Merry Christmas to all...

1) Santa Ethan (that's Me!)

2) Playing on my Bounce & Spin Zebra... I fall off it a lot!

3) Opening presents - it takes me about a day to get through one...

4) Say Cheeesseee!

5) I know I look like I'm doing that standing all on my own - but Mummy's holding the back of my overalls!

6) Sitting on Mummy for a snooze!
Merry Christmas everybody! I had a fantastic Christmas this year!!! It was nice to be so big and strong that I could do tons of stuff and really have fun!

A lot has been happening with us since I last posted. Let me think... the last thing I did here was my video of checking my email. I try to check that everyday, but since I have to do it with Mummy or Daddy I sometimes have to wait. It's OK though, I have tons of other stuff to get done in a day. So I have been getting bigger and stronger all the time, I weigh close to 20 pounds now, and I'm 30" tall. I LOVE to stand up and I do it well enough that Mum doesn't have to hold me up all the time... I can stand just holding onto something and I get better at that all the time. I think that soon I will be ready to stand on my own! Mummy gave me another small haircut before Christmas because some woman in the showroom of Gladstone Ford called me a girl... Mum HATES that!!!! But she says that my hair grows fast like Daddy's, and that I needed a big boy trim. I look pretty handsome if I must say so myself.

I have been working very hard with Kelly, my PT, and have been honing my skills for playing, rolling over, sitting up, and standing. I finally get that when you pick up a ball or something, you can actually put it back down again without flinging it across the room! Yeah for me!! Kelly calls that grab and release skills. I'm skilled!!!

I had 2 Christmas' this year. What a lucky boy I am. I spent the weekend before Christmas with Nana and my aunties Tracy & Pam (of course Mummy & Daddy too!) We had a really good time, and they got to eat a bunch of cool food... I tried some, but I still like my stuff better. THEN, I went to NJ to spend Christmas with my Uncle Sanjay and my Auntie Uchi and again Mummy & Daddy were there (it's not like I could drive myself to NJ). That was so much fun too! I loved my Auntie Uchi so much that just the sound of her voice made me smile! Bruin and Lola went with us to NJ too, and it was fun to have them there. They spent most of their time sleeping on some big, squishy chair called a lovesack. The looked like they were in love when they slept on it! Uncle Sanj & Auntie Uchi have a cute furry bunny named Chilindrina (Chillin-Dreena) who came out to play one night. Lola had to stay outside, and Bruin had to go in the other room while Chilindrina came out cuz they scared her bad! But she was so cute hopping around and she came by and gave me a sniff a couple of times. I got to touch her ear once...but then she was on the move.

So we're home now, waiting for something called 2007 to come along. I wonder if that comes by mail....

More later - I hope you all had a good Holiday, and I love you!

Ethan checks his e-mail

Hello all,
It's been a very busy time of the year, so I promise I'll do a big post when the holidays are over, but for now here is a video of me checking my e-mail.

It's all about helping others!

Hi everybody! How's all my peeps?? OK, so you see the picture above, right? That's my 'little' cousin Conner, and his Mummy Amber. I love them a lot. Conner usually makes me cry as you know, but I think I'm ready for him this Thanksgiving. :-)

So I have a big favor to ask you all. Conner's Mummy is doing something really brave and great. She is doing something called a Penguin Plunge - which at first sounded really good to me until my Mummy explained to me that it's really Amber jumping into the icy cold water of the Long Island Sound (whatever that is) in December. If you've ever had a bath that's not really up to temp you know how umcomfortable that can be. Mummy says it's like a billion times more cold. (I'm glad that Conner isn't doing it too cuz I know that his boy stuff would crawl back inside of him for warmth!)

