New Shoes

You know your son loves his new shoes when he wears them to bed and sleeps all night with them on!
Ethan was whimpering this morning off and on so I decided to go in and check on him. I changed his diaper and when I was taking his Pj's off to change him I noticed that he had 1 shoe on over his pajama's! SO he had slept the whole night with a shoe on over his fleece footie pj's. Of course daddy watched him last night while I was at bible study, so he didn't catch the fact he had a shoe on when he put him to bed.
Ethan LOVES these new shoes. They are a simple slip-on tennis shoe with one velcro strap. We got them at Payless on Monday. His shoes had been fitting snug and whenever I put them on he would whine. I thought he was just being a normal toddler fighting me on getting dressed. However when I got him measured at Stride Rite over the holidays, I realized he was really a size 8 Wide when I had him in size 6's!!!! No wonder! So ever since we got the shoes he has been wearing them ALL the time. I had to finally hide them yesterday because he kept putting them on himself and sometimes on the wrong feet. He LOVES them. I don't know if he really just loves having shoes that fit or if we pumped up the excitement when we were buying them. Here's a picture of his beloved shoe!

Christmas Re-cap

Now that the craziness of Christmas has subsided, I took down the Christmas tree and all the decorations, actually cleaned the house and put ALL of Ethan's new toys away and I feel somewhat organized again. Our apartment has been an absolute wreck. We had 4 separate celebrations and each time we got home I would chuck the gifts on the floor and you literally couldn't walk from one end of the apartment to the other without fear of stepping on a toy and breaking your ankle. Tonight I was in cleaning mode and didn't stop until I felt like everything was somewhat in its right place. The next big project to be completed in the next few days is to transition Ethan's room to a big boy room. We were blessed by some friends of ours with a twin bed and box springs so we are going to attempt to put Ethan in the big boy bed. Which means I need to completely make sure E's room is clean and toddler proofed. Because Lord knows he will be out of that bed and messing with things and right now that would not be good. It makes me excited to see him in this new stage. He seems to be growing so fast. He is now saying small sentences on a daily basis. Like when we say, "Ethan are you my cute boy?!" He replies, "No, I not." Which is his reply for a lot of questions like that. He has also perfected the reply, "No, I don't want it" which usually comes after the question, "Ethan would you like some more vegetables?" He has an excellent memory and can recall people's names and certain events. He is increasing his vocabulary daily. Tonight I was telling him how his Grammy wasn't feeling good and I said her tummy hurt and he repeated everything I said and looked like he genuinely understood. His new thing that I ADORE is him trying to sing 'Jesus loves me' as well as his 'ABC'S'. SOOOO cute. Melts my heart. He is Obsessed with playing basketball. EVERYTHING is basketball right now. Sometimes I want to take the ball and throw it out the window because that is all I hear about. This morning he was shooting baskets with his "b-ball" and he yelled "TOUCHDOWN"! It was so cute! Although of course we had to tell him the proper sport terminology. There is no way that Matt's son won't be properly educated when it comes to sports. He really is a hoot to be around. Now that Christmas craziness has settled down his tantrums have subsided and he is getting back into a routine. Matt and I discovered some pretty important stuff about our son through the holidays that will affect our parenting. We realized that Ethan really doesn't do well with being reprimanded in front of other people. He really gets embarrassed and the situation escalates when we do so. So we will try our best to reprimand him in private. Of course there is a time and a place for discipline, but we want to try to meet him halfway and if we can do so by not making a public spectacle out of him then I feel that will be valuable in the long run. I am glad we noticed this because we truly felt it had an impact on him during all our Christmas gatherings. We knew he didn't like being in trouble, but this tender hearted side of him really opened our eyes. We also realized how shy he really is at first. It takes him a while to warm up to someone but then once he does he is full throttle and the life of the party.
So anyhow, there is a re-cap. I hope to post some pictures soon, I got some cute ones. Next thing i'm looking forward to is New Years Eve with some great friends and GREAT fun!

