2009 Comes To An End!

Ok, I am SO behind on my blogging! Ethan is going to be 20 months next week and I still haven’t posted his 19 month blog… What a slacker!

Ethan turns 19 Months!!!

We had a visit from Ethan's little buddy from our building Santiago. The boys were fighting over the toy, Santiago wanted to puch, and Ethan wanted to ride, this was the compromise. It worked out well. Ethan loves to colour! Ethan thought it would be more exciting to drink from a measuring cup, so he dumped his water from his cup into the measuring cup! Ethan helped me make a special batch of shortbread fro Auntie Dee Dee in Alberta. We gave Ethan ice cream for the first time... a little messy. With Christmas in the air I found myself looking back at last Christmas. Ethan could sit up on his own… and that was about it. He was 7 months old and had no clue what Christmas was or how much he will look forward to it as he grows up. Randy Delhenty and his girlfriend Marianne come down at the beginning of December, what better was to start the holiday season than going to the Toronto Eaton Center to see the Swarovski Crystal decorated Christmas tree and visit Yonge & Dundas Square. This year he was going to be spoiled, and I had no idea. I had said numerous times that we would buy one big gift, a small gift and done, that didn’t last long. Nor did I expect Ethan to get gifts from our friends, so sweet. I want Ethan to get excited about the holidays, and create amazing memories. I wanted Ethan to see Santa, when I was a kid I hated Santa, I was terrified, but I will push Ethan to do it until he can tell me he doesn’t like it… is that fare? Maybe, maybe not. Unfortunately for we had several failed attempts due to poor timing that we simply ran out of time. Ethan all dressed up to go see Santa... we never made it. But he looked so handsome. Luckily, Santa made a pit stop at Ethan’s daycare! Ethan was purely terrified, he clung to Keri for dear life, and luckily (because we were not there) it was documented with this photo. My poor boy. Ethan got his 1st and 2nd H1N1 vaccine this month too, which means we have to wait even longer to get his 18 month vaccine, so his “18 month” doctor’s appointment will probably happen around 20 months. The 1st vaccine Ethan was impeccable. Not a flinch, not a tear and most importantly, no reaction. So three weeks later we went for his 2nd dose. The next day Ethan’s daycare called me to let me know that Ethan had a fever and that I should come a get him. My poor boy, he has had bad luck with getting sick this fall. The fever last one day and he was back to daycare the next. Ethan “Thanksgiving cough” was persistent throughout the fall and into December, it just wont go away 100%. We visited Aunt Kelly for some Christmas cheer! We decorated the Christmas tree, watched Christmas movies and baked cookies. Ethan really like helping with the baking, we even got a little silly and let Ethan use his feet on the cookie cutters (it was purely a photo opportunity). The following weekend Marty and Lisa came by with there daughter Peighton. Ethan and Peighton are roughly 9 months apart, so they are at the perfect age to play well together. They had fun chasing each other around the house, and of course we thought it would be fun to bath them together. We had a really nice visit. The next day we headed back to Ailsa Craig to visit Aunt Kelly again. We had planned to stay for two nights, but unfortunately Ethan was up all night with a barking “seal” cough like I had never heard before. So I called telehealth and they suggested it was croup… not good. So we headed back to Oakville and bought a humidifier. The next day Ethan was fine, thank goodness. We let Ethan open up a present early, actually he pulled it out from under the tree and started unwrapping it, we just didn't stop him. Daddy caved and gave Ethan another early Christmas present! Boys and their toys. We headed to Blind River for Christmas on December 23. We stayed at Grandma and Grandpa Solomon’s, or as Ethan calls them, “Grandpa and Grandpa”! We ate cookies for breakfast lunch and dinner! Mmm mmm mmm. Christmas Eve was spent in Iron Bridge at my sister Tania’s house. Aunt Nancy got Ethan a cool ride on bike, it is a 3-stage toy that will grow with him and Aunt Tania got him a Little People Farm. We had so much fun visiting with the family. Auntie Nancy setting up the big bike they got him for Christmas! Auntie Tania and Ethan playing with his new farm. Ethan and Aunt Tania Ethan and his big cousin Richard More time with Richard Christmas Day we woke up early to find that Santa found us at Grandpa and Grandma’s house! The highlight had to be when Ethan opened his stocking and as so impressed to find a tractor, to which he exclaimed “A TRACTOR!”, that is all he was interested in for a good 10 minutes. As I pushed other gifts on him he, without fail he would say “more tractor please!”, and of course, there were no more tractors. But he was quite happy with his gifts. That afternoon we headed over to my dad’s a.k.a Papa’s. Dad made a fabulous turkey dinner, we all ate a lot. Boxing Day Grandpa and Grandma babysat so mommy and daddy could go out. From what I was told he slept very well and even slept in that little fart! Later in the week we headed to Sudbury to visit some of Jonathan’s family, Norman and Selwa. They prepared a feast like I had never seem before. We ate to our hearts content, and also discovered Ethan’s love for ham! We had a very nice visit. Meeting Norman. We had a great holiday season and were so glad to spend it with all of our family. That is what this time of year is about. Grandpa thought it would be fun to bring out the Arabic in Ethan! Ethan thought it would be a good idea to sit in the fridge. Ethan passed out after a busy afternoon with Grandpa and Grandma Solomon at Armonde and Charmaine's. Playing at Grandpa and Grandma's. Ethan wanted the rocking chair in the living room, so he helped me carry from the bedroomto put it infront of the TV. Daddy teaching Ethan bad habits. Tuckered out. Ethan showing Auntie Nancy the transport and the bus across the street. Papa Lessard and Ethan looking for trucks! Playing with Uncle Wes. Ethan's first time playing in the snow! When we got home we had to undecorate the tree. Ethan was very helpful, until he saw me put the tree back into the box and tuck it in the closet, then he started to cry. For days after he would say "tree gone" and point to the closet. Ethan is back at daycare and back in the swing of things. His teachers have commented on his vocabulary being so great for his age. That is always nice to hear. Ethan was so helpful the other day at daycare, when they came in from outside, Ethan took off his own coat and then proceeded to help the other children with theirs! What a helpful little gentleman we have. Last month there was a recall of Ethan’s crib, so while we waited for the replacement parts to arrive Ethan had to sleep in the double bed in his room, which meant mommy end up sleeping with him every night. What a bad habit I have created. We got the parts in last week and fixed his crib all up, but now he refuses to sleep there. So try getting a 19 month old to sleep in a “big boy bed” and stay in it… Good luck. We have been working on it all week, finally 3 nights later we have success, we sort of. It took an hour, but he finally fell a sleep ON HIS OWN! WooHoo! But that is not to say that he didn’t wake up twice in the middle of the night and want a bottle at least once. We have a lot of habits to break. Right now my concentration is on getting him to go to bed at 8 o’clock again without any problems. Next I would like to get him off the bottle, which I am hoping with encourage him to sleep through the night knowing that there won’t be a bottle waiting for him. Oh the challenges. Happy New Year!