Ethan is Eating Puffs

About a week ago Ethan started eating puffs and wafers. He really likes 'em, but only gets about half of them in his mouth.

CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE!

I'm just excited because everyone else is excited.

I hope Santa brings presents for me, even though I've been a little stinker lately.

Ethan's Ni-Night Bear

I like to play with the tip of his soft cap when I'm tired. He's been in my crib since I was "new," but lately he's my buddy. Thanks, Grandma.

Singing and Reading

I caught the tail end of Katie reading "5 Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed" the other day. I can't seem to let her see the camera or she stops whatever she's doing and tries to take it so she can snap her own pictures. My favorite part is when she points her finger to say, "No more monkeys jumpin' on da bed!" Her favorite is the last page where the Mama is jumping on the bed.

Santa, Please Visit Our House Anyway

Mommy and Daddy tried (the key word here is TRIED) to visit Santa Claus at the mall last weekend. It did not turn out as we had hoped.


Ethan tolerated sitting with Santa, but burst into tears when he looked at him.


Katie refused to let go of Daddy as soon as we asked her if she wanted to sit with him.

Not gonna lie... Mommy and Daddy were pretty bummed. We really wanted a picture with the jolly fellow.

Male Bonding

Ethan likes to be up high.

And we all know how much he likes to play/pull with hair.

Ethan is On the Move!

Somehow I have not been able to get live video of the little mister crawling, but I have captured his adventures in learning to "walk" with help. So cute! (He's also learned to cruise around furniture. I took some video on my phone but can't seem to get the sound when I try to upload it.)

Playing Together

More like playing with different parts of the same toy at the same time.

Still pretty cute, though.

Bath Time

Ethan has (almost) always enjoyed bath time, but lately he's thrilled about it! He doesn't take his eyes off the tub until he gets in.

Once he's in... he smiles a gooofy smile and kicks his chubby little legs around, watching the water splash around.

And since he's such a big boy now...

He gets to take a bath (sans his baby tub) with Big Sister. He LOVES it! He and Katie take turns splashing water at each other and squeal the whole time. So fun.

Sleeping Katie

It's hard work being two.

Ethan is 8 Months Old!

On Tuesday Ethan turned 8 months old! (How is this possible?!) He has had a busy month and an especially big week. He's learned how to sit with no help, go from his tummy to a seated position and vice versa, crawl (not just scoot anymore),sprouted a tooth, and just in this last week he has learned to...

pull himself up on his knees...


pull himself up to his feet...

AND pull himself up to a standing position. (The very day that I took this picture we lowered the mattress all the way down, by the way.)

I checked Katie's baby book to see if my memory has failed me, or if he is in fact growing up faster. Almost every one of these milestones she hit about 2 - 4 weeks later than he has. So unfair! He's supposed to stay little forever...

Katie is Potty-trained!

After 3 straight days of Katie sitting down on her own EVERYTIME she needs to do her business, I'd say it's safe to say that we did it! Katie knows how to use the potty! Yeah! Mommy and Daddy almost gave up, too. (Good thing we hung in there.) It was a solid week and a half of Katie going through various phases.... Not wanting to sit on the potty, being too busy to sit on the potty, peeing all over the floor and then running through it as Ethan crawled towards it, and not wanting to sit for the duration of the "show." But she has figured out how clean and comfortable it is now. Mommy loves how she picks up the potty insert and walks in into the bathroom to flush it. Even better is how she sloshes the insert around as she's walking. Oh joy. We are still in the "no panties" phase. Starting tomorrow we hope to move to the panties and plastic panties phase. In the meantime, Mommy has plenty of "nem-ih-nems" for Pumpkin Wumpkin.

It's About Time!

It's finally cold enough for winter clothes around here. Mommy is so excited. She's tired of sweating.

1st Tooth!

Today, Mr. Adorable's first tooth poked through his gums. It's his left bottom front. I noticed it first thing this morning when he was playing with my hand and put my finger in his mouth to chew on. Guess that explains the fussiness and the excess drool.

Baby Blocks

These baby blocks are Ethan's favorite toys. He loves to grab them, chew them, and hit them.

Someone else used to love them, too...

Remember this? Katie was the age Ethan is now in this picture. I thought she was so chubby at the time, but Ethan definitely has her beat. We can confirm that he has more hair than she did, too.

Hey Everybody!

