Fall Hike

 Andy didn't have class on saturday so we took advantage of our family day together and went hiking outside of Nederland on the 4th of July Trail up to Diamond Lake. It was a great hike and we got to see some of the fall colors on the way there. It finally was starting to feel like fall with the cool weather up there and the lake looked beautiful, Buster was bummed that we wouldn't let him swim but the water was too cold and then he would have had to hike back all wet.

Just as we set up the camera to get a family shot in front of the lake the camera died (of course because I always forget to recharge it until it dies on us). But we did get some cute photo's of Ethan when we got to the lake to have lunch. He loved it up there and had fun checking it all out. Ethan is a great little hiker, he pokes his head out the side of the backpack to watch everything as it goes by and happily talks to us.

Little Best Buddies!

Ethan and Gavin hanging out and playing last week (Ethan 7months Gavin 3 1/2 months).

They are so cute together! It has been a lot of fun watching them interact with each other when Shannon and I get together for our weekly play dates. I think Ethan even remembers Gavin from week to week now days, he gets all excited about seeing his buddy Gavin.

Back to School

Andy has been taking review classes to prepare for the PE (Professional Engineer) exam at the end of October. The classes are all days on saturday at the UCD campus. This last saturday Ethan and I went down to meet Andy for lunch on campus during his break which was a lot of fun! It was such a nice day out and great to get to spend some time with Andy.

Ethan and I walked around downtown for a bit after Andy went back to class and stopped by The Tattered Cover and picked up a few new books for him.

Ethan 's stuffed full from lunch and has evidence of it left all over his face

Nap Time

Ethan doesn't always want to go down for a nap. Sometimes he's great about it; we read a story or two and rock a bit then he's all relaxed and will lay down in his crib with his stuffed doggie and nod off to sleep and it's so nice. Other times he just wants to stay up, there's just way too much to be doing and learning. He starts crying at the first sign I might be trying to put him down for a nap and gets himself all worked up. Today was a bit of a battle getting him to sleep, I did finally get him to relax and  fall asleep after lots of cuddles rocking and crying. But now he's now having a nice and much needed nap. (Which is why I'm now getting to catch up on the blog).

There is nothing quite like a sweet little sleeping baby, even whey it does take a while to convince them that they really do need a nap. (these photos are from about a month or so ago)

7 Months

Ethan is 7 months old and doing loads. In the last month he has mastered sitting up and even catches himself with his arms when he leans over to get something and starts to tip over. He really wants to learn how to crawl and is working hard on it. He gets up on his hands and knees and rocks back and forth and then pushes with his arms which moves him backwards. He hasn't quite figured it out but he spends a lot of time on his belly trying and gets really happy with himself when he pushes himself up. He flips over and rolls around like it's no big deal and is squirming all over the place.

As far as sleeping goes he is doing great and still making it through the night; usually from about 8 till 6:30. Naps are another story, some days we get two naps, one in the morning and one in the later afternoon. Other days he is 'no nap Ethan' and just fights going down for a nap until he wins.

Ethan is eating great and loves all of his solid food, he eats tons and there is nothing that he doesn't like. I'm just not sure where he puts it all, he has the fastest metabolism ever, he may just eat us out of house and home as a teenager. I made him some spinach last night and mixed in apples and banana and he ate it right up. He is a great eater and usually eats around 8-9oz a meal. He loves eating, he gets all excited and opens his mouth really big ready for each spoon full. He's eating solids twice a day now, he nurses when he first gets up and then has solids at around 10:30 usually and then at again at 5:30 right before we have dinner.

We are getting to see more and more of Ethan's personality. He is such a happy little guy, smiles loads, giggles , and is relaxed while just checking everything out. We play games with him and he laughs as we play and he anticipates what we'll do next if we're being repetitive. He loves playing with Buster/ pulling his fur and watching him run around the yard chasing squirrels. He loves being out and about and all the attention he gets. We always get stopped out shopping or at restaurants and he just smiles and flirts away.

We love are little man and are having a ton of fun with him these days!

 

 

Food

Ethan loves food! He is a great eater and is really excited to keep trying new flavors, so far we haven't found anything that he doesn't like. He eats a ton of whatever I give him, I just can't figure out where he puts it all. He's eating solids twice a day now once in the mid morning and then again around 6 and that meal fills him up for the night. Ethan knows when I'm fixing his food and he gets all excited for it and starts making all sorts of noises and bounces is his little seat. Speaking of seats we got Ethan an actual seat at the table. I found a highchair that clips onto the side of the table so he has his own seat at the table instead of sitting in his bumbo on the table to eat. He can even kick his legs around while he eats now and he really likes that.

I've put my food processor to good use this last month and so far Ethan has had:

Sweet Potato
Carrots
Avocado
Bananas
Butternut Squash
Prunes
Peaches
Blueberries
Mango
Applesauce

Rice Cereal

Oatmeal

Excited about those prunes

Checking out the menu trying to decide what to have...

he went with the carrots that I brought for him

Labor Day Weekend

 

playing while waiting for daddy to come home from work 

Sporting his CU onsie to show his support for the big game vs CSU and showing how they'll attack the competition

Playing at the State Fair

Wishing he could have part of that milkshake dad has, but the Avocado and Sweet Potato he had were a good substitute.  

Dancing with Aunt Becca at the Taste of Colorado

Wearing daddy's hat