Milestones Galore

Were heading up to Ethan's first birthday next week--and boy has he been growing up in preparation for his birthday!

1. He's starting to walk. He has been a great cruiser for months, but only recently has he gotten up the courage to take steps alone. We still have to bribe him with crackers, but he's getting better. Check out this video (I hope it works, sorry it is sideways I don't know how to flip it)!




2. He now has 8 teeth! That's 6 new teeth since Christmas.

3. He has developed attachments. Not too long ago, he wouldn't look twice at any of his stuffed animals. Now he loves them--and in particular a blue monkey which he kisses all the time.


4. No more bottle. We phased it out over the past month or so, and he's doing great without it.

5. Cow's milk. Whole milk, yum!

6. A forward facing carseat. Now mom can finally have some legroom. (With the rear facing seat in our small car, the front seat had to be up pretty close to the dashboard!)

Ethan Loves Skiing!

On Monday, we both had the day off for the Martin Luther King holiday. We got a lot of snow on Sunday night, so we decided to head to New Hampshire to cross-counrty ski. The day was perfect--fresh snow, sunny and not too cold.

Ethan came along with us--in a pulk. It is basically a sled contraption that you wear around your waist and pull.



Jason did all the pulling--and it was tough on some of the hills.




Ethan did pretty well--napped a good potion of the time. I can't wait till he's old enough to try skiing on his own.

Battling the Winter Doldrums

We're in the thick of winter here in Boston, and it is getting kind of depressing. We can't take Ethan outside much-it has been too cold and gloomy. And with the sun setting by 4:30 pm, we leave in the dark for work and get home in the dark.


One thing that has helped is the museum pass program at our library. The cambridge public library has purchased memberships to many of the local museums. As patrons, we can check them out and go to the museums for free (or at a reduced rate). There are plenty of museums on the list, and we're trying to hit them all before we leave. It is a pretty cool program.


Last week, we hit the Museum of Fine Arts. This museum is Boston's main art museum, with a large American and European art collection. They also currently have an pretty interesting Egyptian exhibit, called the secrets of Tomb 10A, which is about an archeological excavation done by the museum and Harvard University in 1915. On display, they have the largest burial collection of the middle kingdom. Everyone in the room seemed to be really enjoying it--even Ethan who babbled loudly and let out a few squeals!

Our Master Mess-maker

These days, Ethan's specialty is making messes.


Now that he is getting bigger, he wants to feed himself. I am not sure if he is actually eating, though...it seems like he's mostly just spreading the food all over himself and his clothes and the high chair, and the floor. He hasn't quite figured out which end of the spoon is supposed to go in his mouth--but he sure wants to hold that spoon come mealtime! This is (if you can imagine) destroying our beige carpeting. Note to self--never have beige carpeting in the area where your baby eats. I think we are going to have to have it deep cleaned before the landlords return.


But that is not his only area of messy-expertise. His new favorite non-mealtime activity is taking things out of their places. He doesn't really seem to play with his toys too much, but he sure loves to take them out of their bins and scatter them all over the floor. This extends to non-toys as well--every drawer within his reach gets completely emptied several times a day. During nap time, I get things straightened up again...just in time for him to wake up!

Merry Christmas!

This past week, Ethan had his first Christmas. Actually, since we first celebrated in Boston, and then celebrated in Chicago with grandma and grandpa, and then again in Chicago with great-grandma and great-aunt Judith, he really had three first Christmases.
I think he's hooked.



We headed to Chicago on Tuesday night, and stayed until Sunday. It was a great trip, always good to see family.



The weather in Chicago was not great--lots of freezing rain and snow--which limited our ability to go out much. Ethan didn't seem to mind though--there were so many new things to explore at grandma and grandpa's house. He crawled up his first flight of stairs, and enjoyed taking baths in the kitchen sink.


Ethan seems to have somewhat of a therapeutic effect on my mom--she is much more engaged when he is around. It is amazing how a baby can bring this out--sure wish we could visit more!

A Winter Wonderland

This morning we awoke to about 8 inches of snow--and as I write this at 1pm, it is still coming down!
This gave us the perfect opportunity to put Ethan in his new snow suit.



Unfortunately, it is a bit big, and acted more like a straitjacket...He couldn't move in it at all!
He didnt know really what to make of the snow. I think it will be better once he can walk!




Speaking of which, Marla's department Christmas party was last night--and while we were out, Lilia called to tell us that Ethan took a few steps on his own. We have yet to see it, but we sure are proud!


Also, his top right tooth is almost entirely in, and his top left tooth is not far behind. Guess he got his two front teeth for Christmas!

Ethan's first Hanukkah

This past weekend, grandma and grandpa Greenberg were in town. We celebrated Ethan's first Hanukkah.

Ethan enjoyed lighting the menorah.




He especially liked his gifts--a ride-on airplane from grandma and grandpa--and a push walker from mom and dad. We are trying to encourage him to start walking....We'll see how it works.