On July 8th we got to bring him home! I remember Jason checking his car seat SOOO many times just to make sure it was perfect.

& off we gooooooooooo! :D Ethan on his way home from the hospital:



A short drive later, we arrived! As soon as we got in the house, Daddy took him around and gave him a complete tour. He showed him all the rooms, his nursery with all the toys that we had for him, and introduced him to his "brother" nugget (the bunny).


He was wearing a little Dino onesie that we had picked out and his little *glubs*.
 :) Once the tour was complete, we put him in his little hammock swing and sat looking on in amazement... our little Ethan was finally here!



From there, the fun began! It truly didn't take us long to get adjusted to being the best parents we could possibly be for our little guy. He brought out the absolute best in us, and for the next couple weeks, we would anxiously wait for him to wake up from his naps just so we could play with him again. He lovedddd to sleep! Daddy found the perfect music to play for him to help him fall asleep when he was tired - a band called Iron & Wine. Ethan loved it! No matter what, he would instantly quiet down and fall asleep in his Daddy's arms whenever he would play it for him. He also liked listening to his Baby Einstein C.D. & a Neil Young CD that Jason had made for him. :)


One things for sure, we liked to get Ethan all dressed up! Here he is at 9 days old, looking sharp in his shirt and tie. ;)

We also decided to dress him in little overalls with a fire dog on them and take pictures of him with his Great Grandpa's fire helmet. As you can see, he wasn't too amused at first. I think the look on his face says it all! (hehe):

On July 23rd, his b-button finally fell off so we could give him his first real bath! He truly, TRULY hated it! He cried the entire time, which meant that most of our pictures looked just like this:


It would take a month or so before he started to actually like bath time, and then he couldn't get enough of it! He would love it when I would run the water along his neck, and he would always open his mouth up in excitement! Bath time was always fun for Mommy too because that was my time to take a peek at his little nakey butt in the mirror before I put him in the tub. *hehe*

On July 28th he got to go to his first birthday party! It was his little cousin J's birthday party day. We spent the day celebrating out in the backyard at his Aunt Sabrina's house.  :D

On August 2, 2007, we took our first family trip! We headed up north to Boston to introduce or new little bundle of joy to Jason's family. It was quite a drive, but believe it or not, Ethan slept nearly the entire drive up! We would pull over to rest stations and give him a little play time, and then, just like that, he'd be back to snoozin'. ;)


It was a great trip in that he got to meet all of his Aunties, Uncles, and cousins up there, as well as his Great Grandpa!

Ethan headed back home to Virginia with his Nana and Papa L a day early so that Jason and I could spend a day to ourselves in NYC. This was the first time that we were away from each other for more than just an hour or two. Although Jason & I had a great time in NYC, I must admit that I cried (more than once!) that day because I truly missed him so much! I couldn't wait to get home to see him.

Ethan's first walk! It was finally a cooler day to where I could take him around the neighborhood. We walked around the block and alongside the lake to see  the duckies. :) He looked sooo cute sitting up like a big boy in his stroller and after we got home, we sat out on the front porch for a while just taking in the beautiful day. This is the first time that I truly noticed how red his hair was! When he was born it looked so very dark, but it started to lighten up over time (or overnight it seems!).

Daddy was at work that day which is why I got away with putting him in his "Hugs 4 Mommy" onesie - otherwise I think Daddy would have been jealous. ;)

September 5, 2007 - Ethan turned 2 months old! He had to go get all of his shots that day but he did really well! I also learned that he had grown! He weighed 14lbs, 3 ozs at his check-up and the nurse giggled and said that he was "pleasantly plump!" I couldn't have agreed more. :) By that time, he had grown so very much and I kidded in telling Jason that I thought he was growing up too fast!

He could now hold his head up pretty well.
His favorite thing ever was his little moo moo cow chair.
He began to love bath time.
He would try to bat at his toys!
He could no longer fit into his "newborn" size clothes. :[
When I'd be in the room, he hardly took his eyes off me.
He would get incredibly happy when we sit him up on the couch next to us!
He enjoyed music, a lot. His favorite: Iron & Wine
He would love when Jason would take his hands and act like he's playing the drums.
His smiles came in. :)
His favorite C.D. to fall asleep to was Neil Young.
He had to wear size 1-2 diapers...not just 1s.
& if you would stick your tongue out, he'd stick his out too!

The day we went to waterside! We dressed Ethan in the cutesttttt outfit we could find. A little white onesie, khaki cargo pants and his little froggie shoes and rattle bracelet. :) It was such a nice day out, and we walked around for a while until we found the perfect tree to sit down under for our picnic.

When we took Ethan out of his stroller, it didn't take us long to realize that he did a poopie all in his pants! (hehe) So, Mommy and Daddy had to undress him on our picnic blanket and clean him up. It all worked out to his benefit though, because then he got to lay nakey on the blanket and take a nap in the sunshine. :)


What a wonderful day that was! Mommy and Daddy smile every time we think of that day and all the fun we had.

On this day we took Ethan to the Pumpkin Patch to see the animals and to pick out his very first pumpkin! He got to wear his little festive pumpkin hat and green pumpkin socks. :) To this day, I feel so grateful that we got to share that special day together. After he went to Heaven, his little pumpkin remained behind and we decided to turn it into an angel pumpkin.

October 20, 2007 was the day our angel returned home to Heaven. We had a Halloween party for him at our house that day and welcomed all of his little cousins and family to celebrate with us. It was a great time and he got to spend a lot of time with everyone as they enjoyed bobbing for apples and playing other Halloween games. That evening I laid him down for a nap and a short time later I checked on him to find him not breathing. Our little angel, truly became an angel that day.

We would later learn that Ethan passed away due to SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) which claims the lives of thousands of healthy babies each year and is the leading cause of death among infants 1 month to 1 year of life.

We miss our Ethan more than anything in this world, and continue to pray that in our lifetime, doctors and scientists will be able to determine the cause and prevention for SIDS, as all babies deserve the chance to live.

We miss you, little efan eddie. <3 always.