Lost in Translation

I'm busy.... I'm busy.... I'm a busy little bee!!!! I love to walk all over now, and I do it from the time I wake up until I nap -- then again until I'm falling over ready for bed. On some rare occasions I'll sit and watch something on TV, but mostly... I just walk!!! I've been trying to run a little bit now, and sometimes I lose control and crash into a wall, or the couch, or Mum or Dad. :-D

I say nearly 40 words now -- I KNOW, pretty impressive huh?? I learn new words all the time, and I remember what they mean, it makes telling Mummy & Daddy what I want or need soooo much easier. But I have a confession to make... for a while now when I see that Mickey, I have been calling him 'monkey'. Mum and Dad thought I was saying MICkey... but I was actually saing MONkey. And to add insult to injury for that Mickey guy... I just heard he's actually something called a mouse. I could have sworn he was a monkey, so that's what I'm calling him! I mean really... a talking mouse???

Another of my newest tricks is that when I'm hungry I sign for 'more' and when Daddy or Mummy asks me what I want more of -- I go and touch my high chair! MORE FOOD PLEASE. That's right... I ask for food, and I eat all the time. Seriously - I can eat a pre-breakfast snack, breakfast, another snack, lunch, yet another snack, dinner and sometimes I ask for milk before I go to bed! WHO KNEW???? Mummy was a little worried when my tube came out, but I have shown her that she doesn't need to worry... I can eat just fine!

Just in case you wanted to know...here are all the words that I say, and I know what they all mean. (at least I THINK Mummy got them all.....) Enjoy! I love you all!!!!

Ball
Book (I say booky)
Car
Cheese
Choo-Choo
Clap (I say cap those L's are hard!)
Cookie
Cracker
Cup
Daddy
Doggie
Juice (though he doesn’t like it….)
Kat
Kitty
Light
Milk
Mommy

Elmo ( I say Mo-Mo, I used to say eh-mo but changed it…)
Monkey
Nanny (I say Nonny)
No
Nope
Okay
Oopsie
Outside (I say ‘side)
Peek-a-Boo (I say Peekie)

Please
Quack
Shoe
Sock
Star
Stay
Teeth
Train
Tree
Tub
Tubby
Uh-Oh
Up

This is what I've been up to....

What have YOU been doing????

SURPRISE.... it's ME!

Well, I have left you all hanging in the balance since my tube came out (which I have been admonished for - Thank you Auntie Jen in Turkey...) and I am v.v.v.v. sorry. I have been so super-busy making up for lost time. You should see me now... oh, wait you CAN see me now!!! Not just in the pics above - but check out my new moves here:



Take your time degesting that...

Aren't I FANTASTIC!!! OK... I know that I still need some practice, but I do every day with Mummy or Daddy. We do some 'walking'. I think that once I get the hang of it for real, I'm gonna be able to make some good time getting to things that I know I shouldn't touch. I certain I will at least lay a hand on them before one of the 'rents gets to me!!! Bwaahaahaa!!!!

Other than the whole walking thing - which IS pretty big. I am also making some tracks with talking. I have new words all the time, sometimes you have to listen closely but I can say:Mickey (Muky), Apple (appa), Book (booka-booka), Oops (Oopsie), cracker (caka), and my newest sign is for play. Ususlly when I'm hungry I just ask for coo-kie, coo-kie, coo-kie and Mum & Dad know I want food. :-) Also now... I LOVE the phone. I pretend like every toy I own is somehow a phone and I talk on it all the time!

I still love to try new foods, and I hat all baby foods except for Blueberry Buckle which sometimes I eat. But the rest is just poo as far as I'm concerned! Give me whatever is on your plate, and I'll make due. Mmmmmmm.....

Well, I promise to get back on track and write again a lot sooner (maybe even next Monday like I should) but for now, I have things to touch, taste and chew...and maybe even some trouble to get into!! I love you all!!!

A Very Big Day.... For a Very BIG Boy!

