Nearing 6 months!

It really is hard to believe, but Ethan will be 6 months old a week from tomorrow! I keep thinking "has it really almost been a half of a year?" No wonder they say it goes by fast... it goes by so fast.

So Ethan has his first 2 teeth, he's been trying solids (beans, peas, squash, bananas, applesauce, and pears) so far, he's getting closer and closer to figuring out how to crawl, grabs everything and anything and it all ends up in his mouth, and continues to observe and take in his environment everyday. I've been telling my mom I think he's had trouble sleeping from the beginning because he's going to be so smart. He just can't figure out how to turn off his brain. Haha - we'll see. I know I'll be proud of him no matter what. But he does seem especially in tune with what's going on around him. Very strong and intelligent and already knows what he wants.

And today has been the battle of biting mommy while nursing... :O yikes, ouch. He did it a few times today and after I said no, he ended up crying. But he's got to learn that's not o.k. or I'm going to have to switch to a bottle. So good luck to me, right? My goal was to at least nurse him through 6 months and we're almost there. So if this continues to be a problem, at least we made it this far.

Had some snow here the other day. I took Ethan out for a walk afterwards and he seemed to get a kick out of me stomping on the snow and then stomping the snow off my shoes. He laughed and laughed. Ah, so cute.

We're looking forward to Ethan's first Christmas too. I'm sure he'll get a lot of fun gifts and he won't remember a thing, but I'll be sure to take enough pictures for him to look back on:) We'll actually be in Indiana for Christmas Eve and Christmas day this year, so that will be a fun change. (though I wish Jessie and Dave and Jon and Christy could be here too). And we'll be off to visit Grandma Hazen in North Carolina the day after Christmas. So it'll be interesting to see how Ethan does on a long trip. Takes about 10 or more hours to get there (probably more with Ethan) so it's going to be a long trip there and back. But we'll get through it and if he does as well as he has on our trips to Illinois, we'll be just fine.

And no surprise (to me at least), still waiting for him to sleep through the night. Naps have been better for the most part, but I look forward to the day that I can say HE ACTUALLY SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! ah, one day. One glorious day, that will happen. Until then, naps are still my best friend. But it's all worth it. Ethan is so amazing. He's one in a million and I'm so blessed to be his mother.

Trick-or-Treat?!

We brought Ethan out for his first Halloween and I'm sure he'll have no recollection of it, but it was fun! And of course everyone wanted to know who was going to be eating all that candy!?? haha - I said I guess he'd have to share it with me:)

And just after Halloween, I took him with me to a wedding in Wheeling, IL. My friend Lauren just got married and I was happy to be there to celebrate the day. Ethan did so well in the car. He was pooped after the reception, so he basically slept all the way home. And he was SO HAPPY to be home in his own bed when we got home.

Can't believe it's already November! And we went for a walk today... such beautiful weather for this time of year. Ethan had a great time checking out all the leaves falling from the trees and listening to them crunch under our feet.

I know I already put pictures of him in the pumpkin outfit, but I'll add a couple from Halloween. And my grandparents were in town for a few days, so it was fun for Ethan to meet his great grandparents! (my mom's parents)

That's it for now... hope to keep the updates coming.