Eight is Great!

The little - i mean, BIG guy is eight months now! Well 8.5 months actually...mommy's been slacking on the blog updates once again. But we were busy on our road trip last week...more to come on that.

Let's see...Ethan in tummy crawling all over the place. This great achievement has him getting himself into some predicaments lately, for example getting stuck under the ottoman, almost knocking my plant table over or finding things around the house to munch on. So we are really making an effort to make sure there are no choking hazards on the floor and all eyes are on Ethan as he explores his home sweet home. He loves being groomed...hairbrushes, toothbrushes and q-tips are some of his favorite tools. He watches in fascination as Ty and I brush our teeth. Ethan loves his toys, especially the musical ones...you know...the ones that make you want to poke your eyes out after you have listened to them ten million times. He loves playing "peek-a-boo" and being startled. We do a lot of this to hear his belly laughs. In the food department, some new items include kiwi, yogurt, biscuits, bread, avacado, mango. He hasn't met a food he doesn't like yet, with the exception of my homemade green peas...gags every time. Don't worry Ethan, no offense taken. Four teeth have poked their way through, two bottom front teeth and two upper eye teeth. Tyler noticed number five starting to come in - his right upper front tooth. Thank goodness, teething has not been so bad for Ethan.

This boy continues to love school (his daycare) and we couldn't be more pleased with his teachers. Miss Jenni, Miss Elizabeth and Miss Karina show a genuine affection for Ethan each time he is there. He is no longer the youngest in his class and I am already sad to think about him leaving that class when he is walking. You don't need to walk anytime soon baby!

Here he is at school crawling through the tunnel...

"Mamamama" has been a favorite and frequent vocalization. We were at the Millward's place the night before we left for vacation and E looked right at me and said "mama". IT MADE MY HEART HAPPY! No "dada" yet but he loves Ty sooo much, even crying for him when he went into the shower this morning. We also love hearing him babble in his crib in the morning.

And a few more pics from our eight month photo shoot :)

E and his brush

As you can see...he mouths EVERYTHING!

Reaching for the pull-toy that Papa made him...

Taste testing the ride-on toy that Papa made...

Yup...good stuff, Papa.

Ethan approves of your choice of wood and your wonderful craftsmanship!

Okay...that's it for now. Bye-bye from the Sorokas!

quiet time

Tonight I got home from work later than normal...about 7pm. Ty already had Ethan bathed and fed (some oatmeal), so I got to give him the rest of his bottle. Afterwards, his eyes were heavy and he looked ready to hit the hay. We sat in his dark bedroom...just me and him as he fell asleep. I loved sitting there with him taking in his sweet baby smell and kissing his pudgy little hands. He was so peaceful lying there in my arms. Never want to forget these moments so I am blogging them for all of eternity ;)

I love me some quiet time with my little guy.....

.......and I look forward to his pterodactyl scream at 6am (who knew that's how you spell pterodactyl?!?!?)

It's Party Time!

We had the pleasure of celebrating two very important birthdays in the family recently. The birthday girls share the same special day, April 3rd.

Baby Grace's first birthday party was at OM Baby Yoga Studio in Point Pleasant Beach. A super cute idea for a baby birthday bash.

Here is the beautiful birthday girl, Gracie

Ty, Ethan, Logan and Dylan get in on the action...

Ethan and Ty strike a yoga pose.

Grace and her mommy, Kelly

Delicious cupcakes...so cute.

Tony and Kelly celebrate with their little lady!

Grace tests out the icing...

"Mmmmm...I approve!"

Next up was my mom's birthday. This past Friday night Ethan stayed at Grandma and Grandpa's for an overnight while Ty and I went to Atlantic City to celebrate our anniversary. We had fun, but of course we missed our little guy A LOT! We weren't five minutes down the road before we started talking about him. HA! (Thanks to Auntie Meg, Grandma and Grandpa for taking care of Ethan so we could have a little get-away). On Saturday, we drove back to mom and dad's to have a birthday dinner for mom. She celebrated her 71st birthday this year! From the look on her face, she was very happy to have us all there to help her party. We gave her a Pandora bracelet which she LOVED! Here are some pics from Mom's Dinner...

oooh...how I missed my baby!

Pretty birthday flowers.

Ethan was READY TO PAAAARTAY...

Cody? Not so much...he is 77 in dog years!

We indulged in lots of good food and drink...this awesome appetizer made by dad (and mom i think?), salad with pears and provolone cheese, filet mignon, asparagus, sweet potato fries, wine and birthday cake. Ugh...so good, but let the cleanse begin!

Happy Birthday to YOU!!!

Dad doing the dishes...best birthday present, right mom?!?

"Look what I am up to these days!"

Oh and by the way - LOOK OUT...someone WILL be crawling soon!

Fun times were had by all!