Our Christmas Tree

This year we had to move our small couch out of the living room to make room for the tree. When Ethan woke up from his nap and saw a tree there instead of the couch he looked like he thought that was strange. He kept looking behind the tree as if the couch was back there somewhere.

Before:


After:


Ethan's reaction:



Ethan & Daddy enjoying playing some xbox or playstation 3:

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving with Ken's family this year up in Cameron Park. It was a very relaxed day and we had a lot of fun. Ethan loved to run around their house and go up and down the one step going from the entryway to the living room. He mastered that skill that day and we no longer worry about him falling down that step.

Before we headed up the hill for Thanksgiving Ethan had a good time getting off and on the ottoman in the living room. This was the first time he'd figured out how to do that and he was very proud of himself. He does try to stand on it from time to time so we have to watch him, but he's mastered it.



Thanksgiving Day!


Posing with Grammy

Reading with Grammy

This year we are very thankful for Ethan's continued health. He has cultured anything that we need to be concerned about at clinics and he's stayed relatively healthy. He has a cold right now that is pretty nasty. We're hoping it is gone by the weekend. It's been 4 months since he was last sick!!!

November Pictures

I've been so bad about blogging lately. Here are some photos we took in November:

Ethan still loves sucking his thumb.

My sister, Kristin and her youngest, Judah spent the day together a few weeks ago. Ethan loved playing with all of his old toys that are now Judah's.




More photos from Thanksgiving to come...

Halloween...better late than never

Halloween this year was a lot of fun! Ethan dressed up as a pirate. We were able to get him to keep his hat on for awhile at home for some pictures with Nana & Papa. Ken's parents came by to see Ethan and to help us pass out candy. We trick or treated with our neighbors and Ethan held tightly onto his candy bucket.



And after a long night of trick or treating...

Halloween Photos

Fog Willow Pumpkin Farm

In early October Ken, Ethan and I headed to Fog Willow Pumpkin Farm in Wilton, CA. The farm didn't look very big when we got there but as we walked farther back we saw that they had a lot of animals, some that you could go in and feed. All Ethan wanted to do was walk up and down a hill. He had fun and we had a little fun running after him. He wasn't really excited to see any of the animals he just wanted to be free to roam.





We spent about 90 minutes at the farm and picked out one large and one small pumpkin for our front porch. We will probably go back next year. It was fun to have the morning as a family and Ethan loved being outside!

19 month photos

I'm a little late, but here's the photos we had taken at JcPenney's a few weeks ago:







Ethan is started to talk a bit more. He's still mostly talking in his own little language, but we're getting a few words in there sometimes. He likes to say "Hi" and "Bye" to everyone we meet over and over again. He likes to point to family photos and tell us who is in the pictures.
We just recently finally got him to eat food, instead of just drinking his calories. After months of problems, his dietician told us we were giving him too much milk. We already knew this but had been afraid to take it away for fear of him losing weight. We cut back his milk intake and within a day or two he was eating food. We're still working on getting him to eat fruits and vegetables, but we think we're on the right track. We have a weight check tomorrow so we'll see if it's helped at all.
Ethan has been having meltdowns and tantrums where he will go to the wall, floor or even garbage can and smack his head on it. We have to get between him and it to stop him from hurting himself. It's hard to know exactly what to do to make it stop, except make sure he doesn't get hurt. He won't let us hold him to comfort him and we can't let him roam around hitting stuff. It's so frustrating.
Ethan seems to be growing like a normal toddler. I can't believe he will be 2 in just over 4 months. The time has flown by.

Apple Hill 2011

We went on our annual Apple Hill trip this past weekend. The weather was in the 80's and we left early. In fact, early enough that we had to wake Ethan to go.
First we headed to High Hill to look around the crafting booths and do some Christmas shopping. After we looked through all the crafts we took Ethan to play near the pond. He was very happy to get out of his stroller at that point.

Seeing an airplane with Daddy.






Next we drove to Boa Vista Orchards to buy some fresh fruit, veggies and apple cider. We also looked at the craft booths there. Ethan was getting tired at this point and wanted to go home.


The last stop on our trip was Abel's Acres. Ethan was a little bit happier, but still a grump.




Overall, it was a wonderful way to spend the morning. We will be back this time next year.