10 months and walking!!

We've had a fun and busy month. From swimming at the pool to petting goats Ethan has had so much fun! He has changed so much too. One of his new favorite past times is to play hide and seek. He will stand at the couch and put his face down and then pop back up to scare us. He just cracks up at how we react.
Ethan took his first steps just a few days ago. He has a very determined personality and I knew it would happen soon...just not that soon!

Swimming with Daddy

i LOVE swimming!!

Petting baby goats at the Deanna Rose Farm

Chillin' outside

Watched Ethan's friend, Lily, one morning...he didn't want to share his mommy!

Happy 4th of July!!

Chris' birthday with the Walters

Waiting in line for The Civil Wars concert...we were prepared!!

July 4th Small Group BBQ- the guys are getting the burgers ready

School's Out for Summer!

Ethan is enjoying the change in routine lately. I am home during the day with him and Chris. I am glad that I get to see him more than 3-4 hours a day now. We have lots of fun things planned for the summer and am excited to celebrate his first birthday in a few short months!!

Ethan went to his 9 month check-up on Monday and is right on track for his age. He is 20.5lbs (47%ile) and 29.25 inches tall (81%ile). He's come down quite a bit on his weight percentile because of his new fat burning exercise called crawling! But he's still our baby giant on height.

Because Ethan is getting so big, we needed to get him a new car seat. His old one only went up to 22 lbs and our new one is a convertible car seat (rear or forward facing) and goes up to 65 lbs! He looks so little in this monstrous car seat. He still does a great job in the car and has plenty of room to grow! 

The last 2 1/2 months I have been running 3 times a week with my friend Lauren to have some much needed girl time and some great exercise. On June 4th, we ran a 4 mile race at the Belton Research Hospital and supported a new dental clinic in Belton that will offer free or reduced dental services to thousands of kids in Cass county who don't have dental insurance. We felt really good about all our hard work, especially because we were the 7th and 8th place finishers! We sadly didn't take a picture together on race day, but we captured a running moment just last night! We didn't have time in our day to run until after 9pm and our loving husbands were fearful of our safety and provided us with super cool running gear (that we didn't wear!!). We just took our trusty mace with us!

Swimming at the community center

Splish Splash!

 Ethan hit his head on the side of the cart at Walmart! His first black eye...I'm sure it won't be his last!

Tiger Tail

First Haircut- we went for the buzz cut and he looks so grown up!

Ethan met our friend Jesse who happened to be our waiter at Ruby Tuesdays one night. Ethan helped him rake in some tips by meeting everyone else in the restaurant!!

New way to drink from a bottle!

My little independent boy wouldn't let me feed him one bite. Here's his way of doing things.

Holy Guacamole!!

Why not sit in the toy box?? It looks so fun!

Doing so many new things...

Ethan has had such an eventful month. He is crawling like a pro, pulling up, playing in the pool, and swinging in the baby swing at the park. Pictures are worth a thousand words...I'll let them do the talking!

Here he comes!

Doing pull-ups instead of napping

Standing on bed first...jumping on bed is next!

Hmmm...

Our little puppy!

Watching Wheel of Fortune!

Taking him to the doctor...seems like he doesn't want to go!!

Puffies for Easter!

 Happy Easter!

Our little family Easter Sunday

He loves to swing!

Our big boy!

More swinging please!

So happy

Weeeeee!

Crawling among other things...

Ethan is almost 7 1/2 months old and just learned how to crawl this weekend. We knew he was going to soon but he just couldn't get his arms and legs to coordinate. So Grandpa Moots showed him and talked him through it and within hours of that first lesson, Ethan crawled his first few inches! He now goes immediately to the trash can, entertainment center, and book shelf...all of which are not for babies!! So we are certainly having to stay on our toes when he is on the move!

He has his 2 bottom middle teeth now. He's a big fan of chewing things with his new chompers. He's eating Cheerios and crackers like a pro! I was feeding him dinner one night and all of a sudden he pulled out a cracker from his high chair and started eating it! I didn't even see it there, he was saving it for later I guess!

He loves to pretend like he's talking. It's cute...except for he likes to do most of his practice in his crib at 6AM. So I have to listen to his chatter on the baby monitor during my last few precious minutes of sleep before I get ready for work.

The weather is getting nice now and we just bought a jogging stroller to use for my 5k training over the next few weeks. Ethan likes the breeze through his hair and putting his feet up on the tray in front of him. We are certainly getting good use out of the new stroller! We both enjoy our running buddy, Lauren, she helps keep Ethan occupied and entertained!

Bad hair day!

Tribal Baby

Guitar Licks at the Doctor's office

Mommy, Daddy, and Ethan at the Benefit Concert we played 

Ethan Playing on the deck

Daddy and Ethan bowling!

Ethan and Easton BFF!

Bathtime

HEY!

UH OH!! Ethan "The Trashman" Brown

So Much Growing in 2 Months

We thought we'd let Ethan grow up big time before posting again...or I've been really side-tracked! One of those two! Ethan has started doing some major rolling around. He loves toys especially the ones that rattle, play music, or crinkle!

He has started eating baby food and baby cereal too. That has been so much fun! I'm loving it because I am making most of his food now. I estimate that by making my own I save at least $30-$40/month! I have about a month's worth of food in the freezer, so he is set! I have made avocado, bananas, apples, beets (yep!), carrots, pears, peas, pumpkin, and plan on more as he gets more food on his menu! I puree the food in our magic bullet and pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. After it freezes I put the cubes into a freezer bag and label it. It's so easy because I have 1 oz. servings of food and can defrost what I need to use. I wish I was the brains behind this operation, but I've done lots of blog searching to find out the best way to prepare and preserve his food. He also loves a banana apple smoothie I make- 1 cube apple, 1 cube banana, and water to thin it out. He can then take that in his new sippy cup on the road and still get the nutrients he needs!

He loves his walker and Johnny Jump. We take his walker to church with us on band practice nights and he spends almost 2 hours in it pushing himself backwards down the aisles! He also will bounce in his Johnny Jump and squeal! He is having so much fun, he lets our neighbors know about it.

I've had 11 snow days in January and February. I've really enjoyed being a "part-time" teacher. We have all enjoyed the snow and time home together!

His 6 month check-up and shots are just a few days away. I am pretty sure he will be tipping the scales at 20lbs at least. He's rockin' all his milestones and we are so blessed to have such a happy, healthy baby! 

He's not allowed to drive until he's 25!

Sweet Face!

Trying Snow for the first time...not sure why he's wearing a toga?!

Taking a bath in Grandma and Grandpa Moots' sink...jacuzzi time!

Mmmm...turtle!

Daddy's Hairdo!

Everything gets a taste test!

Look at my new shoes!!

New Shoes and sitting up!

Drinkin' and Driving...again- no license until 25 years old!

Practicing sitting up is like bumper bowling! The crib is perfect!

SO MUCH FUN!

Hey bubba teeth!

Ethan's Valentine's Day card to the Grandparents

Chris and Ryland went to get snow for our snow icecream. Lauren and I are watching from the nursery window!

Snow day gear! We played in the snow like a couple of kids!

Ethan enjoyed using his snow suit for the first time.