Celebrate

I have been wanting to blog every day for the past few days and I finally found some time.

Friday, the 15th was my 24th birthday. I don't feel any different, but it was fun to celebrate just the same.

The day before my birthday my mom took Aidan for the day so I could do this:



I hadn't had anything done to my hair in 6 months...so, I spent the morning getting a highlight, cut, and complementary hand and arm massage while I waited. It was wonderful!

After the pampered morning, I picked up Seth from work for a fun lunch at Panera. Yummy! Then, came home, layed in the sun for a little while, cleaned the bathroom, Aidan's room, and the hallway, went grocery shopping, met my mom, sister, and Aidan at the mall, shopped, but didn't buy anything, came home, and put Aidan to bed.

Seth had worship practice at church for the evening, but came home after work with these:



I spent the evening at home watching the Grey's Anatomy season finale and giving myself a manicure and pedicure. It was wonderful!

Ta dah!





Okay, so, my actual birthday was the following day, but Thursday was great!

My 24 year old self:



My mom came and spent the day with me Friday and we went to lunch at First Watch with the little bubbers. It was quite a busy lunch and we scarfed down our food so that Aidan wouldn't tear up the place. We tried to do a little shopping, but Aidan decided to protest, so we came home and relaxed instead.

My mom took Aidan for the evening so that Seth and I could go out though, and it was sooo fun. We shopped at Kohl's for a really long time and I bought some really cute New Balance shoes and a new bedding set.



The bedding is much more attractive in person, but here's a glimpse anyway. I will probably take a pic of the finished product when I am done ironing the bedskirt and shams.

We finished up the night at Olive Garden and then picked up the baby and went home.

Saturday morning, Seth made banana chocolate chip pancakes for us and we had a wonderful day shopping some more. We got a great new color for the office that I found in the OOPS paint at Home Depot. So excited about $5 gallons of paint! Aidan was a great little shopper and a little charmer everywhere we went.

Saturday night we had church and then came home and worked hard on the house.  We cleaned and cleaned until my feet almost fell off.

Woke up Sunday morning feeling sore and tired, but had to keep Aidan entertained while Seth went to church again. We took a long walk and played a lot. Aidan went down for a nap right before Seth got home, so we enjoyed a lovely leisurely lunch together, spent an hour in the sun, took a little nap, and then were off to Deanna Rose once Aidan woke up.

Aidan loved petting the goats!







Check out my new shoes in this pic! :) I love my boy!



A fun time was had by all and we really can't wait to go back again soon!

Well, that was my weekend. How was yours?

When your child is inconsolable at 12 am...

...give them a roll of paper towels to demolish. That will pretty much make any ear infection and nasty cough much better. Screaming will diminish and all will be right in the world.

A blogworthy day

My oh my! What a day it has been!

This post goes out to my sweet husband who learned early on not to ask "What do you do all day?"

Just in case you've been wondering....here's what we did (from Aidan's perspective):

When I woke up, I drank my bottle like I always do while Mommy rocked me. Mommy took me downstairs for breakfast, but I didn't want to sit very long in my high chair. When Mommy cleaned me up I decided it would be fun to take all my alphabet magnets off the refrigerator and throw them downstairs. I just noticed that there is a room down there that I never go to. It is full of boxes and other things, and I would really like to explore it, but I think that throwing my magnets will have to do for now. I still had a fever today, so I wanted to cuddle with Mommy a lot. I really love sucking my thumb and holding my blankie and Mommy has been letting me do that a lot since I have been sick.

So, we did a lot of this today:



Excuse the Mommy in the above picture...she was sans makeup at the time. Oh wait, and still is. :)

I got tired after Mommy took me on a walk and I slept for a little while. When I woke up I was very very hungry. Mommy tried to give me some food, but I just did not want to sit still and eat. I just wanted to play. While Mommy was trying to clean up the kitchen I decided to be sneaky and go up the stairs without Mommy. She caught me and I got in trouble. I needed to cry for awhile to feel better about it. Mommy is very nice, but she does not give in to my disobedience. After getting permission from Mommy to go upstairs, I decided to pull things apart in the office while Mommy was talking to Daddy. It is fun to be naughty while Mommy is busy.

