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!

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!