* these moments *
ever since our little bundle of joy arrived, people have told us to treasure this time when they are small. after three months, i now know what they are talking about. i've found myself getting emotional at very mundane moments of just holding ethan at home, and thinking that there will come a day when i wouldn't be able to hold him like this. it really is so precious and i wish i could freeze these moments when he's calm and nuzzles his face into my neck and i can stroke his cheek with my cheek... i don't want him to get any bigger!!

and since becoming a mother, i've suddenly become very well-versed in baby talk and coming up with nicknames for our little guy. here are some of them:

- my boo/boo boo
- snuggle bug (because he really is very deh... how does one translate that accurately?)
- sweet cheeks
- my little sausage roll (when i swaddle him)
- gorgeous
- cutie pie

so what's new? it's ethan's 3-month birthday today!! some of the milestones/things we noticed about him over the past few weeks:

- he's starting to enjoy tummy time more! he's able to hold his head up and look around now!
- he has discovered his mouth and saliva and now loves licking/sucking on anything that comes near his mouth, which is usually his fists and sophie la girafe.
- he's been holding his hands together and using his fists to push things into his mouth (not always with much accuracy, i have to say), and it won't be long before he actually realizes he has hands.
- he LOVES his swing with a mobile of sea creatures. whenever we put him in the swing, he just stares gleefully at the whale, sea turtle, and fish going round and round.
- he is (mostly) sleeping through the night now! since last week, he's been sleeping consistently for 6-7 hours straight! PTL!!
- also last week, we finally made the switch from newborn diapers to size small :)
- he is real chatty these days, and makes the cutest cooing and gurgling sounds.

* BABY UPDATE!! *
ok, so this is more for my family and anyone else who wants to know what's happening with Ethan these days. hopefully i can keep this up regularly so you don't miss any of his cuteness!

the most significant milestone was definately 2 nights ago, when Ethan slept for over 6 hours!! before that, he went a couple of nights for 5 hours. derek and i were both shocked, but it's definately not a regular occurrence yet. last night he went back to waking up every 3 hours for a feed. another trade off for him sleeping longer at night is more frequent feedings during the day, as he still needs the calories. but we are seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel and i'm looking forward to the day when Ethan can sleep through the night regularly.

being almost 11 weeks old, he's also starting to "talk" a lot more. it's really really cute, and sometimes he even makes noise that sounds almost like real words! we can see that he's definately trying to communicate more with "words" rather than just crying, and it really is cute. have i mentioned that before? he's really really cute :)

he's also learning to use his hands more. while he still can't quite grab stuff yet, he can hold onto things for a few seconds if you put it in his hands. and he can clasp his hands together and sometimes push things into his mouth with both hands. he's also started to suck on his fists. it's only a matter of time before he discovers his thumbs.... we don't mind though because it seems to calm him and as long as his hands are clean, we say suck away!

* my miracle healing *
so i'm finally getting myself sorted out and updating blogs and posting pics etc. go me!

even though everyone i knew (including my husband) was at 180, i still had a very special valentine's day present this year. it started out not the greatest since i was home alone that night. i decided to get the breast pump ready but didn't want to bother sterilizing it again, so i boiled water and tried to rinse it out. but the boiling water splashed all over my hand (i know, i'm a genius) and seriously scalded half my hand. it was really really really REALLY painful, and i just kept imagining the massive blister that was going to form. so i prayed that God the Jehovah Rapha would heal my hand. and lo and behold! when i woke up the next morning (well, middle of the night, since i had to feed ethan) my hand was perfectly fine! one finger was still a little tender the next day, but no blisters! and after the first day, my hand feels totally normal! PTL!! i love Daddy :)

if you want to see the latest photos of ethan, i've just uploaded them on facebook. go and see the cutest baby in the world!!!!!