Did he really say Mommy?

I was a little sad to come back to Ethan's page and to realize that the last time I posted, there were leaves on the trees, our header read 'summer edition' and Ethan and I were in swimsuits. Where the hell did the last 5 months go? I guess I just completely missed fall.

There is no way that I can give a good update on everything that has happened over the past 5 months. Ethan has turned into a full fledged little boy, where he tells us 'No' constantly and when we ask him why he has done something suspect, he puts his hands up in the air and answers 'Cuz'. I have a perfect picture that sums up how he manages to 'win'. That's the only way I can describe it. He is all energy and runs and runs like the energizer bunny. At some points, I give up. Case in point below, the picture is blurry as I took it with my phone and I really can't get a handle on how to take decent pictures with it, but I think you can get the gist...

Note the defeated dog just lying under the mess, Ethan looking victorious with purple crayon in hand about ready to color my couch. Yep. That sums up a lot.

A lot has actually changed in the Koelsch household since my last post. I've started a new job. It was a big step after being at Avanade for almost 10 years, but I don't regret it for a moment. I'm now working for a marketing agency out of Canada who primarily services the tech industry, with Microsoft being our biggest client. It's been a bit of an adjustment since I was their first full time US employee, but it's all well worth it and the work is rewarding.

We had a great 1st ever family vacation with the Kuchynski's and the Rosten's. Note: I've been vacationing with the likes of Kev, Shell and Pen for years now...and this is not how we usually roll. There were no late nights, long dinners or days wasted at a pool bar somewhere down south of the border, our usual type of vacation. Although, we were able to sneak in a happy hour or two by the lake, it was a lot of chasing two toddlers around and working around nap times. :) I, personally, could barely make it past 10 on any given night. God bless Shelly, who managed to do so and still had energy during the day. I don't know how she does it.

We had Ethan's first real trick or treating adventure and it was a blast. Jody and Keith, being new single family home home owners now (this is a rare thing in the city of Chicago), threw a party and we all met up, let the kids play and then set out in their neighborhood for some old school trick or treating. It exceeded my expectations. 1) they live in a fun, young neighborhood and all the neighbors were out and passing out candy. 2) it was a beautiful day/night, so nice to be outside running around. We couldn't have asked for a better time.

We did a trial run with his costume a couple of days prior and he cried like we were beating him when trying to put it on. We did not think we'd ever get him in it. But mom got creative day of the party... I got a handful of cookies ready and when I brought out the costume and he started to look like he would cry, I offered him a cookie, got his foot in the costume, offered him another cookie, pulled the costume up and got his arms in, another cookie, you get the picture. I was rather proud of myself, once on, he was fine and even let us put the monkey hood up. He was absolutely adorable if I do say so myself.

Ethan and I also made a trip up north to see Grandma and Grandpa. Ethan's first plane ride and my biggest fear; flying alone with a toddler. It went better than I had ever imagined it would, but that was mostly because I was surrounded by mom's and very nice MN women, who helped me 'manage' Ethan. We went in October and had unseasonably warm weather, so got to spend a lot of time outside. We even got Dad out to a Pumpkin Farm. ha! The highlight there was Ethan's cheek to nose encounter with a very gentle, very large horse. The horse was actually nuzzling Ethan. Ethan at the moment didn't seem to care, but everything after that was 'horse-y, horse-y'. Later that night, there were 3 deer in the yard at dusk, so I brought him out on the deck to see them. He proclaimed "HORSEY!" When I said, "No, they are deer", he looked at me with that look only Ethan can give you when he doubts what you say, nodded his head and stated "horse-y". that was that.

Ethan went to two other pumpkin farms in October. That's got to be a record of some sort. The one we brought him to in Chicago had goats. They were a hit.

So, for the biggest news of all in FY10. Ethan is going to be a big brother. :) His sister is set to arrive in late June. Although, he refuses to pay any notice when I try to tell him about it, he'll have to own up to it sooner or later. We're already stressing about our lack of space and may be giving the kids the master bedroom while Jon and I move into Ethan's very small room. But that's ok. We're thrilled. I haven't been feeling well. With the new job and the morning sickness / utter exhaustion, you can understand why I haven't been on top of the posts. A little girl! It's hard to wrap my head around at the moment. Sparkly stuff, I'm ready!

