There is nothing cuter than a baby in overalls, unless said baby is also wearing a cowboy hat

So my blog hiatus is over, and I have a million things to write about! We all had a great Christmas - twice, actually! :)

(If you look carefully, you can see Ethan's belly hanging over his pants. Maybe we need to stop feeding this kid.)

On Christmas Eve, we traveled to Cincinnati to visit with the Jewett family. Ethan was a super boy in the car, and even fell asleep for just a little bit on the way there. He was delighted to see all of his relatives, some of whom he hasn't seen since last Christmas. Very different baby then!
We had many wonderful meals (that I didn't help prepare AT ALL) and boyo was the recipient of some fantastic gifts. It took him a little while to get interested in them, because he was determined to throw out all of his Aunt Kim's Tupperware, put everything he could find in his mouth, and terrorize any cat that dared to make an appearance.

I apologize for waxing nostalgic and philosophical for a moment, but I realized on this trip that I have kind of grown up. (I'm 37, it's about time.) One of Brian's nephews is 15, and was horrified that all we wanted to do on Christmas day was hang out, take naps, and follow Ethan around. I so remember being that age and still desperately wanting to see what was under the tree! Sometime between then and now I became fairly unconcerned with Christmas as a present-bearing holiday, and became relieved that it's an opportunity for family get-togethers (and really yummy food)!

Anyway, one of Ethan-boy's gifts was this fantastic set of corduroy overalls and a little snowman shirt. (Somehow the 14 month old boy fits perfectly into a 24 month outfit. I really have to stop feeding this kid.) As soon as we got back into town and I washed it, he was geared up for the Jones family celebration this morning, before my sister headed to Chicago to see some friends.
Anda now lives in Santa Fe, and brought a little something special for her favorite nephew.

Unfortunately, he reacted to its placement on his head the same way he reacts to anything being placed on his head. We all wore the hat and agreed that Gramma Judy looked best in it. :)

Brian and I finished this dual celebration very very grateful that our families are 1) into only stocking-stuffer-type presents these days, 2) enjoy having a loud baby at the table who throws food that he loved yesterday all over the floor, and 3) are not too far away to see at the very least once a year. Happy Holidays to all!

Mean Mama!

Before....

After!
Maybe next year. Poor little boy. :)

Two Weeks to Christmas?! &%#$!

Excuse my symbols, but I can't believe that it's even December! In our house, it could pretty much be July. We have no tree, no lights, no presents...a whole lot of nothing going on here. In the last 10 days, I've been to a three-day training in Bloomington, done my civic duty at the Champaign Courthouse (meaning sitting in the freezing cold jury assembly room for hours), stayed home with the Ethan-boy after we discovered he had a double ear infection (for how long, I have no idea - he's not fussy at all!) and a lovely case of pink eye (pic below), and gone to work as much as possible. Brian has been up well past midnight most nights in order to do late-night weather briefings and prepare lectures for class, and last week he flew a plane into that lovely winter storm we all heard about. We're a little frazzled. :)

However, with my whining comes the understanding that people do this kind of stuff all the time! So I'm pulling myself up by my bootstraps (the Jewett clan will appreciate that one) and getting over myself - bring on the Christmas cookies!

I keep reminiscing about last year at this time. With a little guilt, I have to say that I'm so relieved that Ethan is now 13 1/2 months old and not 6 weeks old any more! Those newborn days were wonderful, but hard - I don't think I've ever felt so clueless in my life. He's a totally different kind of challenge right now, and such a fun one.

Did you just tell me NO, Mom?

(Apparently our childproofing needs a little work. I think the goal is to keep the kid's hands out of the cabinet.) He is learning several words, like "No!" and "Stop!" pretty well by now. :) After falling down our two stairs once, he now stops when I tell him to.

New Developments

Well, as you can all see from the giggly post below, Ethan is now walking. ACK! Actually, he's so delighted to be mobile that Brian and I are very happy to see how excited he gets when he's moving around - we are barely anxious about all of our papers and computers, or his inability to stop once he gets near our (two) stairs. (Actually, we are kind of anxious about the latter...)

He is also:

• Carrying things around as he walks, which is pretty funny to watch
• Loving being chased - "Mama's going to get you!" produces many giggles
• Trying to eat with utensils but is only successful when it's something he really really likes, like cheese :)
  

One thing that we've enjoyed recently is heading to the library on the weekends. Our public library has a great children's section - even for kids as little as Ethan!
Ethan thinks his mother is very very strange. Why on earth would a giraffe be crawling up his arm? Really.....
The most popular options were anything that opened and closed. He is a big fan of open/close.

The library has come in handy as we are considering this transition from two naps to one and need something fun to do away from a crib in the morning. And they have such great activities there, too! During the week, they have a Babies Lap Time, and I can't wait to take Ethan during my Christmas Break. When he gets a little older, there will be crafts, computer games, and even chess games with other kids. Oh, there are books there, too. But the librarians frown when you put them in your mouth, which kind of holds Ethan back. :)

Officially a Toddler!

