Happy Birthday, baby boy!

Dear Ethan,

It is hard to believe that one year has past since you entered our lives. Your Daddy and I love you so much and thank God everyday for you. It amazes us how much you learn each day, and we love to see the excitement on your face when you think something is funny or you are excited. You are so smart, and we both enjoy watching you learn new things everyday. Just looking at pictures from the last year, it is amazing how much you have grown and we love to see how your personality has developed. You have brought so much joy to our lives. Thank you and Happy First Birthday!

This year has gone by so fast. Daddy and I are looking forward to the many years to come.

We love you with all of our hearts,

Mommy and Daddy
12-30-2010

December 30, 2009

December 30, 2010

Mommy and E-man's adventure

Ethan and I went to Florida on Tuesday morning and came home Wednesday evening (which turned into night with all the delays). My grandmother and grandfather moved out of their house, so my parents, aunt and uncle, cousin, her husband and son all went to clean the house out and get it ready to sell. So I decided at the last minute that I wanted to go also. I wanted Ethan to meet his Great-Grandma Hojem. We had a great time, even though it was a short trip. E-man and J-man (my cousin's son) had a wonderful time playing and unpacking boxes that we had just packed. The played cars, colored a picture for Great Grandma to hang on her new refrigerator, went to the palyground near house, and "helped" us pack and clean. It was an adventure, because I flew on the plane with Ethan without Chris. It was really okay, until it rained in Texas non-stop yesterday and we were delayed 2 hours in Florida, and then when we finally landed in Houston, we sat on the plane for 45 minutes before we got off. It was an adventure, but well worth every minute!

Merry Christmas to ALL!

We had a wonderful Christmas! On Christmas Eve, we went up to my parents'/brother's house. Grandma read me 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, just as my grandparents would read to me every Christmas Eve.

Christmas Breakfast pancakes and berries, Yummy!

Santa Claus came!!!

Look Santa found my shoes and gave me an orange and candy cane at my door!



This was the first gift that E-man opened. It was from his Great Uncle Eugene. A huge dump truck and blocks--how could you go wrong. It has turned into a favorite and he really enjoys putting everything in it and then dumping it other places of the house. I am finding things everywhere. We had a great Christmas, both sets of Grandparents and all Ethan's aunts and uncles came over to celebrate. We had a wonderful time. Santa brought Ethan a little swing set for Christmas. We have used it a little bit, but it has been so cold out, it has only been in 15 minute blocks. I think we will use it a lot once it gets warm outside.

Our visit to Santa

On Tuesday, we went to the mall to visit Santa. When we got there, Santa was a lunch, but we got in line anyway. Which in the long run was a good thing, because the line just got longer as we waited. In total we waited for an hour and 15 minutes. We took Grandma and Grandpa Lehmann with us, which was a good thing also, because they were able to walk E-man around and entertain him while Chris and I waited in line.

Ethan did pretty good. He wasn't to sure what to expect, I think. He kept looking at Santa and then at us. The picture above was the best one. It is half a smile. He walked right up to Santa (holding my hand of course) He can walk about 8 steps on his own before falling. We are looking forward to our first visit from Santa tonight. More later....Merry Christmas!

month eleven

Ethan is still moving around on all fours. Each day he 'stands' for a few more seconds. I know that one of these days he is going to figure out that we can walk and we aren't going to be able to stop him. This month we enjoyed Thanksgiving and Mommy's birthday. He talks continuously, Chris and I are not sure what he is saying most of the time, but we can tell that each sound does have a particular purpose. He has to be in the mood to eat veggies, but loves fruit. He would eat blueberries, bananas, and mandarin oranges for each meal if we would let him. We are looking forward to the next month of E-man's first year. It is amazing how fast time flies.

Christmas Tree Shopping

Today we went and picked out a Christmas tree. There was a little chill in the air, but better then last year when it was chilly and raining. Ethan wasn't really interested in the trees. He did enjoy playing peek a boo behind the trees. We got the tree home, we didn't decorate it, because it was nap time. We saved the decorating for tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Ethan had a great Thanksgiving. He ate so much, pretty much everything that we put in front of him. We had a wonderful day with family and friends. Thank you, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Tim for having all of us over on Thursday. We had a outstanding lunch, enjoyed time outside (before the cold front came in), visited Uncle Mike and Aunt Drew, and watched the Aggies beat the Longhorns. It was a great day! As November comes to a close, Chris and I wanted to tell you all how thankful we are to have each of you in our lives. Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving Feast

The Friday before Thanksgiving, Ethan's school had a Thanksgiving feast. I was able to attend, it was so cute to see all the kids come in their pilgrim and indian costumes. Ethan and I enjoyed turkey, green beans, macorni and cheese, dressing, and mashed potatoes.