Then, Mommy had the grand idea to find the froggie pool she bought on clearance last fall, so we found the pool and she blew it up.  I didn't know what to think about it all, but it looked interesting. Mommy made me go inside while she tried to fill it with warm water from the kitchen. She was carrying big bowls of water back and forth and she spilled a lot of it on herself and the kitchen floor. I cried because I thought she was going to leave me inside forever. While Mommy was filling up the water, I decided to be sneaky again and get in the kichen cabinets even though I know that I am not supposed to. While Mommy was standing at the sink I grabbed the coffee pot from inside the cabinet and it shattered all over the floor. Luckily, I wasn't hurt, but Mommy was not too happy about it. She put me in my crib and I cried. After Mommy cleaned up the mess and finished filling the pool up, she got me ready to go swimming. It was a long process and I didn't know if we would ever go outside.

Mommy put me in the water and I thought it was kinda fun. But then she sat me in it and I was not happy at all. She bribed me with some toys, but I hated the pool.

Here I am looking happy to be in the pool



Don't let this fool you, I really did not like it one bit.

I was so happy to get out.



Wait, did someone say happy?



Mommy told me to take a nap when we came inside, but I didn't really want to listen. It took me quite awhile to obey, but I finally fell asleep.

Happiness is watching you grow.

Things I've learned along the way.

Lately, I've been thinking about what strategies I have learned to not only survive the day, but to thrive in it and enjoy it.

Newborn stage:

- If you have an incredibly fussy newborn like I did, it is always good to find ways to alleviate their distress while keeping your calm. Going outside worked far more wonders than all the shushing and rocking that the books encouraged.

-Use an infant bouncy seat in the bathroom in order to get a shower and keep baby close.

-Relax. This too shall pass.

-Write down your baby's eating and sleeping times to see if any patterns develop and try to adhere to a flexible schedule.

-Read blogs and check email while nursing. Rent or borrow seasons of your favorite T.V shows if you have a baby that takes a long time to nurse.

-If the baby's noises, grunts, or even presence is keeping you awake, move them to the other room and keep the doors open. You'll hear them when they wake, but get some sleep in between.

Baby (not mobile) stage:

-Exersaucer, Exersaucer, Exersaucer!

-Put the exersaucer in front of a full length mirror and let your baby "talk" to themselves

-To keep baby entertained during family dinnertime, put them in a Bumbo seat in the middle of the table.

-Baby wraps are great for wearing baby while doing activities.

-Getting them in a more consistent routine will make everyone more than happy.

Baby (crawling):

-Set up safe play areas so that they can explore while you get things done.

-Put fun toys on the lowest bookshelf for baby to discover.

Toddler stage:

-Keep things interesting by changing activities often.

-Have them play only in their room for a short time then move to other actvities.

-Keep different toys in every room of the house.

-Go on walks...often.

-Get lunch and dinner ready before they wake from naps or start becoming fussy.

-Use teething biscuits as a distraction while preparing dinner if you didn't get it done early enough. :)

-Give them plenty of time to play alone and then spend some intentional time reading or playing with them.

-Teach your child what is off limits and stay consistent so that you won't have to keep getting them out of things...

-Always clean the kitchen after each meal so that it doesn't get too overwhelming by the end of the day.

-Use naptime as time to refresh yourself and also get chores done.

-Let them play in their crib after waking.

-Interact with them while you do chores and let them help with simple tasks.

-Take your time and remember that everything with a toddler is much slower.

Classic

Right now, having managed to get his blanket out of his crib again, Aidan is lying on his back sucking his thumb and listening to the classic rock radio station blaring on his little Cd player that he managed to break the antenna to this morning. My child is totally weird, but that is what makes him so precious at the same time.