Anyway, Conner's Mummy is raising money for the Special Olympics - which is a really cool thing to do. So here is a link to her webpage for donations. I'm not asking you for a lot, there are some set donation amounts, but you can pick your own amount if you want to. Even if you give one dollar - and who doesn't have one dollar?? Even I have one dollar! - the end result would be really helpful to a bunch of people who could really use it. You can sponser her by credit card, debit card, or check which you can send to my Mummy if you want to and she will send it to Conner's Mummy. Please check it out here, and consider a donation:

http://soct.convio.net/site/TR?px=1064981&pg=personal&fr_id=1140&et=zVNvNBy35Flt1x6dTpNvwg..&s_tafId=3383

Thanks so much - I love you all!

World Traveler Status... Next On My Checklist!

PICTURES:
1) Love me... love my Jump-A-Roo
2) Me feeling a little under the weather
3) Lola, Bruins new wife
4) Uncle Sanjay and Auntie Uchi
5) Me...turning on the charm to my new friend Pauline
6) Lookin' cute in my suit


As always, I've been a busy bee! There's a lot to do and I intend to do it all with as much style as I can muster! Since my Grandad, Auntie & Uncle left I've been doing a little more eating, and a LOT more sitting and playing. I love to sit for house on the floor and play with my toys, my Mummy, and my Daddy. Sometimes Bruin or Cellar happen by and I get to touch, grab, or pet them. Mymmy and Daddy keep saying 'be nice', but I'm quite sure that they like a little tug on the fur.... Other than that... we went on a family trip to Puetro Rico to see my Uncle Sanjay and my Auntie Uchi get married (VERY FUN), and we got a new little dog-girlfriend for Bruin. I think she must be his wife since she lives here. :-)

Let's talk about Puetro Rico first. We flew on planes... imagine that?? We took 2 planes down there, and then 2 planes home, and I loved it! Daddy and Mummy say that I'm a born traveler - which makes me happy cuz I have a lot of realitives that live in London and beyond and I want to travel to see them all! While we were in PR I swam in the pool with Mum and Dad, and I played with my toys, my Uncle Sanjay, and anybody else who would play with me. I got to flirt with tons of pretty girls too!!! We had a really good time!

When we got home I was excited to see my Nana there! She stayed with Bruin and Cellar while we were gone, and I was happy to have a couple days to spend with her. Once we got settled in back at home, that's when Bruin's wife came to live with us! Her name is Lola, and she is so pretty and small! She is much smaller than Bruin, but she plays pretty hard with him. She's so cute too, she comes over and sniffs me, and she lets me pet her! I love her.

We all have a cold from the trip, I guess. Mummy says that airplane air isn't very clean, and since we're all sick I guess that's true. I feel a little better today, but Mummy and Daddy are just junk... nothing fun to do with them. Thank goodness I have my Jump-a-roo!!!! WOO HOO....

More later - I love you all!

Me, Me, Me...it's all about Me

Pics:
1) Me, of course
2) Me with my bottle of water...Mmmmmmm
3) Check out my teeth!! That's 8 of them!
4) My first stand with Kelly!
5) Grandad and me playing
6) Mummy, Daddy & me
7) Daddy throws me in the air... I LOVE that!
8) Grandad, Daddy, Uncle Jayesh, me, & Auntie Anupa

Hi everybody, my life is changing so fast now-a-days. I can do all sorts of new and groovy stuff and I'm having such a good time doing it all! Let's catch up a little bit.

Firstly I got to meet my Grandad from London, and he came here with my Auntie and Uncle. You may remember my Uncle Jayesh from earlier this year...and he came back with my Auntie Anupa and my Grandad. I had so much fun with all of them, but I looooved my Grandad. I would sit on his lap and we would play and laugh, and then we would watch tv and just hang out together. I miss him being here already, and I can't wait to see him again. My Auntie was very fun too, and she was nice to cuddle with and talk to. She wears the best necklaces... I love to try to chew on them!!!! My Uncle, he sounds so much like my Daddy that I am very interested when he talks to me... or around me. I love to hear him, even on the phone! Daddy, Mummy and I all had the best time with them all!!

Now you won't believe what else I can do these days. I can stand...yeah with little help. I stood for the first time on Oct 27th, and I was just holding the hand of my PT Kelly! It was so exciting, and now I do it all the time! I can't get up on my own... I need a little help to do that, but once I'm up I do love to stand.

