Sandy

Whoever thought we'd have to deal with a hurricane in Cleveland? We are certainly nowhere near as damaged and devastated as New Jersey or New York, but there are a lot of people here still without power. Everywhere I go there are power lines still down and big old trees slowly being removed from the street or yards.

Most of the stop lights around us are back up (thank goodness). I don't know what is so hard about remembering to treat it as a 4 way stop when it's out, but you'd be surprised the number of people that blow through them. We kept power through everything (though it went off and on about 10 times) and only lost tv, internet, phone for a few days. It was a nice break from all the political calls and ads to be honest.

Eric had flown to Minneapolis on Sunday before the storm and then wasn't able to get back home on Monday as planned because all the flights were cancelled. He ended up driving home and got back on Tuesday. Ethan and I rode the storm out together. I even had to call 911 in the middle of the night when a power line snapped at our neighbors house and was sparking fire balls on their roof.

Picture of typical damage here in Cleveland. Trees pulled all their roots up with them.

Power Lines

Our backyard. Big branch snapped at our neighbors house taking down power lines. They are all still w/out power.

First Birthday

I know it's been a while since I posted on this blog so we'll do a quick recap of the major milestones leading up to Ethan's first birthday.

Ethan has been walking since August (10 months old). He's basically running now he has become such an expert. He's still a great sleeper and always sleeps through the night. He decided one day a few months ago that he was done with pacifiers and we just stopped using them. (What kind of kid does that?) ...and after his first birthday we simply stopped giving him bottles and he hasn't even noticed. I think it helps that he got to practice using his sippy cups on long bike rides during the summer to keep him hydrated. The switch was pretty much seamless.

He'll eat almost anything we put in front of him. Some of the more recent interesting things we've tried (to see if we can find something he'll say no to) are: mushrooms, raw onion, cous cous, and raw cauliflower from the garden. The only thing he is hit or miss on is fish. I tried to give him fish sticks and he spits them back out. The kid is a vegetable fiend. He can take down a bowl of lima beans or green beans etc like you've never seen. I really pinch myself sometimes with how easy and well mannered he is. I know it's not normal and I never take him for granted.

He's getting to the age where he gets frustrated that he can't communicate and it's interesting to watch. He's learned to shake his head no, though sometimes it's just something funny to do and doesn't really mean no. We get mama and dada here and there but sometimes it still seems like it's just a coincidence. I think I'm starting to pick out a "this" once in a while also.

He recently started dancing to music which consists of him shaking his head, waving his arms in the air, and occasionally stomping his feet. You never know when it's going to happen and Eric and I always get a kick out of it.

We watched the new Wes Anderson movie recently and Ethan actually sat/stood still and watched the whole thing. I think it's the interesting colors and movement of the cameras he liked. He is SO our son it's not even funny sometimes. He was screaming in the car one day because he didn't want to be strapped down and I cranked up some Black Keys. He stopped crying immediately...see....our son.

We were so lucky to be able to have both of his sets of Grandparents come out for his birthday. It was so special to have them there to help us celebrate and we had a GREAT time. We had some close friends join us for a party and I truly feel that Ethan is such a lucky and special boy to be so loved.

Looks like we're ready for a party!



Is this for me? He played with those balloons for quite a while.



Hot Chocolate Cupcake

Best friend from daycare, Josie.

Good friend Leo showing him how to use the car.

Day after the birthday party. Eating breakfast and snuggling my balloons.

Summer Adventures

We've had a couple fun summer adventures recently. Eric wanted to show Ethan how to hunt for fireflies one night so we headed outside to do that. I ended up doing most of the firefly catching so that we could show them to Ethan. He was pretty indifferent, but enjoyed a shoulder ride from Eric.

Yesterday we did the Slavic Village Treasure Trek. It's an organized bike ride scavenger hunt designed to introduce you to a neighborhood within Cleveland. You have to ride around and find specific places, then they give you beads when you find them which you can turn in at the end for prizes. The harder to find places have gold beads. It was warm, but Ethan enjoys riding in his carrier and it was neat to learn some history of the city.