Family Pictures

Our family has had a great Christmas! We have celebrated with 4 different sets of family. It is always fun to see each other and spend time with everyone. Ethan got stocked up on some great toys! His favorite has to be the small basketball goal my parents got him. He has had a huge obsession with basketball ever since Matt played on a city league and we would go watch his games. We might have a basketball player on our hands. My favorite part of the holiday was having my dad read the Christmas story out of the bible. What an sweet time it was for us all to be still and quiet and listen about how Jesus came to this world!
The day after Christmas we went with my whole family to get some portraits done. Ethan did not cooperate at all! He screamed and did not want to sit. Somehow the girl (who was referred to us by a friend) got the few times Ethan cracked a smile. I was amazed to see that some actually turned out! Here is one of my favorite pictures out of the bunch! Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS from my family to yours! I won't be posting again before Christmas unless it is urgent. Urgent meaning an adorable picture or funny story to tell. So until next time... Love you all!!!

Photo Tag

*Open the fourth picture folder on your computer
*Post the fourth picture in that folder
*Explain the picture
*Tag four more people

Aw, I love this picture! This picture was taken at Camp Willow Run this past Summer when Matt was the camp speaker. This was the first day we were there. What a fun picture, because these are my boys that I LOVE so much!
I tag Jen Joyner, Erin, Grammy, and Amanda

Kisser

Our little one has to kiss EVERYTHING...including the vacuum when we are putting it away. So of course he thought the Christmas tree needed some love! MUAH!

Christmas Tag

I've been tagged by my mom to do this Christmas Questionnaire.

Favorite Tree: Has to be this year since it is our first real tree!
Favorite Ornament: "Our first Christmas" ornament when Matt and I got married.
Favorite Christmas Song: "O Holy Night" Martina McBride version
Favorite Tradition: Opening one gift on Christmas eve
Favorite Gift: Too hard of a question to answer...but I love how my mom always buys everyone underwear to open on Christmas, what a fun gift to open in front of EVERYONE!
Favorite Christmas Meal: Biscuits & Sausage gravy by Dad
Favorite Cookie: Oreo Balls or a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookies
Favorite Place to be: My parents house on Christmas morning
Favorite Christmas Memory: One year I put our stockings on my feet which were red and white striped and they were long and skinny and I passed out the gifts to everyone Christmas morning
Favorite Christmas Movie: ELF

I tag: Courtney, Sheila, and Erin

Recent funnies

This morning during breakfast I asked Ethan if he wanted more bananas, this was his response... "No, I don't want it". Where in the world did that 5 word sentence come from?!! Matt was just saying that he feels that Ethan's talking has really grown the past two weeks. Now I believe it. Then this morning when I was getting ready for work I couldn't find my hairbrush. So I asked the only person who would know. Ethan. I said, "Ethan, where is mommy's hairbrush?!" He looked at me puzzled then looked in our bathroom closet and sang, "Haaaaairbrush, where arrrrre you?!" SO cute! Now that he is feeling better and sleeping better (Praise the LORD!) his little personality is coming back. He has been so happy and funny today. We went and ate lunch with my mom after work this morning and in the car on the way to see her Ethan started clapping and saying "Yay, mammy!" then of course proceeds to ask where Papa, Woof woof, and Ashlyn are. All his favorite people. It is so nice to have my son back. Sickness had overtaken him and I am thrilled to see him his happy loving self again. Last night was our first normal night sleep in almost 3 weeks! He went to bed at 8:30 without a peep and did not wake until 7:00a.m. and when he got up he wasn't crying like he has been, he actually was talking and happy. Yay!
I'm looking forward to our church's Christmas party tomorrow night and more celebrations and gatherings coming as Christmas draws near. I just hope my whole family is healthy so that we can spend it together!!

