All I Want For Christmas....

....is my TOP two front teeth.

Aiden's only been waiting for FOUR months for the next set of teeth to show up. For all you non-bebe folk, that's a long stinking time. Teeth usually show up within 4-8 weeks of each other so I spent months 6 and 7 explaining any and all fussiness with "maybe he's teething," but eventually gave up on that excuse as well as any idea of when they would show up. And now, at nearly nine months, they are on their way in.

Fortunately, this is how Aiden acts when he's teething......

Unfortunately, I am concerned this means we are in SO much trouble (shock) when the next baby shows up and has a normal (unhappy) reaction to teething. Oh well.....We'll just enjoy our happy baby and his unusual reaction to a painful process.

A's for Aiden

Yesterday's breakfast conversation:
Courtney: Aiden, you get an A for eating and an A for sleeping.
Ryan: And one for being cool and for hair. And an F for pooping because it stinks so much.

Are the convos at your house this enlightening? :)

Aiden really is a phenomenal eater. They say to feed a baby until he quits eating because babies know to stop eating when they are full. The thing is, I think Aiden's tummy may be a bottomless pit. Two nights ago for dinner Aiden ate 3/4 baked potato, some mashed black beans, and a jar of baby food, all after having had a solid helping of puffs as an appetizer. He just eats and eats and eats....He can easily eat an adult helping of food. We think the food may be going to Aiden's head because that's the only thing that's big on his body. We've just put him on three meals a day since he loves to eat so much so maybe that will beef him up the rest of him a bit....

Merry....

....100th Post! I mean, Christmas. Merry Christmas! :)

I LOVE Christmas. Really, really love Christmas. I could list out all the joyous reasons....lights & glitter, rich traditions, time with loved one, lights & glitter, beautiful songs, yummy food.....but that's probably a longer list than you want to read. Most importantly, it's about celebrating a glorious Savior who came to earth as an itty bitty all those years ago. This year, I've come to appreciate the gift God gave in a way I never could before. We've been SO blessed with our own itty bitty this year and have felt more joy and love than we knew was possible. Thanks be to God for His precious son, and thanks be to the individual who decided to celebrate this wonderful holiday with lights and glitter.

Here are a few pics as we've celebrated Christmas over these last few weeks. Merry Christmas to all!

Like a weed

Or a stray eyebrow hair after you've just plucked them.

Or anything else that shows up suddenly and unexpectedly.

That's how Aiden grew in the past few days.

Last weekend I dressed him in 9 months clothes and had to roll the pants because they were too long. I put him in 9 month clothes this past weekend....and they hit his ankles. Six month pjs fit five days ago. Today, those were put away because his little chest was getting chilly during the night. We are still hanging on to our size 2 diapers and probably will for another month or so. Our long and skinny little guy.....built just like....neither his mom nor his dad.

Outdoors in December

Everyone takes their 8-month-old outside in shorts and a t-shirt - or at least sans a jacket - in December, right? Oh no? It's not 75 degrees where you're at? Hmmm, well since it is here, Aiden's gone on his first bike ride and swung at the park for the first time. Funny thing is, his reaction to these activities is completely opposite of the pictures I captured. Bike ride (pic taken pre-wheels rollin') - loved sitting in the trailer....did not love riding in it. Swing (pic taken post swinging) - enjoyed his time flying through the air, for at least a solid 2 minutes.

What'd you say?

I call it a screaming contest (though it's not really that loud).....you could call it an echo. Whatever name you want to give it, it's pretty funny to watch and pretty fun when you are the one playing with Aiden. Here's a video of his favorite new game.

Soooo BIG!

Eight whole months....That's how old this charming young gent turned day. I'd say he's just the most adorable thing I've ever laid eyes on.....all 16.16 pounds of him.

Cords and Shoes

Naturally, they make the BEST toys....at least according to Aiden James.

He got a small cold on Thursday, and being a completed unconcerned mother, I decided to Clorox all toys he's ever played with. The kid had a room full of toys, which kept his attention for a solid 5, ok maybe 6, minutes before he found the computer cord to play with instead. Attempting to distract him, I returned him to his plethora of toys....only to find him trying to eat my slippers minutes later. I guess I can be thankful he'll keep costs down since we have plenty of his favs around the house already?

(Actually playing with his toys for a few minutes)

Blueberries.....

.....are super yummy! Just ask Aiden.

Up, Up & Away!

Aiden made the 4th flight of his seven and a half month life to celebrate his first Thanksgiving in NY. He likes the window seat on the planes, just like his momma.

I will say that, at least for Aiden, the younger he was, the more he (we?) enjoyed the flights (i.e. slept on the plane). These days he wants to be moving about, and a tiny seat on a plane with the headrest of the person in front of you leaning back in your face does not allow for much movement. (Ryan and I especially experienced this on the return flight when we were on attempt 768 to get "situated" and spilled hot tea all over us. No worries....bebe was spared. This was less than an hour in to the 3.5 hour flight so we spent the rest of the ride a little tanner and damper. Lovely.) We are on flight sabbatical until May so hopefully A does not go through withdrawals.

