~116~ We Have a 1 Year Old!!

How is that even possible? Seriously. 

But yet, here we are more than 13 months since Ethan was born.  And boy has a lot happened since then! Each day I’m in awe of just how - in such a short amount of time - we went from a teeny-tiny baby spending his first day of life in the NICU to our hunky-chunky guy who is just steps away from walking by himself, and with a personality (and attitude to go with it) all his own. 

To celebrate Ethan turning the big O-N-E, we through a big, semi-traditional Korean birthday party.  The hallmark of a Korean first birthday (Dol) is Doljabi where the birthday boy (or girl) is set in front of a table of items and people watch in anticipation to see what he picks.  Tradition has it that whatever he chooses predicts his future.  There are several different items that people choose to present to the birthday boy as options, but we decided to have: 

Pencil-Scholar

Baseball-Athlete

Paintbrush-Artist

Stethoscope-Doctor

Thread-Long Life

Money-Wealthy

Leading up to Ethan picking an item, guests vote for what they think he will pick ahead of time. A lot of party is centered around the theme of “What Will Ethan Choose?”  To go along with this, I created a large board, fittingly called a Doljabi Board, that displayed the options along with mason jars for each item and little raffle tickets that guests used to cast their vote.  We also dressed Ethan up on a traditional Korean outfit called a Hanbok, to wear during his Doljabi ceremony.  The rest of the day he work his custom made onesie that I ordered from Etsy.

In the end, Ethan ended up choosing the.....

...Stethoscope!!  Say hello to Dr. Ethan Hockenberry!

Other Korean items that we had were Dol Towers that I made using oatmeal containers wrapped with paper, and covered in black and white beans, and teal/silver colored candy.  One tower spelled out his name in Korean hangul, one had his name in English, and the 3rd the Chinese zodiac sign for the year that he was born-the year of the ram.  These were quite time consuming, but I’m pretty happy with how they turned out.  

I also made some traditional Korean food with the help of my mom. We made Mandu (wontons filled with pork and veggies), Bulgogi (Korean BBQ beef), and Mujigae-Tteok (Steamed rainbow rice cake). In addition, I bought Kimchi (Spicy picked cabbage-a staple at any Korean meal), steamed rice, a veggie tray, fruit tray, and pinwheel wraps.  

For beverages, we had water bottles, pop, and a teal punch that I made to go with our color theme. 

Other decorations included a Happy Birthday banner, balloons, and pictures of Ethan each month. One of my favorite things was a marque sign of the #1 that I added teal glitter to. I had wanted it to be the letter “E”, but of course that was the one that they didn’t have a JoAnn Fabrics when I picked it out. 

We had over 40 people at Ethan’s party and he was perfectly behaved. I really couldn’t have asked for a better day. I think (*hope*) that everyone and a good time. Ethan certainly had fun crawling all around and seeing everyone. But, I think his favorite part was his cake. This boy loves to eat and he didn’t waste any time digging into his cake. Or should I say frosting since the was about an inch of it on top of the cake. 

I really can’t think of one thing that I would change about the day. It really was perfect! Our sweet little boy is ONE and each new day has been sweeter than the last. 

We are very lucky to be his parents :)

The next day, on Ethan’s actual birthday, we had a quiet day at home; and a week later his 1 year appointment at the pediatrician. Here are his official stats: 

Weight: 18lbs

Length: 27.75”

Likes: Food, splashing in his bath, playing with his toys, walking along furniture, being chased up the stairs

Dislikes: Having his diaper changed, being told “no”.

Teeth: 7

Here’s to year #2!

Until then, 

~115~ Last month...

....as a less than 1 year old! *tear*

That’s right, Ethan turned 11 months old this week. This past year has been an incredible and wonderful whirlwind. It still blows my mind that this time last year I was a little over 30 weeks pregnant, and while I thought I was almost 10 weeks away from meeting little man, little did I know then that It was only 23 DAYS away.  