More good news and praises: Little baby Ava that I told you about that was in the NICU is doing so much better. Her lung that was collapsed is now re-inflated and she is doing well!

He cares

Our family has been consumed lately by lack of sleep and sickness. A couple at our church just had a baby girl. The baby has been in the NICU since she's been born and it has been touch and go. People are losing their jobs at a rapid rate. Some of these are way bigger issues than others. But, we have a God who cares about them all. This morning when a prayer request was sent out about Roxanne and Keith's new baby girl who isn't doing well, all our sleeping problems and sickness seemed so small in the grand scheme. And while yes it is small, it is comforting that God knows and cares about all our needs. I am praying for little Ava Grace that she will gain strength and will come home soon.
We took Ethan to the doctor again this morning because of his sleeping issues. We weren't sure if had an ear infection or what the deal was. He was up for 2 hours straight last night crying and then woke up several times afterwards. Matt and I are just exhausted because of being sick ourselves and then not knowing what to do about Ethan. Well he didn't have an ear infection, but his throat is red and his voice is still hoarse because of all the congestion. She gave us some sample medicine's that are decongestants that also have an antihistamine in it. So hopefully it will help him sleep better and we can knock this sickness out and the sleeping issues too. It's amazing how something so small as this can be so consuming to us. He's been way worse with sickness before, but this has really taken a toll on us. When he was crying for so long last night, Matt finally just got up and sat on the couch with the laptop. I came out into the living room as well and just sat on the couch and prayed and cried. When nothing you seem to do will console your child, it is SO draining. Emotionally, physically, and mentally.
It is so comforting to know that God is there and He does care and love us so much. So many people blame God for things in this world. While I don't understand the reasons behind it all, I trust and know that bad things can be used for good. There are people in my life that reflect this. How can a couple I know who lost their daughter at a young age say that they knew it was God's plan and while yes it was very hard and they will never forget the day she passed. They know that people's lives are being affected and that they have a peace that surpasses all understanding. They trust that what seems to be such a dark situation has a silver lining and can be used for good. While losing a child and being sick and tired are such opposite side of the spectrum, my point is that God loves you and cares about anything that is going on in your life. No matter how big or how small. What is huge in your life may be small to someone else's eyes and vise verso. Cast your burdens on Him, for He cares for you!

12 Things I love about Christmas time

1. Spending extended time with family & friends
2. Eating a lot of yummy food
3. Giving gifts
4. Getting gifts (I would be lying if I said I didn't like it)
5. Snuggling in a warm bed
6. An excuse to get Starbucks
7. All the pretty lights and decorations
8. Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ
9. Christmas parties where you partake in #1 and #2 on this list
10. Possible snow to play in
11. Reflecting on life and its meaning
12. All the smells- food baking, Christmas trees, crisp air

HUGE Victory!

So I just wrote the last post earlier today and tonight we had a HUGE victory! Praise the Lord! I took Ethan into his room for bedtime. He asked to sit in the chair, thinking I would hold him and rock him. I said, Ok, we'll sit in the chair for prayers. So we said our night prayer and I stood up to put him in his crib. He started whining and asking for his daddy, which he had just said goodnight to. I sang him 2 songs and laid him down and he laid right down and didn't make a peep!!!!! The whole past week anytime I would lay him down he would jump right back up and start screaming. This is HUGE!!!!!!!!!!! Even if he wakes up tonight or struggles some more, I am so glad for this tonight. That means we are heading in the right direction and doing something right! YAY! Matt's exams are over and we are starting to feel better, so hooray!

