"Time Square can't shine as bright as you"
This post can also be titled "Ethan is awesome." :)
Ethan is starting to talk more though he still doesn't say a lot. He loves letters and numbers. He can say the whole alphabet and count to 10. Some of the letters and numbers aren't quite clear, but we know what he's trying to say. The letter O is still his favorite; when he gets to it he gets louder and draws it out more. I'm guessing he likes them so much because of Sesame Street. He gets super excited when the letter and number of the day come on. I'm planning to do a Sesame Street birthday party for him, with a big Elmo cake, and maybe letter and number sugar cookies. It will probably be on May 17 if anyone wants to come. He also likes Wheel of Fortune (it has letters and clapping, what more could he want?). Brandon was a big Sesame Street kid who would say only letters and I apparently watched Wheel of Fortune a lot, so I'd say he's our kid. :)
Along with the alphabet, he has also started singing songs. One of his favorites is "Hey There Delilah." I have it on a mix cd and on the way home from Mardi Gras, he started singing part of the chorus. Instead of "Oh what you do to me" Ethan says "Ohhhh me" and he sings the Ohohoh part at the end too. When we get in the car he points at the CD player and says "Oh Me, Oh Me" until I play it. :) We have also taught him to like Jason Mraz. The first song on his latest album, "Make it Mine," has clapping in the middle and Ethan claps along. He also sings the EIEIEO part of "Old McDonald" and something close to "Row Row Row Your Boat." One song he can actually sing most of the words to is "C is for Cookie." We have a little music player book thing that plays that song and he knows how to make it play over and over.
One of his newest favorite words is apple. Anything that can be eaten and remotely looks like an apple is also an apple. We have oranges and apples in our fridge, both called apples. When we call an orange an orange, he insists "apple." :) The other day we ate at a Mexican restaurant and he called a jalapeno an apple. So far the only fruit that isn't an apple is a "nana."
Other funny stuff he does: He can reach into the silverware drawer and get out all the silverware. He loves getting out the spoons. We find spoons all over the house. The other day he had objects from 5 different rooms in his room, which included pillows, mixing bowls, trashcans, and toys. He loves cups with straws. If you get a drink with a straw, you better be willing to give him some or have one for him too. We bring a straw cup with us to restaurants now and fill it with water so he won't go nuts. He loves being in his crib. He will pull and push me to get up and follow him to put him in it. He'll stay in there for long periods of time just playing with his blankets and talking to himself. It worries me a little since we're planning to move him out of it after his birthday.
Ethan saying the letters that I wrote down the sidewalk.
Ethan sitting by our neighbor's flowers. The only reason he is sitting still and smiling at the same time is because I was getting him to count to ten.