It's finally here!

Today was the last day of Ethan's music class for the summer.  Classes will resume again in September.  This time, we signed up for Friday classes 10:00am.  The 9:00am classes are just too early for us.  I always feel like we are rushing to get out the door.  Although, we are probably always rushing no matter what time it is.  LOL.  I always seem to forget that it takes twice as long to get ready with a toddler around.  Hopefully, the later class will work better for us though.  We shall see!  Here are some pictures from class today.

So the big news of the day is... my sewing machine arrived!  Yay!  I was so excited.  I have taken it out of the box, but have not tried to operate it yet.  I want to read the manual a little bit before I even touch it!  However, it will be so hard to expore the machine with Ethan around during the day tomorrow.  I'll probably end up going back to Joann Fabrics again tomorrow to get some materials to work on.  I can't believe I will finally begin my sewing adventure. I know, I'm a little dorky, but I'm so excited!  Here are some pictures of Ethan on the sewing machine box.  He climbed up on it all by himself.  I guess he was just as excited too!  He's so adorable!!

I'll let you know how tomorrow goes with my new "toy"!  I'm off to a late dinner now!

Good night!

♥ Jen

Bye-bye Jumperoo!

Well, the Jumperoo finally sold!  Ethan kept playing with it as I showed off some of its features to the buyer when she came over.  And surprisingly, he didn't appear too sad when she took it away!  However, I will miss it dearly.  *sniff*  This jumperoo gave us many fond memories of Ethan's early infant life.  Ethan loved, loved, loved it when we first got it for him.  He was a cute little jumper for sure!  At least we got him jumping in it on video.  So, moving on...

Bye-bye Jumperoo!

My husband had the day off today, so we went to the Tanger Outlets in Howell, MI.  It was our first time there.  Pretty average and standard as far as outlets go.  We did pick up a few things for ourselves though :)  I think Ethan found the shopping boring as he whined quite a bit, so we let him roam free (from the stroller) in a few stores.  Luckily, every store was nearly empty.  That's the great thing about shopping on a Monday.  We also put him on a couple of coin-operated rides, which he didn't really like.  These days, Ethan is either hit or miss with everything!  Things that he used to like may not appeal to him anymore.  This goes for toys, books, food... everything!  He's beginning to get very picky.  I hope this is just a normal toddler phase that will dissipate.

Ethan on a Thomas the Train ride

We have music class early tomorrow morning, so I better get some rest now.

Good night!

♥ Jen

Happy Monday

Good morning! 

We had a long day yesterday and I was too exhausted to post last night.  So our jumperoo didn't sell after all.  The woman wanted something more "new looking".  Well, maybe she should just go out and buy a new one then!

I took Ethan to a free "Dancing with Babies" class held at the Traverwood Library yesterday.  It was hosted by Robin Robinson, who teaches the Music Together class that Ethan is currently enrolled in.  Ethan just loves his music classes.  He's been taking them since he was 3-months-old.  It's so amazing to watch him grow through all the classes.  He first started out just laying on the floor with me hovered over him singing and playing instruments to him.  Now, he is so mobile, dancing to the music and playing instruments by himself.  And it all happens so fast!  Too fast! 

We saw a friend at the library and ended up staying there for a couple hours to let our toddlers play.  I love that there is a "playroom" and toys available for them to play with.  I ended up leaving with two sewing books.  :)

Time to put Ethan down for a nap.  Will update later!

♥ Jen

Sewing Machine

Saturday night update:

So an hour after posting Ethan's jumperoo on Craigslist, someone reponded with interest.  Yay!  She will be coming over to purchase and pick it up tomorrow evening.  Hopefully, she will still be interested after seeing it in person.  Will let you know tomorrow!

And in other wonderful news, I finally decided on a sewing machine (thanks to http://www.sewing-machines-for-beginners.com/).  Normally, it would take me weeks, or even months, to decide on a purchase, only to change my mind shortly after.  This is mainly because I am constantly looking for the "right" item; always thinking that there is something better than what I have.  Does that make sense?  Hence, my undecidability.  Such a bad, bad habit.  Anyway, I decidedly pretty quickly after browing the comparison section of the above-mentioned website.

So, I made the big purchase on Amazon.com tonight!  I feel really good about my my decision and purchase.  And even better, I received free 2-day shipping with Amazon Prime, so my order is expected to arrive on August 10.  I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am!  I know that I will need to eventually purchase other items to begin my sewing adventure, but at least I got the main piece out of the way.

