Trying For The "Perfect" Picture

 I got Nathan to help me place Ethan and the dogs together for a picture.

I didn't realize how tough of a task this would be.

Below are a few of our attempts at the "perfect" picture.



We tried



and tried...

and tried...



We gave up...
Not happening today,
but we got some other cute shots below



Ethan did not leave this hat on for long...I need to get one with a chin strap I guess!









Ethan Loves "Suzie" Again

So recently Ethan absolutely loves his soother (or "Suzie" as we call it)…

and it is very strange to me.

This is why…

When Ethan was a week old I introduced him to the soother.

He took to it right away and loved it…Well for the first three months anyways.

To tell you the truth I have to admit that the soother was a very handy
parenting tool and did the trick more often then not...

It even got to the point that the “Suzie” became a must have
when we left the house...I have vivid memories of searching high and low
 for the Suzie when it got misplaced...We ended up buying about
four different Suzies in order to prevent the "terror"
of being stranded without one…We kept one in the diaper bag,
one in the car seat and a couple around the house just in case.

Yes we were grateful to whoever invented the Suzie!

Then all of a sudden when Ethan was three months old
he decided that he didn’t like "Suzie" anymore... He started to spit it out,
scrunch up his mouth, make a disgusted face,
 or tightly pierce his lips together as he gave me this look that said
 “get that foreign object out of my mouth.”  

Truthfully I found it a little difficult to accept
that I could no longer turn to my trusted “Suzie”.

This behaviour towards Suzie continued for a good week...

 so I gave up and  assumed that the soother would RIP forever more. 

Periodically over the months that followed Nathan and I
would offer the soother with no success.

Soon later I found new ways to settle Ethan and
eventually forgot about "Suzie".

Then all of a sudden… 

      

A week ago Ethan found one of his "Suzies" amongst his toys
and plopped it in his mouth and started suckling like a pro…
he looked so comfortable with this “foreign object” in his mouth. 

Needles to say I was shocked and a little confused! 

Then the next day we gave Ethan Suzie again to see if yesterday was a fluke,

 and he excitedly placed it in his mouth and started suckling again.

He continues to enjoy his Suzie
and again I am finding it to be a very handy parenting tool.

However now that he is a little older
and we know he is quite capable of self soothing without Suzie...

I try to limit the amount of time I give it to him...
to avoid him getting too dependent on it.

Yes I have a bit of a complex because
I was one of those addicted thumb suckers that had a tough time quitting...

Ethan would be one uncool kid if he was still suckling on his Suzie at age eleven. 

I think it is safe to say we have together found a happy "Suzie" balance.

But I still find the whole thing very strange!

THE EARLY DAYS (Months 1-3)

When Ethan loved his Suzie



Ethan was a couple weeks old when we first introduced him to yellow "Suzie"
I love how big the soother looks in this picture!



Yellow Suzie again
Having a picnic in the park after a day at the beach
August 2010





Blue Suzie





Green Suzie
Baby massage after bath time..."what a life"

 

The Suzie came in handy when putting Ethan to sleep



Then 6 MONTHS LATER

(At age 9 months he likes Suzie again)

I took the following three pictures today

Ethan's "Suzie" and blue blankly....

Ethan loves Suzie again...it is very strange to me...
and yes Ethan sleeps with his eyes open...it is a little freaky!





Our Sunday Afternoon

Today after church Ethan went down for a nap so Nathan and I followed suit. 

I have to say I thoroughly enjoy Sunday afternoon naps...they are indeed the best...

Nate and I absolutely love it when we get a chance to take them.

When Ethan woke up from his nap we went out to the centre court with the dogs for some playtime.

The weather today by the way was actually hot...T-shirts and shorts! 

It is so cute because the kids in our neighbourhood love our dogs,

 so when they are out the kids come running.

The dogs also have made other dog friends in the neighbourhood,

 so usually we get a couple other dogs to join the party.

