Another Ethan first: He helped edge the driveway.

His part was to rake a pile of the grass remnants into a more compact pile. He also helped unload the wheelbarrow for a few seconds before I told him not to. Then we worked on refilling the wheelbarrow.

Another Ethan first: He hid around a corner.

Ethan loves to chase and be chased, and he is particularly amused when he chases me around  a corner where I pop out to surprise him. Today, he used that tactic himself: as I was chasing him through the French doorway from the piano room to the fireplace room, he tucked in tightly along the far side. When I came through, he gave me my surprise, toddling and giggling along the way.

Kisses For Everyone

It all started about three weeks ago. His first kiss was to Mommy. I could hear a happy little waking baby on a beautiful sunny morning. As I leaned into his crib to pull him out, he gave me the softest butterfly kiss on my cheek. It made my entire day!

Since then, he has been giving kisses consistently to Mommy and Daddy in the evening right before bed.

Then, two days ago he began to kiss everything... Mopsy, Julius, his stuffed animals, even the floor. He even kissed the bunnies on his little new cup during dinner. Now, he will give kisses away to everyone he gets to know. Who will be the lucky one, next?

~ posted by Beth

Another Ethan first: He kicked a soccer ball.

Ethan and I were playing in the backyard with a half-sized soccer ball. His first reaction was to pick it up and throw it. Then, I demonstrated how I kick it, and helped him do the same. He learns quickly: right after that he was kicking it about six feet away all on his own.

Another Ethan first: He spun around on request.

Ethan has been more maneuverable lately, including turning around in circles. When Mommy sees him do this, she lets him know that what he’s doing is called spinning. Along with his mobility, Ethan’s language comprehension has also been noticeably increasing. The physical and mental came together shortly after he surprised us by walking backward. Beth asked him if he could show me how he can spin around… and he did.

Another Ethan first: He walked backwards.

Beth, Ethan, and I were out in the field beyond the back yard, down by the river, having a lazy time along the path on this beautiful summer day. Ethan had been walking around, checking out the wildflowers. Then, for his own secret reasons, he decided to do something new by walking backwards. He was facing us and walked away about six feet along the path.

Another Ethan first: He mimicked a melody.

Ethan doesn’t say many words, but he likes to say his favorite, Mama. It used to be he’d say it in response to first hearing the word, but more recently he’s been initiating, as he did this afternoon after his nap. This prompted me to make up a little melody with just the word Mama, around a dozen notes long, just for fun. I thought I was merely providing an entertaining sound for him to listen to, but was I ever surprised when he repeated the melody back to me, matching my rhythm and relative pitches.