7 Months Old

We had a grumpy gus for our monthly picture until Bella hopped up on the chair to check out what was going on. He has really taken an interest in her which has been pretty cute to watch. He discovered her tail the other day...


It was a puppy party in bed this morning - I have to say Ethan's lovie puppy is much better behaved!


Little man always seems to pick out a favorite toy and stick with it. Remember the Shape Tree on the Exercauser? Well it's the tomato on his farm themed Jumperoo. Silly guy!


The play mat has worked out pretty well. For not crawling yet E sure can scoot and roll around. It's a decent size mat but it seems that he always works his way around and he or his toys are hanging off.


What Ethan is Up To at 7 Months:

*Still taking five 6 ounce bottles a day
*Eats 2-3 tablespoons of rice cereal for lunch
*Goes to bed around 9pm and wakes up around 7am
*Fairly stable while sitting up
*2-3 naps a day (he is really inconsistant at daycare - next challenge to tackle)
*Got Pink Eye for the first time this week
*Rolls over like a pro, and is starting to realize that it's a way to get from Point A to Point B
*Babbles a lot (even in his sleep!) but no mama or dada sounds yet
*Has the strangest sounding laugh - 1/2 cough, 1/2 cry but it's 100% happy
*Starting to push his butt up in the air and grab onto things around him for leverage but not getting into crawling position yet
*His daycare teachers say he is quite the flirt - such a little ladies man

Next Up: Veggies!

My Grandma is So Brave!

Grandma Woods had surgery on Tuesday which resulted in amputating her left leg about half way down her shin/calf. Despite the horrible pain she looked great and was in good spirits and Ethan thinks she is so strong and brave. He loved every second of cuddling with her, took a little snooze in her hospital bed, ate a bottle, and sat in her lap and chatted away. Jan has affectionately named the stump "shorty" and Ethan was extremely curious with all the cords and machines in the room. We love you grandma!

Whirlwind Trip to Des Moines

Yesterday went something like this:

8-10: Fed baby, showered, and packed
10-2: Drove to Des Moines
2-4: Methodist Hospital
4-6: Cousin Quinn's Birthday Party
6-8: Methodist Hospital
8-12: Drove to Minneapolis

Well worth it to spend time with Brian's mom after her surgery and as a bonus we got to see a majority of Brian's family during our short visit!

Ethan slept the entire drive both ways and loved hanging out in grandma's room - so many people to play with!


Aunt Amy's pretty curly hair was so fun to tug on



We were able to swing by cousin Quinn's birthday party to help him celebrate and see the Woods Clan.




Quinn and Zoe were so good with Ethan - lucky boy to have cool big cousins to look up to

We raced home to beat the blizzard that is dropping 15" of snow on us today.

Future Cyclone?

If Ethan ends up at Iowa State he'll be a 3rd generation Cyclone on both sides of the family. Hoping to get down to Ames for a football game this fall so he can get his first tailgate under his belt. Friday night we joined my parent's ISU crew for dinner at The Red Stag - wonderful to catch up! Ethan felt pretty cool hanging with the Kappa ladies (keeping it classy already!) and so glad he got to spend time with my godparents.

Take Me Skiing Daddy!

Brian has a ski vacation to Colorado coming up and Ethan was hoping if he wore his ski sweater daddy might take him with. Can't wait to get our little man on the slopes but I suppose we should tackle crawling and walking first.

It Took A Year, But...

It's been a crazy week since accepting the offer on the condo. Countless papers to sign, hoops to jump through, and decisions to make but the end is in sight! The inspection was on Wednesday and Appraiser came through Thursday so for (hopefully) the last time EVER we went through the oh so familiar routine of loading up all of the baby gear and hauling it to storage and cleaning the condo till it sparkled on Monday and Tuesday. We took a raincheck on Valentine's Day and instead grabbed Taco Bell inbetween running errands and cleaning - romantic right? The flu struck on Tuesday and then Wednesday got a little frantic when the inspector found a natural gas leak behind our dryer which could have been there for years without us knowing it. The rest of the inspection went fine and Brian found a guy to come out and fix the leak so should be in the clear on that end. The buyer is relocating so he also decided to buy our bedroom furniture (minus the bed) and a few decorative items in addition to swiping our Crate & Barrel dinning room set and grill last week. Fine by us - more cash on hand and less to move and the bedroom stuff is cheapo IKEA and Target pieces that we picked up right after college. So for our next place we will only have a sofa, bed, coffee table, and bar to furnish the place. Excited to decorate with a clean slate but it will have to be a slow, room by room process.

