Lullabye, and Goodnight:
A Tribute to Ethan's Naps

As you all probably know, naptime for Ethan has never been an easy task. We've gone from only napping in mommy's arms, to only napping in the car or carseat, to finally napping in his crib. Today however, was particularly entertaining so I thought I'd take a minute to write down Ethan's dialogue with himself.

(This is what I heard on the monitor after he finished off his baba):

Mommy....are you?
Mommy....are you?

My coat. Mine! Mine! Mine! My coat!

Mommy....Boo!
Mommy....Boo!

Mommy at work?
Mommy work?

Wawa down, wawa down... (no idea what that was about)

Mommy wake up, C.C. (Ethan) wake up!

Ethan wake up!

Baba juice! Baba juice! (soon after that he must have chucked his baba across the room because I heard a thud!)

[Crying, crying]

This went on for almost 45 minutes so by the end, I was literally walking into his room to get him because I figured a nap wasn't going to happen. When I poked my head in, I saw him laying down whining so I quickly shut the door and he fell asleep within a minute.

So, I thought I'd share some of my favorite Ethan naptime pictures over the past year or so. Enjoy!
This is how I found Ethan two days ago. I had the monitor on and suddenly heard music go off. Yes, he had rolled onto his doggie which sings a birthday song. I went to his room to remove the doggie because he had miraculously slept through it (or so I thought) and couldn't resist taking a picture. Of course, the second the flash went off, he was up!
Ethan asleep in his favorite spot eating some sort of lunch (not sure what the food was because daddy was babysitting. Any guesses?)

Ethan crashes on the chair at the pool!Ethan falls asleep during the ovarian cancer walk with his new Barney doll from Gemma.

Ethan crashes in his highchair while eating lunch. Poor little guy!

Snow Day!

Today we got the first big snow of the winter. We were expecting around 3-5 inches and ended up getting over a foot! Ethan got a little snow shovel for his birthday from Grammy and Pops so we thought we'd try it out. He was interested in it for a little while but then became more fascinated with eating the snow. The poor kid was so bundled up he could hardly bend over. Blake pushed him on a little sled down the road but they didn't really slide. Ethan had fun nonetheless. It sure is nice to be forced to have a day at home together every once in a while!!

Ethan eating the snow. Yummy!

Ethan and mommy take a break from shoveling.

Blake pushes Ethan down the street on the sled.

Go, Ethan! Go! (f.y.i. - he's not even moving in this picture but it sure looks like it!)

My two favorite guys!

A Thomas Party!

On Saturday, we celebrated Ethan's 2nd birthday with family by throwing Ethan a Thomas party. For a week, Ethan kept saying, "Thomas party" and "birthday cake!" He was so excited that he wanted to be involved in every part of the preparations. When he woke up from his nap and saw the Thomas decorations, he got a huge look of surprise and shock on his face that was priceless. He, of course, went nuts when all his favorite buddies arrived to celebrate with him. For dinner, we ate a few different salads and rolls and had cake and ice cream for dessert. Ethan made out with tons of new toys - mostly Thomas related items. It was so much fun to have both sides of the family together to celebrate this great little guy. That night I put Ethan down to bed and turned the monitor on. Blake and I could hear him singing to himself, "birthday to you!" It was the most precious thing I've ever heard! We sure love you Ethan!

Ethan helps mommy clean. He started going around the kitchen with a wipe so I figured I'd give him a real rag and see what he can do! He actually did pretty well. (Definitely some O.C.D. coming through!).

Ethan LOVES to help mommy stir. This is his little stirring spot where he HAS to sit!

Helping mommy with the frosting.

Ethan tests mommy's frosting. Yummy!Ethan gets some new Thomas underpants. Not sure he quite gets how they work!

Ethan opens presents in front of his favorite audience!

Ethan got some new skeleton (glow-in-the-dark) jammies from Aunt Nic. that he had to wear immediately!Ethan blows out his candles (multiple times)!

Ethan tries out his new toys. Every little boys' dream!

Ethan turns 2!

Last Thursday Ethan turned the big "2" and he reminded everyone he saw by saying, "happy birthday to you." The lady at the grocery store asked him his name the other day and he said, "two." It was pretty cute. His actual birthday was pretty low key because we are having a family birthday party for him this weekend (Thomas theme - his favorite). So, we opened a few little gifts and gave him his own cupcake with two candles which he had to blow out multiple times. So, although we'll have more birthday pictures coming, I thought I'd take a minute to document some things about him at this age.