Ethan has really taken off in the last month, and it’s become quite evident that we transitioning from  little baby to little boy. 

Weight: According to the bathroom scale he’s about 17.6 LBs . We’ll have an updated official weight in a little over a month when Ethan goes in for his 1 year(!) appointment.

Teeth: 4! His top 2 teeth popped overnight a couple of weeks ago. We’ve been so lucky (knock on wood) that teething has noticeably bothered him.

What Ethan’s Eating: It would actually be easier to write, “What Isn’t Ethan Eating”, because in reality he is eating everything! In addition to nursing morning/night and getting 2 bottles of pumped milk at daycare, Ethan is also eating 2 full meals a day.  I pack him a solid food lunch using consisting of some sort of protein (ground turkey, chicken, PBJ, Greek Yogurt), a fruit, and a veggie.  Occasionally he’ll also get some goldfish crackers, whole wheat ritz, or Cherrios. A couple of weeks ago, Ethan dropped his 5:00 nursing session on his own in favor for real food at dinner.  At dinner he eats whatever we’re eating (sometimes modified).  I love that he is so self-sufficient with feeding himself and is able to enjoy his meals WITH us. Honestly, baby-led weaning was one of the best decisions that we could have ever made.

Milestones: 

1. Transitioning from Standing to Sitting and vice-versa For a while, Ethan has been able to pull himself up. However, he would start whining after a little bit because he got “stuck” and had a hard time getting back down. Now it’s no problem and he can even lean down to grab something without falling.  

2. Climbing stairs.  Ever since Ethan started crawling and pulling up on things he’s started to take an interest in stairs. The day before he turned 11 months he decided to take the plunge and tackle the stairs. He conquered them in 1 go!

3. Giving Kisses Typically at night, Ethan loves to give his mama and dada big, slobbery, open-mouthed kisses, and we love them!

4. Asking for Food He’s not exactly saying words, but Ethan does have a sequence of sounds that he uses when he wants food (typically when he sees us getting it ready).  I’m pretty sure he thinks that all food is called bananas (because he just about eats one a day), but he leaves off he ba- and just says, “nana” over and over.  It sounds like he’s saying “no-no-no-no-no” though. LOL.

5. Calling for Mama and Dada. I’m still not completely convinced that it’s purposeful vs. random, but I’m starting to feel like it’s very directed when he says it. The other day, he said “mama” and then leaned over, grabbed my face with both hands and planted a big wet one on my cheek. Talk about melt your heart!

6. Pushing his Sit To Stand Walker. He got this for Christmas from us and has loved it since the moment he unwrapped it. He can’t quite push it from a full stand-but he will do it while up on his knees. I have a feeling we’ll have a walker in no time!

Activities: 
1. Cheering on the Vikings in the Playoffs - Sadly he also got to experience a defeating loss. There’s always next season though, right?

2. 1st Snow Day at home with mom.  We spent the day snuggling, playing, napping, and playing some more. Pretty much my idea of a perfect day!

3. Puzzles - Ethan has taken a particular interest in puzzles. So far it only consists of taking the pieces out, but he’s gotten really good at grabbing them by their little handles.  The fact that he enjoys doing puzzles makes my nerd heart happy :)

I am now into full-on party-planning mode.  My mom has joked that it’s almost as if I’m planning another wedding. Ha. It’s definitely going to be big, but I don’t know about that big ;)

More on that next month. 

Until then,

~114~ 10 months and Crawling!

Happy New Year!

Our family had a wonderful Christmas and I hope all of you did too!

Celebrating Ethan’s 1st Christmas was so magically and I’m so glad that I have my new camera to hold onto some of those special moments forever. 

We spent Christmas Eve at our house and Christmas Day at Jake’s parents’ house before we left for Minneapolis. We then spent a long weekend in MN with my family and friends.  Ethan even got to meet his new friend Ryan who was born just a little over a month after Ethan. (Their original due dates were only 6 days apart!)

