Happy New Year...

Ethan has been having a blast lately and it really shows. He is saying more and more words every day. His newest are "yogurt" ("Yach"), "glasses" ("Gach"), "Ach" - which means 'again', "Bus" - which he never stops saying (literally everything is a bus!).

All else is well. Mom and Dad are working hard and just still trying to get the kid to eat anything other than chicken nuggets, meatballs and crackers :) I guess it's a little better than that, but still not great. Yesterday he took a bite of a carrot stick so we're getting somewhere (of course he didn't swallow it, but a bite is a bite!).

Enjoy the recent pics from the Children's Museum and some cute ones at home.

Must have gotten his rhythm from his mom

Check out this video :)

Summer in SF

We've had some amazing weather here -- it's our Indian summer and Ethan has been loving it. We went swimming at a friend's house and a public pool outdoors and went to the beach. He's a real California boy! Enjoy the pics and I'll post more from this weekend hopefully tomorrow.

Click here for the recent pictures.

PS - Glad our Houston family is safe!

It's been a while!

I promise (this time I really mean it) to start posting more, but things have been quite busy in the Walter household.

Ethan is fully running around and very hard to keep up with these days. We're having a lot of fun with him though. He's saying more and more words and really taking in life every day. It's so much fun to watch him see something for the first time. We took him camping last weekend and he loved being outside so much. He really is an outdoorsy kid - which we love! He ran around the campsite and hiked up hills while other kids sat stationary and played. Ben and I got a workout just chasing him all weekend.

He also enjoyed Tahoe with Ben's family. We went swimming, hiking (not me with my broken ankle), and exploring. He spent time on the beach and loved playing in the sand - only dry sand, of course. He discovered that ping pong is his new favorite sport, just second to basketball. We really have to invest in a ping pong paddle and ball for him soon.

We're looking forward to our trip to Baltimore over Labor Day to see the rest of his family. For now, enjoy the pics of our recent adventures and stay tuned for more to come! Click here for recent pics.

Sneak preview of camping pics

Ethan Walter - nature lover, hiker

My 2nd 1st Birthday Party

Not much time to write, but we had a great weekend with lots of time with friends. On Sat. we had our playgroup's first birthday party at a local park. The kids had a lot of fun and everyone was impressed with Ethan's mobility (and his soccer skills - you can see him kicking the ball in this picture).



The day included many great photo opps with the sun shining and Ethan in a photogenic red t-shirt! We then went to a bbq at Ethan's friend Sam's new house. Got a few shots of Ethan hanging out with Noah and Sam. It was definitely a fun-filled day. We also took Ethan swimming yesterday and realized we need to do it more often...He was a bit hesitant at first, but eventually got into it and had fun.

Enjoy the pics from the parties. We got some great ones.

Funny Video

This is a cute video of Roman cracking Ethan up!

Happy 1st Birthday!

It's finally here - the birthday post (and only 1 week late, but I totally get an excuse with a broken ankle).

We had a great time with Mom-Mom and Saba & Safta. The party was fun and Ethan had a blast - didn't even melt down, which surprised us. Of course, our picky eater (to say the least) wanted nothing to do with the birthday cake. He was much happier playing away with his toys and showing his friends all of his cool trucks and cars. He did enjoy his birthday blueberry muffin -- oh well, there's always time for cake next year. Enjoy the pics below and click here for more fun pics from the b-day weekend.

I'll be back to posting weekly now that my ankle is on the mend.

Walking!

Check him out!

Congrats to 'Uncle' Brian

Ethan was a rock-star traveler on our recent trip to Cincinnati to see Brian be ordained as Rabbi Stoller. We also got to see Steph, Kevin and Gabi, and of course Saba and Safta. Ethan had fun playing with Gabi...unfortunately he didn't get to taste any Graeter's ice cream, but mom and dad had some.

