We Do Have Other Kids

Micah is growing and maturing physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. He is really into pretend play. Most of the play and scenarios he comes up with are from things he has observed or been involved with, especially if it involves his dad or anything guy related. So there is lots of cars, trucks, hunting, chopping, building, and repairing happening with him. He will also do some cooking with pom poms and fort building with Jane. They are starting to play more and more together which is fun to see their relationship grow and for them to enjoy each other. Their relationship is something I pray for that it will continue to strengthen and remain through their lives. Micah is also so in love with Ethan. He will stop in the middle of whatever he is doing to say hi to him. Micah is very eager to help in anyway with Ethan. Micah will also hold his hand anytime they are near. Whether we are sitting together reading a book or they are in their carseats Micah is almost always holding his hand. Micah really enjoys reading, he will also stop in the middle of whatever he is doing if you offer to read to him and he will sit there as long as you are willing to read. As Micah is getting older he is getting to be more responsible and helpful. He is still a little boy and I love my snuggles with him.

Jane is at the age where what she says and they way she speaks are just the cutest things. Like the way she will often tilt her head and almost squint her eyes when she speaks. Or her pronunciation of words like, Efin (Ethan), Mitah (Micah), tib (crib), puzz (fuzz) and many more. Or that she calls cold cereal breakfast and if we have something else for breakfast she doesn't think she has eaten breakfast. Or how they both call a meat and cheese sandwich a "pickle samich". She will also continue to repeat what she has said until you acknowledge her. Ever time I tuck her in for nap she will tell my "my tummy hurts and my eye", to which I say "Okay, go to sleep and you will feel better." and that's it, she then goes to sleep. You will never find Jane far from her blanket (she calls it her poka ought diedent) and her baby doll Mindy. Jane is eager to help me in the kitchen and with the laundry, that will be great when she actually is helpful. She too is in love with Ethan and wants to help with  him. Jane will usually try help him feel better when he is crying. Jane is a sweet girl and we often say she can't get any cuter.

5 Months

 

 

Ethan is finally beaten the cold he has seemed to have had for a good portion of his life. But the poor baby woke up with pink eye a week ago. I feel so bad for him, hopefully soon he will get to experience life healthy. Right now it is so hard not to kiss those sweet cheeks. It doesn't seem to bother him, he is still a very happy baby. Ethan has become very good at rolling and seems to prefer to play on his tummy. He has also discovered how fun a toy his toes are especially in the mouth, always so cute. He has found tags or ribbons on toys to be fun to play with too. He is growing well, now weighing 15 pounds. He is napping three times a day, nurses five times a day and sleeps through the night. Ethan seems to enjoy his siblings as much as they enjoy him. But I still get most of his attention and I will take it!

4 Months

Clearly the months are flying and quite busy since I have only managed to post once per month. And so Ethan is now four months old. We had Ethan's check up yesterday and he weighs 14 pounds 4 ounces and is 26.25 inches long and of course being one of our kids his head measures big at 17.25 inches. He is still fighting the same cold that he came down with two months ago though he is finally showing signs of improvement. Thankfully it doesn't seem to have effected his sleeping or eating. It is fun seeing him begin to play with toys, he especially is interested in ones that he can hit to make noise. When on his back he will roll to his sides to play with his hands and a nearby toy. He can roll tummy to back and if I help hold his hips, also he will roll back to tummy. One of the best things is he is ticklish, hearing his laugh is great! Just a fun boy and though lots of care taking it is a fun season in life.

3 Months

Here we are, another month has flown by. I don't have his weight yet, but I'll update when I do. He is growing out of three month clothes. He has "found" his hands and is very entertained sucking on them. He also enjoys being on the playmat and is very successful hitting the toys over head. His head control has improved quite a lot and he does well holding his head up during tummy time. He has rolled a number of times from his tummy to back. He will coo and talk with us and it is so cute! So are his smiles which are much easier to get now. He really likes his checks and toes kissed. He is also blowing bubbles now. Though he has a pretty rough cold right now, he is pretty miserable, at least he looks miserable. Our routine is waking him up at 8/8:30 to nurse then nap at 10/10:30, nurse at 11/11:30, nap at 1/1:30, nurse 3/3:30, nap 5/5:30, nurse 6/6:30, and then asleep for the night around 8. He will then wake up around 9 to nurse and goes straight back to sleep and then usually will wake once during the night to eat, occasionally he has slept all the way until I wake him. With the other kids I would nurse them right before laying them down for the night, but for Ethan that seemed to wake him up and then he wouldn't go to sleep for sometime. Every kid is different right? It is fun seeing him grow more and seeing him enjoy his siblings. They really love him, as do all of us.