I don't really put Ethan in a tie to play...
I just didn't bother changing him out of his church clothing yet!

Ethan's two friends Case and Angel who live on our street.
They are all within a month apart in age!

Ethan's Friends

Case is 9 days younger then Ethan
His mom Lori and I had the same due date

Ethan kept putting the grass in his mouth...
I can't take my eyes off him!

After hanging out with our friends Nathan and I took Ethan on a stroller walk...

Ethan wanted out of the stroller so dad gave him a shoulder ride. 

He loved it!!

A Day at the Bend

Yesterday afternoon we took a ride to Grand Bend. It was nice to get out of town for a bit and enjoy a beautiful sunny afternoon car ride (The sun was so glorious that I actually had to pull out my sunglasses). While in Grand Bend we took a walk around the Marine Club and beach.  Then we toured around the cottages picking out our favorite beach houses...Nate and I always dream about buying a cottage one day...we both are beach bums at heart I guess.  While talking about the possibility of one day buying a cottage we came across the Dream Home Lottery...it was open so we took a tour of the prize cottage...let me tell you this place is so amazing...it is over the top crazy huge and grand. Yup we bought our lucky tickets!  It was funny because we couldn't stop talking about this cottage during our ride home...it is fun to imagine the possibility of winning!  That would be sweet! I took some picture while at the bend below...my parents always rent a cottage for a weeks holiday in Grand Bend...this year my dad rented a new cottage right on the beach and close to the drag...we are looking forward to it...many fond memories of family fun at the cottage!

 

Ethan liked this goose in the background

Note to self...always keep the bathroom door closed!

Yesterday I heard splashing noises in the bathroom and found Ethan in there doing this!  (I just had to snap a couple quick pictures because he gave me the biggest, proudest smile when I came in...it was just precious)





Needless to say that bath time came early that day!

Little stinker!

Mommies Group and a Glorious Walk Outside

Today was awesome...

I woke up to a smiling baby, strong rays of sunlight coming through my windows,
and that beautiful Spring feeling telling me that the nice weather is going to stay.

Today I am anticipating...

Getting my hands in the soil to tend to my garden, opening my windows,
sprucing up our outside living space, smelling freshly cut grass,
and chatting to Nate while he is BBQing.

Nathan, Ethan & I actually ventured out to our backyard today...
You can finally see the earths ground now that the snow has melted away...
and although it was nice to check out our soon to be favorite living space...
the scene was a tad bit scary...
Yup our lack of poop pick up during the winter has led to a messy situation!

Nate did a much needed poop patrol (Thanks Honey)!

******

This morning from 10-1pm Diana hosted a Mommies Group.
I was excited to see everyone because we haven't had one in a while...
All of Ethan's friends have grown and changed so much. 

The last time we got together for a group Ethan was in my arms...

But today was different...

Ethan is now able to crawl, stand and interact with the other children.   

He kept following Noah around and stealing his toys...
They both apparently like phones and kept taking this toy from each other. 

Ola and I tried to teach them to share but it was a lost cause...
they are a little young to understand that concept quite yet.

I had fun watching Ethan today...he is turning into a little big boy!

******

Later in the day around 6pm it was still beautiful outside,
so after Nathan left for work...
 I took Ethan outside for a nice long walk in the stroller...

Our first one of the season...It was glorious!

We stopped at the store and to say hello to Auntie Karen & Uncle George...

Ethan was so cozy that he fell asleep by the end of our walk!

******

I have some pictures below of our day!!!



Ethan playing with Levi at our Mommies group



Playing with Levi's toys

Ethan and Ola's little man Noah!

 






Ethan & Devyn (Suzzette's little man)

Seeing Ethan & Devyn playing together today made me reflect back...
Ethan was about 2 weeks old when he first met Devyn

 

We tried to recreate the picture on the left today...it didn't work so well this time! (haha)

Out for our walk...Ethan was excited!

"Enough pictures MOM"

At the end of our walk