New Year, Same Me

New Year's Eve! Brian and I celebrated Noon Year's Eve with Ethan at the library this afternoon. We can claim that our early partying was due to the fact that we have a baby, but honestly, I haven't been able to stay up past 11:00 for a good long time now. Yes, I am that lame.

I like New Year's Eve in one way, but kind of hate it in another. I like thinking of a brand new year beginning, one that is full of possibilities...but I truly hate the "New Year, New You" crap that is all over the place. I'm more aware than anyone that I have lots of room to improve myself, but I think it's kind of insulting to imply that we all need to drop 10 pounds every January, or that we have to reinvent ourselves somehow every year. Oh, well. I just thought I should let all of you know to expect the same flawed person come January 1. :)

Ethan, however, does have a resolution - to talk more! We are hearing so much more from him these days, and I think a ton of it is due to his new and improved tubes. He came through the surgery last week like a champ (again), and didn't even cry at all afterwards...until I took away his snacks so that we could go out and get some real food.
Here's a sampling of his new and improved conversational abilities:
"Mama....mo cheess!" Cheese is still #1.
"Appeesas...peess." Applesauce please. Usually with "sin" - cinnamon.

Happy Holidays!

I hope everyone has had a very merry whatever you're celebrating! We are done with Christmas Parts I and II - the Cinci version as well as our celebration here at home. Here are a few pics of Ethan's exciting weekend:
These are two favorites! Brian wanted to get him this big tent and tunnel, and the baby went totally nuts. We haven't actually opened the rest of his gifts yet, because he was just crazy in love with this one and didn't want to leave his new house. Elmo was my mom's addition, and it's the first time that Brian and I have seen Ethan get attached to any stuffed animal. Ethan put Elmo down for a nap today, fed him, and twirled him in Brian's office chair. Here's a little video of Ethan with his new love, though you'll find that the very patient cat is a little bit of a distraction:

Ethan also had a fantastic time with the Jewetts in Cincinnati. He was on incredibly good behavior, though I think I may have said the words, "No," "Careful," and "Be gentle" about a million times. He's a good listener, though. :) And totally charmed his Aunt Kim and Grammy Barbara. He will no longer let me pull on his little ticklish toes for "This little piggy went to market..." anymore. Aunt Kim does it way better. I tried today, and he went all through our house calling for her.
As I'm sure it's been with everyone else out there, December has been a little nuts. As I worked on preparing for our cookie party (which was great - thanks to everyone who came!), or making/shopping for small holiday gifts, or wrapping like a fiend, Brian reminded me, "This is fun, RIGHT?" And it is. Busy, but really fun. I kind of fell in love with the process of making or shopping locally for holiday gifts. I was in luck that my mom made me swear we weren't exchanging gifts this year, and that Brian's family is also really low-key. (One of his nephews wrote us a letter as a Christmas gift, and it was fantastic - one of the best things we received.) I think I'll do this kind of thing every year from now on, but I need to broaden my skill set. I'll work on it and keep you all posted. :)

Tubes on Tuesday

Our appointment is set! Ethan is going in for Tubes, Part Two, this Tuesday morning. I am looking forward to it in a way that I hope is not creepy and cruel to readers out there, since I really only want Ethan to be able to hear again. Yes, I said hear. He is so stuffed up that he has a mild hearing loss in his right ear. !!! Time to get out that tiny vacuum and suck all of the crap out of there. And just like last year, since he's such a little guy, he'll probably be going fairly early in the morning, since they do the surgeries in order of age. Fine with me, since we have to starve him for several hours before we get to the hospital.

The other Ethan health issue is the throwing up. At this point, he does it at least once a day. (Luckily not always at daycare, since his teacher is horrified by the throw up.) Morning, after snack, right before bed, IN bed....it's a lovely new development that comes (I think) from this cough that he has had forever. (Sigh.) We are fortunate enough to own a small carpet cleaner, and that's a good thing right now. :) Our problem recently was thinking that the eruption Friday night was the same thing that he's been doing for over a week now, rather than a real stomach bug....and then I came down with the stomach flu a day later, then Brian, then my mom....Luckily it was only a 24 hour thing for all of us, but we're pretty wiped out. NOT a great way to start my Winter Break!

In the meantime, we've had some fun! Ethan's holiday party was yesterday, and I just have more and more respect for the folks at that daycare. They decorated the stage beautifully, and somehow got babies through five year olds to stand or sit on stage and sing together (not much singing from the babies) for 10-15 minutes. Amazing!

And we got some more holiday shopping done at the local holiday market, as well as our pictures taken for our very last-minute Christmas card. Here are the rejects (and they aren't so bad!):

Speech, Speech!

Ethan's vocabulary is really increasing these days, which is so adorable! (And also means that this is a photo-free entry - sorry. :) I'm sure that part of it is that he's getting older and it's just happening naturally, but I think that the speech help he's been getting for awhile now is also a big part of it. Sarah, Ethan's Speech Therapist, is just so great, and thinks that the cute little boy is doing better and better each week. (And she is just so darn fun - I am so tempted to act like I'm 7 years old and say, "Will you be my friend and play with ME now?")

So I thought I'd devote this post to Ethan's new and improving vocabulary, especially since a good part of it needs some translation. For those of you who are going to be seeing us over the holidays, here's a primer for Ethan-speak:

A, Ta, Ta = Up. Don't ask me why. And he says it a lot, usually when he wants to get up someplace he shouldn't be, to get something he shouldn't get. :)
Adda = Open. Again, no idea how that translates, but I'm sure that's what that means. We hear a lot of that, especially when he wants to open things that he shouldn't get....(I sense a theme here.)
Hawhee = Honey. Now that he's a big two year old boy, I feel comfortable giving him honey, and he LOVES it. Wants hawhee on everything, and once I put it on his toast, cracker, or muffin, he'll suck the honey off and then yell for more.
Geddo = Together. Ethan has learned this word since we usually have to travel everywhere together. I would be more annoyed that I can't use the bathroom on my own most of the time, but I know that in a year or two, "Do it myself" is going to be a favorite phrase. I'll take "geddo" as long as I can.