Ethan's First Christmas

Ethan's first Christmas brought many blessings. Most notably for us, Ethan himself. Ong Noi and Ba Noi came to town to help us spoil the boys. Ethan is our little chunk of love. We were going to try to take the popular photos of "baby in a stocking" but E is just too darn big for that.

Unofficially, he's probably weighing in at about 15 or 16 pounds. He's nearly four months old and he's stretching his 6-9 month clothes. For Christmas, Ethan got a few more toys, some books, and a tray for his Bumbo chair.

Ethan is a very alert baby. He'll give you a smile without any prompting and he's generally a very laid back little guy. He doesn't take a nuk as much as his older brother did (or does). Ethan is still not very accepting of the bottle yet, but he seems to be taking it well at daycare. I haven't had much luck with administering a bottle myself. He much prefers bellying up to his mother's "bar".

Overall, we had a wonderful first Christmas with Ethan. We look forward to many more blessed Christmases to come.

Christmas 2008

Santa was good to Camden and his brother Ethan this Christmas. Ong Noi and Ba Noi came up to brave the cold Minnesota winter with us again this year. Although not fully aware of what Christmas means or how he can best benefit from the holiday, he certainly had fun unwrapping his gifts. He also enjoyed everyone else's gifts as well. He quickly latched onto Mommy's new running gloves and hat and paraded around the living room as if they belonged to him.

On Christmas Eve, the Slipkas came over with their kids (Jack, Charlie, and Lucy). They shared in a Sindt family tradition of ham and fugens (pronounced foo-jin). If you don't know, fugens are a kind of bread sort of like a dense pancake ball. We make them with raisins and chocolate chips.

On Christmas day, we woke up to a nice bounty of gifts under the tree. We opened our generous presents from family and friends and then we enjoyed a Nguyen family tradition which consists of a nice steaming hot bowl of phở. Phở is a traditional Vietnamese soup made with a beef broth and served with fresh herbs and slowly cooked beef. The broth takes about 5 hours to make, but it's so worth it and it makes about 12-14 servings. Camden seemed to enjoy it and even tried his hand at chopsticks...Rather "chopSTICK" in his case.

Camden and Ethan are the best Christmas gifts we've received in the past two Christmases. We truly feel blessed this holiday season and with the same for all of you. Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy [insert holiday here], and Happy New Year!

Camden prepares to tear into his presents.

Camden draws on his new truck book from Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tony.

Camden thinks his mommy's new hat and running gloves look better on him.

Camden and Ethan on Christmas morning.

Santa Baby

Winter Fun

Winter weather came hard and fast to Minneapolis this year. That doesn't put a damper on Camden and Ethan getting bundled up and enjoying the snow. Grandma and Grandpa Sindt came to town for a quick visit this weekend. They, of course, enjoyed some time with the boys while it allowed mommy and daddy some time to put up the Christmas tree and spread some holiday cheer.

"Hm. Not bad."

This reminds me of the kid in the "Christmas Story" all bundled up to go out and play.

Camden's smiley brother, Ethan.

A little taste of Christmas with Grandpa "Papa" and Grandma Sindt.

Enjoying the Chaos

Here's a quick post of a chaotic day in our household:

12:00 AM -- Camden's awake! Mommy performs a midnight diaper change and a little post midnight cuddle time.
12:30 AM -- A little shut eye for everyone.
3:15 AM -- Ethan's awake... hungry little man.
3:45 AM -- Ethan thinks it's play time... what a happy baby? Where's our sleepy man?
4:30 AM -- Ethan gets handed off from mommy to daddy.
5:15 AM -- Camden wakes for the day. A little more snuggle time with mommy.
6:00 AM -- Baby swap. Mom and E get a 30 minute nap while daddy and C get ready for daycare.
6:30 AM -- Snow Shoveling (daddy!).
7:00 AM -- Feed Ethan, Feed Camden.
7:30 AM -- Pack for daycare: Ethan's bottles, Camden's soy milk and snow pants, mom's pump, mom's computer, hats, mittens.... and more!
8:00 AM -- Out the door... late (but we're using the weather as an excuse).
8:15 AM -- Drop off: Coats off, Mittens off, Hat and scarves: check, check. Sign in, get Ethan out, get Camden into his breakfast chair (second breakfast of the day for him).
8:40 AM -- Finally, at work. Let the day begin!!!

