My little World: Choo-choos, cars, and lip gloss

My Favorite Time of Day

2010-05-14T08:54:00.006-04:00

I'm a night owl. I just can't make myself go to bed early when there are so many things that I can do when I finally have some time to myself. However, once I finally do get to bed I love sleeping in and since sleeping in isn't possible very often, I've never been much of a morning person.

I've always been a little tired and grouchy in the mornings. My morning grumpiness even earned me the nickname "Hornet" from the time I was a little girl until I graduated from high school. My dad would always say that it was best to avoid me any time before 10 am.

However, mornings are now my favorite time of day.

See my little tiny share of the bed between the boys?

Mornings are for fuzzy baby hair and rumpled bed head.

Holden always wakes up with fuzzy hair and reminds me of a little baby bird :)

Mornings are for excited babbling and brothers "wrestling"

Mornings are about hugs and smiles and cuddles.

For my little guys mornings are all about the possibilities that each new day holds. They always wake up with big smiles, eager to start the day. It's a precious time and I'm going to enjoy it. With or without sleep.

Shopping With The Boys

2010-05-14T00:04:00.009-04:00

Normally, I don't take the boys to the mall. We usually stick to Safeway or Target and that's a chore that I never really look forward to! On the rare occasions that we do end up at the mall, I would never even think about trying anything on. Well, this evening I was reminded why that is.

The boys and I are in Tennessee right now and I agreed to take my 11 year old sister to the mall while our mom was getting her hair done. The boys were great while we ate dinner in the food court. Then Aiden got a little wild, running through a department store while pushing Holden in the stroller, making up karate type dances to music playing in the shoe store and then Holden started screaming to be held...

With my sister pushing Aiden in the stroller and me carrying Holden on my hip, it was calm enough for me to think that it might be a good idea to try on some cute summer dresses at Wet Seal.

All four of us filed into a dressing room and it started out really well. Mandy held Holden and Aiden sat quietly on the bench. It wasn't until I was trying on the last dress, that Aiden got bored. That's when he decided to open the dressing room door and scream,

"Look at my mommy! She's NAKED! Look at my NAKED mommy!!!"

I peered out the door and there were 2 teenage boys sitting outside the dressing rooms. My sister started cracking up. This made Aiden laugh and he kept shouting for everyone to look at his naked mommy.

Just to state a fact. I was never naked in the dressing room. And when he was yelling that I was, I was still wearing the dress that I had been trying on. I don't think I will be trying on anything else unless someone is watching the boys outside the dressing room!

Who wouldn't want to go shopping with these little guys?!

A Little Bit of CUTEness

2010-05-12T17:21:00.003-04:00

I know that my pictures are a little bit repetitive, but I just LOVE how much my boys like being with one another.

I knew that Aiden was going to be a great big brother from the moment I told him that he was going to have a little brother or sister. He's always been such a sweet little boy. He told me this morning, "Did you know that I'm a helper? It's my job to help people. I will help Holden with anything that he needs." Precious.

Aiden adoring Holden

Holden adoring Aiden

I love these boys!

Things Are Getting Ready to be a Lot More Interesting

2010-05-11T19:54:00.004-04:00

Look who is staring to crawl!

I sat Holden on the floor with some toys while I made breakfast for Aiden this morning. One of the toys he wanted was a litte out of reach and he managed to get onto his knees and crawl a few paces to get it. But then he wasn't sure what to do because he hasn't learned to get back into a sitting position from his stomach.

Holden seemed pretty proud!

Aiden was so excited. He shouted, "Mommy! Holden just crawled!" and he spent the rest of the day trying to teach him how to crawl faster. It was precious.

Slugs and Slime

2010-05-06T22:28:00.002-04:00

I recently found out about a nature center near us that offers weekly activities for preschoolers. As soon as I saw the Slugs and Slime program I knew that Aiden would love it.

This was our first program at this nature center so I had no idea what to expect. When we got there, our group of about 12 children and 8 parents was led into a classroom. Everyone sat on the floor around the instructor who showed us some different slimy creatures and explained why they were slimy. All of the children were able to hold worms, look at fish, and pet a tree frog. When the teacher asked questions, I was so surprised (and very proud) that Aiden wasn't too shy to call out the answers.

After we listened to a book about a silly slug, we went for a half mile hike in the woods to look for slimy creatures. The kids were all so excited to find big "juicy" worms under rocks and logs and took turns passing them around.

When we went back into the classroom, each child was given two cups which the instructor filled with two different types of liquid (polyvinyl alcohol and borax).

They poured both cups into a ziplock baggie, mixed the liquid together, and instantly had a bag of their own slime to take home!

Aiden loved his slime!

I loved how this nature center was set up. It is very child friendly and the staff really wants to get all of the children involved. We had a really good time, got some exercise, and learned a little bit too!

An Interview With Aiden

2010-05-05T16:40:00.003-04:00

I'm slowly trying to catch up with my blog reading and I saw this cute little interview on Mel's blog (We both have May 2006 babies) and wanted to share what Aiden had to say.

Aiden's First Interview:

What is something that mommy always says to you?
Go to the bathroom.

What makes mommy happy?
When I be nice.

What makes mommy sad?
Going to Ari's house. (Last night Aiden was really upset when I told him that it was bedtime. He told me that he wanted to go live with his friend Ari and her mommy. I spent a couple of minutes explaining how sad that made me.)

How does mommy make you laugh?
Tickle me.

How old is your mommy?
A million or four.

How tall is your mommy?
14. (That's his favorite number right now.)

What is your mommy really good at?
Cooking.

What does your mommy do for a job?
Stay home with us.

What is mommy's favorite food?
Chicken. Um.. no. I mean shrimp. (We've been eating at Buffalo Wild Wings a lot lately and he knows that's my favorite food but recently he's started asking to go to Red Lobster and he's trying to remind me how much I like shrimp!)

What makes mommy proud of you?
Being good.

How do you know your mommy loves you?
I just know because you're my goodest mommy ever. Do you know that?

Where is mommy's favorite place to go?
You want to go to Red Lobster. Do you? (We're taking him to eat at Red Lobster on his birthday.)

Let's Try This Again....

2010-05-05T00:11:00.003-04:00

Things have been crazy around here lately and I've been so overwhelmed that just the thought of blogging has seemed like a chore. I was trying so hard to follow all of the blogging rules: making sure I had something written everyday, posting at the same time every day, etc. that I got completely burned out. So after this super long break I've decided to come back and blog without worrying about all the "rules".

So why have things been crazy?

Well #1: I was supposed to be getting my masters degree this weekend. And that's not happening. It's too much drama to get into but hopefully everything will work out and I will finish in August. I'm really bummed about the whole situation...

And then there's Holden. He is absolutely adorable and I love him to pieces but he is such a handful. He and Aiden (when he was a baby) are like night and day.

Holden will be 8 months old on May 8 and he still isn't sleeping through the night. On good nights he only gets up twice but at least twice a week he's up 4 or 5 times... I'm exhausted!

Holden still isn't eating baby food... I've tried rice cereal, oatmeal, bananas, apples, pears. Nothing. He swallows the first bite and then spits every other bite out. I got this pamphlet in the mail the other day saying that it's time to add more texture to his food. His pediatrician assured me that he was getting everything he needs from breastfeeding, but I can't help worrying a little.

Holden got his first two teeth at the same time on April 15. And he has been biting me like crazy! And not just little nips. He actually draws blood. I cringe the entire time I'm feeding him. He refuses to take a bottle and he won't eat food so I don't really know what to do.

Being a stay at home mom is so much harder than I had imagined, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. And as crazy as things can get sometimes I feel really lucky that I am able to spend this much time with my boys.

A Leprechaun Hunt

2010-03-17T18:12:00.005-04:00

Today, we were supposed to meet with the mommy group at a local Botanical Garden for a Leprechaun hunt. I've been excited about this for over a week! Eleven people were supposed to be there, but of course my new friend, Maureen, and her son were the only ones to show up! We were totally expecting that.

I had to wake Aiden up early to go to the hunt. Every morning we have a struggle over breakfast and we just didn't have much time this morning. So, I offered him the breakfast of champions, cupcakes! He couldn't believe it. His eyes were huge and he jumped out of bed and raced to the table.

I set the clover cupcakes in front of him. He said, "These are perfect! How did you do that?"

My boys in Green! At the Botanical Gardens

The hunt itself wasn't very organized. The staff seemed to be really confused as to what they were supposed to be doing. We kept walking around in circles. And we had to keep waiting for bulldozers, golf carts, and tree cutters to move off the path. It was hilarious!

They had different little areas where the children did little activities like learning an Irish jig, blowing bubbles with a clown, and playing Leprechaun Says.

Finally, we made it to the leprechaun prints. We had to search for different items like a shamrock plant, feathers, rainbows, and gold.

Aiden was so excited about the gold!

Holden slept through the entire walk!

At the end, they had a photo opportunity with a T-rex. Not really sure how that fit in, but the kids enjoyed it!

They finished with a snack (green apples and pears) and got to take home a St. Patrick's Day craft kit.

Aiden chose a leprechaun

It turned out pretty cute! We had a really fun St. Patrick's Day! I hope everyone else did as well!

A St. Patrick's Day Treat

2010-03-16T23:28:00.004-04:00

Today, we met our new friends at the park. It was so much fun. Finally! A mommy friend for me and a 4 year old friend for Aiden! It was so cute seeing Aiden run after his new friend. And Aiden was so proud of his little brother. He kept saying, "Come look at my baby. Look at this cute, cute, precious baby." The little boy had no interest in Holden, but Aiden would not give up. He took the little boy's arm and finally talked him into looking at his baby.

After playing at the park for 2.5 hours, we went to a make up class at The Little Gym. This is the class that Aiden should have been in from the beginning. There were big boys in the class and he had so much more fun. It amazes me how quickly little kids can make friends. Within 15 minutes, a little boy was calling Aiden's name and they were running around together and whispering secrets in each other's ears.

Aiden has really broken out of his shell lately. He will go up to other kids now and ask them to play. I'm so proud of him.

Anyway, back to today's St. Patrick's Day activity. I had planned on making clover cupcakes with Aiden this evening, but we ran out of time. Instead, I made them after he went to bed and will surprise him with them in the morning.

To make the clover, I rolled up aluminum foil and put it around the cupcake lining after pouring the batter in.

I used green licorice for the clover stem. I had no idea they made green (watermelon flavored) licorice until I saw it at Safeway the other day. (I got this recipe from the Family Fun website)

I ran out of aluminum foil and didn't want to bake for an hour, so I made a dozen cupcakes plain.

And tomorrow, I'm taking the boys on a Leprechaun hunt! It should be fun...

Rainbows, Leprechauns, and Gold... Oh my!

2010-03-15T23:54:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since Aiden and I have done an art project. So last night I took a break from my thesis and planned a St. Patrick's day activity for us to do today.

I found a cute little leprechaun project from Disney's Family Fun website. I made all of the pieces last night and Aiden painted and assembled it today.

He was excited about being able to paint. But when he saw the toilet paper roll, he said,"I'm supposed to paint that? That's boring!"

All the little pieces

Holden and our finished leprechaun. Holden sat in his seat and watched the entire time. I think he's going to like doing art projects as well!

While we waited for the paint to dry, we made a rainbow.

After looking at both of the pieces together, Aiden asked, "Where's the pot of gold?" So I took another idea from the family fun website and made some lemon jello. I cut the jello in little squares and put them in a small black bowl.

Aiden was so excited about eating his jello. He said, "Mommy! You have to try a piece. It's so jiggly!" And he watched closely to see my reaction when I ate a piece. So cute.

"I'll Listen Next Time"

2010-03-13T08:53:00.006-05:00

Yesterday, we had a playdate scheduled at a gymnastics place during Open Gym. Of course the organizer didn't show up and I was the only one there from the group (I'm no longer surprised). It wasn't that long ago when I would have been too shy to walk into that gym filled with moms who know each other because their children take gymnastics together. But I'm the mom now and I can't make my children miss out on fun activities because I don't feel comfortable.

So we went into the lobby of this gym and it was packed with loud, rambunctious boys just a little older than Aiden. He was thrilled. He didn't care that they seemed to know each other at all. He just joined in with their game of tag and they welcomed him.

Finally, the instructor came out and gave us the gym rules. The first rule was "No running in the gym." I pulled Aiden aside before we waked into the gym and said "Did you hear the man? He said 'No running in the gym.'" Aiden nodded. I signed him in and paid my $7. And he was off straight to the foam pit.

Unfortunately, the red eye was on my camera and Aiden can't hold still long enough for that.

And that was the last opportunity that I had to get a picture.

Less than 5 minutes later, Aiden was running around on a mat with a group of bigger boys. One of the boys grabbed Aiden by the foot and twisted it somehow. We had only been there for 15 minutes.

I didn't think that he was hurt all that badly at first, but he insisted on crawling around the gym.