I am finding that food is indeed my friend. I'm really starting to like eating my cereal and fruits and veggies. Mummy is helping me eat 3 times a day now, and I think that I perfer it to that old tube feeding. I even like to drink water from my bottle. I know that shocks most of you, so I'll give you a minute to absorb the info. Don't try to slip me any formula in that bottle cuz I'm smart and I know the difference! I only like to drink water from my bottle...not that yucky formula!

The other things that I really love to do now is to sit on the floor and play, play, play with my toys. I sit there for hours and play and talk and sometimes I sing a little. I love to sit up on my own and watch Elmo too..and Mummy and I play and sometimes she makes me do a little work on rolling over and playing on my tummy which I don't like as much as sitting up.

OK, well I have some more playing and exploring to do right now. But I'll try to check in with you all in a couple of weeks.

I love you all!

Today I am ONE!!!

picture descriptions:
1) ME - with tons of cake and frosting on my face and my birthday hat
2) A full lenght picture of me from just this morning, my 1st birthday
3) A full lenght picture of me from a year ago... what a difference a year makes, eh??


Well, it's quite hard to believe but today I turn One Year Old! My Mummy and Daddy are facinated with how the year has gone by - they say it was the fastest slow year they have ever lived.

Even I can't believe how big I have gotten in the year. Remembering when I was born - I weighed just 2lbs 10ozs, and now I weigh in at about 19lbs!!!! I am so big and long, and I can do so much stuff now. I love to clap my hands - that's what I do best and all the time right now. I sit up really well to play with toys, and Mummy has been teaching me how to sit up on my own in the morning. I forget that I need to get on my side to do it, but once she helps me to my side I push up really well to sit up. Gosh... I'm so big.

I had my birthday party, and it was loaded with all kinds of kids that I love!!! Especially my cousin Conner! I truly love him, even though he is really,Really, REALLY loud and he always makes me cry!! But I think that the more time I spend with him, the more I will get used to his... well, his loudness. :-D There were so many other kids there too - some closer to my age, and some older than me, but we all had fun! AND I ate cake!!!!

That's right!! MORE VIDEO!!!

I'm Big... I'm Strong... & I'm free of wires!!

Things are very exciting at my house this week. I had an appointment with my Dr. John yesterday and just wait until you hear what's happening with me!!!

I'm so big I weigh 18 lbs 13 ozs now - can you believe that?? I'm so strong that I'm now in the 6th percentile for growth on the full term growth chart!!! AND I don't have to use my apnea monitor anymore!!! WOW - I'm really excited about that because the sticky pads on my chest made my skin itchy and I got a rash every time Mum or Dad had to put them on me. I didn't like them... and Mum and Dad are happy because now they don't have to hear the monitor screach with the loose connection warning. I haven't had any apnea in well over a month, and I have been off my caffeine for even longer. I'm really growing up now.

AND.... know what else??? I don't have to use the special formula any more either! Mum and Dad can start giving me some normal formula, the Nestle Good Start, and every day I am more and more like a full term baby.

Today I tried some whole milk, and I really liked it. I also tried some pear yogurt (YoBaby yogurt) but I wasn't too sure about that right now. Maybe I'll give that a try again another day. I really like apples and apricots, apples and blueberries, and most fruit that isn't too tart. I like sweet veggies too... like the orange group... is that a food group in itself?? hmmmmmm

Well, I have to nap now.... bye bye for now - I love you all! xxoo

More video!!

After my last video got me an Oscar nod, I thought I'd try again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uEZYj4ge-w

Who is that Big Cute Boy??