When we got back, we had Ethan’s 9 month appointment - which was a bit delayed since he was almost 10months old by the time we got it scheduled. His doctor confirmed that he’s perfect, just like we know he is. 

Weight: 16.2lbs (6%)

Length: 26.5in (5%)

Teeth: 
2! His first tooth sprouted the week before Christmas. We almost didn’t even notice it at first because it didn’t seem to bother him at all! The second one popped up shortly after.

What Ethan’s Eating:
There really isn’t much he isn’t eating. Of course no honey until after 1, and I’ve also been leery of introducing strawberries and grapes, and will probably wait another month or so. He is eating solids at daycare everyday - typically a mixture of fruits and veggies. At home he typically eats dinner with us 5 out of 7 nights. 

Milestones: 

Ethan started crawling on Thursday, December 10. We initially called it the “Airplane” crawl since he paused between each scoot and kicked his feet while spreading his arms out to his sides and flapping them up and down. It may look silly, but let me tell you-he gets where he wants to go pretty quickly!  By Christmas, he was full-on crawling and get where and what he wants a lot faster than you’d think!

Today, he also started pulling himself up for the first time. We had a feeling it would be soon since he had started hanging on to our ottoman from his knees and trying to pull up, but not quite having the guts to go for it. Well, while I was taking his 10 month pictures in his crib he went for it! Needless to say as soon as we were done, we lowered the mattress.

Activities: 

1. Christmas!

Like I said, we celebrated Christmas eve and day here in IA with Jake’s family. It was lovely and a great way to celebrate Ethan’s 1st Christmas! After spending Christmas morning at Jake’s parents’ house, we drove up to MN and spent the extended weekend there with my family. Lots of quality time together, good food, and relaxation!

Ethan of course was beyond spoiled and our house is now bursting with new toys.  His new favorites are the Sit and Stand Walker, an elephant he can ride, and a Little People Zoo.

2. New Year’s Eve.  
It’s crazy to me that it’s now a different year than when Ethan was born. We had a great New Year’s Eve at a friend’s house with all of the kids. Ethan didn’t quite make it until midnight, but had a blast staying up later than usual.  He also gave us quite the gift by sleeping in until 11:30am the next day! (He certainly takes after mom in that department).

~113~ First Thanksgiving and 9 month Update

It’s hard to believe that we celebrated Ethan’s first Thanksgiving almost a month ago (as usual, I am behind in posting my monthly updates)! Of course we had a great time! It was particularly fun since he’s eating solids and was able to partake in our Thanksgiving meal. He certainly loved all it - especially the pumpkin pie!

We had my parents and grandma over for dinner. Jake’s family was supposed to come too, but weather and illness prevented them from making it :(  It was still a lovely time though and Ethan enjoyed being the center of attention!

Weight: We won’t get an official weight until the end of the month when Ethan goes in for his 9 month appointment, but according to the bathroom scale he’s 16.2 LBs. 

Clothing Size: Ethan’s solidly in 6 month clothing both for onesies and pants. For sleepers though he’s in 6-9 month. He’s still a little peanut, but that’s a-okay with me ;)

What Ethan’s Eating:

 There’s really nothing that Ethan isn’t eating aside from honey (which can cause Botulism in infants).  He loves eating food and will get jealous if we’re eating something from him and not sharing. He’s even eating solids at daycare now after his daycare lady asked if it was okay. Apparently he was having meltdowns when the other kids were having snacks and he wasn’t getting any.  His favorite foods are bananas, tomatoes, whole-wheat crackers.  We try to be very mindful of the foods he’s eating and making sure that they are healthy. Occasionally we’ll give him a little taste of a treat, but that’s it. He’s still getting the bulk of his food from my milk nursing 3 times a day and getting 2 bottles at daycare. 

