What's New?!!

Well, now that my little guy is gettin older, he's learning more and more everyday. He loves grabbing everything and anything you put in front of him. But typical of a child, he prefers to grab things he shouldn't. :) He does very well on his tummy now and has figured out how to roll from his back to his tummy and back again if he wants to. But he seems to prefer playing on his tummy now.

He's figuring out how to scoot around, so I'm pretty sure he'll be crawling sometime in the next month. He's just so strong! I can hardly believe how well he keeps his head up and can push his upper body up for so long. He's also been pushing his rear in the air and sometimes gets on his knees, so it's really only a matter of time before he figures out how to get his front and behind up at the same time. It's very exciting, yet a little scary to think of him getting around on his own. My parents have been watching him get stronger and stronger and we're realizing there will be a lot to "baby-proof" once he's getting around. I'm sure we'll figure it out.

Would love to say that we've had a break-through with sleeping, but it's pretty much the same old, same old. This past month has been tough with all the night waking. He slept better during the night when he was 2 and 3 months old. So I'm not really sure what to do about that. And he wakes after 30-45 minutes during his naps (though there have been a few times he hasn't - there's hope!) and he usually goes back to sleep once I've given him back his pacifier or pat him on his back.

He's 5 months old, so I have to keep in mind that this should get better with time. I'm just hoping the night sleep will improve sometime in the next month or two. I'm so bad at letting him "cry it out" and I really don't want to have to do that if he's still waking as much as he is now. But I also know it's going to have to come to that if things don't improve. I just can't keep getting up 4 or more times during the night. It's wearing me out. And Ethan really needs to learn to sleep better too. So all in due time, I'm hoping.

Other than what he's been learning and how he's growing, he's just an overall happy baby. I tell him everyday that he's the cutest thing in the world. I think he already knows it. He loves to giggle and it just melts my heart when he looks at me with those beautiful blue eyes and gives me one of his precious smiles. I love my little Ethan Ryder. He's a good boy and I'm loving every minute I get to spend with him.

5 months old!

I can hardly believe Ethan's 5 months already. Yet it seems like I can't remember life without him too. I'm pretty sure my computer is going to shut off soon, so I want to add some new pics before that happens. I'll try to update more later.

First Tooth!

Ethan's on my lap right now, so I'll make this quick:)
I noticed last week, Sunday night, that Ethan was beginning to cut a tooth! Oh my goodness! I could hardly believe it:) And that would definitely explain the recent troubles with sleeping especially during the night. But he seems to be over the worst part now and it'll be fun to see the other teeth come in.

And of course he is reaching out for everything now, so I have to be more careful with what I put in front of him. We've also been doing cereal for this past week or so and he's getting much better at eating it. So lots happening - he's really such a joy. More and more fun everyday. I'll get back on soon to add some new pics.

Such a cutie!

I just thought I'd let you all know what a cutie my little guy is. He makes me giggle just about everyday now. I love watching him try to grab things and try to stick just about everything in his mouth now. And he's been grabbing his feet lately too - it's so fun.

I tried feeding him cereal the other day and he seems to like it. Definitely still getting used to swallowing it, but he'll get the hang of it eventually. And it seems we went from struggling with naps to struggling with sleeping during the night. I may have said something about it in my last blog, but for about a month now, I've been going to bed just PRAYING that Ethan would sleep better. I'm not sure what caused it, but he tends to wake at least a few times during the night. So I guess it's just another hurdle to get over.

He had to get his shots yesterday and definitely wasn't thrilled about it, but he's been doing very well today. In fact, I'm trying not to get my hopes up, but he took 3 GREAT naps today and didn't even wake in the middle like he usually does. I'm thinking it must have something to do with the shots and giving him tylenol yesterday?? I don't know? But if he sleeps better tonight, I'll be THRILLED!!! And if he doesn't, I'm already used to getting hardly any sleep, so I'll be fine.

Nothing else to report really. Though we did make it to homecoming last weekend and he got to meet my friend (Laura's) baby, Luke. And he saw my other friend (Katie's) baby, Lydia, for the second time. It was so fun to see the three of them together. Lydia was born May 12, Ethan May 29, and Luke June 4. So it was a fun visit! I'll have to get some pictures on once I can get my computer to work again.