I hate that he got hurt (he's still limping a little bit today). He was really disappointed because we had to leave the gym and cancel our trip to Chuck E Cheese. (He was having a pretty difficult time walking) He cried and said, "I'll listen next time."

Open gym is a bit dangerous. There are a ton of kids there and even though they are supposed to have a parent with them at all times, most of the moms were standing (or sitting) in groups talking while their children ran wild.

Aiden has asked if he can take his gymnastics classes at the "big gym" instead. This gym doesn't have the scenery that The Little Gym has, but I was really impressed with the gym itself. (And classes are 1/3 the price!) They are a more competitive facility focusing more on learning skills than playing games, but I think we will give it a try next semester.

I've Already Gotten Spoiled

2010-03-12T23:18:00.005-05:00

The past few days have been absolutely beautiful (ok, so maybe one of those "absolutely beautiful" days was mostly cloudy, but it was 60 degrees!) and we have been having a lovely time playing outside.

We were supposed to have a playdate after Aiden's Little Gym class, but we canceled it because there was a 100% chance of rain. But it didn't rain. I wasn't complaining though. The Little Gym is in an absolutely wonderful location right on the water. There is a long boardwalk, tons of shopping (even Target!), lots of cute little cafes, and a playground.

After gymnastics, we went for a walk, picked up some lunch, and ate on one of the animal statue benches before heading to the park.

It's going to be such a fun spring and summer. I can't wait! I am in love with the whole DC metro area and feel so lucky to have this opportunity to stay at home with my boys. I'm loving every minute of it!

Stood Up

2010-03-09T23:40:00.004-05:00

You have got to be kidding me! I was stood up not once- but TWICE- today!

I may not have made any friends through my mom's group as of yet, but they always have such fun activities on the calendar so I refuse to give up. At the very least, I'm becoming more familiar with the area and learning of lots of fun new places to take the boys.

On Saturday, we were supposed to meet some of the moms at Barnes & Noble for Dr. Seuss's birthday party. I took the boys and waited at the designated spot, but no one showed up. The birthday party was really cute though and Aiden enjoyed it. They read Dr. Seuss books, colored hats, did huge dot to dot puzzles, and made green egg cookies.

One mom kept glancing around and I wondered if maybe she was part of the mom's group. So I just went up to her and asked. Another mom overheard me and said that she was a part of the group too. Apparently, we are all new members of the group (we never saw the organizer!) and we all have 3.5 year olds. I was so excited! I exchanged information with them and scheduled a playdate for today.

So the boys and I had a big day scheduled. We were supposed to meet 6 moms from the group this morning and go on a nature walk. Then we had the playdate this afternoon. We got to the lake 10 minutes early and we waited for 15 minutes after the time we were supposed to meet everyone. NO ONE showed!

I came home and had emails from two of the moms. The organizer apologized for not being there because her brother had flown in from Ireland. Seriously? She didn't know about that until this morning? And she couldn't have sent that email BEFORE the time we were supposed to meet?!

So I thought, Oh well. At least I have the playdate this afternoon and I now know of a good place for picnics this summer.

Yeah. We went to the park at 1:20. And waited. And waited. We were still there at 4:30 and my "friends" never showed up!

Aiden had so much fun and he played with a lot of the children who were there.

Holden enjoyed his time at the park in the Hotsling. He is fascinated with all of the children screaming and running around.

And I did get an email from my "friend" too. She is new to the area and apparently got lost and forgot to write down my cell number. I know how that is. I didn't have her number with me either. And I get completely lost all the time. Even with Garmin! So we have tentative plans to meet at a different park (which we both know how to get to) on Thursday. I hope it works out; it seems like we have quite a bit in common!

I'm a Nice Girl...

2010-03-05T01:59:00.005-05:00

So why am I having such a difficult time making friends?

The first playdate I attended with my new mommy group was at Chuck E Cheese. This didn't really give me a chance to get to know any of the other moms, but Aiden had fun. So I decided to give the group another chance.

This time the organizer scheduled a playdate at a local children's gym. They had an insturctor who was doing activities with the children and only our group was there. It seems like I could have at least had a conversation with one of the other moms, right?

No one spoke to me!

Even worse, when we were standing at the desk signing the "we can't sue you if our child gets hurt" form, I waved to the organizer of the group. She half smiled and turned her back to me!

Once we went in the gym, I just followed Aiden around while they had free play. He loved it!

"Snowball" fight Kids vs Moms

Holden took a nap for most of the playdate. Usually, he is a really good sleep fighter. He's always afraid that he's going to miss something. Well, when he woke up, they were in the middle of a Bubble Dance Party! Dark room with a spinning rainbow light, music, and bubbles... It made me laugh. Yes, buddy. This is what we do every time you go to sleep!

I finally went up to a couple of moms and tried to start a conversation. For some reason all they wanted to talk about was food. What they had for breakfast, what they were going to have for lunch, what they were making for dinner... I have no problem talking about food, but there is only so much one can take! Needless to say when they decided to go lunch after the gym, I wasn't invited.

Why is it so hard to make friends as an adult? Surely, I have more in common with them than the fact that we all eat! We all have children... Maybe they don't like me? Well, I don't care. They aren't going to get rid of me! There are a lot of fun playdates scheduled and I'm finding out about a ton of places I didn't know about. Even if I don't ever end up making friends, Aiden will have fun and I will have fun watching him.

Want to Make some New Friends?

2010-03-05T00:35:00.006-05:00

While I'm having trouble making new friends in my mommy groups (which I will talk about later) I've found a lot of new bloggy friends in the last 3 weeks! If you would like to find some fun new blogs to follow, check out Friday Follow.

Click the button below for more information.

Um... Why is that Water Green?

2010-03-03T17:05:00.003-05:00

When I was little, I loved mixing different things together to see what would happen. I would shut myself inside the bathroom and do my "experiments" (pour things from the cabinet into one big cup). I guess that's one of the reasons I wanted to be a scientist. I got to play with chemicals and mix them together every day when I worked in the lab!

Aiden likes experimenting with things as well. The other day when he was supposed to be washing his hands, he got out his big dump truck and filled the back with water. I noticed that the bathroom door was closed (he's never done that before) so I was a little worried about what I was going to find. He had added some of his plaque revealing rinse to make the water blue. I didn't have a problem with that.

He came back into the living room and started playing with the tub of water I had set out for him. He had cups with different colors of water, oil, glitter, and sequins. He can sit and mix that stuff for an hour. After a few minutes he went running back down the hall, but I didn't think much about it because he wasn't gone long.

A little bit later, I went in his bathroom to gather the laundry. I glanced at the dump truck and noticed that the water was green.

"Um... Aiden? Why is the water in your dump truck green?"

"I just wanted green water... So I peed in it."

Well, at least he knows how to mix colors, right?

Now I See Why Mommy Plays With That Thing All The Time

2010-03-03T00:00:00.004-05:00

Holden was taking a nap and Aiden was watching a Scooby Doo movie on my computer while I was drying my hair. All of a sudden I heard Aiden laughing like crazy and this is what I found:

(Aiden was even adjusting the screen for him)

Join Extraordinary Mothers and 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday!

Better Get Your Sunglasses

2010-03-01T23:49:00.005-05:00

Neon is back and I'm loving it!

We went to the mall yesterday and when we walked into The Children's Place, everything was so bright. Just being in there made me feel like summer was just around the corner. Never mind the snow still piled in the parking lot!

The Children's Place has become my favorite store to buy Aiden's clothes. You just can't beat $5 polo shirts!

Aiden was really interested in picking out his clothes for the first time ever. The first thing he saw was that bright pink polo shirt. It's my favorite color. His favorite color too. At first, I thought it was a girl's shirt. When I told him that, he dropped it immediately. After I looked at it more closely, I found out for sure that it was a boy shirt and he was so excited. I know there are some people who would never let their little boy wear pink, but I don't have a problem with it...

Then he saw the orange shirt hanging on the wall. He said, "Look, Mommy!! They have football shirts!" So he got one of those as well. He even wanted to carry his bag when we left the store.

As soon as we got home, we looked at his clothes again. He said, "Daddy! I have a football shirt just like you!" He wanted to try his shirt on immediately and he wanted Matt to put his football shirt on too.

He kept saying, "I think my shirt is perfect." So cute. I can't believe my little boy already cares about what he's going to wear!

I Guess It's Time...

2010-02-28T23:46:00.003-05:00

Holden will be 6 months old next Monday. It is unbelievable how much he has already changed!

Aiden and Holden the day we came home from the hospital. (Holden was 3 days old)

Aiden and Holden now.

And today Holden had his first (semi) solid food: rice cereal. I started feeding Aiden cereal at 4 months, but this time I decided to go by the AAP guidelines and start closer to six months. (This had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I am dreading my adventures in baby food making and stinky diapers... )

First Bites: I had no problem getting the spoon in his mouth, but the cereal was another issue.

Of course Aiden wanted to help out! We got more on his sleeper than in his mouth (or on his face for that matter). Next time I will definitely remember the bib!

Holden didn't much care for his cereal today, but we'll try again tomorrow!

We Get Wild on Friday Nights!

2010-02-26T21:35:00.004-05:00

Before the boys, Friday night = date night. Matt and I would go out to dinner, go see a movie, and get ready for our all day Saturday hikes in Anchorage. When my week at school was really rough, I always had Friday nights to look forward to. We had some fun times. Things are a little different now.

But I still look forward to my Friday nights. It has officially become "chocolate cake night." Every Friday, Aiden and I go to Safeway and pick out a special Friday night meal. He usually chooses corn dogs or chicken nuggets, I get sushi, and we always pick out the biggest chunk of chocolate birthday cake to share. I love Fridays!

Since he was really good at the grocery store today (yes, I totally bribed him), I let him pick out a movie from Redbox. He chose Alvin and the Chipmunks. I wasn't sure if that movie would be able to keep his attention since it's not a cartoon. But he loved it! It was so cute to see him laugh at the big kid jokes.

Aiden got so excited when the chipmunks sang and danced around like crazy:

Dancing has become part of our Friday night ritual as well. So funny. I'm not sure where he learned to dance like that...

Imaginary Friends

2010-02-25T21:28:00.006-05:00

Admit it, when you were little you used to have a blanket that you carried around until it fell apart. Or a teddy bear that you would buckle up beside you in the backseat of the car. Maybe you had a doll that you would insist needed a plate at the kitchen table.

Well, Aiden has an imaginary friend...

I know that some parents become really concerned when their child invents an imaginary friend, but I know that it is a completely normal part of childhood. Almost 2/3 of children have them at some point during childhood.

In fact, when I was little I had an imaginary friend of my own.

Her name was Carrie and I did everything with her. We played outside on the swingset. We played school with my dolls. We even dug for dinosaur bones together in the backyard. I'm not sure how long we were friends, but one day Carrie had to move away.

While my imaginary friend was a girl my own age, Aiden's imaginary friend is

(photo credit)

A baby hyena! (He looked through pictures of baby hyenas with me until he found one that looked like his). He calls him "Baby Hyenie" (pronounced hi-E-nee).

Baby Hyenie joined our family when I was pregnant with Holden. For a short time, he even lived in Aiden's tummy. Aiden isn't as involved with his imaginary friend as I was. He only gets Baby Hyenie out every once in awhile. Mostly, he likes to tell me the naughty things that Baby Hyenie does to his mommy.

"Mommy, Baby Hyenie took the chewing gum out of his mommy's bag and then he got it all in his hair!" Of course this is followed by excited laughter.

Other times, he blames Baby Hyenie for things that he's worried he's going to get in trouble for doing. For example, today he emptied a bottle of glitter on the table. When I walked in the room, he dropped his jaw and gasped, "Mommy! Look what Baby Hyenie did!"

Here are a few pictures of Aiden with Baby Hyenie:

Did you or your children ever have an imaginary friend?

Wordful Wednesday: Happy Birthday Mandy!

2010-02-24T00:53:00.005-05:00

Wordful Wednesday: Because sometimes a thousand words are just not enough...

Today is my little sister's 11th birthday! Since we won't be there to celebrate her special day with her, I wanted to take just a minute to wish her a very Happy Birthday (she's a faithful reader of my blog!) and share some random pictures. I really wanted to post a picture of us together when she was a baby, but unfortunately I don't have a scanner and taking a picture of the picture just isn't working.

Mandy's 6th Birthday

I will always remember the day that my parents told me that I was going to be a big sister. I was 15. Fifteen! And the only thing on my mind was being able to drive and getting a car.

My parents had told me that after I got my license, I could have my mom's car and she would get a new one. But as soon as I heard about the baby, I thought, Babies are expensive. I'm not going to be able to have the car! And I burst into tears.

Um... wow! Five minutes later, I asked my mom if we could go to the bookstore and pick out a baby name book. Once I had time to adjust to the idea, I was super excited.

On February 24, 1999 Mandy was born. My mom had a c-section and I waited with my grandmother outside the OR. Once Mandy was born, they wheeled her out right in front of me. My dad told me that I could touch her if I wanted. She was so TINY! I reached in the incubator and touched her little nose. I absolutely adored her.

