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!!

I learn, and learn, and learn, and DO!

OK, so I've been crazy-busy doing all sorts of new and groovy stuff. I'm not even sure where to start - but I'll try to begin with the happenings of a couple of weeks ago and come forward to now.

I still haven't had to have anything put through my feeding tube, so now it's been 18 days!! I have been eating my puree baby foods with cereal mixed in, and even some of the stage 3 foods are becoming my friends. Along with my beloved 'milk box'es that I use I also have 2 bigger straw bottles that I groove to. Today Mummy gave me a couple of smoothies... which were my puree foods mixed with my Nutren Jr and some heavy cream. YUMMY -- and Mummy says they are full of good calories for me.

I started last week getting myself into this weird sort of 3/4 crawl position, and I was doing good reaching for stuff like that. One of my feet was always stuck in that position...and I simply couldn't figure out how to untangle it from my other leg. But I could get into that position and reach far - then go onto my belly - then sit up again and pivot around and start again. It made it very interesting for me...and I could get all the way across the room in this manner. It was sweet!!!

I have a few new words... I said 'kitty', 'book', and I mimiced the all mighty cat meow sound today!! I also say MaMa a lot more than ever these days - and Mummy is really enjoying it!!!

I have discovered that I am truly becoming a toddler in every sense of the word. Which is fine with me...but apparently could take a toll on Mummy & Daddy. I like to throw a little now and then when things aren't going my way. It doesn't always make it so that I actually get my way - but at least they KNOW that I'm not very happy!!!

On this past Friday night... now take a seat for this one... I actually took a few little crawl 'steps'. Oh yeah... right on my little hands and knees - every so causiously I moved my little hands and legs and got a little way forward. And I tried it again on Saturday... it was sooo cool!

On Sunday we did the March of Dimes walk, and it was great fun!! We had more people walking with us this year for Ethan's Journey and we did well on the walk. It didn't even rain on us, and by the time it started to sprinkle we were ready to come on home! I think that we doubled the amount we raised last year, and I'm so happy and proud to help other little babies like me!

Once we came home on Sunday and we all relaxed for a while, I gave that crawling thing another shot...and guess what??? I am REALLY good at it!!!! I just took off crawling all over the floor... I got to the TV - then over to my toys - then to the Roomba - back to my toys - back to the TV - and as I headed for Cellar's litterbox I was cut off at the pass!!!! I really like this whole moving on my own thing!!!!

Today - Mummy and Nana went out and took me with them. We did some errands, and when we came home there was a lot of hub-bub in the living room with Mummy & Daddy and some plastic stuff.... I went outside to play with Nana... when I came back there it was!!! My new baby play yard!!! I guess it keeps me away from the TV - and the Roomba - and sockets and plugs...but they did move Cellar's litterbox!

Well, I do love you all. And thank you once again for all your prayers over the last year and a half. Look how far I've come!!!!!!

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Dr. Pam was sick :-(

Well, Dr. Pam was sick yesterday so I didn't get to see her after all. :-(

But Mum threw me on the scale at home and I weigh in at about 21 lbs, 4 - 5 ozs. Not bad! I guess I'm going to get a new appointment to see Dr. Pam. Then I can find out how tall I am too! Ya-Hoo!!

More Monday - love you all!

Every Day... Something New!

Hi everybody! I missed writing to you last week and telling you about all the exciting things that are happening with me! I had a fantastic Easter, and I hope you all did too.

I went to spend Easter Sunday with at my Nana's house this year. It was lots of fun! I got to play lots with Uncle Roy, Nana, & Grandpa. Then on Easter Conner and his Mum-Mum and Daddy came over. We dressed up as Bunnies... I actually liked it this year! Then I got to play with Conner...and guess what???? I didn't even cry!!! I was just having the very best time.

I have been doing loads of new and groovy stuff these past couple of weeks. I have something new that I like to do a lot of... and you saw the pic above. I LOVE drinking from my Rubbermaid juice box! LOVE IT!!!! I just drink away until my 'milk' is all gone! And Mummy and Daddy sit and watch me in shock!!! I'm so happy being able to control something that when Mummy sits me down to eat now... I don't give her as much trouble! Cuz I know that when I finish my meal I can sit and drink from my juice box at my own pace. Fast or slow... I finish it every time now!! Mummy and Daddy haven't had to put any of my food through my tube for 4 days now!!! HOW'S THAT FOR HUGE NEWS????? Gosh, I am getting to be such a big boy now!