Here we are...right on top of Christmas. We are planning our travel extravaganza, which will take us to Grandma Koelsch's on Christmas Day. She has moved into a new home (exciting!) which is 4 hours away (not so exciting :)). We will then head towards MN for 4 days. Me, Jon, Shell, Ethan and Otis...winter road trip 2010. We have no idea what we'll do next year when we have the new addition to consider...will Shell be sitting in between two car seats with a fat puggle on her lap??? Stay tuned!

Ethan's new stuff: so, so much.We're very proud of him, he knows every letter of the alphabet and can identify numbers 1-14. He's been doing this for a couple of months now and I'm still amazed at how he can easily spout out letters and numbers. He loves watching Wheel of Fortune and will call out the letters. As I mentioned earlier, he's getting sassy with his No's and Cuz's, but it's not anything too terribly horrible. He's a pretty good kid overall. He says thank you  for everything; which is sweet. When he trips or falls, he always yells "I ok, I ok!'. Nice of him to let us know. There was the one time...actually right after the purple crayon picture was taken... that he rolled off the couch onto the floor yelling "I ok!" the whole way down to only whisper under his breath once he hit "Ow".

He loves Mickey Mouse and would watch all day if we let him. With the pregnancy, he probably watches it more than he should, but whatever, how much harm can Mickey do? He knows the whole cast of characters and yells their names when he sees them. 'Bickey! Pudo! Foofy!' it's pretty damn cute. I swear that's where he's learning a lot of stuff...he can identify harder shapes like cones and triangles (ti-agle), diamonds (di-oms)hearts and stars. Gotta love Mickey. And what a long way Ethan has come.

Of course, the biggest thing. He's FINALLY calling me mommy. I've been daddy for months now and out of frustration, started calling him "Brian". Of course, it was all lost on him. But the last two weeks, he's slowly starting to consistently ask for 'mommy' and it's like the best word in the world. Mommy. :)

OOODEN!!!

The annual summer trip to MN has come and gone. I look forward to it starting around February and I'm always sad when it's time to leave. The time goes faster and faster each year. It's harder these days since I have Ethan in tow...in so many ways. Harder to get there, harder to see all of my friends and harder to say good-bye once it's time to leave. Knowing it will be a few months until Ethan gets to see Grandma and Grandpa and a full year until he and Otis can have the freedom to play and run like they do when they are at my parents.

This visit was a good one. We had perfect weather the whole time we were there. Mom and Dad set up a play area for Ethan and we spent every day outside. He even came back with a little bit of a tan! (poor kid has my pale, pale skin). He started the trip a little uneasy on his feet on uneven ground, but by the end of the week, he was running around like a pro. Otis, as always, had the run of the place and went swimming whenever he pleased and foraged through the woods...unfortunately, he brought back a little poison ivy, which I am just recovering from now. I do not remember poison ivy being so horrible when I was little.

I wasn't able to make it to Fargo like I usually do, but Peni, Aaron and Brady all made the trek to Grand Rapids, so we got to hang out with them for a night. I finally got to meet my honorary nephew Brady. What a cute kid! He is the happiest little (well, not so little ;) baby I have ever met. You can't help but smile when he looks at you. Ethan wasn't so sure about having a cute baby around. I mean, he IS the cute baby, right? He looked like such a big kid next to Brady. They grow up fast!

Jon was able to come up for only part of the trip, but since we weren't traveling around MN as we usually do, it was pretty chill and was good quality time. Dad and Jon got to hang out quite a bit and got the boat in the water and brought Ethan for his first boat ride. It was pretty successful, although Ethan wanted to get up on the boat's side to feel the water with his hand. He would have jumped if I wasn't holding him, I swear that kid has no fear.

Jon and I also brought Ethan down to the local beach area one day. I had visions of all of us in the water with Ethan peacefully floating in this very overpriced inner tube type thing that sang songs when the different cartoon buttons were pushed. So, we all loaded in the car for the 4 block drive over. We had every sand toy and water toy that we thought could be possible. Thought is the operative word. We put Ethan in his floaty device and hit the water. Took about 20 seconds for me to get sick of the show tunes blasting from the damn thing and Ethan to want to get out. Why did I think that Ethan would want to sit passively by? Has he ever done this? No.

