Hippity Hoppity

Happy Easter everyone! At church this morning we celebrated with the song, Because He Lives.
God sent His Son
They called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives
Amen to that. Praises to God for the blessing of His Son all those years ago, that gives us a blessed life today. And, praises to God for our own son. We had no idea the blessing he was going to be when he arrived 363 days ago, but there hasn't been a day without a smile since he showed up.
Aiden arrived the week before Easter last year, so here's our little bunny, 6 days and 363 days in to his life.

 

And this is the only family photo we could get of everyone looking. Of course it wouldn't be complete without Aiden's favorite accessory - drool.

One Year Ago....

....Aiden looked like this:

This picture was taken on 3/26/12, which was Aiden's due date. He decided to cozy up for an extra 8 days, though, and not make an appearance until April. I've already spent a lot of time reminiscing about this past year, being in disbelief that my sweet little froggin' baby has grown in a St Bernard-like toddler. I'd like to say that I'll attempt to not be a sap in every post for the next week, but that would just be lying so prepare yourself for sapville and a trip down memory lane. :)

Luckily my little St Bernard thinks getting laundry started is a fun time. Here's to making chores a good time for the next 18 years!

Cold Front TX Style

It got chilly around here this last weekend...but one of Aiden's favorite places is outside so we bundled up to face the 50-degree cold front and spent some time in the sunshine.

(waiting on daddy to finish blowing the leaves before we can make the great escape to the outdoors)

(admiring a reflection that looks a little like himself on the way out)

(wearing our woollies! I love these shoes and am SO grateful to whoever sent them to us. Someone sent them back in January, and Ryan opened the package, told me who they came from and then tossed the packaging. Only problem....he didn't read the name correctly. I'm been trying to track down the giver but have had no luck. So, if you are reading this and are the wonderful gifter of these adorable woollies, please let me know so that I can properly thank you!)

Hair Be Gone...

I know, I know. Once you see these pictures, you'll say it's not gone. But the curls are mostly gone, and lots of people have told me that they never come back. So maybe I should have titled it Curls Be Gone. Either way, I tend to be a little sad about A's hair for a few days following a haircut, and this time is no different.
Here's the thing. Ok, things.
1) It needed to be cut.
2) It needed to be cut. Remember the last attempt Ryan and I made that ended with crooked bangs? That had mostly grown out, but it didn't straighten itself out while it was growing so that needed some fixing.
3) It needed to be cut. The back of his hair has been matting up since he was a few months old - from his car seat, from sleeping on it. Anytime he rubbed the back of his head on something, it knotted and matted.
4) The back essentially had two layers. A straight layer and a curly layer...so it was kinda like its own mini mullet, just in the back of his hair. Have I mentioned that it needed cut?
5) I've been using the excuse that he's a baby and his crazy hair is cute for.....nearly 12 months now. It's a hard reality for me to face, but my baby is fast approach the 't' word (toddler - ahh!), and it is time for a new hair style to go with this new phase we are about to enter.
My mom offered to clean up his hair while she was in town so I agreed to let her fix the front....to which Ryan responded that the back also needed trimmed up. So, two days later I let her finish the job. I held little man and attempted to entertain him with the fan, my phone, and all things outside. My mom was successful. His hair is actually cute, even if I'm sad about it being gone. And she didn't take any skin off his squirmy self in the process.

(showing off his new do...forgive the angle. he was focused on getting to the vacuum and didn't have time for photos)

Happy St Patty's!

Hope you got your green on!

