My Stoic Naysayer

Ethan's favorite word is no. Big surprise, right? Well it is to me! Faith never went through the 'no' phase. For my son, it's not so much a phase, but a way of life. Ethan will follow every question, comment or glance with "Naaaaoooooo" (Yes, he's says it whiny and drawn-out like that - every time). He will say no before you've even finished saying whatever it is you're trying to say to him. And he scrunches up his eyes and sticks out his lip just so, like he wants his whole face to send the 'no' message, not just his voice. Besides his passion for the word 'no', Ethan is essentially void of emotion when we are in public or with strangers. I think people think he's...broken. He won't laugh, cry or even look at you usually. We've always called him Mr. Serious but I didn't realize how different he was until I spent some time with a friend's little girl who is the same age. She'd giggle and gibber and have a generally good time - even if there wasn't anything generally good going on. Ethan just sat there, like the day to day lives of the people around him was undoubtedly the most boring thing he'd ever been faced to endure. Remember the cartoon character Daria? That's my son. It's a shame because he has the funniest giggle (semi-neurotic...like his sister, ha!) and the sweetest smile. He's also totally in love with anything mobile and will tell you all about trucks...whether you want to listen or not. But not in public. He has 2 modes in public. Stoic Ethan and Embarrassing-my-mom-with-this-super-ridiculous-for-no-reason-cry-fest Ethan. Really cool I tell ya! Here are some pictures I took last week. The growl face is him telling me his favorite word ("No", of course). He's a crazy kid, but I wouldn't trade him! (Most days!)

Oh and he's still totally a blanky-boy. He's double fisting here! (With the thumb to boot!)