26 March 2010

Where has my baby gone?

Today was Aiden's 18 month check up...really? Already?  Where has my baby gone?  He has been taken over by this big boy type kid who says real words, runs, climbs, uses a potty, and loves books.  Today he weighs 26 lbs and is 33 inches tall. The doc said he's about right in the middle of the growth chart at about 56%.  Although our baby disappears a little more each day, we are over joyed at the little man he is becoming in place of that baby.  Aiden is saying so many words now and is still using the signs he knows to communicate.  He has a tendency to shorten his words though...butt (button), ketch (ketchup), op (open), crack (cracker), etc.  Cute, huh? Yeah, until we're in public and he knows there are crackers in his bag so he starts digging through it looking for the "crack!"  Luckily, I haven't been questioned about having drugs in my bag...yet!  Its possible though, that if I ever were questioned Aiden would scare them off by showing them his muscles.  He loves loves loves to show his muscles and make sure you know just how tough he is!  Aiden now pees in the potty daily!! We are nowhere close to being potty trained, but its a start and he enjoys making mommy and daddy proud when he does it.  He even claps for himself now and reminds whoever is in the bathroom with him at the time that the pee is "don't touch."  He hasn't quite figured out how to do more than just pee in the potty yet though...only once so far has he used it for more than just pee.  (Daddy took pictures of the monumental feat, but I figure you don't need to see it to believe it!)  Sometimes he will tell us "poo" after he goes in his diaper and I'm ok with that as its still a step in the right direction!  Aiden has really taken a liking to his picture word books.  His favorites are My Little Word Book and Happy Baby Animals, among others. We, no, He never tires of reading them and making sure mom-mom and dad don't forget what animals make what sounds.  He is still a very busy little guy and rarely sits to watch T.V. but when he does he likes to watch Chuggington on Disney channel.  Above all else though, if the weather is nice he wants to be outside! Thank goodness for Spring finally arriving and the weather allowing us to be out more.  We are looking forward to doing lots of fun things this Spring and Summer and Adam and I are excited to help Aiden grow and learn with each new experience.  He is so curious and loves a good challenge which also challenges us as parents, daily.  I wouldn't have it any other way, Aiden is more than I could have ever asked for in a child.  God is good!  And what kind of proud mom would I be if I didn't share a few new pics!?! 
 -Aiden enjoys helping daddy refill corn in the feeders and then watching for the squirrels & deer-

-This is a little guy who likes insists on doing things all by himself-

-Enjoying a treat and a sticker for pooping in the potty! Yay!-

-The Happy Baby Animals Book (Looks like a tough call on who's enjoying that more?!)-

-Flexin' 'cause spinach gives you big muscles ya know...helping mommy plant some-

-If he knows its bath time he heads straight to the tub...he's such a little fish
(or "Shish" as he would say)-

-There's those big muscles again...What a stud-

-Typical dirty boy-
How can you not love that face...dirt or no dirt?!
 

A day for Green

Happy belated St. Patty's Day from us!  The day was very low-key around here.  We wore green and looked for green things through out the day.  I had planned to make corned beef and cabbage for dinner, but was then informed that if I did Adam wasn't going to eat it. So...I scratched that and made chipped beef on toast with steamed cabbage.  Something happened while I was making dinner though...IT TURNED GREEN!! I think a little leprechaun must have snuck in and tricked us.  Aiden thought it was silly, but gobbled it all up anyway!

And finally, HAPPY SPRING!!

