Thanksgiving

Ethan did not enjoy turkey with us, but this picture sure looks like he did! (I promise this was not posed at all--he just happened to lift his shirt and rub his belly) We had a great time in Augusta. Uncle Matty was home from UGA, Chad and his new wife Pam drove over from Thomson, and GrandMartha and Grandpop (Ethan's great-grandparents) dropped by, too! It was a wonderful time with family.

Family Fun

Reading with Mum
Fun times with Stacie and Gavin

Reading the paper with Daddy


We went to Durham again a couple weekends ago. Dennis went for work recruiting and we got to see some old friends and have some time to walk around campus. Ethan is starting out with strong Duke influences from his parents--can you tell?

Ethan and Mommy also took a quick trip to Augusta last week. It was so fun to see Mum and Papi along with some friends. We also got to have lunch with Uncle Chad and Aunt Pam.

Helmet Update!

Ethan at his appointment today--big sitting boy! Top 'o his head!

Ethan has his first measuring appointment today, and we got to see his amazing progress! He has been going through a major growth spurt--I could tell because he was eating a lot (of mostly mommy-made food...what an adventure!) and growing out of his clothes. This helps because the helmet is made to direct growth--the helmet leaves room for growth on the flat side and is flush with the protruded side. Most of his growth is filling in the flatter side of the head, which is a great thing!

For number crunchers, Ethan started with a cranial vault asymmetry of 13mm before the band and now has one of only 5mm! Cranial vault asymmetry is basically the difference between the measurements of the two diagonals of the skull. His cephalic index (width divided by length) was 93.1% and now it's 86.8%, so he is doing really well. His orthotist said today that Ethan will definitely have the cranial band completely off by Christmas and we'll start tapering before that. I'm so excited! It's so rewarding to see the progress.

Halloween!

The bride, the bridesmaid (a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty), and Superman
The two big boy cousins!

For really the first time in my (Liz speaking, just always assume it's me because Dennis claims he didn't even know we had a blog until a couple weeks ago :)...) adult life, I live in a neighborhood where kids actually trick or treat! It was so fun to see the parade of kids (young and maybe too old??). Ethan had a quick photo shoot with his cousins before heading home to help me answer the door. Dennis even came home early to help us out, which was super fun. Somehow I convinced him not to give out congee as a trick...

daddy-o

Ethan and Dennis have lots of fun together. I think Dennis enjoys getting his silly side out with Ethan. Yes, this is Ethan helping Daddy compose a message on his Blackberry one sunny Saturday morning. :)

"Scooter"

Dennis calls Ethan "Scooter" now because he looks like he's ready for a ride with his helmet! After a *very* rough beginning (it was too tight for the first 3 days) and several adjustments, Ethan is a happy boy who barely knows he's wearing his bright blue helmet. I knew it was going to be a difficult time for me as his mommy, but I was very unprepared for how hard it would be for him at first. I had never heard of a helmet making a baby cry like this, and it was heart-wrenching for Dennis and me to try to figure out if he just didn't like it or if it didn't fit correctly. We've gotten the expected stares and lack of eye contact, and I believe I've gotten a taste of what it's like to have a child with a disability. People just don't know what to do, and they don't know what's wrong, so they just look away. Some are great and just smile back at Ethan, which makes my day. I do believe this will be a long three months, but I'm getting used to my sweet boy in his helmet!

D-U-K-E!!!

Zonked...tired of being a happy fan!


Ethan visited Duke for the first time last weekend for Homecoming! The annual McClure family tradition of enduring a Duke football game (at least the weather is always gorgeous) continues, and Ethan cheered up all of the disgruntled fans with his very own custom-made blue devil outfit from his grandmother Mum. (also a tradition in the McClure family--we all grew up with these little blue capes, horns, and pointy tails!) He really did steal the show and was a very happy mascot.