Ethan is 7 months!!

Oh Boy! Life is getting busy around our household. Ethan is such a blessing and truly the happiest little baby. He smiles at just about anyone and is so social. We always get praises from the church nursery at how happy he is. He is learning so much each day that I am having trouble wrapping my mind around how quickly he is changing. Just now as I was sitting to type about the past month with Ethan, he decided to pull up in his crib and chew on the railing... Uh oh! Wish you could've seen how happy he was with himself! Ha! I had to run downstairs and protect the wood railings with the cloth "teether guards" that were still in his closet, and lay him back down (he didn't seem to think this was a good idea and still sat back up and played for a bit). This is actually the first nap he has protested in quite some time, but I suppose he believes there are more fun things to do and discover right now than nap. It was just last week he sat up in his crib for the first time, so accomplishments happen fast! 

So, here are other things going on with Ethan in the past month:

• Clicking noise with tongue- last week of March
• Crinkling his nose (funniest looking face)- last week of March
• Sitting unassisted- last week of March
• Starting to "dance" bouncing up and down to certain music (especially old McDonald)
• Pushing to sitting from on his tummy- April 14th
• Consistently pulling knees up under himself and pushing up with arms like a crawling position.
• He scoots backwards, but not forward yet except when on his bottom "bouncing"
• Plays peekaboo by pulling up and down a blanket or clothing article during diaper changing time, also pulls down bumper in crib then hides behind. He giggles like he is doing the funniest thing.
• Moves around his crib like crazy and has started pulling down the bumpers to look out after nap/bedtime
• Nothing seems to give him more joy that seeing the kitty or getting to pet him (except maybe brother Ryan- he always gets laughs and great big smiles too!) Also loves the giant teddy in his room
• Ethan got his first two teeth this month. Bottom right the day after turning 6 months, then the 2nd on bottom 5-6 days later.

New Foods:
Carrots, baked potato, dates/raisins (in a mixed jar), peas, prunes, blueberries, Cheerios, whole milk yogurt, rice cereal. He still loves his cereals mixed with breast milk and avocado. Peas and Carrots have gone over really well with him as well as squash. He makes a face with the fruit, especially if it is slightly tart, but he still eats it. I am still crossing my fingers that he will be a better eater than his big brother and will maybe "peer pressure" him into trying a few more/new things in the next year or two.

Schedule:
Ethan's schedule hasn't really changed much in the past month. He is maybe waking up a little bit earlier on average. He used to sleep routinely until 8am (occasionally later), but more often now he is awake around 7:15am, though I typically don't go and get him until at least 7:30 since he will just sit in his crib and play. Last month with starting solids I got into a better routine giving him a meal at lunch and dinner as we were easing into the whole "solid food" thing, but now he seems to be doing really well with it and I am trying to make it more constant to feed him breakfast also. This seems to be most difficult on Sundays with church and (T/Th) school mornings as we are often a little pressed for time. I am trying to get up a little earlier to get myself ready which does help in our morning schedule, but this can prove to be very challenging when our oldest is waking up at 5:45am, 6:05, or 6:15am... sheesh! If I could just get Ryan to sleep until 7:30 life would be easier (oh yes and Ethan sleeping through the night again would be great too....) Anyways, back to Ethan. He nurses around 8am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, & 7:30pm/bedtime. He naps around 9:45am for anywhere from 45min-1.5hr. His long nap typically falls in the afternoon around 1:30pm (sometimes 2pm) and is 2 hrs long almost always. I have pretty much gotten away from putting him down for a 3rd nap. The only exception is if we are out running a lot and his naps are short. If he is up before 4pm from his last nap then he will likely either need a 3rd nap (short) or will go to bed at 7pm. A typically bedtime for him is 7:30/7:45pm. We have been struggling with our overnights for awhile and last weekend I let him cry it out again. That was off and on for 2 hrs one night which was brutal. I was trying to get him past a 11:30/midnight routine wake up (like every night for a few weeks...) After CIO, the next night he slept until 2:30am before waking up, then 5:30am the following night, so it was progress! The past 2 nights have been rough as his top 4 teeth appear to be coming in and that whole section of gums is REALLY SWOLLEN! When he woke one night I went in trying to console him and reached up just to feel if maybe one had come through and he went CRAZY crying! It was obvious that his gums hurt, so Tylenol, Orajel, and yes nursing him for soothing then he was right back to bed. I swore I wouldn't have another infant nursing overnight at 9 months, but sure looks like we are headed that way... He just knows how to make me feel so bad for him and I guess I know it is an easy fix and way for me to get right back to bed for some much needed sleep. I am promising myself after these 4 teeth come through, I am going to go back to getting him to sleep through the night again! I always chuckle to myself when people tell me Ethan seems like always the happiest baby and the easiest baby (and truly he is), because the one time of day when he is just not himself and so so so fussy is when he wakes up overnight. It is truly like he is a different person. I guess me and Mike are the only ones that get to experience that though. I could truly use a good (uninterrupted) night sleep soon, but have been trying to savor the moments with him at night and just holding him a minute longer and really watching his sweet face as he calms down and drifts back to dreamland. These moments are truly fleeting and while this phase can be exhausting, it is precious and I just want to hold my baby tight while I can.