I still enjoy standing and sitting, and now I try harder to walk. WOW... it's very fun to do, but it makes me tired - I still have to hold Mummy's or Daddy's fingers or I'd fall RIGHT over! And I'm getting much better at sitting up from laying on the floor - I only need just a little bit of help these days. Before you all know it I'll be standing at your door and knocking, so I can walk in on my own!

Tomorrow, I go see Dr. Pam and I can tell her all the great eating tricks I've been learning! I think she is going to be really happy with me this time. And she will weigh me too... I can't wait to see how huge-big I am on the charts this month! I'll drop you a cheeky little note to tell you about my bigness tomorrow or Wednesday. :-D

Well, I have a lot of playing and learning to do, so I have to go for now.

I love you all!!!

HOT OFF THE PRESS

Good news! Now you can have an Ethan's Journey Walk America 2007 t-shirt even if you can't walk or fundraise with us! I know... you can probably barely contain yourself!!

But I'm going to sell t-shirts this year, and 100% of the profits are going directly to The March of Dimes. I have shirts in adult sizes and you can get one for your own for just $10.00. Bargain. Sizes available: Medium, Large & Extra Large.

You get to see the mock-up of the front of the shirt above, and on the back will be our corporate sponsors. I hope you like it!!

Please contact me at: ethansjourney@yahoo.com
and let me know if you want a shirt, and what size. I'll tell you how you can pay when you order your shirt.

Love you all!!!

Did you miss me??

I'm very sorry that I didn't write last week. I had the best of all surprises last Monday - my cousin Conner came to visit -- and he stayed until Friday!!! I was very excited to see him. Before you all ask...yes he did make me cry! At first he didn't mean to but then it became a game... He would screach... I would cry... and when I started to calm down again -- another screach! OY it was hard on my for a while, but by the end of the week we were playing nicely together. Conner really walks good -- he moves around the house like a flash of lightning and can get to EVERYTHING! I was jealous of that... cuz I still don't walk yet. But I'm really, really trying.

I'm still eating and drinking from my open cup. I like it that way, I also like to drink from water bottles... and my bottle - as long as the nipple is not attached... just the open bottle thanks!! I'm sure that I'm gaining lots of weight!! I have another appointment with Dr. Pam on the 17th, so I can let you know how I'm doing then!

Just yesterday I think I found my calling... Mummy and Daddy are pretty sure that I am to be the next David Beckham, but I think I may be the next Uncle Cliff. Surely you've seen the pic above that shows me working on my 'car'... what do you think??

So we have another few weeks before our March of Dimes Family Team - Ethan's Journey - walks in Manchester to help other babies like me. If you haven't had the chance to sponsor us yet, please do click on our team link to the right and make a donation. Any amount is helpful and if you've been reading this blog for any amount of time you know how much the March of Dimes did to save my life. Please support us.

Thats it for this week... more next week.
I love you all!!!!

My Latest Tricks!

Hi everybody!!! I have had a GREAT week!!!!! I'm completely back to my 'normal' self! I am eating like a champ ~ even my Dr. John thinks so cuz I saw him this afternoon and I gained a whopping 11 ounces!!! WOW -- it would take me months to do that in the NICU!!! So now I weigh 21 lbs - aren't you proud of me?? I am HUGE-BIG measuring 31 1/2 inches tall, and I have finally begun to act like a true toddler. That's right, I like to do a little tantrum when things aren't going my way! I pitch a little mini-fit until Mummy or Daddy figures out what I need - or don't want. They don't last long - just a few seconds to a minute until I get my point across. I like to do things... for myself! And it's frustrating cuz I don't have the best motor skills as you all know -- but I CAN do this: I can pull myself to a standing position by holding onto the bar of my walker!!!! YEAH BABY!!! And I can spend all day doing my standing and sitting routine...with a little butt-shaking dancing in between! If I happen to be sitting and somebody puts the music on, I immediately pull myself up and start shaking my butt to the music -- I DO love to dance!!!!

In other news; my friends Sam & Alan turned 2, and I was invited to the party. It was at this really cool place where you could play all you want to!!! I played in the toddler section, and my Daddy helped me use the xylophone - which I loved. I did a little standing and sitting in there too - I do it everyplace that I can! I had a good time at the party, and I managed not to get to overstimulated - that's right, no melt downs for me!

I'm still waiting on these molars to come in...and my gums HURT!!! Sometimes just when I can't take it anymore, Mum or Dad give me some Motrin or Tylenol and I feel better. It hurts getting teeth - and from what I see they're loads of work with all the brusha brusha and all! I guess I don't have a choice though.

Well, that's about it for this week.

I love you all!!!