You'll have to forgive the camera work. My videographer was at his day job.

Tofu?!

I am not Earth Mother Extraordinaire. Yes, we used cloth diapers (regrettably only for a year - I won't go into the details of why we stopped! You're welcome. :)) and Brian and I do try to recycle when we can. And I still cook for Ethan most of the time - it feels great to see him really enjoy a muffin that I made, rather than opening a package of something that contains who knows what chemicals and almost no vitamins....(that doesn't stop me from eating that way, but I hate to have the baby eat that crap!)

Anyway, all of my tree-hugger/Birkenstock-wearing/green-Urbana-loving acquaintances would be proud that Ethan had his first tofu today, and he LOVED it. I'm really glad that he enjoys it, because it's probably going to be a frequent source of protein. His blood test results came back, and he is most definitely allergic to peanuts - quite seriously, apparently. He'll even get a little EpiPen. He is also moderately allergic to eggs, which is a surprise, since I've made scrambled eggs for him more than once and didn't notice any reaction. But eggs and peanut butter are two big sources of protein at Chez Jewett-Jones, so we are looking outside the box for alternatives. (To all carnivores: I know, there are dead cows, chickens, and pigs outside that box, too. :) )

Sorry to not have taken pictures of the experience! He ate too fast...and then when he started getting full, he thought it was great fun to mash it and drop it all on the floor. Cleaning up mashed tofu is no fun!

Why Alexis's Job Will Make Others Jealous

While I love the Ethan-boy more than anything, it's probably about time that I post once in awhile about how Brian and I are doing in our professional and personal lives. We are still gainfully employed, and I for one am lucky to have the job that I do - one that allows me to work part time so I'm not getting home right when Ethan is heading for bed!

My job as a grant coordinator in Urbana is fantastic. Not only do I work with some seriously smart people who challenge me every day, but I get to do such a variety of things - teacher trainings on gifted education, work with new teachers and their mentors, and last (but definitely not least!) American History professional development for K-12 teachers all over our area. One recent job requirement (yes, a requirement) was a trip to Atlanta for the National Council for the Social Studies Conference. Believe it or not, conferences are pretty darn exhausting. I want to squeeze in as many sessions as possible, visit the vendors for cheap new books, and go site seeing if time allows. Travel with my colleagues is especially fun, though this time we desperately missed Cynthia, who is now living the Stay At Home Mom life in Milwaukee! She and I shared many a bread pudding in New Orleans a few years ago....

Anyway, this conference trip was no different - GREAT sessions (one on LBGT issues that was just great and makes me want to live in Seattle), a great visit to the vendor area where I picked up books that are now itching to be read, and lots and lots of visiting Atlanta.
The first morning we were there I had the opportunity to hear John Lewis speak. This man spoke to the same huge crowd that heard Martin Luther King give his I Have a Dream speech, and I didn't want to miss the opportunity to see him! (His talk was at 7:15 in the morning, 6:15 Central time, so you know how motivated I must have been...) But I couldn't get in! I didn't have a ticket for the special breakfast, and the woman at the door wouldn't let me in, even though I promised not to eat. :( I have to learn to be more assertive, because I really wanted to hear him! It all worked out, because I came back to my hotel room to pout and had breakfast via iChat with Brian and Ethan. LOVE high-speed internet access.
Our morning tour was of the CNN Atlanta Studio, which was so amazing. No Anderson Cooper viewings; apparently he's not even there! But the behind the scenes aspect of CNN is just fantastic, and we got to see all over the place. The director has to coordinate (I can't remember how many but it's a lot) of news feeds at once in order to bring you what you see every day. As with anything, I think the fact that they make it look effortless means they're doing a good job.
Anyone who has been to Atlanta knows that you HAVE to visit the World of Coke. Diet Coke is an addiction around the office (we're considering adding it to a list of job qualifications at upcoming interviews), and we were all very excited to go, though a little creeped out at the huge polar bear. And it's in pictures like this that I remember how freakishly tall I am compared to the normal person! I should be standing next to the bear to appear shorter...
The Atlanta aquarium was also by our hotel, so we had to make an appearance. I forgot how much I loved aquariums - the one in Chicago was a serious favorite when I was a kid, and I even went through a phase when I wanted to be a marine biologist. (Mostly because dolphins were very cool and I wanted to pet the otters all the time...)

So you might be thinking, "What in the world was Ethan doing at this time?!" Even though he was in excellent hands at home with Brian (for only two nights, really), I did have some serious guilt, especially the first night, wondering what he was doing, if his cold was worse, was he expecting me to pick him up at daycare, if he missed me, if he would remember me when I got back...It was really great to be able to see him on the computer early in the morning - a very pixellated baby, but still a moving and shaking and fussing baby all the same! And we had a great day indoors together when I got back - it rained all day, so there was no decent reason to go outside. Not a great way to come back from 70 degree Atlanta, but a great opportunity to spend time with the little boy.