Growth:
There is no well check at 7 months, but I can imagine that Ethan is likely to be around 19lbs at this point. He is wearing size 3 diapers and all 6-9 and 9 month clothing. I even had to go out and purchase some 9 month sleepers as I only had 2 from Ryan and 2 given to me by a friend. I'm really not sure if I just went straight to 12 mo with Ryan or what??! Size 2 shoes still fit, though we will hopefully get into size 3 soon since most of his sandals are that size.
Enjoy some photos of our sweet 7 month old boy. (and I really did narrow them down, but couldn't pick just one!! He is too cute!)

Ethan is 6 months!

Dr stats: 17lb 15.5oz (61%), 28 inches (93%), Head 43.5 cms (43%)
Size 3 diapers, 6-9 mo clothing, 9mo one pieces and some pjs. Still fits in 6 mo pj, but brought out the 9mo pjs this past week.
Here is some of the latest with Ethan:

• Rolled back to tummy Feb 16th
• Talking bababa mamama March 1st, has also added lalala and dadada
• By beginning of March rolling around both directions constantly, which makes watching him on the video monitor in bed quite humorous sometimes
• Pushes all the way up on arms, sometimes pulls legs under his bottom and rocks back and forth then scoots backwards
• Loves to stand and bounce
• Starting to sit unsupported to play. He hasn't completely mastered this yet and still falls sideways and back at times, so I put a boppy pillow behind him. I am impressed is so strong and sits so straight sometimes

Sleeps 7:30pm-7:45/8am, morning nap 10am (1.5-2hrs) if uninterrupted, nap around 1:30 (2hrs), occasionally short 3rd nap (45min) around 5pm

 

Feeding: We have been in a rough cycle right now varying between nursing once overnight around 1am, or more recently midnight and 4/5am. :-/ we have had this off and on for about 2-3 wks, I've been trying to cry it out with him again, but it has gotten harder this time. Usually one of the wakeups seems to be him in pain which is either teething pain or gas related would be my guess. Working on the nighttime schedule right now so we can get back to our 10-12hrs uninterupted sleep! Ethan nurses after 4hrs once during the day, then all others 3hrs. I gave him his first food the last week of February, it was avocado. Next he had banana, butternut squash, baby oatmeal, and then sweet potato. That is all he has tried at this point. He continues to mostly just gag on it or holds his tongue out with the food sitting on top. I'd guess probably 90% comes back out at this point, with our best feedings typically being the oatmeal mixed with breast milk.