22 March 2010

From Hair to Bare

About a week ago Aiden was due for a hair cut, again! (If you don't remember, we started before he was 4 months old!) He usually gets at least one a month and used to be soooo good at sitting for daddy. We used to talk about how over joyed we were to have a child who would sit so nicely and cooperate so well during haircuts! Well recently, he has decided that he would like to make each hair cut incredibly more difficult and stressful.  Usually while daddy does the buzzing, mommy is trying to find anything she can to entertain the wiggly, squirmy, unable to sit still toddler.  We've tried the comb, the guards, the dogs, cupcake pops, suckers, chocolate, electronics, acting silly, singing and we've even given him some miniature clippers that just buzz but won't hurt him. When I say nothing works, that's an understatement.  It has become such a challenge but the longer we put it off & the longer his hair gets...the crazier it gets & the more it sticks out!  So...like I said it was time once again to tackle the beast that was growing atop our sons head.  This time we tried setting him in front of the tv...but again no such luck. He was so unhappy and throwing his head around that the clippers caught his ear and he started bleeding.  So now my job was to try to hold a towel on his ear AND comfort him AND entertain him.  I've done some things that are really no fun at all, but this made me want to poke myself in the eye with a sharp stick! We ended up trying to give him candy and some small clippers again...except this time the miniature ones were m.i.a. so, what the heck, we gave him the cordless trimmers.  What were we thinking?!?  He put them right up to his head and took out a spot right on the top! After having a good laugh (because it wasn't too noticeable) we continued to try to finish the cut.  Yes, at this point I was still trying to hold the blood towel... except now I was also trying to calm the barber who was becoming more and more frustrated with every minute that this whole mess continued to go on.  Finally, we called it good and put Aiden in the tub.  It was getting late, so we cleaned up but didn't get everything put away before going to bed.  The next day I realized daddy had left the clipper set (which is in a zippered bag type thing) on the counter in the kitchen.  And this is how I realized that they had been left there...
I was in the living room doing something & I hear the cordless trimmers turn on.  Uh oh! In the very short time it took me to get to the kitchen Aiden had already taken the trimmers right up the front of his head.  He had pulled the whole zippered bag down off the counter...which wouldn't have been a big deal except when daddy forgot to put them away the night before, he also forgot to zip it shut!!  The good news is that he didn't get his eyebrows and there was no more blood shed.  We decided against letting him walk around looking like an idiot for the next few weeks and let him take the clippers into the bathroom and cut it off the rest of the way...with daddy's help of course.


The next morning when Aiden was standing at the sink while I brushed his teeth he began looking concerned and was looking and feeling for his hair.  Once I told him that it would be gone for a while but that it would come back, he was ok with it.  He's not ever really been much of a at wearer but he now has been wearing one when we go out to keep the sun and the rain off his head.  Its already looking like its grown some and I'm sure that in a short time he'll be his bushy headed little self again!!
And for those of you wondering what became of the clippers?...they have been safely zipped up in their bag and put up in mommy and daddy's bathroom where Aiden is rarely allowed to go!

What a Brat

AN ARMY BRAT...
DEAL WITH IT!

18 March 2010

Fab Feb Fun

Yeah, Yeah...I know its march and once again Im behind.  You should be used to it by now.  Someday I'll get caught up, ok well maybe not but a girl can dream right?! Anyway, February was a busy month for us. You've seen some of the fun we had, but here's some more!  Thank goodness American Idol started right after the Olympics (even though the talent doesn't compare!) because we watched them every night and when they were over we found ourselves questioning what we were going to do after dinner?!  Don't get me wrong, we'd much rather still be watching the Olympics but at least we know we have something we want to watch and don't just flip through channels mindlessly looking for something all night.  I actually didn't think we were watching that much of the Olympics....until I found Aiden in the kitchen one day doing this....
And although I'm not really sure what sport he's playing, exactly...Maybe someday we'll see him receiving a gold medal in it!  I also mentioned a while back that our friends, Lindsey, Matt, Kai and Blake came to visit. While they were here we went to the Discovery Center in Springfield.  We all ended up liking the children's museum we went to in St Louis last year better, but it was nice to get out of the house and keep the boys (yes, even the big ones too) busy for awhile.

 


The boys all play so great and always have fun spending time together...right up 'til bedtime even!

And last, but not least...we welcomed "Frank" into our home in February.  Adam had the buck he shot last fall mounted for the wall.  No, they're not going to be all over the house but this one was his first and we agreed that it was a special one.  It took the dogs some time to get used to him, but Aiden liked (and liked touching) him right away.  So when you walk into our house, he will be there to greet you on the living room wall.  Why his name is Frank, I cannot tell you...but he is pretty quite and we don't have to feed or clean up after him so I'm ok with him sticking around.
"Frank"

11 March 2010

Thursday Throwback

Our sweet boy, a year ago.
Experimenting with grass for the first time...so much has changed in  a year.  He now runs through the grass and will begin new adventures this spring and summer that are much more complex than grass!
just two little teeth
chubby little wrists
both now only to be seen in pictures
like the insects who reappear in the spring, time is flyin'

10 March 2010

I.love.this.

