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.

Santa Baby

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!

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."

Ethan's Baptism

As part of a whirlwind Thanksgiving weekend which included a Thanksgiving feast, a wedding reception for Aunt Lisa and Uncle Tony, we took advantage of having the whole family in Holstein to have Ethan baptized. Like Camden, Ethan's Godparents were Aunt Paige, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Tony.

Ethan did great. He wasn't phased by Pastor Benson calling him "Ethan George" versus "Ethan Zachary". It's interesting because last year during Camden's baptism he called Camden "Camden Harry". It's even more interesting if you know that the name George is Grandpa Sindt's father, and the name Harry is Grandma Sindt's father.

Following the service, we joined members of the church for some breakfast snacks and coffee. Camden really hammed it up for everyone making sure to keep people entertained. I think Ethan slept. We returned home to the farm for a late morning brunch and took some time to snap some pictures while the boys were still dressed up. Soon, Tony and Lisa would have to hit the road for the long trip back to Chicago.

It was a jam packed weekend with all kinds of significant Sindt family events. But we're happy that we were able to use our family's time together to celebrate such an important milestone in Ethan's life. We're so excited and proud to support Ethan in his relationship with God and hope you will be too.

Halloween 2008

The Nguyen Family Zoo...We put our family zoo on display for Halloween this year. Camden was a giraffe and Ethan wore Camden's lion suit from last year. We paraded the boys around daycare and at my work. We took them to a few houses in the neighborhood too. Our cute little animals turned heads wherever they went. It was a beautiful Halloween night.

The Nguyen Family Zoo...The Zookeepers and their prized lion cub and giraffe.

Grandma Sindt and our sleepy little lion cub. Or is that a roar?

The giraffe tamed himself and put himself in his crate.

Our giraffe "in the wild".

October Moments!

Daddy's going to Florida for a couple days..... what are we going to do?

We'll call Grandma and Grandpa!


"I'm only one month old.... I need an adult to baby ratio in my favor!"

"I'm the little brother.... protect me!"

"Ah, I could do this all day!"

A little stroll at dusk!
Needless to say... .it was a successful trip!

Enjoying the Fall Colors

We love the fall season and the colors. Our neighbors have a beautiful tree in their yard with gorgeous red, yellow, and orange leaves. We took some pictures under it last year and decided to repeat the effort with the boys again this year.

Ethan's One Month Birthday!

It's been four weeks since Ethan arrived! Maternity leave is flying by and keeping up with everything is quite the battle! Nights are still a bit rough.... with E getting up every few hours and most content in the arms of mommy or in bed with us. (Mommy sometimes falls asleep before he finishes eating and wakes up a couple hours later when he's hungry again!) He's gained a lot of weight... probably close to 10 pounds already. He's a chatterbox.... with all these cute little coos and giggles. Today, Ethan and I are off to Maple Grove to enjoy this beautiful fall weather in the outdoor shopping area. Here's a little picture collage of a typical afternoon that Ethan and I have!

Ethan wakes up and we play together. He's alert and loves to check out his environment.

After a nice meal..... a little nap time is often in order!

(Daddy loves these big yawns!!)

Then it's time to pack up and go... if only to go get Big Brother Camden from school.....

It's hard to believe he's already out of his "little" newborn clothes and his zero to three month clothes are fitting just perfectly! He'll be out of those before you know it! Stay tuned for more updates!!!

Beautiful Buckeye Brothers!

These two brothers are certainly picture perfect!!! They're both ready for football Saturdays!!

Peaceful E!

It's been two weeks since Ethan arrived! How does the time go so fast?! Our little bundle of joy is settling in quite nicely!

Despite the chaos of the household, he is so calm and oh, so cuddly! Our days have settled into a wonderful routine and I'm enjoying bonding with him while big brother continues to go to daycare in the mornings and early afternoons. This means that mommy and Ethan SLEEP IN! There's a lot of relaxing going on these days :-)

Ethan is doing so well... he nurses like a champ, which would explain why he surpassed his birth weight at his one week visit, takes long naps and enjoys looking at his new world throughout the day. He makes the most beautiful newborn baby noises (need to get those on video somehow, although, I liken his chatter to that of a baby goat, which I don't think translates that well via blogging!).


Ethan is very expressive. Whether it's the crinkle of his little forehead, his gaping, hungry mouth or his satisfied expression, there's always something to watch in his face. He's also super smiley, which I know is involuntary at this age, but he gives big grins throughout the day, especially after nursing!

These newborn moments are going so fast, I only hope that I can accurately capture what wonder and joy Ethan brings to this family!

What's in a Name?

Some of you avid Camden Nguyen blog readers might remember an early post called "What's in a Name?" in which I detailed our reasoning for his name. The question, "How did you come up with the name?" is a common question and I thought I would address it again for Ethan's name. You can review the post for definitions of our criteria, but here's a brief summary. Note that our selection didn't need to pass all of our criteria, but most:

1. "Don't make me spell it!"
   
2. "Multiple Pronunciations"
   
3. "You talkin' to me?"
   
4. "Sound Check"
   
5. "Good Initials"

"Don't make me spell it!" Try it. E-T-H-A-N. I suppose there's a chance that someone might spell it E-T-H-E-N, but I don't think that's a common spelling. Check.

