The good, the bad...and the cute:)

Wow, it's been a while since my last post, so I figured it was time to get back on the computer!

Life has kept us busy these last few weeks. Between taking care of Ethan, our washing machine dying, and the normal busyness of life, we've had our hands full. Ethan is always a handful, but I love how active and curious he is. Our washer dying, on the other hand, is not something I enjoy. Just over a week ago, I went into the laundry room to discover that there was water all over the floor, and an error message on our less-than-one-year-old machine saying that it wasn't draining properly. After calling in a technician, we found out that there's a crack in the outer tub, and it will take a few weeks to receive parts. In other words, I have to do laundry elsewhere for the next while. Thankfully, both our parents have been very generous in allowing us to use their machines, but it's hard to switch from doing laundry every day to once or twice a week (especially since I often do 3-4 loads a day). This experience has taught me how much I appreciate having a washer & dryer, and how difficult life must have been before these became regular household appliances.

On to more positive topics! Ethan has reached a few new milestones which is always fun! He started eating solids at the beginning of March, and so far it's going really well! Hopefully it will continue to go well as we introduce more & more new foods. Ethan has also started to crawl! He doesn't get up on all fours yet, but instead, he uses his hands, knees and feet to push himself along the floor. It's pretty cute! He's starting to move pretty fast, so I think we'll have to put up our gate really soon. Then yesterday, Ethan pulled himself up to standing for the first time! (Well, the first time that he wasn't holding onto our hands.) I put him in the laundry basket (since he likes to hang out in there sometimes) and he grabbed the sides and pulled himself up! Once he pulled himself up, he stood there, hanging onto the edges for a few minutes before sitting down again. Dan and I were sitting beside him, cheering him on (and of course, making sure he didn't tip the basket) - we were so proud!

On a less positive note, Ethan has croup again. Thankfully, it's not nearly as bad as it was the first time, but it still means a runny nose, a horrible sounding cough, and a little less sleep. We are very thankful that we haven't had to take him to the hospital. I'm not sure if he's having an easier time because it's a weaker cold or because he's a little older and stronger, but either way, it's good. And he's such a trooper - he still laughs and plays as if nothing's wrong (he just has less energy). It also means he's a little more cuddly, which is fun:).

Just a quick update: I had mentioned in my last post that I was going to take a first aid course. Well, I attended classes on Tuesday and Thursday this last week, and I am now certified to do first aid on babies/children up to eight years old! Of course this doesn't really change anything, and I hope I will never have to use this new information, but I feel better now that I know what to do in case of an emergency. I would definitely recommend this course to other parents!

Now for some fun photos! (I haven't posted for a long time, so there are quite a few!)

This one is for Grandpa Loewen - he really likes John Deere stuff, and wants to share that with Ethan. So far it looks like Ethan really likes it too!

Now that Ethan's crawling, he makes his way into the oddest places. This is a picture of him under his exersaucer.

A few months ago, we bought Ethan a Busy Ball Popper. He doesn't really know how to play with it yet, but he loves watching as the balls pop out and roll across the floor!

He also likes to tip it to get a better view. However, the air blows out of the top, and he can never seem to figure out why it's blowing in his face when he tips it!

Ethan seems to have a fascination with cell phones, so we pulled out our old one for him to play with.

I like this one:). I was trying to finish dressing him, but he was too distracted by the hat sitting beside him on the couch, so I stopped trying to dress him and just put the hat on him. As you can see, he didn't mind!

Whenever Dan & I have a drink out of a glass, Ethan wants to grab it from us and try it out. If the glass is empty, we usually let him try - sometimes we'll even put a little water in it. He's getting good at it, too! We were finally able to get a fun picture of this, so here it is!

Dan's family was over for dinner for his mom's birthday a few weeks ago, so Ethan got to spend a little time with Grandpa Loewen.

Whenever I finish changing Ethan and he's in the mood to play, I let him hang out in the crib and try to climb up the side. (Don't worry, I only keep it low when I'm standing right there.) One of these days, he'll pull himself up. But until then, it's fun to watch him play around:).

I was helping Ethan walk around the house one day, while Sesame Street was on in the background. We were walking by the TV, and he decided to sit himself down and watch. I couldn't resist taking a few pictures!

So cute sitting there all by himself!

Ethan hanging out with Uncle Bob:).

We bought Ethan one of those walk and ride toys, and he loves sitting on it as we push him around.

Ethan has a cute fascination with feet. He likes to grab onto them and touch them, especially when we move around.

I like this picture because you can see that his hair is slowly getting longer and thicker!

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully I'll be able to post more often!