It's official... I don't fit into any of my 9 month clothes anymore. It's 12 month clothes for me now. Mommy cannot believe how big (and heavy) I am getting.

The Crying Pumpkin and Mother Nature's Farm

(Mommy got so excited about posting the Halloween pics that she almost forgot to post pumpkin carving and the pumpkin patch.) Katie was not so sure about reaching into the pumpkin. Even with encouragement from Mommy and Daddy.

She was, however, very excited that the pumpkin had a crying face like the one in her book "Five Little Pumpkins." Every time we read that story, she points to the sad pumpkin on each and every single page and says, "He cwy-ing." It cracks Mommy and Daddy up.

The day before Halloween Mommy decided that we MUST go to a pumpkin patch. This farm in Gilbert (that I literally went to 1 time in the 17 years that my family lived down the street from) seemed like a good choice. They have events for all the holidays and it's very reasonably priced... so we figured it'd be fun.

And then we walked in and Katie saw the bounce house. (Sigh.) Total meltdown. But we held strong and had some lunch instead. Eventually she came around and wanted to play in this rectangular "pool" of hay. Pretty cute.

Then there was the little house with a pumpkin and a pine cone. Very exciting!

And lets not forget the bull, the pig and her piglets, and the goats. Katie wanted to pet them SO BADLY, but they were eating and that made Mom and Dad a little nervous.

When she started to slow down and look a little warm, we ended the visit with a tractor/ hay ride and went to pick out a pumpkin. Lots of fun.

P.S. Ethan was is the baby bjorn carrier and I was the one with the camera, so no pictures of the little man. He did have fun watching everything and everyone, though. And he fell asleep on the hayride.

Happy Halloween

For Ethan's first Halloween (on the outside, that is) Mommy wanted the kids to have matching costumes. Who knows how much longer I'll be able to convince Katie to dress up as what I want. Gotta take advantage now.

Originally, the plan was to do a family costume. But, funds are limited and so is our time, now that we are moving. So Mommy made costumes for just the little Berrys. Katie and Ethan were Tinkerbell and Peter Pan. Mommy and Daddy were graduates. We have like 2 or 3 caps and gowns hanging around here between both of our Bachelors ceremonies and Trav's Masters ceremony. (At first Daddy wasn't going to dress up at all, but at the last minute Mommy talked him into it. He knows how much it means to her. What a good husband!)

Tinkerbell did not want to get dressed.


Naturally, a fit ensued.


But Peter Pan was happy to get ready.


Silly boy!


Finally, Katie requested to go outside and returned to her happy little self.


Ethan showed off his threads some more.


Katie had so much walking around saying "I tick-oh-teating!" So cute. By the third house she figured out what to say and to hold out her pumpkin.


Ethan sure enjoyed being carried around and awed over. All in all- a successful Halloween.

7 Months Old

Again, a little behind on the posts here. The story of life with an infant and a toddler. Anyway. This big boy turned 7 months old about a week and a half ago! He is doing so much. He's figure out how to do yoga (downward dog) and pilates (plank), get up on his hands and knees, is trying all sorts of vegetables, feeding himself a bottle or sippy cup of water here and there, jabbering away, sitting up with less and less support, and putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. He's also working on some teeth. Those lower gums are very swollen, but nothing yet.

Playing Outside

I sure enjoyed playing outside with both Grandma and Grandpa!

So Busy

Reading at Friday's before lunch.

Playing together on the couch.

Meeting The Cat in the Hat

At story time (a couple of weeks ago) we read The Cat in the Hat. And he came to visit! Because we got there just as it was about to start, Miss Katie got a front row seat.

Daddy took the day off and joined us. He thought it was so funny that as The Cat in the Hat was walking through the crowd, he created "a path of destruction." (Lot's of crying children!) But, as usual, Katie was not the least bit afraid. She kept petting his tail and trying to stand up in front of him during the story to say "Hi." What a fun cat to meet!

All Dressed Up and Ready to Roll

When Grandma was visiting she took me shopping and we went WiLd!! She hooked me up with these snazzy boots, talking Cookie Monster, and this fabulous dress up jewelery. So pretty!

Already Missing Our Grandma Jody

We had so much fun visiting with our grandma! Mommy will post more pics soon...

Sitting Up

Early this month Ethan learned to sit up on his own!

So exciting. Although he can't sit up for very long yet.

Adorable.