To say the last two years have flown by would be an understatement...
Andrew and I are so proud of who our little man is becoming. He is so intelligent, he loves to make people laugh and he loves to give "squeezes". He is by far our best accomplishment. We have been so Blessed to have such an amazing first child. He has definitely made us want many more children.(in God's timing)
Life is always an adventure with Ethan, he was recently diagnosed with Breath Holding Anoxic Seizure Disorder. This came after his second seizure about 3 weeks ago, he had another one just a few days ago while I was shopping in Sam's by myself. We are learning to deal with this one day at a time. He has a bag that has to be carried at all times that allows us to have his emergency seizure meds on hand. We have to learn CPR again, and he has to be kept by people who are familiar with the disorder and how to handle it when one happens, so its been a challenge. But luckily we have a very prepared Nana who watches him regularly and the church is working with us to have him in a ready environment.
We have learned to be very cautious of his environment, make sure he is neither overwhelmed or over-tired, this helps us have less seizures. Other than this, he is a very happy, healthy normal little boy. He loves dirt, painting, taking walks and especially playing baseball or basketball. Let us not forget his other favorite thing, the Wee Hills by Unc and Piggy's house... Daddy loves to drive really fast when we get to the Wee Hills and Ethan laughs hysterically every time...
Well the month of December has found us to be a very busy family. We have something to do every single day till January 8. Luckily this weekend, Andrew and I will be sneaking away to The Joule Hotel (Thanks to my job with The W Hotel. )and relaxing and enjoying Andrew's Firm's Annual Christmas Party, and doing a little Christmas shopping while we are at it. We are looking forward to a little time away from the hustle and bustle of daily life...
We hope all of you have a Merry Christmas! We love you all, and appreciate all of your support over the last few months. God is Good.
Love, ABE
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
The Train & The Potty
So life as usual has flown by. We celebrated Nana & PawPaw's anniversary, and then made it through Ethan's stomach flu. Ethan is doing so well, he is just talking non-stop. He loves to interact and tell us all about his day. He loves to take "sidewalks" (This is a nature walk around the neighborhood, but he insist we call it his sidewalk.) He loves to collect acorns in his Nature basket and then we decorate the house with them. We are now growing orange (his favorite color) mums. So he is doing great helping me water and prune them daily.
A couple of weekends ago, we along with the GG Sullivan's were able to take Ethan on the DART train. HE LOVED IT!!! We rode from Westmoreland station all the way to Downtown Plano. It was so much fun! He kept saying "momma, train goes fast!" It was a great experience and I hope to do it again very soon.
He has taken up marching and conducting the High School band while they practice. He loves to conduct along with the Drum Majors, this just cracks the band up, they love it, he's their little mascot.
On another note, Ethan has decided to start potty training. The other day he asked to go pee pee in his potty and so we walked in there and I took his diaper off, and low and behold he peed. He has been doing great since then, he comes and tells me every time he needs to go potty and he goes... He has a potty chart and he gets to put stickers on it when he uses the potty and he gets a skittle when he pottys. I am LOVING this training, he has made it so simple. I hope it continues to go as well as it has been.
This weekend we are heading to Lake D'Arbonne in Louisiana to camp with Jon, Calli & Calli and Chris & Cari, Lane & Andrea. We are looking forward to a weekend filled with fishing and hanging out on the cabin porch just relaxing. The boys play so well together and love to explore so I know they will have a great time being boys...
We hope to catch up with all of you soon!
Love y'all!
Bethany, Andrew & Ethan
A couple of weekends ago, we along with the GG Sullivan's were able to take Ethan on the DART train. HE LOVED IT!!! We rode from Westmoreland station all the way to Downtown Plano. It was so much fun! He kept saying "momma, train goes fast!" It was a great experience and I hope to do it again very soon.
He has taken up marching and conducting the High School band while they practice. He loves to conduct along with the Drum Majors, this just cracks the band up, they love it, he's their little mascot.
On another note, Ethan has decided to start potty training. The other day he asked to go pee pee in his potty and so we walked in there and I took his diaper off, and low and behold he peed. He has been doing great since then, he comes and tells me every time he needs to go potty and he goes... He has a potty chart and he gets to put stickers on it when he uses the potty and he gets a skittle when he pottys. I am LOVING this training, he has made it so simple. I hope it continues to go as well as it has been.
