Summer in Rexburg

Oh what a beautiful summer! It is very hot and sunny almost everyday in Rexburg. Eric took advantage of the good weather and went fishing this weekend, and I decided that Ethan and I would try out the park by our apartment. I think he's still a little too young for it though :)
Ethan continues to progress and become more active and noisy everyday :) He talks a lot now, especially when you talk to him, and he's ticklish basically anywhere on the upper half of his body. The physical therapist still works with him once a week and continues to be amazed at his normalcy. He had to get some blood drawn on Thursday for some more tests, and didn't like his arms being held straight and poked. Mom didn't like holding him while they did it either, but he did really well and stopped crying right after they were done, and fell asleep the second he was back in his car seat. Other than that he likes his tummy time a little more now that he can hold his head up and roll over!

Laugh it up!

Eric found one of Ethan's very ticklish spots!

Fourth-O-July

Ethan celebrated his first 4th of July, so we decided to be patriotic and dress him in red, white, and blue. He was asleep by the time the fireworks came around, but he stayed awake for the barbecue we had. We were surprised the loud noises didn't wake him up. Eric wanted to take a picture of Ethan holding a sparkler, but since I didn't like the idea of him even holding a sparkler, theres no picture to show.

Ethan in his outfit (minus the pants because it was way hot!)

We made homemade Rootbeer with dry ice...I'm surprised it made it into the drink with how much fun Eric was having with it before hand!

The boys went out and got fireworks, and we lit them in the parking lot of our apartment that night.

Heads Up

Ethan is starting to push himself up with his arms to look around. It's funny because he talks a lot while he's doing it. He likes being on his stomach for a little while, but I think he gets tired quickly because he won't rest his head down unless he has a pacifier in his mouth. So after a few minutes he starts to get agitated, but he holds it up really well for a while.

He can almost see the camera...

Superman! Arms and feet up

Starting to not like it so much


Eric and I took Ethan on a drive, mainly to explore what is north of Rexburg. We revisited a fishing hole Eric and Grandpa Rindlisbacher had gone to while he was down here. Idaho doesn't look to bad in the summer time!


It was by a dam and had a pretty view, but with no A/C in the car we couldn't stay in one place too long.


Ethan did really well in the car, even with the windows rolled down and the wind in his face.

Other random shots...

Such a big boy!

I see Ethan everyday so I'm not supposed to notice changes, but even I can see that he is getting bigger every week! As of Thursday, he weighs 10 lbs 8 oz and is 22.5 inches long, but they said he's only in the 25th percentile for his height and weight. I'm not sure if I believe that, he seems so big to me! Eric has also been having him stand up lately, he'll just hold his arms and Ethan stays up for about 10-15 seconds at a time (it works especially well when he's frustrated because then he flexes his legs :). If it's possible, he's gotten even cuter lately by starting to coo and giggle for us. Yesterday when the occupational therapist came he wanted to tell her everything and talked the whole time she was here. She didn't come last week but says she is really impressed with the progress he is making. He can hold his head up a lot better when he's pulled up to a sitting position from laying down, and the grip in his left fist is catching up to his right. He also doesn't have as much a preference to look to the left anymore, he can track things over to his right side.
He still sleeps about 8 hours at night, we are very happy about that, and he just continues to amaze us every day.

Not so happy, but standing!

Eric trying to get him suck his thumb

I bought a new shirt for him, but the collar was a little big so he kept sucking on it

Fishing and Weird Hair

Eric was able to go fishing on Saturday and had a blast. He went with his friend Jared, and they had to climb down a steep, rocky incline to get to the spot they wanted to fish at. They said the climb down wasn't so bad, but to get back out was ridiculously hard. They ended up catching some big fish, the first one Eric caught was this big brown trout that he said was about 16 inches long. He hit it with a rock, stuck a stick through it's gills, they made a little rock pool to keep it in, and they went on fishing. About 20 minutes later Jared heard splashing and went over to see what was going on, and the fish had gotten off the stick! Just as Jared reached down to grab it, the fish flipped over the rocks and was gone. Eric came home with sore legs and no fish, but I don't doubt he'll go there again :)

Eric's fish

Jared's fish :)

Other than that, the Rexburg Rindlisbachers are doing well! Ethan has decided he'll sleep a little longer through the nights and give his parents some rest, and we appreciate that. He'll be 2 months old next week and he's growing like crazy.
Sometimes Eric likes to do funny things with him, and the other day he put my hair over his head and it looked hilarious. I know these are hideous pictures, but I thought people might get a kick out of them!

We tried to give him a Mohawk but he doesn't really have enough hair

Posing in his sleep

The Blessing

Ethan’s baby blessing was last weekend and it was a really neat experience. Eric was really nervous but he did a wonderful job. He officially named him Ethan Eric Rindlisbacher, and said that he would be a blessing to his family and many others, which we know has already happened and will continue to happen. We appreciate all the support that we had from the family, it was fun to have you guys here!

His cute outfit, compliments of Grandma Carter. It was a little big on him, she bought a size 3-6 month because we weren't sure when we'd be able to bless him. But he pulled it off ok :)

Eric thought he looked more studly like this

The blesser holding the blessee

Ethan's cousins Avarie and Natalie (with a cheesy grin :)