I loved having a little sister to come home to. I would look forward to getting out of school so I could see my baby sister. If she was sleeping when I got home, I would beg my mom to let me wake her up. Of course she would say no, but I would go in the nursery just to look at her and sometimes she would wake up... Now I'm getting paid back! lol

Mandy, I hope you have a Wonderful birthday. Thanks for being such an awesome little sister. I love you and will see you in a couple of weeks!

For more Wordful Wednesday, visit Seven Clown Circus!

The Grocery Store Nightmares

2010-02-20T19:16:00.004-05:00

Aiden is such a good kid. He is so smart and funny. He is so sweet and caring. He is so loving and fun to be around. He is simply a wonderful little boy.

BUT as soon as we step inside Safeway, he turns into another child. It doesn't happen at Target. It doesn't happen at the mall or at The Little Gym. There is just something about the grocery store that makes him go CRAZY!

Surely, you're not talking about me!

He turns into Superman and runs around trying to help. He hangs onto the back of the cart. He climbs underneath the cart. He gets too far ahead of me. He gets too far behind. He picks things off the shelf and throws them into the cart. I could go on...

And Holden must be able to tell that Aiden is acting crazier than normal and that I get really flustered because he starts up as well.

Lately, Holden has been throwing a fit as soon we get in the store. Again, this doesn't happen at Target. Not at the mall and not at The Little Gym. Just the grocery store! He screams so loud that I have to get him out of his carseat and hold him on my hip. (As soon as it gets a little warmer I'm going to try the wrap again. It's just too cold and takes me too long to get him in it).

Me?

Last time we were at the store, a lady came up to me and asked if everything was ok. I told her that Holden just cries like that sometimes because he wants to be held. She said,

"Are you sure his diaper pins aren't poking him?"

"I'm pretty sure he just wants to be held." Then she asks me if she can hold him and that she will follow me around the store!

And Aiden... He got his finger ran over by the shopping cart. He bumped into one of the displays and knocked all kinds of boxes onto the floor. He pushed the lady's cart in front of us in line and accidentally hit her with it. He ran outside the store in front of me. (He did stop before the sidewalk ended but I always worry that he might forget and run out into the road.)

Once we leave the store, I am the perfect picture of a frazzled mom!

Aiden must have felt bad about how he acted at the store last night. When he got up this morning, he crawled onto my lap and put his arms around my neck. After loving me for a few minutes, he put his hands on my face and said, "I had a dream about you last night. At the grocery store. I will be nice to you today and I will listen." I love him!

How do you keep your little ones entertained at the grocery store?

When You Give a Kid a Camera

2010-02-19T22:51:00.005-05:00

I take LOTS of pictures of my boys. I know nothing about lighting or lenses or shutter speed so my pictures are not great. But I do document everything that we do and that's my main goal.

Aiden is very used to seeing me with a camera in my hand and he has always been interested in playing with the camera. At first he would just push the buttons on the camera and get random images. But it looks like he's finally chosen a subject!

He said, "Mommy, Can I use the camera to take Holden's picture?" This is what he captured:

Are we done yet???

My First Venture into the World of Mommy Groups

2010-02-19T00:16:00.006-05:00

Was Completely Uneventful! Shell from Things I Can't Say has all of these funny stories about mommy groups and I was so looking forward to having some of my own to share. But, no...

The group met at Chuck E Cheese and all of the kids were really excited and running in opposite directions. So I didn't really get a chance to talk to anyone very much. So there is still hope!

Aiden has been bouncing off the walls lately because it's been so cold and we've not been able to get out. This finally gave him a chance to get out some of his energy. He was really serious about playing his games...

Aiden loved playing air hockey. But it was a little difficult to keep him off the table! Every time I scored he would growl and climb up and lay on the table so he could have a better shot at my goal. He did end up winning.

This is what Holden thought of the whole experience:

Even though the mommy meetup basically turned out to be just another day out with the boys, we had a really good time. Maybe next time I will have some fun stories to share!

A Little Bit of CUTEness

2010-02-17T22:28:00.003-05:00

Aiden absolutely loves his little brother and Holden is fascinated with Aiden. It's so precious to watch them "play" together.

This morning Aiden was lying in the floor with Holden watching Dora the Explorer. Holden started cooing and Aiden said something back to him. All of a sudden, he jumped up and ran over to me. He was so excited.

Aiden: "Did you know that Holden can talk?"
Me: "Are you serious? What did he just say?"
Aiden: "He said, goo ga goo ga goo!"
Me: "Do you know what that means?"
Aiden: "Silly! He said, he loves me because I'm a great big brother. You just can't understand him because he speaks Spanish!"

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: My Big Helper

2010-02-17T00:05:00.002-05:00

Aiden has gotten to be such a wonderful helper. This is how he entertained Holden while I fixed breakfast.

Check out 5 minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday!

About Your Cookies...

2010-02-15T17:01:00.004-05:00

Dear Manufacturers of "store brand" Cookie Mix,

Why do you insist on putting a picture of an oversized star cookie on your package and then give the baking instructions for tablespoon sized cookies? Sure, I probably have been cooking long enough to where I should have known that it would take longer to cook big cookies... But couldn't you at least put a note somewhere? You must not know what it's like to hold a screaming baby on your hip and then hear your 3 year old call from the living room, "Mommy! I figured out how to take the lid off ALL of the sprinkles!" all while trying to get the cookies in the oven.

Things like that make it a little difficult to think about how much longer you should bake a big heart shaped cookie. Just a simple request.

My little guy was really excited about having heart cookies.

But when the cookies had cooled for your suggested five minutes, I noticed that there were parts that seemed fully cooked and parts that were still doughy. So, I had to pick out the pieces that were cooked so they wouldn't get burnt when I put them back in the oven. Good-bye hearts!

Luckily, the cookies still tasted great and looked pretty good when covered with icing and sprinkles...

So, if you could just remind me that bigger cookies need to cook longer by adding a little note on your packaging, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

A Day of Love

2010-02-14T11:41:00.010-05:00

Lately, Aiden has been watching Nick Jr. in the mornings while I'm getting ready. All last week, they were promoting their Heart Day Par-Tay (special Valentine episodes of their cartoons). Well, yesterday Aiden was really excited about it and said to me, "Tomorrow is Valentine's Day!" So I decided to try to make today special for him.

Yesterday was our first day out of the house since the blizzards a week ago. And it was crazy out! There wasn't a single parking spot in the entire parking garage at the closest Target and it took 20 minutes to drive around and get back on the road. I guess everyone had been snowed in and needed to get their Valentines at the last minute. Aiden was talking to my sister on the phone while I was driving. He said, "We have to go to the other Target now because we ran out of candy." True, but that wasn't the only reason we were going!

Anyway... This is how I set up the table last night before I went to bed:

The book was for Holden, the heart shaped cake, lollipops, and the Kiss were for Aiden, and the rest was for Matt. I made him six love coupons (for example, redeem for a 30 minute massage) and put them inside a sweetheart box.

And I wanted to make a special breakfast. I found a recipe online that I had never tried out before for raspberry scones with a "yummy strawberry jam".

I have no idea what went wrong. I followed all of the directions perfectly. But when the recipe said to knead the dough, my "dough" was more of a liquid... So, I added more flour. A lot more flour. Unfortunately they were inedible but at least they looked pretty!

Aiden asked for peanut butter and jelly instead. PB&J for breakfast? Why not?

I'm not sure if he ate his breakfast so quickly because of the different shape or because he was excited about his "big chocolate chip".

We also made a super simple craft today. For some reason Aiden really wasn't that into it.
(Wax paper, glitter, tissue paper, heart sequins, and cupcake and heart cut outs)

For dinner I made salmon with a marinara sauce and vegetables. And we ate with candle light. Aiden thought that was pretty neat, but he was much more excited about blowing the candle out when we were finished!

And for dessert we had "Chocolate Decadence"

We ran out of time to make our Valentine cookies. We might make those tomorrow... I think I succeeded in making Valentine's Day a special day day for my boys!

I Heart Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T03:21:00.008-05:00

I know there are many people out there who shun Valentine's Day because it's a "commercial holiday". But, I love Valentine's day! I love everything about it, all of the hearts, the chocolates, the cards, the pink and red... I love all the romantic and sappy things that are Valentine's Day! That's why I've planned a day centered around pink, hearts, and LOVE (which I will post later). But first...

Matt gave me my Valentine's present last night. He always gets really excited about giving me presents and can never wait until the actual day. I think that is so cute! And he really surprised me this year!

After Aiden went to bed, Matt asked me if I would like my present. He came back holding a box behind his back. It was a hot pink DSi and a Mario game (my favorite game on the first Nintendo that came out). I LOVE it! And I was completely not expecting it!

See, we got Aiden a DSi for Christmas. We have to travel back and forth to TN fairly often (every month since October) since I'm still trying to finish school. That's a 7-8 hour trip for Aiden just sitting in his carseat. I thought a game would be something that would keep him occupied and he could have fun with. His favorite game right now is Nintendogs. I've been helping him out by playing it at night. lol But the other day, he gave my dog away.... That's when I told Matt that I needed a DS of my own.

Aiden was so excited when he saw my present. He said, "Mommy! Now we can trade games!" Too funny. I'm sharing games with my 3 year old... Well, even mommies need to play video games every once in a while!

I'm Snow Over It!

2010-02-11T23:49:00.006-05:00

I remember being so excited about our first big snow storm in December. That had been the most snow we had seen since leaving Alaska. But now after experiencing two blizzards in five days... I'm done!

I will admit that I was secretly excited to hear that we were expecting a blizzard last weekend. Snow can be fun. Aiden and I have been having a blast playing in it. And yes, that was me today squealing and laughing when I slipped and fell in a drift that left me in snow up to my waist.

BUT I've been stuck in the house since last Friday! I'm going absolutely stir crazy! Luckily, we live within walking distance to the grocery store and Matt's been able to get the few things that we've needed. Unfortunately, the grocery store is out of almost everything (no eggs, no milk, hardly any produce...) because they can't get a shipment truck in. I know the city isn't used to getting this much snow... but I'm ready for my street to be plowed so we can get out!

Preschool Science

2010-02-09T21:56:00.006-05:00

I'm trying to get back into the habit of having a "learning time" with Aiden every day. Since I've always been interested in science, I wanted to share a science activity with Aiden. I did a google search and came up with this activity.

Aiden was really excited when he saw the different containers that he was going to be able to play with. He loves pouring activities.

Pouring oil in water

Pretty exciting!

Aiden knows that adding food color to water makes the water change color, but he didn't know what to expect when adding food color to oil.

Adding some salt

This part was pretty neat. The salt carried down some of the oil and food color and then once the salt dissolved in the water, the oil floated back to the top. Finally, the food color changes the water but not the oil.

Since we already had the food color out, I thought it would be fun to color some snow. I got this idea from my bloggy friend Mel. Aiden loved it!

Mixing it Up

I thought it would be fun to mix the different snow colors to see how they changed. Aiden wanted to just put them all in a big pan. He said, "Let's just make brown, Mommy."

It's a Blizzard Out There!

2010-02-08T18:19:00.015-05:00

We got a ton of snow this past weekend. The weather forecasters had been talking about it all week. The grocery stores were a mad house. Before the storm hit, there were 200 people (according to our local news station) standing outside waiting for the grocery store to open. Um... wow... But it started out with such teeny tiny flakes that I didn't think it would accumulate as much as they had predicted. I Was Wrong. We got 30 inches of snow!

It's been so cold outside too. And we didn't buy Aiden any snow pants this year because DC only got something like 5 inches of snow all of last year and we didn't think that we would need any. And then they were all sold out! But it was 32 degrees outside today so I layered Aiden's clothes and took him outside while Holden napped inside with Matt.

It's been two full days since it stopped snowing and this is what it looks like outside:

(You can click the pictures for a bigger image)

Possibly 10-25 more inces of snow by Wednesday night...

Why Is it So Hard to Get a Picture?!

2010-02-05T20:16:00.006-05:00

I was looking through my pictures on the computer the other day and realized that I really don't have any of me and both of the boys. Since Matt has been crazy busy at school (and basically living at the library) for the last 2 months, I decided to try to take some on my own. It didn't work out the way I had envisioned!

And then there was one...

Maybe I'll have better luck next time!

Snow in a Box

2010-02-04T23:46:00.007-05:00

I cannot believe how much it has been snowing lately! Last Saturday we got 4 inches of snow and then we got another 4 inches on Tuesday. And then there is the predicted blizzard this weekend... I'm crossing my fingers that we won't get as much as they're calling for, but they haven't been wrong yet. The grocery stores were insane once again. We're talking no place to park with about 10 cars circling the lot. And it's not even supposed to start snowing until tomorrow afternoon!

Anyway. Earlier this week it was way too cold for Holden to be outside and Aiden really wanted to play in the snow. So, I gathered some up from the deck and we played with Snow in a Box!

I got out the Arctic animals, a shovel, and his plastic ice pick. He played with the snow until it all melted.