For fun, here is a comparison of the three kids at three months.

2 Months

Ethan is growing! He now weighs 12lbs 4oz. He is pretty happy and content. He will fuss when he is uncomfortable of course and he will some nights going to sleep. Ethan seems to have similar sleep patterns as Micah did, all that really means is as a baby Micah wasn't a super sleeper and Ethan seems to be that way too. There will be some evenings he will be awake for four hours before he finally gives in and falls asleep for the night. He wakes up one to two times a night so I'm still feeling the effects of lost sleep. Ethan is getting strong and gaining more control over his head. He really enjoys being on the playmat kicking his legs and batting at the toys over him. He will track us or toys but not for very long there are some many things going on around him he gets distracted. His cute smiles are still hard to come by, we  have to really work for them. Naturally he will stop smiling as soon as a camera comes out. He is beginning to coo as well. It is so fun watching him grow and change. And it happens so quick at this age I am trying to cherish and store up memories of Ethan.

1 Month

Time truly flies by with a baby, and they change so much. Here is a quick summary of Ethan and what he is up to at one month old. He is much more alert compared to when he was first born. No smiles at me yet, but apparently other people have gotten small smiles from him. He is beginning to coo, not a lot though or consistently yet. We are up about two times a night and during the day he nurses every 2.5 to 3 hours. At times he struggles going to sleep at night but other then that he is pretty content. He will be awake for 1.5 to 2 hours but half of that time is spent nursing, which means he is dozing a bit during that time. He seems to like tummy time, a few times he has almost drifted off to sleep on his tummy. Babies drifting off to sleep is always the cutest thing. The saddest "first" we have had this month is Ethan has had a cold and been quite congested. It is so sad to hear him be all stuffed up. He has still been able to nurse but has had to sleep propped up a bit to help with drainage. Ethan has been growing, he weighs 9lbs 11oz. He is still in newborn clothes but they are getting small so he will probably be moving up sizes in the next week. Why do they grow so quick! Trying to store up memories of this boy being a baby despite the busyness of our house.

Ethan Michael

Welcome Ethan Michael! He was born November 16th at 10:34p, he was 8lbs 2oz and 21". I woke that morning at 6:00 to get showered and ready for church. In the shower I noticed I had already had a couple contractions so I started to count, plus the were definitely stronger. They continued through the morning making us wonder if I should play piano at church that morning or not. But by the time we got down there they seemed to have slowed and remained that way through the afternoon. We could tell that labor was beginning so we did inform my parents and they came up that evening to stay the night. Sunday evening the contractions increased in intensity but were not becoming consistent in timing. They were bouncing around from 5 to 8 minutes apart. About 9:45pm after returning from the bathroom C could see in my face things had changed and decided it was time to head to the hospital. Almost as soon as we got in the car the contractions dropped to three minutes
apart and a could feel him bearing down. C made the trip a bit quicker. We got checked in at the hospital at 10:25 and things had really progressed. The walk to the birthing center felt rather long. As the nurse was leading us to a room C asked if they were ready to deliver a baby. They didn't think much of at right then and sent me to the bathroom to collect a urine sample. Once in there I was ready and started pushing. The nurses realized at that point the baby was coming now. C had to carry me to the bed where the nurses were quickly getting everything ready. A few minutes later at 10:34 Ethan was born, before the doctor had even arrived. Nine minutes at the hospital, I don't think we could have cut it any closer and actually deliver at the hospital in the birthing center. God's timing is perfect and we are so blessed to have another baby. Welcoming a new life into this world is nothing but pure joy.
Here he is now at 3 weeks old.