Standing Tall

Ethan is working hard these days trying to pull himself up to a standing position as much as possible.  A few weeks ago we realized he was strong enough to hang onto our fingers and pull himself up.  At first it took a lot of straining and grunting to get to the top but it was all Ethan wanted to do.  After a few weeks of constant standing he's a pro.  He still smiles and laughs everytime we do it.

Here E is showing Aaron he's ready to stand. 

Pulled to a sitting position...

Working on getting the legs under him.  I wish we could see E's face in this one, he's making the same expression as dad.

Made it to the top!

Ethan has found his hands in the last few weeks and now loves to stick them in his mouth.  He's also started to gnaw on things he gets to his mouth and his hands are his favorite.

Here's a few more pictures over the last week...

Playing with Grandma on rainy afternoon.

Laughing with Grandpa.

View of the inlet just outside of Anchorage.

This is my favorite view I've found in Alaska so far - over looking Skilak Lake. I wish I was a better photographer to be able to capture how gorgeous it actually is!

This is E's latest way to avoid tummy time.  Before he would just roll over to get out of playing on his stomach.  He has now realized its much easier to just go to sleep...what a smart little guy.

Salmon!

It's been a busy few weeks in the Fuhr house as we have been out enjoying the Alaskan summer as much as possible. We have had a few visitors come to town and the red salmon run arrived in the Kenai river so we have been out fishing!  Ethan is such a trooper, he makes it easy for us to be out and about with him.  Over the last few weeks he has been fishing several times, gone on a glacial cruise and several scenic hikes.  He's having a fanastic summer!

Ethan has never really loved tummy time and recently he has started napping when I put him on his tummy instead of lifting his head and rolling over.  I guess he's figured out that if he doesn't want to do it, he doesn't have to...

Lately all Ethan wants to do is go from a laying down position to standing position by pulling up on our fingers.  He loves to stand and look around all the time.  Even when he's strapped down in his carseat he wants to to stand up so bad that he leans forward and strains to make it happen.  Its pretty cute to see his determination.

Our buddy Daniel, who went to high school with Aaron here in Anchorage, came and stayed with us for a while.  Ethan and I loved getting to play around Anchorage with him during the week and then hitting the lakes and rivers once Aaron was off work.  It was fun walking down memory lane with Daniel.  We were able to get in three fun fishing trips, several sight seeing days and a few evenings of enjoying the locally brewed beer and sunshine!  I didn't take my camera most days so don't have many pictures of E, so you'll have to trust me that he had a great time with Daniel.  :)

The boys headed to the river with hopes of finding reds...sadly we were a week ahead of the run so we didn't catch much that day.

Fishing Canoe Lake one night after work - luckily there were more trout in the lake then salmon in the river.

Ethan hanging out on my lap on the lake shore as we watched the boys fish. 

The day after Daniel left the salmon arrived, and it seems like all of Alaska has flocked to the rivers to catch them. I have been waiting all spring and summer to get to salmon fish and am so excited that it is finally time.  We spent last weekend fishing and such good success we're headed back this coming weekend. 

Family shot on the banks of the Kenai (Ethan is tucked inside Aaron's coat!).  If it wasn't such a cloudy day the turquoise color of the river might have shown up in the picture.  It's a gorgeous river!

I have my first salmon on my line - it was fun to bring them in, they put up a fight. 

I am now officially an Alaskan, I have caught my first red...he tasted delicious that night!  :)

Ethan resting up after the exciting fishing trip.

2 months

Ethan turned two months over the 4th of July weekend.  At two months old he is rolling over from stomach to back, holding his head steady and can stand holding up his body weight while holding our fingers.  He's changed so much over the last month!

Each day he develops a little more, its been fun to play with him every morning and find the new trick.  When he makes this face, he blows bubbles with his spit and smiles. 

He's grown 2 inches in the last month and gained 2 lbs.

He has gotten better control of his arms but his right one still tends to wave around and swing a lot - he looks like an out of control boxer. 

Ethan laughs and smiles very easily these days.  Its fun to sit and play with him to get him to laugh!  He loves any silly song you make up or just being talked to in funny voices. 

Lately he has started sticking his tongue out when he smiles.  Its pretty funny when you get a big gummy, tongue smile - a picture of pure happiness.  I have a hard time getting a picture of the tongue though, as soon as I pull out the camera he stops smiling and stares at it...

In the last week he has also become heavily addicted to his paci.  He likes it when he starts getting tired right before its time to lay down to sleep.  Its pretty funny to watch him suck so intently on it (he looks exactly like Maggie on the Simpons...)

Over the 4th weekend, we took a road trip down the Kenai penisula to check out the scenary and visit Homer.  Homer is a gorgeous little fishing town at the south end of the pennisula with great mountain views across the bay.  We also spent some time fishing and hiking near the Kenai river.

Ethan enjoyed his first camping trip.  I'm not sure he even noticed he wasn't at home.  :)

He spent his mornings chilling in his chair trying to avoid the mosquitos.

We spent one day on a 13 mile hike along Cresent Creek to Cresent Lake to do some fishing.  This is a good picture of hiking in Alaska - fishing pole in one hand, bear spray in another, and snow covering the trail... 

It was a pretty day with gorgeous views through the valley.  We got a little spooked at one point when we realized we were following a grizzly bear up the trail.  His huge paw prints were in the mud and looked very fresh.  His prints covered the bike prints from bikers that had passed us 30 minutes before.  Luckily we were able to share the trail without running into eachother!

Ethan seemed to enjoy the time outside.  He spent most of the time sleeping in his carrier, but spent some time facing forward looking at the trees and the flowers.  He is very alert to his surroundings and likes the carrier because he can see the world moving by him. 

It was super windy and cold by the time we got to the lake, but Aaron fished a bit and we hung out on the bank.  Very pretty day!

Aaron and I have a little tradition of visiting the breweries and vineyards in the towns and cities we visit to get a taste of the local flavor.  We decided to give Ethan one more 'first' for his weekend and visit the Homer brewery.