My life with a newborn

I have a 22 month old boy, but it feels like I have a newborn all over again. His sickness is mostly gone, however because I had to hold him when he had the croup so bad, all he wants to do is be held in the night. That has been making for very long and sleepless nights. It has been very very hard. Especially since Matt and I now have the cold that Ethan had. Add in the fact that Matt has 3 final exams today for Seminary, and we are just exhausted. When my sweet friend Jen Joyner asked me how I was on Sunday I just started bawling. I was not intending to cry, but the emotions and sleepless nights all caught up to me. Thankfully we have great parents and my mom offered to take Ethan for the afternoon so we could rest. We literally walked in the door after church and went straight to bed. I slept from 12:15 until 4:00! Last night was a little better. Ethan cried for an hour when we put him to bed, slept through the night and woke up at 6:00a.m. crying again. Whenever we walk in there he asks, "hold you" or "chair" and points to the glider. Whenever I walk to the crib he starts screaming. He just wants to sleep in our arms. Today's nap got a little better. He only cried for 15 minutes when we put him down. However he woke up after an hour with a poopy and now has spent the past 40 minutes crying. I just could not even imagine having another child while going through this all, especially since unless our living situation drastically changes, our other hypothetical child would be sharing a room with Ethan. So these thoughts of having baby #2 are being put on hold for a bit. PLEASE pray for us. I know this may seem silly and in the grand scheme of things isn't a big deal, but it has been very hard to hear your child cry and scream for hours and know that they just need to get through this phase. I'm sure our neighbors aren't loving it either. But it has to be done. Yay.

Too cute

Now that we have a real Christmas tree, I am so paranoid that it is going to dry out so I am constantly adding water to it. After I watered the tree this morning I went to return the pitcher to the kitchen and when I walked into the living room I saw Ethan had gotten our empty milk jug that was sitting beside the trash can and was trying to water the tree himself. How cute is that?! What a smart little boy!

Little booger

So in one day Ethan shoved my hair clip and his toothbrush down our sink drain. They had to take the pipes apart and remove those items. What a booger! He is definitely a boy in toddler stage!

Victory

We've had 2 major victories in the past 24 hours, I am just so excited! Last night Ethan threw a huge tantrum. While we were reprimanding him for one misbehavior, he blatantly did another and then hit us when we were trying to discipline him. So he went in time out. Well, to make a very long story short, he was in time out for 1 hour and 15 minutes because he was refusing to say sorry for the previous misbehavior's. Now, I know that may seem a little much but we were staying consistent for a couple of reasons. Number 1 even though he isn't feeling well, that is not an excuse for disobedience. We want to instill him that no matter how you're feeling, you still need to obey. Number 2, he was outright refusing to say sorry or say yes ma'am. We kept telling him what he was in time out for and asking him to apologize and with attitude he was refusing. So we know for a fact that he knew exactly what he was doing. At this point it was a power struggle and there was no way he was going to get by with it. Because if we let him get by with it this one time, that sends him the green light that it is ok to do it again in the future. We have a very strong willed child, so we have to be as consistent as possible. So let me tell you, it made for a very fun night. But he eventually in a small little voice said, "sossy" and gave me a hug. It was a very sweet time and we just hugged him and told him how much we love him.
Second victory, Ethan slept completely through the night last night without making a peep! I went to sleep at 10:00p.m. and woke up at 7:00a.m. Can I tell you how much I needed that and how much he needed that?!! I even woke up around 4:00a.m. in a jump and practically ran in his room to see if he was ok. So I feel rejuvenated this morning, however i'm a little stuffy and congested. So i'm hoping i'm not coming down with anything, I needed that tremendously! So i'm hoping that our family gets healthy soon!!

O Christmas Tree!

Tonight we decorated our tree! Like I said before it is our first real tree as a married couple! We've always had my artificial tree from college that looked like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It was so pathetic looking. So we were excited when we found out that we were going to be given a real tree! The apartment smells so good and we think it is BEAUTIFUL! Decorating went well. Ethan helped throw on some ornaments... literally. I guess the round silver ball ornaments and a plastic nerf ball are hard to tell apart by a toddler. I got some cute video of him helping us decorate. He is also attempting to say Merry Christmas. SO cute! He did real well despite not feeling well. We debated on waiting until he went to bed to decorate, but we wanted him to be a part of it, crankyness and all! Thanks for all your prayers for his health, I sure hope he gets better soon! Merry Christmas!!! This picture was the best we could do on our own in front of the tree. It took several attempts and Ethan's head still got cut off, ha ha! Now i'm off to bed early in case this night goes anything like it did last night.

