Thanksgiving

Grandma and Grandpa Argotsinger came out for Thanksgiving. This was the first time Grandpa got to meet Ethan. They got along like gangbusters taking naps and playing together.

Gram always gets some great pictures of Ethan with her fancy camera.

We had lobster one night before Thanksgiving.

Watching Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Note the balloon that happened to go by when I took the pic.

Cooking with wine is the best way to cook.

Ethan sat nicely in his high chair for most of our Thanksgiving dinner.

We had lots of random photo shoots throughout the week.

Professional Pictures

Our friend Dan is a professional photographer and did a little photo shoot with Ethan on Nov 6th. Here are some of my favorites.

2nd Pediatrician's Visit

Ethan had his second visit to the doctor today. He is 10 lbs 15 oz and 23 & 1/4" long. Explains why I've had to pack up some of his little outfits already! He's in the 75th percentile for weight and head size and the 90th percentile for height. He is very long!

Ethan enjoyed some outdoors time this weekend while Eric and I raked up the yard. He was not at all helpful, but adorable. I suppose he provided cuteness breaks that kept me from getting too angry about all the leaves in the yard. That could be considered helpful;)

The adorable, but not helpful little raker.

Napping with mommy.

He's really starting to smile. I never know when it's going to happen so it's hard to catch on the camera, but I've gotten a few. He does a great job with tracking Eric and I with his eyes.

So Strong!

If you can believe it Ethan is 1 month old tomorrow! He's started to love some naked tummy time in the mornings. He has a sensitive butt and the naked time helps keep the diaper rash feeling better. He's incredibly strong. He's started to do some advanced yoga planking moves while on his tummy. 

Look how strong I am!

I caught a smile this morning. These little smiles are becoming more and more frequent.

He loves to lay on his changing table and look out the window.

Ethan's Adventures

We've had quite a lot happen in the first 4 weeks of little buddy's life. His Gram Argotsinger came to stay with us for the first week after he came home from the hospital. We had a great time together and she was a huge help. We're still eating some of the meals she made and froze for us! Nothing like a home cooked meal.

Grandma and Grandpa Fassnacht as well as Great Grandpa Fassnacht were here last week for a few days. It was great to see them and we were able to do some fun stuff together like taking Ethan on his first trip to the West Side Market. We got some really great 4 generation pictures with all the Fassnacht men. What a special opportunity!

Ethan Paul and Harley Paul Fassnacht.

Snuggling with Grandpa!

Playing with Grandma!

4 Generations of Fassnacht Men.

Ethan is starting to do better and better every night with getting into a sleep routine. He usually wants to eat every 2 hours but sometimes he'll go 3 or 4 and I can get a few hours of sleep in a row instead of just one. He's started to enjoy bath time now that his umbilical cord is gone and he can take real baths. Eric likes to let him swim a bit after we clean him and he loves it! They are two peas in a pod. I'm in trouble when Ethan grows up a bit;)

My shirt says it all.

Too true.

It's nice and warm in here!

I love playing with Daddy.

I wore a sweater vest to go meet everyone at Mommy's office.

First trip to the Market. I love noisy places.

First Pediatrician's Visit

We had our first visit to the pediatrician on Monday. Ethan is exactly average in weight and head size, and slightly above average in length. He had dropped to 8lbs 2 oz when we left the hospital on Friday and was up to 8 lbs 4 oz at the doctor.

It was a big day on Monday as Ethan also had his first trip to Target after our apt. Eric finds it very convenient that I found a pediatrician that we liked who's office happens to share a parking lot with Target. Just a coincidence;)

We've had a couple rough nights at home with Ethan wanting to be awake from about 12:30-4:30 am or longer. He finally slept pretty well last night only being awake from 12:30-2:30 other than for feedings.

Ethan has arrived!

Ethan decided he was ready to join us on Tuesday. My contractions started around 4 am. We went to the doctors office 3 times before I was far enough along to be admitted to the hospital around 5 pm. That was a LONG day. By the time I got to the hospital contractions were only about a minute apart and were very intense. It took a while for the anesthesiologist to be available and get my epidural hooked up, but once he did it was amazing. The epidural really didn't hurt at all. The IV was way worse. They actually let Eric stay in the room for the whole thing so he saw it and said it was crazy to see that huge needle. I don't know what I would have done without the epidural. I actually got a few naps in after I had that done. It's a beautiful thing. After having gone 17 hrs with no pain relief it was some much needed rest.

I was finally ready to start pushing around 5 am on Wednesday. This continued for 3 hours. I'll spare you the details, but it was rough. We found out why when he came out and weighed in at 8 lbs 9 oz and was 21 inches long at 7:45 am on 10/12/11. Hearing his cry and seeing his beautiful little face was the most amazing thing I've ever seen after 28 long hours of labor.

They gave him right to me immediately after he was born. I'd never seen such a cute little boy before.

In the warmer getting checked up on. Poor guy had quite the cone head from the long labor.

Getting weighed. I love how he's hanging on to the scale. Note the weight on the scale.

All warmed up and looking at Daddy.

Snuggling with Daddy. Eric is absolutely enamored with him. He can hardly stand to put him down.

We had some mommy and me time while Eric went home to shower. Yes I dressed him in little outfits in the hospital. The nurses loved it.

Exhausted but very happy mommy.

The hospital gives us a "celebratory meal" after he's born. I thought that was really nice. You just get a fancier menu to choose from and they make it look all pretty. Note the flower.

We were hoping to be home on Friday by the time Gram arrived, but unfortunately the circumcision took a long time to get in for so we didn't get home till 4:30. He loves snuggling his Gram.

All dressed and ready to go home!

First car ride!