Happy Halloween!

I am ready, Daddy!

We had a good Halloween. This morning, we carved pumpkins. Halfway through, E-man needed to take a nap, so Daddy had to finish by himself, but he did a great job. We did go trick or treating to a few houses. Which was fun, although Ethan didn't really understand what was going on, but he did enjoy the kids coming to his house. He made a really cute lion. We have two more teeth coming in, so he was a little cranky all weekend, but his faces made it look like he was growling like a lion. Grandma L. Thank you for making my costume, it was a huge hit!

Mommy, I am not so sure about this!

Grandma and Grandpa M. Thank you for all my goodies! Great Grandma and Grandpa M. Thank you for my bag! It was perfect!

We had an Ethan come to our door to trick or treat, he took a picture in front of our pumpkin also!

Month ten

I look good in Momma's sunglasses!

It has been a good month. Ethan is enjoying 'real' food now. His favorites are chicken, rice from a Mexican restaurant, bananas, goldfish, cheese, bread...but the absolute best treat is a Nutri-grain bar. He always gets a bath afterward, because he enjoys it so much.

He is cruising around the house, holding onto anything and everything. He will stand alone for a few seconds and then fall down. He enjoys smirking at us when he is doing something that he knows he isn't supposed to be doing, like heading towards Maggie's food and water. He waves good bye. Everyday when I pick him up from school as soon as he sees me, he looks at his teacher and waves good bye. He is constantly 'talking' and babbling. He is saying both the da-da and ma-ma sounds. It is pretty cute. He understands the word No, although he really doesn't listen to it. But we know that he understands, because gives us a little smile and continues on his way.

Last weekend we visited a pumpkin patch, it was very warm, but E-man was a trooper. He was more interested in the hay, than the pumpkins. We are excited about going trick or treating tomorrow. He makes a pretty cute lion.


This afternoon we went to Harvest Fest, which was put on by the Methodist Church here in the neighborhood. There were tons of kids running everywhere and moon bounces. I put E-man in the toddler moon bounce, but he couldn't seem to figure it out, and when more kids got in and started bouncing around, he didn't want anything to do with it.We went and looked at a fire engine. Then we went to the playground and played on the slide and swings. I can't believe how much my little guy is growing up.

month nine...I know I'm late

I know he is actually nine and half months old now, but the day that I was going to post, I ended up with the stomach flu. It was pretty bad, then it traveled around to everyone in the family (except E-man--Thank God!). It even reached people that I didn't even see--sorry. E-man seemed to be the only common thread among everyone. So he didn't get it, but instead infected everyone.

Anyway at E-man's nine month check-up he was in perfect health. He weighed 16 pound 7 ounces and was 26.5 inches long. He is in the 3 percentile for weight still, but the 75 percentile for his head. He is crawling around everywhere, pulling up on furniture...walls...couches...legs....anything that he can, and getting new bumps and briuses everyday. He is enjoying more and more table food everyday, Maggie is too. :)

Monster and Pumpkins

Last Night

Yesterday was very special. Uncle Michael proposed to his girlfriend, Drew. Ethan is going to have a new aunt! We are so happy for you two!

I know an awful picture of E-man....but the only one of all of us. Drew is on the phone with my mom--It was 5:00 in the morning in Denmark.

On the Move...

E-man is on the move. He is constantly moving. We know it is only a matter of time before he starts walking. This weekend is going to be spent finishing the baby proofing.

Look what I can do....

Constantly...if he given a chance to grab a hold of something he is up on his feet. He has started cruising along also. He also grabs EVERYTHING, as you can see.

Look what I found...

Sorry that you have to hold your head to the side. It was just easier to capture the special moments.

Look what I found....It is AWESOME!

Brazos Bend State Park

This afternoon we went to Brazos Bend State Park, in other words Home to the American Alligator. Several years ago, Chris, Maggie and I went to the park over Spring Break. Boy, we will never do that agian. There were alligators everywhere. On the banks, in the water, and even on the hiking paths. Today was a whole lot better. We only saw three alligators (that was enough for me) and they were all in the water. We brought our lunch and had a picnic before we went for a walk around one of the lakes. Both Ethan and Maggie did well. Ethan enjoyed drinking water from the paper cone cups. It was pretty cute, although I think most of it went down the front of him. It was a wonderful Sunday!