 

He loves to smile at people and laughs all the time, but for brother, Ryan, the most! He is very ticklish and loves to have his tummy kissed or to blow raspberries on his tummy. Overall, he is a very happy baby and can be put off at times so much easier than his big brother as a baby. We think he may have a little more of a laid back personality like his father did as a child. (Whew!) ;)

 

He is definitely teething and gumming on everything!! Toys, fingers, mommy's chin... I can feel the swollen raised gums on bottom and my guess is bottom right will be first. Don't think it will be long... Update- first tooth arrived March 15th!! (Bottom right as expected)

 

Big boy is 6 months

Sitting up unsupported in his chair

Sweet 6 month old!

6 months old!

A green light goes off before my flash on my camera and he has started anticipating the flash and closes his eyes every time! I probably have 10 like this!

 

Ethan is 5 months old!

 

Our sweet little baby boy is growing up so fast! If only I could freeze time, I would. As exciting as each new growth and development is, I really want to enjoy and hold on to these sweet precious baby moments (maybe because I know it doesn't get any easier with time?). Here are the basics that are going on with Ethan this month. No well check scheduled, but I would guess he weighs about 17 lbs or a little over and is wearing size 2 diapers. He is still wearing 6 mo sleepers (though I have pulled out some 9 mo ones as well that were given to him from a friend). We are finally starting to weed out all of the 3-6 month clothing other than a few pairs of pants and moving into 6-9 month clothing. Each brand always seems to vary so much so some are so wide that they just swamp him, but he definitely needs the length and yet some (Carter's) fit just perfectly now. We are starting to be limited in our cold weather 6-9 mo outfits, yet have an abundance of 6-9 and 9mo spring outfits, so I guess I will really have to start wishing for a change to warmer weather in March.

This past month Ethan has been sleeping from 7:15/7:30pm until 7:30am each morning. He had a solid week where he slept 12 hrs without waking up (which was awesome!) and sleeping 9-10hrs to a feeding a majority of the other nights. After a brief congestion/head cold however, we seem to be stuck with a 2:30/3am wake up that is only satisfied with nursing. I can't seem to get him to cry it out and can't decide if it is becoming routine for him, he is growing and really hungry, or simply teething pain. He is chewing on EVERYTHING and always seems to have his hands in his mouth. As always, babies are a continual guessing game and as soon as things are on a good schedule or routine, they like to change it up.

A typical morning for Ethan includes nursing around 8am and a nap by 9:30/10 at the latest. He will sleep 1-1.5 hrs depending on if he goes down earlier or later (or if I have to disturb him). He nurses again at 11 or noon. He will typically nap again around 1pm or whenever I put brother down. If uninterrupted, this nap can range from 1.5-2.5 hrs which is great! If it is short then he will nap again around 5 for about 45 min which is great while I prepare dinner, but lately this 5pm is the nap he is slowly trying to give up. School days schedule can be a little off as he naps in the car and is often woken up so it is 30 min here wake up then back down another 30 min- just interrupted sleep most of the day. Overall, he is such a great sleeper though and very laid back. If he is tired he just goes to sleep with little to no fussing needed. It is not uncommon for Ethan to now go 4 hrs once or twice during the day between feedings and the rest are timely and 3 hrs. We have not introduced any solids (other than occasional ice chips) at this point, but I anticipate starting that in the next few weeks. He is beginning to display several signs of readiness and I am actually starting to get excited about it!

The past few weeks Ethan was rolling completely on his side and would sometimes sleep that way. As of February 16th he finally rolled back to tummy and is now doing so constantly. It is not uncommon for me to lay Ethan down on his back facing one side of the crib only to look through the video monitor to see him laying in the opposite direction a few minutes later and now even switching from back to his tummy. I never know how he will choose to rest, silly little boy.

