got a little older, but we still do some little gifts for folks....and this year, I think that I've decided to make a huge effort to give all homemade OR locally-bought gifts. I'm sure that readers out there are thinking, "Wow, what a GREAT present I'll be getting from Alexis..." But there are kind of amazing things at our local holiday market, at some local shops we have, and if all else fails, I'll bake.

*Disclaimer - Ethan will probably not be the recipient of this type of gift. He requires lights and sounds, and I doubt that I'll be capable of making any of that. :)