Eleven Months

I think my 2 week delayed posting may be my futile attempt to stall what will inevitably occur in the coming weeks. My sweet baby boy will turn a year old. It just doesn't seem possible. How could a year have already passed? I hope every year of his precious life doesn't fly by this fast....I need all the time I can get with this kid!
Back to the topic at hand....Aiden turned 11 months the day we got back from San Fran. He went to the doc for his ear infection two days before and weighted 19.03lbs with his clothes on. When I weighted him clothes-less on the 3rd he weighed 18lbs 9.6oz. The doc said Aiden would be lucky to get to 18lbs by his first birthday...Looks like Aiden is anxious to get to that new car seat we talked about last month!
I thought A's pics with Buddy were difficult to take before he could sit up on his own. However, I determined they are actually even more difficult when someone wants to act more like a toddler than a baby and chooses to use his muscles to move about instead of using them to just hold his little self upright and still....

Aiden has been very generous with his kisses lately (melts my heart....even if they are disgustingly slobbery, I still adore them). He even decided to share a few with Buddy.

What Animal Are You Most Like?

Remember those types of questions from quizzes growing up? What - you didn't read Seventeen magazine and try to figure out your personality with such insightful questions?!? Since the point of this post is not to discuss the incredibly meaningful part of childhood you missed out on, I will move on to the real point.

Ryan's dad very appropriately called Aiden a St. Bernard after watching him for a few days. Could there be a more perfect description of my little drool monster? I think not.

As if his slobber wasn't enough to demonstrate his four-legged friend resemblance, Aiden has started carrying toys in his mouth when he wants to take them somewhere with him.

San Fran Fun!

On Thursday night, I boarded a plane with this cutie:

And left my other sweet baby behind, in the arms of Grandma.

(I'll make a quick note here that 5 hours before boarding the plane Ryan found out he had bronchitis....and the next morning Grandma took Aiden to the doctor and found out he had his first ear infections. Plural. Double ear infections. Signs of an ear infections? Zero. He didn't touch his ears, he slept through the night. So, while I felt terrible when I found out, I knew he was in good spirits (and good hands) despite the infections so I focused on that.)

So 1700 miles back in San Fran, we landed and who was waiting for us? These fabulous, wonderful faces. Best. Surprise. Ever.

(Being crooked, like the Crookedest Lombard Street, of course.)

We spent the next two days walking 15+ miles (no lie), visiting Alcatraz, marveling at Muir Woods, getting a flat on our rental car, drinking Irish coffees at Buena Vista Cafe, eating yummies at Ghirardelli Square, touring Napa Valley wineries, listening to sea lions, reminiscing about childhood while checking out the Painted Ladies (better known as the Full House backdrop), eating scrumptious breakfasts and dinners, and talking and laughing and talking and laughing. It was an amazing city, we had an amazing time, and amazingly, Aiden was just fine without us for a few days.

I told Ryan he gets an A double plus for the trip.....but I'd give him 10 of those. All of his planning made for a very relaxing, enjoyable time for everyone. I may, perhaps, be a bit of a stickler for itineraries when I plan trips. I went to all this trouble to make a beautiful spreadsheet - why would anyone not want to follow it? Ryan, however, was much more adaptable with his spreadsheet. Love him for that.

Here's a glimpse at the results of Ryan's awesome planning.

(ocean view on day one....what you can't see it through the fog? yeah, neither could we)





(view from Alcatraz with the fog starting to lift)



(STEEP San Fran streets....and there's a reason STEEP is in caps. it's been 5 days and my calves are still sore)

(Filbert Steps....Ryan accidentally took us on a bit of a detour....a 285-step detour....see previous mention of sore calves)

 (catching a breather halfway up)

(view from a Filbert Steps landing....pretty sure we weren't at the top yet)

(Muir Woods - trees so big four of us made it maybe two-thirds of the way around!)

(Cheers to Buena Vista Irish coffees!)

(and to the mustaches they leave!)

(V. Sattui Winery.....by far the best winery we toured. check out this amazingly delicious wine we found! pricey but the one time so far in life I've found an expensive wine that is worth every penny.)

(sea lions on Pier 39)

(use your night vision and you'll start singing: "What ever happened to predictability?/The milk man, the paper boy, evening T.V/You miss your old familiar friends, but waiting just around the bend.")

(trolley time!)

(trolley time!)