This weekend we are heading to Lake D'Arbonne in Louisiana to camp with Jon, Calli & Calli and Chris & Cari, Lane & Andrea. We are looking forward to a weekend filled with fishing and hanging out on the cabin porch just relaxing. The boys play so well together and love to explore so I know they will have a great time being boys...
We hope to catch up with all of you soon!
Love y'all!
Bethany, Andrew & Ethan
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Busy, Busy, Busy
Well, it's been a little while since I updated the blog. We have been so busy lately. In the past couple of weeks, we have attended the AIA Design Awards, gone to Arkansas to celebrate Callen's second birthday, (I cannot believe he is two!) and been to various Band or school related functions in the area. It has been a whirlwind of excitement.
Ethan is doing great! No more health issues so far! We have started taking daily walks around the neighborhood. He loves to collect little objects and leaves and such while we are walking so he can add them to his leaf collage book that he and Nana made together. He is doing very well identifying so many colors, and he is very descriptive when he speaks. It is so adorable. The other day he walked up to Andy and said. "Dada I wanna drink of cold water please..." So CUTE!! He is also working on using Yes sir, No sir, Yes ma'am and no Ma'am. He is beginning to use them more and more when he is speaking to older people...
We had a blast in Arkansas as usual! Jon and Calli recently bought a really nice 4 wheeler so we all had a great time playing around on it and exploring their many acres of land. It was so nice, and Ethan loved being on the 4wheeler! Such a typical dude... We are going camping with them at Lake D'Arbonne in October, we are very much looking forward to playing around on the 4 wheelers again!!
Last night we were able to attend Red Oak's band competition. It was so much fun, we got to go up into the super nice press box and watch thanks to PawPaw and Nana. PawPaw is the new Band announcer (he is GREAT by the way!) So we were able to go up there and enjoy all the free food and entertainment. Ethan is a HUGE fan of the band, he regularly goes up and attends their practices with his Nana, and he loves to conduct, and play the drums and clarinet with the band as well.
Well, I hate to say goodbye, but we are off to watch the Cowboy game at Unc and Piggy's house. So enjoy the slide show, we look forward to seeing all of you soon!
Love,
ABE
Ethan is doing great! No more health issues so far! We have started taking daily walks around the neighborhood. He loves to collect little objects and leaves and such while we are walking so he can add them to his leaf collage book that he and Nana made together. He is doing very well identifying so many colors, and he is very descriptive when he speaks. It is so adorable. The other day he walked up to Andy and said. "Dada I wanna drink of cold water please..." So CUTE!! He is also working on using Yes sir, No sir, Yes ma'am and no Ma'am. He is beginning to use them more and more when he is speaking to older people...
We had a blast in Arkansas as usual! Jon and Calli recently bought a really nice 4 wheeler so we all had a great time playing around on it and exploring their many acres of land. It was so nice, and Ethan loved being on the 4wheeler! Such a typical dude... We are going camping with them at Lake D'Arbonne in October, we are very much looking forward to playing around on the 4 wheelers again!!
Last night we were able to attend Red Oak's band competition. It was so much fun, we got to go up into the super nice press box and watch thanks to PawPaw and Nana. PawPaw is the new Band announcer (he is GREAT by the way!) So we were able to go up there and enjoy all the free food and entertainment. Ethan is a HUGE fan of the band, he regularly goes up and attends their practices with his Nana, and he loves to conduct, and play the drums and clarinet with the band as well.
Well, I hate to say goodbye, but we are off to watch the Cowboy game at Unc and Piggy's house. So enjoy the slide show, we look forward to seeing all of you soon!
Love,
ABE
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Seizure, The Hospital and The Owies
Well, as most of you have heard, Ethan suffered a seizure while Cari and I were shopping at Target. During his seizure he stopped breathing, luckily by the Grace of God, Cari without question took him out of my arms, placed him on the floor in the middle of the aisle and performed CPR. After yelling for 911, two other women assisted us in keeping him awake and stable until the ambulance arrived. Cari was amazing, I cannot thank her enough... To feel 100% helpless and panicked as your child lay lifeless in your arms is by far the most horrible feeling I have ever had! After an ambulance ride that felt like an eternity, We arrived at Children's Medical Center. After an hour or two of waiting for some initial tests, the doctors all agreed it best to keep us for observation and more testing.