I have the BIGGEST news for all of you! Today I went to see Dr. Hoffley - she's the one who keeps track of my g-tube and all of my GI issues, she's super-nice! Anyway, today was my check up with Dr. Hoffley and she was soooo impressed with my biggness!

You want to know what my biggness is.... doncha? Well, I am 32.5" tall, and I weigh in at a tad over 23 pounds! I have gained about 2 pounds in the last 4 months!!! My Dr. Hoffley was so happy with all that, plus the fact that I have been eating all of my foods and drinking my formula 'shakes' without needing the tube that she took it out today!!!! I'll let that sink in.... I am tubeless!!!! WOO HOO. I am huge-big ginormous!!!!!

I have to go party now! I love you all!!!!!!

My Faux Hawk!

Hi everybody. Again is has been a long and busy week here at our house. There is still stuff going on in the kitchen which leaves little time for play. The weather here has been kinda nippy, so there hasn't been any playing in the pool... RATS! But I have been signing and talking like a fool! I can sign 'milk' pretty well these days - at least Mummy knows what I'm saying so that's cool. And this week I said:

Cookie, see, up, please.

I'm still standing a lot - but not wanting to do the walking on my own yet. I still like to have Mummy hold my hands. Sometimes I'll walk if she only holds one hand, but I really like to have both of them held. And when I start walking, I don't like to stop for anything -- even dinner!!! Stop me too soon, and I will FLIP OUT! Lots of yelling, shouting, and kicking will ensue! But my favorite thing to do is still to climb on everything that's short. My Elmo chair, my llittle stool, most of my toys. Soon I shall conquer the couch.... Mawaaahaaaaa.....

Bye for now - I love you all!

Whole lotta talkin' going on....

It's been a long time now...and I've missed telling you what's happing with me and my Mum & Dad. We've all been super busy working on the new kitchen. Mummy & Daddy have been working soooo hard that they took the day off yesterday. That meant that we all got to go and have big fun all day long. We went out to breakfast, then off the check out the flea market. I had italian ice for the first time, and I loved it!! I ate about 1/2 of my Mum's it was super yummy!

Listen peeps, I eat tons of stuff now. No more baby food for me - NO THANK YOU! I only want the stuff that Mummy & Daddy are eating, and I want to try it all. I'll eat chicken and pork, but steak gives me some troubles. I love all sorts of other stuff, but my faves are really garlic mashed spuds, PB & J, toast with either jam or nutella, & banana cookies. BUT I eat everything from toast to fish and veggies too. I still have a problem with thin liquids - the whole drinking thing with those can still make me choke a little. But I wolf donw my milk shakes, and I love fruit smoothie drinks. I still take all my calories by mouth and my Mum only uses my tube for some extra water here and there.

I'm getting better and better with my words and signs. I finally am understanding how much easier things go when I tell Mummy or Daddy what I need, so I'm really trying to tell them instead of just grunting or screaching at them. But I still like to call Mummy 'eeeehhhhaaaaaeeeeehhhh', I think she likes it too.... :-) Some of my newest words are:

Kiss, Come, Up, Yup, Yeah, and Elmo. I understand a lot more too, I can find things and bring it to you. And when Mummy askes me to come herer please, I like to scoot on over... sometimes. :-) I have been signing 'more' a lot better now when I want more, and it's kinda fun. Everybody understands what I want, and I usually get it. FANTASTIC!

I move lightning fast now. I zoom-zoom from my room to the living room in no time flat and I play and touch EVERYTHING. I can make a mess of my room in less than 60 seconds... Mum says that's 1 minute. I'm pretty sure I can cut that time down if I really try! I have a huge barrel of Lincoln Logs and I LOVE to spread them all over the room and bring them into the living room too. And I have 9 baskets that organize my toys in the living room which I like to really get into and tear apart too! I LOVE being able to move around so much. ;-) I should be walking on my own soon too - Yippee!!!!

Well, that's it for now. I love you all!

Hollywood Walk of Fame - Here I come!

I'm pretty sure one of these videos will win me a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame some day......

Turn up your volume for this one!!!!

My Summer Days...

