Genes - Gotta love 'em

Hi,

Sometimes I look at Ethan and think, where the heck did this kid come from? Yeah, he looks like Mark, and he definetly has a Wood attitude, but seriously, this is one heck of a genetic combination. Check out this 'tude:

Ethan calls me Daddy. Daddy! What an insult. I always say, 'My name is Mommy. Say Mommy. ' He just laughs and calls me Daddy again.

Almost every night, for years now, I say 'I love you' to Ethan before I put him to bed. I sign 'I love you' and I sign/say 'I', 'L' love, 'Y' you! He never says or signs it back...never. This goes on and on and on. One day we were walking home from school and he did the 'I love you' sign. I was sooooo excited. I nearly shouted! Ethan, I love you too! Great signing! And I signed 'I love you' right back. He looked at me like I was a complete lunatic and pointed to the sky and repeated his sign. Sure enough, I looked up and there was a dang plane in the sky. The sign for airplane, looks like 'I love you' except that you move your hand through the air. I looked back at Ethan and I'd swear he was smirking.

One day this spring, I picked Ethan up from preschool and his teacher signed 'I love you' to Ethan. He signed it right back to HER without skipping a beat. Man, I could not believe it. So totally unfair!

Last week I was telling that story to one of the moms and her sister. They are from Syria, absolutely beautiful inside and out, and they are as wonderful as can be to Ethan. They thought that story was hilarious. On the way out, the aunt turned and signed 'I love you' to Ethan. He signed it right back to HER, also without skipping a beat. He still has not signed 'I love you' to me! Six years and still no 'I love you'! What is with THAT attitude?


Ethan had a fantastic day today in the feeding program. He ate macaroni and cheese. Not your mother's mac n cheese, it was pureed so fine that it looked like cheese sauce. It was introduced at the lunch feeding, he gagged on the first few bites then took the rest of the serving (1 oz.). He did even better at the snack feeding and ate 2 ounces of mac & cheese at the dinner feeding. It was fantastic! He officially ate a food that was not vanilla or strawberry...Hurray!

More fun tomorrow. They plan to serve sweet potatoes. A vegetable! I can't wait! I think we're on a roll.
Molly & Ethan