We ended up staying in the hospital for 3 nights. After an MRI, EEG, a Chest X-Ray and countless other labs, and tests, not much has been determined. It is not Chiari Malformation, It is not Epilepsy, all we know is that he has some Bronchial secretions, and has a condition simply known as breath-holding.
He has had no more seizures since Friday which is a great thing. We hope this was a one-time occurrence and that we never have to experience this ever again. He is back to his normal self, which is a nice change. The nurses and doctors were fantastic. His favorite was Nurse Becky. Every time the doctor would enter he would say "No,No Doctor" or "Bye,Bye Doctor" yet every time Nurse Becky was around he would just talk and talk to her, and always thank her for whatever she was doing, even drawing his blood. He loved playing on the elevators, saying "Elevators fun mama!" The staff was astonished at his vocabulary and how well he spoke. They would come in and test him on his colors and his alphabet knowledge, and he is such a charmer he enjoyed every minute. They also informed us that his knowledge of colors, alphabet and numbers were astounding, and that most 5 year olds knew what he knew... So that was awesome to hear! What a little smart dude, just like his daddy!
Well, all this to say, he is doing much better, and we are so thankful for each and every person who helped us get through this horrible ordeal. Ethan is so Blessed, WE are so Blessed to have all of you in our lives. We wish all of you the best, and hope to see you all soon!
Love,
The Moons
(who are looking forward to actually sleeping on a decent bed tonight!)
We ended up staying in the hospital for 3 nights. After an MRI, EEG, a Chest X-Ray and countless other labs, and tests, not much has been determined. It is not Chiari Malformation, It is not Epilepsy, all we know is that he has some Bronchial secretions, and has a condition simply known as breath-holding.
He has had no more seizures since Friday which is a great thing. We hope this was a one-time occurrence and that we never have to experience this ever again. He is back to his normal self, which is a nice change. The nurses and doctors were fantastic. His favorite was Nurse Becky. Every time the doctor would enter he would say "No,No Doctor" or "Bye,Bye Doctor" yet every time Nurse Becky was around he would just talk and talk to her, and always thank her for whatever she was doing, even drawing his blood. He loved playing on the elevators, saying "Elevators fun mama!" The staff was astonished at his vocabulary and how well he spoke. They would come in and test him on his colors and his alphabet knowledge, and he is such a charmer he enjoyed every minute. They also informed us that his knowledge of colors, alphabet and numbers were astounding, and that most 5 year olds knew what he knew... So that was awesome to hear! What a little smart dude, just like his daddy!
Well, all this to say, he is doing much better, and we are so thankful for each and every person who helped us get through this horrible ordeal. Ethan is so Blessed, WE are so Blessed to have all of you in our lives. We wish all of you the best, and hope to see you all soon!
Love,
The Moons
(who are looking forward to actually sleeping on a decent bed tonight!)
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Ethan and Bigun's day of fun!
Ethan had a blast exploring his jungle gym while Bigun kept watch. We couldn't resist playing outside for hours in such cool weather. He is certainly getting more daring as the days go by, typical boy.
GG Sarah's Birthday Photos
Here are a few pictures we took while out to dinner with The Sullivan's to celebrate Grandmother's 70th birthday. Ethan was such a goofball! We had a great time!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Dallas World Aquarium/Labor Day Weekend
Jon, Calli, Callen and Baby Sampson came to visit us this weekend and we had a blast! The boys are so hilarious together, a regular toddler comedy troupe. They played and laughed all weekend. Mimi and Pop took us all to the Dallas World Aquarium and it was so exciting! The boys had so much to look at, it was such a fun afternoon!!! We were sad to see Jon, Calli, Callen and Baby leave but we'll see them again soon!!!
Simply Fondue
On Saturday night we went to Simply Fondue on Greenville Avenue to celebrate the engagement of Jennifer and Daniel. It was a blast! More of a mini high school reunion of sorts, but fun none the less. Enjoy the pics...
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Pep Rally Pics
Here are a few more pics of Ethan and the Pep Rally. He was having a BLAST! He kept trying to conduct the band just like Caleb and Katie...
Another crazy couple of weeks...
