Globetrotters!

Its been so long! Sorry friends....i promise i'll be better about keeping my site updated! This past month or so has been so busy! We went to New York and saw countless friends. Ethan was the rockstar. And it was weird to be the visitor at Bethel as opposed to host. Although when i walked in, it felt like I never left. It seemed so natural to be there and walk the halls.

We had to get the typical "globe" photo. And Ethan was really happy to be there....really. :)

So now that Ethan is eating real food i've needed a strategy for containing the mess that can happen in as short as 30 seconds. Originally, i covered him in a bib and sat there feeding him with the spoon in one hand and a wet wipe in the other. Should Ethan get a speck of food on his hands, i was there and ready with the wet wipe to clean it off before it even touches the highchair or his clothes. I thought i was doing great! Until....

I've been doing a lot of reading about babies and their development because basically I knew nothing previous to becoming a mommy. I got a book on 100 Games to boost a childs development. One of the games is Food Play. Basically, the idea is to let your child discover food not just with their mouths but with their hands as well. And it cautioned against being a 'neat freak' when it comes to food and incessantly cleaning your child. This creates a sense of stress and anxiety related to mealtimes - the child can't relax and enjoy it's meal because of the constant cleaning. And it could translate into eating and food issues later.

It made so much sense to me! I realized i was an offender...so i decided to let Ethan experiment with his food - for now - and i've basically thrown all caution to the wind....as can be seen in the following photo. :) i just might be creating a monster here.

let the food fly.

on a different subject, i got the biggest kick out of shaphan today. Last week he had the local needs on emergency preparedness in which he showcased what a "Go Bag" looks like (it was actually my gym bag with my stinky gym clothes in it - little did the audience know).

To his credit - he did come home and pack it with real supplies. I was curious what he put in there so i looked and i had to laugh to myself.

Included with the flash light and battery was a whole bottle of IB

UProfen, a bottle of Club Soda and a box of bandaides.

I'm laughing even as i typed that:)

So i'll end on a whats new with Ethan note.....

his bottom 2 front teeth are coming in! he's standing with help from the furniture! he's clapping his hands when music plays! and he's starting to try and talk, like for real, sounding out sylabols and stuff!

love everyone and the we'll be in touch!!!!