BIG Announcement.... a month late

Ethan Christopher Reker is here. He was born on October 5th at 7:34 pm. He weighed 8 lb and 12 oz. Big boy! And 20 in long.

He's had a rough start. At first he had jaundice which isn't a huge deal but we had to go for blood draws everyday for seven straight days. Two days after finishing the blood draws he spiked a fever of 102. We rushed to the ER. Our poor 10 day old baby was poked and prodded. They even did a spinal tap on him. It was heartbreaking to watch. We were taken to CHOA where we spent three days. He was diagnosed with viral meningitis. No one is sure how he got it but any germ he came into contact with could have caused the virus. I thought it was smooth sailing after that but unfortunately he has an ear infection now. Poor boy has been through enough!

Ethan is a trooper. He barely cries and is just a chill little guy. We love him so much. Graham especially! We are happy big brother is so loving. Only once has he tried to sling slot Ethan out of his bouncy chair;)

Without further ado here is our little man.

Summer is over but we had SO much fun!

Our summer is over:( We had so much fun that I forgot to blog. Here are the highlights or at least the ones I can remember. We did so many cool things I am bound to forget something.

• playdates... lots and lots of playdates.


• summer Olympics with the neighbors.


• swimming almost every single day. G is an expert at jumping in. He is a fish.


• several trips to the lake.


• a beach trip to Hilton Head.


• cousin visits


• obession with "goats" (boats). I mean really obessed with boats. He constantly asks for MORE BOATS!


• library time on Wednesdays


• lots of playing at the shady park. It's his fave especially the swings.


• learning to ride his trike.


• learning to ride a scooter. He does really well for a little guy.


• GOLF, GOLF, and more GOLF


• baseball


• a trip to the zoo with Daddy.


• eating bagels on the weekends with mommy and daddy. It is becoming a tradition.


• learning to dip all his food in his favorite condiment... ketchup.


• reading Five Little Monkeys over and over and over again.


• "loloring"(coloring) which consists of Graham telling us what to color.


• and lots and lots of Momma and Da time.

I wish summer could last forever!

Sprinkler Fun

The grass sprinklers have become a huge hit in the evenings at our house. Graham always wants his "Da" to turn on the sprinklers so he can cool off. Here are a couple of pics from the other night.

He is signing "more" sprinklers after Chris turned them off.

Ahhhh so much fun!

Bolt down the furniture

It is official, I am outnumbered! Graham is going to be a big brother in October. Baby brother is due October 11th. We are very excited. Not sure how thrilled Graham will be once his brother arrives but I am optimistic that he will be a fabulous big brother!
Guess I have to come up with a new name for the blog.

New Pictures

My dear friend Caryn at Caryn Oxford Photography has taken almost our professional pictures. She is amazing. Here are some of my favorites pics she took recently. Graham is 19 months in these pics. Such a big boy now.

One day I will be as big as Daddy.

Beach!

We made our second beach trip to Hilton Head to visit Gigi and Papa for Easter weekend. Graham's first beach trip was right before he turned one last September. He liked the beach but not the water. This time around was completely different. He was hesitant at first but it didn't take long for him to warm up to the waves. He would run straight into the wave and yell as loud as he could. It was like he was yelling, "Bring it one waves. I am not afraid of you." We had the best time watching him play in the water. The pure joy in his eyes as he ran around was so refreshing. You can see the excitement in this picture.

He wasn't thrilled with sitting in the sand. This was the best picture we could get with the "Graham 2011."

G never looks at the camera. I guess he is camera shy.

Papa took this picture before Graham "warmed" up to the waves.