So, I thought I would share with you what I do during the summer. Which, I am finding, is MUCH more fun that that cruddy cold winter!

Well, I wake up... play...have a nap. Then I eat something fantastic for breakfast (today was french toast) and I do a little more playing inside. THEN - Mummy gets changed, and changes my clothes and we go outside to play for a while. I like to start with a small crawl around the yard while Mummy gets my sandbox all set for me. Then I hit the sand like nobody's buisness!!! And I do serious sand play for quite some time. I scoop, dump, & throw. Then I grab, stand, and retrieve. It's a huge amount of fun. When I finish up there, we head into the big pool! I love my float, and I can make it go places just be doing a big bunch of kicking under that water! I can get clear across the pool in no time flat!!! I like to take my hat off too, which Mum doesn't seem to happy about - but that makes it more fun for me. AND...if I throw it into the water.. guess what?? It sinks! I only went after it once...and when I face-planted into the water I freaked out!!! Lesson well learned - keep one hand on the little grippy thingy.

NEWS FLASH!

I ate nearly an entire Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich for lunch today! YEAH.... ALMOST THE WHOLE THING! I shall conquer a title someday......

I Really Rock This Eating Thing Now~!!

So, I have a few things to chat with you about first before I get to all the cool stuff I've been doing.

I saw my cousin Zack this weekend, and let me be the one to tell you - he's HUGE-BIG! He's really starting to groove his own tricks and he can rock the jump-a-roo like nobody's business! Sorry, no pics so you'll just have to take my word for it that he's really grown. He's 5 months old now & his parents say he weighs about 17lbs now, and you can tell. I'm secretly jealous of his chubby thigh-bits... don't tell him....

And before I get to far ahead of myself - I have to give cudos to my cousin Conner who has updated his blog 3 TIMES since June 27th!!! If you haven't checked in on Conner recently you should skip on over to his blog using the link to the right and see all his latest shananagins!! It's good reading - and some video too!!!

Along with my cousin Zack this weekend, I saw other people who are really important to me! My Uncle Sanj, Auntie Uchi, Auntie Tracy, Auntie Pam, and Auntie Mo were all there! AND Uncle Sanj & Auntie Uchi brought a couple of furry friends for me to check out! They brought their doggie Lili and their bunny Chilli (who I met at Christmas)! Lili was really scared, but she like Bruin and Lola - and she even liked Cellar I think. She became really comfy with all of us. I spent some time with Chilli just before they all left, and I liked her. But Daddy said that Uncle Sanj sent a text message today to say that poor Chilli passed on last night - and we're all really sad!!!! I feel the worst for Auntie Uchi & I wish I could hug and cuddle her to make her feel better.

Well, how do I come back from all that saddness? I'm just going to tell you what's been happening with me. I have been eating like some kind of wild boy!! I like to sniff my food before I give it a try now - which apparently is funny to Mummy & Daddy, but I think it's really important to know what you're about to chomp! That yummy little brownie bit could turn out to be something a bit more sinister....know what I mean???? Again I've tried a bunch of foods - so here's my list. Watch for my favorites with the * thingy!

French Toast

* canned/jarred Green Beans

Flounder

Mushrooms

Ahi-Ahi Tuna

**Brownie

Yellow Peppers

**Garlic Mashed Potatoes

*Blueberry Muffins

Rice

*Twinkies

*Dehydrated fruit bits

Animal crackers
There could be more - but I can't remember.

Yesterday.... Daddy went to pick up this groovy sandbox that Mummy found for me! It's a huge-big dumptruck looking sandbox AND the top turns into a little pool that I can splash in - either by myself or with friends!!!! HOLY MOLY... I am sooooo lucky! We're going to get it all set up this week, so we can show you pictures next week. It's a super cool boy heaven like sandbox!!!