While in NY we spent quality time with the fam, and Aiden enjoyed playing with his cousins (despite the fact his face may say otherwise....he LOVES those two!).

 

He also enjoyed his first round of Christmas gifts, which included a Radio Flyer, and his feet almost touch the ground when he sits on it.

Grandma got him an adorable puffer coat (have I ever mentioned that I love most things puffer). To celebrate the season, we reenacted the Randy look from the Christmas Story. That or Aiden just looks like he's stuck like Randy when he's wearing his jacket....

 

 



Yum, yum!

Aiden's Thanksgiving grub may include some frozen water:

That results in rosy posy cheeks:

 

Hope your holiday chow is a little more flavorful than A's! Happy Thanksgiving!

Like Father, Like Son

Daddy's Contraption

I have a feeling this will not be the first time Daddy makes a creative sort of contraption for his kiddo....

siete! (meses)

Little mister has been enjoying his food this past month. By the calculations on my (not-so-accurate at five months) scale, Aiden is weighing in around 14lbs 13oz, which is a half pound gain in the last month. He only gained 5oz for the previous two months combined before this so I'd say that's a good gain. My tape measurer calcs say we are still 26.5 inches. Aiden doesn't go for another official weigh in until 9 months so you'll have to tolerate my poor calculations for another month.
Aiden took his regular picture with Buddy, who he then actually played with for a few minutes (usually he just looks at him or falls into his soft, furry body) before being distracted by a cord, which has most recently become his favorite chew toy. Did I mention that we are working on this baby proofing thing?

My Little Treat

I meant to put up a Halloween picture last week....and very obviously missed the mark. My little Halloween treat was this smarty pants:

 

Who stayed up long enough to put on his costume, take a picture with his pumpkin (without the glasses because he just wasn't up for those things on his face!), and answer the door for the first trick-or-treater (but in his bath towel by that point in time). Maybe we'll make it to the door still in costume next year.

 

Pumpkin Carvin'

We bought Aiden's first pumpkin at the patch a few weeks ago. It only seemed right that we carve it together as a family. (Read: Dad carves while Mom tries to take goofy pictures of Aiden. Aiden tries to look like he is helping by straightening out the bag Dad is carving into...but really he just wants to play with it because he's never seen a garbage bag before.)

Everyone's hard work resulted in a monogrammed pumpkin for wee man. Pretty sure he liked it (and also wanted to eat it).

baby proofing...

...that is what's happening at our house this weekend. this is the first time he's touched this drawer.

A Few of Aiden's (Current) Favorite Things

Scientist: Einstein

Friend: Sophia - because she lets him play with all of his toys at the same time

Rapper: P. Diddy

Word: "Guys" (especially when repeated 3 times in a row)

 

Momma's Favorite: this adorable, drooly face

More today than yesterday

In honor of my beautiful friend Miranda's wedding, I'll share my favorite words that someone said to us at our wedding: Love each other more today than yesterday but less than tomorrow.

Miranda looked fabulous for her special day (how could you not love this beautiful face!). Miranda & RJ, we wish you a lifetime of love and happiness than grows with each day!

I may be a little prejudice, but I am pretty sure I had the two best looking, best dressed dates to celebrate the occasion (unfortunately only one made it in the picture).

Since we were up in KC, Aiden requested we stop in and see his girlfriend Lylah, and because Ryan and I are such pushovers, we gave in to his request. (They save their smiles for off camera moments.)

Yay for happy weekends, full of love!

Six LOVEly Years

I've been incredibly blessed to spend the last six years of my life married to this handsome man:

To go mushy for a moment, they've been a great six years. The best years of my life. We've done a few things....finished school, bought a house and a car, started careers.....but I'd say the best thing we've done is bring this guy into our family:

 

We celebrated, just the two of us(!), a few days early with a yummy dinner at The Majestic, an old jazz club and steakhouse in KC. Ryan got me this picture as a gift...so thoughtful and sweet. LOVE it, LOVE him.

 

Pumpkins x2

When Barb came to visit we wore jackets and scarves to the pumpkin patch. When Lauren and sweet baby Brayden came to visit a week later, we wore lightweight and sleeveless tops. Ah, Texas.

Initial assessment of the pumpkin patch didn't generate too much excitement from either of the boys:

But the babies enjoyed getting some fresh air, taking a hayride and seeing the animals since we'd spent more of Saturday inside while Brayden's teeth came in. We attempted a few stick-your-face-in-the-hole pictures....we'll keep working on those.

Hopefully dang Delta didn't ruin future visits for Lauren. The trip home on Monday....well, let's just say two canceled flights, a changed airline, running through two airports and lost luggage which included Brayden's carseat....wasn't ideal conditions for traveling with a baby. Thanks for enduring it all to spend the weekend with us roomie! Three cheers to booking Southwest flights in the future!