Another Ethan first: He asked for his blanket.

One of our favorite events of the evening is slipping into Ethan’s bedroom after he’s fast asleep to check on him and put his blankets on. Ethan has always been too wormy at bedtime to be blanketed—until tonight that is. Just before lying down, he motioned for his blankets. I told him that he’d have to lie still for them to stay on, and he did.

Blankets already on or no, we still slipped into his room later on.

Another Ethan first: He helped build a snowman.

Our first big snow of the season packed very nicely, a perfect opportunity to build a snowman. Ethan caught on quickly to rolling a snowball, although it wasn’t long before the balls were too big for him to roll. After all, he’s not much taller than the big ball at the base of the snowman (which was all that remained for the picture after the big storm).

Another Ethan first: He danced on his toes.

Another Ethan first: He shook off his yogurt drips.

As Ethan was enjoying his yogurt, he noticed some dripping from the spoon. He shook the spoon until the drip came free and landed cleanly back in the container. This surprised us, since Ethan gleefully makes a mess with other foods.

Another Ethan first: He climbed onto our bed.

Ethan loves flopping around on our bed, but since it sits up fairly high, he’s needed our help to get on it. He did learn a while ago to lower himself to the point where he could safely plop down to the floor. Today, using the wood rail as a step stool and with a good grip on the bed spread, and pulled himself up to where he could play around.

Creative Ways to Eat Veggies

Ethan always had a reputation of  loving his veggies.  But now that he is older and wiser, he is realizing that those green beans, peas, and carrots just can’t compete with all the other yummy foods available (he loves avocado, but that doesn’t count as a veggie, technically). Mommy has had to get creative in order to get her little boy to eat a healthy diet. Here are some techniques that have met Ethan’s approval:

1. Place the 1 cm long green bean piece upright on the table and make a sucking sound (like the dentist tool). Ethan will then put his head down, suck the green bean right up, and giggle.
2. Cut the green bean up in 1 cm pieces and stick one on a prong of the fork.  Make the fork “walk” towards Ethan and say “mmmm… one green bean fork”.   Ethan will then grab the fork, make it walk, and then gleefully put it in his mouth and eat off the green bean.  After many successful attempts, then try “two green bean fork”.
3. Swoosh a green bean piece in some wild berry balsamic vinegar.  Delicious!
4. Put a pea on a spoon and add rolled oats with it.  Ethan loves rolled oats!  Add some yogurt in the mix for extra flavor.
5. Put a raison or better yet, a tiny piece of banana on the prong of the fork along with the green bean. Yummy!
6. Green beans on a fork with a piece of cheese, of course. ;-)

Written by Beth

Another Ethan first: He volunteered to put away Daddy’s shoes.

Whether it was slovenly of me to leave my shoes in the dinette, even though I would be going back outside a couple hours later, is a matter of opinion. Either way, Ethan clearly knew where the shoes really belonged. While I was cleaning the kitchen after dinner, I turned around to see Ethan, entirely on his own initiative, carrying my shoes and putting them in the closet.