He's starting to walk more and more every day now and we think he'll be off and running when everyone is here for his big b-day...coming up! He can't wait (we just hope he'll eat a cupcake!).

Click here to see some recent pics I just uploaded.

Memorial Day Weekend Hike

Our first big family hike was a blast. We hiked about 5 miles and (as you can see) both mom and dad shared the duty of carrying Ethan. He had fun in the backpack and also when we stopped for lunch. We definitely have an outdoor baby...and we're really happy about it!

Still Having Fun

I'm so sorry for the delay in posting. Hopefully this cute picture of Ethan will make up for it! We've had some fun the past few weeks: hanging with playgroup friends, going for a hike, and surviving Ethan's first SF heatwave. You can see some cute pics of him in shorts here.

I will post the hiking pictures tonight and update the blog again - I promise. Enjoy these pics first though.

Fun-filled Weekend

Ethan had a great weekend (Friday & Saturday with just mom and then Sunday with mom and dad). Lots of time outside at the playground, hanging with Sam, eating (yes, eating!), swimming, and his first trip to the Discovery Museum. He will be a regular soon and we can tell he's going to love it.

Got some great shots - click here to see them. You can tell how much fun he had at the museum (As you can see, he also met some friends!). He's also having more fun with his toys at home - exploring and learning. Tried to get some good shots of that as well. Also, I have to admit, he's really starting to look more like me in these pictures than ever... Enjoy!

Here I Go (Part Two)

Check me out -- I love the push toy Mom-Mom got me! I'm getting pretty good at walking with it...won't be long!

Happy Passover

Ethan had so much fun visiting his family and is such a lucky little boy! He enjoyed his first Passover seder and was even cooperative with his kippa on his head (didn't even seem to mind it!). Perhaps we have another budding Rabbi in the family...but, of course, he can be whatever he wants to be!

Here are a few pictures from Passover. When I get more pics from everyone else's camera, I'll upload everything and post.

Have a good week and I'll post more next week. Enjoy your matzo -- Ethan definitely is!

Quick Post

There are 2 new albums on Shutterfly. ("9 Months" and "9 Months 1 Week"). Click here.

Enjoy!


PS - Sorry for the lack of commentary but work is crazy for Mom and I know it's the pictures you love anyway.

Ethan's Fish Faces

Fun Weekend

Mommy is very busy at work, but wanted to quickly tell everyone about our weekend (which you can see in pictures). Ethan spent some time with his friend Sam on Friday and they actually seem to be finally acknowledging each other and playing together. It's very cute. On Saturday, we went for a sushi lunch and Ethan ate his sweet potatoes while mom and dad had some very spicy tuna rolls. On Sunday, we went for tacos at mom and dad's favorite taco place in Sausalito (combined with a trip to Babies R Us to stock up on Ethan's very expensive formula :)). Ethan had a blast there with the festive Mexican music and very colorful decorations - you can tell he was all over the place from the pictures. Then we went to a new playground in the Presidio that he really enjoyed. They had great little areas for him to play in the sand and it was a beautiful day. I even put him in his first car, but he proved he needed to be a bit older for that. Though you can tell he's a natural driver from the way he holds the steering wheel! Enjoy the pictures and stay tuned for some great shots from our trip to Tahoe this weekend!

Click here for the pictures.

Happy St. Patrick's Day (a bit late)

That shirt says "Kiss Me I'm Irish" and we added "Well at least my nanny is". Gillian got a kick out of it. It was worth the $4 t-shirt.

My New Favorite Activity

So, Ethan's new favorite thing to do is look out the window. Any window will do, but the front window in his playroom is his favorite. He'll literally stand there for 15 mins. and bang and wave and talk and dance. It's very cute. Most of the pictures in this new batch are at a window - hence the bad lighting, etc.

We've had some fun over the last few weeks - lots of time with friends. Ethan has more friends than his mom & dad!

