Happy Thanksgiving

This year I have so much to be thankful for.  God has been good to us this year.

I am grateful for my wonderful little boy.  He is the light of our lives and has taught us so much about unconditional love.

I am grateful for my husband.  He works so hard to provide for our family and tries so hard to be the perfect person for us.  He really is such a wonderful daddy to our son.

I am thankful for my family who takes such good care of us despite the fact that we're grown adults.

I am thankful for my job.

I am thankful for my home.

I am thankful for Chris' job.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ethan's 1 Year Dr. Apt.

Ethan went to the doctor yesterday for his 1 year well visit.  He weighs 22 lbs. 13 oz (50th percentile), is 30.5 inches long (75th percentile), and has a 19 inch head (90th percentile!)  Poor boy had to get a finger prick to check hemoglobin levels and four shots.  Luckily, he had two nurses do the shots at the same time to get it over with quickly.  Overall, Ethan did very well.  He only cried for a minute or two and went on his merry way.

Doc was pleased most with Ethan's language abilities and said that he's pretty advanced with his actual spoken words and signs.  Momma Bear was beaming with pride.

Happy 1st Birthday, Ethan!

What a bitter-sweet post to write.  In fact, I've been dreading writing this one for the past few weeks now.  Now that you have turned one, I feel as if my little baby is gone and I have a real, life toddler on my hands.  This past year has been a whirlwind for both yourself and us.  Our lives have changed from being a tiny family of four (your fursisters!) to a family of 5!  You are the center of our lives.  We strive to see you smile each and every day and fist pump the air with each new achievement you perfect.  When you were born, I never would have imagined just how much our lives were about to change and now it is hard for me to remember what life was like before you.  You mean the world to your Daddy and me.  You have captured the hearts of so many and are certainly one loved little boy.  Thank you for bringing us joy and love every single day.  We love you so much.

Now for the update: 

You will go to the doctor in a few weeks for what is sure to be a not so fun visit.  I'm guessing you weigh around 23 lbs. and are 32 inches tall.  I'll update after your visit

You continued to be a wonderful sleeper.  That is, until daylight savings began a few days ago.  While you slept your typical number of hours, we did NOT enjoy having you wake up for the day at 5:30 am!  And those evenings, woah, rough!  7:30 could not come quickly enough!  Luckily, you adjusted quickly and were back on schedule after just two days...luckily!

Now that you are one, we have transitioned you to cow's milk.  You wanted nothing to do with formula so Mommy decided to go ahead with whole milk despite the doctor's recommendations (shhhh, don't tell on me!)  You get two bottles of milk per day and still get nursed in the morning and at night.  I'm not sure how long we'll continue nursing twice a day but it works for us for now.  Our next step is to get rid of the bottle and use just a sippy.  While you happily drink water from one now, you want nothing to do with milk in a cup.

You continue to wear mostly 12 month clothes with the occasional 6-9 month pants. Diapers are still size 4 and shoes, size 3.

You have really mastered walking around.  I don't think I see you crawl anymore unless you're trying to sneak up on the dogs :)  You have actually started running a bit when you get really excited and what to get to an object or person quickly.  Oh the joys I see coming our way!

I can now say without a doubt that your first word is dog.  Whenever you see a dog, you automatically smack your upper thigh and shout out a little "doh doh doh."  I love when you pet the dogs or stuffed animals and say "awwwww."  Too cute!  Within the past few days it seems as if you are attempting the sign for duck.  Your favorite book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do you See? and you love to watch Mommy and Daddy sign all the animals to you.

This past month has brought a bit of sadness to our lives.  Your Great Grandpa Ciolino passed away on Oct. 18th.  You had the pleasure of meeting him a few times in your short life and liked when he held you.  There are times when I think you resemble Great Grandpa.  I'm so thankful that Grandpa got to meet you before passing away.  He will be missed greatly.

You celebrated your very first Halloween this past month and boy, were you the cutest little doggie I've ever seen!

Your 1st birthday party will be in just a few days and our home will be packed with the people whose lives you have touched.  I can't wait to celebrate your life!  Happy Birthday sweet baby boy.  We love you so much.

Happy Halloween

Isn't he the cutest puppy dog you've ever seen?!  Sorry Molly and Maggie but it's true.

Here are our family pumpkins.  We actually forgot to carve pumpkins until the very last second.  Hence the slight messiness of them.