We pulled him out and took turns trying to hold on to him as he struggled to get out of our arms and figure out the depth of the water all on his own. We were trying to keep his head above water when Ethan looked around and noticed a certain item that we had failed to pack. A ball. Beach balls were everywhere and Ethan wanted one. BALL! BALL! BALL! Crap.  We had no ball. He noticed the buoy's that closed off the swimming area and wanted to get closer, thinking that these were shiny red balls. I saw no harm in getting closer, so Jon carried him out and let him touch it. Not enough. He wanted to take it with him. Needless to say that things kinda unravelled a little after that and my little vision of a perfect family water outing deflated a bit. We managed to stick around for a few more minutes, but the water was cold and Ethan started to shiver, so after just 1/2 hour, we packed up and headed back to grandma and grandpa's house where the pool water was a little warmer and easier to manage....and there were balls.

Ethan's exploding with words these days. Apple, orange, George (as in Curious) and he's finally saying 'momma' (yay!) He has started calling his little bear blanket 'baby' and Otis has been renamed Oden. He likes to tease Oden by carrying 'Baby'  around and calling his name. Otis thinks that he can play with said baby and tries to grab it, which makes Ethan yell at him "Let Go Oden, Let Go Oden!"...all the while laughing. Poor Oden can't catch a break. Oden is also Ethan's newest obsession. If he's trying to sleep, Ethan will try to ride him like a horse or lie on him. I have to say the dog is taking it all very well, even when he got hit by a ladle last night. Poor Oden.

I wanted to wish a big Happy Birthday to Katie Larson. It was her bday early this past week and b/c of one very big storm and a bunch of water at Jen and Tom's home, we hosted her party at our house. It was last minute, but Jon rose to the occasion and ran out to buy purple balloons and borrow glittery floaty things and princess signs from the Nelson's, who just celebrated Madison's 3rd bday a couple of weeks ago. I was pretty impressed with his 3 year old party planning abilities. It was all very urban with no grass for the kids, just a rooftop deck, but they had the pool and a sandbox and I think Katie had a good time. Below is a picture of the pretty birthday girl herself and Ethan trying to sneak in to get a better look at her presents.

So, new Ethan stats. Jon brought him in for his 18 mo check up on Tuesday. He is now32 1/4" tall and in the 50th percentile for his real age, a huge growth spurt! I think it was the MN air. He hasn't gained much weight at all though, he's a skinny kid at 21lbs 3oz. He eats so much, it's hard to believe, but then again, you watch him motor around all day and realize that the kid uses every bit of energy he consumes. He's only in the 5th percentile in this department. No one is worried about this of course. He's doing great as usual and progressing more and more at his real age rather than adjusted.

To end, a little now and then. Mom and Ethan last summer compared to them this summer. My little boy is growing up!

I'm Back!

It's been awhile! So much has happened, I don't even know where to start. It's been a pretty chaotic spring with a lot going on in the Koelsch family. It all kicked off in Feb with a non-stop 3 month work schedule and came to a header in May with Ethan's first fever and an ER trip at 4am topped off by my very own trip to the ER which landed me in the hospital for a few days. We've seen enough drama to last a long time hopefully. We're all happy to lie low for a while and look forward to enjoying the summer season.

So, maybe we do some recent Ethan highlights? The little man is walking, talking and dancing away. He has this way of walking where he raises his feet high and to the side and he puts his arms way back, sorta like George Jefferson. I can't get enough of it. I could just follow him around all day and watch his antics. He is definitely getting into toddler mode. He has started with some separation anxiety and has mastered the skill of wrapping his legs around my waist really tight so I can't hand him off or put him down. Although, at the other extreme, if there is no threat of me leaving him, he will lunge away from me when I am holding him and I am left grabbing frantically for a body part to keep him from slamming to the floor. It's fun.

He has a whole arsenal of words now. Although he's been using words for quite a while now, I'm always thrilled to hear them. He goes through phases where he will start and stop using certain ones, but clearly he has some favorites that has stood the test of time: Fav word number 1: Shoe. Shoe was one of his very first words we could understand clearly and I have no idea why this word in particular stood out for him. Is he taking after his mommy and her love of shoes? Maybe it's because we didn't buy him shoes until he was over a year old and they are novel? Not sure, but he's obsessed. He will go around the house and find shoes so he can say "shoe". He has also started putting our shoes away by the door. I guess it's never too early to teach him some clean up skills. Wish he would start on his toys.