Well time flies by as usual! We have been having so much fun. We went with Mimi and Pop to visit Grandpa in Rockwall, and see all of the cool plants and flowers in his backyard. Ethan loved picking up and "collecting" all the pretty rocks. Then we got to welcome a new friend to the USA. Katrin will be joining our extended family for 10 months all the way from Germany. We had a big welcome to America party and Anya (who is also from Germany and is one of our friends from Andy's work) and Jacob(her husband) came too! On Sunday we went to Joe Pool lake with "Unc" and Cari for a fun time swimming with the "ishes". Then on Monday we went to the Red Oak 2008 Pep Rally and got to see Auntie Hannah play in the band. (They are amazing by the way!!!!)Also, today our good friend Jennifer(also from andy's work) had a beautiful little baby girl, Madelyn Paige. I hope to have pics of her and Ethan up very soon! We hope all of you had just as much fun as we did! Hope to see you all soon!
Love,
ABE
Love,
ABE
Friday, August 15, 2008
Another fun evening at the DMA
Well guys, what another exciting week! We had a blast tonight at the Dallas Museum of Art Late Nights Gala. We were there from 6:00pm to 10:00pm and Ethan loved EVERY minute!! There was a 1920's style Jazz Band in the Main Foyer with Dancing and singing, it was so delightful and fun! Ethan had fun telling us about all of the colors in the artwork. Blue Momma Blue, Orange Nana Orange, it was so adorable! He started speaking in sentences this week, so that has made life very exciting, you never know what he is going to say next. He loves to say Momma (or Nana),I go to see Hannah at school? Meaning... Can we go see Hannah and the band play up at the high school and... Momma, Nana's house almost??. He is counting more and more, and loves to sing his ABC's. He can also sing, Twinkle, Twinkle, Little star and Deep and Wide. He is growing so fast, it is hard to believe!!! He is such the charmer too, he was waving hello and goodbye to every single girl/woman we saw at the Museum tonight and blowing them kisses... He had the ladies fawning all over him... What a goofy kid! All in All, if you ever get the opportunity to go out to the DMA for another Late Nights event, then please go, it is such an amazing experience for all ages.
Also, on another note... Andrew was asked to be a contributing writer for the American Institute of Architects Magazine, thanks to a nomination by Raymond. His first article is due October 24, and will be published in the January 2009 Issue. We are so proud of him, what an honor!
Well, it is getting late and I am exhausted from a long and busy week!
Hope to see you all soon!
Love,
ABE
Also, on another note... Andrew was asked to be a contributing writer for the American Institute of Architects Magazine, thanks to a nomination by Raymond. His first article is due October 24, and will be published in the January 2009 Issue. We are so proud of him, what an honor!
Well, it is getting late and I am exhausted from a long and busy week!
Hope to see you all soon!
Love,
ABE
Friday, August 8, 2008
FYI
Just a quick note, Ethan is not sitting in Dirty water in those pictures of him in the tub, he is in an oatmeal bath...
I have had several people ask me, so I thought I would let you know :)
See ya!
B
I have had several people ask me, so I thought I would let you know :)
See ya!
B
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
New Blog and Vacation
Alrighty guys...
Here is the new location of our Family Blog. I had issues with the other site. Please enjoy all the fun family photos! We look forward to seeing you all soon.
Houston Update:
Well we have survived the Tropical Storm Edouard. It wasnt so bad after all, and actually it is still raining pretty hard. None of the Museums we were supposed to go to today are open due to the weather, so we are hoping to check them out tomorrow. Today we drove around an saw Rice University, Lupe Tortilla, and the Rothko Chapel. Last night we had an awesome dinner at Yia,Yia Mary's absolutely amazing GREEK food. We went with Micah and Lara and had a Great time!
Love you all!
ABE
Here is the new location of our Family Blog. I had issues with the other site. Please enjoy all the fun family photos! We look forward to seeing you all soon.
Houston Update:
Well we have survived the Tropical Storm Edouard. It wasnt so bad after all, and actually it is still raining pretty hard. None of the Museums we were supposed to go to today are open due to the weather, so we are hoping to check them out tomorrow. Today we drove around an saw Rice University, Lupe Tortilla, and the Rothko Chapel. Last night we had an awesome dinner at Yia,Yia Mary's absolutely amazing GREEK food. We went with Micah and Lara and had a Great time!
Love you all!
ABE
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