Holden was interested in the snow too! After I showed him a tiny snowball, he pulled the box closer to him and reached into the box.

Yesterday, it warmed up quite a bit. It was in the mid thirties so I bundled the boys up and took them outside for an hour. This was the first wet snow that we've had and Aiden really enjoyed making snow balls. He told me that he wanted to have a snow fight. But instead of throwing snowballs at me, he would come up behind me and push the snow into my jeans... Fun times!

Why I Hate Science...

2010-02-02T15:48:00.012-05:00

Writing this thesis is taking up all of my free time! (I can't wait until the end of March when it will all be over.) I'm not able to get anything done during the day because the boys demand all of my attention. And I would much rather spend my time with them than my books! So I've been having to write at night (my usual blogging time) once Holden finally goes to sleep at 11:30...

I loved doing the actual lab work for my project. It was fun sitting at the bench wearing my lab coat and playing with DNA and all of the chemicals.

I even enjoyed going to the Mouse Room and cutting tails to collect the aforementioned DNA.

I loved the little mouse babies... So adorable!

But this is NOT fun!

Who knew that writing a paper on research that I actually did would be so complicated?!

I used to enjoy writing. And reading. But now after reading all of those science journals... Blah!

Is it April yet?

No Surprise

2010-01-18T23:39:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Matt's birthday. I've never been very good at surprising him with a present. I usually ask him what he would like or let him pick something out. This year, I had a few ideas of my own.

So today, I took the boys shopping. And Aiden paid very close attention to everything that I was buying...

When we sat down for dinner, Aiden said, "We bought you a birthday card today." I cringed, and Matt smiled and said, "I don't think you're supposed to tell Daddy. I think Mommy wanted that to be a surprise."

Aiden shook his head. "The protein is a surprise. We bought you some chocolate protein powder." I shook my head trying to get him to stop talking, but he continued, "We hid it where you can't find it too. It's under my bed! You don't know where it is, do you, Daddy?" Matt and I both started cracking up. There was nothing to do but laugh!

Luckily, I was able to change the subject before all of the suprises were spoiled!

Wordless Wednesday

2010-01-13T00:29:00.002-05:00

The first time Aiden wrote his name. I'm so proud of him!

eShakti:The Power of the Net

2010-01-06T20:40:00.009-05:00

I used to love to go shopping. It was something I did every weekend. Now with my two little wild ones... Holden screaming because he wants to be held and Aiden running and hiding behind racks of clothes... not so much! So that leads me to online shopping. BUT, the thing about shopping online is that you just never know how your purchase is going to fit. So I was really excited when I was contacted to do a review by eShakti.

eShakti is an online clothing store that offers a large variety of trendy and comfortable styles. I was really excited about this opportunity as soon as I went to their website. Not only does eShakti offer sizes from 0 to 26W on every style, they also allow you to customize your order. If you are in between sizes, you can give them your measurements and they can make you a custom size. Also, if you see a shirt that you like but would prefer a different neckline or sleeve or you like a dress but would rather have it shorter or longer, they will customize it for you! All of this sounds great, but it probably takes forever to get your customized order, right? Wrong! Every item you see on the eShakti website is available in every size and can be customized to your specifications and shipped within THREE business days!

There were several items that I really liked from eShakti. I am really into ruffles right now, so I finally settled on a really cute little black dress. When my order arrived, I immediately put my dress on and was thrilled with the fit! (I also had the dress customized to be above the knee)

You can't see it in my picture, but there is a little band of tiny black sequins around the waist of the dress. (I love sequins too!)

And I absolutely adore the back of this dress. It ties around the neck and the gauzy tie hangs down your back.

Here are a few other things that I thought were super cute:

I would love to have a sleeveless version of this shirt. (Love the sequin neckline!)

So, if you're interested in owning some clothes that were made just for you, I definitely recommend visiting eShakti! And all of the wonderful readers of my blog can get $20 off their order of $30 or more until January 31st by entering the code 5IF9t6 at check out!

2009: A Year in Pictures

2009-12-31T09:02:00.009-05:00

I can't believe it's already time for my 2009 Year in Review. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I was doing my 2008 review! 2009 was a year in which we went through a lot of changes: a loss, a move, a new career, a baby... Here are the pictures that sum up my year:

January 2009

Surprise! I found out on January 5th that we were expecting a new addition to our family!

Our baby at 6 weeks

February 2009

February was a difficult month for my family. My grandfather passed away following complications from surgery. Aiden and I were both really close to him and it was a really hard time.

But I had to try to keep things normal for Aiden even when I was feeling sad. We did a lot of art that month!

March 2009

In March, I started getting really anxious to find out the gender of our baby. Since I wasn't yet 20 weeks, I tried every old wives tale and even bought an Intelligender test. (It was right!)

Aiden also had his first school performance. He was so shy and laid down on the stage for most of the program...

The kids in his class were presents.

April 2009

This picture sums up the month of April! We were busy busy and I was exhausted!

Aiden participated in his first real Easter egg hunt with his preschool class.

I spent a lot of time at home with Aiden for the first time and did lots of themed art projects.

We also went to a lot of local kid's festivals.

May 2009

Aiden graduated from preschool! Matt thought it was hilarious that they had a graduation ceremony for the 2 year old class.

Aiden celebrated his third birthday.

I finally had my 20 week ultrasound and found out for sure that we were having another boy!

June 2009

The beach is one of my favorite parts of summer! I wasn't sure how I would feel about it this year being so huge, but we had a great time, Aiden especially.

We also spent almost every other day at the park. Even though I was still in school at the time, I had a lot of free time and got to spend a good portion of every day playing with Aiden. So much fun!

July 2009

Good-bye long hair! I was so sad when we first got Aiden's hair cut. He looked like a completely different child and so much older! Matt left for officer school at the beginning of July and we thought that with him going back into the military, Aiden needed a hair cut...

With Matt gone, it was up to me to get everything ready for the movers. Talk about exhausting 7 months into my pregnancy!

August 2009

When I was 37 weeks pregnant, we made our move to DC. At least Matt had everything set up in our apartment when Aiden and I got there!

We love going down town!

And Aiden had a blast in our new pool! (I can't wait to be able to enjoy it more this coming summer!)
September 2009

Finally! Time for Holden. I was so nervous while getting ready for my c-section.

September 8th, we welcomed Holden into our family!

Aiden loved his little brother from the start!

October 2009

We were finally able to get out some and I had so much fun taking Aiden to fall festivals.

Halloween pictures:

November 2009

November was a crazy month! Holden was so needy. This is the way we spent every day. He was either in my wrap or in my arms. I was even having to sleep in the recliner and hold him at night. We did go to TN for Thanksgiving, but this month was a blur for me!

December 2009

December was a really fun month! Lots of snow..

Lots of baking

Lots of Christmas crafts

And a very merry Christmas with my two boys!

Snowed In? Make a snowman (or three)

2009-12-20T11:07:00.013-05:00

When everyone was stocking up and acting all crazy on Friday about this snow storm, I thought they were nuts! But apparently, they were on to something. We got a ton of snow this weekend! And the entire place shut down. Forget ordering pizza! Even the grocery store was closed. This is the sixth biggest snow that Washington DC has ever had. And in our little DC suburb, we got almost two feet of snow! Aiden had a blast. It's quite unbelievable to think this was a normal day for me from November until March when we lived in Anchorage. That seems like such a long time ago!

This is right out in front of apartment

And this is the street

It seemed like everyone in the neighborhood was out and Aiden even made a new friend! There were children screaming and laughing. People helping each other dig their cars out of the snow. What a great winter day!

Matt built a snowman for Aiden, but since the snow didn't really want to pack, Aiden lost interest.

When Aiden finally got too tired and cold to continue playing in the snow, we came inside and "made a craft." I found this cute idea on Montessori Moments. (If you like doing projects with your children, you should definitely check this blog out!) We made playdough a while back but this recipe was slightly different from the one I used and I loved the idea of building a snowman with it!

Getting ready

A snowman in progress

Here's the one I made. Aiden couldn't stop laughing at it!

And here is one more snowman craft. We actually did this on Thursday and it's taken quite a whie to dry so I'm just going to tie into a big snowman theme for the weekend! This is such a cute little craft. I made these snowmen with my preschool class in Anchorage and I knew Aiden would love it since he's a big fan of pouring glue! (Montessori Moments has a similar glue craft.)

First I drew a snowman on waxed paper, cut out a hat and a nose, and picked out some sequins and glitter.

I traced the snowman shape so Aiden would be able to keep the glue within the boundaries.

Aiden added the glitter and made the face all by himself.

It took a couple of days to dry, but then it peeled right off the wax paper. I think it's so neat that you can make something just with glue!

I am going to put one of those hanging suction cups on it and hang it in the window. I think it would be really cute to make smaller ones and use them as ornaments as well.

A Whole Lot of Random

2009-12-19T00:24:00.008-05:00

I had planned on taking Aiden and Holden to see Santa today. I don't have a cute holiday outfit or sweater for Holden, so I decided to dress them in something that matched. Matt just shakes his head, but I LOVE having them wear the same thing! I think it's cute...

Anyway, before heading to the mall, I wanted to stop by the store to grab a couple of things. We only live 1/4 mile from Safeway and on that short drive two cars almost ran into me. People don't normally drive that crazy here. Then when we finally got to the grocery store, there wasn't a single parking spot. What in the world is going on?! Apparently, we are supposed to get a ton of snow tonight. Up to 20 inches...

Huh. I had no idea that people panicked about snow here! I've never seen anything like it. I drove back home, bundled Aiden and Holden up and we walked to the store. With everyone going crazy I decided to put off our Santa trip. The store was chaos! They were completely out of milk and I got the last carton of eggs... And the lines were backed up to the middle of the store. Unbelievable.

So what to do when the city is in the midst of shutting down? Make cupcakes!

I made red and green icing for our cupcakes. When Aiden saw me add the food coloring, he almost started to cry. "Now we can't eat it! You put that nasty stuff in it!"

Aiden learned something new today. While I was getting everything ready, he decided to crack one of the eggs. He actually squeezed it until it burst open splattering me with all that goo.
After taking a few deep breaths, I calmly wiped my face and showed him how to crack the eggs the right way. After doing it perfectly, he said, "Can we buy some more eggs tomorrow so I can crack them?"

Can you tell he likes sprinkles?

I think he likes them!

When Matt came home from school (his finals are over now!!!) he brought a Santa hat. I put it on and Aiden said, "Mommy, you are NOT Santa." I said, "Yes, I am." He studied me for a minute and said, "You can't be Santa. You don't have a mane." I asked him what a mane was. He said, "Uh! You know. That big long thing that hangs off your face." {Smile} I just love the things he comes up with!

Now That's What We Call Decorating!

2009-12-17T19:18:00.013-05:00

We have a tradition of putting together and decorating a gingerbread house every Christmas. Technically this is only the second year of the "tradition" but Aiden IS only 3! Our gingerbread house turned out pretty good last year considering it was the first one I had ever done and that I had a 2 year old helper but still I had higher hopes for this year...

Of course I bought a gingerbread house kit and Aiden was really excited about it. In fact, when I got out of the shower, all was quiet. I knew something was up and this is what I found...

And yes, that is marker on his face...

It was pretty difficult to convince Aiden to use the candy to decorate the house instead of eating it.

I am just not talented when it comes to gingerbread houses. Decorating with icing is impossible! Um, you can probably tell!

This is what Holden does while I'm busy with Aiden:

(He has finally started to show some interest in his toys. So exciting! It has really made life easier for me!)

And this is what Aiden does when I'm busy with Holden:

(Notice the chewed gum and colorless candy decorating our house!)

He licked the candy coating off the spree type candies and then used them used them for decoration. I asked him why he put them on the house and he said, "Because you said not to eat them." True. I didn't tell him he couldn't lick them!

It Looked Like Mud... But It Wasn't

2009-12-16T16:40:00.005-05:00

Seriously... need I say more?

So this is what happened this morning... The city that we live in requires you to have a parking permit to park on the street between certain times of the day. We happen to live in an apartment complex that doesn't have assigned parking spots. Instead, we have to parallel park on the street. We've lived here since August and I just found out about this permit business last week when I got a $40 ticket. So obviously, they don't check that often.

The other day I took the boys to the police station to buy a permit, but there weren't any available parking spots within a mile of the building! So I figured I would try to go back sometime this week or mail my application in. Well...

This morning I had my hair in curlers and Aiden was running around in his underwear when I just happened to look outside and see a police officer putting a ticket on the car parked on the opposite side of the street. Oh, no! I was NOT going to get another ticket! I grabbed the curlers out of my hair as I pulled on a pair of jeans and yelled at Aiden to grab his shoes. I put Holden in his carseat, helped Aiden button his pants and got his shoes on. I took the time to put Aiden's coat on him, and grabbed mine as I walked out the door. Aiden still had on his pajama shirt. My hair was crazy and I was wearing a sleeveless shirt. I was a mess. That's when one of my neighbors stepped out and said, "Have we met?" Oh no!