Activities:

1. We had our first snowfall the Friday before Thanksgiving and we got Ethan all bundled up in new snowsuit so he could check it out for himself. We didn’t last out there for very long, but he was very curious about this white stuff and of course wanted to give it a taste!

2. The Friday after Thanksgiving we went with my family to the annual Festival of Tree and Lights downtown where we oohed and ahhed over a bunch of decorated Christmas trees. Ethan also got to meet Santa for the first time. I don’t think he knew quite what to think but he didn’t cry! I’d say it was a success!

3. We’re about half-way through swim lessons now and Ethan’s doing great. The instructor has frequently marveled at how well he does kicking his feet in the water and being able to put his head under without freaking out.  Our lesson before thanksgiving he was the only swimmer there and got to use the waterslide for the first time. So much fun!

4. First Christmas Tree.  Two weekends ago we got our Christmas tree.  Ethan had a lot of fun checking it out - and trying to eat it! I’ve always loved this season, but now that we have Ethan, I love it even more!

At this point, there’s only 5 more days until Christmas! Ethan’s 9 month appointment will be next week when he’s actually only a week away from 10 months, I’ll be back to update soon!

Until then, 

~112~ 8 Months Old

I feel like I can never keep up with my monthly updates. As soon as I finish posting last months, it’s already time to do a new one! And so here I am posting only a week before Ethan will be turning 9 months old.

As usual, Ethan is learning all sorts of things each day and it’s so much fun seeing his personality develop. He’s constantly on the move, smiling, and exploring things around him. 

Weight: Not sure. My guess is somewhere between 15 and 16 pounds

What Ethan’s Eating: 

We’re continuing to use the baby-led-weaning method of feeding Ethan solids.  So far he’s only eating once a day at dinner with us. It’s not very consistent and I’m having a hard time figuring out how we’re going to work in this method of feeding with daycare (because it can be scary for people who are not familiar with BLW) so that we can add in more meals/snacks per day. 

Activities: 

1. Peek-A-Boo!  Shortly after turning 7 months old, Ethan realized that he can play peek-a-boo with us.  He loves to pull a blanket up over his eyes and slowly peek over the top. The squeals are so fun!

2. Swimming! We started Waterbabies class at the YMCA at the end of October and it’s been so much fun! We go every Wednesday evening for a half hour until mid-December. This boy is definitely a fish and loves the water.

3. Fall Pictures.  We meant to get his pictures taken around 6 months old, but he wasn’t quite a stable sitter yet so our photographer recommended waiting until he was able to sit independently. So instead of 6 month pictures, we got 8 month ones. These will remain a secret for a little while longer though until we can get our Christmas card out ;)

4. Halloween.  I made Ethan’s costume this year after seeing the perfect costume online. I couldn’t find one that I liked enough to buy so I took to the sewing machine one weekend after finding a tutorial online. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.  We went to Jake’s parents to help hand out candy and trick or treat around there before heading to a friend’s house.

Milestones:
We’re *almost* crawling! He has the positioning and the desire to crawl, but he’s just not quite there yet. I have a feeling it won’t be much longer though.

Still no teeth, but I’m still okay with that.  It doesn’t stop him from eating though.  He’s able to mash and “chew” quite a bit with those strong gums of his!

With the holidays coming up, we’ll have lots to report in the next couple of updates.

Until then, 

~111~ Ethan's 7 months old!!

 
It's incredible to me just how much can change in a month! I am really starting to feel like I have a little boy now and not a little baby! Here's what Ethan's been up to: 

Weight: I weighed him on my bathroom scale a couple of days ago and based on that he's approximately 15Lbs, 9oz.  Considering at his 6 month appointment he was 13lbs 12oz, that's quite the big jump! I'd say we've hit a growth spurt. 