Other than the eating, I've just been moving around like I should do. I cruise everything I can hang onto, and despite Mummy making the bottom drawer of my dresser just for me (by filling it with toys and stuff that's mine) I now like to open the drawer ABOVE that one, and take out all my pants and jeans. I think she really likes it cuz she keeps saying 'gee, thanks for the help, Ethan....' I'm also learning really well how to put things into containers a little better. Like instead of flinging them all over I can put them in the opening and let them go. I'm fancy like that!!!!

There's a NICU meeting tomorrow night that Mummy & Daddy are taking me along to. I'm really excited to go and see all the people who loved and took care of me before I could come home with Mummy & Daddy. It's called the Little Miracles NICU Parent Support Group, and it's really important cuz we can help people who are there now. Give them hope and support and they can see how big I am now compared to how little I was when I left. I hope I can get pictures of my nurses.... you remember them?? Melina, Kristy, Melissa (who was there when I was born), Maureen, and ALL the rest of them!!!! I'll let you know all about it next week.

For now, I should go. I have tons of stuff to get into -- er.... I mean learn about!

I love you all!!!

Food, Food, Food...I am learning about FOOD!

OK people...I'm a little put out by something here. It appears there is this stuff called 'table food'. I haven't had much contact with this 'table food' until just a few days ago. And I think that I totally DIG IT!!!

Here is what I've tried - and if there's one of these things (*) in front of it, I really like it!

Meatball

Diced Apples

Mashed potatoes (actually I've tried them before)

*Lemon Poppyseed muffin
Pasta O's
*Grilled Potatoes - the inside only!

Diced Carrots

*Cheez-Its

**Guacamole

*Baby Gold Fish

*Toast with butter

Toast with Jam

Pizza

Fried Egg

Impressive, eh????? I don't eat a lot, mind you. But I try and Mummy & Daddy are very encouraging!

I got to play with my girlfriend Alexia one afternoon. We had a really good time, and I stole her headband from her - I didn't keep it, I just put it on my forehead. It was quite comfy actually!

I love you all!

Some More New Tricks

OK, so you know that my Grandad and my Uncle Jayesh came to visit me from waaaay across the ocean, right?? Well, we had a fantastic visit!! I was very, very happy to see them cuz I haven't seen them in a long time - and they let me have all kinds of fun! Mostly I really liked telling them stories, or cuddling with them. I think they were pretty impressed with all my new tricks!

I've been doing a lot of new things too. I love to pull to stand ALL THE TIME now and I cruise around my little baby jail or the furniture if I can get close enough to it! I love to stand, then squat... stand then squat.... stand then squat.... I do it a lot but I HAVE to hold onto something to get the job done! Otherwise I'll fall right over! I still like to walk with Mum or Dad or using one of my toys. It's good fun!!

I'm doing really good with my foot braces, and I can wear them for up to like a million hours in one day! I'm sure you're quite impressed by that, as you should be! They make it much easier for me to pull off some of my favorite shananagins!!! (insert evil laugh here....)

OH... guess what I did?? I gave a girl a flower! No, not my Mummy (and she was crushed!) but I gave a flower to my friend Samantha! And she smiled really big!!! I think she liked it!!

I really like to stand up in my crib now...and I do it A LOT! Sometimes I like to stand and throw Tubby or Towers over the side - sometimes I like to stand and play with the door knob, or the cord for my light (no I can't reach the outlet!), and if I've been standing there too long and nobody has come to get me... I YELL! Good fun!

I've been doing good still with my eating... somedays when it's too hot I don't really want to do any eating. It's not a big deal - we can use my tube still. BUT the last time I went to see Dr. Hoffley she said that I was doing really great and that if I don't use my tube for 6 months (without losing any weight - mind you) I can have the tube taken out! WOW.... that will be nice. But I want to have everything in order first. I'm sure that I'll lose the tube by the time I'm 3. :-) I like chewing on my little puffs now, and so Mum says we're going to try some finger foods again. I think there might be some diced carrots on my menu tonight.... not sure how I feel about this - I'll let you know.

Well, I'm super sorry I've been so bad about writing... I promise to get back on track. (Ok, Auntie Tinkerchelle??? XX)

I love you all!!!!!