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!

Back Home

I guess, in a way, back home has 2 meanings...
Ethan and I were up in Wheeling/Deerfield Sunday and Monday and in a way I felt like I was back home again. And now I'm back in Valpo, so I'm "back home" once again.

It was so fun to see my friends and stay with Katie and Marc and Lydia. Ethan hadn't really met any babies his age, so I'm sure he enjoyed it! We met up with my friends at Harvest Sunday morning and had lunch with them. And then I brought him back to Katie's in Wheeling where we spent the night and the following morning.

Ethan already has trouble with naps, so I didn't expect them to go well while away from home. And he definitely had trouble sleeping, but did just as well as I would have hoped. He took good naps in the car ride there and back, so I thank God for getting us there and back safely and relatively quietly (for my sake).

And Monday afternoon we visited Rachel and Max and Jonah before my dentist appointment. It was so fun to see them too! And I can't believe I babysat for Max when he was Ethan's age! So crazy how time flies by. Anyway, it was great to visit friends and be back in the Chicago area again. I miss everyone so much! But I'll be bringing Ethan back up there for homecoming in a month, so I can't wait!

3 Months Old Already!

I just can't believe my little guy is already 3 months old! (and yet it seems like the longest 3 months of my life sometimes!)
We've been through a lot so far, but I'm feeling like things are starting to come together much better. Naps are still (and will probably always be) an issue. But the important thing is that we may have our good days and our bad days, but overall, Ethan is a happy boy.

He turned 3 months on August 29th and I feel like we've kind of turned a corner since then. I've heard that babies usually take a turn for the better once 3 months rolls around and I have to say I'd agree. He still has some gassy issues, but nothing aweful like before (unless I have Oberweis icecream!:0) oops...
And even if he has a hard time taking a nap, we seem to make up for it later on. I felt like it was some kind of miracle on the day he turned 3 months - his naps were great and he even went from 10:30pm to 6am without eating! He woke at 2:30am, but I got him to go back to sleep and he didn't wake until 6am! Of course, that's the last time that happened, but I was still very excited about it.

And after this "miracle" day, I went and messed up his schedule alltogether and now we're kind of getting back on track. But the reason for messing up his schedule was worth it to me. My sister Jessie and her husband David flew in from Seattle on Thursday night and we had such a great week together. Saturday we went for a hike/walk at the Dunes and then we went for a boat ride out on Lake Michigan! Ethan did such a good job and didn't fuss at all until the very end of the boat ride. (He was wiped out at the end of that day - no surprise). Then Sunday I brought him to church where he barely got a nap and that evening Bethany and I sang in Leslie Rietveld's wedding, so I had to drag Ethan to the wedding and the dinner reception. He was SO TIRED by the end of that day I thought I'd damaged my child.

And of course sleeping at night still wasn't great, but I think that's because his naps were so terrible. You'd think if he got little sleep during the day, he'd sleep better at night, but that's not really how it works unfortunately. But then yesterday he took AMAZING naps - didn't even wake in the middle like he usually does. But then he was awake from 2:30-4am and it was hard to get him back to sleep. And of course today he was right back to his usual 30-45 minute waking during naps. So anyway, I'm not sure we'll ever have an entire week of good naps, but I'm just thankful to get some good days in here and there.

It was so fun to have Jessie and David in town. They left early this afternoon and I'm sad they're gone:( But they'll be back early next year and I hope to bring Ethan out to visit them in Seattle sometime in the next year. They both loved spending time with Ethan and he really loved getting to know them too:)

So back to the same old, same old. But it was fun while it lasted - and I'm hoping to bring Ethan to get some pictures taken soon. Gotta get those 3 month pics before too long.

And thanks for your prayers - God has been so good to help me have patience and really enjoy all of the precious moments I have with my son. He makes me smile everyday. I can't believe how much he's growing and cooing and trying to communicate already. He's such a joy and I wouldn't trade him for the WORLD!