Fav word #2: Cook. When he's hungry, he will yell 'cook!' in which someone is supposed to go to the kitchen and get him something to eat. The grandma's (both Koelsch and Kruse) have found this out first hand and they are not above being ordered to "cook!". He's also got some of the normal toddler first words: book, duck, kitty. He will say daddy, but he won't say mommy, which is driving me nuts because I work on this every morning. I will say it and he will just get quiet and look at me. It doesn't make sense: He can't say mommy, but he'll try to say 'flower', which seems like quite a mouthful? Sigh.

He is also counting :) Miriam got him to do this. When someone says "one", he will yell "two!". We're quite sure he's a genius (ha!). Just this week, I've got him to go to the next level; with me saying 'three' and him yelling 'four!' It's not completely consistent, of course, and forget about him ever saying 'one' or 'three'. My kid is going to count in evens the rest of his life.

We've had several doctor appts since the last blog entry. Ethan is currently at 21lbs. and is just shy of 31" tall. His doctors are still very happy with his growth and development. He's just doing so great. Now Jon and I need to stop adding in "he was 3 months premature" when someone asks how old he is. We're always self conscious that he may look smaller than other (almost) 17 month olds. He probably does, but it's not that sharp of a difference any more and it's time to stop viewing him as such.

The last few months have been tough, but as you can see, we've had some really great moments. My mom came to stay with us when I was sick. It sucked that I had to be sick, but it was great that we got her to Chicago and that we all got to spend time with her, especially Ethan. They had a great time together. After just a small period of shyness, Ethan was crawling all over her and ordering her to 'cook'! She also got a very 'warm' welcome out by our kiddie pool one day. We didn't have any swimmer diapers so Ethan was going commando under his swim trunks. Let's just say, Mom should have been a little more careful when having him sit on her lap. Video link attached above.

Also available on video, be sure to check out the li'l guy jamming out to "Mary had a little lamb". He's got some moves I tell you!

I wish I could fill in all of the fun, cool moments that have happened over the past 3 months.. As he's growing at such rapid pace, I could write for hours and still not capture it all. But there's always another story around the corner, so I'll wrap up here for now.

Note: I'll post a bunch of pictures later this week as well as figure out why my older pictures are no longer showing up. Not sure what I did, but I can pretty much guess that it's user error.

March 5: Oh, so busy

TGIF. Life has been busy. I can't keep up. I aways think of my highschool friend, Kerry, when things are out of control. I once got a card from her when she was a new mom that stated "I feel like I'm on a merry go round and I can't get off". Or something to that affect. For some reason, it struck me and lately, it's popped in my head quite a bit... When are you able to slow things down enough to jump off?

Ethan, crazy little boy. You can actually see him learning every day. You can see him pondering and thinking though situations. I know all mom's out there understand the pride/awe combo that comes with those learning moments. He now plays with what seems like a sense of purpose. He is able to pull his stacking barrels apart and put them back together (sometimes with mom’s help, but more and more on his own). He knows that when he puts his blocks into the slot of his train, it comes flying out into the back wagon. He hides his toys in the couch and comes back to play with them later (disturbingly like Otis, but that’s another matter altogether). My favorite new game is one he started. He will come up to me and pull on my pants leg and then crawl away really fast. I started chasing him down on my hands and knees one day and he started laughing hysterically. So I went to hide behind the chair and he came looking for me and it was on again! A chase that ended in laughs and a lot of kisses. So, now we have a morning ritual, he gets a little smile on his face and he comes over to pull on my leg, and off we go. It’s so funny. Now, I just need to get some knee pads. Hard wood floors are hard my old knees!!

He’s not walking yet. Still doesn’t seem to interested, but he is standing a lot more on his own. Most of the time when he’s not thinking too hard about it. When he’s really investigating a new toy. Or when he’s watching his favorite commercial on TV, the Chase one where they sing “you’re everywhere to me”…, or when watching the weather. The weather will stop him cold in his tracks and you cannot bother him when it’s on. Hmmm, maybe if he watched less TV he could focus on walking? :) anyways, he seems close, but still no steps.