Ethan Busts Some Moves

I know that I missed my posting last week, but when you see what I've been up to you'll understand.

I started really busting a move about a month ago, as you know. And here is some footage of my very first extended and successful crawl! I hope you enjoy it!




So....now that I've mastered the fine art of crawling (and wait until you see how I can chase Cellar around....) and I have really gotten used to my new foot braces I am moving on to bigger and better things... May I present to you one of my first attempts at assisted walking. Assisted by the way of using one of my walking toys instead of my Mum or Dad. It was very exciting, and I do it more and more often now. :-)



Tomorrow my Uncle Jayesh and my Grandad are coming to my house. It's quite a trip for them since they live in London - you probably remember that. But I haven't seen them since just after I turned a year old, and you know how HUGE BIG I am now! They are going to be soooo surprised to see all my tricks.

I hope that I'll have all kinds of great pics for you all next week, and maybe a new video.
I love you all!!!

A little update for you

Not much new has happened in the past few days. I had a great time in Florida with Mummy & Daddy, and I did really well on the plane! Mum and Dad say that I'm born to travel!!! That's cool, cuz Mummy & Daddy love to travel so I'll get to go tons of places. :-D

I'm happy to be home though. I missed my own room and my own bed. I missed my kitty and my doggies too! I was so happy to see Cellar the morning after we got home, I kept saying 'kitty' 'kitty' and she let me pet her tons! She is soooo soft!! When Bruin and Lola came home, I was really happy to see them too, and I guess they were happy to see me cuz they both licked me a lot!

Meanwhile here at home things are good for me. I'm still eating pretty good. I didn't much want to drink yesterday so Mummy & Daddy used my g-tube - but it's OK really.. I just have a little cold. But today - things are much better already.

Well... there's not much else to talk about. I'll write again next week.

I love you all!

I'm the LUCKIEST boy alive!

Hi everybody!! Well let me just tell you that I do believe that I AM the luckiest boy alive. Since my last posting, things just keep getting better and better for me! I can do all sorts of tricks and moves that I never even THOUGHT of doing before! Wait till you see me move and groove! I can turn over from my back now, and I just flip myself right into the crawling position, just like I saw Conner doing a real long time ago - I just couldn't figure it out until now! I especially like to do that when Mummy has me on the bed and she's trying to change either my clothes or my diaper. That's right... I was crawling all naked-butt across the bed just today!

Besides that - check this out: I got myself a brand new auntie and some groovie new cousins! I'm not kidding!!!! My Uncle Cliff got married on Saturday, and now I officially have an Auntie Kammy and two cousins - Stephanie & Kristin! I love them all... and they all love me!

THEN.... Daddy (who loves me and Mummy tons and tons) took Mummy and I to FLORIDA! HOW LUCKY AM I??? Daddy had some work to do here, but Mummy and I got to come along and we've been having a great time! I've been doing tons of moving and shaking down here, and this is where I've perfected my 'flip to crawl' move! I am still eating like a champ and my newest favorite is Creme Brulee! LOVE IT!!! I haven't been napping all that well, it's just that there is so much to see here. And there is LOADS of really neat stuff right inside the hotel. It's like they built a big huge bubble and inside they have the hotel and all sorts of running water, and fish, and plants, and stuff to see. SUPER COOL! I've made these two collage pics for you guys to see all the cool stuff.

I have to go for now... there is way to much stuff for me to see, and EVERYBODY loves me here!

THERE'S LIGHT AT THE END OF THAT THAR TUNNEL!!!

This has been a very exciting week for all of here in House of Shah! I have been very, very busy - getting into stuff - getting out of stuff - and starting to use my words! My latest tricks last week were:

New words:

baby and doggie

New stuff:

Point to a pic of me when I was wee - and say 'baby'!

Point to a doggie when I was out with Mummy - and say 'doggie'!

Sit up in my crib... Yeah, that's right I'm really on the move!

I know exactly where to look for the fan in the living room! In fact I look at the ceiling in any room when I'm asked where the fan is. Now if I could only say 'fan'.