Nothing much else is new. Still trying to get some food into the kid, but it's getting better. He's getting to be quite the quick crawler and pulls up on just about anything (including his crib in the middle of the night).

Looking forward to Tahoe in a few weeks and then our big trip a few weeks after that. Ethan can't wait to see all of his grandparents, aunts, uncles, great-grandma, and cousins Joey & Ryan. Oh - and CJ, too!

Here are some new pics. Enjoy!

Who Put This Gate Here?

Well, we finally put the gate up and as you can see from this picture, not a moment too soon!

Ethan is crawling everywhere...and fast. He's had a great few weeks - learning to pull up (which he can't get enough of) and starting to eat a little again. No feeding clinic for our boy.

The weather is getting nice here and we're hoping to enjoy some time outside this weekend. I'll try to capture some good pictures. In the meantime, click here for some good shots. We're all looking forward to our trips out east and to Houston in about a month!

Here I Go!

Ethan learned how to crawl this weekend - perfect timing with Mom Mom's visit. He moves a bit more each day and is very melodramatic about it (would you expect any less from him?). His top 2 front teeth are also through -- he's really growing up!

Needless to say, I'm panicking about the childproofing we need to do and we'll try to have the gates up this weekend.

We had a great weekend with Mom-Mom and the weather was perfect. We're hoping for some more good weather this weekend when Grandpa, Grandma and Aunt Katie are here. Ethan is lucky to have such frequent fliers in his family...

Click here for some great shots of Ethan from the weekend. Thanks to Mom-Mom for being a great photographer!

Almost Crawling...

He's sooooooo close. Will definitely try to capture some video once it does happen. Other than that, not much else new. Awaiting family visits over the next few weeks. Ethan is excited!

Click here for some new pics.

Ethan's $20 Giraffe

It's a good thing he likes it - check out this video :)

Get Well Soon Daddy!

We had a pretty good weekend despite Ben's nasty flu. It's a bummer that he didn't get to enjoy his weekend, but we hope he's on the road to recovery. Ethan is up to some new tricks - lots of rolling and getting on all fours and rocking, but no crawling yet. We don't think it will be long, though. He also had another good swim lesson -- he really is a natural :)

Enjoy the picture and video below. Click here for some more cute ones.

Ethan for Obama 2008!

Ethan loves Obama. Check him out watching his SC victory speech.

New Video

Check out how hard it's getting to change Ethan's diaper!

Fun in Boulder

Ethan had a lot of fun in Boulder with Aunt Michel and Uncle Jason, and particularly with their dog Charlie. Admittedly, Ethan was a bit fussy all weekend and we think he might be on the path to his two top teeth...stay tuned.

Despite a little crankiness and the cold weather, we had a fun visit and owe Aunt Michel a big thank you for watching Ethan while Mom and Dad skied together. It was a perfect day for skiing, and I'm so glad we decided to go and that we came home in one piece. All in all, it was a good weekend -- quality time with family, exercise and some good food! What more could you ask for?

Ethan (and Mom and Dad) are looking forward to relaxing at home this weekend and can't wait for more family time with Mom-Mom and then Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Katie coming up. Sorry for not so many great pics, but Ethan kept us busy this weekend. Click here for a few good ones.

Happy New Year

Mom has been busy the past few weeks, but we've still done some fun things worth reporting. We had a good New Year's Eve with lots of Ethan's friends over (We had 6 babies/kids here ranging in age from 3 weeks to 2.5 years!). Most of the babies cooperated and the parents were able to eat a lot and have fun. Ethan has started swimming lessons and seems to be a pro already. He is fine when we put his whole face in the water which really impressed the teacher, and he hasn't cried once.

We're looking forward to some great upcoming weekends/photo opportunities. We're off to Boulder on Friday to visit Michelle & Jason and then a few weeks later Mom-Mom comes to SF and then Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Katie. Ethan can't wait to see everyone. In the meantime, here are some pics to hold you over. You can see how many I have to take to get just one smile!