This is the sewing machine I purchased.  It's the Brother CP-7500 sewing machine.  $169.99 on Amazon.

I'm already planning all the goods that I will sew for my little Ethan!  I also ordered a book titled, "Simple Sewing for Baby" by Lotta Jansdotter.  She has such cute ideas and I can't wait to make everything from the book.  Or should I say, "attempt to make".  :)

Anyway, I am off to bed now!  I should probably get some shut-eye before Ethan wakes up.

♥ Jen

Weekend is here...

Happy Saturday!  Early morning for us today.  We had to rise early to follow my husband to a truck parts shop.  He needed to drop off his truck to get it lowered, so we followed him so that he can ride back home with us.  Guy thing, I guess.  It was all good though, because we stopped by at Starbucks after, and also went by Joann Fabrics, which was also in the area.

I wanted to look at the sewing machines in Joann Fabrics.  I had been researching sewing machines for the longest time now.  I have always wanted to sew (well, learn to sew) but just never had the time nor opportunity to start.  Initially, I wanted a Brother sewing machine, since this is the brand that the contestants use on Project Runway.  But I've also looked into Singer since all the old-school people have told me that this brand has been around since forever.  I spoke with a seasoned old-timer at Joann Fabrics today while browsing their selection of sewing machines.  She told me that she had her Singer machine since 1975 and it finally broke yesterday, so she was hunting for a new one.  She also mentioned that they don't make them like they used to, meaning they used to be much more sturdier.  Well, times have changed, and technology is at its peak now, so I guess the manufacturers are more focused on that aspect.  This is just my theory!  :)

By the way, I just LOVE Joann Fabrics.  I felt like I was in heaven when I entered the store.  I just love being surrounded by all the arts and crafty things.  I seriously can't wait to begin my sewing adventure!  But I know that choosing the perfect beginner sewing machine is important. 

UPDATE:  I just stumbled upon this website:  http://www.sewing-machines-for-beginners.com/.  Seems like a great site for researching my first sewing machine.  I'm off to review it now!  :)

In other news, I am having a Craiglist yard sale, since we aren't allowed to have yard sales at our condo.  In general, I hate parting anything, whether a person, a place, or tangible objects.  I have successfully posted Ethan's Rainforest Jumperoo and Cradle Swing (both made by Fisher-Price) on Craigslist-Ann Arbor.  Let's see what happens!

♥ Jen

Long day...

What a long day it was for us today.  It was long, but nice.  Ethan fell asleep very quickly tonight.  He was too exhausted from all the activities, even though he had two naps today.  I hope he sleeps well tonight as he did last night.  He slept from 8pm until 6am yesterday, and didn't wake up once in the middle of the night.  That was actually the first time he's done that (as a toddler, that is)!

Ethan now sleeps on a toddler air bed that we purchased for him to use last weekend in the hotel we stayed at in Holland, MI.  When I purchased it, I knew that it would be his "regular" everyday bed, but I also liked the convenience of taking it anywhere with us for travel.  Reviews also stated that it was a good transition bed to a real toddler bed.  Ethan had slept on an adult queen-sized air mattress prior to this bed, so I knew this toddler air bed would be a much better alternative.  Anyway, he's been waking up very silently these days, and actually gets out of bed on his own, like a big boy!  I'm not sure if this is a good thing or a bad one?  After all, he is only 14 months old.  I'm more worried about his safety than anything else.  But he always comes to find me after he wakes up, so as of now, it can't really be that harmful.  Right?  More discussion on this topic at a later time.

We had two playdates today.  One at a friend's home, and the other at a park with another friend we hadn't seen in a long time.  It was a fun day.  However, I noticed that Ethan has become very territorial with his belongings, and even things that aren't exactly his but in his possession.  I took out a can of his favorite Gerber crunchies for him to snack on, and his friend, Dave, came by to get a crunchie too.  Well, Ethan grabbed the can quickly before Dave could get to it, and began to scream (not in a mean way, but more like "no, you can't have it because it's mine!").  And he even does it with toys too.  If he's playing with the toy, he won't share it with anyone else. 

Apparently, his friend, Elliott, is the same way.  I had a discussion with his mom about that today at the park.  So crazy how these little toddlers have similar manners.  I'm glad it's sort of "normal" though, in that it is not just Ethan who is acting this way.  I'm hoping that this is just another phase that toddler's go through, and not a potential tendency for bullying.  Ethan has also started to throw fits, at home and in public places, if he doesn't get what he wants, or is frustrated that I don't know what he wants.  He stomps his little feet and starts to whine and cry and scream.  I will admit that the stomping of the feet is kind of cute, but not the vocal part.  I actually need to get one of these episodes on tape!