While it seems silly, putting up these two pictures on Thursday was a huge deal for me. It's been over a year since we have been able to truly live in our own home. To get the condo market ready we took down all our personal pictures and belongings. Over 50 times and often on a moments notice we would whip the place into showing shape and get kicked out while people came through which is like living in a museum...with a baby! So once we cleared the inspection I figured it was finally time to frame a couple Ethan pictures and get them up! Am also hoping they worked some sympathy magic on the appraiser as this is the final hurdle to clear. If the results come back favorable we're good to go for a March 25th closing!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake #59

Here are a few pics from celebrating Grandpa's birthday last Sunday. E sure looks like a big boy sitting in his high chair! Brian got to experience cross country skiing for the first time - I don't think he'll be converting from downhill anytime soon but it was a beautiful day and we had a good time - what a workout! My mom made a yummy dinner that wouldn't be complete without the Davis pineapple upside cake tradition - my dad's favorite!

Happy Birthday Grandpa Davis!

Grandpa's birthday is Sunday and Ethan knows how much he loves the E*TRADE Baby commercials so he decided to make one of his own...

CHECK IT OUT HERE!!!

Not Loving Solids So Far

We're 8 days in with rice cereal and E still has little interest in actually eating it but has lots of fun holding the spoon and making a mess - we'll keep trying!

New Playmat!

Our condo has hardwood floors through out and E is getting so active that blankets just bunch up under him so I ordered a padded foam mat for him to play on. Now that he can sit upright and loves being on his tummy it's much needed and he seems to really like being on it. Trying to keep it a Bella free zone but puppers is not on board with that plan so we pick it up when he's not lounging on it. Ethan is starting to back scoot when on his belly so one step closer to crawling...

Thinking of You Grandma Woods...

Brian's mom is still in the hospital and has a tough decision to make. The latest updates can be found on her Caringbridge Page. Unfortunately there are no "good" options which makes choosing especially difficult. Ethan wants his grandma to know that if she goes with Option C (doctor's recommendation) he thinks her new foot will be really cool and have special powers that will make her a super hero!

Condo Offer Accepted!!!

The buyer accepted our 2nd counter offer last night - wohoo! We had to throw in our beloved grill and dinning room furniture set but it sealed the deal. I'm torn between being thrilled and being cautious/nervous as the buyer could still back out in the next couple weeks. Still trying to stomach the financial hit but exciting new adventures await so we need to get over it and look forward. We have LOVED condo living and the luxury of Grant Park sure has spoiled us. So many great memories from our first home - it will be hard to leave and I'll miss being downtown immensely.

While we'll probably rent for a while to save back up for a down payment it's time to start thinking about finding a yard for Bella, a real bedroom for Ethan, and a mancave/bar area for Brian. Haven't decided what my "must have" item is but no worries - we won't be lacking in Kyle wish list items / "suggestions" for amenities in the next home we purchase ;)

Cool Dude

Love my little future fratter - all that is missing is a trucker hat to complete the outfit ;) Most of E's clothes to date have been onsies and one piece outfits - comfy and easy access - lots of cutesy stuff that isn't really my style but works great for daycare. Preppy boys clothes are hard to find but I can't handle any more animal or cartoon prints. He's starting to outgrow some 9M outfits so once we get through his 12M stuff I'm excited to pick up some mommy approved outfits like this one - watch out babyGap!

New Bottle Accessory

We've had great luck with Avent bottles and added a new contraption last week - handles! While he has been able to grasp his bottle since he was 2 months old it's time to start working on intentionally holding it and hopefully in a couple months actually feeding himself. He doesn't have much interest while eating so far but when the bottle is empty he likes to grab on to the handles and wave the bottle over his head - silly boy. Will introduce water in a trainer cup next month during his meals. Moving on up!