We are in love with our precious little baby boy who loves to laugh (and does so throughout the day) and sometimes at such random things. Ethan certainly helps us keep our sanity on days when the "terrible 3's" strike with his older brother. Ethan smiles at almost everyone and only occasionally finds a stranger he is unsure about and will offer a pouty lip. His favorite toys are his taggie book, rattles, Sophie the giraffe, his horse lovey, his fisher price fish mirror, and two little puppy toys he received as gifts. He is absolutely in love with his big brother, Ryan, and watches everything he does (often giggling at him). He plays in the exersaucer some every day now and chews on all the toys and has started bouncing up and down just like Ryan did as a baby. We love celebrating all of his new "firsts" this year and can't believe he is already 5 months old.

Love & Respect

We have been doing a great study at church on the marriage relationship: titled Love and Respect. Men are called to love their wives unconditionally and women are called to respect their husbands the same way. Today's message was specifically for the women.  I found much of it very convicting and learned a lot in how I can better respect Michael. I found it compelling enough to want to pass on my notes from the message to each of you  ladies to encourage you in your relationships with your husbands! I also wanted a place I can come back to revisit this message for reminders throughout the year. We need to drastically change the way marriages are viewed in America and it begins in our own homes. Enjoy!

- Emily

Spelling Love to your Husband-Sermon (Ephesians 5:33)

Men feel love when they feel respected

*Conquest- appreciate his desire to achieve (Genesis 2:15)

Listen to his work stories, respond to him positively- give him verbal "kudos" even if he doesn't ask us to. Start saying it don't just think it! Verbal affirmation, thank him for working and providing. Believe in him

*Hierarchy- appreciate his desire to protect and provide (Nehemiah 4:14)

Choose when and how to speak (challenging for those who are outspoken) we are serving with our words either respect or disrespect (bite your tongue sometimes)

Empathize about work position, status and rank. Never in word or body language put down his job or salary

Quietly and respectfully voice concerns about finances and offer solutions to cut spending (what can "I" do to help us) 

*Authority- appreciate his desire to serve and lead  (Ephesians 5:22-24)

Proverbs 25:24

Praise his good decisions

Be gracious when he makes a bad decision (even if they do something differently than WE would have done it- we are not perfect either)

Disagree only in private! If by accident in front of the kids then apologize to him in front of them too. 

Insight- appreciate his desire to analyze and counsel 

Tell him when you need an ear and not a solution

Thank him for his advice without acting insulted (even if you don't take his advice)

His problem solving is his attempt to connect 

**Try to stop taking everything so personally- the minute I feel hurt by him take a moment to pray instead of talking back or confronting in the moment

Relationship- appreciate his desire for shoulder-to-shoulder companionship (Genesis 2:18)

Acknowledge he wants you just to be beside him (not always talking)

Men share experiences by sharing activity

Encourage his time with other friends

Sexuality- appreciate his desire for sexual intimacy

1 Corinthians 7:5

Your husband will feel respected when we seek to understand his God-given need for sex

(Not just a want a need)

Do not use sex as a manipulation tool

Respond more often and even initiate sexual experiences

Let him acknowledge sexual temptations without judgment 

1. Learn to view respect for your husband the same way you view love for yourself

2. Focus on his heart not his performance

3. Seek to understand him

You will always struggle to respect what you have not attempted to understand 

Ryan is 3

I am not sure how it happened so quickly, but my precious first born son is now 3 years old! This year Ryan celebrated with friends and family at a local bounce house place with a Mickey Mouse theme. He picked out the plates and napkins and even got to help seal and place a sticker on each of the invitations and thank you cards. I might have gone a little overboard with the baking this year as I chose Mickey shaped cake pops for party favors and cupcakes for the party dessert. The few days before were a little busy with baking and decorating and completing all the final details. I was proud of my work, but also quite glad when it was all completed and simply party time! Ryan had a great time and enjoyed getting to eat an additional cupcake or two and bonus cake pop throughout the next week post party (due to leftovers!). Ryan had about 12 friends join us to bounce, celebrate and sing Happy Birthday and he had a wonderful party! Thanks to all who could attend (and those that couldn't make it and yet still have surprised him with a gift, it has been so thoughtful!!)

