Black Sheep Cafe

We're all ready to go meet the girls from work at the Black Sheep Cafe. A better shot of the cool dude sunglasses accompanied by the blue's clues hat...stylin'!!Yes, three group shot pictures...it's extremely hard to get everyone to look at the same time!!
Sooo adorable, Kathy cuddling up with little Derrick Jr.!
Ethan didn't know what to think of all the people...I'm pretty sure this was the biggest gathering he's been to in his entire life. He didn't really fuss at all, but was quiet....haha he definitely wasn't talking up a storm like little Jr. was! Although, he did manage to give out a few smiles to a few of the girls.
Cory holding Ethan....good practice!Kimberly playing with Maddox...she really got him laughing!! Melissa capturing Ethan's full attention. And Katie cuddling up with Melissa's baby...awww I love it when a baby falls asleep in your arms!
Maddox sporting his mommy's sunglasses....CUTE!


The other morning I heard Ethan talking up a storm so I decided to bring the camera in with me when I went to get him. Unfortunately he stopped talking the minute the camera went on, but I did happen to capture a TON of great smiles. On another note...we always put him on his tummy to sleep because he sleeps soooo much better that way. Anywho he obviously rolled over because when I found him he was like this. The funny thing is when I laid him in his crib his head was at the other end...so he musta been having a really good time in there!

LAUGHING!!

Here's Ryan getting Ethan to laugh for everyone...haha it's so cute, he's got kind of a deep laugh!

In this video Ethan was being a little bit stubborn, but his Grandma O'Malley finally got that cute smile outta him!

He is such a happy baby, and so much fun to play with. We were eating at the Outback Steak House and he was flirting with a couple of the girls that worked there...BIG SMILES for several minutes straight! Sometimes it takes him awhile to warm up to a new person...but not in this case!

I just adore his cute little innocent self when he's sleeping!

Here is a picture Ryan took...Ethan seems to be captured by something.

This was Ethan's first time eating baby food....BANANAS! He didn't seem overly excited or show any silly facial expressions as we had hoped he would...apparently bananas don't impress him.

Ethan was hanging out with daddy while mommy was showering one night. Daddy thought it would be funny to stick a pretzel in his mouth.

I finally got to feed Ethan too! Here he is after an episode of peas. Anytime the spoon got near him he wanted to grab/touch it...here is the result of that! Once again he wasn't super impressed with eating the food. I'm sure eventually we'll come across a food that promotes funny facial expressions.Here are two pictures of Ethan's cousin Taylor. Isn't she the cutest thing ever...she thought it was so funny to wear his sunglasses. Daddy taught Ethan to blow bubbles. He does it A LOT, and is actually pretty good at it, haha!Does it get much cuter than a track outfit with a Jordan hat?! Thank you Melissa for the hat...it FINALLY fits him!!He was getting somewhat unhappy with all of the pictures mommy was wanting to take.

He got so upset that he toppled over...here is that action shot.But everything turned out okay, because he realized that silly hat mommy kept putting on him was also another item he could get into his mouth. And yes, EVERYTHING goes directly to the mouth these days!He is so curious about everything.
We have been putting him on his tummy a lot to encourage him to crawl. Now he is a pro at turning over from his tummy to his back...so we are constantly flipping him back over so he gets some quality tummy time.

He is so funny, he will either have himself propped up on his arms. Or he will have his butt in the air, but his arms flat on the floor.

We took him swimming for the first time ever...and of course forgot the camera at home. He didn't dislike the pool...no crying or even fussing. Ethan really didn't have a big reaction like we thought he would. Not even a smile! He sat in our arms intensely watching the other kids running around.

Bouncy, bouncy, bouncy!!

I thought I would put up a little video of Ethan since it is taking me a little longer than expected to post. Ethan is a big fan of jumping in his rainforest jumper. He is so much fun to watch when he's jumping around like a little monkey! Sometimes Ryan and I call him our little Irish dancing baby. His feet get to moving so fast that he kinda looks like one of those Irish riverdancers...haha! And although he doesn't do a whole lot of jumping in this video, you get a nice view of that beautiful smile of his...I LOVE IT!

4 MONTHS OLD!!

We are definitely loving the fact that Ethan is sleeping in his crib throughout the entire night! And he has just started to take naps in the crib too...although this isn't always the case. Usually he takes his naps in the swing. Or in the sling if I'm running around.Look who's a big boy now!! Ryan and I went to his 4month check-up and he is a healthy 15lbs 3oz which plots him out in the 50th percentile for weight. He is 25 inches long which also puts him in the 50th percentile for height.Ethan loves to watch tv with daddy...especially FOOTBALL!!Grandma & Grandpa O'Malley helping Ethan with his musical toy. Notice how well he is sitting in his bumbo!We went out to dinner with Cindy & Joe to Mama's Pizza. Mama's is a wonderful Italian restaurant in Saint Paul, and it just so happens to be owned and run by Ryan's cousins. The food is excellent and there is no way you would ever leave hungry. As you can see Ethan got a little taste of ice cream for the first time ever! Needless to say he wasn't overly impressed.

Week #15--Sleeping!!

Ethan is not too sure about daddy putting the washcloth on his head.
He still LOVES bath time though!
This is what he looks like in the morning right after he nurses...haha I think he's FULL!
The moment he starts to wake up again those hands, or in this case a thumb, goes directly in the mouth.
Still trying to wake up. He's not too sure about all of the picture taking this early in the morning!
"Maybe if I cuddle closer to mom the picture taking will stop."A different morning shot of Ethan...this time he was trying to grab at the camera the minute it was brought out.My dad LOVES being a grandpa!And he does such a great job at it!!Ethan had to visit his Great Grandma Schaffer to show her just how big he has gotten!Now that he is getting heavier...the minute he falls asleep in the sling I sneak him into the swing for a little nap. This makes it a lot easier for me to get things done.Thank you Birth Center girls...Ethan LOVES his exersaucer!He would love to get his hands on those little fishies!He's got his eye on the flower...SCORE!!!!On January 11th Ryan's football team held a fundraiser at a bar in Saint Paul. The team and league recently went through a few changes. Ryan's team is no longer the Oakdale Outlaws, they are now the East Metro Phoenix.If you're interested in going to any of the games check out the schedule on their website: http://www.eastmetrophoenix.com/

Time really flys by now-a-days. Ethan has recently started to sleep through the night...AMAZING, I know! Our little routine starts around 8pm. Ethan gets a relaxing bath, sometimes followed by a little body massage. Then we give him a 4oz bottle of either breast milk or formula. After that I nurse him until he falls asleep, which is usually around 8:30-9pm. We carefully lay him in his crib and he wakes me up to eat again around 7-8am!! I am so thankful to FINALLY be getting a good chunk of sleep. I do admit that the first few nights I got up to check on him several times just to make sure he was okay.