Growing Boy

These are pictures from Ethan's 3 month photo shoot at JC Penny - isn't he such a cutie?! I couldn't figure out how to turn the picture the right way, so sorry you have to turn your head to look at it;)

I am absolutely amazed at how Ethan has grown and changed in these past few months! He'll be 4 months one week from today! I had made a comment on facebook that this has seemed like the longest 4 months and yet the quickest in some ways. But with everything we've been through together, it has seemed like a long time. I think that's mostly to do with the fact that my days are so long. Especially when Ethan doesn't sleep well at night, sometimes I feel like I'm living one never-ending day! But we get through it and I've been learning to really enjoy all of the good things that are happening now.

Ethan's been laughing a lot more, reaching out for things, and absolutely LOVES to suck on his hands or a pacifier or a blanket or whatever he can. The way he's been acting lately, I have a feeling he's going through the teething phase already. I can only hope it takes a while for those teeth to pop out, but he's seemed more bothered by it lately and I think it occassionally wakes him from sleep.

After we got home from Illinois (the last time I wrote) things got REALLY tough with night waking. He was waking 4 or more times a night and sometimes wasn't going back to sleep. I'd hear him up at 2am or so and don't think he went back to sleep until close to 4am. But after about 2 weeks of pretty bad sleeping during the night, he seems to be getting a little better now. I think he had exhausted himself so much that his body finally just gave up and said YOU NEED TO SLEEP!!! And of course last night he was up again around 1am, 2:30am, 4am and 5:30am. He seems to be going back to sleep pretty well, but I don't know why he keeps waking like that. He's so hard to figure out sometimes.

Other than the never-ending sleeping "problems", he is such a good boy. He hardly cries or fusses and even after he's been crying, it's usually pretty easy to get him to smile again. He loves to explore the world around him - loves going outside, checking out new places and especially loves to try to talk. I wish I could make a recording of his babbling. Sometimes he even does it when he's upset and trying to fall asleep and it just makes me smile. I feel bad that he's upset, but his little noises are just so cute:)

So things have been going well. I feel like I've gotten over a "hump" with him. I know we have many other things to go through, but I'm beginning to realize that he's just not the typical baby. And I have to be o.k. with the fact that he doesn't sleep through the night yet and will still take short naps now and then. I was driving myself crazy thinking he was SUPPOSED to be a certain way, according to the books, but now I see that no matter when he hits certain milestones, what matters most is that he's a healthy growing boy.

Something that helped turn things around for me was by attending my churches Missionary Care meeting. It's just a bunch of ladies who get together to listen to a missionary share what's going on where they're serving and then pray for them and other missionaries serving around the world. It was just so good for me to meet with other women (of all ages) and be able to pray with them and talk with them and feel like someone else can understand where I'm coming from and what I'm going through. I think God just put the right people in my life at just the right time. So I praise him for continuing to take care of my every need and giving me peace and joy and contentment when I needed it most. And I thank him everyday for my perfect little boy who brings smiles to my face everyday!