In the past year as Ryan went from age 2 to 3 he has changed so quickly. He has quite the personality and is such a smart boy! He is great with numbers and Mom tells me his one to one correspondence is quite advanced for his age. He knows and identifies all colors and recognizes all numbers into the 20's then he can get confused. He recognizes and knows all alphabet letters and we are working on sounding out words as he begins to spell and recognize words in preparation for reading. He loves reading books with us multiple times daily and reading continues to be part of bedtime and nap time routine. His vocabulary has changed so rapidly in the last year and he can communicate almost anything with us through sentences, though sometimes he will pause to try and formulate properly a sentence or request. He is learning new expressions and phrases and often takes things very literally. I got a kick out of a conversation last week that I wanted to share. We were driving in the car and Ryan was being impatient about something (what's new) and I said "Ryan, just hold your horses". He said "Hold what Mommy?" Me- "Oh, just be patient sweetie". R- "Oh, I thought you said horses" (laughs). Me- "I did honey, it is just an expression that means to be patient". R- "Hold your horses? What horses? That's silly Mommy." Haha! Oh the precious conversations we have sometimes. Ryan still has some "baby talk"  and substitutes the "F" sound for "TH" such as "free for the word three" and "Efan for Ethan" and also words like "small" typically sound like "fall" or "smile as file". The hard "K" sound is often replaced also with a "T" sound example friend "Clara" sounds like "Tara". Perhaps these combined sounds are a little harder and normal to express less articulately, but it can be fairly humorous at times to me and harder for others to understand him.

At Ryan's 3 yr well check he weighed in at 34 lbs which was the 75th% and 38.5 inches tall which was also 75th% and first time he had dropped out of the 90's in percentile for height. When I asked his Dr about it she commented that at 3yrs it is the first time they do the wall measurement as opposed to laying flat on the exam table to measure, so it is often when they have the biggest difference. At 3 years old they do the first BMI measurement and he fell in the 50th% for that which she said is great and he is very healthy! His BP was 84/42 which sounded crazy low to me, but also normal for kids. Lucky for him, no shots were needed at this visit, but Dr Wallace gave me heads up that his 4 yr checkup would bring about 4 new shots. (That might be rough) He ran around the room during the appointment acting a little bit like a crazy person hyped on sugar and I am still not sure what got in to him, but I suppose Dr's see everything. Ryan is wearing size 3T clothing, though we have an issue with many brands of pants not fitting around the waist and simply falling off. Carters and Jumping bean seem to fit true to size and many with the adjustable waistebands fit. His shoe size is 8.5, but he wears mostly 9's because I don't typically buy half sizes. He loves all things Mickey Mouse, Thomas the Train, and Toy Story. Ryan enjoys playing games, coloring, stickers, putting together puzzles, playing at the park and running around outdoors. Ryan still sleeps each night with his stuffed bear named "Bear" (and many other stuffed friends), his sleep sheep, and occasionally lullaby music (recently he is saying he doesn't want it anymore). Ryan is loving being a Big Brother and does a great job entertaining Ethan and playing with him. He is learning a lot more about being gentle each day.

Ryan is rounding in on 2 months away from a year in underwear and while for the most part he does great, we still deal with accidents and can have days with absolutely no problems followed by days with multiple accidents. It can be very frustrating, but we are trying to stick with it and encourage him and one day his stubborn little brain will decide pooping in the potty consistently is not a scary thing to do. He is now able to go in and potty alone and pull up and down his undies and pants (unlike the beginning when we always had to help), but still needs help wiping with BM's and I'm not sure when we will be past that as he has had some issues. After discussions with his Dr regarding how we have increased fluids, increased fruits (including prunes), cut back on milk and he is still only having one large BM a week which is not necessarily firm, we came to the agreed conclusion that it is truly not constipation, but stubbornness that because he had the episode with the anal fissure back this summer and it hurt when he went, that he is trying to hold it in and not go potty when he needs to until he absolutely can't hold it back any longer. She even had us do an X-ray after his appointment to make sure there wasn't some blockage we were missing. It of course came back clear. Thus, we are trying to implement some new reward charts, stickers, treats, etc to try to encourage him to at least try for a few minutes each day for BM and reward effort as well as success. This part of potty training has proved to be exhausting to me (and Mike), but I know he can do it if he will just put his mind to it.

