Ethan is officially a big brother!!!

Ethan became a big brother to Finlay Matthew on 10/8/11. He has made an amazing big brother so far. It's been 2 weeks and he has adjusted very well to all the changes. We came home as a family Monday the 10th and since then Ethan has been nothing but helpful when it comes to his little brother. Tues last week Ethan unfortunately came down with a very nasty stomach bug. He started running a low grade fever Tues night and Weds he was sick to his tummy. He was miserable and it broke my heart. If you know Ethan well then you know he is perpetual motion. He never stops moving, not even when he is sleeping. Yet he was down for the count. He laid in my dish chair and watched the Lion King over and over never moving from his position. He was even sleeping in the chair instead of letting us lay him in bed. I hated seeing him that sick. He was down for the count Weds night but he was starting to feel slightly better Thurs night and every time he heard Finlay cry for his bottle he had to come in and check. He did that for several nights but it has now gotten better. Because he wasn't allowing himself to get much sleep at night it was leading to a very cranky toddler all day long. For the last 2 nights he has slept in his own bed all night and his mood has been much better. Him being sick though last week really screwed with his appetite and he hasn't been wanting to each much but I think he might be starting to get his desire to eat again back.


He loves to snuggle with his little brother. He wants to help feed him, help change diapers, he likes to hold him. He is always wanting to give him little kisses on the head or hold his hand. The other day Finlay was being a bit fussy and I was trying to calm him down. Ethan comes over and just starts patting him on the butt and tells him that it's OK, don't cry, what's wrong, ect. He was being very protective. It's great to see him being such a great big brother. If we ask him to get something for us he runs off right away to go get it (as long as it's for Finlay LOL). He is very gentle most of the time and very loving.


Last night we had a small incident where Matt got Ethan a little too wound up playing and Ethan threw a pillow accidentally hitting the swing Finlay was laying in. Finlay startled and started crying and then Ethan got really upset and he started crying. He was very upset at the thought that he had hurt his baby brother. He wanted to give him snuggles and kisses to make it better.


He's still adjusting and he doesn't always realize that there are just certain things that he can't do. He doesn't fully realize his own strength yet. That will come with time. He has just loved having his dada home for the last 2 weeks. I was told by Matt though that Sunday morning the day after Finlay arrived Ethan came into our room to wake us up and he got very upset that I wasn't there. Apparently there were tears. In a way that made me feel loved b/c I always figure he sees me all the time and he's always all about his dada that he wouldn't care if I wasn't there. When he got to the hospital he came running straight to me for hugs. So he was one very happy little boy when I was finally home.


Next week, especially Monday, is going to be interesting. Matt goes back to work and I think Ethan is going to go through Daddy withdrawl. He is not going to know what to do without his daddy around all day. I don't plan on going to lunch with Matt next week but if Ethan really needs the outing I will take the boys. Hopefully though I will be able to entertain him enough to distract him from missing his daddy too much.


This weekend we are hoping that the weather will be nice so that we can finally get Ethan on that hayride in Oregon that Aunt Robin got us tickets to. We were going to do it 2 weeks ago but his baby brother had other plans. We had a lot of fun activities planned for this week that ended up getting foiled by all the rain. We were going to go for the hayride, Zoo It, go to the butterfly house to do the Harry Potter Corn Maze, and hit up the pumpkin patch too. Let's cross our fingers that we can at least do the hay ride and pumpkin patch. Ethan has been bugging to do those things all week. If it's going to be cold and rainy we won't go. We don't want to take him into the damp weather and run the risk of him getting sick again.


We still need to get Ethan a Halloween costume too this weekend. I don't know what he is going to be. I'm just going to take him to the store and let him pick from whatever they have in stock. It's been a crazy busy month and I just haven't had a chance to get him out to pick out his costume. He will be going trick or treating with his daddy this year. I really enjoyed taking him last year and wanted to do it again but originally I was going to be 38 weeks pregnant and now I need to stay home and pass out candy with the baby. I would love the time with Ethan though it'd be fun but Matt is insisting he take him b/c I got to do it last year. I guess we are alternating years LOL. That's OK it means I get to see all the little cuties in their scary costumes come to my door and I get to give them candy and make them smile. Matt get's none of that ha ha ha! He gets all the leg work and Ethan gets all the candy (how does that seem right?).