9 months

Ethan was nine months old on Christmas Eve! I remember last Christmas thinking we would have a nine month old the next Christmas, and thinking how far away that seemed. Now it has come and gone in the blink of an eye. The last nine months have been such an amazing experience, and I am so thankful that God blessed us with such a precious little boy.

At his nine month checkup, Ethan weighed 22lbs (75th percentile), and I don't remember exactly how long he was, but he was off the charts! (100th percentile) Unless his growth slows down rapidly, he is going to be a BIG boy!

Ok so I thought this was hilarious =)

Alternative Discipline Techniques
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Tough Love vs. Spanking





Most people nowadays think it improper to spank children, so I have tried other methods to control my kids when they have one of 'those moments'.





One that I have found very effective is for me to just take the child for a car ride during which I say nothing and give the child the opportunity to reflect on his or her behavior.





I don't know whether it's the steady vibration from the car, or just the time away from any distractions such as TV, Video Games, Computer, IPod, etc.





Either way, my kids usually calm down and stop misbehaving after our car ride together. I believe that eye to eye contact during these sessions is an important element in achieving the desired results.





I've included a photo below of one of my sessions with my son, in case you would like to use the technique. Scroll down below to see it....

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Ethan is crawling!

Now that Ethan is 8 months old, he is finally crawling! He is still pretty lazy about it, and doesn't crawl unless he REALLY wants something. I'm sure he will get curious soon and be everywhere... =)