Activities: We haven't done a whole lot out of the ordinary this past month. With school in full swing, we've mostly been just hanging out at home and relaxing on the weekends. At the end of the month.  The biggest thing I'd say is EATING!!  We started solids using the baby-led weaning method, meaning that we complete skipped the puree stage and went right to whole, real food. So far he's had carrots, cauliflower, snap peas, avocado, bananas, watermelon, pear, oranges, whole wheat bread, and whole wheat waffles.

 It started out with uncertainty at first, but he's loving it now! It's been awesome to watch his skills develop.  He went from having a hard time picking up things and getting them into his mouth to easily grabbing what he wants and being able to turn his hand to get it in his mouth.  He still doesn't have any teeth, but he has some strong gums! I'm not sure how much he is actually ingesting, but at this point in time I'm not concerned about that since his main source of food is still breast-milk. 

Favorite things: Waffles! He can't seem to get enough.  Ethan also loves "flying" and standing up. I'm pretty sure he's going to start walking before he crawls. 

Not so favorite things: Honestly, there's really not much he doesn't like! The only time he really cries or fusses is when he's overly tired, hungry, or sick of being in one position for too long. 

Milestones

1) Ethan is a professional roller now! He can easily roll from stomach to back and back again over and over again. He's quick about it too.  He fell off the couch for the first time a week ago while Jake and I were switching spots :( Luckily it wasn't a far fall and he landed safely on the carpet. 

2) Sitting by-himself.  He's still not sitting completely upright (again, those darn cheeks), but he is able to sit independently for quite a while without toppling over. I'd call that a success!

~110~ 1/2 Birthday

Happy 1/2 Birthday Ethan!!

It’s crazy to think that this time last year I was about 8 weeks pregnant and now Ethan is 6 months old! My how things change. A lot has happened in the last month, so here’s the run-down:

Weight: 13lbs, 12oz

Length: 24.5 inches

Activities: 

1) We went to MN a few weekends ago so that Ethan (and us) could meet my cousin’s new baby, Noah.  He’s about 3 months younger than Ethan and as cute as an be. They live in Baltimore so it was extra special that we got to have our babies together!

2) Ethan started daycare, which means that I’m back at work.  This year I’m teaching 4th grade again after having taught Title I math for the past 6 years.  It’s a big change for sure, but a good one :) Ethan seems to enjoy daycare.  He’s the only baby, and gets spoiled by the other 2 three year olds who attend with him.

3) Ethan got to swing in his first big boy swing during Jake’s company picnic and he loved it!

Favorite Things: Much to my dismay, Ethan loves to suck his thumb, particularly when he’s tired or falling asleep.  I’m hoping that this doesn’t last too long and that it’s partially attributed to teething. Ethan also loves playing with his blankies and putting them in his mouth (along with everything else he can get his hands on).  Jumping in his jumper and talking to his animal friends on his mat continue to be some of his favorite things to do. He also enjoys sitting in his high chair in the kitchen while we make dinner at night. And bath time-we still love bath time! :)

Not So Favorite Things: There’s not a lot to put on this list. He doesn’t enjoy being wet or hungry (but I mean, who does?). He also does not like prolonged period of sitting in his carseat.  On the way to MN to visit my cousin, he probably cried for 2 out of the 4 hours during the drive. It was pretty brutal for all of us. Luckily 3 weeks later we timed everything right and he slept the whole way there and back.  Ethan knows the sound of his buckles unclipping and will immediately start to arch his back and push his arms out of the straps. 

Milestones: 
1) Ethan easily rolls from back to stomach, and though he can do it, he seems to have a harder time rolling from tummy to back (either that or he’s just being really stubborn!).

2) Sitting up by himself. Sort of. He leans really far forward and almost folds himself in half, but he can do it with out support most of the time. I think it’s because his cheeks are weighing him down ;)

3) Starting Solids. We’ve been given the official go-ahead to start feeding Ethan solid foods, starting with veggies and fruits.  I let him suck on a piece of watermelon the other night and he seemed to like it.  We plan to do Baby Led Weaning instead of using purees, so we’ll see how that goes.