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!

7 Months...WHAT?!?!?!?!?

I know it's probably just me, but I feel like the past seven months have just flown by.

Ethan is growing bigger every day. He is learning to sit unsupported and juuuuust starting a few back and forth crawling motions. The little guy is sporting three teeth - two on the bottom and one on the top. He is slowly but surely growing more hair...we are thinking it will be a dirty blonde. We have heard some new sounds recently...MAMA (my favorite) ...dada...baba...and i even heard a wa-something the other day. Ethan doesn't use the sounds to refer to us yet but it's just great to here his little voice , like music to our ears. He is still Max's biggest fan!

I went away this past weeked to Newport, RI with my girlfreinds. Of course, I missed my baby boy like mad and when I walked in the door he was bopping up and down in his jumparoo. When he saw me his whole body stiffened and I was greeted by the biggest smile! Better yet...when I went to pick him up, he grabbed my face in his two little hands and showered me with a big WET kiss...mwah!

loving the swing and 60 degree weather on st. paddy's day!

look at those thighs!

the best of the best

I LOVE...

• Nap time together
• Walks outside
• First time experiences (first bath, first foods, first time on swing)
• Baby sounds
• Walking in Ethan's room to get him in morning (uh...lately he has been really fussy during the night and has been in our bed. YES - I KNOW WHAT I SHOULD DO, thank you very much)
• Thursday lunch dates and shopping excursions at Whole Foods.
• Wearing the little man in the carrier
• Baby laughs
• Taking monthly photos to see how he's grown
• Taking photos of baby in general (this is probably on Ethan's list of Top 10 Annoying Things About My Mommy)
• Playing peek-a-boo
• Baby cuddles - the best is when they put their head on your shoulder
• Playdates
• Chunky thighs
• Those cheeks!
• Watching E play in the Jumparoo
• Day trips with the family on weekends
• Baby clothes
• Love love love our stroller - Uppa Vista
• The smell of diapers...clean diapers!
• Cute baby socks - my fave are the Trumpette socks
• Looking forward to family vacations
• Raspberries
• Dressing baby in just a diaper
• Baby in a swaddle...a baby burrito
• oh how could i not have thought of this one sooner...BABY SMELL...you know the smell!
• Homemade baby food...the sweet potatoes are GOOD!
• Reading books
• Singing songs
• Baby yoga
• Wet, open mouth kisses
• Kicking and splashing in the tub
• Huge, gummy, toothless baby grin
• The feeling I get when i'm just about the walk in the door from work
• EVERY sweet ounce of my little baby boy

I'm sure it's just gonna get better and better

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

This is a short post for good reason...see below.

I'll start with the "Good".

Ethan's two bottom teeth have come in and he didn't seem to experience much teething pain.

Ethan really enjoyed his first ride on a swing.

He is beginning to sit up on his own like a "big boy".

Mommy passed her BCBA exam! Wooohooo!

The "Bad"

The stomach virus has hit the Soroka's HARD- well, two of us...Ethan and mommy. Thank goodness Tyler has steered clear of this beast so far.

We had to spend our whole week of February vacation sick at home.

We couldn't go to ice skating night with Dylan and Logan. Logan is also not feeling well. (Once we all feel better, we will go skating, boys)

The "Ugly"

Refer to the stomach virus reference above. Just use your imagination.

Tip: do not put a baby covered in poop in a tub...it floats. I don't mean to be so graphic, but this has been our week. :-(

Hope you are staying healthy during these last few weeks of winter (fingers crossed). I need spring to spring...FAST!

Just a Quick Update

SEE?!? I'm getting better at updating! Now it's only a couple of weeks in between posts, instead of months.

Ethan visited the doctor last week and our little chunk weighed in at 17lbs, 13oz. He measured 25.75 inches. Eating lots of veggies now - sweet potato, carrots, peas, green beans, mixed veggies and we plan to start fruit soon...I know he will LOVE that! We have been making the baby food in the Beaba BabyCook steamer/puree machine. I really like it, although you could probably just do it in the blender (let's not tell Tyler, okay?) Ethan is sporting two little tooth buds (bottom front) and on Saturday he turned 6 months old! I can't believe how fast it's gone. We continue to be amazed at how he changes - literally daily. Even tonight when he got his Valentine's Day presents, he showed us his new temper. He was sucking on a nesting cups and dropped it. Well, he was NOT too happy about that, throwing his body back and screaming. Of course, I looked at the positive side, telling Tyler "he's learning", but I know we will see more of where that came from.