Danny Gokey was a favorite of ours during season8 of American Idol. I have fallen in love with this song and all the little messages that pop up in the video... ♥


life is way to short..to be anything but happy ♥ make better mistakes tomorrow ♥ if not now..then when? ♥ forgive ♥ challenge yourself ♥ stop dreaming. start living ♥ be yourself. everyone else is already taken ♥ never settle ♥ be somebody ♥ don't worry. everything is going to be amazing ♥ replace fear of the unknown with curiosity ♥ its never too late ♥ dream big ♥ live now.

I think I must have the whole cd!! He's also touring now & I have added him to the list. Right after Darius Rucker, of course :)

Wordless Wednesday

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08 March 2010

Birthday Fun

I just celebrated my 26th Birthday! wow.  My twenties has been great so far.  So many things have happened in the last few years that have really shaped me into the woman I was meant to be.  It was so nice to celebrate with such great friends this year.  Here in Missouri I have a really great friend, Lindsey.  And back home of course there's that really great friend I've had since freshman year in High School, Lindsey!  Lindsey here, has a birthday just 5 days before mine so we also had a fun celebration for her too!  We went to dinner at a wonderful restaurant in Springfield, the Flame.  Amazing food!...and a delicious dessert to follow.  If you read the post about the Superbowl, you saw the picture of the football treats. Lindsey and Kris loved those so I made her cake out of the "football" truffle filling.  After we'd all eaten too much, we went to see the broadway show STOMP.  It was a lot of fun for Adam and I to get out of the house for a night and do something like we used to do.  It was overdue and we always have fun with Kris and Lindsey, this night was no different!
Lindsey and her special cake!

Just us, enjoying our date night!

After the show...Kris was apparently having a blast!!
(He's way too cool)

Birthday Girls

But the fun didn't stop there! My Birthday was the following Thursday and I had told Adam that we didn't need to do anything else because we had just had a fun weekend.  He, however, thought that I needed more.  I love him.  He set up a wonderful surprise with Lindsey (from home) and her family! I still had plans to go to spinning and enjoy a quiet night at home with my boys but I knew something was up when Adam got home from work, I just didn't know what!  To my surprise, before I headed off to spinning, I noticed someone standing at our front door.  Before I could even question it, Matt, Blake, Lindz and Kai all came walking in!  It was so nice to see them all and to know that they made such a effort to make my birthday special this year (including the scotcheroos)! And believe it or not, the fun didn't even stop there! Have I mentioned I love my husband? He took me shopping for a few things that weekend too...I love my new Oakleys most of all! Kris and Lindsey even brought over some cupcakes and something nice for me.  Life is good!!

03 March 2010

Strawberry Shortcake & Pop Tarts with a Spoon

Today is Wednesday and I've been good about posting wordlessly.  But I have many new pictures to share that I couldn't resist sharing these of Aiden...when you see them you will understand why words are necessary!  Since he brightens our days with his silly ways, I hope these will make you smile too!  When we had family here a couple weekends ago we all enjoyed some strawberry shortcake.  The strawberries we very cold and almost sour, but oh so good.

If I haven't mentioned it a couple hundred million times before, Aiden is so silly! He makes us laugh all.the.time.  On this particular day, he was eating a pop tart with a spoon.  After explaining to him that he could just pick it up & eat it, which would be much easier, he still insisted on using the spoon.  It made breakfast a little more challenging...but no worries, I still got a thumbs up!


01 March 2010

Late Again

Here I am ready to post pictures from Valentines Day and some February fun...and it's the first of March! Yikes...February was a busy month.  It was filled with family, friends, laughter, sunshine, and good memories.  We started off the month with Grandma visiting and having friends over to our place for the Superbowl.  We were rootin' for the Colts but must admit that the Saints deserved the win! We made our annual pickle pinwheels (which Adam creatively arranged as a goal post) and I also made these devilish little football treats for the occasion...

The next weekend in February, which was Valentine's weekend, we had a full house.  Aunt Jess, Josh (or Juuush as Aiden says), Rachel and Nana all came to visit!  We spent Saturday in Springfield and Rachel got her ears pierced at the mall and she even chose the purple, or amethyst (my birthstone) earrings!
Later that weekend, the kids and I made chocolate Valentine suckers. What messy fun!

And how could I forget...the most important Valentines of all. My boys.  This year I got a sticker picture from Aiden and a red rose and box of chocolates from Adam. Love is in the air!