Christmas 2008

Aiden's 1st Christmas was a hit. Thank you to all for the cards and gifts. Eli and I have decided to make our millions by inventing edible wrapping paper and marketing it for Babies!

Overall an excellent day! He made it through to the very last of his gifts then fell sound asleep for a nice long nap while Mommy and Daddy exchanged their gifts.

...and to all a goodnight!

To all of our friends and family who can't be with us for Christmas: We miss you and love you!

Quote of the season: (E to J after she reference that she purchased a few stocking stuffers for him)

"Am I supposed to stuff your stocking?"

NO! We'll just leave that to the big guy in the red suit! That's good, I am glad to know he still believes!

Mmmmm...

Aiden had his four month wellness check on Tuesday and was cleared to start solids. He was a champ and acted like an old pro after his first try. He then slept for an unbelievable 12 HOURS without a peep! This made his Momma VERY happy. Woohoo for rice cereal! He weighed in at 15.7 and was 26 inches long.

Cut and Paste

I don't have 7 minutes, but . . .

From Alex Payne - super fun!
If interested . . . Copy and paste this to your blog and bold the ones that you HAVE done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band (the school band :) )
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea (on a lake actually)
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie/commercial/tvshow
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House (I stood outside the gate . . . does that count?)
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Itty Bitty Bum

Alright everyone, I do understand that Aiden is ONLY 3 and 3/4 months old. However, that fact did not keep me from becoming misty-eyed today. I was cleaning out his diaper bag and I found a spare of one of his old diapers stuffed in the bottom. I cannot believe how big his little butt has gotten, and I swear I say that with all the love in my heart!(glad he's not a girl!) He is still brand new to this earth and it is hard to believe he was ever that small! Way to double your weight in 3 months, little man.

I need to stop before I start bawling...Aiden and I are off to make beanut-butter kisses and snowman cookies to brighten the day.

The latest happenings

She Bangs, She Bangs...

Ok, I went in this past weekend for a much needed update on my look. I sat down in my very trusted stylists chair and said "I'm bored, do whatever you want". Famous last words, right? It actually didn't turn out too bad. I now have bangs circa 1950...cute but they take some getting used too, as well as several inches removed from the overall "do". Pictures to come soon.

And yes, I did think twice about the title for this blog, but hey...if your reading this than you know me and my sense of humor....

Before and After

Aiden's early arrival overshadowed our summer project...here are the pics of the outcome:

Before

Before

After

After

I promise I haven't forgotten that I have a Blog!

Sorry I have been off line for so long. Things have been crazy...

Aiden is kicking like crazy and getting more control over those crazy hands. He is getting closer and closer to rolling over and seems to have established a fairly regular sleep/nap routine. The big project for the weekend was a re-organization of the laundry room, garage, and office. All is well, and we are having lots of fun...even if it means just staying home and being a family.

Here are some recent pictures I have been behind on posting.

For those of you in the know...

Eli is IN! 2009 will be a very interesting year...

Weekend Update

We had a pretty great weekend, overall.

High points: Got to go out to Happy Hour on Friday, movies and shopping with friends on Saturday, and Sunday Morning in P.J.'s. Kicked off training with Little Tuna, Big Tuna, and Ayla.

Low points: Ayla barfed ON the curtains in the middle of the night (which entailed me stain-treating, washing, and ironing the curtains which were supposed to be dryclean only...but they turned out fine), Aiden somehow went through daylight savings time without us and now has his nights confused with his days.

2 Month Check-Up

Here are the stats...

14lbs 2 oz. (95%)

25 Inches long(+95%)

Handled all four shots like a champ...

Highlights from our visit to Indiana!

A visit to Great-Great Aunt Ottie!

She's got the touch!

I'm the one with the towel on my head.

Having a good laugh together!

Is Kitty-Meow a bit jealous?

"It's stuck!"

Hope he doesn't need too much therapy for this!

