Eric gives Ethan liver

I've become convinced that a little liver is a good idea for Ethan. The other day while I took Emerson to the grocery store Eric gave Ethan some of the liver I had steamed and pureed for him. It was supposed to be added to mashed banana but Eric didn't know that and just gave it to him straight. See what Ethan thought about that: (don't worry - no chunks)

Jump!

 

 

So happy to be standing!

Ethan at the playground

Boy on the move

Ethan is only happy when standing, right now. (He's crawling, by the way. I think I forgot to mention that. It's a funny crawl that involves his feet more than his knees sometimes.) He will try to stand up on anything - scaling the ottoman, grabbing onto Eric's leg hair, suctioning his way up the glass door with both mouth and hands.

Our trip! Part 2: Lancaster PA

We continued from DC up to Lancaster, PA to visit my grandmother Muz and my aunts Barbara and Penney. We took walks, we made shapes in the carpet with cups and tupperware lids, we played with water outside and we did a little local touring at an Amish house and farm.

(I really wish Ethan hadn't been asleep in the ergo so his head could have been in one of these holes)

As a bonus, the hotel had an indoor "water playground" that we checked out one afternoon when it was too hot to be outside. It was a great discovery and Emerson and Ethan both enjoyed splashing around. If he keeps sprouting like he has been, it is even possible that Emerson will be tall enough next year for the really big water slide.

Our trip! Part 1: Visiting friends in DC

We headed north (into the heat, weirdly) and spent some time with friends and then family. Thanks to Margaret and Tony and their little ones Samantha and Marcus for hosting us in DC. We had great fun at the Museum of Natural History where among other things we learned from the Titano-boa exhibit that global warming is likely to result in more giant snakes.

I was particularly impressed with the museum's collection of skeletons. Very cool. 

We left DC Sunday morning to head up to Pennsylvania. An hour into the trip, Ethan started to scream so Eric took the very next right turn to stop for a nursing break and it turned out to be a fire station. We were just in time for the regular equipment check which included seeing the mega-ladder extend up into the sky. A nice fireman took our photo once Ethan was done eating.

Summer at the "splashground"

This is a new discovery for us: a great little splashpad not too far from home. Emerson frolicked in the water and would probably still be there, pruny, shivering and running through the water, had I not wrapped him in a towel and brought him home.

More Ethan eating

Can't help myself. He is such a messy eater! I don't know how much actual eating is happening but he sure is enjoying himself.

Ethan eating spinach

We had a misstep in food introductions earlier this week and learned that Ethan is allergic to eggs (I was trying just to give him the yolk, but we think a bit of egg white may have sneaked in and caused trouble). He and I are both off of eggs for a good while as a result. I was a little gunshy for a few days after that but we came back strong with some spinach today that Ethan enjoyed quite a bit.

More cousins!

We had a visit from some more cousins this past week. Eric's brother Todd and his two daughters Ashley and Lauren along with Todd's girlfriend Rebecca and her daughter Grace all did a post-Disney stop at our place. Emerson loved having three big girls to play with and Ethan got lots of extra love while they were here, including being held by each girl in turn on the couch.

Ethan with Grace

Ethan with Lauren

Ethan with Ashley