There is much to celebrate!

Ethan turned 1 on 10/10/10...
We enjoyed celebrating his birthday with Eric's family in Connecticut. It was a fantastic weekend of chili fests, soccer games, time with family and good food. He is certainly loved and has enjoyed the many toys and books that he was given. We've given him something new to play with every few weeks, which has been a fun way to allow him to fully explore each toy. Eric and I labored over his 1st b-day cake (which was fun for us to do together) and Ethan loved it once he figured out how to eat it. You can see more photos from the big day on our Shutterfly site.

He is such a little communicator now! He uses sign language for more, eat, and all done (thanks Aunt Sara for helping us fully embrace the signs!) We are working on please and thank you. We can sing Old McDonald had a farm with the following animals: dog says "woof", alligator says "snap, snap" (he pinches his fingers and thumb together), lion says "roar", and an elephant says "pbttttt" (he does it better than Mommy or Daddy). His vocabulary also includes: hot, na-na (banana), ni-ni (night night), mama, dada, dog, and flower. His comprehension is amazing! As we were heading outside for a walk today, I asked him to go get his slipper which was across the room. He crawled right over, passing a variety of other things strewn about and picked it up!

He is constantly on the move--pulling up to stand and cruising along nearly every surface he can reach including window sills, end tables, and kitchen chairs! Eric commented that, "we need to re-evaluate" as everything that used to be on those surfaces is now piled on our highest table :0) He enjoys walking holding onto our fingers or pushing his firetruck from Grandma and Grandpa Urban. He also loves to ride his fire truck on the kitchen tile, complete with sirens blaring (made by him).

Favorite tasks include climbing the stairs, "making things" in the kitchen with Mommy (using every utensil and bowl possible), removing the spices from the spice drawer, and waiting at the door each night for Daddy to come home.

...and is going to be a big brother! We had our 19 week ultrasound today and found out we're having another boy! We are due 3/30/11 and the boys will be about 17 months apart. Everyone I tell says, "you're going to be busy for a while, but then it will be great". I was extremely tired the first trimester, but thankfully, Ethan still naps twice a day. I am feeling much better now that I am in the 2nd trimester. Just this week I have been consistently feeling the baby move and kick.

In other news, Mommy and Ethan walked in their first 5K race to benefit Love 146 which works to stop child sex slavery. Eric did a 30 mile bike ride at the same time--you can read more details and see the video in our previous post. October 18th we headed to Colorado to celebrate Betsy's sister Laurie's wedding. While traveling to another time zone with a 1 year old is not as restful as "pre-kid" vacationing, we had a great time hanging out with the Urban clan. The photo above is from our trip to Bear Lake near Estes Park. Ethan got to touch and taste his first snow ball! Eric and I share a triple date with my sisters and their spouses, ate pizza that you purchase by the pound, and went on a tour of a micro brewery. Ethan was a great traveler during our 12 hour adventure--he loves peeking over and through the seats and makes friends with everyone around us! We harvested the last of the garden veggies yesterday, garlic and carrots, and are generally readying the yard for the winter, though not looking forward to it :0)