Another Ethan first: He put a hexagonal peg through a hexagonal hole.

He tried putting it through a triangular hole first, but that’s one of those life lessons everyone has to learn.

Another Ethan first: He played ball.

Ethan loves balls: little grippy balls, larger-than-life beach balls, even foam blocks with holes for little fingers that aren’t really balls at all. We got to toss the balls back and forth for the first time today, because now when he throws and rolls them, it’s with a direction and purpose.

Another Ethan first: He spun a top.

Another Ethan first: He went sledding.

Twenty degrees and beautiful powdered snow—a perfect day for a sled ride. Ethan held himself steady with his hands while Daddy pulled him up and down and up and down the hill in the backyard.

Another Ethan first: He clapped his hands audibly.

A casual, baby form of clapping hands was sufficient for Ethan for a total of five days. Today, he decided to be like everyone else with a proper, flat-handed, palm-smacking applause.

Another Ethan first: He walked behind his walker.

Ethan has been improving his balance. When he is standing at the coffee table, he no longer needs to crawl to get to the sofa: he can stand momentarily in between. Yet his most obvious display of stability came today when he was using his walker toy. He stood behind it and took step after step until he had walked from one end of the room to the other.

Another Ethan first: He clapped his hands.

Grandma has a knack for encouraging our boy. She was persistent for months, coxing Ethan into raising his hands to show us how he’s “So big!” Her patience has paid off. Mommy and Daddy have likewise long been helping Ethan learn to clap hands, but it was the visit from grandma this weekend and her special touch that won the applause of little Ethan.