Christmas at Yia-Yia's

Ethan's first Christmas was of course an exciting day. Ethan got to wear his Santa outfit (purchased months before his birth along with a little girl outfit... just in case) for his big debut to his cousins Luke and Cole and to his Daddy's Nouno, Nouna, and Nounitsa. Ethan was of course incredibly excited about opening presents. Although he of course could not verbalize his excitement, he showed his contentment the only way he knew how... by passing out and sleeping like a baby; we know exactly what you mean Ethan.






For more pictures from Ethan's first Christmas, follow this link.

...And on the fifth day, Ethan returned home.

After 5 days in the hospital, Ethan Andreas Stoddard has finally come home! The last few days in the hospital were smooth sailing. Mom continued to heal well from surgery and Ethan could be seen changing almost daily. Ethan adjusted well to life outside the womb and quickly got the hang of the sleeping, pooping, and eating. OK, to be honest, he almost had some issues with #2. For a bit we thought that he was going to take after his Nouno in that regard but then literally seconds away from a quite uncomfortable procedure he pulled through and opened up; almost as if to say "PSYCH!" Who says babies can't have a sense of humor.













Finally the time came to come home; and of course it happened on the weekend of one of the biggest snow storms in years. Mom and Dad dressed Ethan up in his comfy red suite (a-la A Christmas Story) and set off for home. Ethan did great on the ride home, passing into an almost coma-like sleep. We all made it safe and sound and began settling into our new lives together.
Go here for more photos of Ethan's final days in the hospital and first day home.

Ethan Andreas Stoddard was born on December 16th, 2009 at 3:02 PM. He weighed 8 pounds 13 ounces (I guess that is what happens when you are 12 days over cooked) and measured 21.75 inches in length. Most importantly, though he was also born EXTREMELY cute!

The first two days were filled with the usual new-born baby excitement; family and friends pouring in non-stop, lots of oogling and augling, and of course the three "C"s of every infant: cuddling, crying, and crapping. Then of course there was the start of the debate over who he looks like more. It is funny how Mom seems to see more Dad and Dad seems to see more Mom. However, one thing that we both agree upon, is that he seems to have more of Dad's temperament than Mom's. Like Father, like Son:
For a full photographic recount of Ethan's first 48 hours of life, follow this link here.