Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas, and it was so fun to watch Aidan enjoy being with both of our families.

On Dec. 20 we celebrated Christmas with my family because they were going out of town for the week.



Aidan loved the wrapping paper. He is really into tearing paper right now, so it was fun to watch him get excited about it. He didn't really care about the present inside though.



On the 23rd, Seth and I spent the evening decorating Christmas cookies and wrapping presents. It was a really fun night.



These were just a few of our masterpieces!

On Christmas Day, we celebrated with Seth's family. His grandparents were there as well, and we had a splendid time together. Aidan loved being the center of attention.



He was also ready to show off his new climbing skills!



All in all, it was a wonderful time with family and very relaxing for everyone.



Happy New Year!

Where's Bungle?

Aidan did the cutest thing yesterday.

Within the past couple of weeks, Aidan has suddenly developed a love for a specific blanket and a stuffed monkey called Bungle. Every time he goes to bed, we wrap him in his blanket (which he caresses with his hand) and put Bungle the monkey next to him. It's very cute because he often smiles or laughs when he sees his special little monkey friend. This is great for all of us because Aidan now no longer feels the urge to crawl and stand up before naptime as long as he has these two special lovies.

So, yesterday, I went in to get him from his nap and he was doing the usual standing and talking thing. I decided to sit in the glider and just talk to him instead of picking him up right away. He laughed and "talked" to me for quite awhile. Then, I asked him "Aidan, where's Bungle?" He looked at me like he was trying to understand me and so I asked him a couple more times. All of a sudden, he turned to look around in his crib, happily plopped down and grabbed his monkey. He hugged him and laughed, so proud of himself for finding Bungle.  I, on the other hand, could not believe that he understood me. He still doesn't seem to understand that I am "Ma Ma" yet, but he sure knows who Bungle is. I am constantly amazed by my little guy.

Thank the Lord for Cheerios!

Aidan is now eating finger foods, or at least starting to. He can pick up Cheerios and crackers off his tray now. And, the best part about it is that he loves it! So, when Mommy needs a little downtime from chasing him around the house, the Cheerios come out and all is right in the world. :)

Aidan also has a new infatuation with trash cans. Even if he is in an entirely different room he always immediately crawls as fast as he can towards the kitchen to get to the trash can. I chase him, retrieve him, tell him "no", and we start the whole game over again. Just a couple weeks ago it was the shoes at the front door. We have now blocked that off, but the kitchen is open. I am trying to figure out how to gate off the kitchen without it being a huge pain. Some of the obstacles we have created to keep Aidan out of things make walking a little difficult at times.

I really do love my little boy even more every day though. Some days he just gets in to things all day and requires so much energy, but I still love spending that time with him. I have learned a lot about just relaxing and being with him if he needs me. Now, most of the time, he can play by himself, but some days he just need to be held and loved on. On these days I just have to let the house go, not worry about taking a shower, and just be with him. He is really so sweet and I don't want to miss these days because I am too busy to sit still and just watch him play. It won't be long until I won't have a baby to cradle and rock, a little one who wants to be fed, who loves to be held, who smiles at me like I am his world...Even though I hope to have many more babies in life, Aidan will only be my very first baby once...and I don't want to forget, or miss, a thing.

8 Months

Unbelievable!

My little boy is 8 months old today. So much has happened in the last month too. Aidan has gotten really good at crawling and is really quick. He is usually across the room before we can even turn our heads. He stands up all the time now and is trying to "walk" along things. He has had many falls and bruises and bumps, but he is a tough cookie and hardly makes a big deal out of it. He got his first two teeth this past month and that has been a really big pain for us all. Naptime has gotten quite difficult for everyone. Aidan also got sick for the very first time and ended up with a double ear infection on Thanksgiving day. He loves his bubble gum flavored antibiotics though!

Aidan's favorites right now are the Cd player, shoes, the buckles on our antique trunk/coffee table, eating apple slices with the help of his mesh feeder, taking baths, eating teething tablets, using his new walker, standing up in his crib and looking at himself in the mirror, going outside (except it's been too cold lately), and pushing around his toy box along the floor.

Aidan fills our days with fun and laughter and it's so great to watch him discover new things.

Here are just a few of his favorite things!

Standing up with the help of the CD player. This is actually the very first thing he pulled up on.



Taking a bath



Eating a teething biscuit



Being with Mommy