look mom no hands...

well its official! Ethan took his first steps by himself today…


earlier in the day ethan took 1 step without holding on to anything on two different occassions. this evening he took 3 steps to get to kathy a family friend!! let me just tell how absolutely cute it was and how excited i am for him. love these mommy moments 

ail not be long till its just a regular thing he does!

xtreme blast 2010

i may be biased but he has to be the cutest lil giraffe i have ever seen!!

he is ready to go in his little wagon...

ms. paisley and her fashionista momma...

and the duck pond game...ethan won his first try ;)

ao many games and things to do...slides and an obstacle course it will be much more interactive for him as he gets older.

what a great evening of fun and fellowship with friends and family! this was the first year for it to be held in the new faith family church building and it was a success!!!
this will absolutely be in our list of fun activities to do each year! thank you faith family and all of those who volunteered your time we have memories that will last forever!

my son my protector

this is one of the sweetest most fun memories i will store forever! 

ethan is my protector and has been for quite some time now. i am not really getting hurt and this is how it goes. if i am being tickled and am saying “no, no, no” and he’s within ear shot he’s totally there at my side telling mike what’s up.
just the other day he was in his play room near the living room playing and having a good old ethan time... next thing you know mommy is in “distress”. probably some wrestling move or tickle fest going on. he sounded like a horse with how fast he crawled to me to make sure i was okay. I love him!
this is absolutely going to be one of the fondest memories i have. its so stinking cute and my husband is even amazed.
i guess a lot less rear naked chokes and arm bars from daddy. : )

i found them mom...

i can search for hours to find one "paci" for nap time...under the couch, in the toy box, in the crib and everywhere else! sometimes even not finding any and going with out. he happens to miraculously find 3 when i am not looking.. at least he knows where they are...

It seems that we as parents anticipate each and every milestone. Its fun, exciting, kinda sad, amazing so many words could describe how each milestone feels when it happens. This next one I am supposed to be worried about …so I have heard from some parents. Yes ladies and gentleman we are talking about WALKING!!! 

Ethan has walked with his Buzz Light Year car while pushing it and before today he stood twice by himself for a short period of time. But today…it was different. He loves his big green ball…in Ethan’s world it’s probably his exercise ball. He bounces it, rolls it, watches daddy bounce it and leans on it. Today while leaning on it with his hands and standing he picked up the ball and held it in the air for quite a while. YAY! It seemed the ball was helping him balance and gain confidence! The other times he did stand without holding onto anything but as soon as he realized that he let go of the couch or table or whatever he would sit down. : )

Then as we were shooting hoops and dancing tonight he stood all by himself to make a basket and stayed there for geez I am not even sure how long but a good while!

Worried I am not worried at all! I am so excited for him! Sure he will get into things (he already does now), he might be harder to catch, he will probably be quicker (so quick trips to do laundry might be tough for a while), less chance of him wanting to cuddle as much because those little legs will want to go, go, go,. But really I am okay with all of it. These are the facts of life and growing up. So we may have more injuries, more discipline and have to pay attention A LOT more…but I think this is awesome! I will keep you posted on the future adventures as Ethan experiments with walking and standing on his own.

ethan's first birthday

most of you who know me personally know i absolutely enjoy celebrating birthdays.i love all that is involved with them. ethan's very first party would be the most exciting yet

after setting up the date with the photographer, making the guest list, designing the invitations, and my mom creating them...after ordering the perfect cake, purchasing all the decorations, deciding on the simple menu...inflating over 100 balloons, filling 25 party favor bags, setting everything up, picking up the balloon bouquets, greeting all the guests, having a prayer said over our son, singing happy birthday...

 ethan enjoying his very first smash cake, cutting the cake, opening presents, after every guest signed his photo frame and we said thank you and goodbye it was the perfect day but ended way too fast!!

love you peanut butter!

ethan's first birthday

well today is it! today is the big one for the sweetest cutest boy i know! a 365 day journey and it seems so much has happened. when ethan was in my tummy i prayed everyday over him that he would be the perfect, happy, healthy, sleep through the night baby that he is. i also prayed for an easy delivery! and prayers must work because i got it all! : ) i remember my labor and delivery like it was yesterday. that part was a breeze and really had no idea what to expect but it wasn't that!! when i heard ethan’s first little whimper i cried and new it was instant love even stronger than the way i loved him before he was born!

each day brought new experiences and i can’t believe in this short amount of time he has grown from being completely dependent on me and dad to the little independence he’s acquiring on his own terms.
each and every mile stone has been so exciting and fun to see ethan accomplish. from sitting up to crawling and pulling himself up. when he started eating solid foods and holding his own bottle. it’s all just amazing! now he reach’s for us and understands who mom and dad are. and actually is smart and his hearing is impeccable. he doesn't miss a beat.

my favorite times are the cuddle times when he grabs his paci and blankie and comes to me and wants me to hold him and cuddle. those are the moments i love the most. well maybe it’s your open mouth kisses. i think he gives 1000 to papaw ray every time he sees him. or is it when he dances to his music or randomly dances when music comes on the tv with a big semi-toothless smile. or maybe when he scrunches his nose and grins ear to ear.i think i have captured most of these precious moments on camera or video considering i have thousands of pictures of just ethan.
being a mom is a joy like no other. i thank god every day for ethan and am so excited about the many years to come.

happy first birthday ethan