We’ve incorporated daily teeth brushings into his schedule. We did this shortly after his 1st birthday. I mean, he does have 8 teeth. I was dreading it prior to trying it thinking it would not go well. But in true Ethan fashion, he took it in stride and even seems enjoys it. He starts smiling while we head to the bathroom at the end of the night as he knows what’s coming. Although, he does try to suck the toothpaste off the brush once in his mouth, which makes it hard to actually brush the teeth, but whatever, baby steps.

He got yet another haircut this week. I lost count, is this 6? Or 7? I went really short this time since it grew back so fast. It’s very cute, but he looks like a completely different little boy. They took a LOT of hair off the top. We could construct a mean toupee with the clippings.

Other tidbits: he hates his high chair. Hates it. We have a restaurant type one on order as he seems to do much better when he’s less constricted and can be at the table. Although, he’s turning out to be the best eater. I don’t know where the kid puts it all! The only thing that he won’t eat is broccoli. But I made a broccoli / cheese pasta sauce and he loves it. So, that was an easy fix. I can only hope this trend continues. I’m cooking a lot more. Me, cooking. I know what you all are thinking… I love me some take out and Jon does most of the cooking to keep me from finding the nearest Chipotle (or worse yet, making HIM go find the nearest Chipotle). But it’s been fun to cook for Ethan. Jon bought this ‘super foods’ baby cook book back when I was still pregnant and it has the best recipes for different pasta sauces and clever ways to combine vegetables and fun dinners (chicken balls anyone?). And they are easy! So now, Ethan has homemade pasta sauces or Sheppard’s pie for dinner (and chicken balls). It makes me feel like I’m being a good mom :) although, we do have the occasional fish stick night or grilled cheese. The kid loves his cheese.

He’s starting to take an interest in his books as well. He likes to sit next to Jon or I in a chair, like a big boy, and read Curious George, 8 Silly Monkeys, the 100 First Hundred Words book, Good Night Moon and Hooray for Fish (his current fav’s) over and over. This morning, he crawled over to the rocking chair, so I grabbed a couple of books out of the book case and he started smiling and trying to get up onto the chair. It was adorable. I am so happy he loves books. I hope it stays with him, it means a lot to me since I have always been such an avid reader.

All in all, things in the parent world are cruising along with very few blips in the road. Now if there were just a few more hours in the day to focus on things other than being Ethan’s mom or work…?? I know, all of you parents out there are smirking that knowing smile, thinking…yeah, that’s not going to happen. Sigh.

January 27: Happy Birthday Dear Ethan!

It was Ethan's birthday last Friday. Can you believe it? I couldn't...the whole week prior. I kept finding myself reflecting on the situation and remembering exact moments from the same time last year. I went from...this is the day that I had cramping, to this is the moment I called Jon at school and he had to bring me in... it was all very surreal. I think about when they told me that they were going to have to deliver...3:30pm. Looking back, I now realize I had a weird reaction. Instead of panic or fear, I felt relief. We had just spent the last 20 hours wondering whether or not they would be able to hold off the labor. And the constant monitoring of Ethan's progress and all of the pokes and needles and no food or sleep were wearing on me. Not to mention the contractions. When they finally said it was time, I was relieved that something was happening. I remember being in the room where they did the C-section. It was so sterile and white and cold. It's like I can remember every minute of it. I just stared at the clock on the wall, watching the hands move slowly while I attempted to block out the anesthesiologist's idle babbling all the while keeping up an internal chant... "this too shall pass, this too shall pass". Then the little guy was here and it was like it was meant to be that way all along, no shock. All I was able to see before they rushed him off was this little monkey/alien type looking baby and I wasn't worried. I was just happy he was here. I still wonder why I wasn't more panicked or fearful?

Maybe I had some sort of crazy intuition that everything was going to be OK if we just got through that day. I don't know how, but the sense of calm when I first saw Ethan was enveloping and warm. I didn't see a little 1lb 15oz baby, I saw this incredibly cute little boy. I look back now and am shocked. There was nothing to him and he was, well, like I said, a little alien-like! But all I saw was the most handsome baby in the world. Which I told him repeatedly over the coming months by the way :)

I know I'm rambling, but I'm entitled, right? And where are we now? 1 year, 1 healthy, crazy little boy that doesn't slow down or show any fear. He will try to throw himself of the couch, the bed... any high surface without a second thought and finds it funny when you catch him in mid air or by the ankles. He loves to be swung around up side down. He loves to be rough housed and has a laugh that sounds maniacal. You can't help but crack up yourself every time he lets it go. I could never have imagined these things about him 1 year ago...he was so fragile, but I love it and it's a routine part of our life now.

