March has arrived like a lamb, in fact, the entire winter has been quite lamb-like. We haven't had more than an inch of snow all year, which stinks because not only does it mean no skiing for Daddy, Ethan would have really enjoyed frolicking in the winter wonderland. He would have loved sledding, but we'll have to wait till next year to find out. Spring is getting closer, and we all can't wait to be able to be outside a lot more. Ethan is starting to get sick of hanging out in the house all day. We always try to get out of the house and go to the store, or go out to Gymboree, but even in a mild winter, we can't always go outside when we want to. Ethan loves being outside, and running away from Mommy and Daddy at any chance. We are really excited to get him to the beach this year. He is going to really love playing and running on the sand and splashing in the waves.
Since the last installment of this blog, Ethan had tubes put in his ears. We had taken him to get a hearing test, spurred from his speech delay, and the findings were that he had a slight hearing imparement, probably due to the fluid stuck in his ears. The doctor said that he was a prime candidate for tubes, so we went ahead and had the procudure done. Daddy went back in the operating room and stayed with Ethan while he got put under. Everything went fine, and although he was grumpy when he first came to (he beat Mommy and Daddy in the recovery room), by the time we got home, he was back to his normal self. He even skipped his nap that day. In the weeks since the procedure, we've definitally noticed an increase in his sound sensetivity. He is noticibally more vocal, although he is still using not very many actual words. I'm sure that he went so long with a hearing issue, that it's going to take more than a few weeks for his brain to start processing all the new sounds that are being introduced to him. Mommy and Daddy are just waiting for him to figure out that it's much easier to navigate the world by using words. He'll catch on soon.
Just last week, Ethan got a new cousin! Uncle Keith and Aunt Vicky welcomed to the world a new baby daugher. Ciara Rose Shannon was born Feb 23 2012. We are so happy that Ethan has 3 cousins now, and he can't wait to see all of them soon.