• Weight: 25 lbs./25th percentile(wears size 18-24 months finally!)
• Height: I can't remember the number but he's in the 50th percentile
• Loves playing "chase" and wrestling with daddy.
• Loves playing with his Thomas trains (he has all the names of his trains memorized), puzzles, baseball, cars and trucks.
• Favorite shows are Sesame Street, Barney & Bob the Builder
• O.C.D. tendencies: goes around the house with a wipe cleaning the walls, his toys, the floor, etc.; has to have all the upstairs doors shut and lights off before we can go downstairs; has to have everyone in their particular places to keep activities structured the same way every time; spends several minutes throughout the day cleaning the toe fuzz from his little feet, etc.
• Tantrums: They've begun right on cue! We were in the store on his birthday and I foolishly thought I would put him in the shopping cart and do some shopping. As soon as I attempted to put him in, he stiffened up his body, arched his back and started screaming hysterically. The more I tried to reason with him and put him in, the more he resisted. He was crying and screaming so loudly that everyone in the store was watching us (no doubt thinking that I was beating him or something). So, I gave up. We spent the shopping trip with him pushing the cart (freaking out if I touched the bar to steer it).
  
• Talking: Ethan has gotten really good at talking and letting us know what he wants. He can put several words together and constantly amazes us with the things he knows. We've found that we have to watch ourselves with words such as crap. The other day I dropped something and he yelled out "crap!" Oops. :)
• Learning: Ethan has pretty much mastered all his colors, shapes, and emergency vehicles! That's right - he loves any sort of truck or rescue vehicle and insists that we read those same books every night. He can count to 10 and is working on the teens.
  
• Sleep: Right now we're in a really good phase. After 2 years, he finally sleeps for about 11 hours at night and 2 hours for naps. Of course, he still loves the baba so I don't know what will happen with his sleep if it disappears.

We are so blessed to have this special little person in our lives. We just adore everything he does and love his sweet tender spirit. Happy Birthday our little guy!

Ethan's tongue after eating a blue fruit snack.

Ethan opens a plastic t-ball set.

Taking a whack!

Blowing out his candles (for the third or fourth time?).

Ethan digging into his cupcake. Yummy!

6 Years!

Last Friday (2/1) Blake and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary! I used to think that 6 years was such a long time (before I was married) but then I think about people like Pres. Hinckley who was married 65+ years and realize we are just babies in the marriage department. I'm amazed at how quickly it has gone by but also by how much has happened. In 6 years we've both held several different jobs, have held numerous church callings, Blake has finished undergrad and law school, we've lived in 5 different homes and had our little Ethan. Crazy! Most of all, I'm just so thankful to be married to my sweetheart. He is such a good man and great example to me. Hopefully I can convince/bribe him to stick with me for many more anniversaries to come!

A picture from our first year of marriage (hanging out on Canal Street, NYC).

Ethan's Baba - Help!

Okay, I really need some advice here. Ethan is turning 2 on Thursday and he he really needs to get off the "ba." At his 18 month dr. appointment, the doctor told me that by age 2, he needs to be weaned from it. The hard thing is that he uses the baba to comfort himself to sleep at naptime and at bedtime. He's not really interested in the drink but it's a soothing thing for him. I'm afraid that once I take away the ba, his good sleeping routine (which is the best it's been in 2 years) will go out the window. I've been looking on the internet for ideas but haven't found any great solutions yet. So, if you have any advice, I'd LOVE to hear it!

Welcome Lincoln Scott Pettitt!

On Wednesday, Jan. 30th, my brother Scott and his wife Natalie were blessed with their first little baby. After 30 hours of labor (poor Nat!), he finally arrived weighing in at 6 lb. 12 oz. and 20" long with lots of dark hair. My parents, Emily, Ethan and I all drove up to Hartford that afternoon to see them. The whole way up, Ethan kept saying, "baby counin" and "Wincoln." When he first got to see Lincoln, he tried to grab his head and pull him toward him. After we all freaked out and pulled Ethan away, he learned to give him very soft kisses which was so cute. He just couldn't kiss his little baby "counin" enough. It was so fun to visit with them and see that sweet adorable little boy. We love him already and are so happy that he's part of the family!

I was also able to meet up with a couple of my friends from Hartford (Joelle & Mindy) while I was up there and have dinner with them. It was a special treat to see Mindy since she lives in Utah and just happened to be there that week for work. Thanks for the fun night ladies! I miss you guys!

Ethan, Lincoln and me in the hospital room. I couldn't believe how tiny he was - it was like holding a feather! I had never experienced that since Ethan was born weighing 9 lb. 1 oz.

Ethan going in for a kiss!

The proud parents: Natalie, Scott & baby Lincoln. Nat looks so great!