I managed to get away pretty quickly. We ran through the grass and made it to our car before the police officer had time to get to our side of the street. While Aiden was getting in the car he stepped on his blanket and the DVD player leaving muddy footprints. After I had buckled him up, I noticed that somehow I had also gotten mud all over my hand. I stopped in my tracks. "What is that smell?!" Oh EW!! Sure enough, Aiden's right shoe was covered in dog poo. Dog poo. On the floor. On the DVD player. On his blanket. On my hand! Thank goodness I had baby wipes and hand sanitizer! The blanket was already dirty so I grabbed it and wiped everything up with that and threw it in the trunk. Luckily, I was able to drive around the block and find a (one of six) parking spot that we are allowed to park in without a permit. Then I cleaned and sanitized some more. What a morning!

Wordful Wednesday: This Is Why I Dread My Morning Shower

2009-12-16T01:07:00.006-05:00

Aiden has been quite the wild one lately. It's gotten to the point that I dread taking a shower while he's awake because I don't know what I will find when I get out. SO why not just shower before he gets up? Well... Holden has been keeping me up until around 2 or 3 every night and Aiden has been getting up at 6:30. I'm just too tired to take a shower before then! This morning I thought, surely if I give him an activity, he won't get into anything. Um.. I thought wrong!

When I got out of the shower, he was covered in marker. Hands, fingernails, face, arms... He had even taken off one of his socks and drawn on his foot! He showed me his hands and said, "This would be a really good picture, Mommy." What will I do with him?!

Check out Seven Clown Circus for more Wordful Wednesday!

Harder Than Med School

2009-12-15T12:27:00.004-05:00

The first semester of med school is almost over! Only 7 more semesters to go! Matt has been studying a TON this year. I've never seen him study so much. In undergrad, he barely cracked a book and made the dean's list every semester. Now, he studies all evening and is at the library for at least half of the day on Saturday and Sunday.

And I'm one of the lucky ones. At least he's home every night for dinner and we are able to go out every Saturday evening (with the boys). Some of the girls in my parent tot group complain that they don't see their husbands until 10 at night and then he's gone again by 6 the next morning. That would be really hard. I'm lonely enough as it is! I don't even want to think about third year when he will be away for six weeks at a time for rotations...

Anyway, Matt comes home a lot of evenings and tells me how hard his day has been. He tells me how much he has to know and how difficult it is to study so much all day every day. Then he tells me how lucky I am that I chose not to go to med school and get to stay at home all day.

Instead of going to the library yesterday, Matt decided to study at home in the office. Even though he was in there with the door shut, he was able to hear what goes on when I'm at home all day!

His comment at the end of the day: "I don't see how you do it. Staying at home with these two wild ones is harder than med school." Finally!

I do have to admit that yesterday was a more difficult day than normal. There was a LOT of crying (Holden wasn't feeling well). There was a LOT of yelling (Aiden was in a crazy mood and kept attacking me while I was trying to vacuum and fold clothes, etc). But I'm so glad that he finally understands that staying at home isn't as easy as it sounds!

Really, I'm Just Not That Into It...

2009-12-14T22:40:00.010-05:00

Oh chocolate! How I love thee! Seriously. I am a huge chocolate fanatic.

Chocolate chip cookies? Yum! Double chocolate chip cookies? Even better! Those mini candy bars that Aiden got for Halloween? Don't worry. He prefers Skittles and lollipops. That bag of Oreos that I just bought at the store? Oh, sorry. You wanted one? Um, they're already gone. Chocolate fudge? I can eat half a pan before it starts to make me queasy. I could go on...

BUT white chocolate? No thanks! When I think of chocolate this variety never comes to mind. But I really didn't know that I disliked it until tonight.

Aiden and I made cookies and cream fudge today. Matt really liked it when someone brought it to a Christmas party a couple of years ago and I wanted to surprise him by making some. And it was SO easy!

Here's the super easy recipe:
18oz white chocolate chips, 1 can Eagle Brand milk, 20 Oreo cookies, and 1/8 tsp salt.

Melt the chocolate over medium low to low heat with the salt and Eagle Brand milk.

Aiden wanted to help. I never let him in the kitchen when I use the stove because I'm always worried that he will get burned. And burned he got. I was trying to take a picture of him pouring the eagle brand milk into the pan and instead got this picture:

He just jumped back but didn't say anything. I asked him why he threw the can in the pan. And he said, "I got burned." It wasn't a bad burn, but I still felt terrible about it. He said, "I will have to wait until I get bigger to help around the stove. Then I can be more careful." I let him run his finger under some cool water and then he asked to help with the cookies.

When we picked the Oreos up at the store I told Aiden that he could have a couple of them after dinner. But when he saw me breaking up the cookies for the fudge, he started crying because I was "ruining them". Oreos are the one chocolate thing that he likes just as much as his mommy! I had to show him that I didn't use the entire package before he would calm down.

Anyway. After everything was melted and the cookies were stirred in, I poured the mixture into a pan and put it in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

I then removed the fudge from the pan and cut it into small pieces.

I was so excited to try it! And then after the first bite. Eh... Just not into it. I won't be eating any more of it. In fact, I don't care if I ever have another bite of white chocolate ever again. But those leftover Oreos? Oh yeah. They are long gone!

And now it's time for me to do my workout... (60 walking lunges touching knee to floor, 50 situps. Repeat 5 times as quickly as possible. If you wanted to know!)

Salt Dough Ornaments

2009-12-12T22:03:00.006-05:00

I really like homemade ornaments and hope to have one Christmas tree decorated only with ornaments that Aiden and Holden have made one day. Last Christmas Aiden and I tried to make gingerbread ornaments and they turned out really badly! I'm going to attempt them again this year with a different recipe. Anyway, today we made some salt dough ornaments.

Matt came in and said, "Didn't you guys do these last year and they didn't turn out?"

Simple ingredients: 1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup flour

Stirring it up!

Cutting it out

Before going in the oven. We used a straw to make holes to thread the string in the ornament. (We baked the ornaments at 250 for 2 hours)

After the ornaments were completely cooled, we painted them.

And added some glitter!

Finished! I painted a layer of sealer on the ornaments to preserve them.

I am going to add gold string to the ornaments and tie them onto some of the Christmas presents that we are giving our parents. I think they will like them too.

This is What Little Boys Do Sometimes

2009-12-10T23:11:00.006-05:00

I know Matt thinks my job is easy. After all, I am usually still in my pajamas and sitting in the recliner feeding Holden when he leaves. But he has no idea what I go through every day!

Last night was a bad night. Holden only slept for 2 hours. Obviously, he gets to sleep during the day, but I don't have that option. And two hours of sleep isn't enough for me! Aiden has outgrown his nap and I wouldn't dare take a nap when he's running around the house. I can't even imagine what he would get into!

So I got up at 5:15 to put on the coffee (which I don't drink), pack Matt's lunch, and fix him breakfast. He has no idea how lucky he is! When Matt left at 6, I sat down to feed Holden and I did fall asleep while nursing him. But at 6:30, I was woken up when I felt my shirt suddenly get really warm. Holden has just outgrown his size 1 diaper, but I still have half a box of them and they're so expesnsive that I can't just throw them away. They don't make red marks on him or anything (in that case I would give them away) they just tend to leak. So I had to wake my sleeping baby and change both of our outfits. He wasn't happy!

When I finally got Holden calmed down and back to sleep in his glider, it was 7:30 and Aiden was calling for me. Everything went smoothly from then until 9:30. Holden had a diaper blowout and I had to wash him up and change his outfit again. At this time, Aiden told me that he needed to use the bathroom. He usually takes a while so I thought I would have plenty of time to get Holden cleaned. While I was still washing Holden up, Aiden told me he was finished. I told him that I would be there in a minute. Apparently, he got inpatient with me and decided to wipe himself. When I went into the bathroom... there was poo everywhere. Oh. My. Goodness. On the toilet, on the wall, on his hands... My jaw dropped and Aiden said, "This is what little boys do sometimes." Then he laughed! Ahhhh!

The rest of the day was pretty normal. Cleaning and playing with the boys. Of course I clean and do laundry every day, but Thursday is my big housecleaning day. Mopping, bathrooms, dusting, etc. Aiden really likes to "help". That usually turns into a bigger mess, but at least he's learning!

Finally, right when I was getting ready to start dinner, Holden woke up and was ready to eat. Aiden was playing at the table with play doh. I changed Holden's diaper and started back to the living room. As I was walking down the hall, Aiden said, "Mommy, it's ok. You can stay in there and feed Holden now." Uh oh. I walked in the living room and this is what I saw:

Sequins all over the floor. Marker on the couch. Marker on the carpet. How can he do all of this in less than FIVE minutes?!! And he said, "Little kids are supposed to make messes." Ahhh! And little kids can learn to clean up those messes too!

So, all in all. A pretty normal day, right?

A Frosted Snowman Treat

2009-12-10T13:48:00.005-05:00

When I was at Target the other day, I saw a kit to make frosted snowman Rice Krispie's treats. I just love kits so I picked it up. Besides I had never made rice krispie treats before and thought it would be fun to do something different.

The kit contained enough rice krispies to make two snowmen and some accessories like a hat or arms, icing, gum drops, candy balls, and blue sugar crystals, and a snowman pan (Obviously Aiden was in a silly mood and wouldn't cooperate with pictures)

Preparing the marshmallow mixture.

Stirring the marshmallow into the rice krispies

I don't think we were given enough marshmallow mixture or perhaps I cooked it too long, but the rice krispies just wouldn't stick together right.

Well, they stuck together enough to form the snowman, but they started coming apart when we put the icing on. (And then when you tried to pick up a piece to eat, they would completely crumble. We had to use a fork to eat them, but they were still pretty tasty. )

Aiden dumped the entire pack of sugar crystals in a pile on one snowman and then had to spread it out with his hands

I thought he would enjoy doing the candy decorating, but no. He asked me to put all the candy in a bowl and he proceeded to dump it on the snowman.

I tried to show him how to make a face but he had no interest. Here's what he came up with:

Next time if I try this activity I will not buy the kit. I will use the recipe from the rice krispie website. It would have been much better if the treats would have stayed together!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-09T06:11:00.003-05:00

I see Big Brother is Already Teaching him how to Pose for Pictures!

Check out 5 minutes for Mom and Momspective for more Wordless Wednesday!

Milestones and Lessons Learned

2009-12-08T12:38:00.004-05:00

My boys are getting bigger and learning new things every day. While staying at home with them and doing all the chores that comes along with being a stay at home mom is far more exhausting than I had anticipated, I feel so lucky to be able to spend this much time with them.

Milestones

Holden is 3 months old today! I can't believe how big he's getting already!

On Sunday (December 6) Holden rolled over from his tummy to his back for the first time! (It might have been a fluke because he hasn't repeated it, but I was proud all the same!) The same day he also discovered his feet. He was sitting in his swing and kicking his legs. All of a sudden he looked at his feet and tilted his head and stared at his feet like, what are those? It was too cute.

He's my little chubby buddy!

Lessons Learned

I have been working on mixing colors with Aiden for quite some time. I have tried mixing two different colors of paint. I've tried adding food coloring to water and having him mix the water.

For some reason these lessons never stuck. Well, we were sitting on the couch this morning when out of nowhere he said, "Mommy, did you know that blue and yellow make green?" I was so proud! I asked him how he knew that and he said, "Do you remember when we visited Grana? They had blue water in the potty and when I went pee pee, the water turned green!" Whatever works, right?!

It's SITSmas Day!

2009-12-08T00:15:00.009-05:00

MERRY SITSmas SITStas!!!

From our crazy house to yours, we're wishing you a safe and happy holiday season!

For those of you who aren't familiar with SITS (The Secret is in the Sauce), it's an awesome blog recognition and comment support system and a great way to make new friends! Today is SITmas and all of the SITs girls are sharing Christmas greetings. Head over to SITS and check it out!

Health Food

2009-12-06T09:18:00.007-05:00

I mean technically there IS milk in chocolate. And milk is healthy, right? Yeah. It's a stretch...

Aiden and I just made what is probably the MOST unhealthy (but super yummy) cookie bars I've ever had! A few years ago we went to a Christmas party and someone had made this fudge with Oreo pieces in it. Well, Matt loved it and I decided that I was going to surprise him by making some. So I searched for Oreo fudge and came up with this recipe:

Ingredients
1 18 oz. package of Oreo cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips (separated in 1/2 cups)
1 cup white chocolate chips, melted

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly spray with cooking spray. Set aside 6 Oreo cookies for the topping.

Crush the remaining cookies into fine crumbs. Add the salt to the crumbs and stir to combine. Melt butter and gently stir together with the cookie crumb mixture. Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Coarsely chop the remaining cookies into chunks and set aside.

Melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla. Stir frequently until smooth. Spread evenly over the prepared cookie crust.

Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of milk chocolate chips and the Oreo cookie chunks over the top of the filling. Press down gently into the chocolate topping. Bake for 20. Allow bars to cool on counter for 1 hour. Melt white chocolate chips and drizzle over the bars. Chill in fridge until completely cold.