With the age of 3 has come a greater desire for independence. The "let me do it" and "I can do it myself" attitude are present all the time. I have actually heard several times the past two weeks, "I can do it Mommy betuz (because) I'm free (three)." The pros to this independence show up  in his helpfulness around the house including grabbing me items I need when my hands are full, assisting me with cleaning, laundry, dishes and feeding the cat. At this point Ryan is also able to get dressed by himself by putting on his shirt, undies and pants (minus any buttons or zippers) and can put on almost all of his shoes (but struggles with socks). Whether he is in the "mood" to do these things of course varies, but he enjoys getting to pick his own outfits (which sometimes match) and has grown accustomed to my rule that Mom gets to pick his clothes on church and school days and obliges without a fuss.  Some of the cons come with us doing normal routine activities and all of a sudden it was something he had in mind that he would do which results in a crazy person tantrum over minor things. Recent examples might be: putting him in his car seat instead of letting him climb in, Washing his hands for him and getting his sleeves wet instead of letting him do himself, pushing the button to close the garage without first asking if he would like to, turning on or off a light (he will often do things again even if we have already done it), etc... I could list many more, but it's all I can currently think of. Another new bad habit which likely results from frustration is spitting. He does it in place of biting or hitting and seems to be his new way to vent his frustration when he has no words to say to communicate how mad he is. He still struggles with hitting and pinching Mike and myself when he is angry, but luckily seems to have stopped doing this to friends (with the exception of his cousin, Naomi... sorry!). Overall, the battle of the day (almost every day) is general obedience in all situations which will lead to respect for us and other people in authority over him. It can certainly be ugly at times, but we are staying consistent and determined with this one and know it will pay off in the long run.  The most recent verse that I have chosen to teach Ryan here at home is Ephesians 6:1- "Children obey your parents in the LORD, for this pleases God." I try to remind him of it and point it out when he is disobeying or being hateful in his behavior. He can recite it and I am hoping one day it will stick.

To Ryan-
You continue to be a joy and light in our day and yet also a challenge. Mommy and Daddy love you so much and wish only the best for you as you grow up. We love your smile and laughter and sense of humor as well as the happy way that you make up words to familiar tunes and sing your heart out each day. It is touching to hear you singing songs to Jesus that you learn at church and preschool. We especially pray that you will continue to know and learn about how much Jesus loves you and one day make a decision to accept him as your personal Savior. We know discipline is not always fun and trust me it can be hard on us too, but we ultimately do it so you will learn respect and obedience not only for your parents, but for God. We could never imagine life without you a part of it and are so thankful to be your parents. You will always be our precious first born son and you are such a blessing to us. We love you very much!!! Hugs and Kisses! Mom and Dad

Enjoy some photos below of our big birthday boy on his special day!!

Birthday morning- bike from us

Birthday sprinkle pancakes

Blowing out a candle on his birthday pancakes

Mickey mouse cake pops

Birthday boy and guests

Birthday boy and guests

Birthday boy and guests

Birthday boy and guests

Great Mimi with Ethan

Brothers with Claire and Ethan

Great Nanny and Poppy

Mom/Nana and Nanny

Bounce house fun with Naomi (his birthday buddy)

Bounce house fun

Campbell siblings, spouses, and kiddos

Ethan after the party

Ryan opening gifts- he loved the microphone

New monkey sleeping bag

Ryan was especially tickled by hangers in his bag

Hangers!?!?

Birthday boy with lots of new goodies

Last minute trip to Florida

Lakes Park

Lakes Park

Whose footprint is this?

