Ethan (Monthly Update)

Poor Ethan hasn't had an update in three months! I even missed his half-birthday last month :( Ah well, it won't be his last sacrifice for the newest addition to our family :)

On to the update: Ethan was 2-years-and-7-months-old yesterday! The last three months have brought much more independence in Ethan's world. He still does his best to keep up with Caleb in every way. Caleb is buckling and unbuckling his booster seat harness now, so Ethan insists on latching the top of his harness by himself. Caleb is bathing himself and brushing his teeth independently now, so Ethan insists on doing the same. And, my absolute favorite of the new independent activities: Ethan can take himself potty completely on his own now! He's been potty trained for more than six months, but he has not been tall enough to pee standing up without help (and has staunchly refused to pee sitting down). So, for the past six months, somebody (usually me), has had to take him upstairs, help him get his pants up and down, and let him stand on my feet to give him the extra inch he needed. Thankfully, about two weeks ago, he mastered getting his pants & underwear up and down alone. He also figured out how to stand on his tippy toes and lean over the toilet so that everything goes where it is supposed to. Since then, the shout of "MY PEE-PEE IS COMING!!" is no longer the trump card that forces me to drop what I am doing and rush to the bathroom with Ethan. Now he just goes on his own and comes to me to get his pants re-snapped or re-buttoned. HOORAY!!

Another change since my last Ethan update is that Ethan does not spend nearly as much time at the craft table as he used to. All the dry erase markers dried out from so much use, so I bought another package. When those too dried out, I was too sick to go to the store for more, so the writing letters kind of died out. Both boys lost interest in coloring around the same time, and I just didn't feel well enough to get the paints and scissors and glue out. Since I've been feeling better, painting and play dough have made a big comeback with Ethan, but not so with writing, drawing and coloring. He and Caleb spend most of their play time at home having elaborate adventures, mostly centered around their superheroes and Disney figurines.

Another change is that Ethan got over the orange Tinker Toy stick that he was so attached to. He always has some favorite toy, and the next toy in line was a little plastic Superman. (I bought an extra one to help us through the endless searches of that phase.) Superman phased out just a couple of weeks ago, and his successor was a little 4-inch LED flashlight that we bought for camping, but Ethan is IN LOVE with it. Just like the other toys, he carries it around everywhere, sleeps with it under his blanket at night, and searches for it frantically if it goes missing. Thankfully, we have three identical flashlights in the camping bin (one for each of us), should an emergency arise :)

One of my favorite things about Ethan at this stage is the way he substitutes every initial "kuh" sound with a "tuh" sound. When he wakes up in the morning, the house is "so TOLD!" When he is hungry, he wants me to open "a tan of torn". Mommy's "toffee is yucky," and my personal favorite: "Dis is my brudder, TA-LUB." The reason I love these little substitutions so much is that the majority of his articulation is so accurate that he often doesn't even sound like a 2-year-old. I never correct his "kuh" sounds because this aspect of his speech is a pleasant reminder to me that he is still a very little guy :)

Ethan is still generous and loyal to a fault. If he and Caleb have some conflict and Caleb does something to him, he is often still crying at the offense while begging me to give Caleb grace and not send him to his room. He almost always shares his treats with Caleb and anyone else who is around. The other day at the barber shop, Ethan had just gotten his hair cut and he was eating his treat from Mr. Mickey while Caleb got his haircut. I had been chatting with a friendly older lady in the chair next to Caleb, and she teasingly asked Ethan if he would share his lollipop with her. I know she was certain that he would say no and hide the treat. I laughed out loud when he said "Yes I will!" and immediately came over with an outstretched hand. She was startled and had to back down, since she really didn't want any part of his sticky lollipop, but her face was hilarious!