This wasn't exactly the recipe I was looking for (what I wanted is called Cookies and Cream fudge and I will make that next week!), but this recipe sounded good so I decided to try it. And let me tell you these cookie bars were DELICIOUS!!!

Aiden was really impressed by the amount of chocolate I set in front of him!

Aiden is always wanting to use "Daddy's hammer". What better time to let him try it out?

He kept trying to sneak cookies out of the bowl! Here he's pouring the butter into the cookie crumb mixture.

The cookie crust

Melting the chocolate filling

The bars before going into the oven

Measuring out the chocolate chips was Aiden's favorite part. He poured them from cup to bowl over and over again the entire time the bars were in the oven!

The finished bars

I should have taken a picture of them once they were cut and put on a plate. In fact I would still do that if they weren't already gone! We have no self control when it comes to chocolate! Matt and I both agreed that this was the best chocolate dessert that we've ever had!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

2009-12-05T13:31:00.009-05:00

When we woke up this morning, I looked outside and saw that it was snowing! I had heard that there was a chance of snow, but I ignored it since I'm so used to the overly optimistic snow chances in TN. I'm not sure what to expect with the winters up here yet.

Aiden was so excited to see it snowing and wanted to go outside immediately. I was on the phone with my grandmother when still in his pajamas with bare feet Aiden asked me to unlock the door to the deck so he could play in the snow. I said, "You can't go outside without shoes!" He ran to his room and came back carrying his flip flops! (The only shoes he can put on by himself right now) I laughed and told him that he needed shoes and socks and a COAT!

Finally, he was bundled up and ready to play!

So it snowed all day and all evening for a total of about 5 or 6 inches. That's a huge snow compared to what we're used to! Since this was Holden's first snow, I wanted to get a few pictures of him outside. We had to wait until Matt got home from the library (I hate finals week!) and it was already dark.

Aiden right before hitting me in the eye with that snowball!

Aiden had lots of fun playing in the snow, but Holden had different thoughts about it.

I've got to get some good pictures of Holden so everyone will believe that he IS happy most of the time! I took Holden inside to warm up and Matt and Aiden played a little longer.

Holiday Cards, Birth Announcements, and More!

2009-12-05T13:26:00.008-05:00

Being a stay at home mom with a wild and crazy 3 year old and a 3 month old that must be held the majority of the day is a little more difficult than I had anticipated! With Aiden, I had birth announcements made and sent out by the time he was a month old! And with Holden, I still have the cards laying on the table...

Anyway, minted. (a super cute card and stationary website) gave me the chance to sample some of their cards and write a review. After checking out their site, of course I jumped at this wonderful opportunity! First, I was sent a sample pack of children's stationary and holiday photo cards. I've already chosen some stationary that I am going to get to send out as thank you notes after Aiden's next birthday party!

I was really impressed with the high quality of the cards that I received. Unlike some of the photo cards that I've gotten in the past, these cards can actually be saved and treasured long after the holidays have passed. There are so many designs and styles to chose from. Here are a couple that I think are really cute:

They even offer mini photo books where you can use 3 to 6 pictures of your family!

Minted also has tons of adorable birth announcements. These are the ones that I picked out for Holden:

I was impressed with every aspect of this company: from all of the avaiable designs to the ease of editing to the customer service to the presentation and quality. I could go on and on.

All of the cards and stationary on this website are designed exclusively for Minted by independent designers. Once you choose the card that you want, all you have to do is upload your photos and type in the text you wish to include. The designer then looks at your content and makes any needed adjustments before sending you a proof. You can then make other editing requests or place your order.

The birth announcements that I received were stunning! Both the cards and envelopes are top quality and the printing looks fantatic! I've shown my announcements to a few friends already and they were just as impressed as I was. If you plan on designing your holiday cards this year, I deinitely think you should take a look at Minted. If you place an order by Sunday, December 6, add the code MLW09 and receive 15% off your order!

A Glittery Christmas (Ornament)

2009-12-04T22:42:00.007-05:00

When Aiden got up this morning, I told him, "It's December 4th." Obviously, the date doesn't mean anything to him, but when I bought him one of those chocolate Advent calendars at Target after Thanksgiving, I explained that he got to open a door every day in December until it was Christmas. As soon as he gets up, he grabs the calendar and brings it to me. He then asks me what Christmas activity we're doing that day. I have no idea how I'm going to come up with original activities every year (I'm probably not!), but he loves this tradition.

Today, we made wreath picture frame ornaments. I had everything set out on the table and when he saw the rice in the little bowls and glitter, he got so excited. Of course that's when Holden decided it was time to eat! Aiden threw his hands in the air and exclaimed, "That's going to take forever!"

First, I cut circles out of cardboard and we painted them green. (Aiden and I both made one. I need one to put Holden's picture in too)

Then we added green and red food coloring to the little bowls of rice and stirred them up with toothpicks. Of course Aiden loved playing in the rice.

We painted glue on our green circles and spooned on the green rice.

We then added some red "berries" and some glitter because sparkles make everything more fun!

I then cut out a picture of Aiden and put in the frame. When I showed it to him, he was so excited! He said, "Is that me in the wreath?!" I told Aiden that I needed to get a picture of Holden to put in the frame I made. (I have tons of pictures of him, but they are all on the computer.) He said, "No, Mommy. You need to get a picture of you. You're the one that made it."

As soon as we were finished with our Christmas activity, Aiden asked to do another craft. I think he's really been missing our art time. I am going to try to keep this up even after Christmas. It's so easy to skip when Holden's being needy and I'm tired, but I need to spend some one on one time with Aiden too.

Christmas Tree Lighting

2009-12-03T17:29:00.008-05:00

I really wanted to go to the National Christmas tree lighting this year, but unfortunately, we didn't win tickets. Oh well. There's always next year and the year after that and the year after that... Anyway, I thought tonight would be a good night to do our own Christmas tree!

We have an artificial tree and it's getting kinda old. Matt and I got it our first Christmas together~ 6 years ago! I put the tree up, Matt puts on the lights, and I decorate it. I have come to dread putting up that tree! Everyone I know (who doesn't buy a live tree) has one of those that comes in three parts. I have to put every little branch in the slot of my tree. I am getting a little bit better at it though. Not too many huge empty spaces this year!

Every time I see this, I feel a little overwhelmed!

Holden wasn't too excited about me putting the tree up...

He finally went to sleep without me holding him! But he was still scowling! He scowls so much that he has little wrinkles between his eyes. He really is a happy baby and smiles a lot now as long as he's being held!

Aiden was a big helper. He put the star on top of the tree again this year. And he took all of the ornaments out of their boxes and placed them all over the floor while I was cooking dinner. It was a huge mess, but at least I didn't have to open the boxes myself, right?

I also had help decorating this year.

Our tree looks a lot better in person! I'm having a difficult time getting a good picture with the lights on. I would really like to get a couple of pictures of the boys in front of the tree. I will keep trying...

25 Days of Christmas

2009-12-02T22:27:00.007-05:00

Wow. It's been a long time! Now that it's December, I've decided to do the 25 days of Christmas with Aiden like I did last year. We are going to do a Christmas related activity every day from now until Christmas (putting up the Christmas tree, visiting Santa, holiday parties, etc). And of course I'm already late with my postings!

And I'm going to do a bloggy catch up with some Halloween and Thanksgiving photos as soon as my dad sends me the pictures. I have been a little overwhelmed lately. I have a deadline for my thesis now. I have to know EVERYTHING about the kidneys by January and Holden isn't really cooperating. He is such a needy baby! I still can't lay him down at night and it's really hard to write with a crying baby sitting in a swing right beside you! I know it will get done, but it's exhausting!

Anyway, tomorrow we are going to a Cookie Exchange playdate! So today's activity was making cookies! I am a big chocolate fan and decided to try out a new recipe: Martha Stewart's Double Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

The Ingredients

Mmmm Chocolate and Butter!

This was the first time I've melted something like this! The gas burner only went out twice before I realized that I needed to simmer less water! It doesn't take me long...

Aiden loves helping! While I was trying to figure out how to melt the chocolate, he poured out half the bottle of baking soda into the bowl. He then tried to pour it into the 1/2 tsp and ended up getting it all over the table. Thinking that I would be upset, he ran to the linen closet and got a washcloth to clean it up (by brushing it all in the floor!) Oh, well. I've become quite used to vacuuming twice a day!

Adding sugar to the melted chocolate. He said, "Mommy, I think you're using too much sugar!"

After, mixing the flour mixture into the chocolate, I glanced at the recipe again. Step 7: fold in chocolate chunks. OK, well maybe I should have known that we needed chocolate chunks since the recipe is called double chocolate chunk cookies, but they weren't in the list of ingredients! I had to put the batter in the refrigerator until Matt was able to stop by the store on his way home. The dough got really hard and I couldn't really stir the chunks into it. I wasn't sure if they would turn out right, but they tasted fine to me! Very chocolatey!

This is how Holden felt about the whole cookie making experience! He cried almost the entire time...

....Until I put him in the wrap. (He's still a little mad at me in this picture though!)

Holden Smiles!

2009-10-29T08:52:00.005-04:00

Holden is 7 weeks old now and has changed so much in the last two weeks! We're still at my parents' house at the moment, but we're going back home this weekend (they have finally fixed the water heater and closet in Aiden's room). I'm really excited for Matt to see how much Holden has changed. He's starting to gurgle and coo and smile!

I know this isn't the best picture, but it's the first time I managed to get a part of a smile on film. I'm loving this sweet, happy baby!

I Blame it on Sleep Deprivation

2009-10-28T14:05:00.005-04:00

Aiden is finally able to dress himself! I'm sure he could have done it earlier, but he just wasn't willing to try. Well, this morning, I picked out his clothes and laid them out for him. I was watching him get dressed while I was feeding Holden. He put his shirt on and he was so proud! Then he started to put on his jeans. When I saw what I had given him, I started cracking up! He had no idea why I was laughing until he stood up, but he was laughing too. I just happened to have my camera right beside me.

My little sister had left her skirt on the floor in the room Aiden is staying in. I just assumed it was his jeans and told himto put them on. Oops! He was laughing and said, "Mommy! Boys don't wear these things!"

Quotes From Aiden

2009-10-24T08:27:00.002-04:00

I haven't been writing down the funny things Aiden says as much as I used to. I need to get back into that habit. But here are a few quotes that I want to remember:

Aiden was playing with Holden (showing him a rattle while he was lying on a blanket) when he looked up at me. He said, "Mommy, when are you going to get another baby in your tummy? Next time can we get a girl?"

Aiden is completely used to the fact that I have to constantly carry Holden around in order to keep him from crying. While I was in the shower yesterday morning, Holden fell asleep in his swing in the bathroom. He was still sleeping when Aiden called me. When I went in the room, he studied me for a second and said, "Mommy, is Holden back in your tummy?"

I was getting ready to go workout after I put Aiden to bed. I kissed him goodnight and he asked me to lay down with him. (My mom was holding Holden at the time). I stayed with him for a few minutes and then told him that he needed to go to sleep and I needed to go exercise. He patted my stomach and said, "That's OK, Mommy. I want your tummy to stay big forever." Thanks a lot buddy! LOL

Oh My... MOLD!!!

2009-10-20T22:12:00.002-04:00

I mentioned yesterday that the maintenance crew at our apartment paid us an emergency visit because we had a leak in our water heater. Well, they came back this morning to do some more work and brought a contractor with them. After spending less than a minute in Aiden's room, the contractor came to talk to me. He told me that there was a substantial amount of mold in Aiden's closet (the door to the water heater and gas is in Aiden's closet, but it's locked and we don't have a key to open it). He said that with a new baby and a young child, we would need to move out until early next week while they tore down and replaced the walls in the closet. Wow! I went back to Aiden's room to check it out and couldn't believe it. There was mold on the wall from the floor to ceiling in that closet! Absolutely no way that much mold grew overnight and they didn't even mention that there was mold And THEN they said they would give us a furnished apartment tomorrow; it would be fine for us to stay with the mold tonight. Um... no! I packed a suitcase for the boys and me and we left for Tennessee immediately. (Matt is staying at a hotel since he can't miss school) I had been planning on visiting my parents next week so we just got here a little early.

The 8 hour car ride by myself with Aiden and Holden... At one point, I had a terrible headache, it was dark and rainy, Holden was crying, and Aiden was shouting at Holden to stop the whining... But all in all it went way better than I anticipated! We got here safely and that's all that matters!

I love our apartment. It's in a great area and it's really nice~ sooo pretty. Still, I know that there will be maintenance issues. However, we pay four times the rent that we paid in TN and I am just really disappointed in the way the management handled the situation!

