Summer Catchup Part 1

We've had such a busy summer that I haven't had a chance to update the blog in a while.  We've also had so much fun and taken TONS of pictures, so here's a recap of the last few weeks of June...

Ethan has been able to pull to stand with assistance for a while now, but just recently he has started to pull up and play by himself without me being in the room.  I can tell he's a little nervous about it, because when I'm in the room he looks back at me and laughs about it.  He's so proud of himself.  He still doesn't feel confident about getting down on his own, but we think it's wonderful that he's becoming more independent and playing up here on his own.  A few weeks ago he and Cara were playing by themselves for about 10 minutes and I had no idea he had pulled to stand.  I heard them talking and then she came into the kitchen and said, "Ethan needs help getting down."  He had told her he needed help and she came and got me - I love watching them interact and play together!

When it's too hot to practice walking outside, 

we go walking with Cara and Aunt Allie in the mall

Another activity for a hot summer day - painting inside at Aunt Allie's house

(Allison finishing grad school = lots more opportunities for cousin fun!)

Ethan riding his tricycle around the neighborhood.  

He's doing pretty well, but still doesn't like the hills.

We had so much fun swimming at cousin Allison's pool!

Ethan's highlight was watching this little frog that found it's way into the pool

Grandma came for a visit on Father's Day weekend!

We took Tim out for breakfast at the Flying Biscuit.

And went for a walk on the greenway in Rock Hill.

We found an entrance to the river

Grandma and Owen stayed up top and cuddled

While mommy and Ethan put our feet in the river

Well, Ethan went all the way in...

Ethan wearing grandma's extra shirt after his dip in the water

The next week Ethan had surgery to clip his tongue.  We've known he was "tongue tied" (where the little piece of skin connecting the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth is shorter than normal) since his 1 month check-up.  However, since he had so many other things going on the first few years of his life, this was the least of our worries.  Sometimes clipping this piece of skin can help with speech and it always helps with oral hygiene, so we decided to go ahead and have it clipped.  We haven't seen any huge improvement with his speech since the surgery, but he is able to stick his tongue out much farther.  And we know that as he continues to work on his speech, his tongue tie won't be holding him back.

Ethan enjoying a popsicle after surgery

Enjoying a second popsicle

...and his very own milkshake from Steak-n-Shake!

As if we didn't have enough going on already, we decided it was time to start potty training.  I had been putting it off until Owen was sleeping through the night because I didn't think I could handle potty training when I wasn't getting a good night of sleep.  But it didn't look like that was happening anytime soon, so I decided to go ahead and start.  We decided to try the three-day method (where you stay inside for three days, with only two short walks outside and the child doesn't wear anything from the waist down the whole time - except for naps/night).  It went pretty well and he now tells us anytime he has to go potty.  He is still doing #2 in a diaper at naps and night, but other than that he wears underwear all day long! 

 Here is a picture of all our "gear" the morning we started potty training.

Our first "outing" during potty training - a 20 minute walk around the neighborhood.

Notice the string in Owen's mouth.  He has now progressed from the burp cloth to a string. 

My amazing college roommate, Karyn, came for a visit with her family at the end of June.  It was so wonderful to see her and be able to catch up.  Things were a little crazy that day (Ethan ended up with fever, throwing up all over the living room and a trip to the doctor by the end of the evening), so I didn't get a chance to take a lot of pictures.  Karyn has three boys, and the youngest is only 6 days younger than Owen.  Here they are - Christopher and Owen - playing in the baby pool.

And since he hasn't gotten a lot of action in this post, here's a pic of our little 9 month old