Riverdance

In case you were not aware, Ethan has been taking Irish step dancing lessons since he was born. I thought I would share his talent.

He's a little shy to share his talent, hence he needed some prodding throughout the taping. It's a little long....and yes, I know he spit up and I didn't immediately wipe it up but I didn't want to interrupt his creative process.

Favorite pictures

Here are a few of my current favorite pictures of Ethan...

He's so much fun!

Sunday evening fun

Ladies and Gentlemen...I present to you the Spence Family in "I Like to Move it".

And the out take...

"Beef Gumbo"

My mother is a great cook. Every once in a while, she tries a new recipe and it's usually a great hit. However...years ago, she made something called "Beef Gumbo". All I can say is, not a hit. In fact, I'm not sure we actually finished eating it because every single family member hated it. It became sort of a family joke.

Dave says that I am a great cook. Every once in a while, I try a new recipe and it's usually a great hit. However...a few days ago, I made something called "Samosas". All I can say is, not a hit. Dave gamely and cheerfully ate it, all the while assuring me that it was a cool dinner and telling me to stop being so critical of myself (since I knew it was bad). Finally, Dave admitted the truth...it was not the best dinner I had ever made. He never criticizes food, so that means that it was pretty terrible. This will forever be my "Beef Gumbo" moment.

Here's what the Samosas were supposed to look like:

And here's what they actually looked like:

So sad.

Note to any cooks who didn't know this...don't ever try to defrost refridgerated piecrust in the microwave. It doesn't work...

Dorks

Now that we are parents, Dave and I have morphed into dorks. As an example, check out what we spent a whole half hour doing last night.

Does he look more like Dave?

Or like me?

And then...we tried to take a family picture using the timer. It took several tries...we desperately needed Brad's expert picture-setting-up skills!

No more snow days

I used to be a teacher. That means I used to have a day off when there was snow or ice or (anywhere below the Mason-Dixon line), it was just plain cold.

Now I'm a stay-at-home mom. Don't get me wrong, I'm really glad I can stay home with Ethan. In addition to cooking and cleaning, I do actually like finding random tasks to accomplish, like reorganizing my closets for the tenth time, polishing shoes, hemming pants, ironing and starching Dave's shirts, filing papers, cleaning out dresser and desk drawers, labeling photos in my photo albums, etc. However, today it was snowing, and I really missed the days when I could lounge around in my fleece pants and sweatshirt, sip coffee and watch TLC all day. No day off for me! So today I snuck in a few guilty pleasures to remind me of those days...one extra cup of coffee, a nap, and a crossword puzzle while watching Oprah make over "Schlumpadinka" moms, which, by the way, I will never become. And yes, I will have dinner ready and laundry done like the good housewife that I am.

Bath time

In the beginning, when we gave Ethan a bath, he screamed his head off. Bathing an infant is sort of like cleaning a slippery lizard; they are just tiny and flailing and you do it very gingerly. Eventually, he stopped crying and just sat quietly in the bathtub. I had read that around now, babies start liking bathtime, and I couldn't discern any appearance of enjoyment, just total indifference. However, Dr. Schiavone told me that we could lay him down in the tub in an inch or so of water and let him splash around. We tried it, and this was his reaction:



I think he likes it now!

P.S. The washcloth is there out of respect for Ethan's keen sense of modesty. (Courtesy of Daddy) I think he sort of looks like one of those Renaissance paintings where the figures all have fig leaves carefully placed.

Immunizations

Ok, I know I'm saving my child from all sorts of horrendous diseases, but the whole immunization experience is just gut-renching and sad. You lay your child partially clothed onto the pediatricians table like you're offering a sacrifice. He smiles trustingly at you and coos blissfully while gazing up at the person who comforts him and protects him from pain. The nurse enters bearing a tray with three syringes laid out in order. She opens two bandaids in anticipation of the blood that will be spilt. She then tells you to "Hold him down good" so you gently grasp his hands and hold them over this chest, all while whispering that "Nothing is wrong...it will be ok." His smile changes to a look of confusion and then he breaks out screaming bloody murder as the pain hits. Why would anyone do this to him? Finally, the shots are over, bandaids are applied and you quickly pick him up and hold him tight. His hands grab your shirt and he presses his face into your shoulder, still while screaming. Finally, he calms enough to be placed into his carseat, but continues whimpering and moaning. He whimpers and moans while you make an appointment for more torture in 2 months. He whimpers and moans while you put him in the car, then falls asleep. Actually, he sort of whimpers and moans for the whole rest of the day. And when you hold him...he looks like this:

The good information that comes from this visit is that he is healthy, weights 11lbs 8oz, is 23 1/2 inches in length and is in the 23rd and 25th percentile, respectively.

First Entry

This will now be the third blogging type site I have tried. It seems like I have various family and friends on all different blogging sites, so I have to keep signing up for all of them so that we're all connected in some way. First I tried Xanga because my sister was on it, but no one else I know is. Then I thought about myspace, but it's too hard to find anyone since everyone has these fancy-schmancy screen names. Finally, I found Facebook, which is a lot of fun, but I seem to still be missing people. I realized today when reading my sister-in-law's blog, that they never see pictures of Ethan because I forget that they aren't on the other blog sites. It also seems that each blogging type site has various features; Facebook is better for chatting with friends but not so good for the blogging thing. Anyway, here I am...as if I needed another computer activity to obsess about...