13 months

Aidan,

Today you are 13 months old. It is amazing how much time has flown by since your birth. You are growing and learning new things all the time and it is so incredible to watch you. As we took our daily morning walk, you were squealing with excitement just to be outside and when you saw the playground you said "hi" in such a sweet little voice that it melted my heart. You are so outgoing and sweet and seem to have no fear of strangers at the moment. This past weekend at church you walked in the door and started dancing when you heard the worship music. Without even hesitating you walked right in the open doors of the sanctuary and proceeded to dance, looking around you to encourage others in your excitement. You stopped and turned for a second, looking at the huge crowd of people standing around you and clapped enthusiastically. You would have walked all the way to the stage had Daddy not scooped you up. Your excitement for life is absolutely contagious. You love to laugh at things and have the cutest little forced laugh that you are constantly doing. You know that we think you are funny and you love to perform. When you know you have done something good, you look up and clap your hands. It is not rare that you have a whole room full of people clapping for you. You have also learned a lot about obedience this month. With the kitchen in limbo as we paint the cabinets, you have had to learn a lot about self-control and listening to Mommy. You know what things are off limits and you will often go towards them only to shake your head "no" and turn around. We are still working on consistent obedience in some things...like playing with the diaper champ in your room. Mommy found some pajama pants in the there this morning as she was getting the trash to put outside. It is a good thing she thought to look! Aidan, you are such a joy. You have really grown quite affectionate lately and love to give kisses. You think that it is so funny to see Mommy and Daddy kiss and you laugh so hard. You have started hugging Mommy more and wanting to be held. Mommy aboslutely loves this and would hold you for hours if you would be agreeable to it. You love your special blankie so very much and we have found you lately lying on your floor in your bedroom just hanging out with your blankie and listening to music. It is very cute to see you so calm and comforted.  You are so easygoing and love to spend time with your grandparents and Aunt Steph. It is so nice to know that you are so well cared for. You are also such a good eater and have really started to eat more and more different foods. You would eat all day if Mommy let you. You still love your bottle even though Mommy is trying to get you used to drinking out of a cup instead. You have 2 bottles a day and you are drinking real milk now, which means no more expensive formula for Mommy and Daddy to buy.

Aidan, I could go on forever singing your praises. You have been and continue to be the biggest blessing in our lives. I love you dearly!

Love,

Mommy

Thoughts on Toddlers and Moving

I wanted to throw in this picture for fun. It was taken when Aidan was about 5 1/2 months. Oh how I love love love his little chubbiness!

I'm sitting here in our office that is still quite cluttered with books, papers, a toolbox, and other random items. The walls need some touch up because the ceiling was painted. I do have a clear view into about 1/2 of Aidan's room where he is currently playing. However, he is playing on the far side I can't see and with each little crash and noise I just know that I do not want to look around the corner. He is happy, so I welcome the mess. :)

Since we've moved, I have been on a continuum of little projects and just trying to get things in order. Yikes! We are still so far away from getting there. Every day I wake up with a huge task list and plan for much accomplishment only to find that I make it through the day following Aidan around and picking up after him. (He just came to the gate at his door with pajama pants he most likely pulled out of the dirty clothes--but with a sweet little grin on his face.) Toddlers are amazingly messy. They get in to everything, their very nature is to be curious and hands-on with everything. So, for mothers, this means that we have to be constantly close, making sure that little hands stay away from dangerous things, and picking up the trail of Cheerios they leave behind. Toddlers are always on the go. They have so much energy and need a lot of room to run around. They like to make loud noises and they are into knocking things over and throwing things to see how far they go. Toddlers always give sweet hugs and kisses and have a way of trying to communicate that is just so darn cute. They talk constantly in little baby sentences that no one can understand and they laugh and scream out loud for no apparent reason. Toddlers are followers. They watch your behavior and try to mimic it. They love to see if they can make the same noises as you and will show you how ridiculous you sound when those noises are angry or mean. Toddlers are little people walking around and figuring out the world in a way that is so fascinating and unique.

But toddlers and moving do not make a very lovely combination.

Well, I'm off to put one very tired toddler into his bed for a nap.