A Day With Daddy: Dinos & Jack o Lanterns

2009-10-19T16:47:00.006-04:00

Matt had a day off from school so we decided to have a family day. We haven't been able to have one in quite some time since Matt has to study so much. We took the boys to the Smithsonian museum of natural history. I got in some exercise (6 miles of walking!) and Holden slept in his wrap the entire time. I thought Aiden would enjoy seeing the dinosaur bones, but I guess he's a little too young. He obviously doesn't understand how old they are and he kept saying, "Daddy, they have real dinosaurs in Tennessee!" (He still remembers going to the children's museum last winter when they had the robotic dinosaur display.) He loved the bug display though! It's more interactive. We still had a good day!

Once we got home and finished dinner, Matt asked Aiden if he was ready to carve the pumpkin. Of course he wanted to. Matt got Aiden to tell him how to do the eyes, nose, and teeth and then he carved it.

Aiden really wasn't interested in playing with the pumpkin goo! After putting his hand in the pumpkin once, he let Matt take over!

Aiden was really excited about "putting fire" into the pumpkin

The fun still hasn't stopped for Aiden... This morning when I went in his closet to pick out his clothes. I thought the carpet felt a little wet. Then when we were downtown, Matt got a phone call saying that the maintenance crew had to go into our apartment because the water heater had a bad leak. They have been in Aiden's room all evening and are supposed to be back tomorrow. But until then, all of his toys are in the middle of the floor and he is camped out in the living room with Holden and me. Something tells me I'm not going to get much sleep tonight!

I LOVE Fall!

2009-10-19T10:49:00.005-04:00

My favorite season has always been summer. I love hot weather and being able to go swimming, and going to the beach, but I think October through December is my favorite time of the year now. There are just so many fun activities to do this time of year and it's so much more fun when you have a little one to share it with.

Matt's school has a student spouse club and I have joined the parent tot group. We have met a few times for playdates and Aiden is really enjoying it. Recently, we went to a fall festival with the group. I love everything about these farms from the corn mazes (which we didn't do!) to the hayrides and pumpkin patches to the playgrounds. We've gone to the one in TN each fall and I'm really going to miss it this year.

This is the first year that Aiden has actually been able to enjoy it. Too fun!

Aiden LOVED the hay jump. It was really hard to get him to move on to other activities!

Then he had lots of fun on the big slides. He sat on a piece of burlap and made sure to scoot to the very end of the slide each time! I was so proud of him going up the stairs and waiting in line by himself. I couldn't go down the slide wearing Holden and it was too crowded to go back down once he got to the top. He told me that he was a big boy and he could do it by himself!

The only bad part about our trip? I am hopeless at driving in the DC area! I get lost ALL the time. I printed out directions from Mapquest to get to the farm and figured I could just follow those directions back home. Wrong! It took us 20 minutes to get to the farm and an hour and a half to get back home! I think a GPS would be a good investment for me!

Our Alphabet Project

2009-10-06T15:30:00.006-04:00

Since Aiden isn't going to preschool this year, I want to at least get him familiar with the letters of the alphabet. He knows several of them already since he's been playing with magnetic letters for a couple of years now! But I want him to be able to recognize each letter of the alphabet and have some idea that each one makes its own sound. We'll see how it goes...

Obviously, we started out with Aiden's favorite letter, A! To start, I cut out a lower and upper case letter A. I then had Aiden paint the letters and then put his fingerprints on them (it was supposed to be ants on grass, but didn't really turn out).

I then had Aiden paint a coffee filter to make an ant hill.

We then cut out ovals and glued them together to make ants.

Our finished letter A!

A Whale of a Time

2009-10-06T15:13:00.006-04:00

ha ha. I just couldn't resist! This goes back to the middle of last week when Aiden was wanting to do art projects of animals he saw in our Alaska photo album. I couldn't come up with a single whale project idea so I decided to let him do more of a scenery/texture project instead.

First, I made a killer whale and then cut out a mountain shape. I then let Aiden paint the mountain with glue.

I gave him a small bowl of powdered sugar to sprinkle on his mountain as snow.

We then made salt water by pouring salt in some blue paint.

And Aiden insisted that his picture needed some glitter. And really what project is complete without a little bit of gitter?!

The finished product. I think it turned out really cute!

Neighborhood Fall Festival

2009-10-06T15:06:00.009-04:00

I am really going to try to start blogging again, but when I have the time, I'm just too exhausted to make the effort! I'm literally holding Holden 22 hours out of every day, but I have been doing quite a few activities with Aiden. I will try to post everything within the next few days...

This past weekend I took Aiden and Holden to our neighborhood fall festival. I love living in a place that offers so many activities for children. I didn't really know what to expect at the fall festival, but it was great for Aiden! They had lots of activities aimed at preschoolers: a train ride, a carousel, pumpkin painting, a children's band, and several large inflatables for them to climb on.

Aiden has really started getting over his shyness. When he wanted to go into this one huge inflatable where he would have to hold onto a rope to climb up two of the walls, I kept questioning him if he was sure he wanted to do it. I know I should have been encouraging him, but just a few weeks ago, he wouldn't go into the McDonalds playland by himself and I could just see them making me go in there (with Holden in the Moby wrap) to get Aiden! But of course, I let him try and he did it! He was really proud of himself!

Here is the small rope wall that he climbed up. The second one was twice as high, but I couldn't get a good picture of it.

After climbing the second wall, he went down a huge slide!

Next up: the train ride. Neither of us realized how fast the train went. You can see Aiden holding on during the first trip around the circle!

More inflatable fun!

And before we left, I got him an ice cream cone.

Holden slept the entire time we were at the festival. Why oh why can't he do that at home when I can rest too?! But I really enjoy this time of year. It seems like there are tons of events to welcome in the fall!

Some Kinda Normal

2009-09-24T17:25:00.004-04:00

First, A Holden Update:
I took Holden to his two week well baby check up on Tuesday and he is doing great! Not only has he met his birth weight, he's gained 9 additional ounces. He was so good at the doctor's appointment. The doctor checked him out and said, "You're really lucky to have such an easy baby." Ha! He should just come visit us at home! Holden will not let me put him down. He nurses every hour all night long and I have had to learn to sleep sitting up because the only way he will sleep is in my arms! (And writing blog posts takes forever now since I can only type with one hand!) Luckily, I discovered babywearing... I can just put him in a wrap and he falls asleep (as long as I keep moving) and I can get a few things done.

Well, today was my first day at home by myself since my c-section. And I have a renewed respect for all of the stay at home moms out there! It's going to take me a little time to get any sort of routine down, but I wanted to get things back to semi-normal for Aiden, so we did an art project. I'm really going to try to get my themed weeks going again. This week: Polar Animals

Aiden was born in Alaska (a fact that everyone in our family loves and tells him all the time). Lately, he has been really into looking at my Alaska photo albums and he decided that he wanted to make all of the animals he saw in my pictures. First up: A moose...

And Holden is in his wrap, so we're ready to start!

First, I traced both of Aiden's feet. He was really concerned that the crayon would get on his foot and spent a few minutes inspecting them before we could move on.

Then we painted both of his hands and made handprints.

I cut out the tracings of his feet and had him paint them.

Then I cut out some ears which he painted.

I put it all together and painted the eyes. Then we let it dry.

I wanted to glue it on a piece of bright paper so it would stand out, but Aiden chose brown because "moose like to hide".

Who knew that carrying around a 2 week old baby and doing an art project with a 3 year old could be so exhausting!

Brothers

2009-09-13T11:47:00.004-04:00

Aiden has really taken to his role as big brother. He wants to be around Holden all the time! When I change his diaper (on a changing pad in the floor), Aiden lays down beside him and says, "Hey, little brother. Did you know that I love you so very much?" Holden will just stare at Aiden and move his little hands around. Aiden loves this and says, "Mommy! He likes me!" It's too cute.

And Aiden is such a huge help. He is constantly bringing me diapers and blankets and trying to cover Holden up. He's even "helped" me change a poopy diaper! LOL But every time, he hears Holden crying, he says, "Mommy! The baby's crying. I think he wants you." So far that's the only thing he dislikes about his brother!

The other day I was trying to explain to Aiden why he isn't allowed to pick Holden up. I will let him hold the baby but only if one of us is right beside him. I tried to tell him that his neck wasn't strong enough to hold his head up yet. Aiden said, "Don't worry, Mommy. His head won't fall off, it's glued on."

Meeting Holden for the first time at the hospital

The first time Aiden got to hold his little brother

Our first day home from the hospital. Aiden is making his "mean face"

Holden Thomas is Here!!!

2009-09-11T20:14:00.007-04:00

I had my scheduled c-section on September 8. I had to call labor and delivery at 5:00 that morning and they asked me to be there at 7. Once I got to the hospital, they immediately took me back and put me on an IV and started drawing blood. Then they informed me that they couldn't find any of my records and the surgeon wasn't happy because he wanted to confirm the dates just to make sure the baby wasn't going to be too early. So, I sat there hooked to my IV and feeling extremely nervous for an entire hour before they finally located my chart. UGH!!! I don't recommend transferring hospitals at 36 weeks!

Waiting....

and showing off my support stockings that I got to wear for the last three weeks (with capris and flip flops! LOL)

Finally, they made me walk through the waiting area(!) to the operating room. I was so nervous at this point that I was shaking. The anesthesiologist immediately started my spinal and wow! It was painful! I don't remember it being like that with Aiden. At one point, I felt an electric shock run through the entire right side of my body and the doctor said, "Oops!"

Did I mention that I'm going to a teaching hospital? The "President's hospital", but still a teaching facility! They were showing some of the residents how to clean the area they were getting ready to cut and I heard them say, "Just think about mowing a lawn. Overlap and make sure everything is covered. We don't want to cause an infection." And then they felt the need to tell me that a third year resident was going to do my surgery...

I was able to calm down a little when Matt was allowed to come in. He held my hand and tried his best to comfort me. l was really scared from my past experience and acted like a big baby... When I had Aiden, I was in labor for 21 hours before the emergency c-section. I had been given two epidurals and a spinal and I didn't have any feeling whatsoever below my forehead. I was so afraid that was going to happen again. Also, when I had Aiden, I lost a lot of blood and since my iron was really low this time (at my last appointment, my doctor discussed using general anesthesia in case my levels were too low on the day of the surgery) I was terrified that I was going to have some kind of problem. I cried almost the entire time they were doing my surgery and Matt kept reassuring me that everything was going well. Even after hearing Holden crying, I couldn't calm down until I was in the recovery area!

Obviously, I wasn't able to hold Holden right away, but the doctors let Matt hold him by my head while they finished sewing my incision and cleaning me up. Seeing your baby for the first time is just amazing. There just aren't words to describe it. He was perfect! And I fell in love with him immediately...

The Stats:

DOB: September 8, 2009 at 9:53 AM

Weight: 8lbs 5oz

Length: 21 in

So, I'm not sure how many hospitals still have nurseries, but neither of the hospitals I have delivered at have them. I was very fortunate that my dad was able to come and stay with me while I was in hospital. Matt wasn't able to miss school and my mom wasn't able to get off work either (she will be staying with us next week). My recovery (being able to walk and go to the bathroom by myself) went really well and I was actually able to go home 48 hours after having my c-section.

Our first picture at home with our two babies!

(Yikes! I'm looking a little rough, but I did just have a baby!

Aiden LOVES being a big brother. He helps me out so much and really wants to be involved with Holden, but that's another post! It's taken me an entire day to write this one! Looks like we're going to be pretty busy for awhile!

Today's the Day!!!

2009-09-08T05:27:00.004-04:00

It's Holden's Birthday!!!

So, I made it to the date of my scheduled c-section! I had to call in at 5:00 this morning and they have told me to be there at 7. I am SOOOO nervous about my c-section, but can't wait to meet baby Holden! I don't think I will have internet access while at the hospital, but should be home with an update on Friday if everything goes well...

My Last Baby Bump Picture! 39 weeks...

An Activity for Aiden

2009-09-06T20:22:00.007-04:00

Well, I'm feeling much better today! And I wanted to thank everyone for their nice thoughts and comments. After taking a shower and 3 warm baths, my back labor eased enough for me to do an activity with Aiden. (I have to admit, I've not been a very fun mommy lately.)

Aiden has been playing with play-doh a lot this past week. He got a set of letter cookie cutters for his birthday and he has been fascinated with looking through books of animals and trying to match the letters in their names with his cookie cutter letters. He will then cut the letters out and spell the names with his play-doh. He gets so excited when he finishes a name! It's really cute. I was looking through my folder of preschool activities and came across a recipe for play dough. I've always been to lazy to do it because it requires cooking! But I thought Aiden might enjoy it so I asked if him if he would like to make some glitter dough. Of course he said yes!

The Ingredients and Recipe:

Combine:

1 cup flour
1/4 cup salt
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Add and whisk until smooth:

1 cup water
1 Tbsp oil
Food coloring
Glitter (We added this on our own since Aiden still LOVES glitter! Once it's cooked in the play dough, it doesn't come off on your hands)

Cook over medium heat until play dough is nearly set.

Add: 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract (This is supposed to improve texture and also gives the play dough a nice scent)

Stir until vanilla is blended, then remove and knead when cool. Store in Ziploc bag or air tight container.

