So grateful for this moment!

No longer a newborn!

One of the biggest parenting lessons I'm learning is all about "prioritizing."  If Ethan happens to take a nap during the day (something he has given up in order to give us a decent night's sleep), what should I do?  Brush my teeth (probably a good idea)?  Drink some coffee (a necessity)?  Maybe sneak in a shower (that's usually cut short)?  Unfortunately, I haven't been able to figure out how to get much else done on the to-do list, including updating this blog!

Ethan is almost six weeks old and no longer a newborn!  He had his 1-month check-up last week and weighed in at 10 lbs., 11 oz. - what a chunk!  I can't believe it's the same kid they were worried about losing too much weight in the hospital!  With teary eyes, I had to pack away all of his newborn clothing.  I held on to his umbilical cord stump for about a week before I finally decided I was crazy and threw it away.  Now that it has fallen off he can have a real bath in his baby bathtub.  He has graduated from the small bottles to the full-size bottles.  He had his first trip to the mall and even behaved while his mom & dad ate out at a real restaurant!  It's funny how things that we used to do several times a week have become such big adventures now.

What's more remarkable is how much he's changed since we brought him home from the hospital.  Besides being bigger, he's starting to develop his own personality.  He is so alert and has begun to "play" during the day.  He likes his bouncy seat and is fixated on the birds that swing around above his head.  He seems to realize when we are reading to him and listens and stares intently (especially during Make Way for Ducklings).  He loves mirrors (if only he knew the tiny human staring back at him was him!)  He gurgles and coos and gives real smiles (not gassy ones) a couple of times a day.  Nothing in my life has come close to the feeling I get when he smiles at me (and I try to remember that when he's been crying for an hour straight!)

I say it every time, but it's so true - I love him so much, I can't believe he's ours!

Hopefully I'll have time to post again before he's walking and talking!

Ethan's First Month!

Click here to see photos from our first month as parents!

Champions, Pumpkins, and Grandma's...Oh My!

I just put Ethan down for a nap and thought to myself, what should I do with these few moments of silence? So many choices - sleep, laundry, clean, write thank you notes, return phone calls, pay bills, watch last night's Homeland - but in the end, sipping a cup of coffee and writing my blog post that was supposed to be done last week won.  Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself and this nap lasts more than 10 minutes...

Ethan's third week of life was a busy one!  The Bloch household was very excited about the Red Sox.  Even though the championship in 2004 was so historic, this one felt even sweeter to me.  I have never enjoyed watching baseball so much as with this team.  I know Ethan had no idea what was going on, but I'm glad he was here to wear his good luck gear and help keep me awake during those late games.  Most of all, I had foreshadowing thoughts of going to his baseball games and taking him to Fenway for the first time, just like my dad did for me.  It seems so far away but I know it will fly by.  For now, we'll enjoy being World Champions!

Normally I love Halloween - actually that's not entirely true.  I dread having to come up with a creative costume for school and the Halloween class party is always a sugar crazed event that I could do without.  But I love the energy, seeing kids in costume, I love the candy, and I love dressing up the dogs in cute costumes that make them curse at me in their dog speak.  This year, however, I just couldn't get it together.  I had a great theme for Ethan, Brady, and Chewie (which I'll keep secret so I can reuse it for next year!) but finding time to assemble their costumes just wasn't possible.  I did search last minute for something cute for Ethan but they don't make store bought ones in the newborn size and it was too much pressure to make something homemade and creative.  So his pumpkin hat and "My First Halloween" onesie will just have to do - at least he's cute enough to make up for it.  One more Halloween confession - we disassembled our doorbell and shut off all the lights so the trick-or-treaters wouldn't come to the house.  We could not deal with the dogs barking every time the bell rang.  I was officially the Halloween Grinch in 2013!

This weekend Ethan had his first sleepover!  I can't even believe we fit all of our gear into my car.  For once, my bag was the smallest one!  I knew I brought too much stuff, but the way this kid goes through diapers and outfits, I just wasn't sure.  He had lots of visitors while in Swampscott - he loved seeing Donna, Eddie, Nancy, Robin, Bob, Ina, Alan, the other Donna, the Rhodes' and the Butler's!  Most of all, he loved sleeping in Grandma's room on Saturday night so his mommy and daddy could get a full night's sleep.  (In case we haven't said "thank you" enough for that - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!)  Mike and I even got to sneak out to Starbucks for a quick "date."  It's the little things in life!

This nap has lasted 22 minutes and he's waking up already...hoping his Vavo gets here soon so I can take a shower!

This about sums it up.