GETTING BIGGER

This is the latest shot of Ethan. He's up to 30 inches and around 22 pounds. He's definitely getting bigger.

ETHAN'S FIRST KOREAN BIRTHDAY

So, the daycare wanted to give Ethan a first birthday party...and apparently a first birthday gift. Here, he's all dressed up in his Korean digs.

HOME AGAIN

Ethan did really well on the trip back to Korea. But, it did take a little while to get back on his sleep pattern...and to get his hair under control.

PARTY GUESTS

Ethan had all sorts of guests at his birthday party. They included Grandma, Grandpa, Mimi, Nana, and Pappy, not to mention his good friend Roman and his mommy Amber, and Sage and Cale and Amy all enjoyed cake and ice cream.

MMM...CAKE

So, Ethan finally decided the cake wasn't bad and he started eating it...

Until Daddy put his hat on, and that darn thing just had to come off!

ETHAN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY

Ethan had his first birthday party at Country Cupboard. He wasn't quite sure about the cake at first, then he decided it wasn't half bad.

BABY BELLY

Tara and JR had dinner with their friends Bridgette and Chris while they were home. They were expecting a little girl in January.

ETHAN WITH HIS GODMOTHER

Aunt DJ got some good quality time with her Godson while we were home, here playing with Tara and Ethan.

FAMILY SHOTS

The families posed for shots, as well as the original shot of all the Shappell brothers and sisters.

ETHAN AND HIS COUSINS

Ethan get to spend a little time with his cousins - Becca, Mikey, Gabby, and Austin. He also made the trip down to Aunt Tammy and Uncle Dave's to spend more time with Gabby and Austin

ETHAN'S FIRST CHRISTMAS (PART III)

Ethan's final leg of the Christmas tour was with JR's parents. Here, his cousins and aunts and uncles all made the trip from near and far to celebrate the season. Nana got to watch a movie with her grandkids and pappy and Ethan played peek-a-boo through the chair.

QUALITY TIME WITH PAPA

Ethan got to spend a little quality time with Papa Ron while he was home. We're not sure if it was the beard or if they were just on the same wavelength, but he was definitely one of Ethan's best pals while we were home. (Top) He helps Ron inspect a Christmas gift.

(Middle) This is one reason Ethan didn't get to see Santa... could you imagine what he would do to Santa's beard?

(Bottom) Here's a good shot of the two of them just hanging out.

HANGING WITH MOMMY'S FAMILY

So, let's just say Ethan was no void of attention during Christmas 1, Part II. Here, he's trying to play with the camera; he's having some coffee with grandpa; he's rolling on the floor laughing with Uncle Charlie; he's learning with Aunt Lyndsay; and he even had time to stop and smile for the camera.

ETHAN AND THE COFFEE CUP

So, we aren't really sure how or why or even when this happened, but Ethan loves coffee cups. We started giving them to him when we finished a cup because he would get so angry we weren't sharing. Here, he has one of the coffee cups from Sheetz after Tara and JR picked up one of the Christmas Day free offers. He sure does love his coffee...cup.

ETHAN'S FIRST CHRISTMAS (PART II)

Ethan's second first Christmas went about as well as the first. As you can see he had a mountain of presents and he directed his mom to which one he wanted. He even took some time after the presents were opened to show his grandpa how to play with his toys.