Current Ethan update: I don't think I mentioned last time that he has 8 teeth...8! With all of the hair (5 haircuts to date) and the teeth, I really wonder if these are side effects from the hormones and steroids they were pumping in me just hours before his birth :) He had his 1 year check up on Monday and he's on track and doing well. He weighed in at 17lbs 14 oz. I was a bit surprised that he wasn't heavier, but he's in the 25th percentile for a 1 year old, so no one was concerned. He also has grown a lot taller, he now measures in at 28 1/2 inches, which is in the 33rd percentile for a 1 year old. Not too bad for being 9 months adjusted age :)

We had a 'little' birthday for him at Chuck E Cheese on Sunday. 30 of his friends and family showed up to join in on the festivities. I am the first to admit that Ethan is a little young to enjoy all that Chuck the Mouse had to offer, BUT it was fun to get everyone together. Ethan played games with Jon, enjoyed the virtual band, got a huge medal to wear around his neck and ate cake. The cake: I kinda went a little nuts... it was huge and green with monkeys. But it's his first birthday, and again...I'm entitled! Ethan got his first taste of frosting, which he loved. It was green and so was he by the time he threw in the towel, he looked like a miniature Hulk for the rest of the day. I have to say that the sugar rush stayed with him the rest of the afternoon. He skipped his afternoon nap and was still going strong when it was time to call it a night 6 hours later. Picture below illustrates his mood just minutes before he was whisked away to get into PJ's. :) and yes, that is his sock in his mouth.

On the downside, he's in the middle of his first cold. It's not bad, so I can't complain too much...it's a runny nose and a cough and isn't affecting his sleep or appetite, but he is a little snot faucet and seems to slime everything that he passes. Fun, fun. I follow him around with the battery operated bugger sucker.

Happy 2010!

Happy New Year everyone! Just a quick post as it's been so long since the last. The holidays flew by. I feel like we were constantly on the move, but didn't get to see everyone that we would have liked to.

A few congratulations to throw out! Congratulations to Colleen and Joe who were married on Jan 2nd. The weather may have been cold, but the wedding was warm and beautiful and I think Colleen goes down as one of the Top 5 most gorgeous brides I've ever seen. Great party guys!

Also, to Jody and Keith. Although we have not heard anything official, I've seen little hints here and there on FB. ;) We'll talk next weekend.

On to Ethan: he's crazy. He doesn't like to sit still. He went from crawling to pulling himself up on everything to cruising along furniture and now he is standing by himself for small periods of time. I have a feeling that walking isn't too far in our future. It's been a fun month watching him teeter around, gaining confidence and exploring his new world; not to mention exhausting. He does not like to sit still to get dressed or to have his diaper changed. It's a battle of wills almost every time. Sometimes Jon and I have to tag team him to get him ready for bed and it usually is a 15 minute endeavor. I've given in to letting him chew on whatever he pleases just to keep him still. Unfortunately, he really like to chew on his booger sucker thing. Although it's clean, it's still disturbing.

Funny story of the day: Grandma Kruse got a crash course on "diaper changing - Ethan style" over Christmas. Shell and I snuck out for a few hours to catch a movie. When out, Ethan made a mess in his pants, so mom...all alone, tried to change him on the bed. With so much room to move around, Ethan was crawling everywhere, wiggling free and pretty much wore her down. When we got home, I noticed that Ethan's pants looked weird. I looked a little closer... "Mom, are Ethan's pants are on backwards?" They were and she didn't care. Her response was that she was lucky even to get pants ON the little bugger. Shell and I understood all too well and I joked that his diaper was probably on backwards. I snuck a peak just as a joke and it was! I couldn't stop laughing b/c I could visualize Ethan crawling across the bed and mom chasing him trying to put the diaper on him with his little butt up in the air. Why can I picture this so well? Because this is a daily instance in our household. :) No harm, no foul...right? I'm sure diapers are just as effective which ever way they are facing.

The Big "1" is coming up quickly. Can you believe it? Chuck E Cheese, here we come!