Update

Last night was not good. I didn't get any sleep. Ethan was up all night. We tried sleeping anywhere we could sit... the couch, his glider, his crib, our bed. Not fun. The good news is he is breathing better but still has no voice. Today he had diahrea but that is because he hasn't eaten anything the past 2 days, only drinks milk & water. Today is a real turning point because he actually ate some of his lunch. I am hoping and praying that last night was the worst of it and now we are on the way up! I would really like to sleep tonight.

There's nothing like it

There is nothing like hearing your baby make a noise in his sleep then cry, then when you walk in his room you immediately smell the acidic smell of vomit...when you turn on the light finding him covered in vomit...when you pick him up he vomits on you...when you take him in the bathroom to clean him up he vomits on you and the towel you're holding... Nope, nothing like it. Well at least we're all cleaned up now and he's back in bed. Here's hoping for a good night...

The Croup

Ethan has the croup. We had a rough night last night. Almost took him to the ER because of his breathing but decided to wait until morning when he could go to his pediatrician's office. We knew it wasn't life or death, but knew that he wasn't doing well. This morning I called his pediatrician's office phone line to listen to the business hours. I thought that they opened at 8:00. So I get the voicemail confirming that "hours of operation are from 8:00a.m. until 5:00 p.m."! I pull up to the Dr. and i'm about 15 minutes early. So I sit in the car with Ethan until 5 minutes til' 8:00. I decided to go up and see if the door was unlocked. It was! The receptionist however gives me a look like, "what the heck are you doing here?!" and I told her that I didn't have an appointment so I wanted to get there early to see if they could work him in their schedule. Well, they don't "open" until 8:30! She gets there at 8:00 to start answering phones, but they didn't even have doctors there yet!! So why in the world do they say that the hours of operation are from 8:00 until 5:00! (Granted I know in the big scheme of things that really isn't a big deal, but when you are up all night with your sick child who is having trouble breathing and you find out that you need to go waste 30 minutes, it doesn't really make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!) SO, I decided to drive to Starbucks. This one didn't have a drive through, so I had to take Ethan out and go inside. I ordered and the barista was trying to say hi to Ethan and get him to smile, but he just lay his head on my shoulder. He must have looked real pathetic because when I was walking away they gave him a big chocolate chip cookie! So anyhow, back to the pediatrician's office we went. I wanted to make sure that his lungs were ok, that was my main reason for taking him in. Well he has the croup which resides in your voice box and larynx. Which explains the fact that he has completely lost his voice and his cough makes a real bad barking sound. She said he sounded pretty bad and was concerned about his breathing so she gave him a dose of steroids in the office to get him started to reduce the inflammation and make it easier to breath. She wrote him a 5 day prescription which they normally give a 3 to 4 day prescription for. We really have to watch him in the night because that is when it gets worse and he could wind up in the ER if his breathing becomes bad. He has had the croup before but not near this bad. So baby boy is taking it easy. He is completely of "schedule" because he is sleeping a lot. I am taking advantage of his napping and have completely cleaned the apartment, mopped, vacuumed and everything! I moved our big chair into his play area because we are going to put our Christmas tree up by our front window. So it has been a productive day despite my poor sickie. I just pray our family gets healthy because my brother and his wife and girls are all sick too! We didn't even get to see them for Thanksgiving because they are so sick. I guess we can hope they all get it out of their system so we are all happy and healthy for CHRISTMAS!
p.s. A little blessing hidden in all of this is that Ethan's doctor visit was free because of a credit to his account! I love how the Lord orchestrates a blessing in the midst of a trial to show you His love and let you know that you are not alone!