Train museum at Lakes Park

Happy Baby Ethan almost 4 months

Train ride for Mike and Ryan

All Aboard!

Hanging out with Great G&G

Boys with Great G&G

The whole family with auto capture

Great G&G with our family

Lunch with Great G&G

Ethan and me

So, I am realizing today that I started this post probably 3 weeks ago and am just now getting around to writing about it. Basically this is the story regarding our crazy impromptu trip to Fort Myers, FL January 12-14th. For awhile Mike and I had been discussing taking a trip to see his grandparents in Florida and were hoping that we could even take his Mom with us to get a 4 generation picture. After taking a look ahead, April this year looked to be the least busy for us, but AT&T has a union contract that expires and a potential strike could happen. Since Mike is in a management position, he is not able to schedule out vacation after April 1st in case he has to go on strike duty. Therefore, that put us back closer to March. As we looked at airfare prices were around $300-$350 round trip for each of us to get out there. Ick! So, the morning of January 10th (Thursday) my Mom casually mentioned if I had seen the AA fare sale to Ft Myers for the following weekend for $163 round trip (including fees). I had not, and went straight to the computer to check it out. Basically, we had to book by Friday and could leave Saturday morning and return Monday or Tuesday. After a call to Mike to let him start thinking about it, that evening after the boys went to bed we contacted his grandparents and did a little research on hotels. We found availability at one across the road from their home that we stayed at in 2011 when we last visited with Ryan. After adding Mike's AT&T flight discount we could fly the 4 of us round trip for only $450 and the hotel for 2 nights totalled around $150. What a bargain!!!!

Thus, Friday morning we booked the flight and hotel and the crazy day of laundry and packing began. Saturday morning we woke up at 5:30 and got the boys up at 6:15am and left for the airport at 6:30 for an 8am flight. Security was a breeze and the boys did great. We carried on a stroller which we checked at the gate (so we would have on in FL) and we had one carry on bag for Mike and I, a kid sized rolling suitcase for Ryan to take full of toys and books, and lastly a duffel bag with all the boys clothes. Impressed? I was! We left over a weekend where it was in the 30's-40's and rainy in DFW and enjoyed a weekend in the mid 70's-80's with sunshine in Florida! Our trip was short, but included lots of downtime with his grandparents. We went to lunch all 3 days and had an early celebration for Grandad Gaynor and Ryan's birthday which were coming up. We spent the afternoon on the 2nd day visiting at their home so they could interact with the boys, as well as a little bit of time after checking out of our hotel and before leaving for the airport on Monday evening. We also snuck in a nice long morning Sunday at Lakes Park walking the trails, playing in the parks, looking for alligators, and even a little train ride for Mike and Ryan. Ethan had a special outfit and diaper change for Mom that day that I'll probably never forget. Looking back, throwing it all away would have been an easier decision, but I hate wasting anything and so I took the outfit home in a grocery sack and amazingly it was all washed clean! Monday we snuck in a 2 hr morning at the beach which was only the 2nd time Ryan had been. I wish I had videotaped the way he reacted when touching the sand on his bare feet for the first time. It was quite comical. He grounded those feet and insisted someone pick him up and carry him, but we reassured him it was okay and sand was soft and a fun part of the beach. After a few moments and seeing Mom and Dad walk in the sand he got brave and decided it was okay. The rest of the morning he splashed in the waves, collected shells, threw around a beach ball and built a sandcastle (or sand volcano- we found a shovel, but didn't have a bucket). Ethan napped most of the time, but I let him feel the sand and stick his little feet in the water briefly.

Overall, it was a quick trip, but we were so thankful to get to see the Gaynors as we truly do not see them enough. They were thrilled to see both boys and to meet Ethan for the first time and I believe they truly enjoyed our visit even though it was last minute and a little shorter than we would have liked. The weather while we were there was wonderful as usual and we look forward to our next visit to sunny Florida!

~Emily