This was my favorite stop. Most of the others were businesses, but this one was some serious Cleveland history. The European immigrants that lived in this neighborhood burned this bridge during the race riots to prevent the African Americans from crossing into their neighborhood. It also served as one of the chosen body hiding spots for the Cleveland Torso Murderer back in the 30's. That's back when Elliot Ness was an investigator. The serial killer mystery was never solved. Fascinating stuff. The guy manning this stop on the tour read us a riddle in a "bridge troll" voice before we got our beads. Hilarious.

Ethan was a trooper. He was awake for the majority of the ride, but conked out at the end. He even got some ice cream along the way. 

Enjoying all the pirate booty mom and dad worked so hard all day to get.

Playing with the treasure map.

First Haircut

We got our first haircut this weekend! His hair was getting pretty long over his ears. Eric's regular stylist has a little boy so she agreed to cut his hair. The place is called "The Man Cave" and it's awesome. Private TV at each chair always tuned to ESPN. Ethan loved it. He barely even noticed it was happening. He watched soccer and played with his girraffe and just let her do her thing. We had worn him out pretty well earlier in the day. He went for his first long bike ride with us in the Metroparks. He did 15 miles and loved it!

Mom, move so I can see the soccer game. 

Tuckered out with a clean cut.

Big boy holds his own bottle now.

Trip to the Park

Well we had Ethan's 6 month check up and Eric finally got his long awaited ok from the doctor to put Ethan in the bike carrier. He suggested we keep the rides short until we see how he does with it. So we took a little journey to the park. We have one just up the street from us that has baby swings and everything! He seemed to really like the bike ride. Eric picked out a good one that has a shock system to limit the bumpiness. Once we got there he enjoyed some swinging, I took him down the slide, and Eric held him while we did the teeter-totter. He loved all of it.  

All ready for my bike ride!

Acting cool and chillin in the swing.

Easter

My parents came out to help Ethan celebrate his first Easter. We visited the botanical gardens and had lots of fun playing together. We also had Ethan's 6 month check up last week. His growth has slowed down quite a bit. He's 14 lbs 6 oz and 27 inches long. Eric finally had his chance to ask the doctor about putting Ethan in the bike carrier. He gave us the go ahead as long as he's not jostling around in there too much. It's been rainy ever since so we haven't tried it out yet, but I'm sure he's going to love it. Ethan is always surprising us with new tricks. He can now easily grab his pacifier and put it back in his mouth all on his own, he's getting close to crawling, and is just all around adorable when he plays.

Exploring the botanical gardens with Pa.

Finding grass to be interesting.

Checkin out flowers with Gram.

Being goofy with mom.

Working on my sitting skills.

Love to read (and eat) my books.

Just a cute picture.

Still occasionally interested in my thumb. 

Precarious Sleeper

Now that Ethan has truly mastered his ability to roll, he is never in the same spot as where I left him when he sleeps. He is rolling and scooting all over the crib. He'll get himself into uncomfortable situations too and sometimes he gets upset with those situations and sometimes he could care less. Mostly he just enjoys sleeping "butt up" with his little butt sticking up high in the air.

Precarious sleeping position that he couldn't have cared less about.

Sleeping "butt up" just like daddy did as a baby.

This little Nebraska sweater was made by Eric's grandma Janice Fassnacht for his dad Dan when he was a baby. 

My little angel playing in the crib while I put laundry away. Note the ISU shoes.

We had a gorgeous St. Patrick's Day. We started the day by going to the West Side Market downtown. Eric rode his bike and met us there. We had some crepes and shopped around a bit. The rest of the day was spent outside on the patio with some friends that came over.

Mini Eric

Here are baby pictures of me and Eric. I think it's quite clear he's a mini Eric. I think he has my head shape, but Eric's face.

Baby Eric

Baby Katy

Leap Day Fun

Our Leap Day was a beautiful 65 degree day. We took Ethan for his first walk sitting in the stroller like a big boy. He loved it! He enjoyed looking at everything we went by and just kept happily babbling in the stroller.

He really goes after his little giraffe while sitting in the bumbo. Look at that determined face!

Happy little eater.

He loves to pull on this vibrating frog toy while sitting in his car seat.

Leap day walk in the stroller like a big boy.