So much fun, so little time! We were a little grumpy this morning but managed to overcome our sleepy states. The workday passed, for me anyway, in a blur. Then it was time to finish the day:

6:00 PM -- home late! (Daycare pick up took extra long to get out of the daycare door).
6:30 PM -- Soup's on. Literally... the microwave is broken. Healthy choice veggie soup was the selection for the evening.
7:00 PM -- Bath time. Camden first in the tub. Lots of play... while I managed to clip Ethan's fingernails.
7:30 PM -- Camden's prayers, books and nighttime bottle.
7:45 PM -- Camden protests sleep because he could here lots of noise in the hallway.
7:46 PM -- Ethan's bath time.
8:15 PM -- Ethan's bedtime meal.
8:30 PM -- Impromptu webcam with Mike and Mindi Myser.
9:00 PM -- Mommy succombs to a lifetime movie for the first time in ages... daddy is working on projects.
10:50 PM -- Mommy is wishing the laundry fairy put away the five loads of laundry that are unfolded in baskets.
11:50 PM -- Wondering why I'm still blogging. We're also wondering where the TV remote could possibly be. It's been missing for three days!

A little shut eye before our 3 AM feeding!

What's Your Sign?

Camden's vocabulary continues to grow, both verbally and physically. He's really good at letting us know what he needs, whether it's by hand or mouth. At daycare, they work a lot with the kids on sign language. When he wants more of something he signs "more" by pointing his index finger to the palm of his hand. Or he'll sign "please" by rubbing his belly. Or "help" by patting his chest. He signs for milk by squeezing his hands together as if milking a cow.

His current vocabulary includes words such as:

• "ba-naaa-na" (banana)
  
• "bah-ble" (bubble)
  
• "bow bear" (for his book "Brown Bear")
• "da!-deee" (daddy)
• "papa" (he says this when he sees Grandpa Sindt)
  
• "mama" (mommy)
• "moo" (moo)
• "dah!" (done)

He's said a couple of other random things that he hasn't repeated again, but funny nonetheless. On the day of the Michigan game (11/23/2008) Camden came up to me and said "Go Buck!" I was on the phone with a friend of mine and he said, "Did he just say what I think he said?"

Another time I came home from work and Camden comes to the top of the stairs to greet me by saying "Yer back!" Kim and I looked at each other in amazement and just laughed.

Camden texts his friends :)

Ethan's First Day of Daycare

Today marked Ethan's first day of daycare. A bittersweet day for both Kim and me. There are a couple redeeming qualities that make us feel a bit more at ease about this transition. First, Kim is going to be working a part time work schedule, so she'll be at home with the boys for two days of the week anyway. Second, we absolutely LOVE the teachers at our daycare. Traci, Denise, Sheila, Carol (now retired), and Jamie are tremendous. They have given Camden so much love and we've seen Camden develop in so many ways and we believe that much of that is attributable to his care givers.

We're sure that Ethan will receive the same care from his teachers. Kim and I feel so comfortable having our boys there. It'll be interesting to see Ethan and Camden in the same infant room together. I imagine that it's pretty rare to have siblings in the same room, except in the case of twins of course.

In general, we're thankful to be happy with our daycare provider. It makes going to work a lot easier not having to worry about the care your children are getting when you're not with them. If Ethan is anything like his brother, he'll make all kinds of friends and charm all his teachers in no time.

"Don't worry, E. I'll protect you."