Brave Souls

Tomorrow afternoon we are heading back to IN. Thank goodness we decided to split the drive in half over two days. My mommy-worry seems to be gearing up...but I think it will all subside as soon as we are under way. Baby-Daddy has promised to stop as often as we need:)

Jackpot!

Aiden's favorite pacifier (which we thought we had lost in D.C.) was found in the washer, safe and sound!

Too much party? There's no such thing!

Aiden went to two big events this weekend: A going away party down on the beach and a bonfire at a friends house. We were unsure what the outcome would be since these were the first BIG and slightly wild get togethers we have had since he was born. He did AWESOME. He slept through the beach party like a champ (including Daddy's rare tequilla shots in honor of our buddy going to Japan) and then SLEPT (almost) through the night...what a surprise! Then next night he was quiet and content to socialize at our friends bonfire and, again, followed his normal sleep schedule!

And yes, to all those reading this, I know these days won't last!

Busy Day in D.C.

"Ba" with a view!

The boys :)

Baby's 1st Nuke?

End of the day....We were both sooo tired!

This is always one of the BEST weekends of the year: The National Book Festival! Aiden got to see Laura and Jenna (and their accompanied weaponry) Bob, Cokie, and David Shannon...

the down side: It rained and our umbrella decided to break on the Metro, plus someone decided they would only tolerate the B-Bjorn facing forward with arms out, and we lost a pacifier....

the upside: made it in time to see everyone we wanted to see AND spent a large portion of the day in the motherland (NASM)...Aiden was mesmerized and SO GOOD! We are now the owners of a new Smithsonian umbrella and we made it home dry with BOTH socks!

Life is Good!

Tummy Time!

They look like they are having fun, don't they!

It's so worth NOT having the big back yard...I get to see this every day at 11:00!

The real baby of the house...caught red handed!

"Wimming" in the bubbles, as cousin J would say...

Learning to bend the rules...

While I have never considered myself too caught up in rules or the way things need to be, impending parenthood seems to bring that side out in most of us. But as soon as the baby is actually here it all seems to go out the window. For example:

The pros say to avoid the pacifier...but if I didn't use it my kiddo would be attached to me all day.

In the middle of a particularly long night, I moved him to the vibrating bouncy seat...and we had our best night's sleep since he was born.

Baths seem to only occur once every other day.

I had great aspirations to use cloth diapers...think I will be using flushables (check out gdiapers.com). A friend gave me a pack and I am kinda crazy about them.

I thought I would move Aiden out of the travel crib (that was in our bedroom) after a week...It took me five BUT he seems to have adjusted just fine. In fact, I put him in there with his Paci and he put himself to sleep last night!


Guilt and motherhood seem to have a strange connection...but I am learning to not feed the machine...

Adventures in Baby Raising!

We had a busy, but fun week with Aiden.

First, we had his one-month wellness check: 11lbs 8oz(!) 23 inches long and healthy as a horse.

We have had some minor reflux issues, but nothing to worry about.

Aiden has been nearly sleeping through the night...waking only once or twice between 10 and 6.

Took the kiddo to the movies on base, saw Pineapple Express and had a few good laughs. Aiden did very well.

Most exciting of all: "Cats" Aiden and I had a chance to join Daddy for some catapult launches on base. With the help of a little hearing protection of course. Very violent, very loud, but pretty cool! We left Aiden in the car with a friend for one...I felt like I was standing RIGHT next to the airplane... the wind and heat coming of those afterburners is crazy! Aiden didn't even flinch in the car...future fighter pilot?

Just For Fun

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Do a good job, do a good job....

So mommy-hood has been excellent so far. I have had plenty of support from an awesome family. But I didn't realize the calm realization I would come to the instant Aiden was born: I HAVE to do a good job. Failure is just not on the table. Don't get me wrong...I am sure I will make mistakes like every other parent in the world, some of them may be big mistakes. And my feelings are not the frantic, hormonal roller coaster I expected...It's really more of a "step up to the plate and hit a homer" kind of focus. I just have to succeed in life for this little guy.

Whoosh!

Holy-Moly, who knew the difference 4 hours and 22 minutes can make!