First Birthday!!! (May 29)

I'm pretty sure I'll forget to get on here tomorrow with all the excitement and celebrating going on tomorrow;) So I wanted to say HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY to my little man, Ethan Ryder Hazen-Brown!!! It's been quite a year and I find it so hard to believe an entire year has passed already. Ethan's grown and changed in so many ways - what an amazing thing to witness day to day.

He's walking now! I knew he'd start before he turned 1. He's been so close for the past month or so. And I'd say for the past 4 days he's become much more confident and is walking more than he crawls now. My little baby is becoming a toddler!! :0

He's babbling all the time now and it sounds like he's made up his own language. Though "da" and "do" are still his favorite sounds. I'll put up a couple more videos next time I'm on along with some pics from his first birthday. Glad so many of you have been able to keep up with us this way. I'll do my best to keep you as up-to-date as possible.

New videos

Finally getting some recent videos uploaded... it just takes so long!! hope you all enjoy:) And the latest is that Ethan and I both have colds, so we're both blowing the noses and coughing on an occassion. Other than that, Ethan is loving being outside and getting into dirt and rocks whenever we have the chance. He has a splinter in his finger from our adventures at Valplayso (the playground near our house). And I'll be very surprised if he's not walking by the time he's 1 year or sooner. Only time will tell...

Quick update

I can hardly believe we're half way through April already! Time is just flying past me these days. Ethan is getting more daring with standing and trying to walk. He's taken just a few steps on his own now, but not quite ready to walk on his own. I'm sure he'll get the hang of it in the next month or so.

Also, went to the doctor and they say he's a little underweight. I really don't think he's unhealthy at all, but the doctor wants to do an exam on him again. Shouldn't be anything, but I suppose it's a concern.

He's doing just as well as he can be. Always smiling and an adventurous little boy. Has taken a few tumbles in the last month, but that happens. Also, had a great trip to Illinois - so fun to see the kids interact. Don't have time now, but I'll add some pics from that soon.

Weekend Fun!

Ethan and I are spending the weekend with my friends Katie and Laura and their kids Lydia and Luke. So I'll have to add some pictures once we get home. Ethan got his 8th tooth! So he's been drooling like crazy and had a bit of a fever and a runny nose. That's made sleeping a little harder, so hopefully he'll get back to "normal" soon and we can both get better rest.

But other than that, all is well. He's getting more and more vocal. I'm expecting him to say a word soon (and actually understand what he's saying). It just sounds like he's already trying to communicate with us. His favorite sounds are "dada" and "baba" and "juju" or "jojo" and sometimes he says "mama" but not as often. I was hoping that would be his first word, but it's not looking that way.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how he interacts with Lydia and Luke, so this should be a fun weekend. Luckily Lyida and Ethan are BOTH sleeping right now, so Katie and have a little down time before they wake again. Yay for time with friends!!

9 month pictures

I was able to download some of Ethan's pics from JC Penny, so I'm going to see if I can upload them here...

Spring is almost here

Here's a couple shots of Ethan enjoying the outdoors... can't wait to get him in the pool this summer. We were just at my friend's wedding on Saturday in Wisconson and he did GREAT in the car! Took a nap on the way and slept the whole way home (didn't leave till about 9pm - he was TIRED).


And he had his 9 mo check up a week ago. Everything is fine, but I guess he's a little under weight. So I'm doing my best to fill him up everytime he eats. The Dr. doesn't think it's anything to be concerned about. He's a healthy boy and looks just fine for his size. But we're bringing him back in next month to be sure he's gaining enough weight. He's 28 1/2 inches and a little over 18 lbs.

What's new? He's figured out how to wave bye-bye. He stands by himself for short periods of time (5-10 seconds). He loves walking with help from the "walker" with wheels - gets up on it by himself now. And he's becoming more and more vocal. Loves rocking to music and "sing-song" babbling. He's still the love of my life and such a joy - puts many smiles on my face from day to day.

March already!?

So I tried uploading a video the other day and it didn't work very well... so I'm trying yet again. I've been having a lot of fun watching Ethan explore and learn how to get from here to there in many interesting ways. But mostly just hoping I can keep my eyes on him long enough to be sure he's not getting into the many things that he shouldn't :) He's 9 months now!! wow! So hard to believe how quickly it really does go by. so here are some recent videos - enjoy!