And here are a couple pictures of my little man at the park today:



Anyway, I need to retire for the night now, as I am just as exhausted as Ethan is.  Let's cross our fingers that Ethan sleeps well through the night tonight again!

♥ Jen





Eggs

Ethan had a hard-boiled egg for the first time today.  I read in Super Baby Foods that eggs (egg yolks in particular) are really good for babies, so I was so excited to feed it to him.  He was initially thrilled to see the egg, as it was a new food for him.  I crumbled up the yolk into small pieces and gave him one.  He seemed to like it at first, then looked unsure after playing around with it in his mouth for a bit.  LOL.  At least he ate some!  I will try again this weekend.  He did, however, like the egg whites.  He kept picking up the whites from the plate and shook his head "no" whenever I tried to put his little fingers on the yolk.  Haha. 

Today was pretty slow.  We didn't do much.  We stayed in the house all day, which made the day seem long and dragging.  I'm making a mental note to try and plan something everyday, even if it's just a walk to the park.  My plan to clean didn't go well either.  I find it is always hard to do any adult-like tasks when Ethan is awake.  He just gets in the way, and I lose focus on the task at hand.  He seems to always need attention whenever it is just the two of us together at home.  I guess that's natural.  I can't really complain though -- I wouldn't want it the other way around!  He will always be my little munchkin.  :) 

We have a playdate tomorrow with some friends, so we will definitely leave the house.  I'm sure Ethan will enjoy playing with someone other than me too. 

11 more days until my family comes to visit!

Good night!

♥ Jen

More Flash Cards...

And so my obsession with flash cards continue... I took Ethan to Barnes & Noble today to browse the children's book selection and to buy myself a coffee from their cafe.  Ethan loved to roam around the sales floor and through the book aisles.  He was actually pretty rampant today. 

Anyway, I came across the flash cards section, and saw that they carried the same ones I purchased from T.J. Maxx yesterday, at full price of course.  They were $9.99 each.  Not too bad.  They had the "First Words" and "Things that Go" sets, so I had to get them.  Yes, I had to! 

The brand is DK and they make very cute, fun, educational board books too.

I went through the cards with Ethan when I got home, and he enjoyed looking at them.  He knows many of the objects by now, but sometimes has a focus issue when many cards are presented to him all at once.  For instance, if I show him four cards and and ask him to point to a specfic one, he will just point at any of the cards.  Of couse this doesn't happen all the time, only when he doesn't feel like focusing, I suspect.  So I like to show him each card individually so that he can really soak in each object.  The words are probably too advanced for him right now, but at least he gets the exposure to them on the cards.

But ok, I think I'm done with flash cards for now!  Ethan has enough to keep him busy in the coming months!

In other news, I found out that Yo Gabba Gabba was coming to town (Detroit) in September.  My little munchkin LOVES that show, so you can imagine my excitement when I saw the ad for it!  I'm a little ashamed to say this, but Ethan has been watching the show for quite some time now (I won't say when we started!) and he has always been fascinated by the characters, songs, and dances.  Anyway, I just purchased two tickets!  One for my husband and one for me.  I am assuming Ethan will be free since he will be sitting on our laps!  I hope this is the case.  I think it is silly to purchase another seat since he won't be able to sit alone.  I guess we will just have to see!  I don't think they can turn away this cute little dude at the door.  I can't wait to take Ethan to the theater!

On another topic, my parents, sister, and nephew will be visiting us in 12 days!  Yay!  I'm so excited.  And so the countdown begins.  We have so much cleaning around the house to do in the interim.  Our guest room/office is in shambles.  We have been using it as a storage room for the past few months.  Tomorrow may just be a cleaning day for me.  Sigh.

Good night!

♥ Jen

Flash Cards

Today was a pretty productive day.  I find that if I leave the house early in the morning, I get more done, and I actually feel like I had a wholesome day.  Ethan had a music class today at 9:00am, so that was the drive that got me going this morning!  Perhaps I should schedule more events in the morning? 

I bought Ethan three boxes of flash cards today -- one set on animals, another set on numbers, and the last set on basic words.  One of the boxes stated the cards were appropriate for ages 5 and up.  I chuckled when I saw that and purchased it anyway.  I figure it can't hurt.  I was originally looking into the "Your Baby Can Read" program, but later felt that maybe flash cards and books can do the same.  I decided to try it.