Hi there all! Mummy & Daddy have been taking great care of me, and we've been doing tons of really cool stuff. Naturally - with summer here - I am finding out about all sorts of stuff like water, sunshine, and golf! Daddy loves golf... I think I may give it a try someday when I get big enough to walk around. :-D

I'll be 11 months old this coming Saturday - August 12th - and that is the same day that they are having the NICU reunion at the Elliott Hospital. That's the place where all the wonderful people are that Mummy says saved my life! I'm sure you remember that I spent 3 and 1/2 months living in the NICU, and getting myself ready to come home with Mummy & Daddy. They have a big party every year so we can all see each other again, and show off how big we've gotten!! I'm excited to see Anthony - he was my room mate for a while. I see his Mummy a lot when I go to my doctor appointments cuz she works there - but I haven't seen him. I can't wait to see so many people that I miss a lot like Melina, Melissa, Maureen, Donna, Jen, Melanie... gosh there are so many!!! I hope they will be excited to see me too.

I go see my Dr. John on the 22nd of this month, and Mummy & Daddy are pretty sure that I will be able to get rid of my Apnea monitor then too. WOO HOO!! I'm sick of having these sticky "leads" on my chest, and tired of hearing the "loose connection" alarm sound at night when I am clearly sleeping soundly and not moving around at all!! I haven't had an apnea alarm in a really long time and I have been off my caffeine dose for over a month now. It makes me feel like I am really, truly getting big and strong now. I think that I weigh a little more than 18 lbs by this time, which I think is pretty darn good considering I only weighed 2 lbs, 10.5 ozs when I was born!!

I'm doing some pretty nifty stuff these days. I LOVE to sit up all the time. It's putting a little bit of a damper on my ability to roll over, since I think I just need to use those sitting up muscles for everything but I enjoy sitting and playing with my toys. I like playing in the bath now too, and expecially love to splash with my little cups in there. Really I just like to get the water out of them and chew, chew, chew on them!!! I explore all of my toys with great concentration, and have learned that throwing them on the floor produces the best sounds!!! I'm learning about the world around me when I do that...it's COOL!

I think you already knew that I had my two bottom middle teeth... yeah, those are still there and top teeth are coming in now. Mummy & Daddy say that I'm getting my "fangs", and they call me snaggletooth now! My right upper fang is coming in quite nicely, and the left side is now following suit. Mummy will post a pic when they are clearly visible at the same time... should be something to see.

I'm still a champion sleeper at night... going to bed between 7 and 8 PM and sleeping right through. I wake early in the morning, and I like my alone time with my toys in my crib. I normally play with them and have another snooze... I like to be social around 9 or 10. I'm eating fruits and veggies on a fairly regular basis now, and I have tried every single grain cereal there is... right now we're on Barley. My cousin Amber said to try mixing it with juice, and Mummy tried that one and it worked out pretty good for me. I liked the Barley cereal mixed with juice well enough. It could be a fluke - I'm pretty picky on my cereals. ;-) I like trying to drink from an open cup too, and I'm trying to get the hang of straws. Bottles will never be my friend, so we are just circumventing the need for them by trying to move on to other methods of eating and drinking. We'll have to see how that goes!!

Everybody be good.... I'll write again when I have spare time.

I love you all!!!

More First, More Seconds - MORE, MORE, MORE

Well, as usual I have been so busy growing, learning, and trying to figure out how to pull Bruins tail that I haven't been around in a little bit to post a real, proper posting. I'll try to fill you in on all that I have been doing.

As for firsts... well I got my first tooth, and then another one is coming in nicely right next to the first. I didn't put up much of a fuss or bother while those teeth were coming in, but I sure like to chew. I chew on just about anything that is in front of my face, including my Uncle Sanjay's finger when he came to see me. (Who's tough NOW, Uncle Sanjay???)

I can roll over pretty good now, and I like to sit up. I sit up all by myself for a little bit, but not for long. I have learned how to counter balance myself, and that really helps me from landing on my face when I'm sitting on the couch or chair! A very helpful skill, I must say. Tummy time still really makes me cranky, but I'm better and better at it, so it's not so bad now.

I'm pretty big now, weighing in at about 17 lbs, and I guess I'm about 26 inches tall at this point. I think I am ready for my Superman try-outs now! I'm still not a big fan of eating from my bottle, but I can deal a little better with the other foods that Mummy gives me. I like green beans, but the peas can go out in the trash, quite frankly. I had pears the other day, and I liked them - well I liked them that one time. I also had a re-run of the peaches (those are kinda sweet for me), and I had bananas. Together they were OK. What more can I say?