"Multiple Pronunciations" Does Ethan match with the numerous mispronunciations of our last name? Ethan Noo-jen...Ethan Nah-guy-en...Ethan En-guy-en...Ethan Nah-gee-en...and ultimately Ethan Win. We think it flows nicely. Check.

"You talkin' to me?" The name Ethan was actually in the running for our first son, too. At the time, we felt it was a little too popular. In 2006, it was the #4 ranked boy name. In 2007, it actually moved up a notch to #3. We liked the name enough that we didn't really care how popular it is. And as popular as it is, neither of us know an Ethan personally. There isn't even an Ethan at our daycare.

"Sound Check" We didn't actually go to a park and test out the name Ethan this time, but it seemed to pass the "mulitple pronunciations" test so we were okay with that.

"Good Initials" So if you put together Ethan's first and middle initials and combine with his full last name you get "E.Z. Nguyen" (or E.Z. "Win"). To be honest, his middle name, Zachary actually came before we realized the convenient combination of initials. Kim liked Zachary for his middle name and I said, "EZ?" She immediately loved it. During her pregnancy Kim would also allude to how quickly we got pregnant with Ethan after Camden by saying "Easy in, Easy out." This was her subtle hint at Ethan's name.

Additionally, it's always been my wish to want a boy that I could call "E". I referred in Camden's post to my desire to name him Eric. In lieu of Eric, I'm very happy with Ethan. I got my little "E".

If you read the post from Camden's blog, you may have noticed this excerpt:

Kim and I both really like Ethan alot. Unfortunately, so do a lot of other people. It did not fit rule #3 above. For those with children named Ethan, we think it is a great name. We would have been happy to name our son Ethan, but we do have rules to follow.

Rules be damned!

Our little miracle arrives!

It's been six days since Ethan arrived and I still cannot believe what a little miracle man he is! I think back to what a shock we had late in February when we learned about the little "stowaway" we were carrying! As soon as we found out we were expecting again, I granted the little man a full term lease for the whole pregnancy. As it turns out, my blood pressure spiked at 37 weeks (considered full term!) and we ended up evicting him early.

September 9, 2009!
Is today the day our little "stowaway" arrives? It was a beautiful fall day and we were heading off to the hospital to be induced. I was 37 weeks pregnant, so Ethan is a full term baby, which we are very thankful for. Although I have some apprehension about inducing labor, my blood pressure is spiking and the doctors say that Ethan will be better off on the outside. It's only 369 days since we were in the hospital delivering Camden, so I actually felt quite prepared regarding what to expect :-)

We kissed Camden goodbye early in the morning, promising him a little brother when we got home. He seemed okay with that... especially with Grandma and Grandpa Sindt around to spoil him! On the way to the hospital we chatted about what a great date 09-09 is to have for a birthday. And the fact that next year, his first birthday would fall on 09-09-09 :-) What fun. But.... that would have to mean that labor and delivery happened by midnight. I was certainly hoping so!

We arrived at the hospital and were checked in quickly. I had pitocin going by 9 AM and had the faint pangs of contractions. By noon, I was beginning to wonder when these big contractions would start. My blood pressure was high..but doing okay on my left side. So another labor confined to the bed on my left side. (Not fun, but well worth it of course!). I was really happy though to not need Magnesium Sulfate, which has a lot of uncomfortable side effects. Contractions came and went...they would increase in frequency and pain and then fade out. It all seemed a bit slow. The doctor came in and broke my water at about 3pm, with a promise that things should start moving a bit more quickly. I guess time is relative, because it seemed that the contractions were taking forever.

By late afternoon I was only dilated to a 4 cm, and I was beginning to think that Ethan's birthday would be 09-10-08. Steve had jinxed the birth date! My contractions were increasing and the discomfort was growing, but I didn't want to slow the progress by getting an epidural when I was only at a 4, so I set a goal to make it another hour (targeting 7pm) before getting the epidural. Managing back labor confined to the bed, on my left side at that, was getting quite difficult.

Finally, everything came together and I got a relief from the pain at 8pm in the form of an epidural... although I was "only" dilated to a 5. The relief was AWESOME and I was actually able to get some much needed rest. Steve ran an errand to pick up a couple things we had forgotten. I was becoming sure that we were going to be in for a long, long night!

However, at 9pm, things started picking up! After an hour of great pain management, I was having serious contractions one on top of another. I told the nurse that I was ready to push and luckily she agreed that I was ready. (Although, she mentioned if the doctor wasn't in the room, that I would have to wait.... luckily that wasn't the case!). By the time everything was set up, I was seriously ready to push the little guy out!

I still wasn't convinced that Ethan would arrive on 09-09-08 though... it was 10pm after all. Luckily, 20 minutes and a few great big pushes were all it took. Ethan arrived and was placed on me while Steve cut the cord. He was crying and pink and just perfect! There were so many things to notice, to love. His cap of dark hair, his long fingers, his long legs... It's hard to believe that Steve and I could create such a beautiful creature. I'm so thankful that the little guy decided to join our little family sooner than later. He's brought us so much joy and so many smiles since his birth. What a miracle!!