We signed up for a study at the University of Michigan called "Ready to Read".  I found out last week that they split the group of babies in half by random selection, and one group gets some materials (flash cards and books) to help them learn to read, while the other (control) group gets nothing.  A friend's baby received the materials (which looked really cool), and we received nothing.  I then later confirmed with the project director that Ethan is, indeed, in the control group.  Oh well.  I got so excited for a moment there when I saw the amazing materials.  I immediately imagined myself going through all the materials with Ethan. 

Ethan's interest in books had gradually receded within a matter of months.  Well, I should actually say that he lost interest in reading books with me.  He is definitely still interested in books themselves -- he loves to throw all his books off the bookshelf and also flipping through the pages.  Hence, I am always trying to find ways to deepen that interest again.  At least get him interested in learning more. 

So, since I was already obsessed with learning materials for Ethan for a while now, I tried to make him some flash cards, which didn't really go over so well.  We have a really small printer that uses up ink pretty quickly.  The ink on the paper also appeared very dull looking.  So then I was on a quest to search for some simple, basic flash cards.  All I wanted was an image and the corresponding word on the card.  That's all.  I looked at some cards at a few fancy toy boutiques.  And all I found were some overpriced cards with too much stuff on them. 

I went to T.J. Maxx today and found two sets for $6.99 each.  Bargain price!  And, they were exactly what I was looking for.  Simple.  Very simple.  And Ethan seemed to like them as well. 

I then stopped by at a toy boutique near T.J. Maxx, and came across another set of flash cards that I could not resist getting.  These were simple cards as well.  This is the set that is geared for children ages 5 and up.  LOL. 

When I was finally able to open the package at home, I was very pleased with the purchase.  They were exactly what I was looking for.  OK, well not exactly.  All the pictures were very cartoon-ish, and I would have preferred some real images, but simplicity of the form was exactly what I was looking for.  Oh, and the price was also $6.99.  Good price in my book.  And surprisingly, Ethan kept his focus as we went through each of the cards. 

So flash cards are now off my to-do list!  ☺

In other good news, Ethan fell asleep so quickly tonight.  I usually rock him, or rub his back for at least a half hour before he falls asleep, and I can leave him.  Tonight, it only took 5 minutes.  I think it was due to his one nap he had today, and lots of pasta for dinner.  Haha. 

In more news, I posted a listing on eBay selling a pair of Ethan's shoes a few hours ago.  Two hours later, someone purchased it!  That made my day.  Really, it did!  So I'm now off to write a thank you note and package the shoes up in a box for delivery tomorrow. 

Good night!

♥ Jen

Introduction

Hello there!  I am very proud of myself for finally starting a blog!  Yay!!!

I guess I should first introduce myself.  I am a first time mommy to my sweet 14-month-old boy, Ethan.  This little munchkin means the world to me.  Honestly, I never really knew or felt such unconditional love until I had him.  My experience so far has been amazing.  Of course there are many exhausting, stressful, and frustrating times, but life with Ethan has been generally fulfilling.  I couldn't imagine life without him now.

I am a stay-at-home mom and loving every bit of it.  It wasn't supposed to last this long.  Three months of staying at home turned into six months.  And six months turned into nine months.  Then nine months came... and, well, I think you get it.  Here I am today, at 14 months, still at home with my little peanut.  And I must admit, I truly LOVE it.  I never imagined I'd feel this way though.  I was an extreme workaholic slaving away an average of 60 hours per week at a law firm in Boston before we moved here to Ann Arbor and had Ethan.  And I honestly enjoyed that life once upon a time.  But having Ethan has changed my priorities in life tremendously. 

My husband is an Air Force Officer and is assigned here in Ann Arbor, MI as a ROTC intructor for the University of Michigan for three years.  Our three years here will end the summer of 2012.  One more year left exactly.  Then, off to some other location unknown to us at the moment.  This was the first time I'd ever moved with my husband so the transition was a bit rough for me.  I had to leave my family and friends for the first time in my 30 years (yes, I'm old) of life.  Yes, I had lived in Boston for 30 years!  Crazy, huh?  So naturally, I am very close to my parents and sister, and talk to them everyday.  But the phone isn't the same as the personal contact I used to have with them.  We are still close, but it's so hard to keep that same, exact bond we once had.  I am really hoping that we move back there for my husband's next assignment.  I can only cross my fingers right now!

Anyway, I hope that is a good, brief start.  I am taking Ethan to music class in the morning, so off to bed I go! 

♥ Jen