I was sick for the very first time, and nobody liked that. I had a fever, and I had a cold. I needed to go back a couple of times to the Dr office, and they did an xray of my chest, and some breathing treatement that made me scream my head off. Then I got an inhaler, and it has a little duck face that goes over my nose and mouth. Not a big fan of that... but better than getting steamed with that other thing. I'm better now. :D

I have discovered something new that this thing called a voice of mine does... it SCREACHES! And I love to screach at home all the time. When I'm out I'm normally too busy for the exercise of the vocal cords, but at home... all bets are off!!!

Well, I should go for now. Love to all!

Wonderful World of Video!!!

Hello everyone!!
My cousin Conner told me about this website where you can upload videos and share them with people.
SO being the camera hog that I am, I told my daddy to hook me up.
Here is a little clip of me, hope you enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmY64d4lpks

Good Bye To Bucky :-(

We had to say good-bye to my Bucky today. He wasn’t feeling good lately, and Mummy & Daddy said that he was having a hard time breathing too. I just want him to be happy, and not to hurt. We took him to his Dr, and we played in a pretty field with him for a little while. When he was tired, Mummy and Daddy sat on the grass with him and pet him. He had his head on the wheel of my stroller, cuz he loves me best. Then his Dr came and they helped Bucky have a nap. I know that he always knew how much we all love him, and I hope that he is OK now. I will miss him.

My Mummy's First Day

'member I told you about this Mother's Day thing? Well that was yesterday, and I think that my Mummy had a good day. I know that I did. We did a whole bunch of cuddling, my Mummy and me and I loved that! Daddy gave Mummy a pretty necklace, a cuddly bear, and I gave her her most favorite flowers in the world.

We were all going to go to Nana's house and have a really big day with lots of Aunts, Uncles and cousins but you know that my Bucky is sick and he's not been feeling so good the end of last week. So we all stayed home and had a nice family day. I wish Bucky would be well, but Mummy says he's our gift and he will have to go to heaven soon. I'll miss him.

My busy days and nights...

Hi everybody! Things have been busy for me as usual. I don't really have any "new" tricks, but I am perfecting my old tricks. I am really getting the hang of stitting up on the couch. I need the support... I'm NOT good at sitting up on my own yet, but I'm working on that too. I talk... and I talk... and I talk - ALL THE TIME. I call my Daddy Blu-Bla... at least that's what my Mummy thinks, and we all laugh about that. Oh yea... I laugh all the time too now. Not extended belly laughs yet, but short laughs and lots of giggles... and I'm usually laughing at my Mummy. :-) I have an appointment with my Dr. John early next week, so I can tell you then EXACTLY how much I weigh and how big I am... but my Mummy did a trial weighing, and we think I'm about 15 1/2 pounds by now. I AM HUGE!

My daddy has been away, and I really miss him a lot! I always get to spend time with him on the weekends and at night, and he is usually in his office in the morning and I get a big cuddle from him after Mummy gets me up. I hear his voice sometimes when Mummy holds this little "phone" to my head.. I like to hear him, it makes me smile! I keep looking around but all I can see is that little "phone". What's a phone anyway????

We have some sad news too... my Bucky is really sick, and he's feeling worse these days. Mummy cries and says that she loves him. I love him too! So do Daddy, Bruin & Cellar. He was at the doggie hospital last night, and I miss seeing him this morning when I got up. I hope he can come home soon, but Mummy and Daddy say if he does come home it probably won't be for long. They are very sad... and so and I. I hope you will say a prayer for my Bucky. All of your prayers helped me SO MUCH, they might help Bucky too.

Well... I'll try to write again soon. There should be a lot of pictures from this coming weekend. From what I can understand this Sunday is a day that all Mummies are loved, hugged, kissed, and they get flowers and gifts. It's all to thank them for all they do for us kids - and I can't wait to thank my Mummy - cuz I LOVE HER!