Sorry...I uploaded the pictures a bit small, but if you want to see them larger just click on them.

At the 6 month mark!

I think he looks like a precious moments figurine here...(and I should have retouched his nose area a bit...we are dealing with another bout of the sniffles over here)

Playing with my new toys at Grandma and Grandpa's house

Happy Valentine's Day

xoxo from Ethan!

Phew!

Okay...this time I have a good excuse. I really do.

I can finally take a breather - well for the next month at least - until I find out the results. Pregnancy test?...NO!!!!!! (and I wouldn't have to wait a month). Medical testing? NO, thank God. I finally took the board exam I have been procrastinating taking for years. It's the exam to become a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. Sounds dorky, right? Well it is...and I have been a major dork for the last month with my nose in this thing right here...

...and I hope I will never have to look at it again! Well, that's not true - I will have to reference it often. But you know what I mean. It is what seems like 700 pages of redundant terms and definitions. Even Tyler, who helped me study :) - said that every term sounded the exact same way. He quizzed me nightly and the apartment was littered with flash cards! I took the exam last Saturday and I will get the results by March 15th. I honestly don't know how I did. PLEASE DON'T ASK ME HOW I DID. Suppose your guess is correct if I am walking around with a long face mid March.

Either way, until then I am happy to be rid of thinking about the exam and studying! I get to spend more QT with the little guy and annoy him with my camera. I am trying to master some basic photography skills. I did take a class last summer; however, it's like a language...if you don't use it, you lose it. I love it though...I frustrate myself with a task and then figure it out. I am hoping to take more classes soon.

Ethan is growing like a weed. We have his 6 month check up this coming week - I will update you on the weight then. But he has really filled out with those chubby cheeks and legs. He has started eating some foods: rice cereal, multigrain cereal, peas and green beans. And he loves them all so far! Tomorrow, he will try homemade sweet potato for the first time. Our Beaba Babycook just arrived by mail. It's a baby food cooker that steams food and purees it in the same machine.

Green Pea Night at the Sorokas

My new highchair. Do you think he'll be blonde?!?

The little guy is a rolling machine. This evening I was in the kitchen cooking dinner and Ty was on the computer in the guest room. I walked into the living room to find that Ethan had rolled himself halfway under our media console! He is fast! Just another reminder for us that he is growing and changing day by day.

Playing with daddy's toy that he played with when he was little like me!

He is so excited to explore the world around him. Today, mommy and Ethan had a lunch date at Whole Foods and then we did our shopping. I put him in the carrier, facing outward. He was LOVING it. He was so excited that he was literally bouncing up and down in the carrier. He wanted to grab for everything...even people walking by. I snapped this pic with my cell phone, hence the wonderful composition!

We put EVERYTHING in our mouth these days...even nebulizer cords.

Oh and he LOVES Max! Max is slowly but surely getting used to him but does not possess the same affection that E has for him.

Ethan and Auntie Meggie

"Is it okay if I gnaw on your fingers a bit, auntie?"

Ethan continues to do well at daycare. They are really good to him there which makes it easy to drop him off in the morning. He is usually greeted by a hug and a kiss from one of his teachers. And they are quick to tell us what a good baby he is. We are thankful that we have been blessed with such an easy-going baby...we joke that the next one will be a holy terror!

Ty is busy being a daddy. He loves coming home to Ethan (and me, I think)! It was so cute tonight when Tyler came in Ethan put his arms out to him. Melt.

I have settled in nicely at my job. I am working Monday through Wednesday, 9-5. We all know how I was completely dreading returning to work, but the transition has been good. I have started a new position as the supervisor of the Behavioral Center that is affiliated with the school I worked at. My days are busy and go so fast that before I know it I am holding the little monkey again. I am lucky to be home with him on Thursdays and Fridays...I so look forward to those mornings when we can cuddle (although that doesn't last much beyond 6am...haha)! And days like today (our Whole Foods date) are so special. There are so many times I find myself thinking 'Noelle, remember this moment' because I know it won't last forever...