Yesterday and today I literally saw 7 doctors!!!! WOW. We've been very busy!!!

Yesterday (Monday) Mummy took me to Boston Childrens Hospital and I saw Dr. Melkonian, who was very nice. He gave me a good check over, and was especially intent on my feet! You probably know how my left foot sticks out to the left quite a bit. It was the foot I stuck out when I wanted to come into the world, and it's never really been right since day 1. So my nice Dr took a good look at my feet, and took some x-rays of my hips and both of my feet. I was a little crabby for the x-rays...but came away unscathed! When he checked out the x-rays with Mummy he was showing her why my foot sticks out, and why I stand a little off on my right foot. He says it's not really, really bad and we can fix it with a couple of foot braces! So... on Thursday Mummy, Daddy & me are going to see a man about a thing... well not really a thing, but my foot braces! We check back with Dr. Melkonian in a couple of months... look for updates on my tiny feets!!

Today.. well, today was something! Daddy, Mummy & I packed up early this morning (7:30 AM) and headed up north to Lebanon. Last time I was there, I was very, very tiny and I was transported by a medical team. So it seemed like a whole new thing here! I went to this place there called CHaD, and specifically the Craniofacial Clinic! They were checking out my palate, and my teeth, and my ears, nose & throat, and my speach & eating, and my genetic in general! 6 doctors... that's right! So here's the run down:

Dr. Stotland is the Craniofacial Plastic Surgeon and he checked my palate and said...hey - it looks really pretty good!!! He says it's not as bad as others thought, and he thinks that it won't really give me a problem. He looked for any kind of soft tissue cleft and found nothing!!! WOO HOO!!! I never have to see him again....

Dr. Dinulos is the genetics doctor. She checked me head to toe for anything that seemed it may be a bit abnormal, and might be causing my delays and feeding issues. The only tests that were ever done on me was the amnio that Mummy had done when I was in her belly and Dr. Dinulos was happy to hear that the results were a perfect 46 chromosones at that time! She said that I looked A-OK and she found nothing to make her suspect that my delays are associated with anything besides my being born so early!!! SCORE! We'll follow up with her in a year.

Dr Smith is the ear, nose & throat dude...he looked in my ears, down my throat and noted that I probably snore a bit since my tonsils are kinda big. But he said they look fine other than that, and my ears look good as well. Nothing sinister going on... we see him again in 2-3 months for a hearing test!

Dr.'s Salvatoriello (Orthodontics & Dento-Facial Orthopedics) and Abbante (Maxillofacial Surgery) came next on the list. They checked out the shape of my jaws, and the teeth that I had thus far. And guess what??? They think that things are looking really, really good!!! They doubt that I'll have any need for the dreaded palate expander!!! They say that my teeth line up really well right now, and they want to see me in about a year! I am having the BEST day!

The last person I saw today was Cherly Lundgren who is a feeding expert and speech pathologist. She thinks that I'm doing really good with my big 7 words, and my baby babble is excellent! Since I haven't had to use my g-tube in 3 weeks and some change she thinks that my eating is doing excellent too! She LOVED me! She says that I'll probably be talking up a blue streak sometime soon. I can see her in a year as well.

Mummy & Daddy were so relieved that things went soooo well!!! We got home at about 5:00 PM, and it was a huge big day - but a really good day! They say that they see light at the end of the tunnel, and I think maybe I see it too!

I love you all!

Walk America 2007

FINALLY... some pics of my Walk America peeps!!! We had a bigger team this year, and in the pics you will see:

Mummy, Daddy, Nana, Auntie Tracy, Ginnie, Michelle, Elias, Alexia and ME!

We did really well this year raising funds to help other babies like me, we more than doubled out efforts from last year. When we know for sure where we ended up, I'll let you know.

Just as an aside...if you WANTED to donate and never got around to it...you're in luck. You still can...just use the link to the right. Remember...it leaves your pocket now, and comes back when you do your taxes. How can you go wrong??

More next week....and I have a LOT of new tricks to tell you about!

Love you all!!