Ethan had a wonderful birthday. We had a small party for him around 3:30. He guests were Maroon, Nicole and the kids. Also in attendance were the Feiglers, our neighbors. Ethan decided to take a really long afternoon nap and he almost missed the beginning of his party. We woke him up a few minutes before everyone arrived. He ate his dinner while we all ate snacks.

Then it was time to break out the cake. I made him a chocolate cake with white icing. We put the candle on. Of course I couldn’t find a lighter anywhere. Janie ran home to get one. I lit the candle and we all sang “Happy Birthday”. Ethan just smiled and watched everyone. He didn’t get a chance to blow out the candle though. Danielle blew it out for him.

I served Ethan the first piece. He very carefully put his finger in the icing and tasted it. That was all it took. He then ate the whole piece. Michael came over and took half the piece of cake away. He said the portion I gave Ethan was too big. Ethan finished the rest of the cake. He pointed to the remaining cake and grunted for more and more. As I was trying to wash his hands, he was licking them to try to get every crumb off before I could. I was pretty funny.

Ethan got wonderful gifts from everyone. Thank you everyone for such great gifts.

Ethan finally begins to walk. The day after his first birthday, Ethan finally began to take his first steps independently. We knew that he knew how to walk, he just wouldn’t. On Monday he finally just began to take step between Michael and I. Today he started to leave our grasp and walk away on his own. He even left Michael to chase after Charlie, the neighbor’s dog. He took a few steps, and then realized he was away. He stopped and sat down.