Cooking the play dough:

Oh what a mess!!! (But it was actually really easy to clean up)

Aiden using his letters

and being a little goofy!

Aiden had a fun time making this glitter play dough and I love the recipe. I love the texture of the play dough and the smell too! We will definitely be making it again in the future. Aiden has already planned out all of the colors we're going to make!

Sushi and Ice Cream

2009-09-05T20:31:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was mine and Matt's sixth wedding anniversary! I cannot believe we've been married for that long! Six years, three states, and two kiddos... Wonder what's in store for us in the next six years! We always go to dinner on our anniversary and when he asked me what I wanted, I answered, "Sushi and ice cream!" He looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Gross. What a combo." But that's what we had! I have been craving sushi this entire pregnancy, but dismissed it because I didn't think I could have it. I completely forgot that you can order it cooked! Oh my...

At 1:00 last night, I started having really bad contractions and extreme pain in my lower back. I tried walking around, taking a bath, anything that I could think of to ease the pain. Finally, I woke Matt up at 5:00 and told him that I wanted to go to the hospital. I got him to time my contractions and they were coming ten minutes apart, so I decided to deal with the pain and wait for a bit. At 9:30, my contractions were about five minutes apart and I was still having the constant pain in my lower back. I called Labor and Delivery and they had me come in. They put me on a monitor and said that my contractions were coming at five minute intervals and that the intense back pain was back labor. Something I never experienced with Aiden. The doctor then checked to see if I was dilated. I wasn't (This was one of the reasons I had to have an emergency c-section with Aiden). So they sent me home! While I'm having contractions every five minutes!

Apparently, it's military policy not to perform a c-section until 39 weeks (I'm 38 weeks, 5 days) unless your water has broken or your cervix has dilated to a certain degree. So now, I wait. I'm just hoping that either my water breaks really soon or that this back labor eases up. I'm really not sure how I'm going to get through two more full days of this... Tylenol is no match for contractions!

Visiting Downtown DC

2009-08-30T19:50:00.005-04:00

My grandmother has never been to Washington DC before and since I was feeling good today, we decided to take her downtown to see some of the monuments. We didn't even see close to half of the attractions but we got to see enough for her to get a feel of the city.

The White House

Matt and Aiden in front of the Washington Monument

World War II Memorial

Vietnam Memorial

Reflection Pool

Lincoln Memorial

I'm sure I'm going to take tons of repetitive pictures, but I just can't get over how beautiful the city is. I hope that Aiden will be able to enjoy DC as much as I do before we move again. Not sure when that will be... He wasn't very interested in visiting the monuments today. He was way more interested in the ducks, geese, and seagulls in the reflection pools! I can't wait to take him to the National Museum of Natural History to see the dinosaur bones. I think he will really enjoy that.

37 Weeks: Anytime Now...

2009-08-28T18:57:00.008-04:00

I had my 37 week appointment today as well as the prenatal assessment. I was really surprised when they made me do my own group b strep test! LOL Things have changed quite a bit already since I had Aiden! They also didn't bother to check my cervix to see if I was dilated since I'm scheduled for a repeat c-section. I did get some good news though. I don't actually have pre-eclampsia, I have PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension). Not a wonderful diagnosis, but not as serious as pre-e.

After that appointment I went up to Labor and Delivery for my prenatal assessment. They got me all hooked up to the machines and the baby's heartbeat sounded great. My blood pressure was elevated, but not too bad. Then the doctor asked me about my contractions. I told her that I was having pretty bad cramps and she told me that my contractions were mild but were coming 5 minutes apart. When I went for the ultrasound to check the level of amniotic fluid, the tech said that the baby's head was super low and asked if I was feeling a lot of pressure.

I have appointments scheduled for Monday and Tuesday of next week but when I left, the nurse said that she wouldn't be surprised if she saw me again this weekend. Eeek!! I'm really nervous! I don't want to have an emergency c-section. They told me not to be concerned because it's a really large and prestigious hospital and there are tons of doctors around at all hours and even more on call. Still.... I hope I can make it until September 8!

The National Zoo

2009-08-28T16:37:00.005-04:00

I know I'm supposed to be taking it easy and resting on my left side as much as possible, but that's not too much fun! Well, I was feeling really good this past Wednesday and it was a really nice day so I decided that I would take Aiden to the zoo! And I am so glad we went because we had a wonderful day!

I have to admit that I've wanted to go to the National Zoo since I found out Matt was accepted into med school here! I really wanted to see the Giant Pandas!

Anyway, the zoo was HUGE (from what I'm used to at least) and although we were there for over 5 hours we didn't get to see everything! I can't wait to take Aiden back and spend more time looking at the animals. His favorite part was the reptile house. Unfortunately!

I didn't take very many pictures, but we had quite an eventful day! The next time we go, I will try to take more pictures, and I will also pack a lunch! Admission to the zoo is free. Parking is not so cheap (ride the metro) and food is crazy! A soda from a drink machine was $3! And Aiden and I ate lunch for $10 each. He got a hotdog and applesauce and I had a cheeseburger and fries. He dropped the hotdog out of its bun onto the ground and then proceeded to spill his applesauce everywhere when he was startled by a bee. Oh my! Yup. Definitely packing our lunch next time!

We rode the metro to the zoo~ another first for Aiden. (I really wish I had a picture of that!) He loved riding the "choo choo train." On our way home, we got stuck on the metro between stops because there was a fire on the track! Luckily, no one was hurt. DC is unbelievably different than east TN. What an adventure!

A Day at the Pool

2009-08-26T10:03:00.004-04:00

I'm really loving our new apartment! We now have two outdoor pools and an indoor pool. The best part is that we live right across the street from our favorite one. Aiden has been having a blast going swimming everyday.

Matt used to be a lifeguard (He was actually the head lifeguard when we met my freshman year of college. LOL) and he's been trying to teach Aiden how to swim. Aiden has already learned how to hold his breath and jump into the pool. He's also learned to kick his feet and paddle with his hands, but not always at the same time. We have a way to go to still, but I'm proud of him. Matt thinks it would be best to get him swim lessons because he seems to be less afraid to attempt new things with other people.

Yesterday when we were at the pool, Aiden kept wanting to get out and jump in to me. It was fine at first, but after lifting him out for the fifth time, I was getting a little tired. The lifeguard came over to us and told me to take it easy. He then tried to take Aiden from me so he could continue jumping in. But Aiden had an absolute fit! He was terrified of the lifeguard! For the next hour, he stared at the lifeguard and grabbed onto my shoulders anytime he thought he might be looking at him. Not sure how swim lessons will go...

36 Weeks and Counting...

2009-08-21T08:25:00.007-04:00

I had my first doctor's appointment in DC yesterday. And it didn't go quite as planned. Matt's school was having a meet and greet with the students and their families all day and I scheduled my doctor's appointment for first thing that morning. I figured I would be back right after they finished breakfast. Wrong!

As soon as my doc saw my how badly my feet were swelling (we're talking elephant feet here. I have ONE pair of flip-flops that fit me now) and saw that my blood pressure was elevated, she sent me right on over to Labor and Delivery. I spent the next three hours strapped to monitors and have to do another 24 hour urine collection. UGH!! I really thought I was going to make it through this pregnancy without any complications. But now I have pre-eclampsia again....

I have to go to Labor and Delivery for prenatal assessment two to three times a week now in addition to my other weekly appointments. And I have to wear these super attractive bright white support hose. (Did I mention that the only shoes that fit me are flip flops?!) At this point, my blood pressure isn't enough concern for them to do a c-section immediately. They have changed the date to September 8 though! But they warned me that they could do my c-section at any time if my blood pressure continues to increase. Luckily, my grandmother is here to help take care of Aiden.

Finally Settled!

2009-08-20T21:14:00.006-04:00

36 weeks pregnant with a 3 year old in tow, I drove the 8 hours by myself to DC this past Saturday. My grandma actually came with us and although she can't drive, it helped with the stress. I knew that if I went into labor, she would at least be able to watch Aiden! But we made it! Matt had everything settled in our new apartment and I absolutely LOVE our new place. I will try to post some pictures sometime soon.

My grandma had never been to DC, so last night we took her downtown to see some of the monuments lit up. It is such a beautiful city and I can't wait to show everything to Aiden!

A Night in the ER...

2009-08-08T08:42:00.009-04:00

Let me start by saying, I overreacted and everyone is fine.

My grandmother asked me earlier this week if she and my aunt could take Aiden to South Carolina to see my fifteen year old cousin on her birthday. At first I agreed, but as the week went on, I started getting a really bad feeling about the trip. I know it's silly and statistically you are more likely to get into an accident close to home. But like I said, I just did not want him to spend 6 hours in a car (3 there, 3 back) especially since we have the drive to DC next weekend. My grandma was really upset with me, but I felt right about my decision.

Then as soon as we get to my parents' house yesterday evening, Aiden rushes to play with my little sister who has a friend over. Mandy plays with him for about five minutes before throwing a blanket over his head and sneaking upstairs. Aiden thinks it's all a game and jumps off the couch and runs after her. The next thing I hear is pounding on wood and a scream. (Aiden NEVER cries unless he's really hurt.) Apparently, he slipped on the blanket and fell on the stairs. He runs to me and his right temple already has a huge blue knot on it and the corner of his eye is bleeding. My first reaction was, it looks bad, but he's fine. When my mom saw it she said, "You have to take him to the emergency room!" With all of the head injury headlines in the news recently, I thought it would be better to be safe than sorry. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to him because I wouldn't take him to the hospital.

We went to the children's ER and he seemed fine. He played with all of the toys and made a friend in the waiting area. We had to wait for three hours before they even took him to triage and by that time he was looking a lot better. When we finally saw the doctor, she looked at his pupils and checked for fractures around his eye. She then gave us a sheet of things to watch out for and sent us on our way. Thank goodness he was OK! I am going to watch him like a hawk around the stairs for the rest of the week!

I don't think you can really tell how bad it was from this picture, but I was so surprised (and happy) to see how much better his face looked this morning.

So the fall and trip to the ER could explain my bad feeling... Maybe I should let him go on that trip to South Carolina after all?

"Just like Daddy!"

2009-08-07T07:42:00.004-04:00

Aiden was upstairs playing with my little sister and her friend and they were being awfully quiet so I decided to go check on them. What I saw cracked me up! They were playing dress up with him. When he saw me he said, "Look, Mommy! I'm a doctor just like Daddy!" (Matt starts his first year of med school next week and I am so, so proud of him! He worked extremely hard for this.)

34 Week Update with Pictures!

2009-08-04T20:34:00.005-04:00

Matt finished up officer training last Friday and was able to come home for the weekend on his way to DC. I can't believe how quickly those 5 weeks went. Being busy with the move made it fly by! Aiden was so excited to see his daddy! He climbed up in his lap, gave him a huge hug, and said, "I'll never let you go." We had such a fun family weekend. Unfortunately, the batteries in my camera will no longer hold a charge and I didn't realize that until the weekend was over...
But Aiden and I have less than two weeks now until we join Matt in DC. I can't wait!

Matt hates having pictures taken, but he had some made for me anyway. Here are a few that my dad took. (He's trying to get into photography so I've been his guinea pig. He told me he would have it down by the time we were on our fourth baby! LOL I think two is it for us.)

I haven't really had any problems with this pregnancy, but Sunday morning I woke up and my face was a bit swollen. (I'm not sure if you can tell from these pictures). So my doctor is making me do a 24 hour protein check to see if I'm developing pre-e again... I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I just had too much salt over the weekend. Hopefully everything will be OK, I only have five more weeks.

A Big Brother Present for Aiden

2009-07-30T19:52:00.007-04:00

After today, we have five weeks and five days (at the most) until Holden joins our family! And I've been thinking a lot about the adjustments Aiden is going to have to make. I don't want him to feel left out at the hospital where everyone will make a big fuss over the new baby. So I decided that I would buy him a big brother present to distract him the first couple of days (for a few hours anyway?) while the new baby excitement is at its peak. I'm going to say that the present is from Holden thanking him for being such a great big brother.

Anyway. I've been thinking a lot about what I could get him. Recently, he's been "borrowing" my camera a lot. He's taken over a hundred photos! So I finally decided to get him one of those cameras made for kids. I read the reviews for the Fisher Price and VTech cameras and finally decided to get him the VTech Kiddiezoom Digital camera.

Besides taking pictures, you can make videos, play games, and do a little photo editing. The only downside I read about in the review was about the quality of the pictures. Somehow, I don't think that's going to bother Aiden.

Here are a few of the photos he's taken with my camera:

Last night, Aiden went to my mother in law's house for a couple of hours and I decided to go to Target and see if I could find the camera. I had looked online and saw that the camera sold for around $50 in most stores. After looking through the toys, I found the camera and decided to go ahead and get it because who knows when I will be able to go shopping by myself again. I didn't check the price but I already had an idea of what it was going to cost. I was shocked when I went to check out and the camera rang up for $14.98! What a deal!